February/March, 2025 Working@Duke by Working Duke

FROM THE EDITOR

LEANORA MINAI

Celebrating Our Community: Introducing Be You

At Duke, our strength is rooted in our people. Every day, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds, perspectives and abilities collaborate to deliver excellence and create a thriving community. Inclusion isn’t just one of Duke’s shared core values; it’s the foundation of how we understand the world and tackle its most complex challenges.

This month, we’re excited to launch Be You, a new series that celebrates the vibrant diversity of Duke’s workforce. Featured in print and online, the series will spotlight staff and faculty who reflect our inclusive environment and embody Duke’s commitment to excellence. Through their stories, we’ll highlight the unique experiences, backgrounds and cultures that make our colleagues extraordinary and our community stronger.

We’re kicking off the series on page 18 with Leslye Kornegay, Duke’s Executive Director for University Environmental Services and Facilities Management. Leslye’s journey is one of resilience and determination. When she began working in university facilities management in the early 1990s, she noticed a glaring absence of leaders who looked like her. Black, female leaders in facilities have been rare, a reality she has spent decades defying.

“I’m a firm believer that if you set your mind to do something, you can do it,” says Kornegay, who joined Duke in 2016.

Her career path, chronicled in her book, “Leading to Change the World,” released in September 2024, tells her story of rising from a housekeeper in Atlantic City, N.J., to becoming one of the few Black female executives in the field.

“As a leader, I have been able to sustain my leadership by learning how to construct a style that embraces who I am as a Black woman,” Kornegay writes. “In doing so, I have found my voice and learned to confront the racism and sexism that often challenge my path.”

Research shows that inclusive workplaces promote improvements in employee engagement and collaboration. Gallup, for instance, has highlighted the connection between belonging and key performance outcomes, including innovation. Help us celebrate the people who make Duke exceptional. Do you know someone whose story deserves to be told in the Be You series? Or are you ready to share your own? Reach out to us by sending an email to working@duke.edu. We’ll keep building a workplace where every voice matters and every story inspires.

4

Who Are We?

Duke employs 48,249 people, making the institution the second-largest private employer in North Carolina. Reflecting a spectrum of identities, the employee community continues to grow, with 47% joining since the pandemic. This special report, based on Duke Human Resources data, delves into the people who comprise Duke’s staff and faculty and how the workforce is evolving to help Duke meet its missions.

13 How to Bounce Back from Tough Feedback

A nurse manager uses constructive feedback to build a path to professional leadership.

14 Building a Workplace of Belonging

Get to know some of the 17 official Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Affinity Groups at Duke that promote inclusion while fostering connections among colleagues and the wider community.

BRIEFLY

Duke Libraries staff honored for 35 years of picking up litter

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) recently honored a group of Duke University Libraries employees for 35 years of volunteering to pick up litter.

Since 1989, Duke University Libraries staff members have participated in the NCDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program, removing trash from a 1½-mile stretch of Morreene Road near West Campus four times each year.

For the group’s work, the NCDOT awarded staff members a “Distinguished Star Award,” which came with a decal placed last fall on its roadside Adopt-A-Highway sign.

Library staff have picked up 1,259 bags of trash and recyclables and contributed 1,237 hours to the strip of Morreene Road.

“I think the team at the libraries has a keen sense of how Duke and Durham interconnect,” said longtime volunteer Beth Doyle, the Leona B. Carpenter Senior Conservator and Head of the Conservation Services Department. “This is a way that we can claim a piece of roadway and make it ours. It’s our way to give back to the city and the state of North Carolina and do something meaningful.”

Got news in your school, department or unit? Tell us about it: hr.duke.edu/sendnews

Register for Duke Run/Walk Club this spring

Staff and faculty of all fitness levels can gather for the Spring 2025 edition of the Duke Run/Walk Club beginning on March 10.

Support and coaching will be offered to anyone who wants to walk, run or do a combination of both at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays through May 26. In-person beginner- to intermediate-level walkers train at East Campus, while all running levels and advanced walkers meet at the Al Buehler Trail on West Campus.

“This is about building community and meeting other people outside of your usual department,” said LIVE FOR LIFE Fitness Specialist Julia Phu. “It’s something that can hold people accountable and motivate them to get out.”

Registration for the 12-week program begins Feb. 24.

An independent training option also is available for employees who participate off-campus.

To register and learn more, visit hr.duke.edu/runwalk

Four gyms added to wellness discount program

Four new discounted gym membership options have been added to the Duke Fitness Club, bringing the total facility number to 15, serving about 5,000 people registered through Duke.

The new Duke Fitness Club facilities include The BodyGames Center in Durham, ClubWorx in Fuquay-Varina, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Durham and the Durham Southpoint and Southwest locations of the Orangetheory Fitness franchise.

Each facility offers a discount on membership fees and is available to University and Health System staff and faculty, retirees and their spouses.

All gym memberships in the program are managed through LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program. LIVE FOR LIFE manages the enrollment process and coordinates payroll deduction for membership fees.

Learn more at hr.duke.edu/fitness

Support your community by donating to Doing Good

Enrich the lives of people in the community by donating to the Doing Good employee giving campaign.

Tax-deductible contributions to Doing Good, which is organized by Duke Community Affairs, provide financial support to a variety of area schools and non-profits in Durham and the surrounding areas.

Staff and faculty can use the Duke@Work portal to make a one-time donation or set up a recurring payroll deduction and direct their donation to one of six curated funds: housing and neighborhoods, health, education, employment, communities and the United Way of the Greater Triangle.

Recently, Doing Good has supported initiatives to fight food insecurity in Durham and relief efforts for people in western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene.

