Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Victoria Ehrhardt, Retired Educator, Torch Club Member
Presentation Topic: “Critical Thinking in the 21st Century”
Biographical Sketch:
A life-long learner and life-long educator, Dr. Victoria (Vicki) Ehrhardt has devoted her professional life to helping people communicate clearly and thoughtfully. Her work has been primarily in high-school and college classrooms, in the fields of literature and writing, with an emphasis on critical thinking. Her textbook Anthem Critical Thinking and Writing Skills, published by Anthem Press, is used in both AP and IB curricula.
Dr. Ehrhardt, has taught in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, most recently at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. As a consultant for The College Board and Educational Testing Service, Dr. Ehrhardt has worked as a writing range-finder and provided input as a test developer for the SAT’s and AP English exams.
Additionally, Dr. Ehrhardt has been active in adult education. She served on the Board of Directors of Quest Lancaster organization, a program for adult learning in Lancaster County, Pa. She is also a past board member on the Pa-Del-Val Chapter of Community Associations Institute, where she focused her energies on home-owner education and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Dr. Ehrhardt holds degrees and professional certificates from Penn State, the University of New England, International University of Graduate Studies and Rutgers University, but has learned most of what she knows from her 4 children, their partners, and 8 grandchildren.
Working her way into retirement, Dr. Ehrhardt currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with her husband George. They travel extensively and volunteer for local community organizations.
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ANNOUNCEMENT – THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Joseph Gulla, Technology thought leader who participates in IT projects focusing on the intersection of technology and business, Torch Club Member
Presentation Topic: Business Machines for Enterprise Computing
Biographical Sketch: Joseph Gulla continues to work in IT and business after his retirement from IBM in 2013. Since that time, he has managed a North Carolina Corporation named Royal Swan Enterprises, Inc. (RSE) with his wife Rosemarie which has multiple lines of business. Alazar Press is a children’s publishing house that is part of RSE (catalog of more than a dozen books) as is WINGS (teaching practice utilized in NC county schools). RSE also supports IT consulting projects and writing projects involving both new technologies and skills of record.
Recently, Alazar Press has ventured into books for adults including memoirs and books on computing technology. At present, Joseph is CFO of RSE and General Manager of Alazar Press. He writes articles for TechChannel and works on projects for StreamFoundry, Inc. an IT services company. Recent IT projects include crafting a template and procedures for creating successful 2-step migration engagements, creating web content for promoting migration engagements, compliance management, and annual corporate-level cyber security compliance and education.
Joseph is a former volunteer treasurer of Historic Stagville, a NC Historical Site and is on the Advisory board for Durham Chamber Arts Society at Duke University. Joseph has a BA from La Salle College in the arts; an MBA in Management Information Systems from La Salle University; and a PhD from Nova Southeastern University in Computer Information Systems. Joseph also has a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.
Joseph has teaching experience with MBA and PhD courses. He taught at La Salle University in the MBA program for 10 years and for 5 years at Nova Southeastern both times as an adjunct practitioner. He also developed and taught many commercial courses for IBM. Examples include MVS Concepts, JCL and Utilities; MVS Operator Training; MVS Facilities; SMP/E; CICS Application Programming; and NetView Network, Systems Management and Automation. He has served on two committees for PhD students who successfully defended their research. At IBM, Joseph was a senior-certified Executive IT Specialist and a leading member of the IT Specialist Certification Board.
During the last decade of his time with IBM, Joseph helped to developed global services offerings and frequently traveled to Europe and Asia to conduct sales and technical training. In county, he often went on customer visits with the in-county sales teams and country managers. Sometimes, he just hung out with the solution teams and helped them brainstorm solutions to challenging difficulties. Joseph worked in Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Amsterdam, France and Italy.
Joseph spent several weeks in China helping to launch local web hosting offerings based on global models, as well as in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Vietnam to support local services teams to implement packaged offerings. Joseph also made regular trips to Sydney and Melbourne Australia to work on new business opportunities and to visit customers. His last assignment with IBM was in cloud computing where he published several articles with colleagues on IBM’s approach and products.
