Duke Blue Devils

Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892.^[2] In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B. Duke established The Duke Endowment, prompting the institution to change its name in honor of his deceased father, Washington Duke.

The University is organized into two undergraduate and eight graduate schools. The undergraduate student body, containing 37% ethnic minorities, come from all 50 U.S. states and 85 countries.^[3] In its 2007 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the undergraduate division eighth in the nation,^[4] while ranking the medical, law, and business schools among the top eleven in the country.^[5] Duke's research expenditures are among the largest in the U.S. and its athletic program is one of the nation's elite.^[6][7] Competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the athletic teams have captured eight national championships, including three by the men's basketball team.

Besides academics, research, and athletics, Duke is also well known for its sizable campus and Gothic architecture, especially Duke Chapel. The forested environs surrounding parts of campus belie the University's proximity to downtown Durham. Duke's 8,709 acres (35 km²) contain three main campuses in Durham as well as a marine lab in Beaufort. Construction projects have updated both the freshmen-housed Georgian-style East Campus and the main Gothic-style West campus, as well as the adjacent Medical Center over the past five years. Other projects are underway on all three campuses, including a 20- to 50-year overhaul of Central campus, the first phase of which is expected to be completed in Fall 2008 at an estimated cost of $240 million.