Final Report for Duke's Financial Aid Initiative (2005-2008)
Celebrating Success
These uncertain economic times are a reminder of just how important it is for a university to have permanent endowment dedicated to financial aid. At a time when university resources are stretched in many directions, so too are the resources of our students and their families. Yet it is our obligation as a great university to ensure that talented students can get the education that will enable them to reach their potential. Financial aid endowment helps us fulfill our core commitment to make a Duke education accessible and affordable.
I am deeply grateful to the 4,364 donors who participated in Duke's Financial Aid Initiative. Your gifts will benefit countless financial aid recipients, as well as their families, peers, and the many others whose lives they touch.
Richard H. Brodhead
President
Our beloved Duke has long been committed to opening its doors to students from all financial circumstances. Through Duke's Financial Aid Initiative, devoted alumni, parents, students, and friends have come together to help protect that commitment.
There are hundreds of students at Duke today who are benefitting from gifts made to Duke's Financial Aid Initiative, and decades from now, there will be even more students who are able to attend Duke because of scholarships and fellowships supported and established during these few years. What's more, this initiative helped give university leaders the confidence to enhance undergraduate need-based aid packages for virtually all recipients.
Thanks to the many volunteers who contributed to the success of Duke's Financial Aid Initiative, and thanks to everyone who invested in this most precious resource: our students.
Student and Alumni Voices
On February 27, 2009, Duke students and leaders gathered to thank some of the Financial Aid Initiative’s top donors for their generous support of financial aid endowment. The eight audio clips included this online final report were recorded at that celebration.
John Koskinen T'61
Duke trustee emeritus John Koskinen T’61, who now chairs the new board at Freddie Mac, was only able to attend Duke because of financial aid.
Vince Oghobaase T'09
Vince Oghobaase T'09 wanted to play football at a school that combined top-tier athletics with an excellent education.
Alex Reese T'11
"Duke is a place where students are taught to believe in the power of good ideas."
