About the University Bulletins

The Office of the University Registrar is responsible for compiling, producing, and maintaining the bulletin for each school at Duke University. The content for the bulletins is established by the schools in conjunction with the Duke University Bulletins Policy.

The information in this bulletin applies to the academic year 2025-2026 and is accurate and current, to the greatest extent possible, as of August 2025. All bulletins are published online and serve as static documents for historical records of the university. The university reserves the right to change programs of study, academic requirements, teaching staff, the calendar, and other matters described herein without prior notice, in accordance with established procedures.

Duke University Registrar: Frank Blalark, Assistant Vice Provost and University Registrar

Coordinating Editor: Maggie Douglas

Publications Coordinator: Patrina W. Hemingway

Bulletin School Coordinators:

Divinity School: Deborah Hackney, Katherine Smith, and Jessica Williams
Fuqua School of Business: B. Tate
The Graduate School: Scott Behm and Matthew Jones
School of Law: Frances Curran and Monica Roberson
School of Medicine: Marcie Ellis and Cierra Harris
Nicholas School of the Environment: Cynthia Peters
School of Nursing: Debra Mattice and Bebe Mills
Pratt School of Engineering Professional Programs: Cherie Creten
Sanford School of Public Policy: Anita Lyon
Undergraduate Instruction: Claire Siburt

Photograph Credits: Sarah Belles, Ken Huth, Huthphoto, Shaun King, Jared Lazarus, Megan Mendenhall, Alex Mousan, Mary Katherine Powers, Ivy Shi, Bill Snead, Les Todd, and John West

Duke University
2080 Duke University Road
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 684-8111

This publication is available in alternative format on request. Call (919) 684-2813.

Duke University's Mission & History

Mission Statement

Approved by the Duke University Board of Trustees October 1, 1994, and revised February 23, 2001, the Mission Statement for Duke University reads as follows:

"James B. Duke's founding Indenture of Duke University directed the members of the University to 'provide real leadership in the educational world' by choosing individuals of 'outstanding character, ability, and vision' to serve as its officers, trustees and faculty; by carefully selecting students of 'character, determination and application;' and by pursuing those areas of teaching and scholarship that would 'most help to develop our resources, increase our wisdom, and promote human happiness.'

"To these ends, the mission of Duke University is to provide a superior liberal education to undergraduate students, attending not only to their intellectual growth but also to their development as adults committed to high ethical standards and full participation as leaders in their communities; to prepare future members of the learned professions for lives of skilled and ethical service by providing excellent graduate and professional education; to advance the frontiers of knowledge and contribute boldly to the international community of scholarship; to promote an intellectual environment built on a commitment to free and open inquiry; to help those who suffer, cure disease, and promote health, through sophisticated medical research and thoughtful patient care; to provide wide-ranging educational opportunities, on and beyond our campuses, for traditional students, active professionals and life-long learners using the power of information technologies; and to promote a deep appreciation for the range of human difference and potential, a sense of the obligations and rewards of citizenship, and a commitment to learning, freedom and truth.

"By pursuing these objectives with vision and integrity, Duke University seeks to engage the mind, elevate the spirit, and stimulate the best effort of all who are associated with the University; to contribute in diverse ways to the local community, the state, the nation and the world; and to attain and maintain a place of real leadership in all that we do."

Duke University: A Brief Narrative History

Duke University traces its origins to a small school that opened in 1838 in Randolph County, North Carolina. Originally a preparatory school for young men called the Union Institute Academy, it was then chartered as a teaching college named Normal College by the state of North Carolina in 1851. The school underwent another transformation in 1859 when it turned to the Methodist Church for financial support. Reflecting the new partnership, the school’s name changed to Trinity College.

From 1842 to 1882, Braxton Craven served as the principal and then president of the institution, overseeing its transition from a tiny schoolhouse to a full-fledged college. Shortly before his death, he helped to establish the Cherokee Industrial School at Trinity College, one of numerous schools established in the United States to “westernize” indigenous students, in this case boys and young men from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. The School at Trinity lasted only a few years. It is worth noting that Craven enslaved several Black people prior to the Civil War, and that a number of other faculty and trustees were also enslavers.

John F. Crowell, Trinity College’s president from 1887-1894, suggested that moving the college to an urban setting would attract more students, faculty, and financial support. With Crowell’s encouragement, the trustees agreed to move the college, and after a spirited competition among regional cities, Trinity opened in Durham in 1892. Local tobacco magnates Washington Duke and Julian S. Carr assisted in providing land and money to Trinity. In 1897, at Washington Duke’s request, the school began admitting women as regular students, making it an early co-educational institution. Carr’s support for Trinity College was recognized with a building named in his honor in 1930. His name was removed in 2018 in light of his virulent white supremacist beliefs and actions.

Trinity prospered in its new location, and in 1924 the school was again transformed through philanthropy. Washington Duke’s son James Buchanan Duke established the Duke Endowment, and the charitable foundation infused the college with funds. The trustees changed Trinity College’s name to Duke University as a memorial to his father. The new funds supported the construction of a new campus, designed in a Gothic style by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Horace Trumbauer. The chief designer of West Campus, as well as the re-envisioned East Campus, was Julian Abele, a Black architect whose role in creating the architecture of Duke University was largely overlooked during his lifetime. In 2016, the main quad on West Campus was renamed Abele Quad in his honor.

