February/March 2012 Working@Duke by Working Duke

WORKING@DUKE n NEWS YOU CAN USE n Volume 7, Issue 1 n February/March 2012

INSIDE

Mediation Restores Relationships Hobbies By Night Tips For Managing Priorities

Social Media Use Growing at Duke More than 100 official social media channels engage Duke community and beyond

Editor’s Note

Contents

LEANORA MINAI Leanora.Minai@duke.edu

Cover: Social Media Use Growing at Duke

didn’t make New Year’s resolutions. Instead, I picked three words to sum up my focus in 2012. I decided to go with words instead of resolutions after learning about the exercise from Chris Brogan, whom I follow on Twitter. Brogan is a CEO, publisher, speaker and trainer who specializes in social media marketing, content creation and content marketing. He wrote about selecting three words for the coming year in his Dec. 27 newsletter. “The goal is that you think long and hard about what these words will mean for you, how you can sum up an entire PERSPECTIVE into these words, and how you can use them as guideposts for your actions in the coming year,” Brogan wrote. “Move” is one of my words. I selected this verb to illustrate what I want to do more of this year – literally, move my body more. I’m already fairly active. I pick longer trails for hikes, and I’m running a half-marathon on April 1. But my word involves moving off old habits and making small ‘moves’ or decisions to better direct my day, particularly in the area of making exercise happen more often. I climb the stairs instead of riding an elevator. I park farther away instead of waiting for a spot near a building. And I’ve started moving earlier in the day; I rise at 5 a.m. on weekdays to walk or run. The result is a marked increase in my energy level. My word also fits nicely with a competition now underway at Duke, the “Get Moving Challenge.” This employee fitness competition kicked off Jan. 23 with 2,257 employees on 242 teams vying to see who can walk the most steps, exercise the most minutes and lose the most weight. I’m participating in the competition as a member of the “Run On, Sentences” team in the Office of Communication Services, which produces this publication. If you’re looking to move more this year, there are many ways to get started through Duke’s employee programs, most of which are free. Inside this issue alone, we offer two examples – Duke’s Run/ Walk Club (page 11) and Take The Stairs (page 13). And if you’re like me, select one word to better focus your resolve to move more in 2012.

Working@Duke

Staff, faculty and departments are experimenting with social media channels and finding impressive success in using Social Media to enhance professional reputation, expand research and interact in real-time.

Mediation Restores Work Relationships Duke offers a voluntary and confidential mediation program that helps parties resolve a range of conflicts that affect productivity.

Duke By Day, Hobbies By Night Across Duke, staff and faculty find a balance between work and life through their love of hobbies.

10 11 12 15

Personal safety tips for spring Registration underway for Duke Run/Walk Club Career Tools: Tips for managing multiple priorities Join the “Green Devil Smackdown” competition

2011, 2009, 2008, 2007 Gold Medal, Internal Periodical Staff Writing 2009, 2007 Bronze Medal, Print Internal Audience Tabloids/Newsletters

This paper consists of 30% recycled post-consumer fiber. Please recycle after reading.

Cover: The illustration on the cover includes a photo of the statue of James B. Duke on West Campus. The photo and illustration were created by Paul Figuerado, graphic designer for the Office of Communication Services.

Briefly

Sharpen skills with low-cost learning

DukeWell seminars address common health issues Do you want to manage stress, simplify your life or learn more about healthy eating? Duke experts will address these and other common issues as part of a yearlong series of free seminars sponsored by DukeWell, Duke’s health improvement program. The next three seminars are 5:30 to 7 p.m. Feb. 16, March 15 and April 5 at the Center for Living Campus on Erwin Road in Durham. Details and registration information are at dukewell.org.

Duke’s Learning & Organization Development will offer 93 computer technology, management development and work skills classes through June. The courses cover 52 topics with costs ranging from $49 for a two-hour computer course to $399 for a three-day “Access Boot Camp.” The management development and work skills courses range from $55 to $125. Now that Duke has a site license for Microsoft Office 2010, the newer software instruction will replace classes on Microsoft Office 2007. The full list of courses is available at hr.duke.edu/training.

