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id="header"> <div id="logo"> <h1><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/" rel="home" tabindex="1" accesskey="1">Duke Divinity School</a></h1> </div> <div id="toolbar"> <ul class="links secondary-menu"><li class="menu-547 link-1 first"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/mission" title="">Mission</a></li> <li class="menu-548 link-2"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/alumni/make-gift" title="">Make a Gift</a></li> <li class="menu-549 link-3"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://library.duke.edu/divinity" title="">Library</a></li> <li class="menu-550 link-4"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/category/groups-0" title="">Calendar</a></li> <li class="menu-551 link-5 last"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/contact-duke-divinity-school" title="">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> <a id="resources" href="#resources">Resources for</a>, </div> <form 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href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about" title="About" class="active-trail active">About</a></li> <li class="menu-233 link-2"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/academics" title="Academics">Academics</a></li> <li class="menu-178 link-3"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/admissions" title="Admissions">Admissions</a></li> <li class="menu-234 link-4"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/student-life" title="Community & Student Life">Student Life</a></li> <li class="menu-1156 link-5"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/alumni" title="Alumni">Alumni</a></li> <li class="menu-235 link-6"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/initiatives-centers" title="Initiatives & Centers">Initiatives & Centers</a></li> <li class="menu-236 link-7 last"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/news-media" title="News & Media">News & Media</a></li> </ul></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20160201111556js_/https://alertbar.oit.duke.edu/alert.html"></script> <div id="title" class=""> <div class="clearfix"> <h1>About</h1> </div> </div> <div id="main" class=""> <div id="wrapper2" class="clearfix"> <div class="tabs"></div> <div id="content"> <div class="region region-content"> <div id="block-system-main" class="block block-system clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="node"> <div id="intro-wrapper"> <div id="intro"> <p><img class="left" src="/web/20160201111556im_/https://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/images/about/about-dds.jpg" alt="Divinity School" height="179" width="259"/>As the spiritual center of a great research university, Duke Divinity School is the embodiment of Duke University’s motto: <em>Eruditio et Religio — Knowledge and Faith</em>. Founded in 1926 as the first of the university’s graduate professional schools, the Divinity School attracts students from across the nation and around the world. One of 13 seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church, the school has from its beginnings been ecumenical in aspiration, teaching, and practice. With many diverse theological perspectives represented here, students find common ground through immersion in Scripture and the church’s tradition for addressing the challenges of faith in contemporary contexts.</p><p><b>Ellen F. Davis</b> is interim dean and Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School. </p> </div> </div> <div id="tabs"> <h3>Duke Divinity School in Context</h3> <div class="box"> <ul id="tabMenu"> <li class="selected"> <a href="#students">Student Body</a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="#setting">Campus Setting</a> </li> </ul> <div class="boxBody"> <div class="show"> <a class="anchor" name="students">Student Body</a> <p><img class="right" src="/web/20160201111556im_/https://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/images/about/about-student-body.jpg" height="180" width="260"/>Duke Divinity School’s student body consists of about 635 students from 40 states and several foreign countries. Approximately 45 percent of the student body is United Methodist, 12 percent is Baptist, and other students come from more than 50 different denominations in the Christian faith.</p> <p>Our students range in age from the 20s to the 60s. Duke Divinity School has one of the youngest student bodies in the country, with a median age of 26. Currently, the student body is 55 percent male and 45 percent female. More than 24 percent of Duke Divinity School entering students represent minority ethnic or cultural groups.</p> <p>Duke University’s student body numbers close to 14,600, including approximately 6,500 undergraduates and 8,100 graduate and professional students in nine schools.</p> </div> <div class=""> <a class="anchor" name="setting">Campus Setting</a> <p><img class="right" src="/web/20160201111556im_/https://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/images/about/about-campussetting.jpg" alt="Duke Chapel as seen from the Westbrook Building of Duke Divinity School" height="180" width="160"/>The Divinity School is located at the heart of Duke’s West Campus, which is renowned for its Gothic architecture.</p> <p>Next door is <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://www.chapel.duke.edu/">Duke Chapel</a>, featuring a 210-foot tower and 1,600-seat nave. A few steps across the quad are West Union and the 1,500-seat Page Auditorium. Also nearby is the Bryan University Center.