Antepli Named One of The Chronicle's "2023-24 Chron15 Leaders"

Abdullah Antepli has been chosen as one of the 2023-2024 "Chron15" by The Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper. Chron15 is a select list of icons, leaders, and pioneers within the Duke community. 

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Antepli is just one of five leaders chosen, joining a list of coaches, student leaders, and faculty who, according to the announcement, "used their power for good as they shaped the University’s future, encouraged student success and worked tirelessly to improve the Duke experience."

Chronicle editor Ranjan Jindal wrote the following, detailing Antepli's myriad qualifications. 

Abdullah Antepli teaches at both the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Divinity School, serving as associate professor of the practice and associate professor of the practice of interfaith relations, respectively. He recently taught Public Policy 302: Policy Choice as Value Conflict and co-lectured Public Policy 229: The Good Life: Religion, Philosophy and Life's Ultimate Concerns.

The imam became Duke’s first Muslim chaplain in 2008 and also held positions as director of the Center for Muslim Life from 2008 to 2014 and as Duke’s chief representative for Muslim affairs from 2014 to 2019. He currently serves as the associate vice president and associate vice provost for community-engaged research and teaching. Starting in the fall, he will succeed Deondra Rose, Kevin D. Gorter associate professor of public policy, to lead Polis: The Center for Politics at Duke.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Polis and see the center blossom under the leadership of my colleague Deondra Rose,” Antepli said. “I am looking forward to continuing the great work of the center through one of the most critical times of history as we seek to find ways of civil discourse through continued challenges in our society.”

In November, he was one of the moderators for the Polis Combating Hate and Bias Conference, where he interviewed Anti-Defamation League President Jonathan Greenblatt. The conference addressed hate in many forms in the North Carolina community and across the world, a subject Antepli has consistently engaged with on campus by participating in many seminars on the issue and acting as a prominent voice for positive cross-cultural discourse and empathy.

“Dr. Antepli is a professor capable of fostering an incredible community of tolerance and love despite our differences. No matter how strained the world becomes, he finds a way to unite those around him through his kindness and authenticity,” said junior Jackson Streit, who took two of Antepli’s classes this year.

Antepli has been the recipient of numerous accolades for his work fostering cross-cultural dialogue, including the Anti-Defamation League’s 2022 Daniel Pearl Award and the NonProfit Times’ Power & Influence Top 50 in 2019.

Antepli consistently strives to help students be the best they can and think critically about pressing moral and ethical issues. His leadership has been instrumental to promoting civil discourse on campus, and he consistently acts as a voice of reason for the Duke community.

Read more about the full list of the 2023-2024 Chron15 leaders in The Chronicle.