The Duke community will gather on Sunday, Jan. 15, at Duke University Chapel for the university’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration. The event will feature keynote speaker Mikki Kendall, author of the 2020 bestseller “Hood Feminism.”
The service begins at 3 p.m. EST and is free and open to the public. Duke will livestream the event on its MLK Commemoration website. This is the first commemoration the university will host in person since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inclement weather.
The services will focus on the theme “Leading the Good Fight.”
“Members of the Duke and Durham community gather in the chapel each January for this long-standing tradition – to coalesce around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision through the words and presence of current activists and leaders,” said Kimberly D. Hewitt, vice president for Duke’s Office for Institutional Equity and chair of Duke’s MLK Commemoration and Celebration Committee.
“The MLK event committee was interested in hearing from a speaker that would resonate with all constituents, including the greater Durham community, which always has a big presence at this event,” Hewitt added. “Mikki Kendall’s intersectional view of feminism is ripe and impactful at this moment when civil rights for women are being threatened.”
Kendall is an essayist, diversity consultant and self-described “occasional feminist” whose commentary on current events has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Ebony, Essence, Salon and other media.
In recent pieces, she has addressed topics including police-involved shootings in her hometown of Chicago, the racist mom-shaming of Meghan Markle, the representation of Black women’s bodies in media, the 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the loss of the late rapper DMX. She has also appeared on the BBC, NPR, “The Daily Show,” PBS, “Good Morning America,” MSNBC, among other outlets.
“Hood Feminism,” her New York Times bestselling collection of essays, was hailed as a top book of 2020 by BBC, Bustle and TIME. The essays reflect on contemporary feminism and its predilection for representing the concerns of only a small portion of feminists. Conspicuously absent, she argues, are the perspectives of Black feminists and advocacy for issues that intersect with gender, including race, class, sexual orientation and ability.
Kendall is also author of the graphic novel “Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists.” She has spoken on race, feminism, education, food politics, police violence, tech and pop culture at institutions and universities across the country.
The service will feature music performed by Duke Divinity Gospel Choir and the John Brown Quintet, as well as greetings from Duke University President Vincent Price, Duke University Health System President Dr. A. Eugene Washington, Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal and Joshua Crittenden, president of the Black Graduate and Professional Student Association.
Black Student Alliance President Isaiah Hamilton (Trinity ’24) will introduce Kendall. The ceremony will open and close with prayers from Rabbi Elana Friedman, campus rabbi for Jewish Life at Duke, The Rev. Bruce Puckett, assistant dean of Duke University Chapel and Chaplain Joshua Salaam, chaplain for the Center for Muslim Life.
News media are invited to cover the event and will receive guidelines on attending. No flash photography or tripods may be used by members of the public inside the chapel.
Free parking will be available in the Bryan Center garage at 125 Science Drive. ADA parking is available in the Bryan Center Surface Lot at the same address.
2023 MLK Day of Service Meal Packaging Event
9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 16
Duke School, 3716 Erwin Road, Durham
Duke students, faculty and staff can volunteer with Triangle-area Rotary clubs to support North Carolina food banks through Interfaith Food Shuttle and Meals of Hope. Volunteers will assemble more than 100,000 pre-packaged meals. Advance registration required. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/Duke-MLK-Meal-Packaging. Find more opportunities to volunteer through the Duke Office of Durham & Community Affairs website.
Learn more about this year’s commemoration at mlk.duke.edu.
With California Republican Kevin McCarthy losing multiple votes Tuesday to become speaker of the House, a final outcome may not come until Wednesday – and may result in a new candidate, a veteran political scientist said Tuesday.
Until then, the work of the People’s House will mostly remain on hold.
“The focus is now on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) with no votes cast (these last two rounds) for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana). This suggests that Jordan will be the second major figure for a while. He'd have to have a way to reach out to encourage the moderate Republicans to support him,” said John Aldrich, a Duke professor of political science, speaking after a third round of voting early Tuesday evening.
Twenty members from the more conservative wing of House Republicans were backing Jordan on the third ballot. It was the first time since 1923 that the speaker was not elected on the first ballot.
