T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
The Chronicle
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, SUMMER ISSUE 1
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Wagoner to chair Board of Trustees by Sanette Tanaka THE CHRONICLE
The new chair of the Board of Trustees is no stranger to Duke. Richard Wagoner, former chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation and Trinity ’75, was elected chairman of the Board Saturday. Wagoner will succeed Democratic N.C. state Sen. Dan Blue, Law ’73. The Board also approved a $2.1 billion budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Richard Wagoner Wagoner has strong family ties to the University—his wife Kathy graduated from Duke in 1977, and their sons Trip and Scott are Duke graduates, Trinity ’06 and Pratt ’08, respectively. Their son Matt is a rising senior at Duke. Wagoner has served as vice chair of the Board since 2007 and has been a member since 2001. Blue said he is confident in Wagoner’s ability to continue carrying out Duke’s mission—including Blue’s major goals of increasing the internationalization of the University and maintaining an interdisciplinary nature in academics. “[Wagoner] is very conscientious, and SEE BOT ON PAGE 7
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Students celebrate during the commencement ceremony Sunday in Wallace Wade Stadium. Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers delivered the commencement address.
Graduates urged to ‘take risks’ by Michael Shammas THE CHRONICLE
More than 3,500 caps graced the Durham sky as undergraduate, graduate and professional students received degrees Sunday morning in Wallace Wade Stadium. President Richard Brodhead, along with commencement speaker John Chambers and student speaker Mike Lefevre, urged graduates to engage life with enthusiasm and courage. “In a few moments, you will gain a distinguished title that will stay with you your whole life,” Brodhead said at the beginning of the commencement ceremonies. “You will
be a graduate of Duke University.” Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems, encouraged students to use their degrees to accomplish their dreams, stressing that courage will be one of their most important tools in the future. “Do not be afraid to fail,” he told the graduates. “Have the courage to take risks.” Chambers, who attended the Pratt School of Engineering from 1967-1968, received an honorary degree from The University earlier in the ceremony. During his speech, Chambers also stressed his belief that there are three “equalizers” in life—education, the Internet and social
media. After discussing these equalizers, he gave four pieces of advice to graduates based on his experiences, urging graduates to listen carefully, to learn constantly, to embrace change and to help others. Chambers called change “the only constant in life” and added that though students often fear change, graduates can use their experiences to handle even the most unexpected circumstances. He referred to his experiences with Cisco during the company’s financial troubles as an example. “The only constant [in life] is change,” SEE COMMENCEMENT ON PAGE 12
University repurchases Case will be dismissed if Irons $500M recession debt fulfills probation requirements by Taylor Doherty THE CHRONICLE
Earlier this month, the University repurchased all of the $500 million of debt it issued during the financial crisis, a tangible display of Duke’s increased confidence in its finances. The May 5 move demonstrates that liquidity, or the ability to turn investments into cash quickly, is no longer as pressing a concern for Duke as it was at the height of the economic downturn in 2008. The University issued the bonds in January 2009 to ensure that it would not have to sell damaged, hard-to-move assets to cover its operating expenses like the payroll, said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask. The University used $90 million of the funds raised from issuing the bonds
Duke Cancer Insititute picks new executive amid expansion, Page 3
to cover its operating expenses for the first quarter of 2010, Trask said. Typically, Duke uses a payout from its endowment to cover part of those expenses, but the economic climate made it difficult to sell investments to raise the money. “This had served its purpose—I was no longer worried about the liquidity issue,” Trask said. “I’m confident now that if we had to go to the market now to get money, we could do that.” Borrowing the $500 million did not cost the University anything because Duke invested the remaining $410 million it did not use for operating expenses in low-risk corporate securities, which earned more than enough to cover the 4.7 percent annual interest on the bonds, Trask said. SEE BONDS ON PAGE 6
by Lindsey Rupp THE CHRONICLE
Former Trinity sophomore Eric Irons has been placed on probation after accepting a structured sentencing agreement for a misdemeanor sexual battery charge in Durham County district court. Under the May 16 agreement, called deferred prosecution, Irons received a $500 fine and has been placed on 24 months of unsupervised probation, according to court documents that define the terms of the sentence. If Irons complies with the special conditions of his probation—including writing a letter of apology to the victim, performing 100 hours of community service and submitting to both specific sexual abuser treatment and a mental health evaluation—
ONTHERECORD
“...the second reason these speeches should go is that they place an impossible burden on the person giving them.” —Jeremy Ruch in “Cut the speeches.” See column page 19
the case would be dismissed. “It’s not technically a guilty plea.... It’s an admission of responsibility,” Kelley Gauger, a Durham County assistant district attorney, said in an interview Wednesday. Gauger began working on the Irons case in early 2011. “So it’s a deferred prosecution in Eric Irons that it is not a conviction. He’s placed on unsupervised probation... with specific terms that he’ll follow through with, and if he does follow through with them, he can have his case dismissed.... If he doesn’t, we can SEE IRONS ON PAGE 8
Duke scientists plan for future research, Page 3
2 | THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
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Nature Ranger Cart Duke Gardens, 10a.m.-12p.m. Drop in anytime to enjoy our traveling cart full of creative adventures for visiting children.
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Duke Farmers Market—Buy a Market-Grams Bryan Center, 11a.m.-2p.m. Buy fresh, local fruits, vegetables, flowers and baked goods. The theme of the month is berries.
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Japan Relief Suzuki Benefit Page Auditorium, Sat. 4-6p.m. The Raleigh Suzuki music community and IPM Productions will present a Japan Tsunami/Earthquake relief benefit concert.
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“It’s no secret that Duke loves Mike Krzyzewski, and the university continues to put its money where its mouth is. The Associated Press reported Monday that Krzyzewski was paid $4.7 million by the University for the 2009-2010 season. The figure included a base salary of $2 million, $2.2 million in bonuses and incentives and $420,000 in deferred compensation.” — From The Blue Zone sports.chronicleblogs.com
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Students gather in Mill Village on Central Campus to usher in the first summer session. The University provided burgers and beverages for students staying for the summer.
“
TODAY:
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. — Russel Baker
”
TODAY IN HISTORY
1993: Dow Jones closes above 3,500 for first time.
Life span of US nuclear Last British troops weapons set to increase scheduled to leave Iraq WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new, 10-year strategic plan for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex demonstrates that as the size of the arsenal shrinks because of a new arms control treaty with Russia, the effectiveness and lifespan of the United States’s weapons will increase. Among the “select initiatives” listed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in an update released Wednesday of its 2004 strategic plan are life-extension programs for two nuclear missile warheads and one type of bomb. Life extension for the W-76, the most numerous nuclear warhead in the U.S. stockpile, was initially approved in 2000. At first only 800 were to be refurbished, but the Bush administration raised that number to 2,000; the number now being refurbished is classified. The program will not be completed until 2018.
off the
wire...
BAGHDAD — British defense officials announced Wednesday that the country is officially ending its military mission in Iraq on Sunday, concluding an unpopular eight-year operation that led to the deaths of 179 British military personnel. Although some British troops could still serve in Iraq as part of future NATO training obligations, Defense Secretary Liam Fox told the House of Commons that the 170 troops currently stationed in Iraq have successfully completed their mission to train Iraqi naval forces. “Thanks to the sacrifice, commitment and professionalism of thousands of British service men and women, southern Iraq is an area transformed from the dangerous and oppressed place it was under Saddam Hussein,” Fox said. Fox’s statement could renew debate whether a U.S. military presence is needed to train national security forces in Iraq.
