Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James Buchanan Duke established The Duke Endowment, prompting the institution to change its name in honor of his deceased father, Washington Duke.
The University is organized into two undergraduate and eight graduate schools. The undergraduate student body comes from all 50 U.S. states and 106 countries. In its 2009 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university’s undergraduate program eighth among national universities, while ranking the medical, law, and business schools among the top 12 in the country. Duke University was ranked as the thirteenth best university in the world in the 2008 THES – QS World University Rankings of universities worldwide.
Duke’s research expenditures are among the largest 20 in the U.S. and its athletic program is one of the nation’s elite. Competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the athletic teams have won ten national championships, including three by the men’s basketball team.
Besides academics, research, and athletics, Duke is also well known for its sizable campus and Gothic architecture, especially the Duke Chapel. The forests surrounding parts of the campus belie the University’s proximity to downtown Durham. Duke’s 8,610 acres (35 km?) contain three contiguous campuses in Durham as well as a marine lab in Beaufort. Construction projects have updated both the freshmen-populated Georgian-style East Campus and the main Gothic-style West Campus, as well as the adjacent Medical Center over the past five years.
Duke University
Latin: Universitas Dukiana
Motto: Eruditio et Religio
Motto in English: Knowledge and Faith
Established: 1838
Type: Private
Endowment: $4 billion (May 2009)[1]
President: Richard H. Brodhead
Faculty: 2,877
Students: 13,457
Undergraduates: 6,340
Postgraduates: 7,117
Location: Durham, North Carolina, US
36°0′4″N 78°56′20″W? / ?36.00111°N 78.93889°W? / 36.00111; -78.93889Coordinates: 36°0′4″N 78°56′20″W? / ?36.00111°N 78.93889°W? / 36.00111; -78.93889
Campus: Urban
8,610 acres (34.8 km2)
Former names: Brown School (1838–1841)
Union Institute (1841–1851)
Normal College (1851–1859)
Trinity College (1859–1924)
Colors: Duke blue and white
Nickname: Blue Devils
Athletics: NCAA Division I FBS
26 varsity teams
Affiliations: AAU, ACC, UMC
Website: www.duke.edu
Latin text from university archives. Population data for fall 2007; financial data for FY07. UMC ties historic and symbolic, but governance-independent.
Tags: America, American, Carolina, Duke, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, School, United States, University, USA