Duke Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies bids a fond farewell to Jennifer Prather

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies’ (CLACS) long-time Communications Staff Assistant, Jennifer Prather, has accepted Duke’s voluntary separation incentive and will be leaving her position at CLACS by the end of July. Join us as we show our appreciation for her many contributions to CLACS and Duke overall.

Jennifer’s arrival at Duke University coincided with the opening of the John Hope Franklin Center for International and Interdisciplinary Studies in early 2001. She came from the Midwest with a background in journalism and also had extensive office work experience. Jennifer was hired to work as the part-time assistant to renowned Chilean writer and scholar Ariel Dorfman and as the part-time staff assistant for the Duke University Center for International Studies (DUCIS), working under the supervision of DUCIS Executive Director Rob Sikorski.

Working with Ariel Dorfman, Jennifer handled his correspondence, made travel arrangements, and coordinated his classes at Duke, including ordering books and organizing activities such as film screenings for the classes. She enjoyed interacting with celebrities from around the world with whom Ariel was working.

Within DUCIS, Jennifer’s work involved supporting the Center for European Studies (CES), the Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS), and the Concilium on Southern Africa (COSA), among other things. She used her journalistic writing skills to write articles about these programs’ activities and created publicity for them.

She is grateful to Rob Sikorski for giving her the opportunity to enroll in Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and other classes that allowed her to gain graphic design and web design skills which she had always wished to do. She designed the first websites for CES, and COSA, and this experience led her to become more comfortable with graphic design and web design platforms and to develop the beautiful aesthetic style for which she is recognized today. 

Jennifer says she really enjoyed the early years at the Franklin Center as it was such a vibrant place. There were many events with high profile guests, celebrations, and art exhibits. She felt privileged to be able to meet Dr. John Hope Franklin and to interact with him on a regular basis in the years when he was often present in the building. She told me the Franklin Center leadership at the time were great mentors and created a wonderful community. She was able to make a lot of good friends among her colleagues in the building.  

Jennifer commented, “The Franklin Center at the time was really groovy.”

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Some favorite memories include supporting and participating in summertime lunchtime movie screenings with other building staff, and participating in the “Buffy Seminars” organized by Rob Sikorski (screenings from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.)

When Ariel Dorfman moved his office from the Franklin Center to the Literature Program on Duke East Campus in 2012, Jennifer continued working part time for DUCIS and also joined the Duke Dance Program as a part-time staff assistant. 

During her years with the Dance Program, CLACS was offered the opportunity to share Jennifer with DUCIS. CLACS and the UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies were particularly grateful to benefit from Jennifer’s wonderful graphic design and web design skills, and she became fully responsible for covering those greatly needed tasks. She also assumed responsibility for managing the US visa applications for our Mellon Visiting Professors in cooperation with Duke Visa Services.

With the guidance of the Franklin Center’s Philip Grosshans and Erin Dillard, it became possible for CLACS to offer Jennifer a full-time position at CLACS in 2018. It was a real privilege for me to have the opportunity to work with Jennifer as her supervisor. We collaborated on many different projects and tasks and learned a lot from each other.

Jennifer took on responsibility for all Duke CLACS and UNC-Duke Consortium publicity, graphic design and web design. She created websites for both CLACS and the Consortium. She also created and maintained the website for the NC Latin American Film Festival, as well as for the Duke Brazil Initiative (DBI).       

Jennifer also took on responsibility for managing the Consortium’s Latin America in Translation series. She has fielded all inquiries, managed all correspondence, and has coordinated the annual nomination and selection process.        

She also has had an instrumental role in the annual NC Conference on Latin American Studies, creating its website, conference program, and registration process. She is always an important presence at the conference, usually found at the registration table, although in 2025 she also participated in a panel.

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Jennifer has had a crucial role in CLACS and DBI event planning, publicity, and writing follow-up articles.  She has been responsible for listing events on the University Calendar and the CLACS and Consortium website calendars. She often takes on the role of photographer and video creator as well, and serves as the “expense delegate” for clearing all CLACS p-card expenses, in addition to cheerfully handling other administrative tasks.    

Jennifer is friendly, collegial, patient and fearless when it comes to learning new technology and university systems. She has a great sense of humor and is a wonderful colleague and CLACS and Consortium team member. In her spare time she is an avid gardener and cat lover. She also enjoys cooking, cat photography, traveling with her husband and taking French language classes. 

Jennifer said that working at Duke gave her opportunities to do things she never thought she would. “Being part of a great team has been the best part of working at Duke.”

We are sad that Jennifer will be leaving CLACS, with her last day being July 25, 2025. She will be greatly missed. We wish her only the best in her future (ad)ventures which we hope will allow her to continue to share her wonderful creative skills.  