“My guess is that this will go overnight with little change, and then either the Freedom Caucus folks will work a minimally satisfactory arrangement with McCarthy or there will be a new candidate from somewhere near the middle of the party emerge.”
Asher Hildebrand, an associate professor of the practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy, said if McCarthy loses votes his shot at becoming speaker is likely over.
“After three rounds of voting, the outcome of the contest for speaker of the House is more uncertain than ever,” said Hildebrand, who served for nearly 15 years in Democratic congressional offices and on campaigns.
“But at least two things are now abundantly clear: The most extreme members of the Republican conference have effectively seized control of their party, and whoever emerges as speaker will face the virtually impossible task of governing them.”
Since the onset of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, the wide array of readily available data sets from commercial space platforms have allowed the world to understand the ongoing dynamics of both the military conflict and related civil and humanitarian issues in an unprecedented level of detail.
A recent Duke Space Diplomacy Lab webinar examined this development, featuring Jonathan McDowell, astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He discussed the role that both government-sponsored science satellites and commercial orbital imaging platforms now play in supporting vital open-source intelligence work covering a wide array of issues, from geopolitical trends and humanitarian assistance delivery on the ground, to managing contingencies in space, like orbital traffic management and space debris tracking. McDowell is also editor of Jonathan's Space Report, a free internet newsletter founded in 1989 that provides technical details of satellite launches.
The Dec. 16 webinar was hosted by lab co-founders Giovanni Zanalda, director of the Rethinking Diplomacy Program and a Duke professor of the practice in economics and history with the Social Science Research Institute, and Benjamin Schmitt, a research associate and project development scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Click here to view more posts from the Said@Duke series.
DURHAM, N.C. — John F. Burness, who led Duke University's communications work for almost two decades and was the guiding force behind the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, died Monday. He was 77.
Friends and colleagues called Burness a direct, friendly and caring collaborator whose work made Duke and Durham demonstrably better.
“John Burness was one of a kind,” said Nannerl Keohane, one of three Duke presidents for whom Burness worked, and the one with whom he served the longest.
“He was a wise counselor, canny strategist, man of principle, loyal and humorous friend,” Keohane said. “In his responsibility for communicating both the best and the worst of Duke, he presented the facts honestly, earning trust from all constituencies.”
Burness was Duke’s senior vice president for public affairs and government relations for 17 years, guiding the university's interactions with reporters, elected officials, community leaders and others beyond the campus. He was directly responsible for the university's offices of news and communications, community affairs, photography and government relations in Washington, Raleigh and Durham, and served broadly as an adviser to trustees, deans, faculty, student leaders and others.
Burness was instrumental in establishing the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, a network including 12 neighborhoods near campus and the seven public schools that serve them. Duke raised millions of dollars through the partnership to support youth development and K-12 education, affordable housing, community-based health clinics and nonprofits serving the neighborhoods.
“John loved Duke, and he left us several legacies,” Keohane said. “Most important was his keen awareness of the importance of Durham to Duke, and Duke to Durham. Working effectively with colleagues on campus and in the city, he did a great deal to shape the Duke-Durham partnership and revitalize downtown Durham. He will be sorely missed.”
The partnership also significantly expanded the number of Duke students, faculty and staff engaged in the life of Durham. When Burness retired in 2008, Duke’s Board of Trustees created the John F. Burness Endowment to support the partnership’s programs.
“To the community of Duke and Durham, John was larger than life for all of us,” said Sam Miglarese, who directed the neighborhood partnership for 10 years and remained a close friend to Burness.
“He was a champion of Duke-Durham relations and he will be remembered for his warmth, openness and authentic relationships with all that served the campus,” Miglarese said. “Parking attendants, staff at Duke stores, housing staff, grounds crews all knew and respected him. Everywhere he went he was greeted as someone that appreciated their place at the university and the health system.”
Stelfanie Williams, Duke’s vice president for Durham and community affairs, said Burness guided a defining era of community engagement for the university through his ability to build trust and friendship.
“He was an uncommon leader,” Williams said, “with an exceptional ability to find common ground among many.”
