In Brief: July-August 2007

Peter Agre, vice chancellor for science and technology and James B. Duke Professor of cell biology, is taking a leave of absence to evaluate a possible run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota. Agre's family has lived in Minnesota for four generations. Agre came to Duke in 2005 after spending more than twenty-five years at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Robert L. Bryant, J.M. Kreps Professor of mathematics, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, an elite group of 2,000 scientists and engineers. Bryant's research interest in nonlinear partial differential equations and differential geometry has connections with superstring theory.

John Hope Franklin Hon. '98, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of history, has received a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, the nation's two oldest learned societies. Franklin received the Public Good Award for his contribution to the advancement of learning and for being a champion of civil rights in America.

Samuel L. Katz, Wilburt Cornell Davison Professor and chairman emeritus of the department of pediatrics, has been awarded the 2007 Pollin Prize for his lifetime contributions to pediatric infectious-disease research and vaccine development. Katz was selected for his role in developing the measles vaccine and his work to eradicate the disease in resource-poor nations.

The board of trustees has approved a $1.8 billion budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year. The budget includes a 4.6 percent increase to $45,121 in the cost of undergraduate tuition, fees, and room and board.

Duke Corporate Education (CE), a not-for-profit enterprise owned by Duke, has been named by the London-based Financial Times the world's top provider of custom executive education. This is the fifth consecutive year that Duke CE has taken top honors.