ANNOUNCEMENT
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Vermeer, Executive Director, Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE), Fuqua, Duke
Presentation Topic: Wired for Disruption: The AI Revolution and its Fault Lines
Brief Biographical Sketch: (source: Duke.edu)
Dr. Dan Vermeer is an Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he leads the Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE). EDGE works at the intersection of global environmental and societal challenges and business strategy through education, research, and collaboration. His latest work is on climate strategy and ocean innovation.
At Duke, Vermeer co-leads a national initiative called ClimateCAP, focused on integrating climate change into the business school curriculum. He is also co-founder of the Oceans@Duke initiative, which brings together diverse experts to develop innovative solutions to the world’s ocean sustainability challenges.
Dan is actively engaged in the wider energy and sustainability community. He serves on the board of Conservation X Labs, and on advisory boards for Trane Technologies’ Center for Energy Efficiency & Sustainability (CEES) and SeaAhead. He is also the founder of the Global Water Challenge and co-author of the CEO Water Mandate.
Vermeer joined Duke from The Coca-Cola Company, where he led the company’s Global Water Initiative, an industry-leading effort to protect the company’s primary ingredient. At Coca-Cola, he designed a new risk management methodology, and founded the company’s Community Water Partnerships program, resulting in over 500 public-private partnerships in 90+ countries. He plays a leading public role in advocating for sustainable development through speaking, research, and institution-building.
Dan has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Hope College, a Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University.
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ANNOUNCEMENT
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Mr. Dorian Bolden, Founder & CEO of Beyu Group, Inc. and Duke alumnus (2002)
Presentation Topic: From Wall Street to Black Wall Street: Reimagining Capitalism for the Collective Good
Brief Biographical Sketch:
I have lifted an interesting feature on our speaker, Mr. Dorian Bolden, from DUKE MAG. We get to see the personal side of him as well as the business acumen he has demonstrated. Great stuff!
BIO SKETCH from DUKE MAG Story by Christina Holder, Mar 20, 2023
Job search sites may say it the best:
“Find the right fit,” urges Monster.com. “You deserve a job that loves you back,” Glassdoor encourages.
For entrepreneur Dorian Bolden ’02, falling in love with a job meant taking the leap from Wall Street to Durham’s West Main Street, where he opened a coffee shop in 2009.
“Decide you want it more than you are afraid to do it,” Bolden says.
Bolden started Beyu Caffé (pronounced “Be You”) with the hope of creating a gathering place where everyone could be themselves.
“We want people to be as authentic as they are,” he says
Today Beyu, one of the few African American-owned businesses in downtown Durham, has expanded across the Triangle to four locations – including two cafés on the Duke campus. Two more locations are planned for 2023, including a pop-up concession at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, along with a partnership with a retail grocer to sell Beyu coffee beans. There also are plans to explore a workforce development partnership between Beyu and Durham Technical Community College for the next generation of baristas and entrepreneurs. This all wrapped into
Beyu’s mission:
Without community, it’s just coffee.
But the idea for Beyu was created, albeit painfully, from challenge.
Just out of Duke, where he graduated with a double degree in economics and sociology, Bolden started a career in finance in a New York firm that eventually was bought out by Bank of America. Bolden hung on through the merger but began to assess his priorities as he saw close colleagues lose their jobs.
“We want people to be as authentic as they are.”
Around the same time, Bolden’s father passed away, and he took a trip to Jamaica to clear his mind. Bolden says he returned with new priorities. He eventually quit his job in finance and homed in on the things in his life that brought him joy. It was coffee that came to mind – the vibe, the community, the culture, the warm confidence a neighborhood coffee shop could bring and say: “You have a place here, too.”
“He started working for a coffee shop in New York, and I was like, ‘OK?’ ”Says Taineisha Cellel Bolden ’04, Dorian’s wife, who has known him since her freshman year at Duke. “But the nature of our relationship since we met was we support each other – in whatever.”
Bolden got to work, Cellel Bolden says. As she applied to medical school, he wrote his business plan on the living room floor of their tiny New York City apartment. When she got into medical school at the University of North Carolina, he followed her with coffee dreams still wafting.