Among his civic duties, Burness was particularly active in K-12 education. He was the founding board chairman of the Durham Communities In Schools dropout prevention program and, in 2001, co-chaired a successful $74 million Durham County bond campaign. He also served on the Durham Public Schools' Quality Council and as a director of the Durham Public Education Network.
Bill Bell, former mayor of Durham, called Burness the kind of friend "you could count on in every aspect."
"He was a leader in building positive relations between Duke University and the Durham community," Bell said. "We are very fortunate to have had his leadership and presence, in Durham."
Burness received the Josephine Clement Award for Exemplary Community Leadership for Public Education in Durham in 2002, and the Samuel DuBois Cook Award in 2004 for his efforts to support racial justice and collaborations between Duke and the Durham community.
“John was incredibly good fun, straightforward and provocative sometimes, and he was real,” said Peter Lange, Duke’s provost during the last eight years of Burness’ tenure.
“John was easy to be friends with,” Lange said. “Even when he was serious, he was always fun to be with, people felt good around him, and he made them feel that way.”
After retiring from Duke, Burness joined the Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees in 2009, later serving as chair. He also worked on other local leadership boards, including those of MDC Inc.; the United Way of Greater Durham; the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science; Downtown Durham, Inc.; the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce; and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.
Prior to coming to Duke in 1991, Burness was the senior public affairs officer of three other universities — vice president for university relations at Cornell University, associate chancellor for public affairs at the University of Illinois and deputy to the president for university relations at Stony Brook University.
Widely known in the higher education community, he testified before the U.S. Congress and state legislatures and advised numerous universities and research organizations. His list of leadership positions in education was long, and included the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Burness was also a trustee of Franklin and Marshall College, his alma mater, and served as its interim president for one year while the school conducted a search for a permanent president.
“John’s impact on higher education was only surpassed by his impact on Duke and Durham,” said Chris Simmons, Duke’s interim vice president for public affairs and government relations. “He loved this place, and this city. I, like many, counted him as a friend and mentor.”
Burness taught classes at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, including one on crisis communications and higher education. It was a subject with which he was deeply familiar, serving as Duke’s chief spokesperson during Duke’s lacrosse scandal in the mid-2000s.
“John loved sharing the university’s many stories and guided it skillfully through its inevitable controversies,” said David Jarmul, former associate vice president for news and communications at Duke. “For those of us lucky enough to work with him, he was a mentor and an inspiration — sometimes exhausting, often wise, always caring about others.”
Burness is survived by his wife, Anne Williams; two sons, Evan and Sam, both of whom graduated from Duke; daughters-in-law Katherine and Danielle; and four grandchildren: Calvin, Cameron, Ozzie and Isabella.
Duke chemist Matthew L. Becker and biomedical engineers Charles Gersbach and Warren M. Grill have been elected Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) class of 2022. They are among 169 distinguished new fellows this year and join 20 other Duke faculty who have been recognized by the 12-year-old organization since 2014.
Matthew L. Becker is the Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science and Biomedical Engineering.
Charles Gersbach is the John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Associate Professor of Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and Cell Biology.
Warren M. Grill is the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Neurobiology, Neurosurgery and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a professional organization that was founded in 2010 to recognize and promote the contributions of inventors to society. The NAI is made up of over 4,000 members, including leading academic inventors from around the world, who have been recognized for their contributions to technology, innovation and creativity.
New Associate VP Named to Oversee Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts
Mary Frances Luce will help the Office for Research & Innovation guide Duke scholarship
Mary Frances Luce, Ph.D., Robert A. Ingram Professor of Business Administration, Interim Exectuive Vice Chancellor for Duke Kunshan University and Associate Vice President for Research & Innovation
<a href="https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty/mary-frances-luce" target=”_blank”>Mary Frances Luce, a Duke alumna and distinguished professor of business administration, has been appointed associate vice president for Research & Innovation to support social and behavioral sciences, humanities and the arts, Vice President for Research & Innovation Jennifer Lodge announced Monday.
Luce, who serves as interim executive vice chancellor for Duke Kunshan University in China, will begin her role February 1, 2023.
