Welcome to Duke amidst COVID-19
Staff and faculty hired during the pandemic reflect Duke’s priorities and future
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n his first day at Duke, Demah Payne III arrived at the heart of West Campus to pick up his laptop, meet with human resources and see his office in the Student Wellness Center. Throughout his visit, the building, like the rest of campus, looked like a ghost town. “It was kind of like your typical first day, just without people. It was eerie,” said Payne, a licensed clinical mental health counselor and referral and case management liaison in Counseling & Psychological Services in Student Affairs. Payne’s first day at work last October came amid the pandemic, and in the following months, he continued an unorthodox introduction to Duke, building relationships with students and colleagues over video conference calls. As the spring semester closed, he still hadn’t met many coworkers in person. Payne’s story isn’t unique as Duke University and Duke University Health System welcomed around 5,100 new staff and faculty between March 2020 and March 2021. Roughly 90 percent of the hires went to work in the Health System, where COVID-19 vaccination clinics, enhanced screening and safety protocols, and three major hospital additions required more team members. The University’s new employees enhanced resources in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and created a more diverse network of staff and faculty to support core missions. “While we weren’t hiring at the same pace that we normally would, we really focused on strategic areas that the University wanted to move forward,” said Duke University Provost Sally Kornbluth. The addition of Payne, who earned a Ph.D. in counseling and counselor education and supports students with concerns such as depression and anxiety, reflects Duke’s commitment to student well-being. He also adds to the diversity of counselors who remain sensitive to the cultural and individual complexity of the community. “If we want students to feel comfortable, we have to make sure we have counselors that represent the identities that they may have,” Payne said. The new colleagues tell a broad story of where Duke is now, and where it’s going.
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WORKING@DUKE
After joining Counseling & Psychological Services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Demah Payne III built relationships with colleagues and students through Zoom.
