Tim Skapek 

he/him 
Class of 2020 
 
Q1: Why would you like to serve as Young Trustee? (400 words or less) 
 
I would like to serve as Young Trustee because Duke is truly my home, and, like any person who values the 
people, places, and ideals around them, I continue to devote myself to serve and build up this community that 
has become integral to who I am. I believe that the experiences that I have had here have given me the tools 
necessary to contribute meaningfully in the role of Young Trustee. 
 
When I graduate in May, I will have spent as much time here at Duke and in Durham, as I have spent in any 
other place that I can remember. Growing up in a family that moved often, I've lived in 4 states and 6 cities, 
attending just as many schools. As I prepare to start a professional career in Durham after graduating, my 4+ 
years in this community have led me to respond "Duke" when others inquire about my home. 
 
Through my time on the Young Trustee Nominating Committee, as a student representative at past Board 
discussions, and as a current member of the strategic education sessions on research and commercialization, I 
have developed a sense of comfort in the Board environment. I have a thorough understanding of how this 
governing body functions and how a recent undergraduate can best contribute to such important discussions. 
This experience, along with my broad perspective of Big Duke and my passion for community building, has 
driven my to apply for the position. I hope to have the continued opportunity to serve the community that has 
not just given me and education and more, but which has quite literally become the closest thing that I consider 
as home. 
 
Q2: What attributes and qualities make for an effective member of the Board of Trustees? Additionally, what 
makes for an effective Young Trustee operating in a formal boardroom setting? (300 words or less) 
 
Any board member, Young or not, must exhibit the ability to think broadly about multifaceted issues, deeply 
understand their own expertise and how that informs their thought process, and be able to separate their 
personal agendas from those of the University to act as a true fiduciary.  
 
In a boardroom and particularly as a "Young" Trustee, it is crucial to accept the extent of one's own experience 
and the necessity of coalescing all ideas at the table in order to act in a manner that best benefits Big Duke. To 
do this, such a member must demonstrate self-awareness, respect all parties involved, and have an open mind to 
all ideas.  
 
As a body responsible for the long-term health and direction of Duke that consists of less than 40 members, the 
challenge to think and act in the best interest of the millions of people who are impacted by Duke every day is 
daunting. To drive positive change within (and without) our global community, it is crucial that each member 
of this team is capable of bringing their own skills to the table to work together to analyze problems and deliver 
solutions.  
 
Q3: To which communities do you belong, and what have you learned from your experiences? How have you 
expanded beyond these communities to gain a broad perspective on campus life? (500 words or less) 
 
I applied to Duke ED because I knew that this was a place that would expose me to numerous communities 
where I could thrive without sacrificing value or opportunity in any one in particular. While 3.5 years ago I was 
unsure of what my involvements here would look like today, I set out on campus as a freshman with a plan to 
engage with and learn about as many parts of campus as I could. I sought communities across the board in 
spaces of athletics, art and media, engineering, foreign studies, student government, entrepreneurship, and 
many more. Over time I realized that it is not feasible to contribute meaningfully to those around you when 
juggling too much, so I narrowed-in on the communities that I have become most passionate about. As I look at 
the present and past, the wide net that I cast initially at Duke allowed me to just scrape the surface of what this 
undergraduate experience has to offer, while also letting me align myself with the people and places that are 
most important to me.  
 
I am a student athlete, having walked-on to the varsity football team in the fall of my first year. I lead Dukes & 
Duchesses, where I have sought to make the role of student ambassador for Duke more accessible to all students 
on campus and to expand the range of volunteering available to the group. As a mechanical engineer I spend 
most of my classes in E-Quad, but I have spent every year exploring Trinity as well, taking multiple classes in 
Arabic, economics, and computer science. As a co-founder of a startup, I have embraced the Innovation & 
Entrepreneurship department and found great value in the people I have met through it. Some of the circles 
that I have had to let go or accept less involvement in include TEDxDuke, a job in the Office of Alumni Affairs 
and Development, the Admissions Office tour guides, a social fraternity, photography for the Chronicle, and 
the Undergraduate Conduct Board. 
 
What has struck me most through these experiences is the breadth of individuals that comprise this University. 
Relationships that I have formed in so many capacities with different types of people have allowed me to fully 
grow and embrace my own identity, which is a privilege that I am lucky to have had. Furthermore, I have been 
able to reach beyond the groups that I am personally a part of by cultivating relationships with people who do 
not share a passion or affiliation with me. By actively embracing the people who I would not see on a regular 
basis, I have been able to broaden my perspective of Duke even further indirectly through classmates, 
administrators, and teachers.  
 