“Ultimately, we are one interconnected community, and the Doing Good campaign is a great illustration of this,” said Scott Brummel, Duke Community Affairs’ Assistant Director for Food and Nutrition Security.

To donate, visit duke.is/DoingGood

Your source for connection and news you can use

Working@Duke is the go-to source for keeping staff and faculty connected and informed about the latest resources, benefits and stories important to the people who bring Duke’s mission to life each day.

Get the latest news and exclusive insights by following Working@ Duke on social media. Our channels provide real-time updates and a behind-the-scenes look at the Duke experience. Join the conversation –tag us in your posts and use #WorkingatDuke

Most importantly, we want to hear from you.

Do you have good news to share about yourself, a colleague or your office? Is there a story you’d like us to cover? Email us at working@duke.edu or drop us a note at hr.duke.edu/sendnews

Who Are We?

With 47% new since the pandemic, meet the people and numbers shaping Duke’s workforce

ach day, Duke staff and faculty dedicate their energy to a wide range of meaningful missions. They care for campus, drive the pursuit of life-saving cures and inspire the learning of young minds.

Duke employs 48,249 people, making the institution the second-largest private employer in North Carolina with a workforce slightly larger than the population of Wilson, the 21st-largest city in the state. Reflecting a spectrum of ages, races and ethnicities, the employee community continues to grow, with 47% of the workforce joining since the pandemic.

This special report, based on data from Duke Human Resources, uncovers how the workforce is evolving to help Duke meet its missions.

“It takes a collection of unique individuals to make Duke what it is,” said Antwan Lofton, Vice President for Duke Human Resources. “We have individuals here from all different backgrounds. We have our differences, and we have values that we share. But we can come together to make Duke a place that inspires people to push the envelope and do the important work of shaping the future.”

Meeting Health Care Needs

As a Duke Athletic Trainer, Carley Brown enjoys monitoring the progress of young athletes recovering from injury and guiding grandparents through treatments and exercises to regain mobility after surgeries.

But since joining Duke’s Orthopaedics Apex team last spring, her favorite moment of the day comes just after 5 p.m., when she picks up her 1-year-old son, Beckett, from day care and heads home.

“It’s a good feeling knowing I can get satisfaction out of my career and out of being a mother and wife,” said Brown, 30, who often cooks dinner alongside Beckett while he plays with toy vegetables.

For Brown, previously an athletic trainer at a Pittsboro high school, the move was inspired by work and home life balance. For Duke, Brown’s hire was part of a mission to increase capacity for care in one of the nation’s fastest-growing states.

Brown is one of 8,123 individuals hired in 2023-24 by Duke University Health System, which has increased its workforce by approximately 16% since 2019. That expansion helped Duke, which has more than 400 care locations in North Carolina, serve roughly 1 million unique patients in the past fiscal year.

“Duke is a leader in addressing the critical health needs of North Carolinians,” Duke University Health System Chief Executive Officer Craig Albanese said in the 2024 “Duke in North Carolina” annual report. “We are committed to building healthier communities in our state by providing extraordinary, high-quality clinical care that is patient-centered, safe, accessible, and equitable.”

While exploring job offers, Brown found reasons to choose Duke. She recalled the compassionate care of Duke pediatricians from her childhood, appreciated the convenience of Duke’s Wake County clinics near her Fuquay-Varina home, and recognized the potential in Duke’s strong benefits.

She said, “Duke felt like the right fit.”

Hired in the spring of 2024, Athletic Trainer Carley Brown has enjoyed the balance provided by her role at Duke Orthopaedics Apex. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Diversity of Thought and Culture

When Javier Pastorino visited Duke in 2023 while considering a faculty position, he found much to admire.

Drawn by the cutting-edge technology and vibrant energy in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, he became an Assistant Professor of the Practice last year.

“It was exciting to meet people with so much enthusiasm for being here and part of the community,” said Pastorino, who teaches software engineering, data management and artificial intelligence.

Originally from Uruguay, Pastorino embodies Duke’s commitment to attracting faculty from diverse backgrounds.

“At Duke, we are in the knowledge and ideas business,” said Duke University Provost Alec Gallimore. “Naturally, we want to sample from and tap into the most talented minds representing a diversity of disciplines, thought, life experiences and cultures.”

In the past decade, Duke has made steady progress toward diversity in faculty. In 2023-24, 44% of full-time faculty were women, up from 39% in 2015, while nearly 31% identified as Asian, Black, Hispanic or members of other minority groups, an increase from 23% in 2015.

Last year, Forbes recognized Duke University and Duke University Health System among “America’s Best Employers for Diversity,” evaluating factors such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and disability inclusion.

Pastorino, who occasionally sees others on campus drinking mate – a South American herbal beverage – said that in computer engineering, where competition for innovation is global, embracing diversity is essential.

“Ours is a language that goes beyond borders,” Pastorino said.

To foster a diverse faculty, Duke strives to provide resources for all to thrive. For Pastorino, this includes highperformance computing clusters for student research and workshops to refine teaching.

“We all see things differently based on our background,” Pastorino said. “When you have different perspectives, you get different ways of thinking. I may have an idea, but someone else may have a different idea that may work better.”

About 59% of Duke’s workforce identifies as primarily white, while 22% is Black, 11% is Asian and 6% is Hispanic or Latino. SOURCE: Duke Human Resources, 2024.

Originally from Uruguay, Javier Pastorino, an Assistant Professor of the Practice in Electrical and Computer Engineering, brings a global perspective to his work. Photo by Travis Stanley.

The Largest Generation

As a Program Coordinator for the Office of Student-Faculty Engagement, Theo Cai has had a front-row view of differences between Gen X and baby boomer faculty and some of the young Gen Z students who populate Duke’s campus.