Article by Natalie Hartman.          

very nice things said by her colleagues

I want to take a moment to express my deep appreciation for Jennifer Prather and her remarkable contributions to CLACS. Working with Jennifer has been a joy, not only because of her professionalism and talent, but because of the thoughtful and intentional way she approaches her work. One of the things I have valued most is Jennifer’s sharp eye and creative instinct for visual communication. Whether it was designing a flyer, a poster, or an entire campaign, she always found a way to distill complex, meaningful ideas into compelling visuals that spoke to our community. Her work went far beyond aesthetics; it told stories, sparked conversations, and reflected the values we care deeply about.

The materials she created for our initiative on Linguistic Justice in the Americas were truly outstanding. 

With clarity, care, and creativity, Jennifer crafted a visual identity that was as powerful as the themes we were exploring. Her designs helped elevate the visibility and impact of the series, drawing people in and inviting them to engage critically with issues of language, power, and belonging.

– Liliana Paredes, Professor of the Practice of Romance Studies and CLACS faculty director

Your special loveliness comes from within.
Your special kindness is displayed in your friendly grin.
You’re a positive person whose outlook is bright.
You’re charming and lovable - a true delight.
You will always be blessed with sweetness and grace.
And your true inner beauty shall not be erased!!!

– Dennis Clements, Emeritus Professor and Duke co-director, UNC-Duke Consortium

Jennifer will be greatly missed for her many contributions to the activities of the Consortium on Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University and for her no-nonsense approach to the task at hand. Her skill at design and aesthetics transformed the “look” of the Consortium from publicity, banners, and website.  She created content that was professional, structured, accessible and beautiful. Jennifer offered an observant eye and a steady hand to any task she was completing. She always made sure that the work that needed to be done—publicize events, organize conference activities or coordinate submissions for the translation series, among many others—was done well.

Thank you, Jennifer, for your dedication.

– Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz, Executive Director, UNC Institute for the Study of the Americas

When I first arrived to Duke, Jennifer was incredibly welcoming and was eager to provide me a tour of west and east campus, noting especially relevant buildings for reference. It truly made such a difference to immediately gain that orientation and insight! She also took on work to coordinate a welcome gathering for me. I then learned how demonstrative that all is of her willingness and ability to identify how she can support her colleagues’ work and generously offering to help. That, and her keen wit and jovial commentary, have been pillars to the CLACS office. Jennifer has such advanced technical skills, is an incredibly talented designer and is always fast to learn new programs. So many successful events, funding awards, and certificate enrollments/completions have been made possible by her amazingly effective communications work. One thousand thanks to you, Jennifer and our ongoing gratitude!

– Patrick Semmler, Senior Program Coordinator, CLACS

As a good gardener, Jennifer knows the value of patience - from cleaning, planting, and fertilizing to watching each seed do its magic. She is there from the sowing to the blossom and fall (and back again). Many of the characteristics of gardening she translates to everyday life and the workplace. She knows how to maintain a steady and supportive presence (tending, watering, caring), always making things happen from behind the scenes and letting everybody shine (gracias). Her love for nature keeps her curiosity in tune; she sees the beauty in the little, the sharp, the uneven, and the big things, which she translates to each of her designs and writing (for press and social media alike). Even the weeds have a way of existing in her garden and at work; they have allowed Jennifer to be highly critical, speaking her mind and at times being blunt, like the toughest vine that rises despite the hard conditions of light and humidity. For more than two decades working in the gardens of Duke, Jennifer has been that exotic plant, supporting the work of tall trees (such as Ariel Dorfman), or dividing her attention among blossoming/creative units such as dance, and also centered in the international jungles of the humanities where she has grown in sapience, creativity, and beauty.  

I will miss you, my dear Jennifer. A rare flower, at times with spikes, at times with perfume, but always with an open heart, a direct voice, and a critical mind. 

– Miguel Rojas Sotelo, Special Events Coordinator, CLACS, and Director, NC Latin American Film Festival

It has long been observed that a goal without a plan is just a wish. Thinking of Jennifer’s many roles at CLACS, it’s clear a plan without delivery will remain a will-o-wisp. Without timely execution, the best of goals and the well-prepared plans easily evaporate without a trace, without outward facing communication, a specialty of Jennifer’s, and close attention to on-the-ground follow up. In all that she has done for the cause, her style of delivering the goods without being showy stands out along with patience and quiet presence when all comes together to produce the many successes that the CLACS team, and its faculty and student supporters, have delivered over these years.

– John D. French, Professor of History and co-director, Duke Brazil Initiative