Nominate co-workers for Presidential Awards by Feb. 17 Feb. 17 is the deadline to nominate colleagues for the Presidential Awards, the highest recognition given to faculty and staff at Duke. Five Presidential Award winners and up to 25 Meritorious Award winners are selected to recognize distinctive contributions in 2011 at Duke University and Duke University Health System. The nomination process is a powerful act of recognition, said Gregory Dye, operations manager at the Duke Lemur Center. He nominated Wes Phillips for the 2010 Presidential Award for his maintenance work, including the design and creation of two cage complexes that provide the necessary environment for breeding mouse lemurs. “For us, the Presidential Award was the best way to publicly recognize Wes’s contributions,” Dye said. “Even if he hadn’t won, we were going to give him all of the letters of support because they clearly show how much we appreciate his work.” Winners receive $1,000 for the Presidential Award and $100 for the Meritorious Award. Nomination forms are at hr.duke.edu/presidential.

Get help filing income taxes at no charge Duke employees who earn less than $22,000 for a onemember household or less than $49,000 for a family of five are eligible for tax preparation services at no charge through Duke Law School’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). VITA volunteers will be at the Duke Credit Union at Erwin Square Plaza from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 3, 10 and 24; March 16, 23 and 30; and April 6. Call (919) 6846704 to make an appointment. Last year, the VITA student organization completed more than 270 returns, and clients received more than $240,000 in tax credits, said Kim Burrucker, director of public interest and pro bono for Duke Law and administrative advisor for the VITA program. “Since VITA doesn’t charge for tax preparation, employees get to keep all the money that is saved through tax deductions, tax credits and higher refunds,” she said. For more information, visit law.duke.edu/student/act/vita.

Open house for new Cancer Center Duke faculty, staff and students are invited to an open house and guided tour of Duke’s new sevenstory Cancer Center from 4 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 21. The 267,000square-feet building brings together most of the services cancer patients need into one location and will allow the Duke Cancer Institute to more fully integrate cancer care and clinical research. The first patients are expected to use the new facility beginning Feb. 27. To celebrate the center’s opening, Duke will also sponsor a Scientific Symposium and Chancellor’s Lecture on Feb. 22 at the Searle Center. For more information about the Cancer Center, visit dukecancerinstitute.org.

today.duke.edu/working

Cover Story

Dave Bradley, Duke basketball's recruiting/communications coordinator, uses Twitter, YouTube and other channels to engage fans.

Social Media Use Growing at Duke More than 100 official social media channels engage Duke community and beyond

hen August Burns wants to learn about colleagues and get the latest news about benefits and resources at Duke, she checks the “Working@Duke” Facebook page. Burns, who has used Facebook for about three years, plans to start following the “WorkingatDuke” Twitter feed too. “Social media is the best way to keep track of what’s going on right now,” said Burns, business manager for the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics in the Pratt School of Engineering. “With so many of us on these sites, tools like Facebook and Twitter are a great way to share information and be a resource for each other.” As employees experiment with social media channels, departments and schools like Athletics and the Fuqua School of Business are finding impressive success in using social media to enhance professional reputation, expand research and scholarly contacts and interact in real-time. Duke has more than 100 official school Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as sites on YouTube, iTunesU, Foursquare and Flickr. According to a survey of Duke faculty and staff last year, Facebook is the most widely used social network (61 percent), 4

Working@Duke

According to an internal communications survey of Duke faculty and staff last year, Facebook is the most widely used social network. This mirrors national statistics on social media use.

followed by YouTube (32 percent), LinkedIn (23 percent) and Twitter (11 percent). Those numbers mirror national statistics on social media use, according to the Pew Research Center.

