Monday, December 4, 2017

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Duke’s season ends with heartbreaking loss Page 6

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

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2017 DUKECHRONICLE.COM

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 39

UNIVERSITY

Trustees approve new $61 million nursing building Staff Reports The Chronicle

Ian Jaffe | Photography Editor In mid-August, President Vincent Price ordered the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue, days after it was vandalized.

Price decides to leave space where Robert E. Lee statue once was vacant after commission report By Kenrick Cai News Editor

The empty space that resulted from the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue will officially remain an empty space, at least for now. In an announcement to the Duke community Saturday, President Vincent Price publicized a report completed by the Commission on Memory and History. In September, Price announced the creation of the commission, which was charged to propose principles to address issues regarding on-campus memorials or facility names.

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The commission delivered its report to Price by Nov. 17, the set deadline, but it was not made public until Price made a recommendation to the Board of Trustees during its meeting Saturday. “I am accepting the Commission’s first recommendation of leaving the space vacant and initiating an open and deliberative process that will involve all members of the Duke community,” Price wrote in his announcement. Until August, a statue of former Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stood in front of Duke Chapel, but widespread controversy in the wake of violence involving white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va. prompted hundreds of alumni to sign a petition calling for the Lee statue to be removed. The statue was vandalized Aug. 17, and days later Price ordered the removal of the statue from campus. Two weeks later, Price established the commission. Price issued three charges in creating the 16-member commission. Members were asked to propose principles to guide Price and the trustees in the event of controversy about a memorial or the naming of a campus facility. Furthermore, the commission was charged to provide input to Price and the trustees in developing procedures in future situations. Two options were provided by the commission for the vacant Robert E. Lee space. The primary recommendation— “preferring to leave the space open for a year before taking further action”—was

supplemented with the possibility of installing a plaque describing the history and significance of the empty space. “This space would be a visual pause as the University dedicates itself to exploration and learning about our history,” the report stated. The second option for the vacant niche was to name a person to fill the space. With “substantial support” from the commission and Duke community, the report proposed Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray. Commission members decided that if the empty space was to be filled with a new individual, it should address the lack of commemoration for women and people of color in Duke Chapel. “Both Dr. King and Dr. Murray fit the intersection of religion, community and education that seem most appropriate for the Chapel space,” the report stated. These recommendations were made on the basis of a set of principles proposed by the commission. In situations regarding campus symbols, the goal should be to engage with history without erasing it, and past intent and present effect should both be factored into a decision, which should be “thoughtful and deliberate.” Symbols should align with Duke’s campus, history and key figures, the report stated. A set of guidelines was put forward in the report, which stated that any member of the Duke community can propose to the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees a name change or reconsideration of a memorial. After the proposal has been vetted by the secretary, senior administrative leaders and the Executive Committee of the Academic Council, the University president will convene a committee to consider the proposal and make a recommendation,

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This Saturday, the Board of Trustees approved a new building for the School of Nursing, School of Medicine’s doctor of physical therapy program and department of orthopedic surgery. According to a Duke Today release, the University has scheduled construction on the new building, which will cost $61 million, to be completed in Fall 2019. The new 102,000 square-foot facility, which will have five floors, will replace the one-story, 14,000 square-foot Elizabeth C. Clipp Research Building. The trustees also approved new graduate degree programs in materials science and engineering and in dance. The School of Nursing will occupy half of the new building, and it will house the school’s Ph.D. program, Center for Nursing Research, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of Student Services and the Duke Health Center for InterProfessional Education. Additionally, Duke’s doctor of physical therapy program, as well as administration and graduate medical education offices for the department of orthopedic surgery will be placed in the new building. The Board of Trustees also approved a new university program in materials science and engineering that will offer multidisciplinary Master of Science, Master of Engineering and doctoral degrees. Faculty for the new programs will come from all four academic departments of the Pratt School of Engineering and from the biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics departments in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. According to the Duke Today release, the program expects to matriculate its first students in Fall 2018. In October, the Academic Council unanimously approved the proposal for the new program. The trustees also approved a degree in Master of Fine Arts in Dance. Purnima Shah, associate professor of the practice of dance and director of the program of dance, said at the Academic Council’s first November meeting that they hope to recruit seven students per year for the two-year terminal degree program. “We’ve been working very hard on this for over a year, so it’s very exciting,” Shah said. The Dance Program will be housed in the new Rubenstein Arts Center, which holds two dance studios and faculty and staff offices. The Arts Center will open in January. In other business Current and former students, coaches and staff involved in athletics discussed various aspects of intercollegiate athletics with the trustees. Speakers present included Kevin White, vice president and director of athletics, men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Olympic Gold Medalist Abby Johnston, Trinity ‘13 and a student in the See TRUSTEES on Page 3 @thedukechronicle | © 2017 The Chronicle


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