Sen. Chambliss hopes to reinstate debt talks
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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011 | 3
Kastan to lead Duke Cancer Institute Duke scientists create guidelines for future research by Julian Spector THE CHRONICLE
The recently reorganized Duke Cancer Institute has a new leader. Dr. Michael Kastan is slated to assume the role of DCI’s Executive Director August 1. Currently serving as director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Kastan brings with him experience in the clinical, research and administrative aspects of the struggle against cancer. “I’m very excited about the potential, about being the inaugural director of a construct that I think is a truly viDr.Michael Kastan sionary approach to cancer medicine,” Kastan said in an interview Tuesday. “I’m quite honored to be chosen as the first individual to direct it.” Within the oncological community, Kastan is well known for groundbreaking research on the p53 protein,
which is frequently linked to tumor formation. He said he plans to continue research while at Duke, focusing on how cells respond to DNA damage and other stresses. Kastan presided over the cancer center at St. Jude when the National Cancer Institute recognized it as a Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2008. St. Jude was the first pediatric center to receive this title. Kastan majored in chemistry as a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and received his M.D. and a Ph.D. in cell biology from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Kastan described the changing nature of cancer treatment since President Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971. “Over the last forty years, our challenge has been that we haven’t had very good drugs,” Kastan said. “Going forward we’ll have too many drugs to test and the challenge is how to test them wisely. The real advances are going to
SEE KASTAN ON PAGE 8
by Zachary Tracer THE CHRONICLE
Researchers at Duke are attempting to draw lessons from the highly publicized missteps of one of their own. The scientists are creating pioneering guidelines for the use of genomics discoveries in clinical trials after concerns were raised news by the work of discredited cancer researcher Dr. Anil Potti. analysis The guidelines, crafted by a 19-person committee of some of Duke’s top scientists, address four areas, all of which proved problematic in the Potti case: reproducibility and data handling, mathematical expertise, institutional oversight and conflict of interest management. Potti resigned from Duke after some of his genomics-based chemotherapy research was called into question, and clinical trials based on the research were halted. Dr. Robert Califf, who chaired the committee, said the guidelines are intended as recommendations for future research, not as an analysis of what went wrong in Potti’s case. “Our job was not to deal with the details of the Potti issue but to bring out the concepts that were issues and then address them,” said Califf, who is also vice chancellor for clinical research and director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute. In all, the guidelines, contained in an 18-page document titled “A Framework for the Quality of Translational Medicine with a Focus on Human Genomic Studies,” will raise the level of scrutiny of translational research—laboratory research that is used to guide how doctors care for
KATIE NI/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO
A new seven-story Duke Cancer Center building is scheduled to be completed in 2012. The building will facilitate patient treatment and research.
SEE RESEARCH ON PAGE 5
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Obama faces pressure from allies on eve of speech by Scott Wilson THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama is facing pressure from key allies to act more decisively on several volatile issues in the Middle East and North Africa, including the armed rebellion in Libya, the uprising in Syria, and the moribund peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. On Wednesday, the administration sought to address what some allies have perceived as a drift in Obama’s policy toward the rapidly changing region, after weeks when Osama bin Laden’s killing and a domestic debate over the national debt took center stage. On the eve of a major Middle East speech meant to define U.S. interests there, Obama announced new financial sanctions against seven senior Syrian officials for human rights abuses, naming President Bashar al-Assad among
them for the first time. Obama’s counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, also phoned Yemen’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to urge him to accept an Arab-brokered agreement that would usher him from office within a month. And, in a preview of Obama’s Thursday address, senior administration officials outlined a number of economic initiatives the president will announce to encourage democratic changes in the region, including a total of $2 billion in debt relief and loan guarantees for Egypt’s fledging government. The speech is Obama’s first attempt to place the antigovernment demonstrations, which have swept away autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt and threatened several others, in the context of American interests and values. Administration officials say the address will not include a host of new proposals but rather will seek to make the
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broader point that the United States favors democratic reform as something consistent with its long-term security interest in the region’s stability. For instance, he is not expected to call specifically for Assad’s removal as Syria’s leader, officials said. One senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview Obama’s address for reporters, said the speech “comes at a moment of opportunity for the region and for U.S. policy in the region.” “We’re obviously coming off a decade of great tension and division across the region,” the official said. “Now, having wound down the Iraq war and continuing to do so, and having taken out Osama bin Laden, we’re trying to turn the page to a more positive future for U.S. policy in the region.” The speech will serve as the rhetorical centerpiece of a busy period of Middle East diplomacy for Obama, beginning in Washington and moving next week to the Group of Eight summit of economic powers in France. Obama met Tuesday with a key Arab ally, King Abdullah II of Jordan, who Arab diplomats say lobbied the president to use his address to outline a specific blueprint for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Obama, who is hosting Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday at the White House, inaugurated a new round of peace talks last year, only to see them collapse within weeks. Netanyahu has argued that violence in Syria, the new Palestinian unity agreement, and the changes in Egypt create too much uncertainty for peace talks to begin soon. U.S. officials have also said it is too early to tell what kind of Palestinian government will emerge from the agreement between the secular Fatah movement, which recognizes Israel, and Hamas, the armed Islamist movement designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. How much Obama should say about the peace process in this speech has been the subject of debate inside the White House for weeks. As recently as Tuesday, drafts of the speech were circulating with the Israeli-Palestinian section omitted. Advisers describe one camp led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arguing for Obama to set out a specific set of principles to resolve the conflict, including setting final borders, dividing Jerusalem and finessing the emotional question of whether Palestinian refugees should have the right to return to homes inside Israel. But Arab diplomats say Obama will probably be far less specific in his speech, mentioning the conflict in general terms and urging both parties to return to negotiations as quickly as possible. Administration officials said no final decision had been made as of Wednesday evening, and Obama often tinkers with speeches until the last minute. A more general statement would mark a victory for national security adviser Thomas Donilon and Vice President Joe Biden, who have long professional histories with Middle East adviser Dennis Ross, a veteran of the Clinton administration’s peace efforts. Ross favors giving Israel more time to assess the region’s changing politics before adding new pressure to return to negotiations. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told reporters Wednesday that “it would be sad, given the president’s commitment on these issues since the beginning, to see Middle East peace pushed aside. It is very easy to make an excuse not to move forward. It takes statesmanship and conviction to move forward despite difficulties.” Obama is also being asked to do more in North Africa. European diplomats have said this week that Obama, when he visits Britain and France next week, should expect to hear requests for help in escalating the military campaign against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. After carrying out the initial phase of military strikes, Obama turned over control to NATO, placed U.S. warplanes on standby, and sent in armed Predator drones. The rebellion has largely stalled on the ground, and some European diplomats say more American help is needed to hit Gadhafi’s command-and-control sites. “The French and the British might, as they have in the past, ask for a stronger U.S. military commitment in Libya,” said a European diplomat familiar with the G-8 agenda who was not authorized to speak publicly. Obama hesitated to fully back the anti-government demonstrations as they unfolded in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, following some European leaders in calling for regime change. He also has cautiously championed reform, but not a change in government, in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, where the United States has interests in maintaining the status quo.
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RESEARCH from page 3 patients—in genomics and similar fields. “If you’ve got findings that are going to cause you to treat patients differently in any way, then those are the findings that need to have absolutely the highest degree of rigor in their evaluation,” said David Goldstein, a committee member and director of Duke’s Center for Human Genome Variation. Before research is applied to humans, the findings should be reproduced using both initial and outside data, according to the framework document. In addition, research should be conducted in collaboration with biostatisticians or others who have the quantitative expertise needed to design studies and analyze results. Clinical trials based on genomics or similar fields will undergo an external review process in addition to standard Institutional Review Board oversight “to evaluate the study design, the core platform technology, the clinical epidemiology underlying the study, and the data management, informatics approaches and data analysis to ensure that the trials have solid scientific underpinnings,” the document states. The guidelines also call for a more stringent review of
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011 | 5
on healthcare issues, has been scrutinizing Potti’s research as it works to develop its own guidelines for creating clinical tests based on genomics and other similar fields that rely on large quantities of biological data. Several other institutions have been examining issues related to translational genomics research as well. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network held a panel on genetic testing and cancer treatment at its annual conference in March. The organization, a group of leading cancer centers including Duke’s Cancer Institute, said there is a need for better methods to determine the validity and usefulness of the tests. The National Cancer Institute, a federal body that supports cancer research, is holding a workshop on the use of tests based on genomics and similar fields—known as ’omics-based predictors—in clinical trials in late June. The NCI will consider the discussions at the workshop as it drafts criteria for the use of such predictors in trials it sponsors, according to the workshop website. Lisa McShane, an NCI biostatistician and co-chair of the workshop, said interest in the conference has vastly ex-
ceeded her expectations. Within three days, more than 175 people applied to attend the workshop, which was originally slated to be held in a venue that could hold 100. “The issues surrounding the use of ’omics-based predictors in trials are on everyone’s minds in part because of things that have happened at Duke and the IOM panel that has been put together to review how we do this kind of research,” she said. “The NCI felt that there was a general need for people to understand better some important aspects of developing ’omics predictors and requirements that they should satisfy before going into trials.” She added that the workshop is not about Potti’s research and that the organization has no plans to “rehash what happened at Duke.” “We had been thinking of doing a workshop like this about predictor development even before the Potti affair,” but the controversy made it more urgent, McShane said. “It made an impact on people in the research community. They stopped and realized how easily things can go wrong.”
