More than 500 people participated the Duke Women’s Weekend. Pictured is a session in the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center.
More than 500 people participated the Duke Women’s Weekend. Pictured is a session in the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center.

Duke Women’s Weekend Offers Connections and Community

Hundreds of alumnae returned to campus for event

Duke Women’s Weekend Offers Connections and Community

Hundreds of alumnae returned to campus for event

Over three days this past weekend, more than 500 trustees, faculty, current students and alumnae of all ages and backgrounds listened deeply, struck up conversations and came away with fresh insights from the Duke Women’s Weekend.

In discussions ranging from life transitions to hip-hop, from faith to climate change, Duke faculty shared their research and alumnae offered life lessons and career advice from law, government, professional sports and Hollywood.

Business cards and LinkedIn profiles were exchanged as participants immersed themselves in the richness of the Duke community and strengthened their connections to the university and to each other.

The Women's Weekend was part of Duke's effort to engage a global network of alumni and friends to create new opportunities for growth and discovery.

Several sessions on Friday focused on climate issues. Nicholas School of the Environment Dean Toddi Steelman welcomed two alumnae and two current graduate students to Penn Pavilion Saturday for a discussion on "Climate Changemakers: Turn the Tide of Climate Change".

The experts explained the threats to oceans and their ecosystems -- and how leaders working in marine conservation, plastics, oceanography, and coastal resilience are charting a more sustainable future.

The panelists included Anjali D. Boyd, a Duke marine science Ph.D. student; Sandunie Liyanagamage, Nicholas School of the Environment graduate student; Charlotte Gray Hudson, director of the Lenfest Ocean Program, Pew Charitable Trusts; and Shannon Switzer Swanson, assistant professor of environmental studies, at California State University San Marcos.

Duke alumna Charlotte Gray Hudson shares her work on climate change. Nicholas School Dean Toddi Steelman, left, moderated the session. Photo by Megan Mendenhall/University Communications.
Duke alumna Charlotte Gray Hudson shares her work on climate change. Nicholas School Dean Toddi Steelman, left, moderated the session. Photo by Megan Mendenhall/University Communications.
Dr. Jennifer Lawson at Friday’s panel on climate and health issues. Photo by Megan Mendenhall/University Communications.
Dr. Jennifer Lawson at Friday’s panel on climate and health issues. Photo by Megan Mendenhall/University Communications.

A second session on Friday, presented by the Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke’s Climate Commitment, featured a panel discussion about climate and environmental health issues, with particular attention to women’s health disparities. Duke experts shared insights from nursing, pediatrics, psychiatry and environmental policy.

Pictured, Duke pediatrician Dr. Jennifer M. Lawson speaks about women’s health disparities. Other panelists were Dr. Julia Rothschild, Duke psychiatry resident, and and Ashley Ward, senior policy associate for the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

In addition to learning sessions at Karsh and other sites on West Campus, the alumnae had opportunities to connect with Durham again, including one social event at Golden Belt downtown (pictured below left)

Group of alumnae pose together at Duke Women's Weekend
Duke alumnae take a break in-between sessions by talking in the Women's Lounge, one of two intentional spaces created for casual conversation throughout the weekend.
Duke alumnae take a break in-between sessions by talking in the Women's Lounge, one of two intentional spaces created for casual conversation throughout the weekend.