Divestment at Duke

Funding the Future
Since the university's founding, students have urged Duke to remove its money from industries and countries that support violence, destruction, and racism. Protests against university money funding and profiting off wars and exploitation have more closely aligned Duke’s financial investments with values of global justice and human rights.

1924 Students selling WW1 Liberty Loans

Trinity College, renamed Duke University in 1924, was the first U.S. college to sell war bonds, which were public loans to the government to fund the purchase of tanks, medicines, planes, and other military supplies. This pro-war sentiment on campus was fueled partly by patriotic sentiments and the positive perception of war efforts.

1932 Erecting Hope, Enduring Hardship

Amid the stock market collapse, income from the Duke Endowment plummeted by nearly 50%—from $1.3 million in 1931 to just over $660,000 in 1933—just as the $2 million construction of Duke Chapel was completed in 1932.

Construction of Duke Chapel

Duke students participate in a war bond rally

1944 Duke Invests in WWII

Joining the national war financing campaign, Duke students urged the community to purchase war bonds through loan drives, contributing to the $185.7 billion of securities sold during WWII.

1955 Expanding Education with The Duke Endowment

Duke allocates 4% of its endowment to support Johnson C. Smith University from closure, marking a historic shift toward inclusive, ethical endowment use and opening the door to divestiture.

Students gather in a classroom at James B. Duke Memorial Library at Johnson C. Smith University

1968 Organizing Against DOW

Students issued pamphlets as a call to action against Duke's support for Dow Chemical Company, the sole producer of Napalm used against innocent civilians in the Vietnam War.

Boycott all DOW products
Write letters to the President, Congress, and the Board of Trustees Chairman
Attend an open forum to express dissent with DOW, napalm, and Duke's war profiteering

1973 Divestiture of Gulf Mexico

A campaign at Duke University called for divestment from Gulf Oil, condemning its exploitation in Africa and urging ethical financial practices. Student activism highlighted the university's complicity, marking a push for social responsibility in its investments.

1985 Apartheid Commencement Ribbons

In May 1985, students wore these ribbons at Duke's commencement ceremony. The ribbons represented support for Duke's divestment from the racist South African apartheid regime.

1978 Anti-Apartheid Advertisements

The Southern Africa Coalition created advertisements in August 1978, as part of a campaign to deter new students from opening accounts at North Carolina National Bank (NCNB), as it originated loans to apartheid South Africa.

1986 Exposing $26 million in Economic Support for South Africa

An excerpt from the advocacy pamphlet A Call to Social Responsibility.

Authored by seniors ('86) of the Duke South Africa Coalition, this was created to educate campus and urge administrators to divest from companies with ties to South Africa.

Additionally, students included companies' compliance the Sullivan Principles, a corporate code of conduct assessing segregation progress, equal pay, and training programs.

This and the aforementioned anti-apartheid efforts culminated with Duke divesting from South Africa in May 1986.

1998 Students Against Sweatshops

President Nancy Keohane speaks with Students Against Sweatshops that demand Duke establish a conduct policy against exploitative conditions by which companies that manufacture Duke apparel and merchandise are required to abide to. Students advocate for Duke to divest from manufacturers that don't uphold this standard.

2008 Duke Magazine on Sudan

In the May-June 2008 issue, Duke Magazine highlights the administrative decision to divest from business with Sudan after several student proposals to the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility (ACIR).

2012 Demands for Fossil Fuel Divestment

In 2012, student activism at Duke University took a significant step forward with the creation of Divest Duke, a campaign advocating for the university to divest its endowment from fossil fuel companies. Since then, the Duke Climate Coalition has spearheaded efforts through protests, research, and formal reports. Although Duke Management Company (DUMAC), the professional organization overseeing the university’s investments, has not fully embraced divestment, campus interest and dialogue on climate-conscious investing continue to grow, alongside evolving adjustments in Duke’s climate-related portfolio.

2023 Fighting for a Fossil-Free Future

Students rally in front of the Broadhead Center (WU), organized by the Duke Climate Coalition, to make climate justice and sustainability demands, among them divestment from fossil fuels.

2024 Duke Divest Coalition and the Israel-Gaza War

In May 2024, Duke undergraduate seniors stage a walk-out at Commencement, reminiscent of the Southern Africa Coalition anti-apartheid efforts, to advocate for investment disclosure and divestment in the Israel-Gaza War. They hold an alternate graduation in front of the Duke Chapel. Later, at the one-year mark since October 7th, the Duke Divest Coalition, an alliance of various student organizations with the shared goal of university divestment, launches a campaign to end Duke's complicity through its financial ties to the U.S. defense industry and the war. After a summer of preparation, the Duke Divest Coalition submitted a proposal to the ACIR in August 2024, which was rejected.

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Isabella Delgado, Henry Stephens IV, Rodrigo Noguera, and Geethika Korrapati researched divestment at Duke and created this portion of the online and in-person gallery exhibit.

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