Guide to the Nancy Allen Interview, 2006

Dr. Nancy Allen was born Nancy Bates in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1952 and grew up near Richmond, Va. In 1970, she received an American Heart Association Grant and worked in the cardiac catheterization lab in Hunter Holmes McGuire Hospital in Richmond. She graduated from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., in 1974 and began medical school at Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. She then transferred to Tufts University in Boston. She completed her internship and residency at Duke University and joined Duke's faculty in Rheumatology in 1980.

Dr. Allen began advocating for the recognition of women's issues in the Department of Medicine and on the larger campus; she would eventually serve on several committees in this capacity, including as chair as the Women's Committee in the Department of Medicine for twelve years and as a member of the University Committee on Faculty Women. Dr. Allen also served on the search committee for Duke president Dr. Nannerl Keohane. A longtime member of the Academic Council at Duke, she chaired the council for three years until 2005. In 2005, Dr. Allen was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Diversity and Faculty Development.

Dr. Allen has received a number of awards, including the Eugene A. Stead, Jr. Award for excellence in teaching from the housestaff at Duke (1986), Distinguished Faculty Award from the Duke University Medical Alumni Association (1996), and the Leonard Palumbo, Jr. Faculty Achievement Award from the Duke University School of Medicine (2004) for excellence in clinical care, teaching and mentoring of young physicians.

Collection Overview

Contains audiotapes and transcript of an oral history interview with Nancy Allen, Duke University Special Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Diversity and Faculty Development and a member of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Dr. Allen speaks about her family background; medical education; women in science during time of her education; coming to Duke; her husband being accepted into Duke's PhD program; Dr. Ralph Snyderman as chief of Immunology; Dr. James Wyngaarden as chair of Department of Medicine; Dr. Wyngaarden's emphasis on bench research; her own preference for patient care above research; women in department in 1970s and 1980s; the treatment of females in the department; Dr. Joseph Greenfield as chair of Department of Medicine; support of Dr. Greenfield; her pregnancy; the lack of maternity leave policy in the department; the institution of her proposal for maternity leave in the department; her service on the university campuswide committee to implement maternity leave policy; the chairmanship of Department of Medicine Women's Committee; meeting with women in other medical departments about women's issues; women's networking and advocacy on campus; Dr. Rebecca Buckley's service on the otherwise all-male appointment, promotion, and tenure [APT] committee; her own service on advisory committee to Chancellor William Anlyan on women's issues; women of primarily Caucasian decent on these committees; the difficulty of salary comparisons in medical center due to income from patients; her clinical work as a rheumatologist; work in outreach clinics; patients (without identifying information) who stand out in her mind; high percentage of female patients in her practice; rewarding nature of rheumatology; academic council; Dr. Nannerl Keohane; her service as chair of academic council; Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Faculty Development position; other committees to advance the concerns of women on campus; women who might be important to remember; and the support of her husband, Dr. Barry Allen.