“If you’ve got findings that are going to cause you to treat patients differently in any way, then those are the findings that need to have absolutely the highest degree of rigor in their evaluation” — David Goldstein, director of the Duke Center for Human Genome Variatiob conflicts of interest as research moves from laboratories to hospitals and doctors’ offices. Keith Baggerly, one of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center biostatisticians who exposed problems with Potti’s research, said the guidelines are an important step toward creating standards for translational genomics research. “I am actually rather encouraged by this. It’s nice to see,” he said. “This is providing an opportunity to try to define some procedures that will try to make it work better.” Baggerly added that if the guidelines had been in place, many of the problems with Potti’s research would have been caught earlier. In particular, mislabeled data in some of Potti’s publications would likely have been detected sooner, he said. In some cases, data in Potti’s research was mislabeled in ways that made his methods appear to work when they in fact did not. It remains unclear if Potti’s data was intentionally mislabeled to improve the results, and a research misconduct investigation is ongoing. When Potti resigned from Duke in November, he accepted responsibility for the problems with his research but did not admit to misconduct. Work on the translational medicine guidelines began even before Potti left Duke. Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System, sent invitations to committee members in mid-August, less than a month after revelations that Potti falsely claimed to be a Rhodes Scholar led to renewed scrutiny of his research. The committee had held five of its six meetings by the time Potti resigned in November 2010. The committee penned a draft report that was reviewed by external experts in January, and a subsequent draft was sent to Duke Medicine faculty March 3. The latest draft was produced earlier this month. Duke now faces the challenge of drawing up detailed implementation guidelines based on the framework. “To me, it’s all about what you do, not about what you say,” said Christopher Newgard, a committee member and director of Duke’s Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center. “And the ‘what you do’ part is what we’re working on now.” Duke will present its implementation plans to the Institute of Medicine committee that is reviewing Potti’s work when that body meets in Washington, D.C. at the end of June, Califf said. The IOM, a national nonprofit that provides guidance
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BONDS from page 1 The University made $6.7 million on the transaction, even after paying a premium of $56.2 million to investors for the right to buy back the bonds early before they expired in 2014 and 2019, he said. Duke also avoided $120 million in interest payments it would otherwise have had to make on the money between now and 2019. Trask said the bonds gave the University access to money for expenses if the need arose. He added that repurchasing the debt early relieved Duke from having to hope that the returns on the corporate securities continued to pay for the interest. Although administrators noted that it was fortunate the transaction paid for itself, the issuing of bonds was never a money-making venture. Tim Walsh, who became vice president for finance in April after serving five months in the position on
an interim basis, was involved in the discussions concerning the repurchase of the bonds. He noted that the move was purely a “defensive maneuver.” Duke is a nonprofit institution and therefore it has access to nontaxable bonds, which allows borrowing at a low interest rate. In return for these terms, however, the University is prohibited from borrowing funds with the intent to invest them for a profit, Walsh said. In this case, the University chose to issue taxable bonds as any corporation would, a move more appropriate for this “liquidity backdrop,” he said. “Tax exempt organizations can get into trouble if they try to profit from something like this, and that was not our intention at all,” Walsh said. “We should not take advantage of our preferred access to the debt market to make money. In fact, we don’t even want to risk the perception that we had taken advantage of our status to make a profit, even though these were taxable
bonds.” The conversation about whether to buy back the debt began in the Fall, Walsh said. Given the current economic conditions in which interest rates on new debt are very low, it no longer made sense to keep the debt, he added. Similar to the college student who makes prompt credit card payments to build credit, the move also shows Duke’s ability to repay its debt. Moving forward, Duke is more attractive to potential bondholders because it performed well, Trask said. In order to avoid conflicts of interest in such a large financial deal, Trask noted that Duke officials close to the decisionmaking process were careful to keep the transaction’s timing confidential. Only the members of the Board of Trustees immediately involved in the decision—Susan Stalnecker, Trinity ’73, and Bruce Karsh, Trinity ’77—were aware of the timing, he said. “To my knowledge, no Trustees had any
financial interest in this transaction,” Trask said, adding that though the bonds are publicly traded securities, any Trustee with a financial stake in the deal would be required to report it. “I can assure you that with the exception of [Karsh and Stalnecker]—who I know had no interest—the other Trustees didn’t know the timing, didn’t know the details. We were very careful on that.” Between December 2008 and November 2009, at least 15 universities, including six Ivy League Schools, issued $7.2 billion of taxable bonds, Bloomberg reported. Harvard University announced in April that it will repurchase $300 million of the $1.5 billion of taxable bonds it issued during the downturn, but Trask noted that Duke is the first university to buy back its debt from the financial crisis, as Harvard will repurchase its bonds June 2. “It strengthens us to have less debt, and I think it sends an important message that we were able to pay it off,” Trask said.
CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY TED KNUDSEN
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…well the Duke Annual Fund Phonathon Program needs you! We are looking for a few good student callers for summer session I to telephone alumni and parents around the country. In some circumstances, the goal is to solicit their support for our current campaign. In other cases, representatives call current fiscal year donors to thank them for their support of Duke and let them know how important it is.
Student representatives are paid $8.50/hour with a built-in bonus structure through which representatives can earn extra money. On special occasions, food is also provided. Work-study is NOT a requirement, but it is helpful. Hours for student representatives are 6:00 PM-9:30 PM SundayThursday. Representatives choose their own schedule and are required to work two nights a week, but may work more than two nights if space is available. Calling is done at 2127 Campus Dr. (Graduate/ Financial Aid Building) which is located directly across the street from undergraduate admissions.
If you would like more information or have questions about these positions, please contact Sharon White at sharon.white@dev.duke.edu or 681-0410. If you are interested in applying for this position, please use the online application located at http://giving.duke.edu/ annualfund/phonathon/apply/.