“Everyone on campus is trying to figure it out,” said Cara Rousseau, Duke’s social media manager. “They’re trying to connect with different audiences, but it can be really challenging to tell what will click on different channels, and the landscape is changing all the time.” Rousseau has met with dozens of Duke departments to offer guidance on social media best practices. She recently led a workshop with about a dozen event planners from across Duke on social media basics like Everyone on creating accounts and campus is sharing content. Still, some faculty trying to figure it out. and staff are reluctant to They’re trying to venture into social media channels, concerned that connect with different learning the new audiences…” technology won’t be worth — Cara Rousseau, Duke’s social the time investment, said Mark Anthony Neal, media manager a professor of African and African-American studies at Duke. “They think it’s superficial and a waste of time,” said Neal, whose New Black Man blog draws about 62,000 hits per month. “I tell my colleagues, ‘This is the same way you felt about email 15 years ago.’ It’s time-consuming, but most folks have successfully integrated it into their workflow. This is an effective way to communicate and interact with students and former students in creative, nontraditional ways.” Neal has his own web show “Left of Black” and about 9,000 Twitter followers and 3,000 Facebook friends. He said there is a clear connection between social media and Duke’s academic mission. “We can write the greatest books, but they will only remain among the audience of the scholarly community,” Neal said. “Social media is a critical tool to show the vitality of the work we do, to function as an academic and also engage with audiences outside the academy. I’d say about 70 percent of what I do on social media is teaching. It’s perfectly in sync with Duke’s mission of knowledge in the service of society.”

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Enhancing Duke’s reputation Athletics overhauled its social media presence last year, launching Twitter accounts for all of its programs. In addition, GoDuke.com put together a social media landing page to allow fans to see Twitter feeds from Duke’s official athletics website.

This photo of children at the Emily K Center in Durham spells out “903.” It was among hundreds of submissions from Blue Devil fans as part of the “Show Us How You 903” social media contest, sponsored by Duke Athletics. The contest celebrated men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's record 903rd win.

Social media is a natural way to connect with fans and recruits and to humanize the Duke brand, said Dave Bradley, Duke basketball’s recruiting/communications coordinator. Bradley has netted more than 800,000 views on YouTube with the viral “Buckets 2.0” video, showcasing trick shots by basketball player Kyle Singler. He also worked on the “Show Us How You 903” contest, sponsored by Duke Athletics, which collected hundreds of online submissions from Blue Devil fans celebrating men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s record 903rd win. “For many of our student-athletes and fans, Twitter has become a primary means of communication,” Bradley said. “There is a great synergy there for Duke because our athletes are engaging and dynamic. And we have unbelievable fans all over the world. Social media can then help bring together the Blue Devil community and provide new opportunities to advance the Duke brand.” The Fuqua School of Business also is looking to students and alumni as “brand ambassadors” through social media. A recent effort involved an online game: a virtual “Campout,” a take-off on the real campout undertaken each year by Duke graduate students hoping to score coveted men’s basketball tickets. The game challenged students and alumni to earn “participation points” (used for prizes) by “liking” a page on Facebook, sharing faculty research with their networks and other tasks to promote the school’s brand. The three-week campaign last summer marshaled nearly 800 Fuqua alumni and students to take 11,000 actions to volunteer for, learn about or support the school. “People won’t spend five hours reading your bulletin or brochures, but if you make it a game and give them points, they’ll do it,” said Elizabeth Hogan, Fuqua’s assistant dean for marketing. Fuqua is now exploring ways to share the platform with other schools and departments at Duke, she said. “Social media is an experiment. Nobody knows what’s going to happen,” Hogan said. “Some institutions want to control the message and be all buttoned up with what they say. You need to be OK with a different tone and focus not on what you’re telling them but on encouraging them to talk to you and to each other. It requires thinking in a different way.” For Alumni Affairs, one of the most important social media tools is LinkedIn, where Duke’s group has grown to more than 16,000 members. While Facebook is useful for promoting events or sharing “fun” tidbits, LinkedIn posts often generate intense discussion on sports, jobs, research and other issues, said Jon Goldstein, executive director of marketing and communications. His approach: let the conversations grow by themselves and sometimes seed the group with topics based on Duke research and news. “The best way to build community is through content,” Goldstein said. “And where better to be than Duke, where we have really interesting content all the time, from science and art to government, history and the environment. We’re having more conversations now than we were in the past because we have new ways to talk to one another.” >> continued on page 6 today.duke.edu/working