He has seen a shifting tide in the digital natives who have their own lingo and vocabulary, strong views on remote work, gender identity expression and necessity of mental health benefits.

“But I don’t think that there’s some insurmountable barrier dependent on the generation,” said Cai, 25, an alum who joined Duke in 2021.

Cai is on the young side of the millennial generation, by Duke’s definition. Born in 1999, he falls within the range of people born between 1980 and 2000 that Duke identifies as millennials – now the largest generational cohort in Duke’s workforce.

Millennials at Duke make up 53% of the workforce, mirroring a national trend. The U.S. Department of Labor says that 36% of the labor force was millennial in August 2024, though its definition of a millennial is someone born between 1981-1996.

In such a large cohort, there is a variety of experiences and life situations for Duke millennials. Some are parents juggling child care and caring for aging parents. Others, like Cai, might be four years out of college, training for distance runs with housemates or writing poetry.

The generation also has a greater diversity in gender identity. Millennial and Gen Z generations are more likely than all other generations to identify as LGBTQ+, according to Gallup, with 22.3% of Gen Z and 9.8% of millennials surveyed in 2023 falling under that umbrella.

Cai, who worked for Duke’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity for all four of his undergraduate years, valued the relationships at the center that helped him navigate life as a transgender man.

“It made me feel safe,” Cai said. “I knew that there was a home base for me.”

Millennials and Gen Z want to work somewhere where they feel like their employer cares about their well-being.

“I would not want to work in a place that I feel denigrated or degraded in any way,” Cai said. “I guess this is cliché, but I definitely value the relationships I’ve formed with people and staff members here at Duke.”

The millennial generation, born between 1980-2000 according to Duke, is the largest cohort at Duke, making up 53% of the employee population. Gen X, those born between 1965-1979, is the second largest, making up 29%.

SOURCE: Duke Human Resources, 2024.

Theo Cai, 25, who joined Duke in 2021, is part of the largest workforce generational cohort as a millennial. Photo by Travis Stanley.

From Young Nurse to Leader

In 1989, at just 21 years old, Miranda Harris joined the nursing team in Duke University Hospital’s Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), caring for critically ill patients. Her goal was to ace the art of nursing and discover where the journey might take her next.

Thirty-six years later, the learning hasn’t stopped.

Driven by curiosity and compassion, Harris became a Nurse Manager in the MICU and now serves as the Senior Director of Nursing for Duke University Hospital’s Patient Flow & Transfer Center, Life Flight and Emergency Department Nursing. Throughout her journey, she embraced opportunities for growth, whether it meant helping her unit implement new digital medical recordkeeping systems, maintaining her professional certifications or earning an online Master of Business Administration degree.

“One of the things that has continually kept me here is that I have found things in my work that, I feel, have made me a better person,” said Harris, one of 19,286 women working in the Duke University Health System. Women make up 77% of the health system’s workforce and 67% of Duke’s overall workforce.

Throughout her career, Harris has relied on Duke’s employee benefits, a key factor in Duke’s inclusion on Forbes’ latest list of “America’s Best Employers for Women.”

She used Duke Children’s Campus, an on-campus day care for benefits-eligible staff and faculty, to care for her two sons, now in their 20s.

While on campus, she often crosses paths with her son, Ronald, a student at the Duke University School of Medicine. She fondly recalls their first clinic encounter in 2021, when she hurried to grab her white coat to match his.

“We had to have our white coats on together,” Harris said.

About 68% of Duke’s workforce identifies as female, while 32% identifies as male, based on legal sex information provided to Duke by employees when hired. Staff and faculty have the option to share gender identity through Duke@Work, which includes identifiers such as non-binary, gender non-conforming, questioning and transgender. However, 73% of employees have not specified an identity beyond legal sex. SOURCE: Duke Human Resources, 2024.

>>> continued on page 8

Miranda Harris began her path to a leadership role at Duke University Hospital in 1989, when she joined the nursing staff. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Valuing People, Benefits, and Balance

Stephen Cook grew up watching his father work as a plumber at Duke. He saw how devoted Billy Cook was to the people he worked with, and Stephen absorbed the trade from years of observation.

In 1999, a year after Billy Cook died suddenly at age 57, Stephen Cook decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Cook left his job as a deputy for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and took a position in Duke’s plumbing department – working for the same supervisor his father had. He worked alongside his dad’s former co-workers and realized what he had been missing during his demanding job in law enforcement.

“It took away a lot of quality time with my wife and my son,” Cook said.

More than 25 years later, Cook is still in the plumbing department in Duke Facilities Management, with about the past decade spent as a Projects and Building Maintenance Coordinator. He schedules and coordinates plumbing needs across the University campus.

“What made me stay was the people I work with that I enjoy working around,” Cook said.

It’s not uncommon for someone to stay at Duke a while; the average length of service at Duke is 8.8 years. Nationally, the median service length is 3.9 years – the lowest it has been since 2002, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Cook credits Duke’s people, work-life balance, and medical benefits, which gave him the flexibility to use Family and Medical Leave Act time to care for his mother before she died.

“That really meant the most to me of all,” he said. “I don’t think you can get any better than the benefits.” 

By Stephen Schramm and Jodie Valade

length of service at Duke, overall,

on the University side, at 10.6 years. SOURCE: Duke Human Resources, 2024.

Stephen Cook started working in Duke’s plumbing department in 1999. It’s not uncommon for someone to stay at Duke for a while; the average length of service is 8.8 years.

Photo by Travis Stanley.

Start Here

LEADERSHIP and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2025 COURSE CATALOG

DUKE UNIVERSITY | DUKE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM

It’s a

journey.

Take a minute to think about your career. Where do you see yourself in the next three to five years? What professional skills will assist you along the way? How can Learning and Organization Development help you?