He simultaneously found work as a barista at a local Durham coffee shop, as an assistant manager at Panera Bread and as a bartender at a Brazilian steakhouse. In his spare time, Bolden pitched his business plan to investors, participated in accelerator programs for startups and eventually had enough capital to go for it – all in the shadow of the 2008 recession.
In 2019, he worked with Resilient Ventures, a Durham-based capital fund focused on creating access to capital and networks specifically for African American founders.
He called on friends from the business world and fellow Black entrepreneurs to invest in his idea. Fast forward to today: He’s raised and reinvested enough capital to reach his dream in Beyu.
Edmond Magny ’02, an entrepreneur and former roommate when they both worked at big financial firms in New York City, was among Bolden’s first investors. Magny witnessed Bolden’s struggle to merge his financial acumen and his passion to give back. But seeing Bolden just go for it?
“That was inspiring to me,” Magny says.
Taineisha Bolden, a family physician, says that’s the very spirit Dorian rubs off on everyone he meets. Just a few years ago, she found herself unhappy with the increasing economic demands of health care – seeing patients more quickly than she wanted to, filling patient quotas, endless paperwork. She didn’t feel like she was giving her all to her patients, but as someone who craved stability, she didn’t see herself shifting.
Bolden suggested she take her own leap – into the private practice she ended up launching in 2018.
“That was 100 percent because [of] Dorian,” says Taineisha Bolden. “He was like, ‘You could totally do that.’”
ANNOUNCEMENT
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Ms. Marissa Young, Head Softball Coach, Duke
Presentation Topic: Building Winners
Brief Biographical Sketch:
Marissa Young, Duke softball’s inaugural head coach since 2015, has transformed the program into a national powerhouse. Under her leadership, Duke has won two ACC Championships, made five NCAA tournament appearances, reached three Super Regionals, and advanced to its first Women’s College World Series in 2024. A former three-time All-American pitcher at Michigan and Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year, Marissa is also a dedicated wife and mother of four, known for her resilience, leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence on and off the field.
Before being tapped to build the Duke softball program, Young spent the prior two seasons across town at UNC- Chapel Hill, where her primary responsibilities included coaching the pitchers and catchers.
Young spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan, where she served as the compliance liaison, recruiting coordinator and managed team travel and the operational budget, among other duties. She helped coach five Academic All-America picks and five player of the week selections during her tenure at Eastern Michigan.
ANNOUNCEMENT
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Heather Whitson, Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience at the Duke School of Medicine and Director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development
Presentation Topic: What’s new in Alzheimer’s research, and what’s around the corner?
Brief Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Heather Whitson is a clinical investigator and geriatrician who specializes in diagnosing and managing cognitive disorders. She is a Professor of Medicine and Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience at Duke University. She is the Director of the Duke Aging Center and co-Director of the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Her research focuses on physical resilience and multiple chronic conditions, and she has particular expertise in how aging biology and comorbidities affect the brain. With over 150 scientific publications, her work has improved outcomes for people with or at risk of sensory, mobility, and cognitive impairments. She has been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American and other major media outlets. She is a recipient of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Yoshikawa Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement and member of the AGS Board of Directors. She co-chairs the Alzheimer’s Association’s international panel for Clinical Practice Guidelines for the use of blood tests to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Heather is the daughter of Turner and Caroline Whitson and the daughter-in-law of Louise Maynor.
Previous Meetings
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Introduction: Curt Richardson
Speaker: Deborah Rutter, Vice Provost of the Arts at Duke and former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Presentation Topic: The durability of art & culture in the age of uncertainty
Biographical Sketch: (source: Duke website)
Deborah F. Rutter, the former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., is vice provost for the arts at Duke.
“Deborah Rutter is one of the nation’s most accomplished arts leaders,” according to Provost Gallimore. “Throughout her career, Deborah has set the standard for connecting art and culture to diverse audiences and communities, through innovative programming and by ensuring operational excellence in the organizations she has led.
Gallimore continued that “Her expertise and vision will lift the arts to a new level of impact at Duke as a central part of our educational mission ‘to engage the mind and elevate the spirit’ and a means to forge partnerships with our surrounding community. I am thrilled that Deborah will lead the future of the arts at Duke.”
