The Laidlaw Scholars Program at Duke
University will empower undergraduates to develop as ethical
leaders through community-engaged research and experiential
learning opportunities.
LONDON, May 23, 2024
/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Duke University
has received a $1.125 million gift
from the Laidlaw Foundation that will greatly expand the Hart
Leadership Program's capacity to support community-engaged
experiential learning opportunities for Duke undergraduate students. The gift will
establish the Laidlaw Research and Leadership Scholarship Program
at Duke University, a 24-month
leadership development program for cohorts of up to 25 students.
During their two years in the program, Laidlaw Scholars will
receive support for two summers of community-engaged research and
civic practice, beginning in the summer of 2025. At full capacity,
the program will provide support for up to 50 undergraduate
students per year. The initial gift is for three years and is
subject to renewal.
"Duke's
commitment to promoting an intellectual environment built on free
and open inquiry, and developing students to lead with high ethical
standards, completely aligns with our purpose in funding Laidlaw
Scholars and makes them the perfect partner." - Susanna V. Kempe, Laidlaw Foundation CEO
The program aligns with Duke's
strategic vision of transforming teaching and learning through
experiential education, creating more opportunities for
undergraduate research, and building community engagement in
North Carolina and globally.
"Sanford is deeply committed to deepening the undergraduate
experience of students," Dean Judith
Kelley said. "This program provides robust learning and
global connections, and this gift augments the already
extraordinary track record of the Hart Leadership Program in
training undergraduate students for lives of leadership and
service. We are grateful for the support of the Laidlaw Foundation
for our students."
The Laidlaw Scholars Program is designed to develop ethical
leaders in every sector and field of interest. Through academic
courses, experiential learning programs, community-based research
and co-curricular initiatives, Duke
students will be challenged to develop their own frameworks for
leadership and work alongside others toward a common purpose.
Andrew Nurkin, director of the
Hart Leadership Program, said the Laidlaw Scholars Program at
Duke will incorporate all of the
hallmark elements of the Hart Leadership Program: learning
leadership through experience, conducting research with a civic
mission, connecting classroom learning to community contexts,
practicing mindful reflection, and growing alongside a strong
community of peers and practitioners.
"Our aim has always been for each student to develop their own
sense of public purpose in community with others," Nurkin said.
The Laidlaw Scholars Program will be open to all first- and
second-year Duke students. Students
will apply in the fall, be required to take a spring gateway
seminar, and receive full funding for two summers to participate in
the program. The first summer will be focused on research with
Duke faculty advisors, and the second
summer will focus on "leadership-in-action" projects. At least one
of the two summers will be spent outside the United States. Students will also receive
ongoing leadership development through an overnight retreat and a
colloquium dinner series, a certificate in ethical leadership from
the University of Oxford, as well as
access to the international Laidlaw Scholars Network.
The Laidlaw Scholars Network includes some of the world's top
research universities, creating opportunities for collaboration at
both the undergraduate and faculty levels. The network is comprised
of 19 top universities in Europe,
North America and Asia, including the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics, Columbia University, Georgetown University, Brown
University, the University of Hong Kong–and now Duke.
Susanna Kempe, CEO of the Laidlaw
Foundation, said, "We are absolutely delighted to be partnering
with Duke University, whose commitment
to promoting an intellectual environment built on free and open
inquiry, and developing students to lead with unwaveringly high
ethical standards, completely aligns with our purpose in funding
Laidlaw Scholars at the top universities in the world."
The program at Duke will feature
shared aspects, as well as specific features that make it "uniquely
Duke." One unique feature will be a
Duke gateway class on community-engaged
research and leadership, required in the spring before the first
summer of the program. In addition, the summer of research will be
team-based and led by Duke faculty.
"We are thrilled that in the coming years up to 50 Duke students each summer will be expanding their
research and leadership skills through this prestigious program,"
Nurkin said. "This program will offer characteristic Hart
Leadership moments found in our other programs while adding
valuable new opportunities for students to grow as leaders,
scholars and global citizens."
Learn more about the Hart Leadership Program:
https://hart.sanford.duke.edu/
About the Laidlaw Foundation: The Laidlaw Foundation invests in
the education of the underprivileged and underrepresented in order
to break the cycle of poverty, reduce inequality and develop a new
generation of ethical leaders. Learn more:
https://laidlawfoundation.com/
Media Contact
Princess Agina, Laidlaw
Foundation, 44 7451 206325, contact@laidlawfoundation.com,
https://laidlawfoundation.com/
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SOURCE Laidlaw Foundation