Duke Learning and Organization Development (L&OD) aims to drive strategic learning and development through robust and rigorous solutions, enabling individuals, teams, and organizations to achieve extraordinary results in education, research, and patient care.

Our professional development engagements allow employees to continue to stay relevant in their field, be competent in their profession, and grow as leaders in their own learning.

We offer courses multiple times a year, allowing flexibility for our learners to find the right course, certificate program or academy that aligns with their overall career goals and aspirations. Let’s get started!

Dear Learner,

What an excellent time to be a part of the Duke community! As leaders in your own learning, I encourage you to explore, stretch and grow. Duke has various pathways designed just for you to discover more and learn at every level in your career.

As you determine what learning journey you will take this year, we have provided a wealth of resources for you to tap into to customize your development. Whether it’s one of our professional development courses, certificate programs or academies, you will gain the skills and tools you’ll need to remain relevant in your field and grow as a leader in your own learning.

Let the journey begin,

Keisha P. Williams, MPA Assistant Vice President, Duke Learning and Organization Development

2025 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES

Hello!

(listed by calendar date)

February

PowerPoint Level 1 Introduction (2 half days)

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

SLII® (2 half days)

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

$500 I CEU 1.2

SHRM Certification Prep Course (In-person)

Spring 2025 Cohort

Friday, February 7 – Friday, March 7

Friday, March 28 – Friday, April 25

$1435 (includes one exam voucher)

Notary Public (In-person)

Thursday, February 13, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Excel Level 1 Introduction (2 half days)

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Navigating Challenging Personalities

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Resilience

Thursday, February 20, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.3

Keys to Supervisory Success

Thursday, February 20, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

CliftonStrengths® for Managers (In-person)

Thursday, February 27, 2025

$300 I CEU 0.3

March

Excel Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Self Leadership (2 half days)

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

$300 I CEU 0.6

Fundamentals of Coaching

Monday, March 10, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Notary Public (In-person)

Thursday, March 18, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Star Achievement Series™ (in-person)

Thursday, March 13 – Tuesday, November 18

$1500 (8 modules) I CEU 4.8

Access Level 1 Introduction (2 half days)

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Managing Multiple Priorities

Monday, March 17, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

For a full description and details on courses offered by Learning & Organization Development, please visit us online at hr.duke.edu/training

May

Microsoft Teams

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

$120 I CEU 0.4

Dimensions of Management (2 half days) (Inperson)

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

$600 I CEU 1.0

CC® Mastering Dialogue (3 half days)

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

$600 I CEU 1.2

Excel Level 2 Pivot Tables

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

Excel Level 1 Formulas & Functions Basics

Thursday, March 27, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

Excel Level 2 Formulas & Functions Intermediate

Thursday, March 27, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

April

Excel Level 1 Introduction (2 half days)

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Feedback Fundamentals

Thursday, April 3, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Moving from Peer to Supervisor

Monday, April 7, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Raising Accountability while Managing a Hybrid Team

Monday, April 14, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Transformational Leadership

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.3

Notary Public (In-person)

Thursday, April 17, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Communicating with Diplomacy & Tact I Thursday, April 17, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Managing from the Middle

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.3

Emotionally Effective Leader (2 half days)

Wednesday, March 23, 2025

$285 I CEU 0.8

Conflict Resolution

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.3

Navigating Challenging Personalities

Thursday, May 1, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Excel Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Project Management (2 half days)

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.8

CliftonStrengths® for Individual Contributors (In-person)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

$300 I CEU 0.3

Access Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Managing Multiple Priorities

Thursday, May 22, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Communicating with Diplomacy & Tact II

Thursday, May 29, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

June

Excel Level 1 Introduction (2 half days)

Tuesday, July 10, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Personality & Effective Communication (In-person)

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

$175 I CEU 0.3

Leader as Coach (2 half days)

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.6

Keys to Supervisory Success

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Notary Public (In-person)

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Valuing Differences

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.3

Word Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Self Leadership (2 days)

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

$300 I CEU 0.6

July

PowerPoint Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Leading through Generational Differences (InPerson)

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.3

Raising Accountability

while Managing a Hybrid Team

Thursday, July 10, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Microsoft Teams

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

$120 I CEU 0.4

Moving from Peer to Supervisor

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

August

Excel Level 2 Pivot Tables

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

Excel Level 2 Charts & Graphs

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

Conflict Resolution

Tuesday, August 6, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.3

Excel Level 1 Formulas & Functions Basics

Thursday, August 7, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

Excel Level 2 Formulas & Functions Intermediate

Thursday, August 7, 2025

$60 I CEU 0.2

Fundamentals of Coaching

Thursday, August 7, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Access Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Emotionally Effective Leader (2 half days)

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

$285 I CEU 0.8

Notary Public (In-person)

Thursday, August 21, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Communicating with Diplomacy & Tact I

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

CliftonStrengths® for Individual Contributors (In-person)

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

$300 I CEU 0.3

Critical Thinking Skills

Thursday, August 28, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.3

September

CC® Mastering Dialogue (3 half days)

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

$600 I CEU 1.2

SHRM Certification Prep Course (In-person) Fall 2025 Cohort

Thursday, September 4 – Thursday, October 2

Thursday, October 23 – Thursday, November 20

$1435 (includes one exam voucher)

Excel Level 2 Intermediate (2 half days)

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

MS One Note Level 1 (2 half days)

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Managing Multiple Priorities

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Notary Public

Thursday, September 18, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

SLII® (2 half days)

Monday, September 22, 2025

$500 I CEU 1.2

Managing from the Middle

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.3

October

CliftonStrengths® for Managers (In-person)

Wednesday, October 7, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.3

Word Level 3 Advanced (2 half days)

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Project Management (2 half days)

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.8

Consulting Services

L&OD focuses on developing, improving, and sustaining organizations and teams. Our experienced practitioners are dedicated to assessing, researching, designing, delivering, and evaluating team and organization engagements in the areas of strategic planning and implementation, organizational assessments, change management, competency development, team development, performance improvement, and retreat design and facilitation around organizational priorities.

