Diversity Debate Continues at Duke

RALEIGH — Readers of Duke University’s student newspaper saw an ad Feb. 9 from the Duke Conservative Union. It was an open letter to Duke President Nan Keohane, questioning the university’s commitment to intellectual diversity. It noted that among select departments and Duke deans, registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans by 142 to 8. Many departments did not have even a single Republican on the faculty. Keohane responded that the DCU’s question “deserves a thoughtful answer” and that party affiliation didn’t capture the issue of diversity.