Duke President Establishes 'Commission on the Status of Women' to Continue Momentum of Women's Initiative

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University President Nannerl O. Keohane this week named 16 faculty members, employees, administrators and students to serve on the newly established President's Commission on the Status of Women.

The commission is charged with continuing the work of the Women's Initiative Steering Committee, which recently concluded a comprehensive study about the lives of Duke's female students, faculty, employees and graduates. The Women's Initiative report, released in September, detailed the progress women have made and the challenges they still face and recommended substantive changes to improve the campus climate.

Duke is already investing millions of dollars in better access to child care, a program to hire more female faculty, new parental leave policies and other efforts. But more work remains, and this commission will be responsible for making sure progress is made.

"The issues we identified are complicated and can't be solved without a coordinated effort to fulfill the promises we've made, assess our progress and then chart out new solutions to move forward," Keohane said. "This commission will ensure that the issues identified in the report remain a priority for Duke."

Just as the report delved into the lives of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff and alumnae, the commission includes members representing each of those constituencies.

The members of the commission are:

• Donna Lisker, Women's Center director and commission chair;
• Ann Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine;
• April Brown, professor and chair of the electrical and computer engineering department and a member of the faculty diversity task force;
• Tina Campt, associate professor of women's studies;
• Eric Estes, chair of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Task Force;
• Mindy Kornberg, assistant vice president for human resources;
• Jacqueline Looney, associate dean for graduate student affairs and associate vice provost;
• Devon MacWilliam, a senior and president of the Panhellenic Council;
• Jill Miller, assistant dean of student affairs in the School of Law;
• Patty Morton, a member of the class of 1970 and a Duke parent;
• John Payne, professor in the Fuqua School of Business;
• Ben Reese, vice president for institutional equity;
• Rob Saunders, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council;
• Jacki Silar, associate director of athletics;
• Matthew Slovik, president of Duke Student Government; and
• Judith White, assistant vice president in the Office of the Executive Vice President.

Lisker said the commission will hold its first meeting before the end of the semester and a second meeting in the spring. Keohane asked each member to serve for one year and then assess whether the group is working as planned.

The commission will report directly to Keohane, and then to her successor; Keohane has announced she will step down as Duke president in June 2004.

In addition to following up on the Women's Initiative recommendations, the commission will advise the president on other women's issues and be free to research new issues that arise.

"You have to keep the momentum going," Lisker said. "There are a number of great ideas, issues and plans that came out of the Women's Initiative. But we learned from experience that if there's not a group paying attention and agitating, these issues can disappear. This is a group that can keep the issues visible and involve all constituencies."

The commission will issue a report on the progress of the Women's Initiative in the spring.

CONTACT: Kelly Gilmer | (919) 681-8065 | kelly.gilmer@duke.edu