GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Gifts NC Central $1.5M

N.C. GlaxoSmithKline Foundation gifted N.C. Central University $1.5 million to further the school's goal of graduating more students, particularly women and minorities, with degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).

Bovenders Establish Scholarship to Honor First Students to Integrate Duke

Jack Bovender, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and Health Administration ’69, and his wife Barbara Bovender have awarded a $1 million scholarship named in the honor of five black classmates who entered the University in 1963 -- the same year Duke desegregated. Mary Harris, Gene Kendall, Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, Cassandra Rush and Nathaniel White were the first five undergraduate students to integrate Duke in 1963.

South Durham Farmers’ Market Officially Opens Saturday

Durham's second farmers' market, the South Durham Farmers’ Market, will open Saturday at Greenwood Commons Shopping Plaza. The market, located at 5410 N.C. 54 at Sedwick Roadm, will be open 8 a.m. to noon. The South Durham Farmers’ Market boasts 30 vendors, one-third of whom are from Durham.

Duke Pays Tuitition for 1,009 Employees in 2011

Duke paid tuition benefits for 1,009 faculty and staff in 2011 as part of the university's Duke Employee Tuition Program. Duke reimbursed expenses totaling $2.56 million for the program which has more than doubled in participation in five years.

The City of Durham Recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Business

The City of Durham has been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Business. The City of Durham encourages bicycling by employees as an easy option for transportation by providing amenities such as bicycle racks, showers, and lockers, and incentives such as bike safety and maintenance classes. Currently there are about 20 employees who regularly bicycle to work and several “mixed-mode” commuters, who make part of their trip by bike and part by Durham Area Transit Authority or Triangle Transit buses.

Duke Hires First African-American Head Coach

As Duke's newly named wrestling head coach, Glen Lanham is the African-American head coach in the university's history and just the sixth in Division I wrestling. A two time All-American, Lanham has been assistant coach for some of the nation's most prestigious wrestling programs including Duke's for the past two seasons.

The Makery Wins The Smoffice

The Makery was announced as the winner of The Smoffice, a startup competition for 6 months of free space in the world's smallest office, a downtown condo and access to technical experts. The Smoffice is a partnership between Downtown Durham Inc and the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce.

Bull City Soul Revival Featured on UNC-TV

Bull City Soul Revival and the music, artists, and social culture of the 60's and '70s Durham that defined Bull City Soul were featured on UNC-TV's Black Issues Forum.

Yahoo! Travel Ranks Durham 9th Among Best Cities for Singles

Yahoo! Travel named Durham ninth among the country's 10 Best Cities for Singles. The article notes, "Durham is best known for Duke University and Research Triangle Park, two enviable assets that draw young people to the city by the thousands...The area is noted for its restaurant scene -- which, with living costs a full 10% below average, is pretty affordable for singles and their dates."

"Special Flight" Awarded Top Honors at Full Frame

“Special Flight,” a film directed by Fernand Melgar about a Swiss detention center for rejected political asylum immigrants, was awarded the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival’s Grand Jury Award and the Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award.

City Adds 5 New Hybrid Buses to Bull City Connector Fleet

The City of Durham added five new diesel-electric hybrid buses to the Bull City Connector fleet with new features including perimeter seating, automated passenger counters and a traffic signal priority system. The fare-free Bull City Connector route has used hybrid buses since inception resulting in a 27 percent daily fuel savings.

Duke Composer Inducted into American Academy of Arts and Letters

Stephen Jaffe, professor of music composition at Duke University, has been selected to join The American Academy of Arts and Letters whose 250 members represent the highest caliber of American artists. Jaffe’s music has been featured at major concerts and festivals including the Nottingham, Tanglewood, and Oregon Bach Festivals, and presented by the Slovenska Filharmonija, the National Symphony, the San Francisco, North Carolina and New Jersey Symphonies, Berlin's Spectrum Concerts, London's Lontano, and many others.

Duke Ranked the Nation's 5th Largest Research Universtiy

Duke University has been ranked the fifth-largest research university in the nation by the NSF’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey with $983 million in research expenditures.