Ms Rutter adds that “It has been my life’s passion to enable the extraordinary talents of artists to inspire, challenge, console, delight and invigorate us through the free expression of their art, and to facilitate broad accessibility to the transformative experiences they make possible,” said Rutter. “It is an immense honor to have the opportunity to now continue this work at Duke University, in partnership with its vibrant student and faculty population, as well as the greater Durham and North Carolina communities.
“Duke is highly regarded for its belief in innovation and creative thought leadership. The opportunity to collaborate across the campus to support strong, thoughtful, cultural leaders through increased arts programming, interdisciplinary programs and creative initiatives is a dream come true.”
Rutter was recognized by the University as “one of the leading voices in arts administration” when she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree in 2023. Her Duke ties also include a stint as a guest lecturer and seeing her daughter Gillian Card graduate from Trinity College of Arts & Sciences in 2020. Rutter holds a bachelor’s degree in music and German from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.
Prior to her tenure at the Kennedy Center, Rutter held executive leadership roles with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She also served as co-chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Arts and continues to serve on its board of directors.
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Mr. Edwyn Tiryakian, M.B.A. and Visiting Associate Professor of Markets and Management Studies
Introduction: Curt Richardson
Presentation Topic: The professionalization of amateur sports: How NIL and the Portal have forever changed college athletics
Brief Biographical Sketch: (source: Duke website)
Ed Tiryakian is somewhat of a favorite son returning home to Duke and the Durham community after a distinguished career in investment banking. Ed graduated with honors from Duke University with a BA in Economics and Russian and received his Master’s in Business Administration with honors from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is currently Visiting Associate Professor of Markets and Management Studies. He was recently honored for his teaching excellence:
“The Department of Sociology congratulates Professor Edwyn (Ed) Tiryakian, Lecturing Fellow of Markets and Management, on being named one of the top undergraduate instructors in the Social Sciences. These faculty are ranked in the top 5% for at least 2 of 3 categories, including: Overall Quality of Course, Overall Quality of Instructor, Intellectual Stimulation of Course.
Professor Tiryakian is the son of Edward Tiryakian, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Duke University, and he says of his father “…of course he takes all the credit for my achieving this. He takes credit every time!”
Most recently, Ed presented at the National Symposium on Intercollegiate Athletics, contributing to the panel “Balancing the Game and Transitioning to Life: Student-Athlete Engagement, Mental Health, and NIL in an Evolving Landscape of Intercollegiate Athletics.”
Ed’s father and mother, Professors Tiryakian, were lifelong members of the Durham/Chapel Hill Torch Club and mentored many of us as new members over the years.
In his early career, Ed was employed by Argentum as Director of all Private Banking services for retail and institutional clients. Prior to joining Argentum, Ed spent 15 years at UBS/Paine Webber and achieved Paine Webber’s highest designation of First Vice President and Chairman’s Council. He previously spent 6 years at EF Hutton where he managed the most profitable office in Hutton’s Southern Region. Ed was also president of The Legends Sports Group until it was sold. LSG concentrated on financial management and contract negotiations and included clients such as Christian Laettner, Brian Davis and Johnny Dawkins
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
Curt Richardson, Presiding
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Toddi Steelman, Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability, Duke
Introduction: Curt Richardson
Presentation Topic: A New Climate for Climate Change
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Toddi Steelman serves as the Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability at Duke University. In this role, she leads the Duke Climate Commitment – a university-wide initiative that unites education, research, operations, and public service to fully engage the Duke community in developing and implementing solutions to climate change.
Dr. Steelman is internationally recognized for her research expertise in wildland fire. An elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Steelman explores how can people, communities, and institutions work better together to respond to complex problems—especially when the stakes are high, the science is uncertain, and the solutions require collaboration across sectors. For over 25 years, she has studied how governments, agencies, and communities navigate challenges like wildfires, natural disasters, and climate change. Her work reveals how trust, communication, and shared decision-making lead to more effective emergency responses and more resilient systems.
