Eleanor Duke
b. 1918, d. 2013
Professor of Biology
n.d.
UTEP Library Special Collections
When Dr. Eleanor Duke first came to UTEP (then known as the College of Mines) in 1935 to pursue a Bachelor’s degree, she did not know the impact she would have on the university in the years to come. Known by her former colleagues and students as an “outstanding teacher” who had “so much concern for others,” Duke stands out in UTEP history when, in 1979, she filed suit against the University, in which she alleged discriminatory employment practices based upon sex. From this moment on, Duke became known not only for her contributions in science and science education, but also for becoming a leader in the struggle for equal pay for women in El Paso.
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Early Years and Education
Eleanor Lyon was born in Marfa, Texas, on April 12, 1918. At the age of 17, she enrolled at the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy in the hopes of, one day, accomplishing a medical career. However, in spite of Eleanor’s academic aptitudes, the Great Depression made her realize that her dream would not be possible. In a 2004 interview, Duke recalled, "We rationed our food, watched every penny… but we knew that we had to come and get a degree if we wanted to pull ourselves out of the depression."
Duke opted for a career that involved math and science, her study strengths, and in 1939, she graduated with a double major in math and biology. Later that year, she married Jack N. Duke, a history teacher, whom she had met while attending college. In 1943, when her husband joined the army and was sent to China, Eleanor enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin as a graduate student. Eight months later, she had earned her master’s degree.
In 1947, Duke’s husband returned to the United States, and when he and Eleanor moved back to El Paso in 1948, she was hired by the Texas College of Mines to teach biology and microbiology. She taught these classes until 1985, when she retired after thirty-seven years of teaching.
Before retiring and though she had a stable and promising job at the University, Eleanor decided to pursue a doctorate degree in biological sciences at Austin. Without leaving her job as an instructor, Duke worked on her Ph.D. during the summers, eventually graduating in 1967.
Struggle for Equal Pay.
In September 1974, with a four-page spread in NOVA magazine, Duke was named UTEP's Outstanding Ex for her contributions to the University. However, this honor did not prevent her from defending her rights as an employee. Duke accused her employer of sex discrimination and, on December 20, 1979, she sued UTEP “as a class representative of all female faculty members, alleging that UTEP… discriminated against her and other female faculty members in pay, promotion, and teaching opportunities.” Filing a lawsuit, which the courts later accepted as a class action status, Duke took the first step in a battle for equality that lasted almost four years. According to the Women’s Studies Quarterly, because of the early efforts of women like Duke, now “women faculty have legal precedents in place to challenge sex discrimination in salaries, tenure, and promotion.”
Retirement and Later Years
In spite of the lawsuit she initiated against the University, Duke continued to be a highly appreciated and respected member of UTEP’s community. Even after her retirement, she kept contributing to the University by joining the Faculty Library Committee, as well as by volunteering for the Special Collections Department, where she helped “to create lists of wills in the El Paso County Records,” and where she honored her late husband through the creation of an endowment.
Dr. Eleanor Duke died on November 1, 2013, at the age of ninety five.
References
Fish, and Lin, "Women's Studies Then and Now," Women's Studies Quarterly (2002) 73-73.
Ramirez, "Learning and Living Through the Decades" (2004).
Rivers, "Eleanor Lyon Duke, Phd 1918-2013," (Nov. 8, 2013), http://transformations.utep.edu/?p=3314
Smith, NOVA (Sep. 1974).
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit: 729 F.2d 994: Eleanor Duke, Plaintiff-appellant, v. the University of Texas at El Paso, defendant-appellee. (Apr. 16, 1984). http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellatecourts/F2/729/994/314169
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