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BOT from page 1 he’s been involved with planning with the administration,” Blue said. “He’s a great choice.” Although both Blue and Wagoner have professional knowledge in the business arena, Wagoner’s experience in the corporate world diverges from Blue’s political roots. Wagoner retired from his position as the CEO of General Motors in 2009. Wagoner’s business background, though, will not necessarily translate directly to his work as chair, President Richard Brodhead said. “When Trustees come from business, they do not come to run Duke as a business,” Brodhead said. “When they have been the head of an enterprise, they bring a world of experience, [especially] in issues like risk management, strategic planning and personnel issues.” Wagoner said serving on the Board for the past decade has given him the experience needed to serve as chair. “Running the Board is different from running a company,” Wagoner said. “I thought I knew a huge amount about Duke before I started, but [serving on the Board] really showed me how the University works. I have a good understanding of the opportunities and challenges that Duke faces.” Wagoner’s election continues a recent trend of calling on vice chairs to fill the role. Blue’s predecessor Robert Steel, Trinity ’73, served as vice chair from 2000 to 2005 before becoming chair in 2005. Peter Nicholas, Trinity ’64, was elected chair in 2003 after serving three years as co-vice chair with Steel. Harold Yoh, Pratt ’58, also previously served as vice
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chair before becoming chair in 2000. The Board also elected two new vice chairs for the upcoming term—Jack Bovender Jr., retired chairman and CEO of Hospital Corporation of America Healthcare and Trinity ’67, and David Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group and Trinity ’70. An improved financial state The Board also approved a $2.1 billion budget, marking a 4.2 percent increase from the $1.93 billion budget for fiscal year 2010-2011. The budget includes operating expenses of $1.4 billion and anticipated expenses of $667 million for research and other specific purposes. The budget for undergraduate financial aid has also been increased to $133 million, up from $108.5 million, to help balance the 4.2 percent increase to undergraduate tuition approved at February’s meeting. This year’s budget will allow for meritbased raises for faculty and staff for the first time since 2009 and funds for “significant capital projects” and “new program initiatives,” according to a Duke news release. The University now has more flexibility to pursue projects that had been placed on hold, Brodhead said. Some projects include updating the West Campus steam plant and renovating the West Union building. “I think our financial state is improving,” Blue said. “We are still pursing the [Duke Administrative Reform Team] initiative because of the discipline that it brings, but… we are also looking to the future. We are going to spend in such a way that we see Duke’s trajectory in an upward form.” The 2011-2012 budget is balanced,
Executive Vice President Tallman Trask wrote in an email Tuesday. Still, the budget is not at the same level as it was previously before the economic downturn. The budget typically saw a 9 percent increase before the recession. “[There is] still much to do and we can’t slip back, but for next year we’re OK,” Trask wrote. “[Fiscal year 20122013] may be another challenge, depending on what happens in the markets over the next nine to 12 months.” Duke abroad The Board also heard an update on Duke’s new campus in China. During its February meeting, the Board discussed Duke Kunshan University’s costs and academic programs, as well as the partnership with Wuhan University. During Saturday’s meeting, the Business and Finance Committee assessed some of the projections for tuition and fundraising. Blue said the Board is monitoring the progress of DKU “very closely.” Brodhead said he expects to see faculty members take an even larger role in the planning process, as the University begins to shape DKU’s academic programs during the next few months. “The Trustees were content with the forward progress on Kunshan,” Brodhead said. “They have been very extensively involved in foreseeing the planning of Kunshan. We have done a deeper dive in preparing for Kunshan than for any [other] venture the University has taken.” In other business: The Board also heard a series of presentations on various topics close to home and abroad. Vice President and
Director of Athletics Kevin White spoke about the state of intercollegiate athletics. Additionally, Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, and Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, led a discussion on campus culture and student life. Former Trustee Kimberly Jenkins, senior advisor to the president and provost for innovation and entrepreneurship and Trinity ’76, Graduate School ’77 and ’80, presented on the state of translational research and entrepreneurship at Duke. She discussed building a support network within Duke, initiatives in the region and partnerships with neighboring universities, Wagoner said. Ranga Krishnan, the dean of the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, also gave a presentation to the Board. The Board’s assessment of Duke-NUS coincides with the school’s first graduating class this summer. Blue said the Board was pleased with the progress of Duke-NUS and gave it “a very good review.”
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8 | THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
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KASTAN from page 3 be in being able to identify more specific, more efficacious drugs… personalized medicine at its best, so when we take it to the patient we are using it wisely and knowing how to get the best out of the clinical trials.” Kastan also discussed the daunting nature of his new position, noting that one major challenge will be deciding how to prioritize among many possible approaches to cancer research and treatment. He said that the initial focus will be on the completion of the new DCI building next February. This seven-story structure will house all varieties of cancer sub-specialists, facilitating patient treatment as well as clinical and translational research. The newly configured DCI was launched November 4, 2010, in an effort to unite clinical treatment of cancer pa-
IRONS from page 1 always prosecute later.” The prosecution voluntarily dismissed the felonious second-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping charges May 5 that Irons originally faced, according to court documents. Gauger said she moved to dismiss the charges less than two weeks before Irons’ scheduled appearance in court to prosecute on the misdemeanor charge instead. This misdemeanor charge of sexual battery alleges that Irons “for the purpose of sexual arousal and sexual gratification engage[d] in sexual contact, touching the victim’s breasts or vagina... by force and against the will of the other person,” according to the court’s statement of charges document. Duke Police arrested Irons Sept. 8, 2010, on charges of second-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping of a 20-year-old female student. He was released the same day on a $75,000 bond, according to court records, and withdrew from the University Sept. 9. In an interview with Duke Police after the incident—a party at a Central Campus apartment April 17, 2010—Irons admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with the victim but denied having sexual intercourse,
tients and laboratory cancer research within one organizational structure. Since then, DCI has operated under the supervision of two interim directors—Anthony Means and Dr. Christopher Willett. Means specializes in the research and basic science side of oncology, and Willett focuses on patient care. DCI is one of 40 sites designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute in 1972. Duke’s cancer program was one of the original eight centers in the country to receive that title. “We are kind of a test case because, if this unique model works well in an academic setting, there will be other institutions that will want to develop a similar model,” Means said. Means added that Kastan’s background makes him aptly suited to leading DCI, with its broad spectrum of doctors and scientists. “He is an M.D. Ph.D.,” Means said. “He is well known
in the cancer research community as an exceptionally talented basic scientist, but also known in the clinical field as a very caring and compassionate clinician.” Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System, described Kastan as “simply the best,” adding that multiple peer institutions were also seeking to hire Kastan when he chose to work at Duke. Dzau envisions a bright future for the new institute and for Kastan’s leadership there. “By bringing up the institute, I hope we will be among the very top, globally, of cancer care and cancer research, that our patient outcomes will be even better than they are today,” said Dzau. “This is a very critical moment for us in the history of cancer at Duke. Launching the institute, bringing in one of the world’s best cancer researchers and clinicians, this marks a new level of what we can achieve.”
according to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Duke University Police Department last September. Irons’ Durham-based lawyer, Bill Thomas, did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article. In an October interview with The Chronicle, however, he maintained his client’s innocence against the initial charges of second-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping. The victim also appeared in court Monday, Gauger said, but she could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. It is Chronicle policy not to identify the victims of sexual assault cases. Gauger said the victim has been cooperating with prosecutors throughout the process, but in order to protect the victim’s privacy, Gauger declined to comment on the results of DNA samples taken from Irons in September or on reasons the prosecution chose to seek structured sentencing on the reduced charge. “There are going to be a lot of reasons that factor into why we pursue deferred prosecution,” Gauger said. “I can tell you that overall, based on taking a good hard look at the case and after consulting with the victim, we decided it was the best resolution.” Irons, 19, received unsupervised probation because he lives in Hong Kong, Gauger said. Thomas must appear in court every 90 days to report on Irons’ status, starting Aug. 19, according to court documents.
Thomas said in October that Irons had not decided whether he might try to re-enroll at Duke. If Irons returns to North Carolina for school or work within the 24-month probation period, he must report to Durham County probation within 48 hours to be placed on supervised probation until his term expires, according to court documents. Irons did not respond to a Facebook message request for comment and declined to comment through a friend.
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COMMENCEMENT from page 1 Chambers said. “It’s your ability with education and preparation to handle those changes that makes the difference.” Graduating senior Mike Lefevre, echoed the importance of courage in his address. The former Duke Student Government president was selected to speak by a committee of students, alumni, faculty and administrators. In his speech, Lefevre emphasized Duke graduates special preparedness in terms of handling potential challenges, adding that students’ unique Duke experience provides this advantage. “Is there any other student body in the country that cares so much about being together?” Lefevre said in his speech. “We choose to sleep in tents for two months for a game we know we could walk into on game day. We come back early from summer break to carry mini-fridges upstairs for incoming students. We join 17 different listservs so that even when we’re not together, we’re talking.” As an example of Duke graduates’ unique strength, Lefevre also referred to his recent experience in Russia where he met Arkady Dvorkovich, a leading Russian economic advisor who graduated from Duke in 1997. “Mr. Dvorkovich showed me that as Duke graduates enter the world, they turn their tradition of sticking together into a commitment to teamwork and empathy,” he said, adding that Dvorkovich transferred his fondness for his peers at Duke into a commitment to helping Russia’s poorest citizens. In addition to Chambers, six other scholars and public officials were awarded honorary degrees. Among them were former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove, former North Carolina governor James Hunt, NFL Hall of Fame member Alan Page. Also receiving honorary degrees were Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical physics at Harvard University; Eric Shinseki, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and Tan Chorh Chuan president of the National University of Singapore. Graduating senior Aaron Lam, who majored in biomedical engineering and plans to attend medical school in a year, said he has enjoyed his time at the University and looks forward to the future. “My personal experience at Duke has been very fulfilling,” Lam said. “The University has given me a lot of skills. While I’m nervous [about leaving], the bottom line is that I’m not scared of the future because Duke has prepared me so well.” Other graduating seniors echoed Lam’s confidence for the future. “I’m not really that scared about leaving,” said Aaron Dmiszewicki, a member of the Class of 2011. “I’ll be missing my friends, but at the same time I am really excited to graduate and move on to new things.” And though in previous years the University has dealt with health emergencies during commencement, Duke Police Chief John Dailey said no one had to be transported to the Emergency Department this year.
