Duke University

Duke University is an American private institution of higher learning and considered one of the premiere medical research universities in the country.US News & World Report: Top Medical Schools (April 16, 2008)

Duke University has two undergraduate schools: the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Pratt School of Engineering. It also has eight graduate schools, which include: Graduate School, Pratt School of Engineering, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Fuqua School of Business, School of Law, and the Duke University Divinity School. In September of 2007, U.S. News & World Report ranked Duke as the 8th best university in the United States.U.S. News & World Report: 2008 America's Best Colleges Report (DATE)

The Duke athletic department offers a variety of varsity and intramural sports for both men and women. The basketball team is always in the top rankings. Led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have won 3 national championships and appeared in 10 Final Fours. The team is also known for their home court advantage at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the wildly raucous support they receive from the student body, known as the 'Cameron Crazies.' http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/11/30/newscolumn1.html?b=1259557200%5E2514371

Duke University Hospital is a 924-bed teaching hospital with 10,412 full-time employees. http://www.dukehealth.org/locations/duke_hospital/location_details Medical students at Duke have the opportunity to work with some of the finest physicians in the world.

The hospital is known for its quality health care and research work. Becker's Hospital Review has named Duke Hospital as one of the 10 best U.S. hospitals for 2009. The hospital was also listed on U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll for its best 21 hsopitals and on the top 25 list released by Thomson Reuters. beckers-hospital-review-names-10-best-hospitals-for-2009.html http://www.hospitalreviewmagazine.com/news-and-analysis/current-statistics-and-lists/

The Duke University Hospital is located on the Duke campus at 2301 Erwin Rd., Durham, NC, 27710. http://www.hospitalreviewmagazine.com/news-and-analysis/current-statistics-and-lists/ located on the Duke campus

Just like individuals and businesses, colleges and universities are devising strategies to cope with global recession. With declines in contributions and a shrinking endowment fund. Duke University has committed to reducing its budget by $125 million over the next three years. Duke President Richard H. Brodhead advised the staff that the financial picture today differs radically from the prosperity of recent years. http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090313110140377

Personnel compensation is Duke's largest budget item, comprising 60% of the budget. http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Duke+makes+-progress-+on+cuts%20&id=3630897 Duke is attempting to save in this area by offering its employees the option to retire early and by implementing a moratorium on raises and filling vacancies. The workforce has been reduced by 400 positions. The strategy so far has saved about $25 million. About 200 more early retirement offers will be made in the coming months. http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Duke+to+offer+more+buyout+packages%20&id=4040203

So far, unlike other prestigious universities, Duke has not resorted to layoffs. Avoiding layoffs seems to be a priority for the administration; Duke officials have repeatedly assured employees that no layoffs are planned. Any additional cost savings measures will probably not be disclosed until the officials know how many of the most recent wave of early retirement offers are accepted. The deadline is Dec. 8, 2009.

On a positive note, Duke does continue to receive generous contributions from its alumni and friends. The School of Law recently received a $!1.5 million donation, which will be matched by the Duke Endowment. The funds will be used to create an endowed chair in constitutional law and government. http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/02/15/daily3.html

• Free Bus Service to Downtown Durham

Duke University and Durham officials announced on June 8 that they are sponsoring free bus service between the Duke campus and downtown Durham. http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2010/06/connector.html Six new hybrid/diesel buses will eventually service the route. Beginning in August, the service will operate from 7 a.m. to midnight on all days except Sunday, making stops at 15- or 20-minute intervals.

The bus service is part of an economic development and downtown revitalization partnership between Duke and Durham. Duke provided $375,000 to enable the city to receive a $3 million federal grant to buy the buses. The city of Durham will operate and maintain the buses and Duke will pay part of the annual operating costs. The project will provide Duke students and employees with cost-free access to Durham and will bring more people into the downtown area to patronize businesses, restaurants, and other Durham locations. http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/duke-durham-team-up-for-new-free-bus-service The cooperation may help alleviate the sometimes uneasy relationship between the university and the city.

