New Director of Jewish Life Hopes to Nurture Jewish Identity

Joyce Gordon, who arrives on campus July 11 as the new director of Jewish Life at Duke, sees college as a time when students are exploring their identities. For Duke’s Jewish students, that includes an exploration of Jewish identity.

“For many students, college is their first time away from home for any length of time,” Gordon said. “It’s a chance for them to stretch their wings and see who they want to become. I want us to walk that walk with them. I hope we support students in any way they need as they walk that Jewish path.”

Gordon arrives at Duke with a background in nonprofit leadership. She has worked as operations director for Meals on Wheels for the past 18 months, and previously served for eight years as executive director at Judea Reform Congregation in Durham.

In her new role, Gordon will be based at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life. She will oversee the Freeman Center staff and will serve as a liaison between current and prospective Duke students and the broader Jewish community, including Duke alumni and community members.

She is already grounded in the Durham community, where she lives with her husband and two children, ages 10 and 12. The children sometimes have their own identity questions.

“My own daughter will say, ‘I want to be like Taylor Swift,’” Gordon said. “I say to her, ‘Fine, you can take singing lessons. But you won’t always be a pop star. You will always be Jewish. So let’s figure out how to live that life.’”

Now she has a chance to help Duke students figure that out as well.

“My long-term hopes are that any Jewish student or any student interested in Judaism finds a home at Jewish Life and at the Freeman Center, that they connect with us and one another to continue on their Jewish journey,” Gordon said. “My hope is that they find their own Jewish home and their own path through our support.”