As part of Women’s History Month activities on campus, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue came to Duke Tuesday to deliver a speech entitled “Women, Leadership and Public Service.”
The daughter of a West Virginian coal miner, Perdue learned early that education was the only way out of her poverty-ridden town. The hard worker in high school went on to attend the University of Kentucky before earning a master’s degree and a Ph.D.
In a state where few women were trying to make it big in politics in the early 1980s, Perdue met resistance. “When I told [male politicians] I wanted to run for office, they looked at me like I’d fallen off the turnip truck,” she said of her decision to run for the N.C. House of Representatives.
After serving in the House, Perdue rose through the ranks of N.C. state government. In 2000, she became the second-ranking public official behind Gov. Mike Easley and the first woman to earn that position.
Perdue warned young women about taking their rights for granted and encouraged them to learn about the history of the women’s rights movement.
“Truth be told it’s important to have this kind of time for folks to think about how far we’ve come,” Perdue said.
She also said the women’s rights movement has a long way to go before women and men have the same opportunities and enjoy equal pay. “Every time a guy gets paid a dollar with the same education at the same job, I get 76 cents,” she said.
Perdue spoke fondly of her relationship with former Duke president and N.C. Gov. Terry Sanford, who encouraged her to run for public office. She praised his commitment to bringing diversity to Duke. “He in my mind was influential in opening this University’s doors to minorities and women,” she said.
She also lauded current President Richard Brodhead, who introduced her to a crowd of about 60 in White Lecture Hall. “I’m hearing you’re going to be as good as we’ve ever had,” she said.
In Brodhead’s brief introduction he outlined some of the less publicized components of a lieutenant governor’s job description. He noted that a majority of United States presidents come out of state rather than national governments and that state politics are not subject to the kind of party divisions that national governments are.
Heather Dean, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, also attended the talk. “I think it’s important to have these kind of inspirations and role models,” she said of Perdue.
Betsy Alden, a visiting lecturer in the Hart Leadership Program and the Kenan Institute for Ethics, appreciated Perdue’s mention of the history of women’s rights. Alden said women often take for granted the rights that their predecessors fought hard to secure.
“We breathe the air of women’s heritage... of feminism,” Alden said. “We can’t go forward until we look backward.”
Dean and Alden both said they were disappointed that the auditorium was sparsely filled for the talk sponsored by the Office of Institutional Equity, the Hart Leadership Program, the Baldwin Scholars program and the Duke Women’s Center.
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