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Quick FActs

  • Owns a dog named Faya
  • Plans to host pasta-making classes with his partner, Dave
Bio

Prof. Gregory Victory

Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Fannie Mitchell Executive Director of the career center, & instructor in duke Innovation & entrepreneurship

Please call me Greg, not Mr., Dr. or Professor!  I just started my 25th year working in higher education (and 5th at Duke) a majority of that working with college students and I am excited to be joining the Faculty in Residence team as the FIR in GA.  My career has really been shaped by the students that I get work with, and I am delighted to be finding new ways to further that mission. 

I changed my major three (maybe 4) times during my undergraduate journey.  As a first-generation college kid, I was totally uncertain about what job opportunities even existed for someone like me and found that I fell in love with the concept of teaching others and ended up graduating with a degree in History & Secondary education.  Although I had a desire to work in higher education, I found that without a graduate degree my entry level options were slim, and I landed my first job as a 7th Grade Social Studies teacher.  I have lots of stories about that job, the good, bad and ugly but have learned that my purpose is to be an educator.  Since that job every subsequent experience had an educational component to it, and that took me from colleges in upstate NY (Le Moyne, Syracuse (2X), Colgate) to New England (Rhode Island School of Design & Tufts) and to Durham, NC (Duke) in 2020. I have loved my time at Duke and get the pleasure to both be the Executive Director in the Duke Career Center as well as an Instructor in Duke’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship program.

I have loved teaching the famed “Design Your Duke Journey” course.  The intended goal of the course is to teach first-year & sophomore students how design thinking can help them explore options and opportunities and, at the same time, wrestle with the “wicked” problem of: “How do I know if I’m on the right track, if I don’t know exactly what the destination is? You should register for it!  It’s fun.

In my free time, I love to travel, cook (and eat), explore Durham, walk the gardens and downtown, and I am a huge college sports Fan (Go BLUE DEVILS)!  Growing up in Upstate NY, I have come to disdain the snow.  My favorite place to be is on the water (Ocean, Lake, Stream, etc).  One of my favorite things to do is head to the Durham Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning (come join me) or to head to dinner with friends on Wednesday evenings at Geer Street Garden. 

My family consists of my partner David (we have been together nearly 28 years) and our 4-year-old attention seeking pup, Faya.  Faya loves people and will be excited to take all your attention and David is the Chief Sales Officer for FX Matt Brewery in Utica, NY.  He has spent nearly 30 years in the beverage industry and graduated with a degree in Accounting & Management Information Systems.  He also loves to cook and is excited to teach members of the GA family how to make homemade pasta (and help you figure out doing your taxes). 

One of my favorite jobs was serving as “Scooch,” mascot for the Syracuse Mets (formerly the Syracuse Chiefs), a AAA baseball club—the same level as the Durham Bulls. That position allowed me to be as goofy as I wanted to be, to bring joy, laughter, and excitement to fans. It offers a glimpse of my spirit, energy, and enthusiasm.