Dear President Price and Rector Kornbluth,
We, Duke Alumni, write to share our concerns about the alarming state of the art and the entire artistic ecosystem at our alma mater, Duke University.
Overall picture: There has been an unexplained exodus of key Duke Arts and Duke Performances personnel over the past two years, from 11 to 15 employees leaving core programming, marketing, administration, and engagement roles. These departures leave an immeasurable loss to the art ecosystem across the university.
Why it Matters: As graduates, we have benefited tremendously from Duke Arts’ life-changing programs, including DEMAN (Duke Entertainment, Media & Arts Network), Duke Performances, and DukeCreate. We believe these ex-employee programs are essential to us and the next generation of Blue Devils. For many of us, these programs provide unique opportunities to establish meaningful collaboration with the University.
We are afraid that you did not inform the multitude of departures of your employees about this, you did not announce their successors and did not indicate whether the programs would be continued. We have lost our permanent contacts with the University.
Next Steps: We ask President Price and Chancellor Kornbluth to conduct an urgent, independent review of Duke Arts and Duke Performances, including interviews with former employees, so that their institutional knowledge can be continued. As graduates, we thank you for carrying out this review and look forward to the results of the report this fall. Your next steps will help ensure our investment in our home university.
Matt Giegerich
bachelor’s degree ’09
Author / screenwriter
Black Mountain, North Carolina
Detavio Samuels
bachelor’s degree 2002
He worked in Fuqua 2002-2004
Los Angeles, CA
Changnon Fields
A.B. ’85
Atlanta, GA
The oath of grace
Prince BA 16
Co-producer
Los Angeles, CA
Abhi Shah
Trinity ’16
Live Services Director, 2K
Seattle, Washington state
Ryan White
2004
Filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA
Dave Karger
A.B. “95
TCM host
Los Angeles, CA
Katie Jane Fernelius
BA, ’16
New Orleans, LA
Ashley Alman
bachelor’s degree ’13
Marketing, Netflix
Los Angeles, CA
Guilbert Francois
B.S. ’17
New York, New York
Jaylyn BArbee
B.S. “21
Software engineer
Seattle, Washington state
Jair Froome
bachelor’s degree ’19
Portfolio & amp; Risk Analyst
New York, New York
Madeleine Pron
BA “16
Screenwriter
Los Angeles, CA
Bryce Cracknell
Trinity ’18
Los Angeles, CA
Daniel Kim
BA “21
Los Angeles, CA
Ava Changnon
bachelor’s degree “22”
New York, New York
Maddie Stambler
Trinity ’17
MFA | EDA ’23
Director / Producer
Durham, North Carolina
Jade Richard-Craven
bachelor’s degree ’15’
Television and television Film scriptwriter / development manager
Los Angeles, CA
Ilana Wolpert
2015 bachelor’s degree
TV scriptwriter
Los Angeles
Kennedy products
bachelor’s degree ’20’
Production Coordinator, Sony Pictures
Los Angeles, CA
Bianca Umeakuan
Pubpol, Theater, & amp; VMS 20 ‘
Project Manager @ Warner Studios
Atlanta, GA
Heather Robinson
bachelor’s degree “22”
Los Angeles, CA
Jillian Appeal
bachelor’s degree ’18
Los Angeles, CA
Keely MacDonald
MBA “12”
TV screenwriter
Los Angeles, CA
Naomi Lilly
BA “20
CEO of Brij App
Brooklyn, New York
Glynn Chatmon
B.S. “16
Medical student
Nashville, TN
Justin Sapp
B.S. ’18
Durham, North Carolina
Tatum Riley
bachelor’s degree “22”
Consultant
Phoenix, AZ
Tobi Akinyel
B.S. “21
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dori Alvarez
B.S. 2003
