3 7

SNOW REMOVAL PLAN FEEL LIKE A MILLION SUSTAINABLE DUKE

2
Crews will clear priority- Registration for the new Signs are posted near
designated Duke roads, 12-week health and elevators and in
parking lots, bus stops fitness challenge begins bathrooms and kitchens
and pedestrian paths to Dec. 13. Participants as part of a campaign
building entrances. accrue virtual money by to promote eco-friendly
competing in five areas. behavior.

NEWS YOU CAN USE :: Volume 5, Issue 10 :: December 2010/January 2011

Charting Your
Duke Career
DUKE EMPLOYEES SHARE ADVICE ABOUT CAREER, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT DUKE

wo and a half years after joining Duke as a financial analyst in the positions. The Duke Leadership Academy identifies and develops mid-to

T department of anesthesiology, Janeka Jenkins realized she had only a

vague idea of next steps in her career. “I didn’t know anybody else at
Duke who had moved on from this sort of job,” she said.
Three months ago, Duke’s Professional Development Institute
helped Jenkins arrange a 30-minute informational interview with the
associate director of financial and payroll services who began her career
at Duke as an accounting specialist.
senior-level leaders for broader responsibilities. Duke also offers training
at no or low cost, and tuition reimbursement for career-related courses at
accredited North Carolina institutions.
Sally Allison, assistant director of recruitment and manager of the
Professional Development Institute, said that while Duke offers many
options to enhance skills, employees should not blindly accept the notion
that success is defined only by a promotion. “Sometimes a

“
On the day of the interview, Jenkins calmed her lateral move or new responsibilities can be a great career
nerves by remembering the meeting wasn’t a job Sometimes a move because you acquire new skills,” she said.
interview. “I was just going to be asking about how lateral move or “Professional development is a process, not an event.”
she advanced her career,” she said. Working@Duke offers these tips for making the most
Jenkins left the meeting with advice on gaining
new responsibilities can of career opportunities at Duke in 2011 and beyond.
experience and encouragement to consider Duke- be a great career move
specific training to position her competitively. “It was because you acquire 1
Be a go-to person
good to hear advice from someone further up the Ryan Smith, program
career ladder,” Jenkins said.
new skills. Professional
director for student and alumni
By exploring career options within Duke, development is a process, career services at the Fuqua
Jenkins is bucking a trend. A March survey reported not an event.” School of Business, said good
in the Wall Street Journal revealed that the recession — Sally Allison performance is a key driver of a
has discouraged employees from actively considering Assistant Director of career.
advancement outside or within their organization. Recruitment/Manager of “A slow economy can be a
More than half of the 1,100 employees polled in the Professional Development Institute great time to use the resources
U.S. in late 2009 indicated they didn’t see a clear available at Duke and elsewhere
path for advancement; 44 percent said they had no to prepare for where you want to
plans to look for a new job because job stability was more important than be when the economy perks up,” he said. Ryan Smith

advancement. He recommended staying alert to

While a tough economy has tightened up hiring, it has not drastically
dampened internal movement of Duke employees. In the 2009-10 fiscal
year, 4,232 moved to new roles within Duke University and Health System
– about one of every eight employees. Most internal movement involved
lateral transfers and level upgrades.
“There are enormous opportunities for people who perform at high
levels to grow and develop at Duke,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president
for Human Resources. “When you look at where you want to spend a large
portion of your work career, Duke is a top choice.”
Duke’s commitment to professional development spans all levels of
employees. The Professional Development Institute offers programs like
>> See CHARTING YOUR DUKE CAREER, PAGE 4
Office Staff Development to prepare employees for entry-level clerical
department needs and filling gaps. “If people are turning to you for help,
they are more likely to think of you when opportunities arise,” he said.
2
Map your career
During a workshop at Duke, Helen Faison listed her goal of a job with
more writing and analysis and imagined ways to tweak her current job to
bring that goal within reach.
A program assistant in the Robertson Scholars Program, Faison shared
her ideas with her supervisor and came away with a project analyzing

2009, 2008, 2007 Gold Medal, Internal Periodical Staff Writing This paper consists of 30% recycled
2009, 2007 Bronze Medal, Print Internal Audience Tabloids/Newsletters post-consumer fiber. Please recycle after reading.
 Editor’s
Note
LEANORA MINAI
Newsbriefs
Leanora.Minai@duke.edu
Commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.
Duke will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s life with a series of events