President William P. Few (1910-1940) oversaw this metamorphosis of a small college into a complex university. In 1930, the Trinity College site (today’s East Campus) became the Woman’s College, while the West Campus served as the grounds for the all-male Trinity College. In 1972, Trinity College merged both colleges of men and women into what is now known as Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Other schools include the School of Religion and Graduate School founded in 1926, the School of Medicine and hospital in 1930, and the School of Nursing in 1931. Originally established in 1904, the Law School reorganized in 1930. In 1938, what is today’s Nicholas School of the Environment opened, and in 1939 the university formed what is now known as the Pratt School of Engineering. The last of James B. Duke’s desires for the university was fulfilled when what is now the Fuqua School of Business, opened in 1969. The Sanford School of Public Policy became Duke’s tenth school in 2005. The school was named for President Terry Sanford, formerly the governor of North Carolina, who supported a number of initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s to build Duke’s reputation for excellence, growing the university’s national and international profile.

Long a segregated institution, Duke first admitted Black graduate and professional students in 1961 and Black undergraduates in 1963. In 1968, a major student protest known as the Vigil demanded pay increases and better treatment of hourly workers, most of whom were Black. In 1969, Black students protested in what is now known as the Allen Building Takeover, demanding improved services and treatment for Black students. The protest resulted in the formation of what is now called the Department of African and African American Studies.

Faculty at Duke produce influential scholarship across a wide range of disciplines and professions. Two Duke faculty members have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Professor Robert Lefkowitz in 2012 and Professor Paul Modrich in 2015. Duke researchers have mapped the human chromosome and led research into the treatment of HIV and AIDS. Duke faculty also research pressing social issues, producing high-impact scholarship on such topics as election districting and public health. Faculty authors have written books of award-winning nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, and have won awards ranging from the National Book Award to the Pulitzer Prize. Fifty Duke faculty are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Duke students have many opportunities to work with leading faculty in labs and on projects, ensuring hands-on experience during their course of study.

Duke has a number of notable athletic achievements. Best known is the men’s basketball team, coached by Mike Krzyzewski from 1980 to 2022. The team has earned 5 national championships. The women’s golf team holds the record at Duke for most national championships, at 7. Duke football has been played since the 1880s, when President Crowell coached the team himself. During the 1930s and 1940s, the football team competed in and won a number of bowl games, earning the nickname “Iron Dukes.” The Rose Bowl game of 1942 was played in Durham due to wartime concerns on the West Coast and remains the only Rose Bowl played outside of Pasadena, California.

International programs have expanded over the last several decades, bringing international students to Duke in Durham and expanding international opportunities for Duke students. In 2005, Duke partnered with the National University of Singapore and opened the Duke-NUS Medical School. In 2014, graduate programs at Duke Kunshan University began, followed by undergraduate programs in 2018. DKU is a partnership between Duke and Wuhan University in Kunshan, China.

The university has changed in many ways since its founding, and like other historically white schools it continues to confront issues of racism, sexism, and other inclusion and equity challenges. Students of color and international students now represent more than 50% of the student body. Duke’s hometown of Durham has also grown and changed, and Duke and Durham collaborate on topics ranging from community service to downtown development.

Ever evolving, Duke University strives to meet the stated aims of the university: “to foster a lively relationship between knowledge and faith; to advance learning in all lines of truth; to defend scholarship against all false notions and ideals; to develop a love of freedom and truth; to promote a respectful spirit of dialogue and understanding; to discourage all partisan and sectarian strife; and to further the advancement of knowledge in service to society.”

Updated September 21, 2020. Learn more from University Archives.

Duke University Leadership

Full leadership profiles for those listed below are available at duke.edu/about/leadership.

Executive Leadership

Vincent E. Price, President
Craig Albanese, CEO, Duke University Health System
Daniel Ennis, Executive Vice President
Alec Gallimore, Provost
Mary E. Klotman, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Duke University

Academic Leadership

Deans of Schools and Colleges

Kerry Abrams, James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law
Suzanne Barbour, Dean, Graduate School
Lori Bennear, Stanback Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment
Gary Bennett, Dean, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Dean, Divinity School
Mary E. Klotman, Dean, School of Medicine
Jerome P. Lynch, Dean, Pratt School of Engineering
Mary Frances Luce, Interim Dean, Fuqua School of Business
Manoj Mohanan, Interim Dean, Sanford School of Public Policy
Micheal Relf, Dean, School of Nursing

Vice Provosts

Lee Baker, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (effective October 1)
Edward Balleisen, Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies
Abbas Benmamoun, Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement
David Bowersox, Vice Provost for Finance & Administration
Mary Pat McMahon, Vice Provost/Vice President of Student Affairs
Mohamed Noor, Executive Vice Provost
Noah Pickus, Associate Provost
Deborah F. Rutter, Vice Provost for the Arts
Joseph Salem, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs, & Interim Vice Provost for Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education and Digital Education
Toddi Steelman, Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability

University Administration

Maggie Epps, Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Chief of Staff to the President
Tracy Futhey, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Leigh P. Goller, Chief Audit, Risk and Compliance Officer
Kimberly Hewitt, Vice President for Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer
David L. Kennedy, Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Development
Nina E. King, Vice President and Director of Athletics
Jennifer Lodge, Vice President for Research & Innovation
Antwan Lofton, Vice President of Human Resources & Chief Human Resources Officer
John J. Noonan, Vice President for Facilities
Rachel L. Satterfield, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer
Chris Simmons, Vice President for Government Relations
Kim Taylor, Vice President and General Counsel
Frank Tramble, Vice President for Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs
Neal Triplett, President, DUMAC
Stelfanie Williams, Vice President for Community Affairs

The Faculty

Duke faculty are chosen from among the most competitive selection processes in the country, having demonstrated excellence in their fields of research. Duke currently has two Nobel Laureates among its faculty. Many others hold appointments in the National Academy of Sciences. Their books and publications are numerous and influential.

Profiles of Duke's faculty members are available via Scholars@Duke.

Duke University Policies

Accreditation

Duke University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, doctorate, and professional degrees. Contact SACSCOC at sacscoc.org or call (404) 679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Duke University.

Clery Act

Information that the university is required to make available under the federal Clery Act is available by visiting the Records Division, Duke University Police Department, 502 Oregon Street, Durham, NC 27708, or by calling (919) 684-4602. See police.duke.edu/news-stats/clery for more details.

Duke’s Commitment to Inclusive Excellence

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Find more details at provost.duke.edu/about.

Duke Community Standard

Duke University is a community dedicated to scholarship, leadership, and service and to the principles of honesty, fairness, respect, and accountability. Citizens of this community commit to reflect upon and uphold these principles in all academic and nonacademic endeavors, and to protect and promote a culture of integrity.

To uphold the Duke Community Standard:

I will not lie, cheat, or steal in my academic endeavors;
I will conduct myself honorably in all my endeavors; and
I will act if the Standard is compromised.

Students' Obligation to Act with Respect to the Duke Community Standard

The Duke Community Standard (DCS) stresses the commitment that students share with all members of the community to enhance the climate for honesty, fairness, respect, and accountability at Duke University. Students affirm their commitment to foster this climate by signing a pledge that includes taking constructive action if they witness or know about behavior they perceive to be inconsistent with the DCS, which may include violation of university policies. Although there are no disciplinary sanctions associated with the failure to act, students are nonetheless expected to take action to do something as a responsibility of membership in the Duke community.

The university recognizes that it is not always easy to act in these situations, but several alternatives are available to suit a student's level of comfort and confidence. These alternatives are not mutually exclusive.

Speaking directly with the individual exhibiting the behavior, both to gain clarity about the situation and to inform the individual about the concern.
Publicly calling attention to the behavior as it is occurring.
For incidents involving social behaviors, alerting residence hall, Student Affairs, or other university staff. The information provided will give staff an opportunity to address the matter informally or through appropriate formal channels.
For cases involving academic integrity, alerting the instructor that cheating may be occurring in the course. This alert can be in any form, including anonymous notification, and the reporting student will not be identified. The information provided will allow the faculty member to consider corrective measures, in consultation with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, and to address the topic with the class or suspected student(s).
Directly alerting staff in the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards at (919) 684-6938 or conduct@duke.edu, who will confer with the faculty member involved, if an academic issue, or with the reporting student(s), strategizing next steps. Maintaining the confidentiality of the source is possible, but may limit the extent of action that can be taken.

For current regulations, refer to the The Duke Community Standard in Practice: A Guide for Students.

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99, is a federal law that guides the release of students’ education records, of which disciplinary records are a part.

Duke University adheres to a policy of compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The policy (1) permits students to inspect their education records, (2) limits disclosure to others of personally identifiable information from education records without students' prior written consent, and (3) provides students the opportunity to seek correction of their education records where appropriate.

For additional information about FERPA, see studentprivacy.ed.gov/ferpa. For Duke's full FERPA policy, visit registrar.duke.edu/student-resources/family-educational-rights-and-privacy-act-ferpa.

Nondiscrimination Statement

Duke is committed to encouraging and sustaining a learning and work community that is free from prohibited discrimination and harassment. Duke does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status, in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, employment, or any other institution program or activity.

Duke has designated the Vice President for Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer as the individual responsible for the coordination and administration of its nondiscrimination and harassment policies.

Questions or comments about harassment or discrimination can be directed to one of the following administrators in the Office for Institutional Equity.

Discrimination in Duke’s programs and activities:

Cynthia Clinton, AVP Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Compliance
Title IX Coordinator
Office for Institutional Equity
114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Bay 8
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 684-8222

Sex discrimination in educational programs or activities:

Adrienne Allison, Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students, Compliance Investigator
Office for Institutional Equity
114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Bay 8
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 684-8222

The complete text of Duke's Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Misconduct and appropriate complaint procedures, may be found by visiting the Office for Institutional Equity's website. Additional information and resources are available through the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, or call 1-800-421-3481.