• Lemur Adventure

Two lemurs escaped from Duke's Lemur Center during the weekend of June 5 and 6. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7486167 Berisades and Ivy, both six-year-old males, are beautiful black, white, and gray animals with long, stunning ringed tails. It is still unclear how the lemurs pulled off their escape. Apparently, the pair were following their instincts to leave their family, find mates, and set up territories of their own. http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/7829112/article-Duke-lemurs--bold-escape-derailed-by-a-fruit-salad?instance=most_popular

The Center soon received telephone calls that the pair was in the library at the Cresset Christian Academy in Durham. From the pictures, it appears that the lemurs were comfortable in the library environment, perhaps because the students were feeding them fruit. http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/09/522419/wandering-lemurs-back-at-duke.html</rerf> One teacher spoke of the bizarre experience of being in a school in Durham and seeing a lemur walk by. She also commented that the lemurs behaved better than some of the students. The lemurs were taken back to the Center where, according to operations director Greg Dye, they participated in a "perp walk" and a checkup.

The Duke University Lemur Center was established in 1966 to learn about lemurs and other prosimian primates in order to protect them. Lemurs are ancient relatives of monkeys, apes, and humans that were unique to Madagascar. The growing human population has diminished their ranks to the point of possible extinction. Located on 85 acres in the Duke Forest, the Lemus Center takes care of 233 lemurs representing 15 species.

Thanks to good leadership and support from the Methodist Church, Duke University evolved from a small rural school founded in 1838 to a degree-granting school called Normal College in 1851 to Trinity College in 1859. After the Civil War, a forward-thinking young Northerner became the President of Trinity College and began to change Trinity by revising the curriculum, establishing a research library, and convincing the Trustees to relocate to an urban setting. The college chose the city of Durham, influenced by the strong support of Methodists Washington Duke and Julian S. Carr, two local tobacco magnates.

By World War 1, Trinity was a leading liberal arts college in the South. Trinity College gradually became more influential, developing a reputation for independent thought and scholarship. In the 1920's, President William P. Few and philanthropist James B. Duke worked together to lay the foundation for the university. The Duke Endowment was created, Trinity College campus was renovated and expanded, and the name was changed to Duke University in 1924.

Under President Few's 30-year leadership, various schools and graduate schools were established, including the School of Religion, the Medical School and hospital, the School of Nursing, the School of Forestry, a reorganized Law School, and the School of Engineering. Duke became a member of the Association of American Universities in 1938. The Business School was created in 1969. http://library.duke.edu/uarchives/history/narrativehistory.html

Sea Urchins Use Skin for Vision

The mystery of how sea urchins see without eyes or a brain hav have been solved. According to a study conducted by Duke marine biologist Sonke Johnsen and colleague Divya Yerramilli, sea urchins may use their entire skin surface as a giant eye. In an experiment with purple sea urchins, the researchers placed a 31/2" black circle at one end of their enclosure. About two thirds of the sea urchins approached the circle while one third fled in the oppotite direction. Now researchers must try to explain the disparate behaviors.

Link between music and speech.

A research project led by Duke neurobiology professor Dale Purves found that the most commonly used musical scales closely mimic the physics of the human voice. So minor keys evoke sadness because they sound most like sadness in human speech. Major keys sound happy to the listener because they sound like the way happiness is expressed in human speech. Does our appreciation of music stem from its resemblance to the tones in human speech? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091202205627.htm

New Cancer Treatment Targeting Tumor Cells Directly

A study by Duke University researchers has figured out how to deliver cancer therapy directly to a tumor. The treatment uses aptamers, which are small pieces of RNA that which specific bind to living tumor tissue. One advantage of using aptamers is that they are more stable that other agents such as protein-based and that they do not interfere with the immune system. The lead author of the study is Jing Mi, MD, PhD, assistant professor. The next phase of the study is to attach chemicals to the aptamers so that they can deliver the agents to the places where they are needed. ref http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/first_live_targeting_of_tumors_with_rna_based_technology</ref>

