Duke University and Durham

[West Point on the Eno Grist Mill]

An example of what you can see at the many fine parks in town: The grist mill at the West Point on the Eno State Park

Duke University and the surrounding area provide an exceptional environment for study and living. Duke University was created out of Trinity College by a gift from James B. Duke in 1924. Neo gothic West Campus, where the Physics Department is located, was built in the early 1930's. Duke's beautiful wooded campus, together with the adjacent Duke Forest, comprise some 8,000 acres. Duke has a long-standing tradition of academic excellence. The Schools of Medicine, Law, Engineering, and Business are consistently ranked in the top ten in the nation, as is the Undergraduate Program.

Duke University is located in Durham, a city of about 180,000 residents in central North Carolina's rolling Piedmont. The "Triangle" (the area within and adjacent to the triangle formed by Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh) offers an extended community which includes four universities and several colleges, as well as the Research Triangle Park. Duke University and North Carolina Central University in Durham, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, as well as the community of scholars and researchers of the laboratories of the Research Triangle Park, give the area an intellectual and cultural tone found in few parts of the country. The combination of intellectual resources and mild climate have stimulated substantial recent growth in the area, which is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the country. The region is not plagued by many of the problems of large cities: there is little pollution, traffic flows smoothly, and housing is relatively inexpensive.

The pleasant climate invites outdoor activities: swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, jogging trails, and baseball fields abound. Duke Forest is a rich tapestry of hiking trails. For the more adventurous there is wind surfing on nearby Jordan Lake, fishing and sailing on the ocean, or hiking in the Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains. In winter, the mountains (only about a 3- or 4-hour drive away) provide opportunities for cross-country and downhill skiing. Hundreds of miles of beaches along the North Carolina shore include Nags Head, Cape Hatteras, Kitty Hawk, the site of the Wright Brothers' historic flights, and many undeveloped stretches in the National Sea Shores which are excellent sites for camping and fishing. Interstate 40 connects Duke to the popular beaches surrounding Wilmington, North Carolina in only a 2-hour drive.

Cultural opportunities at Duke include numerous film series, the Broadway at Duke program, the Duke Artists series, an excellent series of chamber music concerts, and frequent visits by popular music groups. The rock music club scene of the Triangle is nationally recognized as one of the most progressive in the country. The Walnut Creek Amphitheatre brings big-name tours of popular bands. In the summer the American Dance Festival makes its home at Duke, bringing foremost modern dance companies for six weeks of performances.

The Duke Blue Devils are one of the nation's strongest intercollegiate athletic programs, competing in the nine member Atlantic Coast Conference and fielding teams in 24 varsity sports. Duke's basketball team is consistently ranked among the nation's elite and won National championships in 1991 and 1992. The football team is one of only a handful to have participated in all four major bowl games. Durham is also home to the Durham Bulls, a minor league farm team for the Atlanta Braves, which was featured in the 1987 movie, "Bull Durham." The Triangle area also has professional teams in hockey and tennis, and the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA and Carolina Panthers of the NFL are a two-hour drive away.

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