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Silent Vigil Photograph
In response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and later in support of increased wages for striking food service and housekeeping workers, Duke students staged the Silent Vigil in April 1968. The students first peacefully occupied the house of President Douglas Knight, then moved to the main quad. The weeklong Vigil, which included speeches, singing, and periods of silence, led to an increase in the minimum wage for the largely Black dining and housekeeping staff. -
Blue Devil Doll
The Blue Devil we know and love today is not the same one that cheered on Duke athletes 100 years ago. The "Blue Devil" comes from Les Diables Bleus–an elite French infantry unit that served in World War I. Inspired by their courage, The Chronicle began calling Trinity College’s football team the Blue Devils in 1921, and the name stuck. The Duke mascot has undergone several costume changes and students of all backgrounds have donned the mask to serve as the Blue Devil. -
Duke Vs. UNC Football Program, November 21, 1981
Under Coach Wallace Wade (1931-1950), the Duke football team was renowned nationwide. During his time as coach, Duke won seven Southern Conferences and made two Rose Bowl appearances, including a four-year period where the “Iron Dukes” ran undefeated. Following Wade's retirement, Duke would win six Atlantic Coast Conference championships between 1953 and 1962. The Athletics department produced various vivid, colorful programs to advertise the games. -
1938 Season Towel
Under Coach Wallace Wade (1931-1950), the Duke football team was renowned nationwide. During his time as coach, Duke won seven Southern Conferences and made two Rose Bowl appearances, including a four-year period where the “Iron Dukes” ran undefeated. Following Wade's retirement, Duke would win six Atlantic Coast Conference championships between 1953 and 1962. The Athletics department produced various vivid, colorful programs to advertise the games. -
The Chanticleer (2006) Lacrosse
This spread from the 2006 Duke yearbook, The Chanticleer, showcases the outrage and confusion experienced by the student body when members of the men’s lacrosse team were accused of sexual assault. The team's record of problematic behavior, the racial dynamics between the almost all-white team and the Black female accuser, and statements by then-District Attorney Mike Nifong led many community members to assume the players were guilty. Nifong later admitted to withholding evidence that proved the three accused teammates' innocence. All charges were eventually dropped and Nifong was disbarred. The scandal is remembered as one of the darkest moments in Duke history, sparking deep reflection about the roles that racism, misogyny, and privilege played in Durham, at Duke, and in sports. -
2007 Media Guide for Duke Women's Golf
With seven NCAA Championships, the Duke women’s golf program is a pillar of Duke’s achievements in sports. Over the last 21 years they have won the most titles of any program in NCAA history. In 2008, head coach Dan Brooks guided Duke to its third championship win in a row (marking the media guide as a “three-peat” victory). With his tremendous coaching job, Brooks was named NGCA National Coach of the Year and still coaches the Women’s Golf Team. -
Nursing Cap
Founded in 1931, the Duke School of Nursing was a three-year program for high school graduates and required this nursing cap as part of the student uniform. The school added their first Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in 1953 and, in 1958, became one of the first schools in the United States to offer a graduate nursing program. In 2002, they relaunched the BSN degree as an accelerated program for college graduates due to the increased nursing shortage. Today, the school’s accelerated, graduate, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and Ph.D. programs prepare nurses for leadership positions and to provide quality care. -
Pictorial Bulletin of Duke University College of Engineering
This bulletin covers the College of Engineering’s civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering opportunities. Due to World War II, the bulletin demonstrates a clear relationship between the college and the military, with quotes on the value of civil engineers in the army, how navigation courses are useful for air and sea duty, and highlights on the mechanical engineering aeronautics concentration. The bulletin exclusively features men; however, the first women engineers, Marie Foote Reel and Muriel Theodorsen Williams, enrolled in the college in the early 1940s, graduating in 1946 -
Safety Cap invention flyer
Duke University’s impact on medical research included mitigating pediatric poisonings across the country. Duke pediatrician Jay Arena led the push for drug companies to develop childproof safety caps for children’s “candy” aspirin. In a letter to fellow physicians, he wrote, “The adoption of such a closure could mean a saving of many small children's lives from the accidental ingestion of drugs.” With nationwide design testing and the first advertisements in 1958, St. Joseph's aspirin was the first pharmaceutical sold with a safety cap. -
Report of the Director of the Duke Forest, 1937-1938
In 1931, the Duke Forest was founded under the stewardship of Dr. Clarence Korstian, providing almost 5,000 acres of land to the School of Forestry—now the Nicholas School of the Environment. The first report from Korstian to President Few described the imminent need for professional training in technical forestry. In 1937, the Duke Forest had hosted over a hundred professional foresters from fifteen states, the District of Columbia, and five foreign countries. Today, the Forest contains over 7,000 acres, used for teaching and research by the Nicholas School and the rest of the university. This glass lantern slide from 1935 depicts a scene from the Forest, which maintains its same natural beauty almost a century later. -
Lemur Skull and Zoboomafoo Video