THE CHRONICLE
Four years in the making A photo essay by Nathan Glencer
Sports
>> INSIDE
The Chronicle
TRACK AND FIELD
THURSDAY MAY 19, 2011
A record-breaking performance by Reid Carleton and Henrique Cunha highlighted a dominant weekend for both Duke tennis teams. PAGE 14
www.dukechroniclesports.com
MEN’S LACROSSE
Duke wins Blue Devils send Hens to roost at IC4A and ECAC by Andrew Beaton THE CHRONICLE
by Sarah Elsakr THE CHRONICLE
For the men, it was something that an ACC team hadn’t been able to do since 1981. For the women, a team that hailed from south of Virginia hadn’t accomplished it for the past 27 years. But despite the odds, this past weekend the Blue Devils found themselves making history yet again, as they took home team titles at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) meets. Through the combined efforts of the Blue Devil men, the team was able to finish with a total of 74.5 points, almost 14 points ahead of George Mason University, which finished in the No. 2 spot. The Duke women were almost equally dominant, earning 83.75 points, 8.75 more than second place Connecticut. The wins marked Duke’s first dual meet win in school history. According to director of track and field Norm Ogilvie, the victories were a true team effort, with athletes from all years contributing both on the track and in the field. “I’m really proud of everyone,” Ogilvie said. “The highlight of the meet was the way everyone pulled together and we got contributions from all areas.” On the men’s side, there were several individual highlights as well. The IC4A meet got off to a successful start with senior Ryan McDermott’s win in the steeplechase. His time of 8:46.68 earned ten points for the Blue Devils, who then took the lead and never looked back. In the field, freshman Tanner Anderson stepped up to the championship challenge as well, finishing first in the high jump. Curtis Beach earned the third, and final, individual title for the Blue Devil men by winning the long jump. While these athletes were the only Duke men with first-place finishes, many others earned points for the team by placing in the top eight in their respective events. In the field, senior John Austin threw the javelin 69.05 meters to take second place and junior Tony Shirk tied for seventh in the pole vault. In the shot put, Shirk’s classmate, Michael Barbas, took third, while Austin Gamble and Mike Schallmo took second and fifth, respectively, in the discus. On the track, Josh Lund, Bo Waggoner, and Michael Moverman took fifth, sixth, and eighth in the 5k race, SEE TRACK ON PAGE 15
A lot can happen in two weeks without games—seniors took their final exams of college and goalie Dan Wigrizer even suffered a concussion in practice. After so much time off, converting regular season 14 momentum into a UD Duke 15 playoff push is very tricky. “You’re always concerned with finals, seniors graduating, freshmen finishing up their first year—after having a layoff, there was certainly a concern that we could have lost that edge,” head coach John Danowski said. But on Saturday, the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (13-5) had no problem finding that “edge” and shook off their rust behind backup goalie Mike Rock to defeat eleventh-seeded Delaware (11-7) at Koskinen Stadium, 15-14. Duke set the tone early, scoring two goals within the game’s first 90 seconds. Junior midfielder Robert Rotanz put away the first goal unassisted, while Tom Montelli added the second on a dish
ROB STEWART/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO
SEE M. LACROSSE ON PAGE 15
Senior Mike Rock filled in admirably for Dan Wigrizer, recording 12 saves in the Blue Devils’ victory.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Payback sweetest for seniors by Patricia Lee THE CHRONICLE
DAN SCHIERER II/THE CHRONICLE
Senior Sarah Bullard helped the Blue Devils avenge three straight losses to the Quakers.
Pennsylvania has long been Duke’s nemesis on the lacrosse field. In 2008, the Quakers defeated the Blue Devils in the NCAA Final Four, while the following year the two teams met in Penn 9 the NCAA quarterfiDuke 12 nals—with the same result. This season the Blue Devils were edged by Pennsylvania on Apr. 29, 13-10, in both teams’ regular season finale. But this year, Duke got a second chance when the NCAA announced the two would meet in the first round of the NCAA Championship, and this time, it was up for the challenge. On Saturday, the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (14-4) got their long-awaited wish in the form of a 12-9 win over the ninth-seeded Quakers (11-6) at Koskinen Stadium, propelling themselves into the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive year. “I was really proud of our team, and I felt like we gave it our all,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “I think the girls are really happy, particularly the seniors because in two out of their four years here, Penn has ended their season.” Duke came out firing, as they responded to a quick Pennsylvania goal with four of their own, including two from freshman Molly Quirke. The rest of the half was also all-Blue Devils, as they outshot their opponents 18-7 en route to
a 7-4 halftime lead. After extending its lead to five early in the second half, Duke’s lead was never less than three the rest of the way. “I think for our seniors, it meant a lot to finally beat them, and I knew we could,” Kimel said. “We really focused on us, showed up and played our game for 60 minutes, and we felt like we would prevail, and we did.” Despite going into the match-up having a 2-3 all-time record against Penn, Duke took advantage of their break and controlled possession by winning 14 draws to the Quakers’ nine. They also were able to use many of their veteran players who had missed significant parts of the season because of injuries and illness. “It’s been an interesting season for us, and in the last two years, we’ve incurred a lot of injuries, so I think our line-up has been musical chairs. Any time you’re striving to be a top, top team, that can be a huge challenge,” Kimel said. Kimel attributed the difference in Sunday’s performance with the team’s play two weeks earlier to exhaustion and a lack of energy from playing too many road matches. But with the two-week rest, the Blue Devils were able to recover, Kimel said. “We’re moving forward, and I still feel like we have a lot of room to grow. We’re putting our best foot forward Saturday against Florida, and hopefully that’ll be enough to propel us to the Final Four.”
14 | THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
THE CHRONICLE
MEN’S TENNIS
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Duke sweeps weekend Blue Devils untested Beats both Colonials and Terrapins 4-0 in NCAA openers by Tom Gieryn THE CHRONICLE
FELICIA TAN/THE CHRONICLE
Reid Carleton and Henrique Cunha became the all-time winningest doubles team in Duke history on Friday. by Danny Nolan THE CHRONICLE
Last year, Duke secured its first Round of 16 berth in four years. After this weekend’s play, there was 0 no question that the GW Devils deserve Duke 4 Blue to return to the third of the NCAA Terps 0 round Tournament, with Duke 4 sweeps of Maryland (13-13) and George Washington (15-9) in consecutive 4-0 matches. On Friday, eleventh-seeded Duke (22-9) got off to a hot start against the Colonials and never stepped off the gas, winning 4-0. The Blue Devils won the doubles point behind an 8-2 victory by Reid Carleton and Henrique Cunha and an 8-1 win by Fred Saba and Torsten Wietoska. David Holland and Chris Mengel were up 7-1, a mere game away from winning their match, when the previous Duke duos secured the doubles point. The victory was Carleton and Cunha’s 76th as a doubles team, breaking the school record for most wins by a doubles team, a record previously held by Peter Ayers and Rob Chess. “It means a lot,” said Cunha. “[Carleton’s] more than a doubles partner, he’s a friend too. We felt confident, knew we could win both matches, and played aggressive. That was the key.” The dominance continued in singles, with all six Duke players winning their first
set. Mengel, a freshman, made the biggest statement, winning in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 3 position. Cunha, winning 6-2, 6-2, and Carleton, a 6-4, 6-3 victor, also made quick work of their opponents, completing the 4-0 win and sending the team to the second round for the 20thstraight season. The second round matched the Blue Devils against ACC rival Maryland, and while the individual scores were closer the overall outcome was unchanged. The Terrapins proved to be tough outs in doubles, with both the No. 1 and No. 2 matches going to a tiebreaker. Saba and Wietoska won 8-4 to give Duke the edge, but Maryland responded with a win at the No. 2 spot. As if it was scripted, Cunha and Carleton won in a tiebreak, 9-8, 7-4, and for the second straight day had something to celebrate about. After the doubles victory, head coach Ramsey Smith couldn’t have been happier with his No. 1 doubles team. “It’s amazing especially since they’ve only played together two years,” said Smith. “It’s one of the most amazing years I’ve ever seen.” The match was a nail biter in doubles, but Duke fired on all cylinders in singles, once again winning the first set in all six singles matches. Cunha, Carleton, and Mengel each swept their singles matches to secure another 4-0 win. “Once we really get going we’re hard to stop,” said Smith. “We’ve beat some great teams and we’re going in with a mentality we can make a real run.”
