Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to share with you the report from the Commission on Memory and History at Duke University, which was created on September 1 following the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee from the entrance to Duke Chapel. The Commission had a three-fold charge: first, to 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; second, to apply these principles in recommending options regarding the vacant space in the front of Duke Chapel; and third, to advise the president and Board of Trustees in the development of procedures for future questions about memorials or the naming of a facility on campus.
Under the capable leadership of Duke alumnus and trustee emeritus Frank Emory, Jr., and Professor Grainne Fitzsimons, who served as chair and vice chair, the Commission solicited and received thoughtful and deeply personal input from all parts of the Duke community, including trustees, students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and Durham residents, as well as scholars and observers from across the country. The Commission was also informed by expertise from specialists in the history of the university and the region, as well as in law and public art, and the work of other universities that have recently examined their own institutional histories and actions. I also want to acknowledge Carolyn Gerber, who served as staff to the Commission, for her work in organizing the meetings and drafting the final report.
I have enthusiastically accepted the principles developed by the Commission, which more than meet my request that they “reflect the deep values of the university and serve the university over many years rather than focus on a specific issue.” I have also accepted the Commission’s input on the administrative procedures that will be now be used going forward. Both were endorsed by the Board of Trustees at its meeting yesterday.
The question of what to do with the space in front of Duke Chapel is, of course, the most visible aspect of the Commission’s work, and one that has generated the most conversation on campus and beyond. I am particularly grateful to those colleagues who submitted nominations, many of which were quite moving, and surfaced aspects of Duke’s history that merit further study.
At the same time, I am persuaded by the Commission’s conclusion that the decision about who, or what, to commemorate in that most public of spaces on campus deserves a more expansive, thoughtful and inclusive conversation than could be held to this point. Thus, I am accepting the Commission’s first recommendation of leaving the space vacant and initiating an open and deliberative process that will involve all members of the Duke community.
In addition to commemoration and recognition, education about our history and its connection to contemporary issues and debates is an equally essential obligation. For that reason, I am pleased to note two forthcoming events that will bring our intellectual resources to bear on these important matters. First, the next Provost’s Forum will focus on freedom of speech “Testing the University: Speech, Freedom, and Civility on College Campuses” will be held on March 1, 2018, and is being organized by a university-wide steering committee chaired by Professor of Law Joseph Blocher and Vice Provost Abbas Benmamoun. Second, a group of faculty led by Thavolia Glymph, Sarah Deutsch and Ranjana Khanna, are developing “Memorialization: American Universities, Monuments, and the Legacies of Slavery,” a series panels and symposia on monuments and the intertwined history of slavery and its legacy for American universities. We will share additional information on both of these programs in January.
I am again grateful to the members of the Commission, the chair and vice chair, for their dedication to this task, and their willingness to engage with a complicated, challenging and contentious issue in a short period of time. Their work is an important contribution to Duke University’s ongoing effort to understand its complex and nuanced history.
Please accept my best wishes for the holiday season.
Vincent E. Price
