The Women’s Center
The Duke Divinity School Women’s Center serves as both a healing place for women-identifying people and as an educative space for everyone in the Divinity School community. We believe both of these commitments—healing and educating—are tools of empowerment. We see our work as deeply core to the mission of the Jesus Christ, who in birth and resurrection appeared first to women and values all of us as made in God’s own image.
Certificate in Gender, Sexuality, Theology, and Ministry
This program enables students to make the study of gender, sexuality, theology, and ministry a core component of their theological education. It fosters a collaborative environment for teaching, research, service learning, and dialogue.
Since 1974, The Women’s Center serves as a clearinghouse for information on a variety of issues affecting women and provides opportunities for interaction, networking, challenge and growth, as well as a sacred space for those in the community who experience struggles in their lives or ministries. Our current educative work engages the vast spectrum of women-centric theologies ranging from womanism, queer, mujerista, and feminism through conversations with people of all genders.
How You Can Help
The Women’s Center and the Gender, Sexuality, Theology, and Ministry Certificate Program are raising money for an endowment that would provide longterm support to enhancing our programs with the expansion of training for clergy in response to domestic violence, additional lecture series, scholarships for divinity students who earn the certificate and more.
Contributions may be made to Duke Divinity School (memo line: GTM Program Code 399-2818), and may be sent to:
Office of External Relations
Duke Divinity School
Box 90966
Durham, NC 27708-0966
Jill Raitt Lecture Series
A distinguished speaker is invited to speak at the Divinity School in a formal lecture, in honor of Jill Raitt, the first tenured female faculty. Listen to past lectures on iTunes U.
Panel Discussions
Each semester, the Women’s Center organizes a panel discussion on a wide-range of topics such as “Faith and Bodies,” “Theology of Feminism,” “The Church and Homosexuality,” “Ethics, Theology, and Civil Engagement,” as well as many others. Listen to past panel discussions on iTunes U.
Women’s Week
Each year, the Women’s Center sponsors a women’s week with activities that celebrate women. The week includes a Women’s Center-led Chapel service in Goodson, in which a female-student is invited to preach. Other events concerning women's issues are scheduled throughout the week.
Ministry Mentors Program
Women seminary students who seek mentors can be paired with a woman serving in various denominations and ministries in the wider Durham/Triangle community. If you would like to be paired with a mentor, please contact the Women’s Center.
Get Informed
Get Help
At Duke University
Duke University Women’s Center
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Phone: (919) 684-3897
Email: WCHelp@duke.edu
Walk-in are always welcome, no appointment is necessary
After hours, weekends, and holidays: page (919) 970-2108 or email WCHelp@duke.edu
If this is an emergency situation and you feel you are in danger, call 911 or Duke Police at (919) 684-2444.
Locally
Durham Crisis Hotline
(919) 403-6562
Nationally
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
Duke Divinity Women’s Center is a “healing place.” Our prayer is that our room at 021 Gray will become a place of sanctuary and sisterhood for women-identifying people at Duke Divinity School.
We aim to create a space where women-identifying people can come to study, pray, read, chat, stretch, cry, nap, breast-feed, and draw. We provide tea, coffee, eating utensils, pads, tampons, art supplies, and assorted health items in the center. Guests are invited to borrow a book, post art, store their lunch in the fridge, or make a pot of coffee.
We also provide a breast-feeding room for nursing mothers equipped with a refrigerator and changing table.
We ask our Christian brothers to recognize the ways in which women-identifying people experience marginalization, disempowerment, and harassment inside and outside of the Divinity School. We hope our male colleagues and friends will honor our desire for a small room of our own to retreat to periodically for the sake of healing.