The mission of the Commission on Memory and History at Duke is three-fold:
- Propose principles to guide the president and the Board of Trustees when an issue arises related to the appropriateness of a memorial or the naming of a facility on campus. These principles should reflect the deep values of the university and serve the university over many years rather than focus on a specific issue;
- Having established these principles, apply them in recommending options to the president regarding the now vacant space in the front of Duke Chapel; and
- Provide input to the president and the secretary of the Board of Trustees as they develop procedures for applying the principles to any future issue related to the appropriateness of a memorial or the naming of a facility on campus.
The commission will review the work of other universities who have engaged in similar efforts and consult broadly with the many constituencies in the Duke community, ensuring that the process is open and inclusive.
The commission is to complete its work and report to the president by November 17, 2017.
Commission Members:
Frank E. Emory, Jr. ’79, L’82, Chair, Partner, Hunton and Williams, and Duke University Trustee Emeritus
Gráinne Fitzsimons, Vice Chair, Professor, Fuqua School of Business, and Psychology and Neuroscience
William R. Ferris, Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History and Senior Associate Director, Center for the Study of the American South, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (also former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities)
W. Barker French ’63, Durham civic leader and former President of the Duke Alumni Association
Michael Ivory, Jr. ’18, Duke University Undergraduate Student
Elizabeth Kiss, President of Agnes Scott College and Duke University Trustee
Adriane D. Lentz-Smith, Professor of History, Duke University
David F. Levi, Dean, Duke University School of Law
Robert R. Penn ’74, President, Penn Resources, Inc., and Duke University Trustee
Thomas Pfau, Alice Mary Baldwin Professor of English at Duke University, with secondary appointments in Germanic Languages & Literature and in the Duke Divinity School
The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery, Dean of Duke Chapel
Wilhelmina M. Reuben-Cooke, ’67, Professor, David A. Clarke School of Law, University of the District of Columbia, and Duke University Trustee Emerita
Sally D. Robinson ’55, Duke University Trustee Emerita
Jacqueline Robinson-Hamm, Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, Duke University
Michael J. Schoenfeld ’84, Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations, Duke University
The Rev. Dr. Charles M. Smith ’62, Duke University Trustee Emeritus
Staff: Carolyn C. Gerber ’90, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations
