Slaughter has packed speaking schedule

Former Wilson School dean and current University professor Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80, whose prospects of succeeding University President Shirley Tilghman have been matter of speculation, has accepted numerous speaking engagements in the past few months, including keynote speeches at commencement ceremonies at Meredith College and Lafayette College.

In a poll conducted by the unofficial search website princetonpresident.com, Slaughter was chosen as the favorite candidate by a 32 percent plurality of the approximately 300 voters who participated. In November, a dozen faculty members interviewed by The Daily Princetonian speculated that Slaughter — along with Provost Christopher Eisgruber ’83 — was a leading candidate to replace Tilghman. Professors said she could make a good candidate due largely to her prominent national stature, political connections, strong past relationship with the University and proven leadership acumen.

Slaughter rose to national prominence as the Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department and more recently due to her popular article “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” published in The Atlantic last summer.

Slaughter declined to be interviewed for this article, but noted that she is planning her schedule over the next few months based on her current job and that she considers her next few months relatively light, which will allow her the chance to work on a manuscript for a book she is writing based on her Atlantic article.

The University’s presidential search committee is expected to be ready to make a recommendation to the full board of trustees by mid- to late-spring, University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee ’69 said in an interview following Tilghman’s retirement announcement.

The board of trustees is expected to meet next weekend, April 4-6.

Aside from the Meredith College and Lafayette College commencement addresses, Slaughter will also deliver the keynote speech at Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Women in Insurance Global conference in June. The event organizers did not respond to a request for comment.

Within the past month and a half, Slaughter has also spoken at the Renaissance Luncheon by the Women’s Resource Center, the South by Southwest conference, the Socrates Winter seminar and a panel discussion on work-life balance at Holy Cross University. On campus, last month she and Tilghman spoke about women and leadership in a sold-out discussion sponsored by the Princeton Women’s Mentoring Program.

James Krivoski, Administrative Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Executive Assistant to the President at Lafayette College, said that he was not aware of any discussion of Slaughter’s possible presidential candidacy during the discussions to bring her to their school as commencement speaker.

“I don’t recall it being a consideration,” Krivoski said.

Alicia King, a representative of the Sarasota Women’s Resource Center that held the Renaissance luncheon at which Slaughter spoke earlier this month, said that Slaughter’s potential presidency was never brought up and was not an issue in the contract on which they came to an agreement.

Melyssa Allen, news director at Meredith College, declined to address whether or not Slaughter’s possible presidential candidacy was an issue when scheduling the former Wilson School dean as commencement speaker, but did note that the school’s administration was in continuing contact with Slaughter and was excited to have her as their commencement speaker.

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Tilghman was publicly named University President in May 2001 following a special board of trustees meeting held on May 4 that year. She took office on June 15 that year.

Associate News Editor for Enterprise Marcelo Rochabrun contributed reporting.