2021 Young Scholars Capstone Conference
On July 26, 2021, the Duke University Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity hosted its Capstone Conference digitally for the seventh annual Hank and Billye Suber Aaron Young Scholars Research Institute. Read about the event here.
Program Description
The Young Scholars Summer Research Institute is a three-week program that provides high school students enrolled in Durham Public Schools (DPS) with training to enhance their writing, research, and presentation skills.
The program is sponsored by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University in partnership with Durham Public Schools (DPS). In keeping with the Samuel DuBois Cook Center’s central mission as a community of scholars engaged in the study of the causes and consequences of inequality, program participants explore curriculum related to the economic, social, and political dimensions of inequality.
During the Young Scholars Summer Research Institute, students receive instruction from distinguished teachers, university professors, and leaders from community organizations. The program’s main focus is on the development of the students’ research, writing, presentation, and critical-inquiry skills, culminating in a capstone presentation of students’ individual or group research projects.
Program Goals
- Enhance student research, writing, and presentation skills within an academically high-achieving environment
- Facilitate student ownership of learning and develop tools for critical inquiry
- Foster collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to the study of the causes and consequences of inequality
- Enable student production of individual research related to the varied causes and consequences of inequality and possible remedies for achieving equity and social justice (involving the intersections of class, income, wealth, gender, race, health, law, employment, and education)
- Identify and recruit the next generation of scholars engaged in the study of inequality and design of remedies for addressing group-based disparities and conflicts.
Program Administration and Faculty
Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity
- William A. Darity, Program Founder
- Gwendolyn Wright, Program Administrator
- Erica Phillips, Program Coordinator
Durham Public Schools
- Daniel Kelvin Bullock, Program Liaison; Executive Director for Equity Affairs with Durham Public Schools
- Iwinosa Idahor, Co-Liasion; Student Equity, Engagement and Opportunity Coordinator with Durham Public Schools
Program Information
- Programming: July 5, 2022 — July 22, 2022, 8:30 am-4:00 pm.
- Location: TBD. We are planning to hold programming in person in the summer of 2022 at a central-DPS location, COVID dependent.
- Capstone Conference: July 25, 2022, 5:30-8:00 pm @ Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center @ Duke University.
- Transportation: Most students are picked up and dropped off by parents. We also have parking spaces available for students who have their driver’s licenses. Additionally, we will provide transportation on an approved, case by case basis.
- Food: Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided while on site.
- Cost: Free.
Application & Deadline
We are modifying our program from a three-year cohort model to a two-year cohort model. For this reason, we are not accepting any new applicants in the summer of 2022.
In a traditional application cycle, student-participants in the Young Scholars Summer Research Institute must be currently enrolled in Durham Public Schools and entering the tenth or eleventh grade.