“Mary Frances demonstrates the qualities, perspectives and skills required to support research in the social and behavioral sciences, humanities and arts in this newly-created position,” Lodge said. “Her continued commitment to collaboration, integrity and Duke’s shared values will advance the research mission across the university.”
As associate vice president for Research & Innovation, Luce will work with the <a href="https://research.duke.edu/office" target=”_blank”>Office for Research & Innovation leadership to ensure the delivery of excellent service and support for all Duke’s researchers and scholars, including faculty, trainees and staff.
“Mary Frances is an accomplished scholar and administrator whom I am delighted to welcome to this new role,” said Provost Sally Kornbluth. “I am confident she will be an excellent partner to Duke’s faculty in support of world-class scholarship in the social and behavioral sciences, and arts and humanities.”
Luce will also serve as a liaison between the Office for Research & Innovation and key leaders in relevant schools, university-wide institutes, initiatives, centers, libraries and administrative offices.
“Creating a supportive environment that elevates and works for all investigators and scholars is one of my essential priorities,” said Luce. “I look forward to enabling our faculty’s research efforts to advance the frontiers of knowledge and contributing to the international community of scholarship within a responsible conduct of research framework.”
Luce previously served six years as associate and senior associate dean for faculty at the Fuqua School of Business, she served one term on the Duke Faculty Appointments, Promotion and Tenure (APT) committee and held multiple key leadership roles such as president of the Association for Consumer Research and co-editor of behavioral marketing’s flagship journal, the Journal of Consumer Research.
Luce earned her Ph.D. in business administration from Duke and graduated cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in economics and marketing from Ball State University.
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University senior Alexandra Bennion of Tampa, Florida, is one of 12 Americans selected this weekend to receive the George J. Mitchell Scholarship for a year of graduate study in Ireland.
This year, 306 students applied for the scholarship, named in honor of Sen. George Mitchell’s contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic distinction, leadership, and service.
A Nakayama Public Service Scholar, Bennion is a prolific researcher in the field of cancer biology. As a SPIRE Fellow, which supports underrepresented students pursuing degrees in the STEM fields, Bennion will graduate this spring with a degree in biology.
She studies inflammatory breast cancer — a rare and aggressive cancer — in the Devi Lab in the Duke School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. She is working on her senior thesis, which investigates ways to enhance immune responses to chemotherapeutics.
“I am delighted to congratulate Alexandra Bennion on receiving the Mitchell Scholarship, the culmination of her extraordinary accomplishments as an undergraduate,” said Duke University President Vincent E. Price. “I wish her well as she pursues a master’s degree in translational oncology at Trinity College Dublin, and I am excited about what lies ahead for her very bright future.”
Bennion has supported research projects at an impressive nine different labs and clinics, and has co-authored papers and presented at numerous professional conferences alongside leaders in the field.
She has conducted research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a 2020 American Physician Scientists Association Summer Scholar, and was selected as a 2020 Scholar in Marine Medicine. Bennion has participated in Bass Connections and DukeEngage, and is a co-founder of Duke Clever Endeavor, a mentorship program for fourth- and fifth-grade students in Durham and Chapel Hill.
She will pursue a master’s degree in translational oncology at Trinity College of Dublin. Bennion then plans to earn an MD/Ph.D. and embark on a career as a physician-scientist, conducting cancer research.
“I am so honored and humbled to have been chosen for the Mitchell Scholarship, and I look forward to taking this next step in studying global cancer research and care,” she said. “This opportunity would not have been possible without the support of the Duke community. I am incredibly thankful to all of my professors, mentors, peers and all who have guided me throughout my college years.”
Bennion will begin her studies in Ireland in September 2023.
For more information, visit the George J. Mitchell Scholarship Program website.
DURHAM, N.C. – December 1 is World AIDS Day. Project 2030, a global effort to end AIDS by the end of this decade, is behind schedule and needs to change its approach in order to meet that audacious goal, Duke scholar Vincent Guilamo-Ramos says.
Vincent Guilamo-Ramos
Quotes:
“The fight to end HIV/AIDS has had many wins. The development of preventative therapies and treatments has been pivotal in reducing cases and improving the lives of people who do live with AIDS – which is no longer a death sentence. These are facts worth celebrating.”
