Some say, "Everything you will ever need to know you learn in kindergarten." While Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 was not formulating theories of international relations before the first grade — such pursuits would come later, with years of study at Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law School — she had already formulated a good idea of what she wanted to do with her life.
"I knew I wanted to be a lawyer at age six," says Slaughter, who on Sept. 1 officially began her most recent role as dean of the Wilson School.
Her power of persuasion was evident at an early age, remembers younger brother Hoke Slaughter '83. "She was very persuasive on 'important' issues such as how to divide up the Halloween candy. I had to develop negotiating skills just to survive," he jokes. Slaughter drew some of her early career inspiration from her father, Edward Slaughter '53, inheriting a love of law and debate. From her mother, an artist, she took a lifelong appreciation of art and culture.
Despite her drive, Slaughter would not fall prey to tunnel vision and would keep her mind open to different possibilities. At 42, after having earned degrees from Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law School, her journey has taken her back to head the school from which she graduated little more than two decades ago.
"Step into my office," jokes Slaughter as she sits down at a table at Starbucks Coffee in Harvard Square. Casually dressed in capris and a white shirt, with her sunglasses resting on her head, she has fit time for the interview between coffee with a colleague and an appointment to pick up her sons.
Her office at Harvard Law School is being packed up, all the books, folders and photographs packaged and postmarked for New Jersey. And their owner is ready to follow them back down to Old Nassau.
"It feels like coming home," Slaughter says.
"Home" may have changed slightly over the past 20 years, in atmosphere as well as architecture.
"It feels like an even stronger community," Slaughter reports. "Not only within the University but also with the town of Princeton. It is livelier, less stuffy, more creative and open to the arts."
Slaughter is also excited that Princeton is the first of the big three to have a woman president. She recalls that during her years at Princeton, there were few women professors at the Wilson School. Though she never felt she had to prove herself as a female student, she reports that female undergraduates at the time "had the sense that we were trying to integrate ourselves into what was still a very male institution."
"I hope that my being [the first female Wilson School dean] will be a positive thing for both male and female students," says Slaughter.
While Princeton may have changed in the past two decades, Slaughter herself has held on to the qualities that set her apart as an undergraduate.
"She had then many of the same characteristics that have led her to such great academic and professional success since," says Richard Falk, emeritus professor at the Wilson School who taught a graduate student seminar Slaughter took.
"She had a very clear and logical mind and was open to a range of ideas that made her approach to the subject matter more interesting and imaginative than that of most students."
It was in Falk's class that Slaughter would begin her excursion into the world of academia. Inspired after reading late Harvard law professor Abraham Chayes' account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Slaughter began to rethink her career plans. She turned her attention to international legal studies, and her professor encouraged her interest.
"Falk essentially sat me down and said you should think about becoming an international lawyer," Slaughter remembers.
Slaughter followed his advice. After graduating magna cum laude from Princeton with a major in the Wilson School and a certificate in European Cultural Studies, Slaughter studied international relations as a Sachs scholar at Oxford. When she returned to the states, she headed to Harvard.
"I got to Harvard Law School and showed up at Abraham Chayes' office and said, 'I really want to work with you,' " says Slaughter.
A year later, Chayes invited her to work on the case that Nicaragua had brought against the United States.
"It changed my life," says Slaughter. "There's a definite connection between my professors at Princeton and what I did later in life."
In the same way that Slaughter allowed herself to chart a different career course as an undergraduate, she also sought out a variety of extracurricular activities. She rowed for a year, served as stage manager for several undergraduate theater productions and wrote poetry for a literary magazine."
"I think it's a reflection of the same kinds of diverse interests that make me interested in being a dean," says Slaughter of her varied pursuits. "There are many different subjects I like, so it's easier to juggle many balls."
Slaughter also found time to mentor other students. In her senior year, she served as a resident adviser and perhaps managed to inspire a few careers herself; one of her former advisees is currently working for Colin Powell.
"She loved passing on what wisdom she had gained," remembers roommate Nora Joffe Elish '80. "She had an appetite for learning and was a wonderful listener."
As a Harvard Law professor Slaughter earned a reputation for teaching effectively while caring for her students.
"She was a really busy lady," remembers student Jeff Polanowski, "but she really made a good effort to be accessible to students. I think that she balanced really well being professional and still caring about her students."
During the first week of classes Slaughter invited all professors and students in her section to her house in Cambridge for a barbecue.
"She had no problem opening her house up to 80 first-year law students she had never met before," says Polanowski. "I was impressed with her ability to ask interesting questions, to keep the conversation going."
Harvard colleague David Barron also cites her skill in engaging groups of people in dialogue.
"One thing that made her stand out is that she's dedicated to bringing students and faculty together," Barron says. "In faculty meetings and at discussions, the constant thrust of her efforts was to bring dialogue between students and faculty to the fore."
As dean, Slaughter looks forward to continuing such efforts.
"She is considered a very broad scholar and has a reputation for working well with large and diverse groups of people," President Tilghman said in an e-mail.