Connecting the workforce Community building is occurring on social media channels managed by Duke’s employee communications team, too. Since launching its Facebook account [facebook.com/workingatduke], Working@Duke has grown to more than 2,100 members. Its Twitter stream [twitter.com/WorkingatDuke] is also growing steadily. And late last year, Working@Duke created a LinkedIn group to stimulate professional discussion among Duke staff and faculty on topics such as career development and email practices. “Communicating to a workforce of 34,000 through traditional media can feel impersonal, but social media gives people a face and a voice and allows for a more direct and personal interaction,” said Paul Grantham, assistant vice president for communication services. “This type of exchange fosters an environment of mutual respect, trust and collaboration – the foundation for a strong community.” Rousseau, Duke’s social media manager, frequently fields inquiries from Duke units interested in learning more about social media. August Burns and Mary Lindsley recently attended the workshop Rousseau led for event planners. Their group, the Duke Special Event Planners Council, plans to use Twitter and a new blog to interact with vendors and share tips like how to run a “green” event. “We’re still learning how we can do it so it works best for us, but it’s a must-do as more people join these social networks in order to improve the work they do,” said Lindsley, chair of the council’s social media and web committee and event manager at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Social media also helps Lindsley feel more connected to faculty research at Sanford and more a part of the larger Duke community. “It helps me learn more about how much we’re engaged in the world and the issues of the day,” she said, “and that helps me be a happier, more fulfilled employee.”

Duke Joins 300 Million Using Weibo in China

ashtags. Retweets. DMs. If you think Twitter is confusing in English, try it in Chinese. That’s the challenge facing Laura Brinn, Duke’s director of global communications. “Duke has been a leader in terms of social media in higher education, but for some audiences we want to reach, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn aren’t the most-used social media channels or might not be available at all,” Brinn said. In China, where Twitter is blocked, more than 300 million people use the microblogging portal Weibo. Millions more use Youku, China’s YouTube equivalent. With more students coming to Duke each year from China than any other country outside the United States and a significant alumni population in China, Duke has set up an account on Weibo and is the process of setting up an account on Youku. “Just like we’ve had to do at Duke, we’re figuring out what people respond to and like,” Brinn said. “Is that different in China? We don’t know yet. We’re still learning.”

BY CARA BONNETT

Tips For Connecting With Social Media At Duke Connect

on LinkedIn. It’s a powerful professional resource where you can join networking groups, link to leaders in your field and build your portfolio of work. Join the “Working@Duke” LinkedIn group at j.mp/workinglinkedin.

Network

on Twitter. Every week, pick one person you’d like to know professionally and engage by listening to, retweeting and mentioning this person. Follow news about working at Duke at twitter.com/WorkingatDuke.

Working@Duke

go online

Keep

up to date by reading blogs. Know what leading experts are thinking and what practitioners are doing by reading their blogs using a resource like technorati.com.

Attend

an event or conference remotely. Many conferences have “live streaming” and use Twitter so you can follow proceedings from your own desk.

Attend

webinars and enhance your skills by watching a video. Duke offers free access to Lynda.com, a great resource for these tutorials.

For additional information about social media at Duke, visit socialmedia.duke.edu

Duke mediation program helps restore working relationships

wo co-workers have a strong so they can have a more productive workplace.” disagreement and stop talking The mediation program, an alternative to each other. They resort to to Duke’s formal dispute resolution process, working around one another begins by confirming that all parties coming instead of with each other. The conflict in their work relationship is causing delays in services and distractions among co-workers. What do they do? Mediation helps In this case, the Duke employees sought assistance employees find through a mediation program solutions so they can offered through Staff and Labor Relations to help staff discuss and have a more productive resolve work-related conflict. workplace.” One of the employees who participated in mediation discovered — Dexter Nolley, director of Staff and that it was a powerful way to Labor Relations and co-coordinator understand how actions and of the mediation program assumptions can fuel conflict. “My co-worker and I didn’t to the first meeting are doing so voluntarily. become fast friends, but we learned to pass Participants are reminded that the along necessary information unclouded by mediation process is confidential. A report all that extra emotion,” the employee said is not provided to a supervisor or placed in in an interview with Working@Duke. “It a personnel file. made coming to work a whole lot easier.” Mediators are Duke volunteers who The mediation program, which is complete at least 20 hours of mediation voluntary, helps parties resolve a range of training. Currently, the program has 14 disputes, such as disagreements over work volunteers, who have served up to 40 expectations or personality conflicts that mediation participants a year. impact work productivity, said Dexter Lesa Morrison, a research fellow at the Nolley, director of Staff and Labor Relations Social Science Research Institute, has and co-coordinator of the mediation mediated at Duke for more than five years. program, along with Diane Owens. She starts each session by asking “Unresolved conflicts make everyday participants if they are willing to listen to interactions difficult,” Nolley said. each other without interrupting. “Mediation helps employees find solutions

