Duke University has signed the Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity (COPE). There are now 11 institutions that have signed COPE, including Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Ottawa, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the Universitat de Barcelona.
Here's an excerpt from the announcement:
As part of its commitment to COPE, Duke has created a special fund to help pay for article processing fees. Beginning this month, any Duke faculty member, post-doctoral researcher, graduate or professional student whose article is accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed, open-access journal can apply to have associated article processing fees reimbursed. The fund, which will be administered by the Libraries' Office of Scholarly Communications, is supported by the Duke University Libraries and the Office of the Provost. . . .
According to Provost Peter Lange, the aims of COPE are in keeping with Duke's continued emphasis on knowledge in the service of society. "By establishing this fund, we hope to support the university's commitment to promoting openness as an important value in scholarship," Lange said. "Increased open access means more opportunities for the research of our faculty and researchers to reach a wide audience and have a meaningful impact on the world."