Once-in-a-lifetime Career Opportunities
Even as women move up the university’s ladder to accept senior-level positions, the question remains — Can women in the academy have it all?
By Kendra Hamilton
When Dr. Lucy J. Reuben rises each morning to prepare for her dream job as provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at North Carolina Central University, it’s unusually quiet.
As she dresses and styles her hair, she no longer hears the comforting and familiar sounds of her husband running water in the bathroom — or of her youngest son, Akayomi, shouting for a favorite shirt. Reuben, a mother of three, made the difficult and often painful decision to accept a new position, which would put approximately 260 miles between her and her family. Reuben says she gets a real pang when she realizes “I’m not going to be part of the senior mom’s football team skit this year.” At the same time, however, her decision to take advantage of such a career-boosting opportunity has been exhilarating and exciting.
When the offer came from NCCU, Reuben says she was firmly ensconced in her position as dean of the business school at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. Her husband, Dr. John A. Cole, had a great job, too, as dean of the school of professional programs at Benedict College in nearby Columbia, S.C., and Akayomi was preparing for his final year of high school.