From 2018 to 2023, Dr. Steelman was the Stanback Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, where she led transformative work in environmental education, interdisciplinary research, and community impact. She is a past president of the International Association of Wildland Fire. She has delivered invited keynote addresses across the globe – including in Portugal, Canada, Germany, Australia, and the U.S. and has contributed to the Royal Society (UK) and the National Academy of Sciences (US). She is the author of four books and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. Her commentary has also appeared in major outlets including Nature, The Globe and Mail, The Hill, and the Los Angeles Times. She sits on the Boards of the World Wildlife Fund and the Research Triangle Institute.
Plans for Torch Club speaker series, 2025-2026
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
President, Durham chapter: Curt Richardson, (Past president: Caroline Whitson)
Vice President: David Durack
Membership Chair: Rod Gerwe
Program Coordinator: Gary Gereffi
Secretary: Louise Maynor
Treasurer: Doc Muhlbaier
| DATE | SPEAKER | POSITION | TOPIC |
| Sept. 17, 2025 | Toddi Steelman | Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability, Duke University. Former dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment (2018-2023), Duke | A new climate for climate change? |
| Oct. 15 | Edwyn Tiryakian | M.B.A. and Visiting Associate Professor of Markets & Management Studies program at Duke | The professionalization of amateur sports: How NIL and the Portal have forever changed college athletics |
| Nov. 19 | Deborah Rutter | Vice Provost of the Arts at Duke and former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. | The durability of art & culture in the age of uncertainty |
| Dec. 17 | Heather Whitson | Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience at the Duke School of Medicine and Director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development | What’s new in Alzheimer’s disease, and what’s around the corner? |
| Jan. 21, 2026 | Marissa Young | Head coach, Duke women’s softball program (2018-present) | Building winners |
| Feb. 18 | Dorian Bolden | Founder & CEO of Beyu Group, Inc. and Duke alum (2002) | From Wall Street to Black Wall Street: Reimagining capitalism for the collective good |
| March 18 | Daniel Vermeer | Executive Director, Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE) and Associate Professor of the Practice, Fuqua School of Business, Duke | Wired for disruption: The AI revolution and its fault lines |
| April 15 | Joseph Gulla | IT Consultant, Publishing Executive and Thought Leader and Writer | Business Machines for Enterprise Computing |
| May 20 | Vicki Ehrhardt | Program Development; The Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning and Quest for Learning, Senior Education | Critical thinking in the 21st century |
First Half of 2025, January to May
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Opening Social Time: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner is served: 7:00 p.m.
Speaker Presentation: About 8:00 p.m.
Speaker: Kathleen DuVal, Professor
Presentation Topic:
Bio Sketch:
DuVal is a professor of history, where she teaches early American and American Indian history. Her previous work includes Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution, which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize.
Kathleen DuVal (FFP ’13, ’22), distinguished professor of history, has been awarded both the Bancroft Prize and the Cundill Prize for her latest book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. The Wall Street Journal calls Native Nations “an essential American history … DuVal fuses a millennium of Native American history into a thought-provoking, persuasive whole.” Kirkus Review’s starred review calls it “a revelatory account of the power and influence of Indigenous peoples in North America.” Publisher’s Weekly also gave it a starred review, and The Atlantic recently published an excerpt from the book. The book offers a comprehensive narrative of North American history. DuVal’s meticulous research and engaging storytelling shows how Indigenous people lived prior to European arrival, challenging the idea that the defeat of Indigenous people was inevitable. Native Nations emphasizes Indigenous people and their resilience and continued cultural vitality.
The Bancroft Prize, administered by Columbia University, is one of the most prestigious among scholars of American history and honors “scope, significance, depth of research and richness of interpretation.”
The Cundill Prize, awarded by McGill University, is the largest award for a book of non-fiction in English. The prize is awarded to a work of outstanding history writing and is open to books from anywhere in the world.
Kathleen DuVal specializes in the interactions among Native American, European, and African populations from the 16th through early 19th centuries and has taught courses related to her research in Native Nations.
In May 2024, the College of Arts and Sciences featured Native Nations in their Bookmark This series. DuVal answers questions about the book below.
Q: Can you give us a brief synopsis of your book?
