When an independent school in Manhattan offered University Secretary Allison Haltom a job in its college guidance office in the spring of 1976, the then-assistant director of University admissions had to consider the opportunity to leave Durham for the Big Apple.
"I've always wanted to try new things, and so I had to think about the offer," said Haltom, who is also a University vice president. "But honestly, I was a little scared venturing to New York City, so I didn't accept the position."
As chance would have it, Haltom's choice to stay at Duke would turn out for the best, she said. Later that summer, Haltom met her now-husband of almost 30 years David McClay, a professor of biology at Duke, and took a position in the Office of Alumni Giving.
"Had I gone to New York, I would not have met my husband, who has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, along with my children," Haltom said.
Nine years later, the lifelong North Carolina resident became the University secretary in 1986-a post from which she will retire at the end of December.
As University secretary, Haltom manages the activities of the Board of Trustees, serves as the University marshal-which oversees major ceremonies like commencement-and has either chaired or served on most hiring committees for the University's senior officials, including the search committee for President Richard Brodhead.
"She makes the trains run on time," said John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, whom Haltom considers one of her best friends. "Whoever is the University secretary has the inevitable position of both working for the President and working for the Board.... We're loaded with big thinkers, and if you don't have someone in the group who pays attention to the details, the logistics of managing 40-odd people [on the Board] will not get done."
When she retires, the majority of Haltom's responsibilities will be divided between Richard Riddell, special assistant to the president, who will handle the larger duties dealing with the Board, and Laura Eastwood, the current associate University secretary, who will handle many of the day-to-day communications with Trustees.
"The University is splitting Allison's position into two jobs because they don't believe one person can do it," Burness said. "What happens sometimes is you find really competent people like Allison who can juggle many different responsibilities and end up with them because they are so damn good at it. And then when they leave, you realize that the responsibilities are more than one person can handle."
Haltom said although life after Duke-which she has called home since she came to the University as an undergraduate student in the Woman's College in 1968-will be difficult, she is looking forward to "cleaning out her closet."
"Both my literal and figurative closets," Haltom said. "My literal ones at home, there are some things that need to be cleaned out and thrown away. My figurative closets I consider my mind. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to reading something because I want to read it."
Outside the Duke community, Haltom has worked closely with the Hill Center, a school for children with learning disabilities.
"I've been on the board to help raise some money for the school, and I'm going to continue to do that," Haltom said. "It's a place where if we can get them early enough before self-esteem issues come in play we can make a difference."
One of Haltom's chief reasons for retiring, though, is to have greater flexibility to travel with her husband.
"He spends a month a year in the south of France. It's not bad at all," Haltom said. "There's a school in Nice where I'm thinking about brushing up on my French."
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