Non-Chronicle grad succeeds

If there is one thing that Judy Woodruff, Trinity ’68, knows how to do, it’s how to break the mold. As a current anchor for CNN’s Inside Politics and a career broadcast journalist, Woodruff has resisted being categorized as just another perky blonde Georgia peach posing for the camera.

“I’ve always believed that women have to work at least as hard as men, if not harder, to reap the benefits of success,” Woodruff said, speaking from the Miami outpost of the first presidential debate.

Woodruff’s interest in politics began at Meredith College and blossomed after she transferred to Duke. Her political inclinations took shape at the University with positions as a student government representative, an active member of the student union and a two-year Capitol Hill intern.

Melding her political savvy with journalism, however, sprang more from Woodruff’s limited options as a woman than personal choice, she said.

“During my summer internships, I thought I was going to come back to Washington and work—I just fell in love,” Woodruff said. “But the universal message to women—even those with law degrees—was to be careful, that job opportunities just weren’t there.”

Described by her professors as having had an “insatiable curiosity” in the classroom, Woodruff’s most logical second choice was journalism. The local weather girl-turned-media A-lister was first assigned to cover Jimmy Carter’s quest for Georgia governorship, a beat that ultimately led her, and Carter, to the White House.

As for keeping her cool among all the political hot-shots, Woodruff insists that it is about tenacity and sharp wits. “The advice I’ve always given is to be persistent, don’t take no for an answer and to know that it’s not going to be easy—it’s what you make of your failures and setbacks that is absolutely an essential ingredient to success,” she said.

And while Katie Couric makes headlines by taking her face-framing highlights a shade lighter, Woodruff would rather publicly grill the world’s leaders. It is clear that the Duke trustee emerita has no intention of backing down now.