History

The Nicholas School celebrates it creation date as 1991, but it represents a coming together of three entities that are almost as old as the university itself. The School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Duke University Marine Lab (both formed in 1938) came together in 1991 to become the School of Environment, which was named the Nicholas School in 1995 following a $20 million gift from Peter M. and Ginny Nicholas of Boston.

In 1997, the Department of Geology (formed in 1936) joined the school as the Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences, bringing with it new resources and a new name for the school in December 2000-the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. In December 2003, the Nicholases ended the Campaign for Duke with a $70 million pledge to the university, to help fund the design and construction of Nicholas Hall, the future home of the Nicholas School, as well as the launch of the affiliated Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. In August 2008, the school's name was shortened to the Nicholas School of the Environment, following approval by the Duke University Board of Trustees.