In a 1914 letter to James B. Duke, William Preston Few, Duke University’s first president, wrote of the impact of the legendary benefactor’s support of Trinity College, proclaiming that through it, “you have done some permanent good upon the earth.”
Today, the legacy of that early investment — rooted in James B.Duke’s belief in education as a force for progress — continues in the work we do, in the impact of our scholarship and teaching, and in the role Trinity plays within Duke and across higher education.
As we look to our future and Duke’s second century, we are inspired by the vision of Few and the many others who have shared famously outrageous ambitions for the university. At his presidential inauguration in 1969, Terry Sanford asserted: “We must build together here what we would like to see our society become. Duke University, I believe, is uniquely qualified to take the lead… We will not flinch from change; we will lead it. We will not turn away from challenge; we will welcome it.”
The challenges of today’s world and, indeed, higher education’s responsibility to lead in addressing them, loom large. We endeavor to pursue excellence relentlessly, to sustain and extend Trinity’s leadership position, and to assert the distinctive value of the education we provide. Indeed, alongside more traditional responsibilities, we are increasingly called to help rebuild public trust in higher education. That means demonstrating not only the value of our scholarship, but also the enduring value of a liberal arts education as the best preparation for meaningful careers and lives marked by contribution to permanent good. It also means reintroducing habits of consideration, reflection, and deep engagement — ways of thinking that faculty are uniquely positioned to model and sustain, even as the world shifts toward faster, increasingly automated forms of knowledge production.
With the strategic aims we articulate here, we will sharpen our focus on Trinity’s core mission and secure the college’s foundation as we advance excellence in all areas.
Over the next five years, we aspire for Trinity College to be and be recognized as:
- The best place to launch and build a scholarly career—a community that invests in emerging talent and nurtures it into greatness.
- The top-tier research institution known for providing the finest undergraduate educational experience in the country.
- A place that lives its mission fully, where employees thrive and great work happens.
- A community of intellectual richness and humility, dedicated to permanent good.
When we succeed in advancing these goals, we will be a stronger, nimbler Trinity College, positioned to deepen our pursuit of permanent good in a changing world.
