Duke University has received a $4 million grant to create new faculty positions within the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.
Valerie Ashby, dean of the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, announced that the grant came from the Duke Endowment, a private foundation based in Charlotte. The grant will allow the college to hire six junior-to senior-level faculty scholars with expertise in African, Asian-American and Latinx studies.
The college currently enrolls nearly 80 percent of all Duke undergraduates, while the rest are enrolled in the Pratt School of Engineering.
“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,” Ashby said.
“This generous gift from The Duke Endowment will accelerate the hiring of outstanding faculty to meet the demand for these disciplines.”
Officials say that these new faculty hires will bring additional global perspectives to the college, strengthen academic departments, and create a new network of faculty working across disciplines.
“The Duke Endowment was eager to support this effort to cultivate diverse perspectives on campus and enhance the academic experience for students,” Minor Shaw, chair of The Duke Endowment board, said.
Recruitment for new faculty members will begin immediately, with those appointed starting as early as the fall of 2020.
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