News

Professor Gina-Gail Fletcher, along with colleague Veronica Root Martinez, argue that institutional investors should require firms to disclose info about the demographic diversity of their workforces/supply chains, and report measurable/specific plans to improve racial equity in a piece in The Yale Law Journal Forum. Read their full piece here.  read more about Duke Law Professor Gina-Gail Fletcher discusses race and inequality in the Yale Law Journal Forum »

Duke’s icons are the people everyone knows—for their kindness, passion, talent or intellect. They’re the people who you’ll see surrounded by a crowd of adoring students on the quad or plastered across the television in your living room. The icons on this year’s Chron15 list include Dr. Mark Anthony Neal. See the full list here.  read more about Dr. Mark Anthony Neal makes list of 2020-21 Icons from Duke Chronicle »

Duke’s leaders are the people who champion the University community during good times and bad, inspiring others with their emphasis on values and progress. This year Nolan Smith and Dr. Gary Bennett are honored among the leaders featured on this year’s Chron15 list. The list honors those who used their power for good as they kept the community together during the pandemic, encouraged others to speak up and worked tirelessly to improve educational policies and outcomes. Read the full list here.  read more about Nolan Smith and Dr. Gary Bennett are honored on Duke Chronicle's list of inspiring 2020-21 Leaders »

Dr. Sandy Darity has studied the effect that massacres and disenfranchising policies have had on black Americans and discusses the legacy of the Tulsa massacre on generational wealth in black America and why a Congressional bill to study reparations doesn’t go far enough with Rolling Stone magazine. Read the full piece here.  read more about How the Tulsa Massacre Robbed Generations of Future Black Americans »

American history observers think the centennial anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre that coincided with the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder—not to mention the barely acknowledged 36th anniversary of the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia—are all part of an ongoing continuum of racial violence fueled by white supremacists. Duke scholar and history professor Adriane Lentz-Smith and fellow Duke law professor Jim Coleman discuss the impact of Floyd's death with INDY. Read the… read more about Duke Scholars Weigh In on the Anniversaries of George Floyd and the Tulsa Massacre »

Dr. William "Sandy" Darity talks with Judy Woodruff on PBS NewsHours on what reparations would look like for Black Americans. Tulsa's history is casting a larger light on the long-term effects of institutional racism, lost opportunities and the toll it all takes on the wealth of Black Americans. The wealth gap is believed to have widened during the pandemic and stretches among all levels of education. Watch the segment here.  read more about Dr. Darity: What would reparations for Black Americans look like? »

Dr. Kevin Southerland, Department of Surgery, is among six School of Medicine faculty members that have been selected to receive a 2021 Physician-Scientist “Strong Start” award. The Strong Start program is administered by the School of Medicine’s Office of Physician-Scientist Development (OPSD). It is funded with a gift from the Duke Endowment, supports promising, early career physician-scientists at Duke as they develop independent research programs.  Each recipient will receive $75,000… read more about Dr. Kevin Southerland among SoM Physician-Scientists selected to receive Strong Start Awards »

Originally from Kannapolis, North Carolina, Kerry L. Haynie is Associate Professor of Political Science and African & African American Studies at Duke University. His latest book is Race, Gender, and Political Representation: Toward a More Intersectional Approach, with coauthors Beth Reingold and Kirsten Widner. With the most diverse U.S. Congress to date currently in office, Duke Faculty Advancement asked him to share insights from his research and describe his latest project. Read the… read more about Professor Kerry L. Haynie shares insights from his new book »

There’s a book Thavolia Glymph has been working on for a decade. It’s about the experience Black women and children had in Civil War refugee camps, and—through those stories—about what citizenship, freedom and home mean. But the professor of History and Law hasn’t been able to complete it yet because she has focused on other projects, including her prize-winning book, The Women’s Fight. Read more here.  read more about Six Awards Confirm the Impact of Thavolia Glymph’s Research »

Mbaye Lo, associate professor of the practice of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies and International Comparative Studies, and Nancy MacLean, William H. Chafe Distinguished Professor of History and Public Policy, are among the National Humanities Center’s 36 fellows for the 2021–22 academic year. They will spend a year away from their regular teaching duties as resident scholars at the Research Triangle Park–based center, working on independent book-length projects. Lo’s project, … read more about Duke Professors Earn Fellowships to Study Overlooked Connections »

For Erica Taylor, MD, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and the PDC’s first associate chief medical officer for diversity, equity and inclusion, her commitment and passion for health care dates back to her high school years. In this week’s Spotlight, Taylor talks about her deep appreciation for diversity, belonging, and inclusion as a physician, professor, and researcher. She also discusses the importance of intercultural relationships when dealing with patients and their families. She also shares her belief… read more about Spotlight: Erica Taylor, MD »

