Duke Identity

Tenets

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1. Empower the boldest thinkers.

Duke invests decisively in our extraordinary faculty, students and staff, recognizing that their accomplishments comprise the true measure of our institutional excellence.

2. Transform teaching and learning.

Better fusion of our research and educational missions and leveraging new technological and pedagogical approaches that meet the evolving needs of a new generation of students.

3. Strengthen our campus community.

Ensuring all who call Duke home share a lived experience that is increasingly inclusive, equitable,  engaging, healthy and vibrant.

4. Partner with purpose.

To strengthen relationships in Durham and serve as a collaborative catalyst in our region to our research ecosystem while improving the community health, housing and education.

5. Engage our global network.

Better supporting and harnessing alumni and friends’ talents to provide opportunities to learn and grow throughout the full arc of their lives.

Values

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Our shared values—respect, trust, inclusion, discovery and excellence—are more than aspirations.  They are the beliefs and behaviors that we expect of ourselves and our colleagues and serve as guiding principles for progress.

TRUST

RESPECT

INCLUSION

DISCOVERY

EXCELLENCE

Tone

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“Tone” describes the feeling or emotion of how a written document sounds as you read it to yourself. Tone can take on many forms and can remain the same or change quickly throughout a story. It can be expressed through the formality or informality, complex or simplistic style and syntax of the writing.

Messaging

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Tenets, meet values.

Messaging is not copy; it’s subtext. Messaging is the scaffolding to help tell stories in the right way. It helps prioritize what is best for Duke.

	Trust	Excellence	Discovery	Respect	Inclusion
Empowering the boldest thinkers	Duke is committed to learning and research with integrity.	Duke faculty produce outstanding scholarship across all fields.	Curiosity-driven research expands the frontiers of knowledge.	Duke fosters intellectual collaboration across the university.	Diverse teams produce better results.
Transforming teaching and learning	All students have access to the best of a Duke education.	Duke leads in innovative learning.	Duke strives for continuous transformation of teaching models.	Duke invests in team-based learning.	Duke is committed to educational access and opportunity.
Strengthen our campus community	Campus life reflects Duke’s values and welcomes all.	Duke delivers a healthy, vibrant campus experience that is world-class.	Duke’s intellectual opportunities extend from the classroom into residential life.	Recognizing our institutional history helps Duke chart a path forward.	Duke’s living-learning model prioritizes inclusion and belonging.
Partner with purpose	Duke delivers on its promises to the community.	Duke shares its expertise to uplift the local community.	Duke research addresses pressing local & global problems.	Duke partners with humility and learns from Durham.	Duke aims to lift up diverse sectors of the community.
Engage a global network	Duke maintains connections with its alumni and invites them to give back.	Our alumni are a tremendous resource of talent and engagement.	Duke offers exciting lifelong learning opportunities.	Duke acknowledges that not all alumni had the same experience.	Duke celebrates its diverse and vibrant alumni community.

Visual guide

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Expression

Duke’s wordmark has widespread adoption and a cachet unmatched by most institutions. This imagery represents years of brand building and is synonymous with excellence in all that we do. There is a range of creative license in the presentation of Duke identity. It’s flexibility allows for groups to add their own unique imagery while still maintaining the integrity of the original design.

Extension

Building on Duke’s existing branding guidance, we can stylize the 5 tenants of the brand in a range of options.