Madeleine Albright, who died Wednesday at age 84, was welcomed into the Duke community.
The first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state came to the university to give two major addresses over the past two decades. In 2004, she gave the address at then-President Nannerl O. Keohane’s final commencement ceremony. Albright also received an honorary degree at the ceremony.
In her speech, given in a moment when a crisis in Iraq was worsening, Albright told the new graduates that she hoped the United States would not use the darkening moment to withdraw from world affairs and the protection of liberty. She told them to use their diplomas “with a determination to make the most out of life and to search always for more and better ways to give."
“I hope each member of the class of 2004 will use the knowledge gained here at this magnificent university to be more than a consumer of liberty, but also a defender and an enricher of it, employing your talents to heal, help and teach. I hope you will be doers, not drifters, and that you will not wait to live life boldly, with largeness of spirit and generosity of heart,” Albright said.
Her full commencement address is available on Duke Today.
Albright returned in 2019, speaking in Page Auditorium in conversation with Sanford School of Public Policy Dean Judith Kelley on the health of democracy and the U.S. role in fighting fascism, an issue that was personal for the Czech native whose family fled to Britain in 1939. Her parents converted to Judaism to Catholicism in 1941, and Albright was raised in that faith, but late in life she learned that both her parents were born and raised Jewish.
Her conversation with Kelley was both humorous and somber, reflective of her personality and also of her book published the year before: “Fascism: A Warning.”
The talk was part of the David Rubenstein Lecture Series. During the 2019 visit, Albright also met with student and faculty groups and shared a personal meeting with President Vincent Price and Sanford School of Public Policy Dean Judith Kelley.
“In March 2019, I had the pleasure of welcoming Secretary Albright to Sanford to deliver the David M. Rubenstein Distinguished Lecture. We spoke at length about threats to democracy, foreign policy and citizenship – vital topics near and dear to us both,” Kelley said.
“Her visit was one of the highlights so far of my deanship, and a magical day for our entire school and community. Throughout the day I spent with her, we shared a connection I will never forget. Secretary Albright made an extra effort to encourage women leaders she met, and this was apparent when I met her as well. Her mentorship and encouragement of others are among her many legacies. Sanford remembers and honors Secretary Albright.”
At the request of NC Gov. Roy Cooper, all campus flags will be lowered through sunset, Sunday, March 27.