Effect of Mistrust of Men on Low-Income Women's Relationships

Linda Burton, James B. Duke Professor of Sociology, led a study concluding that mistrust of men in general does not deter low-income women from entering in to marriage or romantic relationships. Some mechanism allowed mistrustful women to marry or live with men, often in unhealthy, dangerous, or abusive circumstances. According to Dr. Burton, the women "suspended, compartmentalized, misplaced, or integrated" trust in their partners. What the study showed is that general attitudes about trusting men do not prevent women from trusting an individual man. To promote marriage of low-income women, the better approach may be to take time to evaluate whether a particular relationship will entail further abuse or will result in a stable relationship. http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2009/11/mothers.html

Long-Term Impact of Abuse and Poverty on Health

Duke's Avshalom Caspi, the Edward M. Arnett Professor of psychology and neuroscience, is a lead author on a study that investigated the impact on adult health of growing up as a child in an abusive or poor circumstances. Abused children are more likely to develop severe depression and chronic inflammation than the general public. Adults who came from poor backgrounds are two times as likely to have metabolic risk factors at age 32. The study strongly suggests that eliminating abuse and poverty for children can improve their health outlook when they are adults. http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/12/07/childhood-abuse-neglect-linked-to-later-health-problems/10021.html

Targeted Therapy and HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

In a clinical trial involving 296 patients with metastatic HER2-Positive breast cancer, researchers concluded that a pair of targeted therapies extended the patients' lives longer than a single targeted therapy combined with a hormonal or chemotherapy regimen. The more successful targeted therapy pairs the drugs lalpatinib (Tykerb) and trastuzumab (Herceptin), one of which targets the outside of the cancer cells and the other of which targets cancer cells just below the surface. Dr. Kimberly Blackwell, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, presented the findings at a breast cancer symposium. Dr. Blackwell hopes that the results of the study will someday eliminate the need for chemotherapy in treating HER2-Positive breast cancer patients. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091211150324.htm

Duke, in cooperation with Cisco Systems, has build a new virtual lecture hall for students at the Fuqua School of Business. The facility is designed to emulate the experience of a traditional classroom. It has three 103" plasma displays and six 1080p cameras. The new technology will allow business school students access to academics, business leaders, and others on a global basis. In addition, it will allow such presenters to share their expertise with a broader segment of students. http://education.tmcnet.com/topics/education/articles/75498-duke-university-extends-global-learning-with-cisco-telepresence.htm

• President: Richard H. Brodhead
  • 2004-present: President

• • Dan Abrams, talk show host on MSNBC
  • Shane Battier, NBA Player with Memphis Grizzlies
  • John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems
  • Jack Coleman, actor on TV's Heroes
  • Elizabeth Dole, Senator from North Carolina
  • John Feinstein, award winning sportswriter
  • Melinda Gates, philanthropist
  • Grant Hill, National Basketball Association Player
  • Bobby Hurley, led Basketball Team to consecutive National Titles
  • Sonny Jurgensen NFL Hall of Famer
  • Richard Lagos 33rd President of Chile
  • Kevin Martin Chairman of the FCC
  • Sean McManus President of CBS Sports and CBS News
  • Richard Nixon 37th President of the United States
  • Charlie Rose, talk show host

• Official Athletic Site: Go Duke

• Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

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• Beginning in Aug., 2010, the Fuqua School of Business will offer a new master's degree called Master of Management in Clinical Informatics. The program will prepare students for IT management jobs in health care, medical research, government, and consulting areas. http://www.wtkr.com/news/sns-ap-nc--duke-newdegree,0,2514589.story

• The Business School will also offer a new degree called a Master of Management in Clinical Informatics. The interdisciplinary program will develop managers to play an important role in improving health care research and delivery through information technology. http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2009/12/informatics.html