Q4: Provide one decision made by the administration or the board that you felt was in the best interest of Duke 
University and one that was not. Explain why you feel this way for both responses. (750 words or less) 
 
I believe that the establishment of Duke Kunshan University was a poor decision by the Board of the Trustees, 
albeit well-intentioned. This bold development was driven by a desire to place Duke at the forefront of 
international engagement. This move is unparalleled by peer institutions, and its effects are just now being 
realized. Curriculum consistency and the promotion of lifelong and worldwide education places strain on 
administrators and faculty who are pushing the educational experience in trailblazing directions. In addition, 
political tensions due to the China-United States trade war place this relationship in a state of further strain. As 
numerous claims of massive intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer have developed over the 
past year, Duke's relationship with Wuhan University is made more complicated because of these external 
tensions. The establishment of DKU was done too quickly and without a robust model to maintain the goals of 
research and education in both universities simultaneously.  
 
As Denis Simon plans to step down by midway through this year and transition to a broader advisory role on 
China to President Price, Duke has an opportunity to place a new chancellor at DKU who can bring about a 
new wave of growth and development in the university. The Board cannot reverse this decision, but the timing 
the next year is particularly fitting to dictate the next direction of this endeavor. The onus is now on our 
leadership to continue to bolster this bond and mend the components that could be stronger. 
 
Due to significant pushing from members of all components of our broader Duke community, the Board made 
a prudent decision last year to open up public forums to allow any individual an opportunity to see the work of 
the Board at a closer level. This new initiative has allowed students, alumni, faculty, and staff with chances to 
hear about discussions and decisions between Board members. As aforementioned in the qualities that it takes 
to be a member of the Board, it is incredibly difficult for a group of less than 40 individuals to make sweeping 
decisions that may not even directly affect themselves. I believe that the reasoning behind any action is far more 
important to understanding the action itself, so allowing community members an inside look at the workings of 
the Board is a smart decision that helps both parties involved. Outside individuals develop a stronger 
understanding of the direction of Duke, and the Board has an opportunity to gain more substantial support by 
better communicating its decision process. 
 
In the last such open forum of 2019, key conversations that are important to community members were opened 
up with more clarity. Topics including the development and future planning of central campus, Duke's 
financial status for the upcoming year, the Provost's eyes on our current state of academics, and the growth of 
commercialization of research in surrounding areas were all elaborated on by Board members who have helped 
to make these decisions. Students and faculty who wanted to know details about why or why not certain actions 
have been taken had a chance to ask, and university vice presidents were given a chance to better explain their 
logic. These forums, along with past decisions to publish meeting summaries for the Board, have helped to fix 
the problem of closed-room discussions that has been so pointedly identified in recent years. 
 
Q5: Over the next five years, what do you envision will be significant issues discussed by the Board of Trustees 
and why? (500 words or less) 
 
Informed by own experience and understanding of Duke's responsibility as an entity, two specific issues that 
will need to be discussed by the Board over the next five years are its role in the accelerating growth of Durham 
and the shifting demographics of its core base of alumni. 
 
The Triangle area and Durham in particular has experienced massive growth over the past twenty years and 
shows no signs of slowing down. To continue to be a responsible member of this community, Duke must 
determine how help spur growth along while ensuring that the people and places that already exist are not 
pushed aside. Downtown Durham is an area experiencing rapid development in residential, commercial, and 
cultural ways. As multiple million-dollar condominium units are opening in the city and equitable and 
accessible housing options are being pushed away, the Board should ensure that Duke's financial and leadership 
influence is used to create smart solutions to ensure housing throughout the community. In a similar way, 
Durham is a booming hub for tech and biotech companies. Through my participation in the Board's current 
initiative to educate itself on research and commercialization in the area, Duke should also play a role in adding 
fuel to the fire of this trend, perhaps funding large commercial projects that can be turned over to community 
tenants in years to come. Through all of this construction and physical change, it is essential that we continue to 
foster the cultures that makes this city so incredible, so that what makes us who we are is not lost along the way.  
 
As Duke's alumni continue to become significantly younger and more diverse, the Board should take initiative 
to restructure alumni engagement techniques to be more intentional in nature. Alumni participation in the 
Annual Fund is a key metric to gauge alumni engagement, and Duke has significant ground to cover to be on 
the same level as peers such as Princeton, which reported 55.7% of alumni participating in 2017-18. Graduates 
now feel much less of a duty to contribute to Duke for the sake of those who will follow them than they did as 
recently as thirty years ago. To reverse this trend, the Board should refine the alumni engagement approach to 
emphasize the message that giving back to Duke is about facilitating selfless growth for a new generation of high 
achievers. Possible pathways to accomplish are to tailor alumni programming in cities with significant 
populations of recent graduates and to form more direct pathways to these alumni to see how their giving 
impacts real lives of students on campus. A remodeling that greatly targets these younger classes would not be 
out of character for Duke, as evident by other recent, bold decisions such as the establishment of DKU. This 
move would set Duke apart from peer institutions yet again in a way that will help it to build a much stronger 
foundation for years to come.