Several prominent Blue Devils--including head basketball coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Gail Goestenkors--will host a "Blue Devils for Dole" reception tonight for U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole, Woman's College '58.
The two coaches and their spouses will co-chair the fundraiser at the Washington Duke Inn, the University-owned campus hotel. Other Duke-affiliated hosts include University Counsel David Adcock, Duke University Health System Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Morris, former basketball player Jack Marin and Annual Fund Executive Committee member Anne Faircloth.
"[Dole] is certainly very happy they are supporting her," said Dole spokesperson Mary Brown Brewer.
Brewer would not comment on whether the support of so many top Duke officials represented the University's endorsement of the alumna, but she added that Dole has many student and faculty supporters at other universities as well.
Goestenkors will not attend the event, as she is in Europe coaching the U.S. Women's Basketball Team. Neither she nor Krzyzewski could be reached for comment, and Sports Information Director Jon Jackson would not comment on the significance of their endorsement or their reasons for chairing the event. Adcock also did not return interview requests.
Morris said his involvement in the campaign was personal and not representative of his employer. He added he was not aware that his donation, which he made when the Dole campaign contacted him, would qualify him as a named host--a privilege that did not anger him but that he would have preferred to decline.
"My support is personal and completely unrelated to Duke, as far as I am concerned," Morris said. "There's no doubt [Dole's representatives] are probably trying to get [University] leaders as a means of drawing in their colleagues."
Bob Conroy, Trinity '68, who received the invitation, was angered about the event. As a high school athletic coach, Conroy said he would not have made a similar public endorsement and that he was disappointed in Krzyzewski and Goestenkors. "I feel like the basketball coaches represent the University. This would be similar to getting something from the [University] president saying she endorsed a candidate," he said. "I have no problem with them being Republicans or supporting Dole, but for them to do it under the Blue Devil name... is inappropriate."
Conroy explained that he was concerned about how he received the invitation. As a Democrat not involved in any Republican-affiliated organizations, Conroy questioned whether the University provided a list of alumni for the event.
Neither University nor Dole campaign officials would comment on how the invitation list was formed. A University policy prohibits providing or selling alumni names to companies or campaigns, said John Taylor, director of alumni and development records. About 300 people at the University, however, have access to an online database from which they can pull a list of alumni names, which includes Conroy's.
Dole is the Republican nominee for North Carolina's U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jesse Helms. Former Clinton administration chief of staff Erskine Bowles is the Democratic nominee. Michael Munger, professor of political science, has predicted that Bowles has a very small chance of beating Dole in the Nov. 5 race.
Munger, who also serves as the political science department's chair, added that University employees' political endorsements are fairly common and that as long as University facilities are not used, he does not think such support is unethical.
"All of us are both representatives of Duke and of our own personal political beliefs," Munger said . "It's important the University recognizes people on both sides' right to participate."
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