Communicating with Diplomacy & Tact I

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.3

Notary Public (In-person)

Thursday, October 16, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Moving from Peer to Supervisor

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Keys to Supervisory Success

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

November

Excel Level 3 Advanced (2 half days)

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Communicating with Diplomacy & Tact II

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Self Leadership (2 half days)

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

$300 I CEU 0.6

Resilience

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.3

Personality & Effective Communication

Tuesday, November 26, 2025

$175 I CEU 0.3

December

Notary Public (In-person)

Thursday, December 4, 2025

$160 I CEU 0

Managing Multiple Priorities

Monday, December 8, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.4

Access Level 3 Advanced (2 half days)

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

$170 I CEU 0.8

Transformational Leadership

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

$150 I CEU 0.3

Leader as Coach (2 half days)

Thursday, December 11, 2025

$200 I CEU 0.6

We have worked with more than 100 departments and administrative units from across Duke University and Duke University Health System. All services are customized to meet the specific needs of your organization. The first step in engaging our services is to call us at 919-613-7600 or contact Shannon Ashford, shannon.ashford@duke.edu to discuss your needs and unit goals.

Who’s Who? Meet the L&OD Team

Keisha Williams Assistant Vice President Learning & Organization Development

Abaina Farrell Assistant Director; Instructional Design

Donald Shortslef Sr. L&OD Consultant

SHRM Certification Prep Course

SPRING & FALL 2025

Invest in your HR career!

Shannon Ashford Associate Director; Organization & Workforce Development

Joy Birmingham Associate Director; Leadership & Professional Development

Marjorie Siegert Sr. L&OD Consultant

In-person Cohort Learning Model

Flexible, Blended Learning

Exam Fee Waived

Renowned Recognition

Michelle Jones Operations Manager

Srini Iyengar Senior Technology Partner

Jeremy Meadows Staff Specialist

Chart Your Career with Certificate Programs

Learning & Organization Development is proud to offer two portable, nationally recognized certificate programs as well as six in-house certificate programs.

These certificate programs combine selected offerings from L&OD’s rich list of 97 professional and technical development courses. The eight certificate programs include the following:

 Star Achievement Series™: CEAP Designation

 Communication Certificate of Excellence

 HR Strategic Business Partner

 Management and Leadership Certificate of Excellence

 Self-Leadership Certificate of Excellence

 Supervisory Certificate of Excellence

 Technology Certificate of Excellence

 SHRM Certification Prep Course

Certificates of Excellence opportunities are open to all Duke employees and are available in several disciplines based on specific areas of professional responsibility. Those seeking a Certificate of Excellence must submit a completed application. Multiple certificates may be worked on at the same time. All courses must be completed within three years.

How to Bounce Back from Tough Feedback

A nurse manager uses constructive feedback to build a path to professional leadership

In 2011, Stephen Donohue, a Charge Nurse in Duke University Hospital’s Emergency Department, applied for the Clinical Team Lead position in the unit where he had been working for five years.

Donohue didn’t get the job. Digging deeper into the decision, he reflected on feedback he received during the interview process: His communication style often felt brash and that, by not volunteering for office committees or making personal connections, he wasn’t engaged enough to lead.

Donohue felt crushed.

“If this is something I want, I had to fix this,” said Donohue, who now oversees a team of 40 as Nurse Manager for Duke Primary Care and Urgent Care Float Pool.

In a story Donohue often tells colleagues dealing with tough feedback, hearing where he fell short illuminated his path forward. To grow, Donohue sought professional development courses on communication from Duke Learning & Organization Development (L&OD) and participated in department initiatives. He watched how leaders in his unit communicated diplomatically and built strong teams through personal bonds.

When Donohue pursued the Clinical Team Lead role again in 2012, he got it.

“Feedback is a gift,” said L&OD Associate Director Joy Birmingham, who teaches courses on delivering feedback and self-leadership. “You get to choose whether you use it or not.”

Donohue’s experience provides lessons that can help you make the most of feedback.

Leave emotions behind

Tough feedback can sting, but it’s crucial to acknowledge it and not let emotions keep you from seeing potentially valuable information.

“It’s about separating facts from feelings,” Birmingham said. “We often think that feedback is about who I am as a person. It’s not. It’s about performance.”

Use input like a compass

To Donohue, the feedback received 14 years ago was one point in a longer professional journey. It showed him where he needed to grow at that time in his career to be his best self.

“Think of feedback as a tool,” Donohue said. “Sometimes it’s hard to see the tools that have been given to you. If you decide what you want, use the tools you are given to make the right changes.”

Let feedback fuel you

A Gallup study a few years ago showed that 80% of employees who received meaningful feedback felt fully engaged. Birmingham said effective feedback is part of strong teams because it shows colleagues see potential for growth in one another.

“If people didn’t see something in you, they wouldn’t bother giving it to you,” she said. “Feedback isn’t about who you are, it’s about what you’re capable of doing.”

L&OD will offer a “Feedback Fundamentals” course on April 3 to help recognize the barriers to giving and receiving effective feedback, among other principles. 

By Stephen Schramm

Duke Primary Care and Urgent Care Float Pool Nurse Manager Stephen Donohue, at left and, at right in center, speaking with colleagues, used feedback to strengthen the skills that helped him become a better leader. Photos by Travis Stanley.

