When Dr. Pettigrew was named associate provost, she became the first Black person named to a high administrative post at the University. Her duties as associate provost included advising the provost, L. Leon Campbell, on matters involving educational policy, faculty development and the instructional program. She had responsibility for the University Parallel Program (now the Associate in Arts Program), the Center for Student Academic Development Programs, the Instructional Resources Center, the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, the student academic grievance procedure and the tutoring service.

She stepped down in 1986 when she was named president of the State University of New York at Old Westbury, becoming the first Black woman to serve as president of any college in the State University system. She retired from that position in 1999.

In 2016, Dr. Pettigrew’s papers were donated to the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press by her son, Peter Warren Woodward. In announcing the acquisition of the papers, Trevor A. Dawes, vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian, said, ““I expect that there will be institutional interest in her history with UD as well as broader interest from researchers in women and gender studies, education and political science and international affairs. We are delighted to have received these papers,”

The L. Eudora Pettigrew papers document her academic and professional career, spanning the dates 1900 to 2012 (bulk dates 1965-2005). A large and central part of the collection consists of her academic writing and speeches on topics of agricultural systems, urban environments, race and class, higher education administration, and international disarmament and peace education. The professional scope of the collection reflects Dr. Pettigrew’s work in the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), an organization that promotes global awareness and competence as well as peace and international understanding through education. The Pettigrew papers are available for research in Special Collections.