Launching the Campaign

I don't know anyone who doubts that Dukies know how to party, but any skepticism surely would have been demolished when the University threw a party in Cameron Indoor Stadium the night of Oct. 3.

Students from Hoof 'n' Horn dressed as Gothic gargoyles cavorted through a make-believe Duke Forest of light and color; The Pitchforks and Lady Blue sang; faculty and alumni made brief remarks; and Coach K spoke about Duke itself as a team, with the help of Wojo diving all over basketball courts across the country in a video flashback. And then a crowd of more than 600 melted onto the court to dance to "Devil With a Blue Dress" and other great tunes.

It was a terrific party and the climax of a great weekend. I wish we'd had room for everyone at the University, but as you know, space in Cameron is not unlimited. Also, the event was, in many respects, a party for members of a team. All those people you may have seen climbing onto buses that weekend-alumni, parents, friends, trustees, members of boards of visitors and faculty and administrative leaders-are part of one of the University's most important teams. They all have been involved in The Campaign for Duke.

All their work and support allowed us officially to kick off The Campaign for Duke University-an effort to raise $1.5 billion by Dec. 31, 2003, for the support of financial aid, faculty chairs and many worthy activities all across the university. Thanks to many generous friends, I am happy to say, we have raised $684 million in the "quiet phase" of our campaign.

So we gathered as many of our teammates as we could-to celebrate them as we celebrated the University. First, the Board of Trustees formally approved the campaign in an extraordinary meeting Saturday morning at The Great Hall-where the University's entire leadership was gathered. We were buoyed by the spirit and the presence of so many Dukies, including my predecessor, President Emeritus Douglas Knight, who spoke eloquently about the history of loyal support of our University. Then we had an interesting symposium on genetics in Baldwin Auditorium, with faculty experts from many fields. I'm glad several of you were able to be there.

And then on to Cameron. And what a party! It was a chance for people who have worked very hard to party hard and savor a real accomplishment. For me, it was also a special way to celebrate my husband Bob's birthday. We had a great time.

I think we all can have a great time celebrating Duke over the next five years of the campaign. While we do that, we shouldn't focus just on the campaign, or the ambitious dollar goal; we should think about our purposes, stressing all that it will accomplish, so that we can do even better in teaching, in research and in service to society.

Some of you have asked how students can help in the campaign. Many of you have helped already-by speaking to alumni leadership groups and boards of visitors about your experiences here, about the importance of financial aid to University students and about exciting programs such as FOCUS. You are more persuasive on these topics than even the most eloquent administrator or faculty member, and I hope that many more of you will have opportunities to do this in the years ahead. We appreciate very much your willingness to be part of the team in this way.