Day in Durham 2008: "Imagine Your Impact"
Fuqua’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE)
and the Duke MBA Net Impact Club (NIC), hosted the fifth annual Day in Durham on August 23, 2008 with
over 160 daytime MBA students in attendance. (see the day in photos)
The goal of the event is to introduce incoming Duke MBA students to the Durham community and whet the students’ appetites for getting involved in the Durham community during their two years at Duke, for seeing first hand the relevance of their MBA training and skills when tackling social problems, and for embarking upon careers in business with an understanding of and commitment to
responsible business and community leadership.
The theme of this year’s Day in Durham presented to the incoming class was “Imagine Your Impact.” In other words, imagine the change you can make during your time at Duke to impact the community around you. Through an inspirational keynote speech by Bill Stevenson (Fuqua ’99), Director of Corporate Social Investments at Lenovo and the theme-based excursions into the Durham community that followed, students took a day to learn about social issues in Durham and how they can get involved and use their business skills to make a positive impact.
This year, students had the choice of attending panel discussions and tours on one of five different excursions focusing on health, social enterprise, economic development, sustainable business, or education. This is represents a substantial expansion from years past when only three excursions were offered. One student participant commented that,
“Day in Durham was a great way to learn more about the social enterprise opportunities available to us. It really inspired me to start considering social entrepreneurship during and after school.” - MBA Student, Fuqua Class of 2010
Duke MBA alumnus Bill Stevenson kicked off the event by describing Lenovo’s corporate commitment to contribute 1% of its earnings to assisting entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs worldwide, with an aim of assisting 100,000 entrepreneurs through 2010. Noting that the average annual income of a newly minted Duke MBA is among the highest in the world, Stevenson challenged students to be mindful of the social and environmental impact of theiractions and those of their employers (watch Bill's keynote here). Following the opening session, students boarded buses and headed out into various Durham neighborhoods traveling on five separate itineraries. Each excursion included presentations from business and community leaders to introduce students to the issues facing the organizations and communities and a tour of the host site. The five itineraries were:
A – Building Healthy Communities
Just a few blocks from Duke University is Lyon Park, a unique “social services mall” that responds to the needs of disadvantaged residents in, among other areas, health care. Students toured the community health clinic at Lyon Park and then gain a broader perspective on the different opportunities and challenges of health care during a panel discussion. Wendy Kuran, the Executive Director of CASE and a health care industry veteran, moderated a panel composed of leaders from a local AIDS clinic, a Duke-sponsored community health outreach program as well as Jim O’Brien, Fuqua ’07 and an employee for one of the nation’s largest health care providers.
B – Social Enterprise in Action: TROSA, Inc.
Students enjoyed a fascinating visit to the campus of Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, Inc. (TROSA), an entrepreneurial nonprofit that helps recovering drug and alcohol abusers to change their lives through involvement in an ever expanding portfolio of earned income ventures. TROSA ventures include a moving company, landscaping, catering, home repairs, frame shop, storage, janitorial services, online auctions, etc. A tour was guided by the COO and Fuqua ‘99, Keith Artin.
C – Revitalizing Downtown Durham
Durham has undergone a radical revitalization in the past few years – one that continues today, as former tobacco warehouses become home to chic apartments and condominiums, shopping centers, restaurants, and cutting-edge office and lab space. Students joined leaders from some of the firms responsible for designing, financing, building, and contributing to Durham’s renaissance for a panel at the Duke Corporate Education office space, a beautifully renovated tobacco building at the American Tobacco Campus. In addition to the panel discussion, there excursion included a tour of some of downtown Durham’s cutting-edge renovated properties.
D –Sustainable Development and a Bright Environmental Future
Students toured a Durham coffee roastery that is changing the way coffee is sourced, both locally and abroad. Then, students joined Pete Curtice (Fuqua ’03), director of market transformation for an energy efficiency company, in a panel discussion with some of the area’s leaders in sustainability as they discussed energy, trade, community development and the role of government, and highlighted innovations in the field.
E – Leading and Making an Impact through Educating Youth
Students visited the Emily K. Center to see how the Krzyzewski family has sought to make a difference in Durham. Students enjoyed a conversation moderated by David Stein of the Duke Office of Community Affairs, an office that aims to support local neighborhoods and boost achievement in local schools. The panel included Joyce Walker, Fuqua ’06, who has served as a Broad Fellow with the Durham Public Schools, former CASE Managing Director Beth Anderson, now Vice President for Foundation Relations at Teach for America, and Reginald Hodges, executive director of the Durham Literacy Center.
After the excursion tours and panel discussions concluded, students returned to Fuqua for a chance to talk with their peers about their impressions of the day and compare experiences on the different excursions. Aided by some tasty frozen treats from Locopops, it was the perfect way to finish the day.
Reflecting on this year’s successful event, CASE Managing Director Matt Nash noted, “The Fuqua School of Business aims to create leaders of consequence uniquely qualified to solve the problems that matter most in the world, and I think that Day in Durham 2008 reflected this commitment. From Bill Stevenson’s challenging opening remarks, during which the students learned first-hand how a Duke MBA can bring about change in the corporate world as a ‘social intrapreneur,’ through each of the five excursions demonstrating MBAs in action addressing some of today’s most pressing issues, participants learned first-hand how to use the power of business to bring about positive social, environmental, and economic impact.”
The fifth annual Day in Durham was sponsored by John Deere, GM, AMEX, and Deloitte.
Day in Durham Photo Gallery - 2008
The largest Day in Durham event thus far, over 160 first year MBA students participated in the day!
To start the day, students were inspired to "Imagine their Impact" during the Day in Durham keynote speech by Bill Stevenson (Fuqua '99), Director of Corporate Social Investments at Lenovo. Watch the keynote.
Students have a fun, interactive activity during the panel on the Education excursion at the Emily K Center.
Students learn about fair trade coffee at Counter Culture Coffee on the Sustainable Development excursion.
Students tour the revitalized "American Tobacco District" on the Economic Development excursion.
After the excursions, students returned to Fuqua for a local treat: gourmet locopops and a chance to debrief the days' experiences with their peers.
Some of the 2008 Day In Durham team and volunteers that contributed to the unquestioned success of the day. Special thanks to our stellar Day in Durham Event Chairs: Kristin Kuk and Sarah Kate Fishback (both MBA'09)!
Watch the Day in Durham Photo Video (Courtesy: Animoto)