See Inside Duke names Dawna Jones new dean of students Page 7
The independent news organization at Duke University FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026
By Ella Moore
ONLINE DAILY AT DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SECOND YEAR, ISSUE 2
Welcome back to campus! Here's what you missed:
August 21, 2026
Duke has had an eventful summer, and as the fall semester begins, The Chronicle has you covered with a recap of some of the biggest news that you may have missed. Following a 2025 summer of run-ins with the Trump administration, Duke's clashes with the federal government came into full view once again. On Aug. 6, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it found Duke Law School to have intentionally discriminated primarily against white and Asian students in its admissions practices. The Department emphasized standardized testing score breakdowns as proof that a “Black or Hispanic applicant has a substantially higher likelihood of admission to Duke Law than a white or Asian applicant with the same academic credentials.” A University spokesperson told The Chronicle then that the University was “reviewing the letter and its conclusions carefully.” “Duke is committed to complying with the law and will continue to do so in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission,” the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, after losing significant federal research support due to the Trump administration’s cuts, Duke’s concerns with federal research funding became clearer this summer when it submitted public comments in opposition to a proposed Office of Management and Budget rule that would dramatically change the federal grantmaking process. The OMB's new rule would amplify the role of political appointees in the decision-making process regarding grant recipients, make it easier for the government to cancel grants in the middle of their timeline and limit international research efforts, among other drastic changes. The rule is currently set to take effect Oct. 1. In its comments, Duke said that the rule would “weaken merit-based scientific decision-making, destabilize multiyear research commitments, restrict dissemination and collaboration and increase costs without clear corresponding benefits.” The University’s fears around research funding were only magnified by the significant drop in doctoral student admissions over the last two admissions cycles, with Duke admitting nearly a third less doctoral students for fall 2025 compared to fall 2024.
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Current graduate students also face financial uncertainty following several changes to federal student loan regulations. Starting July 1, the majority of new borrowers can now only take out up to only $20,500 in federal loans per year, a far cry from the cost of attendance for most of Duke’s graduate programs.
11 email to faculty, staff and students, Tripp said that community members had been subject to an “ongoing phishing campaign” that used fake event invitations to encourage recipients to download malicious software. But beginning February 2027, Duke graduates will not have to worry about such invitations flooding their Universityprovided emails. After nearly three decades of offering @alumni.duke.edu emails to alumni, Duke announced in May that it would be ending this benefit. Initially, alumni were given until July 31 to transition away from the email address; following backlash, Duke extended the deadline to Jan. 31, 2027. The email service was created primarily to connect University communications James Li to graduates’ personal accounts, with Beyond the federal government, the some alumni using their Duke-issued University’s summer break began with email in scientific journals, resumes, a break into its Canvas data. On May 3, legal documents, financial records and criminal extortion group ShinyHunters other significant life records, as a means claimed it had breached Instructure of redirecting to their personal email. — the parent company of the online The University claimed that the learning platform — and stolen data decision to end the service was primarily from 9,000 schools, including Duke. due to difficulties with deliverability The cyber saga took place over and security. However, some alumni multiple days, seeming to conclude with expressed skepticism at the reasoning Instructure striking a deal May 11 with the and others publicly pledged to withhold hackers, which the company said allowed donations as a result of the change. them to retrieve the stolen data and Aside from the shifting of alumni “digital confirmation of data destruction.” services, the summer also saw Chief Information Security Officer the restructuring of several other Nick Tripp wrote in a May 12 email to all departments within the University. faculty and students that his office had The Duke Center for International Development — which shrank from nearly a dozen full-time faculty to one following a year of University costcutting — lost its last full-time staff member, director Edmund Malesky, after he stepped down in May. Duke’s Student Affairs also experienced a restructuring. Mary Pat McMahon, vice provost and vice president of student affairs, announced in June that the dean of students position would be filled by a Ryan Kilgallen single person after nearly two years of the role being split in three. Dawna Jones, currently assistant “credible evidence” that the affected data included names, contact information, vice president for identity centers and Canvas internal user names, course and community development, was named enrollment information, course-related to the position in August. She will be data and academic term information. He responsible for overseeing a vast array said the University has since reinforced of programs — including QuadEx, Duke its security for Canvas-related services. Reach, New Student & Family Programs, The University’s cyber woes the undergraduate Time Away Office continued throughout the summer. In and the Office of Student Conduct and June, DukeHub required off-campus Community Standards — and manage users to use a VPN to access the Student Involvement and Leadership, platform for a few days after concerns of an “active attack.” Then, in an Aug. See RECAP on Page 9
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