DURHAM -- Duke University will leave an empty space where it removed a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee so it can spend another year studying a proper replacement.

Duke announced Saturday its president, Vincent Price, approved the yearlong study period recommended by a campus historical commission. The commission was convened in September after the statue's removal. Lee was among 10 figures depicted at Duke Chapel in or near its entryway.

The statue at Duke was vandalized and then removed in the aftermath of violent August demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia. One person died in the Virginia protests spawned by white nationalists over the fate of another Lee monument. 

The Duke commission also created a process for receiving and evaluating proposals for future changes to potentially offensive historical monuments or building names.