The John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute seeks proposals for faculty-led Working Groups in the humanities, arts, and interpretive social sciences for the 2021-22 academic year. We are interested in interdisciplinary projects that bring together Duke faculty, as well as graduate students and academic staff, across multiple departments. Each group may apply for up to $5,000 in financial support. Proposals will be considered in two rounds over Summer and Fall 2021. Please send your proposal as… read more about Call for Proposals: FHI Faculty Working Groups »

Congratulations to Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards who o-directs the new CTSI core Equity in Research. The Equity in Research (EIR) core at the Duke Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTSI) is working to identify and anticipate community barriers to access, while creating sustainable and enduring change throughout the research enterprise at Duke. Community engagement is a crucial part of the work of EIR, which supports the new Duke CTSI Center for Equity in Research. Read more .… read more about Community Engagement Vital to New Core Dedicated to Equity in Research »

Congratulations to Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards on a great 2021 so far.  1. Recent promotion to Associate Professor of Medicine!  2. Co-directing the new CTSI core Equity in Research. 3. New research that examines the role of gender and denomination in faith-health connections. 4. Featured in a chapter of the new edition of Teaching Beautiful Brilliant Black Girls. 5. Awarded the JIIA 2020 Outstanding Article Award alongside collegue Paul A. Robbins for "Message Received? The Effect of… read more about 5 x Congratulations to Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards »

The new publication Teaching Beautiful Brilliant Black Girls features a chapter from Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards . In her own words, she "wrote this thinking about how Black girls are treated as women, their bodies are policed, & their self-advocacy is seen as defiance." The book is a collective call to action for educational justice and fairness for all Black Girls – Beautiful, Brilliant. Find more information on the edited volume here. read more about Dr. Bentley-Edwards features in new edition of "Teaching Beautiful Brilliant Black Girls" »

Dr. Kafui Dzirasa is featured on the distinguished panel of respected leaders in academia, voluntary health, professional societies, industry, patient advocacy and news media that comprises the board of directors for The Research!America alliance that advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all. See full list here.      read more about Congratulations to Dr. Kafui Dzirasa for serving on board for The Research!America »

Mellon Visiting Professor Silvio Luiz de Almeida arrived at Duke this spring, he partnered with History Professor John French to offer students a timely, global look at the parallel struggles for racial justice in Brazil and the United States – two countries in the Western Hemisphere with the largest Afro-descended populations. The virtual exhibit highlights an international dimension of struggles for rights and recognition by Black people in two of the world's largest democracies. Read more here.… read more about Black Lives Matter Brazil-USA »

  Congratulations to Dr. William Darity on receiving a third book award for "From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-first Century." Books that explore how historic government policies on voting rights and reparations have marginalized Black communities are the 2021 recipients of the Lillian Smith Book Awards, administered by the University of Georgia Libraries to honor books dedicated to social justice issues. The works will be recognized during a virtual award ceremony… read more about UGA’s Lillian Smith Book Awards Recognize Dr. Darity's Writings on Reparations, Voter Suppression »

Outgoing Academic Council Chair Kerry Haynie shared how proud he was of the Duke community response during the pandemic. Cooperation was essential to the university successfully getting through the academic year and ending that year in a more favorable financial situation than expected. Haynie closed the council meeting with benedictory remarks of his own. The professor of political science will be succeeded as council chair this summer by Erika Weinthal, professor of environmental policy and… read more about Trustee and Faculty Leaders reflect on their tenures filled with challenges »

Projects aim to deepen understanding of race and racism in the region and consider implications for pathways forward. Congratulations to the following faculty members for their upcoming projects:  - Black Muslims and Racial Justice in the U.S. South: Ellen McLarney, Associate Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, with Mbaye Lo -Blue Mud: Experiences of Race in Alamance County, North Carolina: Christopher Sims, Undergraduate Education Director at the Center for Documentary… read more about New Faculty Research to Explore Race in the South from Diverse Angles »

This spring semester, three Duke Law professors renowned for their legal expertise in the areas of colorism, race and politics, and civil right movements developed and taught a new Race and the Law speakers series at Duke Law. The latter came in response to America’s volatile reckoning with its history of systemic racism. Jerome M. Culp Professor of Law Trina Jones; Guy-Uriel Charles, the Edward and Ellen Schwarzman Professor of Law and co-director of the Duke Law Center on Law, Race and Politics;… read more about New Race and the Law Speakers Series confronts America’s systemic racism »