W
hat will the new year bring for you?
Popular resolutions may
include losing weight, quitting
smoking or saving money. What about
your career?
In this issue of Working@Duke, we
dedicate the cover and pages 4 and 5 to
career and professional development at
Duke. The package includes 10 tips for
enhancing your career as well as the
personal stories on page 5 of staff
members who weathered other recessions.
While a tough economy has
tightened up hiring, it has not dampened
internal movement of Duke employees. In
the 2009-10 fiscal year, 4,232 moved to
new roles within Duke University and
Health System. Most internal movement
involved lateral transfers and level
upgrades.
If you want to sharpen your skills
or position yourself for a new job at Duke,
be sure to read the 10 tips that begin on
the cover page with the article, “Charting
Your Duke Career.” Among the tips are
being a go-to person, mapping your
career and networking.
“A slow economy can be a great
time to use the resources available at
Duke and elsewhere to prepare for where
you want to be when the economy perks
up,” said Ryan Smith, program director
for student and alumni career services
at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.
I’d love to hear your thoughts
about this month’s issue. Please send
comments or other story ideas to
working@duke.edu.
•••
Last month, I reported that I was
running the Rex Healthcare Half Marathon,
which is part of Raleigh’s City of Oaks
Marathon. I finished my first 13.1-mile run
without stopping. My chip time: 2:08:40,
resulting in a 508th place finish among
1,277 female runners.
in mid-January, including a screening of the documentary film
Freedom Riders on Jan. 14. Producer Laurens Grant will be available If you’re missing the conversation on Facebook, we’ll
for a discussion following the film, which chronicles the efforts of civil post a few snippets here each month – but please join
rights activists challenging racial segregation on interstate buses and
trains in 1961.
and jump in at facebook.com/workingatduke.
“Remembering Martin Luther King
Jr. and also the Freedom Riders is an
opportunity to focus the attention of
our community on their courage and
sacrifice and to consider how their
struggle is applicable to current issues
of equity and social justice,” said
Benjamin Reese, vice president for
Institutional Equity at Duke.
Get the schedule of events,
including the keynote speaker, for the 2011 commemoration
at mlk.duke.edu.
Ring in the holidays with music and treats
Duke Human Resources invites Duke faculty and staff to celebrate
the holidays Dec. 16 at a reception and musical event in Duke Chapel.
The celebration, “A Season of Joy,” begins at 11:30 a.m. with
desserts and hot beverages served on the Duke Chapel lawn, to the
accompaniment of the Chelsea Chimes Hand Bell Choir. From noon
to 12:30 p.m., the students from the Durham School of the Arts will
perform in the Chapel. Visit hr.duke.edu for more information.
Stay up to date with Durham news website
Get news about Durham delivered with just one click. The Durham
News Service website, launched in July by the Durham Convention &
Visitors Bureau, offers updates on breaking news, Durham’s food and
music scenes, events and new businesses. It also includes a link to
blogs by local writers.
“Think of it like a mini-CNN but focused on Durham,” said Sam
Poley, director of marketing and communications for the Durham
Convention & Visitors Bureau. “For folks who live or work in Durham,
it gives quick access to all the things that make Durham great.”
Visit the website [durhamnewsservice.com] to learn more and sign
up for e-mail alerts or RSS feeds for various sections of the site.
Letters to the Editor must include name and contact information.
E-mail letters to working@duke.edu or mail them to Working@Duke
Editor, Box 90496, Durham, NC 27708. Fax letters to
(919) 681-7926. Please keep length to no more than 200 words.

Severe weather plan outlines

priorities for snow, ice removal
ast winter featured several snowfalls, including one that lots, garage entrances, bus stops and priority sidewalks to

L dropped as much as 10 inches of snow in the Triangle

Duke groundskeeper Elvis Holden
shovels snow from in front of
Duke Chapel after a snow storm
in February 2010 dumped as
much as 10 inches on locations
in Durham.
area. If the region is hit this winter, Duke will be ready
and wants the community to stay safe and understand
what to expect.
Duke has revised its snow and ice removal plan that
focuses on clearing Duke roads and designated priority
parking lots, bus stops and
pedestrian paths to building
entrances. As part of the plan,
the university and health
system have been organized
into precincts, allowing for
shared responsibilities in
providing efficient snow
and ice removal by clearing
priority areas first.
“Our plan is to divide
and conquer because it’s not
possible to clear the entire
campus in a short period of
time,” said John Noonan,
associate vice president for Facilities Management, which,
along with Parking and Transportation, Engineering and
Operations and Residence Life and Housing Services,
developed the revised plan.
There are more than 46 miles of sidewalks at Duke
and hitting all to remove snow or ice in short order is not
possible, officials said.
Crews will focus on main campus (West, Central and
East) and Duke-owned off campus properties. Priorities for
two primary building entrances. A map of priority areas
to be cleared is at emergency.duke.edu.
With 1.6 million square feet of Duke-owned roads and
4.1 million square feet of parking, students and employees
should expect priority areas to be done first during harsh
weather. The start time for clearing a wintry mix is
dependent on weather patterns and individual storms and
the amount of accumulation.
For a moveable snowfall of about three inches, it will
take crews four to six hours after precipitation ends to clear
priority sidewalks and roadways. For bigger storms, clearing
priority areas could take eight or more hours. Since no
storms are alike, it’s impossible to have a uniform amount
of time to clear all priority areas of campus, Noonan said.
Community members are encouraged to allow more
travel time, wear appropriate footwear for walking on snow
or ice and to keep in mind that even if a walkway is cleared,
the surface may still be wet and slippery.
“During the winter, when we regularly deal with
freezing temperatures, it’s very important that people not
expect completely dry pavement,” Noonan said. “Even if
crews are able to clear snow or ice down to the pavement,
melting and refreezing will most likely occur.”
— By Bryan Roth
Writer, Office of Communication Services
Win an iPad
Do you know which of Duke’s 46 miles of sidewalks
are a priority for clearing when it snows? Test your
knowledge of the snow and ice priority map with a
short quiz. You could win an iPad or other prizes. Visit

