The Duke Endowment has awarded grants totaling more than $23 million to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

The grants include $3 million for Duke's nursing school; $6 million to its Perkins Library to support the creation of a centralized public-service area; $6 million for an undergraduate science initiative to foster collaboration among the natural sciences; $1 million to its Center for Genome, Ethics, Law and Policy; $500,000 to the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership; $200,000 to encourage collaboration among the four school libraries supported by the Endowment; and $7 million to Duke University Medical Center. An additional $10,000 was awarded for the creation and installation of a plaque commemorating the legacy of William Few, the university's president from 1924 to 1940.

"The Duke Endowment has been the largest single supporter of Duke through the years," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. "Duke University would not be the internationally recognized university it is today were it not for the Duke Endowment's consistent leadership and support. At the same time, it always helps the university remember its roots in North Carolina."