Founded in 1966, the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) is a non-invasive research center housing the most diverse lemur population in the world outside of Madagascar. This fossil cast is an Aegyptopithecus specimen, or “The Egyptian Monkey.” It was named in 1965 by Elwyn Simons, the father of modern primate paleontology and the founder of the DLC Division of Fossil Primates, now the DLC Museum of Natural History. This VHS copy of Zoboomafoo was an Emmy Award-winning children’s television series hosted by Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt (T’89). It originally aired on PBS from 1999 to 2001. The title character, Zoboo, was played by a Coquerel’s sifaka named Jovian, who was a resident of the DLC. -
Duke University Marine Laboratory 50th anniversary celebration: a half century dedicated to education, training, research, and service
This book celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Duke University Marine Laboratory and its founding on Pivers Island by Dr. A. S. Pearse in the 1930s. Located in Beaufort, North Carolina, the Marine Lab is a coastal campus dedicated to the disciplines of marine biology and conservation, marine environmental health, and physical oceanography. -
Law School Application
This undated admissions application provides insight into what a typical law school application looked like. This greatly differs from the robust application system that current Duke law students undergo prior to matriculating. -
WWII Military patches worn by Duke alums
Worn by Duke alumni during World War II, these military patches represent branches of the U.S. military: Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. Many students gained military training by joining divisions like the Duke Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps and the 65th General Hospital Unit. Cooperative relationships with the government fostered a surge in engineering studies and advanced experimental research in chemistry, medicine, and other disciplines. Identifying markers in each of the patches include the Navy’s ship wheel, the Marines’ anchor and seahorse, and an Air Force troop carrier plane. -
Duke Forest glass lantern slide
In 1931, the Duke Forest was founded under the stewardship of Dr. Clarence Korstian, providing almost 5,000 acres of land to the School of Forestry—now the Nicholas School of the Environment. The first report from Korstian to President Few described the imminent need for professional training in technical forestry. In 1937, the Duke Forest had hosted over a hundred professional foresters from fifteen states, the District of Columbia, and five foreign countries. Today, the Forest contains over 7,000 acres, used for teaching and research by the Nicholas School and the rest of the university. This glass lantern slide from 1935 depicts a scene from the Forest, which maintains its same natural beauty almost a century later. -
Divinity School Integration Petition
The Divinity School was the first part of Duke to advocate for integration. In their 1948 petition, they argue for the admission of Black students to their school, wanting to give Black Christians the same chance at preparing for ministry and stating that other seminaries in the South have already started to integrate. The 1948 petition and another in 1956 were given to the Board of Trustees and President A. Hollis Edens, but failed to sway either. The graduate and professional schools desegregated in 1961, with the undergraduate schools following shortly after in 1962. Ruben Lee Speakes was the first Black student enrolled in the Divinity School in 1961. -
NAISA Powwow Poster, 2020
The Native American/Indigenous Student Alliance (NAISA) was founded in 1992 by Dana Chavis (Lumbee) as the Native American Student Coalition. Leaders and members of NAISA have been activists and advocates for Native students at Duke. Their work has led to their own affinity space in the Bryan Center and the hiring of Native professors. NAISA regularly holds gatherings for its members throughout the year, including the annual powwow and Native American Heritage Month events. On November 5, 2022, NAISA and the Nu Chapter of Alpha Pi Omega, Duke’s indigenous sorority, hosted Duke’s first Indigenous Arts Showcase & Gala to celebrate Native culture and art. -
NAISA Bridge Photograph, 2019
The Native American/Indigenous Student Alliance (NAISA) was founded in 1992 by Dana Chavis (Lumbee) as the Native American Student Coalition. Leaders and members of NAISA have been activists and advocates for Native students at Duke. Their work has led to their own affinity space in the Bryan Center and the hiring of Native professors. NAISA regularly holds gatherings for its members throughout the year, including the annual powwow and Native American Heritage Month events. On November 5, 2022, NAISA and the Nu Chapter of Alpha Pi Omega, Duke’s indigenous sorority, hosted Duke’s first Indigenous Arts Showcase & Gala to celebrate Native culture and art. -
International House Photographs
These photographs show a gathering at the Duke International House, now the Duke International Student Center (DISC). International students have been part of the Duke community since student Charlie Soong enrolled at Trinity College in 1881. DISC advocates for and provides advising, educational programming, and community for international students. Other organizations include the Duke International Association, a student-run social organization for international students. -
"Picture a better Duke" in frame
Duke Students & Workers in Solidarity (DSWS) formed in 2016 in response to grievances from employees in the Parking and Transportation Services department. Students partnered with staff and issued demands, staging “A-Ville” outside the Allen Building, and occupying the administrative building for a week. About their employment experience at Duke, one staff member said, “Although I have managed to survive, many of my beautiful brown coworkers have not.” DSWS’s activism is part of a history of student-employee coalitions around worker issues at Duke.
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