2 clearing include Duke-owned roadways, priority parking hr.duke.edu/winterquiz

Sign up to receive DukeALERT text messages and review the

Severe Weather Policy and map of priority areas at emergency.duke.edu
 Earn virtual money in ‘Feel Like
a Million’ fitness challenge
Registration begins Dec. 13
ast year Brian Shepherd shaped up with Duke and “Potpourri” for getting enough hours

L peers. In the new year, he hopes to feel like

a million bucks.
LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s
of sleep and more.
By self-reporting exercise and other
action online, participants earn virtual
employee wellness program, will dollars to become a virtual millionaire.
sponsor “Feel Like a Million,” To reach a goal of $1 million,
a 12-week health and fitness participants need to average about
challenge from Jan. 10, 2011 $12,000 a day. Money is accumulated
to April 4. through a variety of actions, such as $5,000
“I’m very eager about signing up for exercising at least 30 minutes, or $3,000
for the new program,” said Shepherd, a for getting seven to nine hours of sleep.
monitor technician in the Duke Hospital Participants can get a $100,000 boost at the
Emergency Department. He lost 21 pounds during Shape Up Duke. “Over beginning of the program by completing a personal mission statement.
the summer, I fell off my workout routine, but I know I’ll be working out Julie Joyner, manager of LIVE FOR LIFE, said the virtual money
every day during the program because I’ve got more motivation.” earned can’t be spent on anything but acts as a motivational tool. “It’s
As part of last year’s challenge, Shepherd was among more than 2,200 especially convenient because it focuses on broad lifestyle choices, so even
Duke faculty and staff who collectively lost more than 7,000 pounds in if someone doesn’t exercise, they can earn money for getting enough sleep
Shape Up Duke, the individual and team competition to see who could or eating vegetables,” Joyner said.
lose the most weight, walk the most steps or exercise the most minutes. Prizes will be awarded to the top three individual and team money
Faculty and staff can register for the new challenge – Feel Like a Million earners at the end of Feel Like a Million. Anyone who participates and
– as an individual or team beginning Dec. 13. Participants accrue virtual earns $330,000 each month receives free LIVE FOR LIFE dollars. LIVE
money by competing in five areas: “Moving Matters” for daily exercise; “Food FOR LIFE dollars are Monopoly-style money that can be used to buy
to Fuel” for a healthy diet; “Better Balance” for sticking to a schedule; “On merchandise at the LIVE FOR LIFE store.
Purpose” for keeping an exercise journal and writing a personal statement; — By Bryan Roth
Writer, Office of Communication Services

Learn more and register at hr.duke.edu/million

Test your WageWorks wisdom

uke faculty and staff who enrolled in a Health Care Reimbursement Account through WageWorks are able to

D save money by using pre-tax dollars to pay for health care expenses. There’s also the convenience of paying for
eligible health care expenses with the Health Care Card provided by WageWorks. Test your knowledge of
using the account and card with this quiz.

1 I can use my WageWorks card to pay for
services from dentists, doctors, chiropractors,
podiatrists, opticians, Medco mail order,
Duke pharmacies and hearing aid specialists.
True or False
2 The WageWorks card is the only way I can
access money from my Health Care
Reimbursement Account.
True or False
3 I should throw away my WageWorks card on
December 31, or when I’ve used up all the
money in my account.
True or False
4 I can order extra WageWorks cards for my
spouse or eligible dependents for free.
True or False
5 Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, I will be able to 7 I have until April 15, 2011 to
purchase over-the-counter medications with submit claims for the money in my account
my WageWorks card. for 2010.
True or False True or False
6 If I have money left in my health care 8 If I use a WageWorks card, I don’t need to
reimbursement for 2010, I can use it to keep receipts.
purchase over-the-counter medicines until True or False
Dec. 31, 2010.
True or False

Answers:
the expense as eligible.
accepted as payment, you could be asked later to verify
8. False: Save every receipt. Even if your WageWorks card is
must be incurred by Dec. 31 of the plan year.
account after April 15, 2012. Eligible health care expenses
after April 15, 2011, and any money left in your 2011
7. True: You forfeit any money left in your 2010 account
6. True
receipt and doctor’s prescription.
through a Pay Me Back claim form accompanied with the
prescription. However, you can still be reimbursed
over-the-counter drugs and medicines – even with a
law, you may not use your WageWorks card to purchase
prescription before it can be reimbursed. With this new
Claritin, Advil and Robitussin) requires a doctor’s
of any over-the-counter drug or medicine (such as
care reform) requires that as of Jan. 1, 2011, the purchase
5. False: The Affordable Care Act (passed as part of health
at hr.duke.edu/reimbursement
4. True. You can have cards issued by accessing your account
enrollment period at Duke.
reimbursement account during each annual open
long as you continue to re-enroll in a health care
3. False: Your WageWorks card is valid for three years, as
mail or online to get reimbursed.
submit a “Pay Me Back” claim form and receipts by fax,
2. False: You can also pay for expenses out-of-pocket and
What’s Covered).
hr.duke.edu/reimbursement (select Health Care Account,
card. The list of eligible expenses is at
health care services if the merchant accepts a Visa® debit
1. True: You can use your card for these and other eligible
3

