Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to announce QuadEx, our new neighborhood-based residential model. It is comprised of seven Quads on West Campus that will enhance social and intellectual connection and foster bonds that will last a lifetime.
The model is designed to deliver on our promise of a transformative undergraduate education by extending the best of Duke’s living and learning experiences to all our students. QuadEx will establish an enduring community structure and foundation through which students will have greater opportunity to connect to one another and to the many resources Duke has to offer throughout their four years.
Building a renewed campus community that promotes growth is one of the five pillars of President Price’s strategic framework. It states in part: “...This will be a healthier, more vibrant and more inclusive environment for all of us –faculty, students, and staff – who call Duke home.”
This strategic framework also affirms “...as we look ahead to Duke’s future, it is our human infrastructure that is our true value proposition." QuadEx upholds this belief and builds upon the strengths of our existing residential model, with the goal of preparing students for the future they will inherit.
Implementation planning and activities are already underway so that QuadEx will be fully operational in the fall of 2022, with its full benefits emerging over time.
As you know, what happens beyond the classroom plays an important role in fulfilling Duke’s promise to deliver an exceptional undergraduate liberal arts education. To that end, we wish to highlight key features of QuadEx:
- QuadEx will create new residential communities, centered around seven West Campus Quads, that will support students throughout all four years of their undergraduate experience.
- East Campus Houses will be permanently connected to associated West Campus Quads
- Each Quad will develop its own identity, traditions, and events.
- University resources and support will be provided for programming, social events,and other community building activities.
- First-year students will continue to live on East Campus but will have automatic membership into their affiliated Quad on West Campus. Sophomores will live in theirlinked West Campus Quad. Juniors will live in their Quad or other housing on campus (Hollows, 300 Swift). Seniors will live in their Quad, the Hollows/300 Swift, or off campus. Juniors and seniors retain Quad affiliation, regardless of where they choose to live.
- Opportunities for intellectual exploration and co-curricular life-skills, career, and purpose programming will be tied to the developmental needs of students in each year.
To fully develop the benefits of inclusive community that are central to QuadEx, Duke will no longer provide dedicated university housing sections to Greek and non-Greek selective living groups (SLGs) after the 2022-2023 academic year. Students may continue to affiliate with these groups starting in their sophomore year as an added dimension to their social experience at Duke. Starting in Fall 2023, Duke supports will shift away from housing and towards mentorship, leadership development and organizational advising.
A great deal of time, effort, and thought has gone into conceiving QuadEx. Over the past several years, we have followed a disciplined process that included input from faculty, staff, students, and alumni. A central consideration was the fact that this is no longer the same Duke or the same world that existed when many of our systems – housing included – were planned and implemented.
Duke students are a dynamic group of future leaders. We owe it to them and society to graduate exceptional young adults that are world ready.
Since Duke made the decision to provide co-educational housing in 1896, the university has repeatedly used residential life to advance its values and institutional goals. With each iteration, we build upon the best of Duke’s past, while looking firmly toward the future. QuadEx is the next step in that journey.
For more details on QuadEx, we invite you to visit the QuadEx website at quadex.duke.edu.
Each of you has an important role to play in making this new residential model work for all students. We welcome any questions you might have and encourage any additional suggestions as to how we can ensure its success. Please feel free to provide input directly, or you may submit questions and feedback via an online feedback form.
In conclusion, we want to thank you for your guidance and support which has helped shape QuadEx and our path forward. We look forward to your partnership as we bring QuadEx to life.
Sincerely,
Gary Bennett
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Global Health and Medicine
Mary Pat McMahon
Vice Provost/Vice President of Student Affairs