It’s always nice to be the favorites, but anything can happen after three weeks without competition. Though Duke easily outranked its opponents in the first two rounds of the Spiders 0 NCAA Tournament, it hadn’t 4 Duke played a match in 0 21 days prior to Yale last Saturday’s firstDuke 4 round matchup in Durham. There was no Cinderella story this weekend, though, as the third-seeded Blue Devils (24-4) swept Richmond (146) on Saturday and then Yale (22-5) on Sunday to advance to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Storms interfered with Saturday’s action, causing a rain delay of more than an hour, but they didn’t interfere with Duke’s play, as all three doubles teams jumped out to quick leads and held them to earn the doubles point. When another rain delay forced play indoors, the Blue Devils were leading all six of its singles matches. In all six first sets, Duke dropped only five games combined. Senior Reka Zsilinszka, sophomore Mary Clayton and ACC Freshman of the Year Rachel Kahan finished their matches first to earn the Blue Devils a 4-0 win and their 12th consecutive berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face Yale, who defeated William & Mary 4-2 in round one. Head coach Jamie Ashworth could only muster one criticism of his team’s lopsided victory over Richmond. “We started off a little bit slow in doubles [Saturday],” Ashworth said, “but other than the first four or five games in a couple doubles matches, we did a good job for the entire weekend.” The team got off to a better start in doubles in the second round, as the No. 1 team of Kahan and Ellah Nze opened with an 8-0 win in what Ashworth called “one of the cleanest matches they’ve played all year.” Nadine Fahoum and Hanna Mar took down their opponents 8-4 to again earn the doubles point for Duke. In singles play, the Blue Devils won five of six first sets, and received winning efforts from the bottom half of their lineup, as they have for much of the season. “The strength of our lineup has been the depth that we’ve had all year, and it showed today where those were the three matches that finished first and clinched the win for us,” Ashworth said. The three matches he was referring to were the bottom three courts, where senior Elizabeth Plotkin, Kahan, and Clayton combined to drop just nine games in six sets, earning the sweep for Duke. Kahan moved to 28-0 on the season in dual matches this season, and Clayton’s win was her 30th of the year. Though they knew they could not take any opponent for granted, the Blue Devils were not surprised by their smooth sailing this weekend. “Fortunately we were more talented
than the teams here, but Yale today was a scrappy team that has won some close matches,” Ashworth said. “At the same time, I knew that if we played how we’re capable of, that our results would take care of themselves.” The road will get tougher quickly though, as the team travels to the West Coast to face an ACC foe, fourteenth-seeded Georgia Tech (15-10) May 20, in the Round of 16 at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. Duke defeated the Yellow Jackets 5-2 in Durham during the regular season behind a hard-fought doubles point and singles wins from Fahom, Zsilinszka, Kahan, and Clayton. Ashworth says it will be crucial not to have to rely so heavily on the bottom half of the lineup as the team moves forward. “We need to get everybody involved if we want to accomplish what we think we can accomplish,” Ashworth said. After being off for nearly three weeks prior to the first two rounds of the Tournament, and playing two easy matches in those rounds, he said the key in preparation for the next four rounds is “just making sure that we’re sharp in pressure situations.” They’ll certainly face plenty of those as they head west in search of an NCAA title.
CHRIS DALL/THE CHRONICLE
Rachel Kahan continued her undefeated streak in dual matches, moving to 28-0 over the weekend.
THE CHRONICLE
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011 | 15
M. LACROSSE from page 13
TRACK from page 13
from David Lawson. The Blue Devils extended their lead to 5-0 with goals from Josh Offit, Jake Tripucka and Jordan Wolf. “We really came out and were ready to play,” Danowski said. Despite Duke’s quick start, though, the Blue Hens refused to go down without a fight. After Wolf netted his third goal of the game to extend the Blue Devils’ lead to 9-3 – the largest margin they would have all night – Delaware rallied to finish out the first half, scoring four consecutive goals. The Blue Hens narrowed Duke’s lead to one with a man-up goal to begin the third period, but the streaky Blue Devils quickly responded. The offense came back with four consecutive goals to open the game back up to five, seemingly putting it away. In the fourth period, however, Delaware mounted its second and final rally. In the game’s final four minutes, the Blue Hens scored four goals to bring the game within one, with the last one coming with 16 seconds remaining. While the game was high scoring, with Zach Howell’s four goals highlighting the offense, Duke relied heavily on Rock. The senior, thrown into the mix after Wigrizer’s concussion, had started just only started three games all season, but earned his third career NCAA playoff victory with the win. “He did an amazing job when you consider not only the demands of the position physically—the ability to focus for two hours—and the fact that he hadn’t been in those situations [this year],” Danowski said. “So, really he did an incredible job and we’re really proud of [Rock].” And even though they could eke out the victory behind their backup goalie, the Blue Devils know they will have to be far more consistent in other aspects of their game to advance further in the tournament. Duke demonstrated its own offensive prowess in various bursts, but the team allowed four unanswered goals in both the second and fourth periods—a recipe for disaster against elite teams. “I think we needed to manage the ball better in the fourth quarter and make some better decisions in the fourth quarter,” Danowski said. “Defensively, I think we were a little bit too aggressive and our guys should have recognized the unsettled situations a little bit better, and then offensively I think our decisions with the ball could have been a little bit smarter and helped us defensively.”
respectively, while junior Josh Brewer took sixth in the 10k run. In the 4x800 meter relay, Matt Marriott, Sean-Pat Oswald, Domenick DeMatteo, and Stephen Clark worked together to take the seventh-place finish and earn an extra two points for their team. In the ECAC meet, the Blue Devils also saw several examples of individual success. Juliet Bottorff, Carly Seymour, and Andrea Hopkins, as well as the 4x800 team of Kate Van Buskirk, Esther Vermeer, Rebecca Craigie and Gabby Levac, all took first place in their respective events. Bottorff won the 3k race, while freshman Madeline Morgan finished seconds later in third. Seymour ran to her first-place finish in the 5k race, followed by junior Suejin Ahn in eighth place. Unlike her teammates, Hopkins earned her title in the field, where she threw 47.13 meters in the javelin.
Duke athletes also saw great results on the track in the 800-meter race, where Cydney Ross took second, and the 3000-meter steeplechase in which Emily Schwitzer was runner-up. And in the 1500-meter run, Vermeer was back putting even more points on the board with her fifth-place finish. Meanwhile, in the field, both Emily Mattoon and Michelle Anumba joined Hopkins as Mattoon finished seventh in the pole vault while Anumba took third in the shot put. While the team wins put Duke in the history books, according to Ogilvie, their main advantage is their effect on the athletes’ mentality. “It gets everyone thinking they can win,” Ogilvie said. “A lot of [track and field] is believing in yourself…. They’ll definitely have a certain level of confidence that wasn’t there before.” And heading into their last few meets, the Blue Devils will look to use all the confidence their record-breaking performances have amassed to bring their outdoor season to a strong finish.
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Zach Howell’s four goals bring his career NCAA Tournament total to 22, good for fourth on Duke’s all-time list.