For more information on Health Care Reimbursement Accounts, visit hr.duke.edu/reimbursement

Charting your Duke career
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
surveys and writing a report identifying trends. “It’s the sort of project
I enjoy, and it also contributes to our department,” Faison said.
Jackie Podger, who led the workshop offered by Duke’s Learning and
Organization Development, said putting goals in writing is important. “It
can help identify small steps to take now, and larger gaps in your skill set
that need to be addressed,” she said.
3 Communicate with your manager
Do you share short and long-term career goals?
Sally Allison, of Duke’s Professional Development Institute, said
employees should make professional development an ongoing conversation
with supervisors. “Don’t keep them in the dark about your desire for new
skills and opportunities,” she said.
Kathy Tobin, an administrator in the Division of Cellular Therapy,
encourages employees on her team to return to school or get additional
training. “I would rather have an employee who opens themselves up to
new learning opportunities and advances in three years than someone
who doesn’t have the drive but stays with me 10 years,” she said.
4 Stretch beyond department borders
Kirsten Nicholas, associate director of Duke’s student career center, said
employees should collaborate with other departments to get a job done.
This, she said, can be as simple as attending an informal lunch to share
ideas or asking another department to help publicize an event. “Learning
what other departments can offer can help your team and forge a brand for
yourself as someone who brings value to the university,” she said.
5 Join a group of professionals
Lora Griffiths, a post-award analyst with the Office of Sponsored
Programs, attends brown-bag lunches sponsored by the Office of Research
Administration to share work tips and regulatory news.
“There is so much you can learn from your peers at Duke,” she said.
“Why not learn from others’ mistakes and successes?”
Some professional campus groups include Duke Toastmasters Club
for public speaking skills, the annual Duke Tech Expo for IT professionals
and the Professional Development Institute’s monthly book club.
6 Find a mentor
Michael Saunders found a mentor in Robert Crouch, who works in
the Office of Institutional Equity. They meet once a month to discuss
everything from how
to address conflict, to
what potential career
paths lie ahead for
Saunders. “I feel like a
sponge, soaking up his
experience,” said
Saunders, an
administrative assistant
in the Searle Center,
and participant
in Duke’s First Time
Supervisor program.
Michael Saunders, right, meets with Duke mentor, Robert
Ryan Smith, the Crouch, to review his resume and career plans.
career counselor at
Fuqua, said mentors serve as advocates. “If they know your work well,” he
said, “they can praise your work to other people and raise your visibility.”
7 Build a Web presence
Networking is fundamental to advancing a career. Today, social media
tools like LinkedIn make it easier.
More than 6,000 employees at Duke
University and Health System maintain
professional profiles on LinkedIn, an online
community that, among other features,
allows users to connect with professionals
and build a network for expertise and advice.
While online tools are popular, Smith cautioned against relying solely
on the web. “Ultimately you need to get out from behind your desk and
meet people,” he said. “Networking is a contact sport.”
4
8 Sharpen Your Skills vignette
Terry Banfich organized a group viewing of a training video with
Lynda.com to help learn a new e-mail program. Duke employees have
access to more than 500 tutorials through the Lynda.com online training
library at no charge.
“The tutorial was easy to watch during lunch, and it
sparked a good discussion among ourselves about best
practices around email,” said Banfich, a trainer/analyst for
University Development IT.
Duke also offers other cost-effective ways to enhance
skills. The Office of Information Technology, Learning &
Organization Development and the Center for Instructional Technology
provide certain training at no charge.
Duke’s Financial Certification Program offers a certified payroll
representative track and a financial systems specialist track for employees
with financial responsibilities. Employees involved in the grant management
process have access to the Research Administration Academy and Research
Administration Institute.
Employees also can tap into $5,250 in tuition reimbursement annually
for career-related courses through the Employee Tuition Assistance Program.
“The world we live in changes so frequently that whether you are in a
trade job, academic support or a managerial job, there are constantly new
tools, technologies and processes to learn,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, the vice
president for Duke Human Resources.
9 Dig into Duke’s jobs site
Each month, Duke offers “Your Career at Duke,” a workshop to guide
employees through applying for jobs at Duke. The workshop focuses on
Duke’s jobs website (hr.duke.edu/jobs) and helps participants learn how
to set up automatic job searches and upload resumes and cover letters.
In a recent workshop, C.T. Woods-Powell, education and training
coordinator for the Professional Development Institute, told participants to
read job descriptions from bottom up. “The bottom is where you’ll find the
minimum requirements needed to be competitive,” she said. She also
recommended customizing a resume with key words from the description
since Duke uses an automated program that scans and sorts resumes.
The jobs website also features a new “internal candidates” portal that
lists all positions, including those that are only open to current employees.
bk Have an elevator pitch ready
Are you able to answer succinctly when someone asks, “What do you do?”
An “elevator pitch” – brief enough to be told while travelling two floors
– should focus on talents, descriptions of successful projects and future
goals, said Jackie Podger, from Learning & Organization Development.
“You never know when you’ll have an opportunity to market your
talents,” she said, “even if you aren’t actively job searching.”
— By Marsha A. Green
Senior Writer, Office of Communication Services
Professional Development and Career Resources
Training (hr.duke.edu/training)
Classes and workshops offered by Learning & Organization
Development and other departments
Professional Development/Career Track
(hr.duke.edu/training/programs)
Professional Development Institute, Financial Certification
Program, other Duke-specific programs
Development/Support Resources
(hr.duke.edu/training/resources)
Information on mentoring and transfer resources
Office of Information Technology training
(oit.duke.edu/comp-print/training)
Links to Lynda.com, Learn IT @ Lunch and other training
opportunities
Duke’s job site (hr.duke.edu/jobs)
Open positions, job descriptions for most positions at Duke and
an “internal candidate” portal that allows current employees to
view all positions
 A Look Back:
Employees find work,
success despite recessions
ecord numbers of job applications have been submitted to Duke –
