Over the past 10 weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Working@Duke’s editorial team as part of the Charmaine McKissick-Melton Communications Fellowship. Mac Fellows are North Carolina Central University Mass Communications majors who are embedded in communications offices across Duke. During my time, I’ve learned about photography, graphic design, interviewing and writing.

A $5 million gift from Caryn Seidman-Becker will establish the Becker Government Leadership Initiative at the Sanford School of Public Policy to encourage and support Duke student interest in public service, especially at the federal level. The gift will create a six-year pilot program designed to identify, recruit, inspire, and support exceptional undergraduate students from their first year through graduation as they prepare for careers in federal service and leadership in public service.

Manoj Mohanan has been appointed vice provost for interdisciplinary programs, effective July 1, Provost Alec D. Gallimore announced Wednesday. Mohanan is the Creed C. Black Professor of Public Policy and has served as interim dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy since 2024. He also holds faculty appointments in economics and global health.

Duke’s pioneers are the people and organizations who push the University forward, relentlessly reimagining every aspect of our community with boundless energy and passion. They question the status quo and refuse to accept anything that is unjust or unsatisfactory. The pioneers of this year’s Chron15 facilitated difficult conversations, founded academic programs that transformed the Duke experience and sparked community-driven change across campus and the world.

Duke University’s Judith Deckers Prize honors excellence in undergraduate teaching, recognizing faculty whose innovative practices and deep commitment have shaped the student experience both inside and outside the classroom. The award celebrates individual achievements and affirms Duke's commitment to fostering a culture of teaching excellence at the undergraduate level.

New summer reading from Duke authors includes timely books on race, history and political polarization, useful books on finance, health and mentorship and good reads of poetry and fiction. Plus: for the kids, there’s a primer on subatomic particles. Below is a roundup of some of the most recent and upcoming published titles. Many of the books, including new editions of previous titles, can be found on the “Duke Authors” display shelves near the circulation desk in Perkins Library.

Two Duke alumni have been awarded the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship for graduate study at Stanford University. Class of 2024 graduates Chloe Nguyen and Neil Upreti have each received up to three years of financial support at Stanford University. Nguyen and Upreti are members of the eighth Knight-Hennessy cohort and are the 13th and 14th Duke student to receive the scholarship since the program welcomed its first class in 2018.

Washington, D.C., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The author of an authoritative history of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) pledged a portion of the royalties from her book to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). Inspired by the work and the gesture, Dr. Harry L. Williams, president & CEO of TMCF, presented copies of the book to presidents and chancellors of two- and four-year HBCUs and historically Black community colleges (HBCCs).

Duke University professor Deondra Rose understands the importance of protecting, investing and celebrating the legacy of historically black colleges and universities. It’s something that she wants readers of her latest book to understand as well. In the book titled “The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy,” the history and political science scholar, who serves as an associate professor at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, writes about...