Durham, NC -- Under the glare of bright television lights, while in the company of gushing administrators and her support staff, family and scholarly contemporaries, Dr. Karla F.C. Holloway decided it was time to "exhale."

 "We are finally at a place at Duke where we can stop holding our breath about what's going to happen with African and African-American studies," declared Holloway, who was named the person to revive and expand the 20-year-old program at Duke University.

 Holloway's appointment April 14 and the program she is building here have emerged as the most visible signs that African and African-American studies has been reborn as an academic discipline at Duke after a long period of uneven history that included revolving-door leadership.

 To her admirers, Holloway's ability to leverage an unprecedented level of administrative commitment for the interdisciplinary program is also one of the most promising signs that the university is beginning to move beyond lip service and unrealistic plans to recruit Black faculty and administrators.

 Although Duke's two highest-ranking Black administrators are female, the presence of women, and in particular African-American women in the faculty and administrative ranks, has been small, says Dr. Janet Smith Dickerson, vice president for student affairs.

 Both Dickerson and Dr. Myrna C. Adams, vice president for institutional equity, called Holloway's appointment a reaffirmation of the university's commitment to stabilizing the African and African-American studies program and to enhancing the climate for recruiting and retaining Black faculty. "It's like struggling to get the stars lined up in the right constellation. Getting them aligned is the problem, but Holloway's appointment is a step in the right direction," says Adams.