R a sign of the times as unemployment in North Carolina hovers
near 10 percent, even after the worst recession since the Great
Depression is officially over.
The latest economic crisis isn’t the only time Duke and its employees
weathered a financial storm. Faculty and staff hired during previous
downturns have spent long careers at Duke and enhanced their professional
lives despite working through tough times.
Early 1980s
When Quita Marshall was laid off as a payroll clerk for Mead
Containers in Butner in 1980, she wasn’t the only person looking for a new
job. After the gas and energy crises, jobs were tough to find with national
unemployment at about 8 percent.
She signed up for a job-placement program through the City of
Durham, which placed her at Duke Hospital as a data terminal operator.
By pushing herself to continually learn new things like medical terminology,
she turned the job at Duke into a 30-year career. “I took a lot of classes
during work hours when I started at the hospital, but sometimes I went
after work or even on Saturdays,” said Marshall, now a payroll
administrator and communications analyst for Duke’s Corporate Payroll
Services. “I wanted to learn as much as I could, so I just took classes
whenever I could.”
Quita Marshall, right, payroll administrator and communications analyst for Corporate Payroll
Services, works with payroll specialist Michelle Robinson, as they navigate payroll software.
Marshall spent hours in classes learning computer skills like how to
use Quattro, a spreadsheet program. She also took accounting classes and
worked to stay up-to-date on medical news and terms.
She worked her way laterally through the Health System before
enhancing her skills through Duke classes to take on more job responsibilities.
She left a position as a staff specialist in the nursing department to join
Corporate Payroll in 1996. But she didn’t stop learning because it was
important for her to add something new to her work every day.
“Anything that payroll offered me I would take,” Marshall said. “I think
that when you walk through the door each day, you need to think, ‘what
am I going to learn today?’ ”
Marshall said her experiences prove that lateral moves are just as
beneficial as promotions because working on different projects and meeting
new people enhance a person’s personal and professional skills.
“If you’re not constantly learning, a job is going to become boring and
you won’t do your best,” she said. “I’ve been in this payroll position for
more than 14 years now, and I still learn something new every day.”
Early 1990s
As oil prices spiked in the summer of 1990, the U.S. economy took a
hit. That prevented Shannan Tiffin from obtaining an officer-rank position
with the Marine Corps or Air Force after graduating from Radford
University in Virginia. Tiffin wanted a medical position as an officer with
one of the military branches, but the military was only offering positions
to enlisted members.
That led Tiffin to apply at Duke, where she became a medical
technologist with the Division of Hematology. After nine years and lateral
movement within the health system, Tiffin wanted a new job that better
fit her personality and would allow her to regularly interact with people
outside her department.
Duke Police Lt. Shannan Tiffin, right, greets a child as part of a Duke Police community outreach
program for students and local residents.
“Even if you have to start over, it’s important to look at your career
long term,” said Tiffin, now a lieutenant with the Duke University Police
Department. “I asked myself, ‘is working in a lab something I’ll be happy
with and is it something I can enjoy for 30 years?’ ”
She applied to be a police officer with Duke police, where she started
her new career in 1999. She said she wanted to work in law enforcement
because of daily interaction with the public and her interest in public service.
Tiffin was promoted to first sergeant in 2002 and became a lieutenant
in 2006. She credited her commitment to education as a big reason for her
ability to grow professionally. She stays up-to-date on law enforcement news
and policies and earned a master’s degree from Capella University in
emergency management. She’s currently working toward a doctorate in the
same field from Capella, an accredited online university. She plans to use
Duke’s tuition reimbursement benefit toward the degree.
“It’s important for me to always know what’s new and what’s going on
in my field, whether it’s formally in a collegiate setting or informally,” Tiffin
said. “Self improvement has been helpful for my career, but it’s also
important for me to improve as a person.”
Early 2000s
Rich Kless saw fewer job opportunities from a shrinking economy with
the bust of the “dot-com bubble” in 2000. At the time, he was performing
various contract work for theater companies and film studios in
Wilmington as a carpenter, sound technician and stunt extra.
“There wasn’t much film or theater work happening, and I had actually
started work restoring historic houses to keep a check coming in,” said
Kless, who started at Duke in 2001 and works as stage operations
supervisor for Event Management. “I started putting out feelers because it
was tough finding regular work and wound up finding a full-time job at
Duke doing something I love to do.”
Thankful to have a regular-paying job, Kless moved to Durham and
started as a senior stage technician before moving to his current role in
2003. To make himself more valuable, Kless became a jack of all trades,
working on carpentry and the lighting and sound systems in Griffith and
Reynolds theaters in the Bryan Center.
Kless said he was able to land his job at Duke because of networking.
He previously met
members of Duke’s
Theater Studies
department from his
work in Wilmington’s
theater scene.
“I was never really
big at networking until
right before I came
to Duke,” Kless said.
“But I found that
people are always
willing to help out
somebody else.
Networking has even
helped me since I
Rich Kless, stage operations supervisor for Event Management, runs
started here. I’ve a light-check from a booth in Reynolds Theater in the Bryan Center.
gotten to know people
from other departments like Athletics.”
Kless has also made an effort to learn new lighting systems that swivel
and move like lighting used at rock concerts. It’s a long way from repairing
old houses, he said.
“Spending another summer on hot roofs doing renovations was not
something I was looking forward to,” Kless said. “I was thrilled to death to
be at Duke.”
— By Bryan Roth
Writer, Office of Communication Services
5
 Teamwork/Diversityawards
Winners of the Teamwork Awards and Diversity
Awards for 2010 were honored at a luncheon in
November. These awards recognize individuals who
demonstrate a respect and value for differing points of
view and recognize teams that collaborate on significant
efforts that advance Duke’s mission. The awards highlight
two of the guiding principles that create excellence at Duke.
“We honor these people not because they have an
exclusive monopoly on these virtues,” said President
Richard H. Brodhead, “but because they illustrate, at such
a high level, the virtues we understand need to be
embodied everywhere.”

