Expanding Campus Offerings

To provide students with learning opportunities in and out of the classroom, The Duke Endowment has awarded grants to Duke University, Davidson College, Johnson C. Smith University and Furman University to enrich academic and campus life.

Insights

Four key findings drive our support of strong undergraduate educational experiences. We invite others to use these findings as a starting point for their own efforts.

• Undergraduate learning that promotes interdisciplinary studies gives students a broader background for approaching real-world problems.
• Team teaching offers multiple perspectives and encourages student participation. Although time-intensive, well-constructed team-taught courses benefit students and faculty.
• Undergraduate research opportunities are becoming more prevalent at top-tier colleges and universities. Students are realizing that hands-on learning enriches the undergraduate experience and helps their success after graduation.
• Undergraduate research experiences allow students to collaborate and learn from faculty experts, and can help the professors advance their own research. Schools that establish strong reputations for innovative, collaborative coursework and undergraduate research can draw stronger student applicants and attract top faculty.

Impact

Grants from the Endowment are making a difference in expanding interdisciplinary learning and other undergraduate opportunities. Here are two examples:

Expansion of Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University

Before receiving a grant from the Endowment, Duke University was the first in the nation to appoint a full-time Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies. With Endowment funding, the university continues to expand its cross-curricular programs. Currently it has 60 interdisciplinary centers within nine schools, and has developed processes for creating, reviewing and renewing the centers. The university also used Endowment funding to secure faculty to work in interdisciplinary areas.

Growth of Team Teaching and Undergraduate Research at Davidson College

With support from the Endowment, Davidson College has expanded the number of team-taught courses, and has established the Davidson Research Initiative. More than 40 students were selected to participate in the Initiative's Summer Program in its first two years.

Through one of the programs, faculty can apply to take students on field trips during the school year to experience a subject firsthand. In "The Politics and Society of a Country at War," for example, students traveled to Columbia to study the political process. "They met people impacted by these events and got to see on the ground what they have been studying in the classroom," says Dr. Verna Case, program director for the Institute. Other groups have gone to Costa Rica to study animals in their natural habitat, Chicago and Detroit to study cities that have responded differently to urban development, and New York City to analyze plays for a theater class.

"It makes a big impact to see it in real life," Case says. "To see it, touch it, feel it. It solidifies it in your mind and makes a better learning experience. The presentations are amazing — to see the scholarship and the connections that the students are making."

Contact Us

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Associate Director, Higher Education
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