Professors call for investigation, welcoming of all students

We, the undersigned Economics Department faculty members at Duke University, are cognizant of the fact that, to date, the only collective signed statement by faculty members concerning the events of last March was an advertisement in The Chronicle subsequent to protests and a forum on March 29, 2006. We are aware too that the advertisement was cited as prejudicial to the defendants in the defense motion to change the venue of the trial involving the three Duke lacrosse team members.

We regret that the Duke faculty is now seen as prejudiced against certain of its own students.

In light of recent events detailed in court proceedings, it appears that there were a number of irregular acts committed by members of the Durham law enforcement agencies and District Attorney's Office. We join with President Richard Brodhead in calling for an investigation of those acts, inimical to students at our university.

We welcome all members of the lacrosse team, and all student athletes, as we do all our students as fellow members of the Duke community, to the classes we teach and the activities we sponsor.

E. Roy Weintraub, professor of economics,

Atila Abdulkadiroglu, associate professor of economics,

Charles Becker, research puofessor of economics,

Tim Bollerslev, Kreps professor of economics,

Henry Grabowski, professor of economics,

Daniel Graham, professor of economics and law,

Kevin Hoover, professor of economics and philosophy, Shakeeb Khan, associate professor of economics,

Bahar Leventoglu, assistant professor of

economics and political science,

Thomas Nechyba, Fuchsberg-Levine Family professor of economics and public policy,

Pietro Peretto, associate professor of economics,

Curtis Taylor, professor of economics,

Edward Tower, professor of economics,

Huseyin Yildirim, assistant professor of economics

Arie Beresteanu, assistant professor of economics

T. Dudley Wallace, James B. Duke professor

emeritus of economics