A: Native American nations existed in North America long before the coming of Europeans, and they still are here today. My book tells a millennium of this history, from around the year 1000, when North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged. Egalitarian government structures, diplomacy and complex economies spread across North America. So, when Europeans showed up in the 16th century, they encountered societies they did not understand — those having developed differently from their own — and whose power they often underestimated. For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. Power dynamics shifted dramatically after the American Revolution, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant — and will continue far into the future.
Past Meetings
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Opening Social Time: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner is served: 7:00 p.m.
Speaker Presentation: About 8:00 p.m.
Speaker: Charlie Dunlap, J.D., Professor of the Practice, Duke Law
Presentation Topic: Current Issues in National Security
Bio Sketch: (Source: Abbreviated from Internet sources)
Charles J. Dunlap Jr. joined the Duke Law faculty in July 2010 where he is currently a professor of the practice of law and Executive Director of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security. His teaching and scholarly writing focus on national security, law of armed conflict, the use of force under international law, civil-military relations, cyberwar, airpower, military justice, and ethical issues related to the practice of national security law.
Dunlap retired from the Air Force in June 2010, having attained the rank of major general during a 34-year career in the Judge Advocate General Corps. In his capacity as Deputy Judge Advocate General spanning from May 2006 to March 2010, he assisted the Judge Advocate General in the professional supervision of more than 2,200 judge advocates, 350 civilian lawyers, 1,400 enlisted paralegals, and 500 civilians around the world. In addition to overseeing an array of military justice, operational, international, and civil law functions, he provided legal advice to commanders and civilian leaders at all levels.
A prolific author and accomplished public speaker, Dunlap’s commentary on a wide variety of national security topics has been published in leading newspapers and military journals. His 2001 essay written for Harvard University’s Carr Center on “lawfare,” a concept he defines as “the use or misuse of law as a substitute for traditional military means to accomplish an operational objective,” has been highly influential among military scholars and in the broader legal academy.
Dunlap is also the author of the prize-winning essay, “The Origins of the Military Coup of 2012”, originally published in 1992, which was selected for the 40th Anniversary Edition of Parameters (Winter 2010-2011).
Dunlap’s legal scholarship has been published in the Stanford Law Review; the Yale Journal of International Affairs; Harvard Law’s National Security Journal; the Wake Forest Law Review; the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs; the University of Nebraska Law Review; the Texas Tech Law Review; Temple Law’s Journal of International & Comparative Law; the University of North Carolina’s Journal of International Law; the Connecticut Law Review; the Tennessee Law Review; and the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law; among others.
He’s also authored numerous articles and opinion pieces in a range of publications including The Atlantic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Air Force Times, Strategic Studies Quarterly, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Business Insider, the Journal of Genocide Research, The Hill, Small Wars Journal, and the blogs, Lawfare and Just Security.
Maj Gen Dunlap founded his blog Lawfire in 2015 and has since written over 400 posts on a wide variety of subjects.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Brigadier General Malham M. Wakin, USAF (Ret.) Founders Award for lifetime achievement by the International Society for Military Ethics (2022).
His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards); the Legion of Merit (two awards); Meritorious Service Medal (five awards); the Global War on Terrorism Medal; the Humanitarian Service Medal; and the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.
Dunlap’s wife, Joy, was a vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters, and later a deputy director of Government Relations for the Military Officers Association of America. She served as the elected president of Duke Campus Club and is a recipient of the prestigious Order of the Emerald by Kappa Delta sorority. Her blog, Speaking Joyfully, won 3rd place in the blog category at the 2021 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. They reside in Durham.
Wednesday March 19, 2025
Opening Social Time: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner is served: 7:00 p.m.
Speaker Presentation: About 8:00 p.m.