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Sunny, large two bedroom apartment in lovely 1915 renovated home in Old North Durham coming available August 1. Antique heart pine floors, high ceilings, thermopane windows, appliances, washer/dryer, large fenced yard, pets OK. $640/month includes water/ yard maintenance. Old North Durham. 1.3 miles from Duke. Lamarglenn@aol.com for more pics/info.
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Wagoner should increase Board visibility As outgoing chair of the transparency. Still, Blue has Board of Trustees Dan Blue, not increased the Board’s proDemocratic North Carolina cedural transparency to the state senator and Law ’73, pass- larger community. es the torch on to his succesThroughout Blue’s term sor, former Vice chair Richard from 2009 to 2011, the Board Wagoner, Trinwas heavily inity ’75, there is volved in the editorial an opportunity development to reflect on Blue’s tenure as of important projects such as chair and how his term has Duke Kunshan University, the been perceived by the Duke new Keohane 4E Quadrangle community. and West Union building renoOne of Blue’s most promi- vations. The Board also worked nent characteristics as chair to achieve a state of financial has been increased accessibility normalcy, leading the Univerduring a period when the Uni- sity out of the economic recesversity was strapped by financial sion. For the most part, Board limitations, but set on global members and top administraexpansion. Possibly due to his tors seem to be pleased with political background, Blue has the University’s progress under been more visible than recent Blue, though some throughout chairs, including his predeces- Duke remain skeptical of these sor Robert Steel, Trinity ’73, projects and the rationale benoted for limiting the Board’s hind them.
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let’s hope he can do a better job with duke than gm —“wakaflocka” commenting on the story “Trustees elect Rick Wagoner chair, approve budget.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
LETTERS POLICY The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department for information regarding guest columns. The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on the discretion of the editorial page editor.
For example, consider Duke Kunshan University— many faculty members, particularly those in Arts and Sciences, have recently raised concerns about DKU. One of the issues they assert is that it does not make sense for Duke to spend significant funds on the China campus while funding is being cut from academic departments at Duke. Complaints arise even from departments that will not initially have programs at DKU. Yet the Board remains confident in their investment in DKU. Both parties would benefit from increased communication. This relative disconnect has manifested itself throughout Blue’s term, though it has been a historical trend between the Board and the Duke community.
The fact that some faculty members said that they felt largely left out of many discussions surrounding issues, such as DKU development and certain financial decisions, raises another concern. The Board, as a representative body, is supposed to make choices that reflect the population it serves— the Duke community. But there is a vast chasm between some areas within the University and the Board. Just as the populace is unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Board, the Trustees are not necessarily attune to the needs and desires of students and faculty. Blue, though certainly handcuffed by financial constraints, oversaw many decisions that show the University’s optimism for the future. It is, however, hard to effectively re-
view his tenure because of the murky waters through which one must assess the Board’s activities. The Board and administrators’ positive outlook is overlooked, and potential excitement from faculty and students is lost due to sometimes strained communication between the Board and the rest of the University. And though the Board has made progress concerning transparency and visibility, there is much room for improvement. Wagoner has an opportunity to bring the University out of the dark about many important issues that have been obscured throughout the past several years. Hopefully, Wagoner’s name, unlike some of his predecessors, will be one that is well known across the campus.
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H
is snoring woke me up. seen an American movie, gone to Starbucks, It was 4 a.m. in Berlin, Germany. had a four-hour long conversation in English The guy in the bed next to me sounded and just barely managed to stop myself from as though he was trying to breathe walking into McDonald’s. in enough wind to cough up an elIt is hard to move to a foreign ephant. I was five feet away from country, especially for me. I love him, debating whether I should get routine. There is a place in Perup and push him onto his back to kins where I always study. I alunblock his airway. ways eat the apple Danish from I was sharing a hostel room with Saladelia for breakfast. Every him and two other males for the day last semester at exactly 1:05 night. The other two were sleeping p.m., I got the avocado salmon rui dai like babies. I was apparently the sushi from the Great Hall. a picture’s worth only person bothered by the fogComing to Berlin is forcing horn in the room. me to find a new pattern, which At 8 a.m. the snoring guy’s girlfriend barged is not a bad thing. I am only uncomfortable into the room and started an argument. They with it. But that is exactly what makes me an had to leave in 15 minutes to catch their arrogant traveler from America. next train and the guy was obviously not conMy need to cling to the American culture cerned. and inability to accept the German world at The room groaned at the two’s utter disre- face value perpetuates the same stereotypes gard for our collective sanity. about American travelers that I roll my eyes at The couple was American. After they left, with disgust. I have more or less acted like the I felt the need to apologize to the rest of my stereotypical American traveler. roommates, who were an Englishman and an In all probability, you have, too. Australian. I consider myself from America and It might not take the form of wearing a fanny it pains me to witness the legendary arrogance pack or khaki shorts and tennis shoes, but there that traveling Americans possess. is a reason why natives almost always prefer to “Americans don’t think anyone else exists live away from tourist attractions. Few tourists and expect everyone to speak English to them,” know the routines that are already established the Australian informed me of his perception in the region. They never truly immerse themof the incident later. selves in native cultures. They are there to gawk I winced. Am I the same? and take pictures. The best that they can do is Slowly, I realized that in many ways I did in- to leave the culture undisturbed. deed resemble the American couple. My GerThe stereotypical American tourist probably man is passable. I have only taken one semester has every good intention at heart, but few ever of German at Duke. I can ask for directions, come across as respectful. order a meal, carry out a really simple converWe need to change that. sation... but that is pretty much it. There are Whether you are abroad this summer times when I just give up and ask, “Sprechen through DukeEngage or study abroad, or if Sie Englisch?” Do you speak English? you will be traveling anywhere in the world, be The first time I did so was at the airport. The mindful of your surroundings. Maybe it’s the receptionist glared at me and rolled her eyes. I quiet street in the dark of night, or the small had thought she was having a bad day, but now hostel room full of other sleeping travelers. I realize that my expectation that she would Leave without disturbing anything. speak English annoyed her. Speak the native language. Do so in a softer Of course, not everyone I have asked was an- voice. Walk even quieter. Take pictures of only noyed. Many took pity on me and replied back monuments and yourself. Respect other peoin English even when I didn’t ask. My butch- ple’s privacy and solitude. Don’t jaywalk. Mind ered use of their language must have resonat- your manners. Smile and always say thank you. ed with them and their memories of learning American tourists already have a bad enough English. Or maybe they just didn’t want to hear reputation throughout the world. The least we their language spoken so gracelessly. can do is try our best to not to contribute to it. There were also times when I yearned for anything that reminds me of home. In the three Rui Dai is a Trinity junior. days that I have been in Berlin, I have already
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lettertotheeditor Life after death—what bin Laden’s demise means for Muslim Americans On Sept. 11, 2001, one man managed to strike fear into the hearts of millions of Americans and simultaneously place a severely misconstrued generalization upon Muslims across the globe. As a result, millions of Muslim Americans are forced to see our multifaceted identity as mutually exclusive—Muslim, or American. With the death of bin Laden we begin to ask ourselves—what does his death mean for us? What does the Duke Muslim community think about these events? These questions are difficult to answer since Duke Muslims are, in background and ideology, as diverse as the Duke student body. However, even with all these differences the Duke Muslim Students Association can say the following: Over the past 10 years, Osama bin Laden has become synonymous with evil and Islamic extremism. With his death comes a sense of relief and, perhaps, satisfaction that the figurehead of terrorism has been killed. This relief should not be equated with jubilation, however, for celebrating death is fundamentally wrong—regardless of how patriotic we may be. Even though President Obama has made it clear that bin Laden was not a “Muslim leader” but a murderer of Muslims, asso-
ciations have already been made. Too many people in our country are under the false impression that bin Laden represents all that Islam teaches and has to offer. Perhaps with the death of bin Laden, the veil of vengeance and hatred can be lifted in our popular media to reveal the peaceful teachings of Islam. At the same time, this symbolic death could act as a watershed moment. If bin Laden’s death promotes nationalism exclusive of Muslims and reinforces negative media stereotypes about the Muslim world, May 1, 2011, may not serve as a source of relief for Muslim Americans. However, the optimistic among us would like to see this as a turning point in the tale. We would like to see an America where the predominant image of Islam in people’s minds is not a bearded man wearing a turban and living in a cave, but an American very much like themselves—a world where Abdullah is as American as Adam. Nabil Enayet Pratt ’12 MSA President ’10-’11 Nadir Ijaz Trinity ’12 MSA President ’11-’12
