Mission Statement
The Office of Public Affairs and Government Relations serves Duke University's dynamic educational, intellectual and service missions by providing honest, timely and useful information to all its internal and external stakeholders and audiences, and by helping the university understand, anticipate and manage its environment.

Back to Top

Vision Statement
We are committed to using our individual and collective experience, judgment and talent to provide the most effective and creative public and government relations counsel to the Duke University community.

We forcefully advocate the interests of Duke University and of higher education, based on our belief in the intellectual values that are the foundation of a great university.

We are in the business of education and information exchange, and are committed to the principle that communication must be more than an end product; it is a vitally important strategic function. We have a responsibility to help decision makers understand, appreciate and include honest communication in the development of institutional policy.

We take seriously our responsibility to anticipate change, and to provide comprehensive, strategic and objective counsel to our clients, based on sound principles of communication.

We respect and value the intelligence of the university's stakeholders and audiences.

We honor the contributions of each person in Public Affairs and Government Relations, recognizing that our success as a team reflects our individual and collective efforts.

Back to Top

Vice President

Michael J. Schoenfeld
Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations
(919) 681 3788
michael.schoenfeld@duke.edu

Michael J. Schoenfeld is Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations, where he oversees communications and advocacy efforts for the university and medical center.

Schoenfeld came to Duke in 2008 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, where he was vice chancellor for public affairs. As the chief public, community and government relations officer and spokesman for Vanderbilt, Schoenfeld created and led a comprehensive public affairs program that earned multiple honors from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and other organizations, as well as five regional Emmy awards in January for its television productions. Vanderbilt's media relations and online news network were recognized as national leaders in advancing the university's mission. In addition, led Vanderbilt's legislative agenda at the local, state and federal levels on issues that include research funding, higher education policy and health care, and was widely credited with rebuilding Vanderbilt's relationship with the Nashville community, and has played a key role in education, economic development and the arts. As an active member of the community, Schoenfeld was most recently chairman of the University School of Nashville and the Tennessee Repertory Theater, and served on numerous boards and commissions.

Schoenfeld currently holds leadership roles with the National Academy for Media Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Public Relations Society of America, the Association of American Universities, and Leadership Music, and previously served on the board of the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the CASE Commission on Communications. He will serve as general chairman of the 2009 CASE Senior Summit, the largest annual gathering of educational advancement leaders.

Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Schoenfeld was senior vice president for policy and public affairs at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in Washington, D.C., where he was the chief spokesman and senior corporate officer for media relations, community relations, research and public policy. As the leader of CPB's Internet and technology initiatives, he helped develop one of the first public telecommunications websites and negotiated a partnership with the MIT Media Lab.

Burness has been a consultant to a number of universities and research enterprises, including Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Ohio State University, Stanford University, Syracuse University, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, University of Texas, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.  He has testified before the United States Congress and state legislatures, and has lectured at numerous American colleges and at higher education and press organizations, including The College Board, the Council of Learned Societies, the Freedom Forum Center for Media Studies, and The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Previously, Schoenfeld served as the director of program development at Worldnet, the United States Information Agency's global satellite television network, and as chief of staff for the director of the Voice of America, where he also held a variety of executive and news reporting positions.

Public Affairs Staff

Donna Hubert Executive Assistant Phone: (919) 668-1780 Fax: (919) 681-8919		Donna Hubert Executive Assistant donna.hubert@duke.edu Responsibilities: Senior budget and personnel/Human Resource officer for the division of Public Affairs and Government Relations Background & Experience: Came to the Office of the Senior Vice President in December 2002. Previous experience includes 18 years with the following Duke departments: Executive Vice President, FAST Track Project, Facilities Planning and Management, and the Central Payroll Office. Graduate of East Carolina University. Back to Top
Virginia M. Skinner Executive Secretary Phone: (919) 681-3788 Fax: (919) 681-8919		Virginia M. Skinner Executive Secretary virginia.skinner@duke.edu Responsibilities: Handle telephone/reception for the office; prepare all correspondence for the Senior Vice President; manage calendar and travel needs for the Senior Vice President; screen, sort, distribute incoming mail for the office; maintain office files and office supplies. Background & Experience: Came to the Office of the Senior Vice President in July 1991. Previous experience includes 15 years with North Carolina local government offices in Wilson, Craven and Pitt Counties, and 4 years as co-manager of church retreat center. Graduate of Oakland City College in Oakland City, Indiana. Back to Top
Christa Twyford Research Assistant Phone: (919) 681-3808 Fax: (919) 681-8919		Christa Twyford Research Assistant christa.twyford@duke.edu Responsibilities: Research information for reports and publications produced by the Office of Public Affairs; supports internal and external communication for the university and the Office of Community Affairs. Background & Experience: Came to the Office of Public Affairs in 2007, after graduating from Duke with a Masters of Public Policy. Prior to graduate school, worked as an instructor of English as a Second Language in several settings, including two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria. Back to Top

SENIOR STAFF: