Anathea Portier-Young, Ph.D., associate professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School, was re-elected in April as chair of the Duke University Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The executive committee reviews existing graduate programs at Duke, evaluates proposals for new graduate programs and graduate student fellowship applications, and assists in setting policy within the graduate school.

Although committee members typically serve a two-year term, this will mark the third year that Portier-Young has served on Duke’s Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty. Chairs are elected by voting members of the committee for a one-year term but can be elected to a second term. She was first elected chair for the 2019-2020 academic year and now again for this upcoming academic year.

“The members of the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty are an outstanding team of faculty and administrators serving in Duke's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,” Portier-Young said. “The most exciting part of our shared work is learning about programs across The Graduate School. We aim to help programs identify strategic priorities and practical steps to achieve them, including recruitment and retention of diverse, excellent faculty and graduate students. We advocate for the needs of students and strive to ensure the consistent and excellent quality of The Graduate School's degree and certificate programs."