Building a Workplace of Belonging

Employee-led resource and affinity groups bring colleagues together

When diagnosed as autistic at 27, Zachary Tumlin felt relief. The news answered questions about the different ways he connected with others.

But he still felt uneasy about moving forward in a world that often misunderstands neurodivergent people.

“The diagnosis is typically thought of as the end of the journey, but it’s actually the beginning of another,” said Tumlin, a David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Project Archivist.

Arriving at Duke in 2022, Tumlin, 36, sought a community of people with similar perspectives. Encouraged by leaders at Duke, Tumlin helped launch the Disability Inclusion & Community Empowerment Affinity Group (DICE) in 2024. The group gives disabled employees and their allies a space where they feel valued, supported and empowered.

DICE is one of 17 official Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) or Affinity Groups at Duke. Groups represent mothers, LGBTQ+ employees and allies, military veterans, remote workers, and others, promoting inclusion while fostering connections among colleagues and the wider community.

To start a group, employees submit an application that includes a charter and identifies an executive sponsor to advocate for the group. A steering committee reviews the applications, and approved groups receive financial support for eligible activities.

Officially launched in 2024 with Tumlin’s support, DICE hosted its inaugural public event in October. The event featured Dr. Margaret Price, author of “Crip Spacetime: Access, Failure, and Accountability in Academic Life,” who discussed the challenges faced by disabled individuals and highlighted the importance of the new group.

“A lot of people told stories about what helped them survive,” Price said. “It was often one person, or a few people

or a small community … like DICE, where people know they can go.”

Get to know a few ERGs taking root at Duke.

¡DALHE!

Several years ago, while working with medical interpreters assisting Duke’s Spanish-speaking patients, Angel Romero, originally from Spain, enjoyed an easy rapport with co-workers from Colombia, Ecuador and Puerto Rico.

After becoming Program Coordinator for Community Partnerships with the Duke Population Health Management Office, meeting Hispanic colleagues became less common. When Romero learned about the launch in 2023 of ¡DALHE!, an ERG for Latino or Hispanic employees, joining the effort wasn’t a tough decision.

“Duke is very large with many departments and silos, so it can be hard to know who is out there,” Romero said. “These groups are great. They’re how we connect and stay connected.”

¡DALHE! – a Spanish phrase meaning “Let’s go!” and an acronym for Duke Advancing Latiné/Hispanic Excellence –was created by Raquel Ruiz, Co-Director of the Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute’s Equity, Learning Health Communities Pillar. After joining Duke in 2022, where 6.3% of the workforce identifies as Hispanic or Latino, Ruiz recognized the need for a community to connect and support Latino and Hispanic employees.

Zachary Tumlin, a leader of Duke’s Disability Inclusion & Community Empowerment (DICE) Affinity Group, speaks at DICE’s inaugural event in 2024. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Dozens of Duke staff and faculty members gather in the Trent Semans Center in September for the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration organized by ¡DALHE! Photo by Eamon Queeney.

With more than 100 members, ¡DALHE! hosts volunteering events, networking opportunities, a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration and regular cafecitos, which are informal virtual conversations over coffee with Duke leaders.

“Latinos like to get together with other Latinos to find connection and shared culture,” Ruiz said. “That’s what an ERG does. It allows us to build a community that can help us thrive.”

Special Events Planners Council

When Erin Clark became Program Coordinator for the Office of Duke-NUS Affairs in 2023, she was tasked with organizing the office’s events, including Durham visits from the Singapore-based Duke-NUS Medical School’s faculty and leaders.

She knew tackling the challenges would require some backup.

“I immediately sought out resources to help me do my job,” Clark said. “That’s how I found the Special Events Planners Council.”

Originally formed in the 1990s, the Special Events Planners council, which became an official ERG last year, is a network of roughly 300 staff members united by their need to make organizing complex Duke events look easy.

The council hosts occasional in-person events, where members meet potential vendors or visit venues. Periodic virtual gatherings explore topics such as making meetings more sustainable or accessible.

Through a busy Microsoft Teams channel or connections made through the group, members routinely help each other navigate the unique challenges of organizing everything from departmental meetings to large symposiums.

“It’s not just about tapping into the knowledge of the people who are doing similar work,” said Clark, now the council’s vice president. “It’s also about those connections you make with the broader community of Duke.”

evolved into a shared vision for a group supporting the school’s Black staff.

For several months, Weaver, May and a circle of colleagues met weekly on Zoom, sharing experiences and planning an ERG for Black staff members in the School of Medicine. That became the ME2 Black Employee Resource Group, which drew around 80 people to its 2021 virtual kickoff.

“I remember, after our first meeting, getting comments like ‘This is the first time I’ve been in a Zoom room where everybody looked like me,’” said May, now Assistant Vice President for Human Resources in Duke University Health System.

Since then, ME2 has organized volunteer outings, Juneteenth celebrations and monthly virtual meetings with guest speakers, professional development presentations and opportunities for members from across the University and Health System to share concerns and successes.

“Groups like this are a place where, collectively, we can put our voices together and talk about the issues that affect us,” said Duke Clinical Research Institute Financial Management Analyst and ME2 leadership team member Antonio Jones. “We can address issues in a meaningful way and promote the kind of growth at Duke that will make people want to stay.” 

By Stephen Schramm

ME2 Black Employee Resource Group

During a 2020 Duke University School of Medicine virtual town hall on systemic racism, Coral May, then Director of the School of Medicine’s Human Resources Shared Services Center, noted that while there were groups for the school’s Black faculty and students, none existed for staff.

