AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION: Duke gets $20 mil. from Gates family

The Chronicle DURHAM, N.C. (U-WIRE) Thanks to a recent $20 million endowment gift from Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, Duke University has launched a new academic program that utilizes one of its strengths -- interdisciplinary studies -- to repair one of its weaknesses -- financial aid. Once fully established, Duke's University Scholars program will offer about 80 undergraduate, graduate and professional students financial and academic resources for cross-disciplinary studies. The program will kick off next fall with eight undergraduates and eight graduate and professional students. "Bill and I hope this program will really attract some of the best and brightest students in the nation to Duke by letting them focus on topics that interest them, even if they don't fit neatly into a discipline," said Duke alumna and trustee Melinda Gates. Duke Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies Cathy Davidson, who will direct the program, said specifics have not been developed, but scholars will most likely organize their studies around annual or biannual themes. "The selection criteria for this program will be, quite simply, intellectual inquisitiveness and creativity, not past accomplishments or traditional markers of success," Davidson said. In an interview with The Chronicle, Melinda Gates noted that although she and her husband have donated mostly to technology-related projects in the past, they try to determine an institution's greatest needs when considering a gift. In the case of Duke, that need was endowed financial aid. With 45 percent of Duke undergraduates qualifying for financial aid, the University spends about $30 million per year in undergraduate support from its own funds. Because of Duke's relatively small endowment of $1.4 billion, $24 million of that support must come from its annual operating budget. As other elite schools with larger endowments, such as Princeton University, begin to allot more money to financial aid, this goal becomes even more important for Duke. The University Scholars program, however, is not exclusively for those who qualify for financial aid. Program designers estimate that the average award to participants will be about $15,000 per year, with the actual amount varying depending on the student's need. The Gateses have donated to several schools, including the University of Washington and Harvard University. In the mid-1990s, they established the William H. Gates Foundation, which has a broad mission, and the Gates Library Foundation, which provides computer and Internet access to public libraries in low-income communities. Responding to critics who have said the Gateses have not been generous enough, Melinda Gates noted that she and her husband work very hard at being as thoughtful and creative as possible in their giving. "We try to think about what's needed and how we can be thoughtful, and how through our giving we can encourage others to give. Some people say we got started late, but we have said over and over that by the time we pass away, we will have given away the majority of our wealth," she said. The Gates' gift is among the largest in Duke history. Last April, J.B. Fuqua donated $20 million to the business school and the Duke Endowment gave the university $30 million to support financial aid.