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Duke to open season Tuesday Page 6
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
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 22
From DUPD chief to Durham Sheriff By Matthew Griffin University News Editor
Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead’s career in law enforcement has taken him many places. He has served as a deputy and police officer, worked as a security consultant and taught courses at multiple schools. Still, one thing stands out as a turning point in his long career: his time at Duke, where he was chief of the Duke University Police Department from 1998 to 2005. “Coming to Duke was the best thing that ever happened to me career-wise, and personally as well,” Birkhead said. He has good reason to think so. Birkhead said Duke gave him opportunities for advancement that, as an African American, he might not have had in the rural North Carolina town where he grew up. It was where he met his wife. And it was the place where he developed the philosophies that guide his work to this day.
Former Duke researcher banned from federal funding By Nathan Luzum Managing Editor
The road to the sheriff’s office was not always straightforward—Birkhead played football in the North Carolina Semi-Pro League for two years in his early 20s, until the league folded. His decision to go into law enforcement came at the urging of a friend who was a police officer in his hometown of Asheboro, N.C. Birkhead felt a “natural draw” to the career, he said. He had been a Boy Scout and active in his church, and public safety allowed him to serve his community in a deeper way. He completed Basic Law Enforcement Training and became a deputy in the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office in 1984. Birkhead came to Durham from Randolph County in 1988, becoming an officer in what was then the Duke Public Safety Department. He was quickly promoted, eventually becoming assistant chief of operations. Ten years after he was hired, he became chief of Duke University Police Department. “I had a fast-paced rise through the ranks, but I say along the way I had the opportunity to prepare myself, and I had some great people around me and some good opportunity,” he said. Courtesy of David Bowser In particular, Birkhead said that Duke was “night and day”
Erin Potts-Kant, a former Duke researcher who has been accused of falsifying experiments, was officially banned from receiving federal funding Oct. 1. A report from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity issued Oct. 31 found that Potts-Kant “engaged in research misconduct by knowingly and intentionally falsifying and fabricating research data.” The faked data—including 117 figures and two tables—was in 39 published papers, three manuscripts and two research records, the report found. Although the U.S. Office of Research Integrity found that manipulated data was present in 39 of her authored papers, only 18 have since been retracted, according to Retraction Watch. Retractions are typically issued by the journal in which a paper was published, not a government office. Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations, declined to comment on the report. A researcher in the pulmonary, allergy and critical care department of Duke Health, Potts-Kant was fired from Duke and arrested in 2013 under charges of embezzlement. In response to a 2015 whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Duke used the fudged findings to secure hundreds of millions in grants, the University paid $112.5 million in a settlement
See SHERIFF on Page 12
See DATA on Page 12
A ‘fast-paced’ trajectory at Duke
Clarence Birkhead was a police officer at Duke before taking the top job at the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
The Chronicle wins online Pacemaker award at student journalism conference By Mona Tong Local and National News Editor
The Chronicle won the 2019 Online Pacemaker Award, collegiate journalism’s foremost digital award presented by the Associated Collegiate Press. It was also named a print newspaper finalist. Begun in 1927, and considered the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism, the Pacemaker is a journalism award presented annually to U.S. college student publications. There are entries for each category—online, newspaper, yearbook and magazine— which are judged based on coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics, according to the award website. The Chronicle is one of the 20 college newspapers to win the award for the online category, and one of the 46 newspapers named as finalists for the newspaper category. Vol. 114 Editor-in-Chief Bre Bradham and Vol. 114 Managing
Editor Ben Leonard received the award at the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Washington D.C. this past weekend. “I’m really proud of our whole team and the work that everyone put in last year to help us win this,” Bradham said. “I’m really excited about what this says about our growth as a digital source for news, and I’m so glad to be part of The Chronicle.” Leonard added that it was an honor to win the awards and that he is proud of everyone’s hard work in producing great print and online content. “I’m especially proud that we took home the Pacemaker for online content,” he said. “We’ve done a great job transitioning to a digital-first organization and will continue to go down that road going forward. We couldn’t have done it without Bre Bradham’s strong leadership.” The Chronicle Vol. 110 also won the online Pacemaker Special to The Chronicle award in 2015. The Chronicle was also a finalist for the print Pacemaker award.
The Chronicle’s Durham voting guide
Men’s soccer says goodbye to seniors
A balanced budget
Don’t know anything about the upcoming Durham election? Don’t worry, we have you covered. PAGE 2
With the season dwindling, our Joe Wang looks at the careers of the Blue Devil seniors. PAGE 7
Two of our columnists discuss whether the goal of balancing the budget is a realistic one. PAGE 11
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