Racial slur found at Center for Black Culture on Duke University campus

Duke University officials are investigating after a racial slur was found in a campus building Saturday.

In an email sent to students Saturday afternoon, Duke University President Vincent Price said that a racial epithet was found written on a sign at the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture in the Flowers Building on the West Campus.

“Such a cowardly and hateful act has absolutely no place in our community,” Price said in a statement. “While we can’t undo or unsee this painful assault on our right to live and study in a civil and respectful environment, we can and do promise that odious acts like this will be acknowledged and challenged at every opportunity, especially at a time when some seek deliberately to provoke hatred and distrust.”

In the email, Price called on Duke students and staff to commit to an environment of inclusion, tolerance and respect.

University officials did not say if anybody would be charged in connection with the incident.