Duke University Alumni Magazine


THINK DUKE
THINK RODIN


n April 18, thoughts will turn to a private viewing of "Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection and additional works" at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Sponsored by the Duke Alumni Lifelong Learning Program and the Duke Club of the Triangle, this is the premiere event of a year-long schedule of special receptions and art exhibits at major national galleries for Duke alumni and friends.

Other special showings come on June 17, when the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., is the site for an evening with the collected works of Norman Rockwell; July 15, the Van Gogh show at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; and November 14, Van Gogh at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Alumni in these cities will receive invitations by mail. For information, contact Rachel Davies '72, A.M. '89, assistant director for Lifelong Learning and Travel, (919) 681-6216; rachel.davies@duke.edu.


DAA BOARD
BUSINESS


uest speaker Gail Goestenkors, women's basketball coach, tipped off the fall meeting of the Duke Alumni Association in October at a Friday luncheon. She discussed her team's successful 1998-99 season, this year's players, and what lay ahead for the current season.

The plenary session was highlighted by the DAA president's report, in which Gwynne A. Young '71 recounted meetings and discussions with Duke president Nannerl O. Keohane and top administrators. Alumni Affairs director M. Laney Funderburk Jr. '60 introduced new board members, student leaders, and new members of the alumni staff: Rachel Davies '72, A.M. '89, assistant director for lifelong learning and travel; and Kim Koster, features editor for Duke Magazine. He also reported on the 23 percent growth this year of DAA funds from the life membership endowment and Duke credit-card royalties. Robert Shepard, vice president for University Development, reported on the Campaign for Duke, and Annual Giving director Sterly Wilder '83 gave an equally positive report on giving levels in the new fiscal year.

Political science professor Peter Lange, the newly appointed provost, addressed the board on his plans to lead a new strategic planning effort for the university.

After Saturday's Duke-Georgia Tech football game, Funderburk gave a tour of the new Wilson Recreation Center. At dinner that evening, Gillian Einstein, 1999 recipient of the DAA-sponsored Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, was the guest speaker.

At the Sunday morning board meeting, University Archivist William E. King '61, A.M. '63, Ph.D. '70 presented a "historical moment" on the Duke family. In light of a new statue dedicated on East Campus to honor Benjamin N. Duke, King pointed out that this son of Washington and brother of James B. held the distinction of being the longest-serving trustee of Trinity College and Duke. His gifts to Trinity at the turn of the century represented about a third of the college's budget.

John A. Schwarz III '56, the DAA's immediate past president and alumni trustee for 1999-2000, reported on various matters discussed at the trustees' meetings. He noted that DUMAC (Duke Management Company), which handles the university's investments, was one of the top five performers among the top fifty university endowments.

Committee chairs issued the following reports:

Awards and Recognition. Gary D. Melchionni '72, J.D. '81 announced that his committee had reviewed the Distinguished Alumni Award nominations and would make a recommendation to the executive committee for the 2000 recipient.

Electronic Communications. Wilton D. Alston B.S.E. '81 said that all of the committee's 1998-99 objectives had been met: lifetime

e-mail address, an alumni e-mail directory, and the transition to the DukeAlumni.com website that expanded alumni services. The committee is looking toward more website enhancements, improved design, and increased functions, such as online dues-paying and event registration. He thanked Ken Weil B.S.E. '82 for his participation as a consultant at the meeting.

Community Service. N. Page Murray III '85 reported that the proposed new staff community-service coordinator position was still on hold. In addition to arranging a community-service project for the board when it meets in May, he is designing a related website. He also wants to have community-service opportunities visible during April's reunion weekend, and to involve other campus groups and alumni leaders in local projects.

External Relations. Cedric D. Jones '82, a co-chair with Michele Miller Sales '78, J.D. '81, reported on meetings with athletics director Joe Alleva and John Piva, senior vice president for alumni and development, to link alumni, students, faculty, and administrators. He announced two committee goals: cataloging events open to alumni, and targeting young alumni for enhanced programming and activity.


OUTSTANDING
OUTREACH


hree alumni clubs--the Duke Club of Washington, the Duke Club of Southern California, and the Duke Club of the Triangle--were chosen in 1999 to receive the first Community Service Awards sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association. Established by the DAA's Awards and Recognition Committee, these awards will be presented each year to alumni clubs in the field that have excelled in community outreach.

In 1989, the Duke Club of Washington established the Adopt-a-School Project at the Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School. This nationally recognized program was the model for all such ventures. DCW members served as tutors, activity planners, and positive role models to stimulate and involve students in learning, creativity, recreation, and community identity. Lisa Barnes Lampman '78 is the club's current president.

The Duke Club of Southern California, using the DCW model, established an adopt-a-school project in 1992 at the Pio Pico School in Los Angeles. The club overcame issues of timing, liability, finances, teacher participation, and maintaining momentum to set up a program that still thrives today. Eva Herbst Davis '87 was the club's president at the time and a force behind the project.

The Duke Club of the Triangle helped Durham's Rogers-Herr Middle School take Shakespeare on the road in 1997. After a performance by members of the school's sixth grade for local elementary-school children was brought to the attention of Alumni Affairs' alumni clubs program director Bert Fisher '80, he approached the club about sponsoring a performance out of town. Club president Charles H. Wilson '51 made it a club project, overseeing the logistics of getting sixteen sixth-graders to Washington, D.C., to perform in the lab theater of the Kennedy Center before an audience of 200 sixth graders from area elementary schools.




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