Diversity at Duke
Diversity Across the Schools
Here are a few examples of diversity in action across the schools of Duke University and Medical Center:
The Graduate School as
established its "Diversity
Initiatives" focused on recruitment and
retention.
Our primary goals are to increase minority enrollment; to provide minority
students with sufficient funding to complete their graduate studies in
a timely manner; and to promote an academic and social environment where
minority scholars can flourish.
The Graduate School publication The Grind (pdf) asks:
How do we engage diversity in this intellectual community?
Rather than just having a diverse appearance, how are we taking advantage
of the rich backgrounds and talents of the members of this institution?
The Fuqua School of Business explains its commitment to diversity in its Diversity Statement: "The Fuqua School of Business appreciates and values differences inherent within our community. As an organization we are committed to building and sustaining an environment conducive to capitalizing on the diversity within our community as a source of intellectual, personal and professional growth and innovation."
The Divinity School includes many programs and initiatives aimed at fostering diversity within the christian church and its mission. It's 2006 Stategic Plan touts improvements in the hiring of minorities and women as well as broadening the student body population, while acknowledging there is still work to be done.
The School of Law's Associate Dean Carol Spruill was awarded Duke University's 2006 Blue Ribbon Diversity Award.
The School of Medicine has one of the highest percentages of underrepresented minority students in the country, along with one of the highest four-year graduation rates. Nearly half of its students are women, and about 20 percent are underrepresented minorities. The Multicultural Resource Center offers multicultural programming, community health initiatives, curricular support, and minority faculty development.
Duke is also one of 12 national sites of the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program, a six-week program to help talented underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students prepare for medical school.
The Pratt School of Engineering has tripled the diversity of its faculty over the past decade. Biomedical engineering professor William Reichert has substantially increased the number of African-American students in graduate biomedical engineering programs and received national recognition from the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network. Associate Dean for Outreach Martha Absher was honored by the National Science Foundation for her successes in promoting diversity through her Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
At the Nicholas School
of the Environment and Earth Sciences,
student Mike Donohue blogs about age diversity and "Greydevils" within the Master of Envorinmental Management (MEM) program:
"And then there are those MEMs who work for more than a few years -- who even have families -- and then decide to pursue a master of environmental management degree. Surely those folks have a special role to play in the school, with their wizened eyes, bristly facial hair, and life experiences that speak of those who've gone before us. It is those beyond the mean that a new social group at the Nicholas School seeks to reach out to." {from
the Mike's Blog }
Edward Gomes Jr., recently named associate dean for Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Information Science and Technology (A&SIST), was part of the Duke Libraries
Diversity Working Group that won Duke’s first Diversity Award, in recognition of efforts to improve cross-cultural understanding at the university. Based on staff workshops and surveys, the group formulated a set of desirable workplace behaviors that includes open communication, flexibility, integrity, and the recognition and valuing of differences.
The School of Nursing's Office
of Global and Community Health Initiatives director, Dorothy Powell, says:
"Caring for increasing numbers of elderly people is one of the most common
quandaries[...]. Because of migration, economics, and social indicators,
many people who would traditionally stay with their children and families
as they age no longer have that support infrastructure. "These countries are
asking, How
should that shape the training of nurses and the curriculum in schools of
nursing?"{from Inside newsletter}