On February 21st, Professor Davarian Baldwin addressed about 90 supporters of the Duke Respect Durham campaign at SEEDS, an urban garden and kitchen classroom just east of downtown. Baldwin, the Raether Professor at Trinity College, founder of the Smart Cities Lab, and author of a 2021 book called In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower, used the event to urge Duke University to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to local government. Despite its $11.9 billion endowment, Duke is exempt from paying property taxes on most of its properties.
In a recent article, The Assembly estimated that, “If Duke weren’t exempt from many property taxes, its bill would likely fall somewhere between $11 million and the $50 million the PILOT campaigners calculated”. The same article stated that the university paid around $2 million in property tax in 2024 [1].
“The top universities are not just institutions of higher learning,” Baldwin said at the event, “They’re in fact the biggest low-wage employers, the biggest landholders, the biggest health care providers, the biggest policing agents, the biggest governmental forces, in our communities.”
Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania make PILOTs of $10 million or more to their local governments. In 2021, the “Yale Respect New Haven” campaign pressured the university to pay $23 million per year to the town. Duke Respect Durham has hinted at an even more ambitious goal, asking on its website, “What can Durham do with $50 million a year?”
Friday’s event was kicked off with brief remarks by Nate Baker, a member of Durham's city council. Leigh Campoamor of the Night School Bar moderated the rest of the discussion. Baker first invited Baldwin to Durham in April 2024 to discuss the concept of a PILOT campaign with a handful of activists, an event which helped lead to the formation of Duke Respect Durham [2]. The coalition's first rally was held in September 2024 at Asbury Church [3].
“Teaching and learning are the smallest things that Duke University does,” Baldwin said at SEEDS, “They will tell you that in celebration. They say, ‘We are an economic engine’ and ‘We are a driving force’. Well, if you are that, then there is a need for extra scrutiny and public oversight to what you’re doing in our lives. Then they’ll retreat and say ‘No, no, we’re just a school.’”
Duke is ranked as the country’s sixth-best university by U.S. News & World Report, but despite being a world-class beacon of learning, it hasn’t managed to illuminate the schoolhouses right next door. Durham Public Schools ranks 40th among North Carolina school districts [4]. If Duke’s attitude towards a PILOT ever changes, it may consider copying the University of Pennsylvania’s $10 million annual contribution to Philadelphia City Schools [5]. This would be a fitting solution since public schools are primarily funded with local property taxes.
Baldwin also connected Duke’s tax-exempt status to its undemocratic behavior in Durham’s politics, citing the university’s notorious role in derailing the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (DOLRT) project in 2019 [6]. After around $157 million was spent on planning the light rail, the university refused to sign a critical cooperation agreement. High officials at Duke such as Tallman Trask III and Vincent Price cited concerns about electromagnetic interference with equipment at Duke University Hospital. At the time, GoTriangle countered that about 20 other U.S. medical centers operate near rail systems without issue [7].
Baldwin expressed enthusiasm about the progress of Duke Respect Durham, noting that Duke’s defensiveness was a sign of growing pressure. “It was just an idea, but look at us now,” he said. “The university is forced to respond, even in its derision, which tells me we will win.”
The PILOT campaign’s public and political support is significant but not yet overwhelming. Baker, who is strongly identified with the campaign, works with a coalition of 31 groups, including UE Local 150, the Duke Graduate Student Union, and Triangle DSA. County commissioner Nida Allam spoke at the campaign’s September 2024 kickoff event, and elected officials such as Javiera Caballero, Natalie Beyer, Michelle Burton, and DeDreana Freeman have attended its events. The People’s Alliance, while not official endorsers of Duke Respect Durham, provided snacks and refreshments for the SEEDS event.
However, the campaign faces an external challenge. The Trump administration has recently threatened to defund the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which awarded Duke more than $580 million in grants in 2024 [8]. If NIH funding is significantly cut, the university and Durham could be pushed into a crisis that drowns out calls for progressive reforms.
“Biotech, health sciences, software design, military weaponry,” Baldwin said, counting on his fingers, “Where is the R&D for that work done? On college campuses in their laboratories. Combine the new economy with the property tax exempt status of campus, and what do you have? You got a new-age hustle.”
Many employees driving Duke’s success have unionized under the Duke Graduate Student Union (DGSU). Academic workers voted overwhelmingly, with 88 percent in favor, to join the union in August 2023. Since then, a key demand of the DGSU has been to raise annual PhD stipends to $50,000. Duke’s president Vincent Price, who earned $1.81 million in 2023, has so far rejected this demand as stubbornly as he's refused a PILOT agreement.
Professor Davarian Baldwin's two trips to Durham have helped to shape and energize the Duke Respect Durham campaign. Continued pressure on Duke’s top administrators, who are protective of the university's brand, could push them to pay a fair share of property taxes. Duke Respect Durham has invited all community members to a mass meeting on Thursday, March 6th for a discussion on the coalition's next steps.
Work Cited
Gretzinger, Erin, et al. “What Does Duke University Owe Durham?” The Assembly NC, 6 Feb. 2025, www.theassemblync.com/education/higher-education/duke-respect-durham.
“PILOT Advocate Visits Durham, Encourages Duke University to Pay Fair Share.” Durham Dispatch, 19 Sept. 2024, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/expert-on-payment-in-lieu-of-taxes-visits-durham-encourages-duke-university-to-pay-fair-share.
“With Strong Backing From Labor, ‘Duke Respect Durham’ Campaign Holds Kickoff Event.” Durham Dispatch, 16 Sept. 2024, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/with-strong-backing-from-labor-duke-respect-durham-campaign-holds-kickoff-event.
“Durham Public Schools.” Niche, www.niche.com/k12/d/durham-public-schools-nc. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025.
Stellino, Molly. “Activists Question Whether Wealthy Universities Should Be Exempt From Property Taxes.” The Hechinger Report, 18 Dec. 2020, www.hechingerreport.org/activists-question-whether-wealthy-universities-should-be-exempt-from-property-taxes.
Fausset, Richard. “Durham Dreamed of a Transit Line. Duke University All but Killed It.” The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/us/duke-durham-light-rail-chapel-hill.html.
Stancill, Jane. “Thanks to Duke, Durham’s Light Rail Dream Is All but Dead.” Bloomberg, 14 Mar. 2019, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-14/why-duke-killed-the-durham-orange-light-rail-project.
Ezzone, Zac. “Trump Policy Would Pummel UNC, Duke Research Funding.” Triangle Business Journal, 10 Feb. 2025, www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2025/02/10/trump-nih-indirect-costs-duke-unc-research-funding.html.
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