After hearing the comment, Annise Weaver, Co-Director of the Duke Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences’ North Carolina Psychiatry Access Line, sent an email to May about initiatives that could elevate staff. Their discussions

ERGs and Affinity Groups

 Administrative Professionals Affinity Group

 A nti-racism ERG

 Asian American and Pacific Islander

 Blacktivate (DUHS only)

 DICE

(Disability Inclusion & Community Empowerment)

 Duke Advancing Latiné/ Hispanic Excellence

 Duke Military Association

 Duke MINDS (young professionals)

 Duke Moms

 Jewish ERG

 Juntos (DUHS only)

 LGBTQ+ Alliance

 ME 2 Black Employee Resource Group

 Muslim ERG

 Remote Work ERG

 S pecial Events Planners Council

 WeLEAD

(Women Executives: Learning, Empowering and Developing)

Among the regular activities of Duke’s Special Events Planners Council are group visits to potential vendors and events spaces. Photo courtesy: Special Events Planners Council.

ME2 Employee Resource Group members volunteer for community events such as the Bull City 5K. Photo courtesy: ME2

Get Expert Help on Your Retirement Savings Journey

Meet with a Fidelity adviser to reach your financial goals

When she was 18 years old, Allison Lewinski got a job brewing espressos and lattes at a department store near her home in Michigan. It didn’t mean much to her at the time, but her employer offered a 401(k) retirement plan and matched a portion of her contribution.

“I was like, ‘Why do I need this?’” Lewinski said. “I didn’t have a career to even retire from.”

At the urging of her mother, Lewinski enrolled in the plan and began contributing money toward a financial finish line several decades away.

Now in her early 40s, Lewinski, an Assistant Research Professor at Duke University School of Nursing, continues to save for retirement. The money she began saving as a teenager has since been rolled into her 403(b) Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan at Duke, where it continues to grow.

After making voluntary contributions since joining Duke’s faculty in 2020, Lewinski met with a Fidelity adviser assigned to Duke for the first time last year to gauge her progress toward a retirement when she can indulge her travel passion.

“I’m solidly on the path, which is comforting,” Lewinski said.

All exempt and non-exempt employees in the 403(b) Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan can schedule complimentary consultations with experts from Fidelity, the primary recordkeeper for Duke’s retirement plans. Meetings are conducted on Zoom, but in-person and phone options are available.

Since 2022, Fidelity Workplace Financial Consultant Yvette Mills has been helping new Duke employees set up their retirement fund and guides others close to retirement. Mills most often meets with employees, like Lewinski, who want to review the status of their savings.

“I meet with a lot of people who say, ‘I haven’t looked at my plan for the last few years, and maybe it’s time to review my investments and see if I’m on track,’” Mills said.

Fidelity recommends that you aim to save 15% of your pre-tax pay (including any employer match) each year of work, with the goal of saving enough to replace at least 45% of your pre-retirement income.

During consultations with Fidelity representatives, employees are invited to bring budgets and financial statements to create a full picture of income and expenses. Fidelity representatives use online calculators to input data, projecting the income employees will need in retirement and evaluating how well current savings align with goals.

With that information, employees can build budgets, change contribution amounts or alter investment strategies to meet retirement savings goals.

“What we want to do, more than anything else is to understand the goals you have and work out an actionable plan to get you there,” Mills said. 

By Stephen Schramm

Duke University School of Nursing Assistant Research Professor Allison Lewinski has been saving for her life after work, which she hopes will feature plenty of adventures like her recent trip to Costa Rica.

Photo courtesy: Allison Lewinski.

These age-based retirement benchmarks from Fidelity show how much money people should, under ideal circumstances, have saved up for retirement at different points in their carer to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. SOURCE: Fidelity Investments.

Walking the Walk

How a Duke couple turned group fitness into two decades of motivation and connection

An email arrived in Rama Arumugam’s inbox soon after she started working at Duke in 2000. It promised group fitness opportunities in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. She couldn’t wait to sign up.

Arumugam went to a Duke Run/Walk Club gathering on West Campus, not realizing it would be the start of a two-decade relationship with fitness programs run by Duke’s employee wellness program, LIVE FOR LIFE.

In 2003, Arumugam married Jayabalan Sundaravelu, known as Bala to his friends, and he began attending LIVE FOR LIFE group fitness outings, too.

For Arumugam, a Laboratory Research Analyst I in Psychiatry, it was a place to find motivation.

“I always loved group exercise rather than doing it by myself,” she said. “I would cheat a little if I am doing exercise by myself. But group exercise has really motivated me to keep going.”

For Sundaravelu, a Provider Support Associate in Pediatric Nephrology, the outings provided a chance to practice his English after moving from India, while also incorporating regular exercise into his daily routine.

“When I came here, I had lot of sleeping issues because of the time difference between here and India,” he said. “This exercise helped me a lot – getting the sleep without taking any medication.”

For the couple, LIVE FOR LIFE programs have been a constant at Duke, a dedicated way to make movement a priority.

“You can count on them,” said Debra Smith, a Staff Assistant with LIVE FOR LIFE. “If nobody else comes, they’ll be there. And it motivates me.”

Stop by any Duke Run/Walk Club gathering during the twice-yearly, 12-week programs, and you’ll see the couple walking the East Campus loop. They have attended in-person group strength classes, yoga and Pilates classes and climbed to the top of Duke University Chapel with LIVE FOR LIFE. Sundaravelu even adjusted his remote work schedule so that his athome days coincided with times when there were no on-campus LIVE FOR LIFE activities.

“Especially with this sedentary work lifestyle, sitting so long for eight hours looking at the computer – we need some motivation,” Sundaravelu said. “We need some physical exercise, fitness and motivation.”