DIVERSITY AWARD
David Walmer, associate professor of reproductive
The DART Analysis Team with President
endocrinology and fertility and member of the Duke
Richard H. Brodhead, far left.
Global Health Institute, was honored for his work to
improve health care in Haiti.
TEAMWORK AWARDS
“ David’s commitment to this project has been
unwavering. The example he provides encourages Data Management Solutions Team: informal
countless others to do the same.
”
— Nominators, Dennis Clements, senior advisor
for the Duke Global Health Institute and Michael
group from Duke Medicine who help researchers
completing small-scale projects gather and
manipulate data efficiently and securely.
Diversity Award winners Jacqueline Terrell, second from left, and David
Walmer, second from right, with President Richard H. Brodhead, far left,
Benjamin Reese, center, and Kyle Cavanaugh, far right.
Merson, director, Duke Global Health Institute

Jacqueline Terrell, staff assistant for the Research

Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality, Sanford
School of Public Policy, was recognized for ensuring
local access to the intellectual life of Duke. She helped
develop the annual Black Scholars Essay competition
and a two-week summer research camp for local youth.
“ When members of this group accept the responsibility of managing data for the project, they allow the
researcher to focus on the research itself. Their work goes to the heart of the research mission.
”
— Nominator, Steve Woody, associate chief information officer
for Duke Health Technology Solutions
DART Analysis Team: nine University staff members who analyze the possibilities inherent in hundreds of
suggestions to help close a $100 million budget gap. The team conducted more than 200 interviews and
reviewed reams of data to help identify and support potential savings for the university, ranging from early

“ She has put forth yeoman’s work to make sure that

all of Durham knows that they are welcome and
wanted at Network events.
”
— Nominator, William A. Darity Jr.,
professor of public policy, African and
African-American studies and economics
retirement incentives to computer purchasing programs. So far, the University has been able to achieve $60
million of the $100 million needed to reduce the budget by 2012.
“ The impact of early DART initiatives and other cost savings and revenue generating measures has been
substantial … The DART Analysis Team played a key role in helping Duke realize these significant savings
quickly and for the years ahead.
”
— Nominators, Provost Peter Lange and Executive Vice President Tallman Trask III

Do you know Nominate a colleague for the 2010 Presidential Award, the highest award given to Duke employees.
someone presidential? Nominations are accepted until Feb. 18, 2011. For nomination forms, visit hr.duke.edu/presidential

Experimenting with the iPad

for workplace productivity
o learn whether the iPad could feature while assessing residence hall “Running a teleprompter in the

