Duke to keep thinking about how to fill Robert E. Lee's spot on chapel

The decision by Duke President Vincent Price came Saturday after a commission studying the void recommended the move in a 20-page report. The school said the commission reviewed the history of the statue and took input from more than 200 people.

The commission also suggested filling the spot with a statue of someone who would represent “the values and principles of the university.” Candidates for the spot were Martin Luther King Jr. and Durham human rights advocate Pauli Murray.

“I am persuaded by the Commission’s conclusion that the decision about who, or what, to commemorate in that most public of spaces on campus deserves a more expansive, thoughtful and inclusive conversation than could be held to this point,” Price said. “Thus, I am accepting the Commission’s first recommendation of leaving the space vacant and initiating an open and deliberative process that will involve all members of the Duke community.”