About the Federation

The School of Medicine, in partnership with DHTS and Duke OIT-DWS, manages a single Drupal infrastructure (the Federation) upon which units can build individual websites. All School of Medicine (SoM) academic departments are required to be hosted on the Federation.
In 2018, School of Medicine launched the school's first federated model for web development.
  • Updated theme, design, branding, core functionality
  • Reduces cost and burden for all departments/units in the School of Medicine
  • Improves compliance and security
  • Strengthens brand

Enhanced support/budget neutral:

  • School of Medicine units paid a minimal one-time fee of $5,000 which funded creation of new theme and infrastructure (vs $30,000 - $70,000 per unit for web development).
  • School of Medicine units pay a minimal fee ($3,000) annually for ongoing support.
    • This funds 1 FTE in SoM Office of Strategic Communications dedicated to web development/support for all units on the federated model.
  • School of Medicine web team provides training sessions, office hours, MS Teams chats, documentation website for SoM departments and units.

As of January 2024, 45 websites are on the Federation.

Web Federation Contacts

Project Management

Web Federation Project Manager Beky Branagan, rebeka.branagan@duke.edu

Governance and Oversight

The Federation is a shared infrastructure with partners across the institution.

Federation Governance Group

The School of Medicine (SoM) Drupal Federation Governance Group is comprised of representatives from the stakeholders in the SoM Drupal Federation. It is chaired by SoM Office of Communications leadership and as such, reports the activities of the group to School of Medicine Administration and the Dean.

Web Advisory Council

The School of Medicine (SoM) Web Advisory Council (WAC) is comprised of representatives from the units in the SoM Drupal Federation and one liaison from the SoM Office of Strategic Communications. The WAC works collaboratively with SoM Drupal Federation users and the School of Medicine Web Governance Group. Members can participate in one- or two-year terms.