T be the next major workplace

Armetta Hamlett, staff assistant
in residence hall operations,
records needed repairs on an
iPad as Linda Schlabach, senior
supervisor of housekeeping,
inspects a mattress in a room.
productivity enhancer, Duke
employees in the Division of Student
Affairs gave the devices a test spin
this fall.
Twenty participants in Student
Affairs’ “iPad experiment” were chosen
to represent a range of technical
abilities and job responsibilities. The
program kicked off with two training
sessions in August and continued with
monthly brown-bag lunch sessions.
“We were interested in
how the iPad might improve
our work processes and our
interaction with students,”
said Tim Bounds, director
of Information Technology
Services in Student Affairs.
Employees found
interesting – and unexpected
– uses for the lightweight
iPad, which blends the
connectivity and portability of a
wireless phone with the power and
flexibility of a laptop.
Armetta Hamlett, staff assistant
in housekeeping operations for
Residence Life and Housing Services,
room conditions.
“When we’re out in the field, a
housekeeping supervisor can dictate
notes and e-mail them directly to the
RLHS service office, to let them know
if there’s a hole in the wall that needs
painting, for example,” Hamlett said.
“It would save a lot of paperwork.”
On-call residence coordinators
and deans also used an iPad in place
of a 110-page binder, containing
protocols and materials necessary
to respond to a student emergency.
Electronic versions of emergency
protocol manuals on the iPad are
easier to keep up-to-date – crucial for
the division’s nine-page spreadsheet of
contact phone numbers. “I’m not a
technology person at all, but the iPad
has been invaluable – much more
portable and easier to use,” said
Christine Pesetski, assistant dean for
off-campus and mediation services.
Employees who work in digital
media and event management found
the iPad useful as a system controller,
from audio mixing to monitoring live
streaming events and even as a mobile
teleprompter for video production
field usually involves a lot more gear to
move around and set up, and there are
many more places where the process
can break down,” said Scott Wells,
who manages Duke Media Services’
studio operations.
The iPad is also a tool in meetings
for looking up a student’s course
schedule during academic advising or
sharing a career development resource
at an event.
“It can be awkward to share a
computer screen, but it’s easy to pull
up documents and share on the iPad,”
Bounds said.
Employees will return the iPads
and share their findings with all staff
in Student Affairs at the end of the
semester. Bounds said Student Affairs
plans to repeat the experiment this
spring.
“Experimenting is how you learn,”
Bounds said. “Everybody wants to
play with cool things. We want to let
people play and be productive.”
— By Cara Bonnett
Managing editor, News &
Information Office of Information
Technology

6 used the iPad’s voice-to-text dictation when out of the studio.

Visit the Student Affairs site studentaffairs.duke.edu/ipad

Sustainable uke
YO U R S O U R C E
A Sign
of Sustainable Times
Signs posted around campus are part of a
campaign to promote eco-friendly behavior
abs Wise has a new excuse
B to take the stairs instead of
the elevator now that she
knows every elevator ride of just
a few seconds uses enough energy
to recharge her cell phone.
“It’s kind of neat that I can
save that much energy by just
taking the stairs,” said Wise,
associate director of the Office
of Undergraduate Scholars and
Fellows. “I like that it’s better for
my health and the environment.”
Wise learned that bit of
sustainable trivia from a series
of signs posted around Smith
Warehouse and other buildings
at Duke. Created by Students for
Sustainable Living and Sustainable
Duke, the university’s sustainability
office, the signs are posted near
elevators and in bathrooms and
kitchens as part of a campaign to
promote eco-friendly behavior.
Signs range in shape from the size
of a business card to a paperback
book cover.
“Duke has committed to become
carbon neutral by 2024, and we can’t began posting in six buildings: Smith of hand washing or showering is
do that without the help of employees Warehouse, Levine Science Research
who are willing to change their
behavior and begin to take steps to
reduce their own individual carbon
footprint at Duke,” said Casey Roe,
outreach coordinator for Sustainable
Duke. “We hope these signs will
remind employees about how they
can lessen their carbon footprint while posted this year and have been up
also saving the university money by
conserving energy, water and paper.”
F O R
Katherine Grant, a graduate student who volunteers with Students
for Sustainable Living, posts a sticker above a sink in the Duke
Divinity School break room.
A sign posted by faucets lets
passersby know that for every one
minute the tap is running, they’re
using 2.5 gallons water. Another by
copiers alerts people that on average,
each American uses 730 pounds of
paper each year, an amount as high
as a 40-feet tall tree. All signs are
printed on recycled plastic with
eco-solvent inks.
During the fall semester, students much water is used during a minute
Center, Fitzpatrick Center for
Interdisciplinary Engineering,
Medicine and Applied Sciences,
Divinity School, Bryan Center and
Nicholas Institute for Environmental
Policy Solutions’ houses on Campus
Drive. Signs will continue to be
in residence halls since August.
Visit duke.edu/sustainability
G R E E N N E W S AT D U K E
Tips on the
Signs
Joe Gonzalez, associate Every minute of a
dean for Residence Life and
Housing Services, said the
reaction he’s seen from students
has been overwhelmingly
shower uses the
equivalent of 12
bottles of water
positive and students have
even alerted him when signs go Heating water
missing because they want to accounts for 90
make sure they stick around. percent of the energy
“Improving sustainable
behaviors among residents used to wash clothes
is something we feel is very
important and hope the Each American
positive reaction we’ve heard generates an average
turns into a positive impact,”
Gonzalez said. “They’ve
of 4.5 pounds of
definitely been noticed by waste every day
students and visitors to
campus like parents.” Operating a TV uses
In fact, the signs were featured
on a sustainability-themed blog at
the same amount of
ecokaren.com after first-year student energy as up to 30
move-in. When a mother was compact fluorescent
impressed with Duke’s commitment light bulbs
to sustainability, she posted pictures
and commentary about the signs. She
said that a sign with facts like how
impactful because it gives a good
visualization that translates to
something tangible.
“Signage, if done right, is one
of the best ways to educate people,”
said Karen Lee, author of the
ecokaren blog. “Signs with tips, facts
and do’s and don’ts are something
people can sink their teeth into.”
— By Bryan Roth
Writer, Office of
Communication Services 7
WORKING@ DUKE

