For most of her 35 years at Duke, Joan Albright worked in interior office on the medical campus with little or no natural light. A few years ago, when she ended up in an office with a window in an office building downtown, she was thrilled. Joan Albright has found a comfortable work spot in her kitchen. Photo courtesy of Joan Albright. And when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Albright to work from home, she wasn’t ready to give up on working in… read more » about Getting the Job Done in Unique Workspaces
Duke alumna Swathi Ramprasad has been named one of four Eisenhower Global Scholars for the next academic year. She is the first Duke student to win this award. The award provides full funding for Ramprasad to attend the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government to pursue a master’s degree in public policy. Eisenhower Global Scholars are chosen based upon their strong record of academic achievement and community involvement, as well as their demonstrated leadership potential. All Eisenhower Global… read more » about Young Alumna Is First Duke Winner of Eisenhower Global Scholars
Six Duke professors who have demonstrated excellence both in research and undergraduate education have been selected as the 2021 Bass Fellows. "These Bass Scholars blend scholarly excellence with a commitment to the transformative power of faculty-student engagement, said Gary Bennett, vice provost for undergraduate education. “Their ingenuity, creativity and commitment are exemplary, and we Duke faculty are fortunate to have them as colleagues and exemplars. " The chairs were created in 1996 when Anne T. and Robert Bass… read more » about Six New Bass Fellows Honored for Excellence in Research and Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching
For the Duke Forest's 90th anniversary year, we are highlighting different aspects of the Forest's dynamic mission through video. In this 5th installment of our mission highlights series, we bring you footage of Duke's ROTC program utilizing the Edeburn Division for its teaching activities. ROTC units from NC Central, UNC, and Duke occasionally use specific areas in the Duke Forest to provide unique training opportunities that prepare future military officers for exemplary… read more » about Teaching ROTC in Duke Forest
DURHAM, N.C. -- What makes preschoolers eat their veggies? Raise their hand? Wait their turn? “Because I say so” is a common refrain for many parents. But when it comes to getting kids to behave, recent research suggests that the voice of adult authority isn't the only thing that matters. Around age three, fitting in with the group starts to count big too. That’s the finding of a new study by Duke University researchers showing that, by their third birthday, children are more likely to go along with what others say or do… read more » about Sometimes, Even 3-Year-Olds Just Want to Fit in With the Group
This month, we present a collection of eight Duke-authored books covering a range of environmental topics including sea-level rise, species protection, renewable energy, and the ocean floor. These books, along with many others, are available at Duke University Libraries, the Gothic Bookshop or the Regulator Bookshop. Sea Level Rise by Orrin Pilkey "Sea Level Rise" lays out the consequences… read more » about Eight Duke-Authored Books on the Environment
Floyd Country Store Friday Jamboree (Photo: Richard Toller, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0) On Friday nights, the small town of Floyd in southwestern Virginia (population 425) becomes a gathering spot to play and hear American traditional music. Decades ago, the Floyd Country Store started hosting an informal jamboree. Word spread, the crowds grew, and the store now boasts a state-of-the-art performance stage.“People come from all over the world every Friday night,” says Charles D. Thompson… read more » about Rock Castle Home: A Disappearing Appalachian Community Shares Its Stories
A new Trinity College of Arts & Sciences program offering peer mentoring to Ph.D. students in their first, second or third year at Duke will begin hosting meetings this fall, and has selected the inaugural class of fellows to lead those groups. Designed as small, interdisciplinary mentoring groups each facilitated by a peer fellow, the program aims to help students flourish in their respective doctoral programs – providing a confidential space to navigate frustrations, offering a diversity of perspectives, encouraging… read more » about Trinity Launches Peer Mentoring Program for Early-Stage PhD Students
Since 2015, the Duke University Health System Summer Internship Program has given Durham high school students first-hand experiences in the health care field by allowing them to shadow staff members at Duke University Hospital and across Duke University Health System. Prior to the pandemic, participants in what became the MaryAnn Black Summer Internship Program met in person. Starting this summer, the program will be virtual. Photo courtesy of Darla… read more » about Durham Community Connections Stay Strong During Pandemic
The Collegium for African Diaspora Dance (CADD), a community that supports scholars and artists committed to dance of the African diaspora, has been awarded $25,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts, the organization announced on May 12. Thomas F. DeFrantz, professor in both the Dance Program and the Department of African and African American Studies, is also a founding member of the Collegium for African Diaspora Dance. He wrote the grant to support the project, “Dancing the African Diaspora: Digital Publications… read more » about National Endowment for the Arts to Support Project Led by Duke Dance Professor
DURHAM, N.C. -- You enter a room and quickly scan the crowd to gain a sense of who’s there – how many men versus women. How reliable is your estimate? Not very, according to new research from Duke University. In an experimental study, researchers found that participants consistently erred in estimating the proportion of men and women in a group. And participants erred in a particular way: They overestimated whichever group was in the minority. “Our attention is drawn to outliers,” said Mel W. Khaw, a postdoctoral… read more » about Focus on Outliers Creates Flawed Snap Judgments