Key Community Engagement Milestones
Duke and Durham Today and Tomorrow Task Force
Operating concurrently with the Strategic Community Impact Planning Committee was the university’s Board of Trustees Duke and Durham Today and Tomorrow Strategic Task Force. Charged with broadening collaboration between Duke and Durham communities, the task force engaged in a year-long process of listening and learning, determined high-level findings and recommendations for the institution, and endorsed the five strategic priorities in the SCIP. Their recommendations included:
- Adopting a statement of purpose for a shared understanding of Duke's community engagement efforts
- Building a digital platform to document impact for meaningful and sustained engagement
- Creating strategic councils comprised of university and community experts in each of the five focus areas outlined in the Strategic Community Impact Plan
- Launch a Center for Community Engagement to coalesce resources and connect academic schools to community affairs
- Develop a set of indicators based on local economic data that demonstrate progress and outcomes related to the five focus areas.
1989: The Duke Community Service Center opens as part of Student Affairs
1996: The Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership is established
2001: Duke launches Building on Excellence, a strategic plan focused on partnerships
2002: Duke Health Community Relations (now the Office of Community Health) is established
2007: Duke Engage begins
2007: Duke's Center for Civic Engagement opens
2008: The Office of Durham and Regional Affairs is established under the leadership of Dr. Phail Wynn, who expanded the office's reach to advance economic development in Durham and enhanced support for local public schools
2008: The Office of Service-Learning (today it is called simply Duke Service-Learning) is administratively housed within Duke’s Program in Education. Learn more about their history at Duke
2008: The Carnegie Foundation classifies Duke as a "community-engaged institution (recertified in 2015)
2010: The Doing Good Employee Giving campaign begins raising funds for local organizations
2016: The MaryAnn Black summer internship program is launched in celebration of her legacy as a longtime Duke employee, social worker, and politician
2018: President Vincent Price articulates his strategic vision for Duke's second century
2018: Dr. Stelfanie Williams is appointed vice president for community affairs to build on Duke's strong history of collaboration and help shape a vision for deepening its engagement in the region. The Office of Durham and Regional Affairs becomes the Office of Durham and Community Affairs.
2019 - 2021: Conversations, focus groups, and listening sessions with 650+ community members help identify the five focus areas in the Strategic Community Impact Plan
2020: The Strategic Community Impact Planning Committee convenes and contributes valuable time and insights to craft the Strategic Community Impact Plan
2025: Updated Strategic Community Impact Plan published
2021: The Duke and Durham Today and Tomorrow Task Force endorses the Strategic Community Impact Plan and provides five recommendations for community engagement at Duke
2021: The Office of Community Relations becomes the Office of Community Health
2024: The Office of Durham and Community Affairs becomes Duke Community Affairs to better reflect the scope and reach of our growing community engagement efforts — through the launch of the Initiatives for Students from the Carolinas, in Wake County through the health system and other efforts, college advising for high school seniors in nine North Carolina counties, a world-renowed marine lab in Beaufort, and an expanding footprint throughout the Carolinas and the world.
2025: The refreshed Strategic Community Impact Plan is published after consulting with partners, campus stakeholders, neighbors, and community leaders.