</p> <p>The 467-acre campus opened in 1930 and inspired author Aldous Huxley to call it “genuinely beautiful, the most successful essay in neo-Gothic that I know.”</p> <p>Visit the Duke <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://map.duke.edu/">campus map</a> for a printable map and driving directions or the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://library.duke.edu/uarchives/holdings/duke_campus.html">university archives</a> to learn the history of the campus.</p> <h4>Westbrook Building & Goodson Chapel</h4> <p>The Divinity School greatly expanded its space for worship, learning, and fellowship with the construction of the Westbrook Building and Goodson Chapel, which opened in 2005. The $22 million project added about 50,000 square feet to the Divinity School, linking seamlessly in function and design with the older Langford and Gray buildings.</p> <p>Highlights include:</p> <ul> <li>Goodson Chapel, a 315-seat worship space with 55-foot-high ceilings and an organ balcony</li> <li>Three large lecture halls as well as several classrooms and seminar rooms</li> <li>Expanded and improved offices</li> <li>The Divinity Café, with dining facilities seating 200 and including kitchens as well as additional terrace seating</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>  </div>  <div id="highlight" class="dws-highlight rightimage clearfix"> <div class="hl-content"><h4>The Art of Duke Divinity School</h4> <p>Duke Divinity School commissioned more than a dozen <a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/art-duke-divinity">works of art</a>, all based in Scripture, to be incorporated into Goodson Chapel and the Westbrook building.</p> </div> <div class="hl-image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556im_/http://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/about-art-divinity-school-small.jpg" width="70" height="70" alt="Pentacost Window at the south entrance of the Westbrook Building"/></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div id="sidebar" class=""> <div class="region region-sidebar"> <div id="block-menu-block-1" class="block block-menu-block clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="menu-block-wrapper menu-block-1 menu-name-main-menu parent-mlid-0 menu-level-2"> <ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf menu-mlid-231"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/mission" title="Mission">Mission</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-1143"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/directions-parking" title="Directions & Parking">Directions & Parking</a></li> <li class="last leaf menu-mlid-609"><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/contact-duke-divinity-school" title="Contact Us">Contact Duke Divinity School</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sidebar-node-43"><h3>Duke Divinity Directories</h3><p><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/department-directory">Department Directory</a><br/><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/contact-us/faculty-staff">Faculty/Staff Directory</a><br/><a href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/update-directory-listing">Update Directory Listing</a></p> </div><div class="sidebar-node-1316"><p class="button"><a class="make-a-gift" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/https://www.gifts.duke.edu/divinity">Make a Gift</a></p> </div> </div>  </div> </div>  </div> <div id="footer"> <div id="footer-inner"> <div class="left"> <div class="logos"> <a id="duke-university" class="logo" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://www.duke.edu/">Duke University</a> <a id="faith-leadership" class="logo" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://faithandleadership.com/">Faith & Leadership</a> <a id="umc" class="logo" href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/united-methodist-connections">United Methodist Connections</a> </div> <div class="contact"> <a class="make-a-gift" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/https://www.gifts.duke.edu/divinity">Make a Gift</a> <span class="copyright">© 2016 Duke Divinity School</span> <span class="address">Box 90968, Durham, NC 27708 | (919) 660-3400</span> </div> </div> <div class="near-right"> <a class="directory" href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/about/contact-us/faculty-staff">Faculty/Staff Directory</a> <a id="subscribe" href="/web/20160201111556/https://divinity.duke.edu/news-media/sign-e-news">Subscribe to eNews</a> </div> <div class="right"> <p>Connect with Us:</p> <div id="social-media"> <a class="facebook" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Duke-University-Divinity-School/72625418901">Facebook</a> <a class="twitter" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://twitter.com/dukedivinity">Twitter</a> <a class="youtube" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://www.youtube.com/user/DukeDivinitySchool">YouTube</a> <a class="itunes" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160201111556/http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/DZR.woa/wa/viewTagged?id=420416991&tag=Divinity+School">iTunes</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-8078579-22']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 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