The right way to alter students’ perspectives

The Duke Endowment answered with a landmark $4 million gift to expand the number of faculty scholars with expertise in African, Asian-American and Latinx studies. The gift will enable the hiring of up to six professors in these areas.

This need reflects the changing demographics and cultures of the Duke student body and beyond. Students are increasingly requesting robust learning opportunities in these areas. “Our students observed that while there is much opportunity for the study of culture at Duke, some perspectives are largely absent or not presented in terms of their deep interconnectedness with other parts of the world,” said Valerie Ashby, dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

The gift creates the Global Perspectives program, strengthening academic departments across Trinity College and creating a new network of faculty working across disciplines, leading to exciting collaborative research and deeper curricular offerings.

“Our students observed that while there is much opportunity for the study of culture at Duke, some perspectives are largely absent or not presented in terms of their deep interconnectedness with other parts of the world. This generous gift from The Duke Endowment will accelerate the hiring of outstanding faculty to meet the demand for these disciplines.” – Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Dean Valerie Ashby