“But the many tools and resources we have are not being utilized correctly. We aren’t targeting the most vulnerable populations and addressing the underlying social causes of healthcare inequities.”
“If we don't address these root problems, we risk missing the goal and – most importantly – leaving behind people who experience the highest disease burden and the most inequity. As a country we must acknowledge that we cannot end HIV without a fundamentally different approach – targeting the underlying social drivers of HIV.”
Bio:
Vincent Guilamo-Ramos is dean of the Duke University School of Nursing and vice chancellor for nursing affairs at Duke University. In addition, he is the founding director of the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health at Duke University.
Guilamo-Ramos is a nurse practitioner who specializes in the primary care of adolescents and adults at elevated risk of or experiencing negative sexual health outcomes, in particular HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
DURHAM, N.C. – Two Duke University seniors were among the recipients selected this weekend for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
Qi Xuan Khoo and Shreyas Hallur were chosen from among many applicants from colleges and universities. Hallur received one of the 32 scholarships available to students from the United States, while Khoo won the only scholarship available to Malaysian citizens. The scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England.
Recipients are selected based on high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and a commitment to service, among other attributes.
“I am thrilled to congratulate Qi Xuan Khoo and Shreyas Hallur on this extraordinary honor, a reflection of their commitment to academic and research excellence and leadership,” said Duke University President Vincent Price. “We can all be tremendously proud to call them fellow members of the Duke community, and I look forward to following their careers in the years ahead.”
Originally from Phoenix, Hallur is both an A.B. Duke scholar and a Nakayama Public Service Scholar. He will graduate with degrees in statistics and public policy. Hallur is interested in Medicaid policy and in improving care for autistic people who have intense care needs through shared decision-making.
He serves on the board of directors of a private school that has designed a novel, hands-on STEM curriculum to meet the educational interests of its autistic students. And at the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, Hallur initiated a program to create inclusive science learning opportunities for autistic children that has won a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
At Duke, Hallur is a Bass Connections researcher and a Margolis Scholar in health policy and management. Through the Duke Disability Alliance, Duke Student Government and Neurodiversity Connections, he has also advocated for greater accessibility on campus. He has done extensive research into Medicaid reform in Massachusetts, Arizona and with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Hallur is also a student researcher at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development.
He plans to pursue degrees in Medical Anthropology and Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at Oxford.
A Karsh International Scholar from Malaysia, Khoo is a senior pursuing a double major in economics and computer science with a minor in mathematics. While at Duke, Khoo has been actively involved in academic research at the nexus between economics and computer science. He has assisted professors in investigating U.S. Medicare fraud, analyzing county level COVID-19 policy and building a data pipeline for domestic violence shelters in North Carolina. As a Bass Connections researcher, Khoo co-authored a paper on developing machine learning predictive models for COVID infection based on wearables data. He is also a Woodman Scholar at the Duke Economic Analytics Lab and an Arete Effective Altruism fellow.
Outside of academia, Khoo co-founded and leads Technify, an initiative that connects tech talents at U.S. colleges with nonprofits and social enterprises across developing countries through pro bono tech projects. With seed funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Mission to Southeast Asia, Khoo and his team have launched 20 projects matching more than 80 volunteers with nonprofits from Malaysia, Panama, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia.
He has also performed as a pianist through the chamber music program at Duke.
Inspired by various experiences working on digital transformations in the frontline, Khoo aspires to further explore the opportunities and challenges faced by developing countries at the intersection between technology and economic development. At Oxford, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Social Data Science followed by a master’s degree in Economics for Development.
The Rhodes Scholarship was created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes.
The value of the Rhodes Scholarship varies depending on the academic field, and the degree (bachelor’s, master's or doctoral) chosen. The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, provides a stipend to cover necessary expenses while in residence in Oxford and during vacations, and transportation to and from England.
<a href="https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty/mary-frances-luce" target=”_blank”>Mary Frances Luce, a Duke alumna and distinguished professor of business administration, has been appointed associate vice president for Research & Innovation to support social and behavioral sciences, humanities and the arts, Vice President for Research & Innovation Jennifer Lodge announced Monday.