Project Change Introduces Students to Durham and to Complexities of Social Change

In its Winter 2022 issue, Duke Magazine profiled Project Change, an experiential pre-orientation program run by the Kenan Institute for Ethics. Students were introduced to the Durham community through walking tours of downtown Durham, talks with community leaders and faculty, scavenger hunts, and other group activities. They also took a deep dive into local history as they researched the restrictive racial covenants, which — though unenforceable — are still attached to properties in neighborhoods proximate to Duke. They explored possible responses and deliberated on the best way to address the legacy of these covenants today.

“[M]any students enter Duke with simplistic ideas about making change in the world. Project Change, in some ways, teaches them how to fail – or at least how complex change can be and how long it takes.”

Read the full article by Scott Huler on the Duke Magazine website or in its Winter 2022 print issue.