Durham officially has a new sister city: Kunshan, China, the home of Duke’s largest international campus.
Last week, Durham welcomed members of the DKU Board of Trustees — including Kunshan Mayor Liyan Chen, DKU Chancellor Yaolin Liu and Wuhan University Vice President Yufeng Yuan — for the first time since 2018.
“Duke is enormously proud to have been a part of launching DKU, which was a milestone in the University’s engagement with the world beyond our campus,” said Provost Alec Gallimore, who also serves as chair of the DKU Board of Trustees. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the city of Kunshan and Wuhan University and building on the growth and success of this unique institution in China.”
The board members convened on campus for their semiannual meeting, and Chen met with Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams to sign an official sister-city agreement between Kunshan and Durham.
As sister cities, Durham and Kunshan will work together to foster “international friendship, intercultural understanding and economic development with exchange programs in the areas of education, the arts, medicine, local government, business and environment,” per the city of Durham’s website.
During the meeting, DKU administrators decided to expand the number of students allowed in each incoming class from 500 to 550 and authorized DKU and its partners to begin renegotiating support agreements. The university’s current operational and financial support agreement contract expires in 2028, and talks regarding its future will begin next year.
Gallimore, President Vincent Price and other administrators also led DKU trustees on a tour of campus, dined for lunch in the Gothic Reading Room and presented them with their own personalized Duke basketball jerseys.
The board members’ visit comes in the wake of new enthusiasm about Duke’s international presence. Earlier this year, DKU admitted its largest class ever with 490 undergraduate students. Discussion over a renewed agreement and an increased class size signal an interest in expanding Duke — and Durham’s — presence in global academia.
Additionally, Gallimore recently renewed the Global Priorities Committee, which acts as an advisory board to the vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs. Melanie Manion, Vor Broker family distinguished professor of political science, will chair a new GPC subcommittee dedicated to DKU-Duke relations.
“Duke’s partnership with DKU has been an historic opportunity for the University to engage with China and pioneer a new model of global education,” Manion said. “As chair of the DKU Advisory Committee, I look forward to working with my fellow faculty members to contemplate and envisage the future of this joint venture and help ensure it continues to reflect Duke’s highest aspirations for teaching, research and service to the world.”
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Claire Cranford is a Trinity sophomore and features managing editor for the news department.