I work in Stewardship and Foundation Relations at Duke University. Bridging those two teams, I design bespoke reports for the foundations that support Duke’s people, programs, and progress in research.
I am also a writer and scholar of late medieval English literature, specializing in book history and the social impact of poetry reading. I defended my dissertation, Lines of Relation: Devotional Verse and Active Reading in Late Medieval English Books, in January 2023, and I have one peer-reviewed article out in print, with another under revision. My research has been supported by the Medieval Academy of America, Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, and the Duke Kenan Institute for Ethics. I hold degrees in interdisciplinary arts and religion study from Yale Divinity School (MAR) and Gordon College (BA).
I love words that connect people and ideas. Before landing in philanthropy, I had the privilege of working for fifteen years in academic publishing: first at EBSCO, then offering editorial support for Duke’s Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and finally managing the Yale Journal of Music & Religion for nine years. Now I’m thrilled to engage with even larger audiences through multimedia communications in higher ed.
Joanna E. Murdoch, Ph.D. 