Speaker: Professor Brian Silliman
Professor Brian Silliman, Director of Duke University Wetland and Coasts Center and a world renowned Coastal Marine Wetland Ecologist
Presentation topic: Sea Rescue, Harnessing Biological Partnerships to Restore Marine Ecosystems
Brief Biographical Information:
Brian Silliman is the Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology. He holds both B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Virginia and completed his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown University. In recognition of his research achievements, Silliman was named a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2023, Distinguished Fulbright Chair with CSIRO in 2019; a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in 2015; a Visiting Professor with the Royal Netherlands Society of Arts and Sciences in 2011; and David H. Smith Conservation Fellow with The Nature Conservancy in 2004. He has also received several awards, including the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Naturalists (2006), a Young Investigator Grant Award from the Andrew Mellon Foundation (2007), and an NSF Career Grant Award (2011). Dr. Silliman has published 25 book chapters and over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, and co-edited five books: Marine Community Ecology and Conservation, Marine Ecosystem Restoration: Challenges and New Horizons, Human Impacts on Salt Marshes: A Global Perspective, Effective Conservation: Data not Dogma, and Marine Disease Ecology. His teaching and research are focused on community ecology, food webs, conservation and restoration, global change, and evolution and ecological consequences of cooperative behavior.
Wednesday February 26, 2025
Jim Cox, Program Chair, Introducing the Speaker
Opening Social Time: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner: 7:00 p.m.
Speaker Presentation: 8:00 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. David Durack, Consulting Professor of Medicine, Duke, Club Member
Presentation Title: “Whatever happened to Mad Cow Disease?”
Brief Biographical Information: (Source: LinkedIn)
Dr. David T Durack is Consulting Professor of Medicine at Duke University, and was Senior Vice President, Corporate Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Becton Dickinson & Co (retired). Medical school: University of West Australia ’69; Postgraduate studies: Oxford University ’70 -’73 (Rhodes Scholar); Doctor of Philosophy ’73. His research has centered on host-parasite interactions and chemotherapy of bacterial and fungal infections. For 17 years he was Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health at Duke University. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and the American College of Physicians; he has published more than 200 articles and textbook chapters and co-edited several textbooks. Dr. Durack has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Council of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the American Academy of Microbiology. He has served on an FDA Review Panel, the Joint Commission Resources Board of Directors, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors, ASM Resources Inc.; he currently consults to the healthcare industry and serves on the Board of Directors of PixelEXX.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Caroline Whitson, Introducing the Speaker
Opening Social Time: 6:30 p.m.
Speaker Presentation: 7:00 p.m.
Speaker: Professor Jim Cox, Brainerd Currie Professor of Law, Duke, Member of Torch Club
Presentation Focus: Headwinds for Efficient Price Discovery
Secondary securities markets, e.g., the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, play an important role in the allocation of resources, e.g., commodities, human capital, and of course cash, throughout economies around the world. This occurs through a process variously named but generally referred to as “price discovery” which occurs via trading within markets. Research in the 60s and 70s repeatedly supported findings that America’s established securities markets were efficient. My talk does not necessarily challenge this conclusion, but at least place claims of market efficiency in perspective, namely the belief (which I share) that markets that are generally efficient must address three headwind forces presented by three distinct phenomenon: The growing use of passive investment strategies, algorithmic trading, and growing presence of irrational investor behavior.
Brief biographical information
James D. Cox, Brainerd Currie Professor of Law. B.S. 1966, Arizona State University; J.D. 1969, University of California San Francisco, College of the Law; LL.M. 1971, Harvard University. Professor Cox is a native of Kansas. He entered law teaching as a fellow at Boston University and has since taught at the University of San Francisco, Stanford, and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, before coming to Duke in 1979. He has focused his writing and teaching in the areas of corporate and securities law and is the author of a book on the utilization of financial information in the regulation of public corporations, a multi-volume treatise on corporate law (4th Ed. 2024), and casebooks on securities regulations (10th ed. 2022) and business organizations (13th ed. 2024). He spent the spring of 1989 as a senior Fulbright research fellow at the University of Sydney. He was a former member of the New York Stock Exchange Legal Advisory Committee, the NASD Legal Advisory Board, the ABA Committee on Corporate Laws, the ABA Committee of Corporate Laws, the California Corporations, Committee, the Drafting Committee for N.C. Corporations and Non-Profit Corporation, and the Standing Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. He was the draftsman for the capital market laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2001, Professor Cox was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Mercature from the University of South Denmark.
