January 18, 2011 issue

Page 1

The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 77

www.dukechronicle.com

Chambers to speak at graduation

Report closes investigation into fatal fall

Haitian dream

by Matthew Chase

by Christina Peña

Graduates at this year’s commencement ceremonies will hear from a speaker who is a philanthropist, a politician and a prominent businessman. President Richard Brodhead announced to a select group of students Friday that Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers will deliver the graduation speech May 15. In addition to serving as the chairman and CEO of the communication and information technology company, Chambers has worked for former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and was involved in social responsibility efforts following Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 earthquake in China. “I am delighted that John Chambers will be Duke’s commencement speaker this year,” Brodhead said in a press release. “John has been a leader in an industry requiring constant innovation that has contributed to the connectivity of modern life. His commitment to global citizenship and corporate responsibility will inspire our students as they contemplate their future directions.” Brodhead selected Chambers to deliver the speech after the commencement speaker student advisory committee

The investigation into the accidental fall and death of senior Drew Everson has been officially closed. Acute ethanol intoxication was a “contributing condition” to the blunt trauma of the head due to a fall, which was fatal, according to the report issued Jan. 14 by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner office. Drew Everson The toxicology report released the same day indicated that Everson had a blood alcohol content of 0.133 upon admission to Duke University Hospital, nearly 10 hours after he was last seen by friends. It is unclear what Everson’s BAC was at the time of his fall. “It could be a lot higher or the same,” said J. Robert Zettl, forensic technologist in Colorado and member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists. “You would need a whole lot more information than [his weight and BAC upon admission] for me to say. You’d need to know how much he drank, what he drank, how long he had been drinking and what he ate that day, among other things.” Everson, who would have turned 22

THE CHRONICLE

THE CHRONICLE

melissa yeo/The Chronicle

Randall Robinson, who is known for his activist work on behalf of Haitian immigrants, spoke at the annual Commemorative Service for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Duke Chapel Sunday.

See chambers on page 4

See everson on page 8

Duke to open office in D.C. $5K Kenan-Biddle by Maggie Spini THE CHRONICLE

chronicle graphic by melissa yeo

Duke will open a center in Washington, D.C. this year to connect Duke students, faculty and alumni working in the capital.

Duke falls to No. 4 in AP poll, Page 8

Duke will open a permanent office in the nation’s capital, which is home to the University’s third largest alumni base and hosts more than 100 Duke student interns each year. The space will serve as a hub for Dukies in Washington, D.C., said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. He said he hopes the office will be fully functional this year. “The office will be almost like an embassy in Washington,” Schoenfeld said. “It will work to strengthen connections between students, faculty and alumni in Washington, while increasing Duke’s national visibility.” Although plans are still tenuous, Schoenfeld said a permanent office will facilitate classes and other events associated with Duke. The School of Law, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the Sanford School of Public Policy are among the schools that will take advantage of the office’s resources. The University currently has an interim office run by Landy Elliott, assistant director for federal relations. The

grants awarded to ten student projects from Staff Reports THE CHRONICLE

Ten projects designed by students from both UNC and Duke have each been awarded a $5,000 grant as part of the inaugural Kenan-Biddle Partnership class, part of an effort to increase collaboration between the two schools. “We received more than 90 proposals, which made the selection process highly competitive,” said Ronald Strauss, executive associate provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-chair of the grant selection committee, in a Duke news release. “We are confident that the 10 projects chosen are well designed to achieve the benefits intended by

See d.c. on page 4

ONTHERECORD

“He was very highly regarded among low temperature physicists around the world.”

­—Adjunct Prof. of Physics Dewey Lawson on Henry Fairbank. See story page 3

See kenan-biddle on page 8

Duke Law alum makes $5M pledge, Page 3


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January 18, 2011 issue by Duke Chronicle - Issuu