Among the movement, they found community. Arumugam calls Smith one of her dearest friends at Duke. And both Arumugam and Sundaravelu took LIVE FOR LIFE fitness specialists to Lime & Lemon Indian Grill on Durham’s 9th Street in 2024 to thank them and introduce them to food from their culture.

“Their dedication and enthusiasm have not only enhanced their own health and well-being but have also been a tremendous source of inspiration to the Duke community around them,” said Carlos Velasquez, a LIVE FOR LIFE Fitness Specialist. “We couldn’t be more proud to have individuals like them leading by example, reminding us that with determination and support, a healthier, more vibrant community is possible.” 

By Jodie Valade

Jayabalan Sundaravelu, left, and Rama Arumugam, right, have been devoted participants in LIVE FOR LIFE’s fitness programs for more than 20 years. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Be you.

Inspiring Change, One Chapter at a Time

It wasn’t long into Leslye Kornegay’s career, which started as a housekeeper and quickly progressed to leadership positions in university facilities management, when she had an epiphany.

There were few people who looked like her in similar roles or in the senior positions she aspired to.

Black, female leaders in facilities in higher education at what Kornegay calls “PWI”s – Predominantly White Institutions – have been in short supply since she first started working at universities in the early 1990s.

“I’m a firm believer that if you set your mind to do something, you can do it,” said Kornegay, who has been Duke’s Executive Director for University Environmental Services and Facilities Management since 2016.

Kornegay has carved her own career path, which she recounts in her book “Leading to Change the World,” released in September 2024. The book is a lightly updated version of her 2012 Scholarly Personal Narrative, the culmination of her doctorate in education at University of Vermont.

The book describes how Kornegay worked her way up from a housekeeper position in Atlantic City, N.J., to become one of the few Black female facilities executives in the country while never losing sight of her greatest strength: connecting with people.

“As a leader, I have been able to sustain my leadership by learning how to construct a style that embraces who I am as a Black woman,” Kornegay says in her book. She added later: “In doing so, I have found my voice and learned to confront the racism and sexism that often challenge my path.”

Kornegay never aspired to work in housekeeping but was “steered toward it” after she graduated from high school in eastern North Carolina. After being passed over for promotions, she pursued and achieved both a bachelor’s

Be bold. Be the difference.

and master’s degree, and her drive to further her education became the foundation of her most valuable early lessons.

“Don’t let anybody set boundaries for you around what you can do,” she said. “Only you know what you can do.”

Kornegay’s natural leadership led to her position at Duke, where she oversees 300 employees and regularly inspires Housekeeping Operations Senior Manager Asia Hicks with her collaborative approach.

“When I see someone in a position such as that, it allows me to know that the more you strive and the harder you work, that you’re able to reach that mountaintop,” Hicks said. “She just kind of defies the odds.”

That’s what Kornegay has been striving to do since she first started her career. And that’s something she hopes she can inspire others to do at Duke.

“Duke has welcomed a strong, Black female leader,” Kornegay said. “While the university has a reputation for hiring top talent, there’s still more to do. There’s always room for growth, and I believe the organization recognizes that.” 

By Jodie Valade

EXTRA: Watch a video with Leslye Kornegay on our YouTube channel – and subscribe.

Leslye Kornegay’s book “Leading to Change the World” chronicles the career path that led to her position as Duke’s Executive Director for Environmental Services and Facilities Management. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Carnegie Hall to Duke From

Enjoy acclaimed performances at a discount from Duke Arts Presents

Attending performance arts of all kinds at Duke is a benefit Shana McAlexander thoroughly embraces. But she never thought of herself as a huge advocate for the arts at large until she really pondered her connection to Duke Arts Presents.

When the Duke Arts Presents’ 2024-25 season brochure arrived, she went through every page and tore out the ones that included events she wanted to attend. Dance performances of all kinds and powerful Japanese drumming were among the scraps of paper she severed from the booklet and saved as reminders.

Without conscious thought, McAlexander, an Assistant Research Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, had made a vision board of everything she desired.

“There’s just so many resources here at Duke, sometimes it’s actually kind of overwhelming how many cool things we can go to,” McAlexander said.

McAlexander often uses the 25% discount for staff and faculty through Duke Arts Presents to purchase more than one ticket – and decides later whom she will bring with her to the performances.

Duke Arts’ Director of Programming Aaron Shackelford said support and involvement from Duke community members is vital.

“A lot of the work we bring in is with an eye toward both engaging with the ideas and the work that’s happening at Duke as well as opportunities to bring our community together,” Shackelford said.

For the 2024-25 season, programming is varied and powerful. Pianist Michelle Cann performs Feb. 21 with “The Women of Chicago’s Black Renaissance,” a program that pairs Cann’s renditions of works with spoken commentary.

A comedic puppet show called “Bill’s 44th” runs from Feb. 28 to March 2 and addresses themes of impatience and loneliness.

And Kodo One Earth Tour 2025: Warabe is a taiko drumming troupe that performs March 23 – and is one of the performances McAlexander highlighted to see.

“I think it’s a false stereotype that engineers aren’t connected to their creative side because it’s such a big part of design. And I want to encourage all of our engineering folks to take advantage,” said McAlexander, whose research interests include STEM education and representation in science and engineering careers.

And to explore art at all levels on campus at a discount is a treasure, she said.

“You’re not going to see these artists for these prices in New York,” Shackelford said. “It’s a real benefit of working at Duke to have this access to these artists. A number of these artists are coming straight from places like Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall to Duke. That’s a real benefit as a staff member or a faculty member to get to see these artists at these prices right in your own backyard.” 

By Jodie Valade

Thomanerchor Leipzig

Photo by Philipp Kirschner

Kodo

Photo by Takashi Okamoto

Michelle Cann

Photo by Titilayo Ayangade