About the Cook Center

Mission Statement

The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University is a premier interdisciplinary hub committed to advancing rigorous research, transformative education, and public engagement aimed at understanding and addressing the systems that produce and sustain inequity. Named in honor of Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook—a pioneering political scientist, civil rights leader, and the first African American tenured professor at Duke—the Center embodies his lifelong commitment to scholarship, justice, and systems change.

Founded in 2014, the Center has played a pivotal role in advancing research and policy solutions related to inequality. Today, the Center builds on this strong foundation. Anchored by three core research pillars—Educational and Economic Opportunity, Health Equity, and Carceral Justice—the Center fosters rigorous, collaborative, and policy-relevant scholarship. Each pillar is led by a Faculty Director and organizes collaborative activities such as working groups, public colloquia, and thematic workshops involving scholars and students at all stages. Furthermore, these pillars are complemented by cross-cutting themes of public policy engagement, data science and methodological innovation, and training the next generation of scholars.

The Cook Center brings together faculty, students, practitioners, and community partners to generate actionable knowledge that informs policy, shapes public discourse, and drives systemic change. It serves as a vibrant intellectual community, cultivating pipelines of equity-focused scholars through hands-on mentored research and fellowship programs, supporting faculty research through seed funding and interdisciplinary collaborations, and advancing learning innovations through partnerships with Bass Connections and the National Education Opportunity Network.

Relocated to Duke’s academic core and reporting to the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs, the Cook Center is strategically positioned to amplify its impact—within Duke, across academia, and beyond. Through strategic partnerships, bold scholarship, and a deep commitment to Dr. Cook’s legacy, the Center aims to help build a more equitable and just society.

Leadership

We are proud to welcome Dr. Tyson H. Brown as the new director of the Cook Center. Brown is a professor of sociology and medicine. In collaboration with a dynamic senior leadership team spanning Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, the Sanford School of Public Policy, and the School of Medicine, the center is entering a period of strategic renewal and ambitious growth.

Faculty Advisory Board

To deepen and broaden this interdisciplinary foundation, the Center has established a Faculty Advisory Board to serve as thought partners and ambassadors, strengthening engagement with faculty and students across Duke. Members represent eight schools and bring expertise in medicine, law, business, engineering, policy, environment, nursing, divinity, and the arts and sciences.