HOW TO REACH US
Editor: Leanora Minai
dialogue@Duke
(919) 681-4533
leanora.minai@duke.edu “What is your New Year’s resolution?”
Assistant Vice President:

“
Paul S. Grantham I don’t want or hope for anything for myself. I would just like for the job market to get
(919) 681-4534 better so the economy can get better for everybody. But, if there’s a lot less unemployment
paul.grantham@duke.edu and a lot more people have jobs, we could have more business at the post office.”
Eric Reid
Graphic Design & Layout: Postal Clerk II, Duke Postal Operations
18 years at Duke
Paul Figuerado

Photography: Bryan Roth and

Got a
Marsha Green of the Office of
Communication Services and Duke

“
University Photography. I want to go back to graduate school for international
education. I eventually want to work with refugee and

Working@Duke is published monthly
by Duke’s Office of Communication
Services. We invite your
story
international families to get their children into college. I’ve done
volunteer work that showed me how it can be difficult for these
families to get their kids into university, so I’d like to make a

idea?
difference for them.”
feedback and suggestions for
future story topics.
Shena Sanchez
Staff assistant, Office of Assessment Professional Development Programs
2 years at Duke
Please write us at
working@duke.edu or Write

“
I want to be more generous of my time and resources to
Working@Duke, Box 90496,
help people who need it – my friends, family, whomever. working@duke.edu
705 Broad St., Durham, NC 27708
Call us at (919) 684-4345.
I just want to remember to act when I see a moment of need in or Call
someone’s life.” 681-4533
Send faxes to (919) 681-7926.
Ben Phillips
Senior program coordinator,
Trinity College Office of Academic Deans
7 years at Duke

— By Bryan Roth Join the Facebook fan

Writer, Office of Communication Services page for Working@Duke at
facebook.com/workingatduke

Dial up discounts on mobile

phones, service
uzanne Finley’s 11-year old planning to switch mobile

S daughter, Gracie, whooped for

For more information,
visit oit.duke.edu,
select “Phone Services
For Faculty and Staff”
and check under
“Wireless Phones.”
Check out all the PERQS
savings at
hr.duke.edu/discounts
joy when she unwrapped her
birthday present last summer: a hot
pink Verizon Razzle cell phone with a
bottom section that swivels to reveal
music player controls and a keyboard
for texting.
“She really wanted a cool phone
when she entered middle school, and
the Razzle fit the bill,” said Finley, a
clinical research coordinator II in the
Department of Orthopaedics.
The phone fit the bill in
another sense, too. Finley saved about
15 percent on the phone and the
service plan by using the discount
offered to Duke faculty and staff.
Employees are eligible for a variety of
discounts on Verizon phones, as well as
15 percent off Verizon monthly plans
of $35 or more and 25 percent off
accessories. AT&T Wireless and
Sprint/Nextel also offer discounts
to Duke employees.
Finley started using Duke’s
Verizon discount two years ago
after reading about the savings in
Working@Duke. She was already
plans to obtain better
reception near her home
in Cedar Grove, but the
Duke discount was an
added bonus.
“I saved over $100 on
just the phones, in addition
to the discount on the
monthly plan,” she said.
Finley also used the
15 percent Verizon discount
on monthly rates to add her
mother-in-law to the family
plan. “Now she has a phone
when she goes out to get
the mail, or goes out
Suzanne Finley and her daughter, Gracie, enjoy their phones
shopping,” Finley said. “We purchased with a Duke discount. Photo is courtesy of Kellie Finley, 7.
feel a lot more comfortable
knowing she can reach us.” “I didn’t even have to show my
A few weeks after Gracie’s Duke ID,” Finley said. “When I gave
birthday, Finley and her daughter them our account number, they
stopped in the Verizon store in automatically gave us the discount.
Burlington to outfit Gracie with It was that easy.”
headphones and a pink and green — By Marsha A. Green
carrying case. Even though she hadn’t Senior Writer, Office of
Communication Services
been to that store, Finley received
the 25 percent Duke discount for
accessories.

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