Slaughter's ease in communication has not rendered immune to criticism. She has written and lectured extensively on the theory of transgovernmentalism, which argues for greater communication and cooperation between government officials of different nations. Her views have earned her some very vocal opponents, including Ralph Nader '55.
However, while some people may disagree with her politics, few can debate her dedication to her work.
"I think what I admire most about her is that when she decides to go after something, she does it," says Elish. "She's ferocious, like a mother bear with her cubs."
If Slaughter pursues her academic work with tenacity, she is equally adamant about making room in her life for her two real-life "cubs" — sons Edward and Alexander. "Having children has been a tremendously healthy part of my life," says Slaughter. "You move from the world of professional achievement to the world of being someone's mom. As much as it adds stress, it also adds a source of perspective that helps you lead a healthier, happier life."
On Slaughter's refrigerator, Pojanowski remembers seeing a posted list of family rules.
"The first one said that if parents were talking about 'grown-up stuff,' work-related stuff, for too long, the children had the right to say so, and the parents had to end that conversation within one minute," said Pojanowski. Such conversation between Slaughter and husband Andrew Moravcsik — until last spring professor of government and director of the European Union Center at Harvard and currently a visiting fellow in the politics department — might concern foreign affairs, but family affairs take precedence at the dinner table.
At the beginning of the interview Slaughter set down one groundrule: no more than a half-hour of questions, because she has to pick up her sons at 5:30. Promptly at 5:31, Slaughter is unlocking her bicycle from outside the coffee shop and headed for home. In a short time, she will again be heading home, in a different way.
A few weeks later Slaughter strides confidently into her office on the fourth floor of Robertson Hall, having just finished a conference call across the corridor.
Slightly harried, Slaughter politely dismisses the photographer sent to get her picture for the article. Though her appearance may not be as neat as she would prefer, her manner is composed and friendly.
Her new office is out of commission since her desk is being installed, but, nonplussed, she heads for the conference room. Seconds after the interview, she will be talking with her assistant about a meeting later that day.
In describing Dean Slaughter, "busy" is perhaps an understatement.
"I would describe it more in terms of perpetual over-extension," her brother says. "She has an unbelievable work capacity."
Elish agrees that Slaughter tends to take on a fuller schedule than most people would dare tackle. "She works under incredible pressure," says Elish. "She says yes much more often than she says no."
Her first days as dean have not been an exception. The Wednesday before classes began, Slaughter moderated a panel discussion of Wilson School professors to talk about the legacy of Sept. 11.
As moderator of the panel, Slaughter was composed in her new role as dean and excited to initiate dialogue between faculty members and students present.
"I think she prefers arguing the issues to writing books about them," her brother says. "Debating and teaching are what she absolutely loves; they are at the core of Anne-Marie."
As dean, Slaughter will be able to facilitate more debate among professors, visiting speakers and students. And though she will now be shifting gears to take on an administrative role, Slaughter does not plan to leave teaching permanently.
"I can't imagine being at Princeton and not teaching," says Slaughter. "I won't teach for the first year, but I will find a way to get back into the classroom. And I want to advise some senior theses right away."
Throughout Wednesday's panel, Slaughter's passion for teaching was apparent. At several points, she offered an insight or addendum to what one of the professors had said, prefacing her remarks with an eager smile and an ardent, "As a scholar of international law I can't help but add . . ."
Slaughter also demonstrated her ability to role with the punches and to keep her sense of humor, as technical difficulties stopped the broadcast of the debate to the bowls of Robertson Hall at one point in the session and temporarily cut the lights.
"Remember those stress tests for medical students?" jokes Slaughter. "Well, I guess this is a stress test for a dean: Can the dean go on in the dark?"
In reality, Slaughter is hardly in the dark about her new role as dean. As in all her life pursuits, she enters her new position with eyes wide open. And she has definite plans for what she would like to see happen at the school.
"The Woodrow Wilson School has a key role as a producer and a broker of knowledge," notes Slaughter. "We should be actively working to research issues that have a direct relevance to public policy, identifying knowledge produced by other disciplines and translating that information into a form useful to policy makers."
"She is really committed to bridging the gap between academics and public policy and putting [academic ideas] into practice in real life," says Pojanowski.
Slaughter also hopes to forge connections between the Wilson School and other departments at Princeton. In addition, she will bring a greater emphasis to the study of international relations.
"It's critical now because as we know the line between international and domestic is disappearing," observes Slaughter.
From her parents, Slaughter inherited an international awareness. Her father met her mother, a citizen of Belgium, while he was studying in Europe on a Rotary Scholarship.
"She brings a much-needed renewal of international perspective, one of the things that people felt quite concerned about in recent years and that is very important to the future of the school," notes Falk.
Slaughter has accomplished much at a young age. She credits her success with two things.
"Loving what I do and taking risks. I though I wanted to practice in a big firm and never expected to be an academic, but the way my life has led, no prescribed path has led to some wonderful opportunities."
Watching the opening ceremonies this year, Slaughter described the festivities as "a wonderful combination of tradition and innovation." Such a mix is perhaps appropriate in defining Slaughter's own approach to her new role as dean.
Most recently, the road less taken has led Slaughter back home. And she is ready to continue the journey.
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