Cut the speeches
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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011 | 19
commentaries
ike anything of substance that aims to cater to thousands of people at once, commencement speeches are invariably controversial. The past few years have provided countless instances of someone—or many people—upset about the bigwig set to ruin their big day. President Barack Obama’s support for abortion rights caused a stir at Notre Dame. The CEO of ExxonMobil might have noticed a deficit of attendees for his speech at Worcester Polytechnic Institute—they were attending a protest “alternative speech.” Not to jeremy ruch mention the uproar over run and tell that commencement speeches by Snooki or Sacha Baron Cohen’s character, Ali G. But those who protest are missing the point—the problem isn’t with the speakers (well, maybe in Snooki’s case it is) but rather with the notion of a celebrity graduation speech itself. Graduation ceremonies are already too long. The traditional graduation speech, which involves a traditionally famous person delivering a traditionally cliched speech to a traditionally bored class, is an excellent candidate for removal from the ceremony. There are at least three good reasons to scrap these speeches. The first involves the manner in which these speakers are selected. In efforts to find someone as non-offensive as possible, a selection committee gathers to find someone who won’t land the university on the front pages of The New York Times. This year, Duke settled on John Chambers, the chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems. He has been in charge of a Fortune 500 company for more than 15 years and won numerous social responsibility awards, meaning he probably appeals to a good cross section of the population—never mind that he only attended Duke for a year before transferring (he has also sat on a few panels here). Picking someone with such a tenuous connection to the school may avoid angry letters in this newspaper, but it doesn’t celebrate Duke or the Class of 2011 in any meaningful way. Hardly a surprise, then, that besides for a few scattered remarks about the basketball team and number of Duke students going to work for Cisco, Chambers’ speech could have been delivered at UNC (or any other school)— they love their graduates and want them to do well after graduation, too. Nor is Chambers any more qualified to give a speech about anything than a whole host of people with far stronger connections to Duke—it seems clear he was picked largely to avoid causing offense. Of course, the selection committee could have picked someone else—an overly media sensitive selection process doesn’t necessarily mean the speech itself needs to go. But the second reason these speeches should go is that they place an impossible burden on the person giving them. How does your average speaker give words of wisdom to thousands of people to which
he or she has little connection, with no guidance or set topic to speak about and little qualification to speak in the first place besides his or her success? Small wonder John Chambers began his speech Sunday by pointing out the enormity of the task before him, saying that a commencement speech “is the hardest presentation to give.” This from an expert in communications.... Go figure. This leads to the final and most important reason for graduation to be eliminated. They are usually boring, because they say exactly the same thing year after year. Does any graduate really need to hear the same vaunted words of advice from strangers: Live your life the way you want to, take risks, be aggressive. Take a look at this selection of quotes from the “top ten” speeches, compiled by http://graduationwisdom.com: “Don’t know that you can’t fly, and you will soar like an eagle,” “You have to leave that city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition,” “The most difficult chains to break are the ones inside us,” “There is no reason not to follow your heart.” If you’re wondering why these sound similar, it’s because they are all delivering a variation of precisely the same message. And by one standard, these are the best speeches. That doesn’t discount the importance of the message being delivered, but it does suggest that it is almost impossible to be original in one of these speeches. So unless a speaker had some other distinguishing feature—having excellent delivery, perhaps—it is very hard to give a standout speech. Not impossible—watch Steve Jobs’ 2005 speech at Stanford on YouTube if you’re wondering what a good one is like—but very difficult. I’m not suggesting we replace these speeches with 15 minutes of awkward silence (though in some cases that could be as entertaining). Instead of varying metaphors to convey cliched advice, we could spend that time celebrating the accomplishments of the class. Remember the convocation speeches from the University’s administrators, welcoming the class and highlighting our goofiest members (the one kid from Montana, or the one with the weird email address)? What happened to those kids? What has the class done together? Who has accomplished what? As nice as it is to try and make these ceremonies about the future, that’s not what they celebrate. Instead, they are very much about the past; they are about our four years together at Duke. The focus of the Class of 2012’s graduation ceremony should be the Class of 2012. Eliminating next year’s commencement speech will go a long way toward achieving that goal. Jeremy Ruch is a Trinity junior.
T
he first thing I did when I returned home for the summer was to rifle through my mom’s purse. I quickly found what I was looking for—a long white envelope with a blue “NBER” printed on the top left corner and my first ever paycheck inside. This summer I will be doing research at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I’m working for three professors: David Cutler of Harvard, Seth Richards-Shubik of Carnegie Mellon and Ellen Meara of Dartmouth. We’re looking at the effects of adverse health shocks on decisions to retire for the Social Security Administration (SSA). So it was altogether fitpaul horak ting when I looked at my first the road ahead check and found that the SSA had taken a small part of my income as part of the Social Security payroll tax. Funding for Social Security has been a hot topic in Washington for decades but is currently garnering more attention than usual. There are a couple of reasons. To start, the nation is getting older—it’s estimated that the three workers who currently support every one retiree will drop to only two over the next few decades. Obviously, the burden on the working-age population is increasing because fewer people like me are entering into the labor force for every person who is exiting it. Legally, all benefits from Social Security are supposed to come from the payroll tax. But Social Security is also an item included in calculating the federal deficit (though Social Security is not part of the federal budget), which means that another reason for the growing concern about Social Security is America’s growing debt. The debt problem does not have an easy solution, but diminishing revenue from workers will mean greater pressure on the government to rein in its debt (although Medicare is a far greater problem). This could spell further trouble for an already worrisome debt load. If sources of revenue for Social Security remain as they are—which they probably won’t—it is estimated that the program could run out of money by 2038, according to a report by the Social Security trustees. That’s unlikely to happen because the system will have to be reformed. A lot of the debate in Washington today centers on this reform and there are many competing plans, all of which have some merit. The most talked about reforms include cutting future benefits, introducing individual savings accounts and raising the retirement age. Cutting future benefits would prevent current workers from feeling the pressure of the U.S.’s growing elderly population—since payroll taxes would not increase—but would grant workers fewer benefits when they exit the labor force. They would need to alter their savings strategy accordingly. The government could help. By introducing voluntary individual savings accounts with automatic enrollment, the government would give citizens the ability to save more for their retirement. Social Security has always been a supplemental source of income for the average American; it needs to be complemented by other retirement savings. Currently, about 60 percent of Americans nearing retirement age have Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)—like an employer-based 401(k) or 403(b) account—that will help them to continue a certain standard of living throughout their retirement. I am about to open up a 403(b) Roth account through the NBER that will help me save for my far-off retirement. Soon, it’s possible that the government will offer a similar option to all of its citizens. Which brings me to the final reform being considered by policymakers—deferring Social Security payments by increasing the retirement age. The retirement age is already mandated to increase to 67— one of the highest in the world—but there are calls to make it even higher. Analysts argue that this is good policy because people are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. But that’s only partially true. One of the goals to the research I am doing this summer is to find out if increasing the retirement age is a good policy—and a fair one. As age increases, so does disability. But what if disability is not evenly distributed among working populations? That would mean that increasing the retirement age is not the quick and easy fix that many policymakers think it is. Social Security reform is a deeply political issue and one of great importance to the United States’ economic future. Some analysts claim that the system can be “saved” by cutting benefits, adding personal savings account, or increasing retirement age—and some combination of these is likely to be effective. As with any policy, there are likely to be distributional consequences. For example, increasing the retirement age may prove to place a larger burden on some ethnic or socioeconomic groups than others—the task for policy design is to figure out how to compensate the “biggest losers” so that they do not shoulder too much of this new burden. Paul Horak is a Trinity junior.
20 | THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
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