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“That can be incredibly difficult to do when you are in conflict,” she said. “I offer paper so they can jot down notes.” The process continues with identifying issues. Mediators help participants share their experiences. Once participants become clear about needs, mediators can help them explore ways to resolve the conflict. “My job isn’t to provide a solution,” Morrison said. “It is simply to provide an open environment where employees can productively talk.” The mediation process ends when the participants can mutually agree on next steps to resolve or reduce the conflict and its impact on the work environment. Nolley said most participants reach this point in one or two, two-hour sessions. Used effectively, Nolley said, mediation helps individuals and departments meet business needs by minimizing workplace distractions. “The mediation sessions help participants remember and use conflict resolutions skills that are easily replicated in their current or future workplace,” he said.” BY MARSHA A. GREEN

More Info For more information about the mediation program or if you would like to participate on the mediation team, contact Staff and Labor Relations at (919) 684-5557. today.duke.edu/working

Duke By Day, Hobbies By Night

STRIKING BALANCE BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE

hether it’s helping horses, making jewelry or writing, hobbies offer an escape from everyday stresses of life, and hobbies can be beneficial in developing a healthy work-life balance. “People talk about good stress and bad stress, and it’s bad stress that typically offers a sense that somehow we’re overwhelmed with what we have to do,” said Jeff Brantley, director of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program at Duke Integrative Medicine. “Good stress usually means we’re doing something that we enjoy, like a hobby.” Across Duke, many faculty and staff find that “good stress” balance through their love of hobbies.

No horsing around While Leandi Kruger has ridden horses for 23 years, it’s her most recent efforts with the animals that have lasting impressions. Kruger, a lab research analyst with the Division of Gastroenterology, has worked to retrain race horses for show competitions and adoption, saving animals that might otherwise go to slaughter. “It’s fun, reduces my stress and even a bad day with the horses is better than a hard day at work,” said Kruger, who spends four or five days a week working with horses. “Knowing I’ve saved just one horse is a wonderful feeling.” In the past 13 years, Kruger has worked with eight horses, which she buys at discount or adopts for no charge from trainers at Churchill Downs in Kentucky or Penn National Race Course in Pennsylvania. Costs of saving a thoroughbred horse are as high as $2,000. Kruger saves money by boarding horses at Theyland Barn, a co-op stable in Raleigh, where participants volunteer time feeding horses and cleaning stables in exchange for boarding their horses. She makes up for the costs by competing in horse shows. Each horse takes about two years to retrain. The first year is spent getting the animals used to actions unrelated to racing like knowing that when a rider pulls back on the reins, it means to slow down. Horses are then taught to understand steering and leg pressure moves while riding. The second year is used to work on performances like jumping over fences. Kruger currently works with Diva and Aly, two thoroughbreds that compete in horse shows around the Triangle. “It’s very rewarding to see the horses come from a high-stress life of racing and helping them find good homes,” she said. “I just want them to have a good life.”

Working@Duke

Leandi Kruger, a lab research analyst at Duke, trains a former race horse, Paxton, to jump over a fence. Kruger has retrained race horses to be adopted by others.

Getting crafty

A passion project

During a vacation to Prince Edward Island, Canada, Karen Newbery came across a merchant selling handmade jewelry, but the prices of the impressive pieces were too much. So, she decided to try making jewelry herself. After returning home, she took a class at Rare Earth Beads, a craft store in Durham. “I feel like I’ve always had some kind of hobby where I make things like cross-stitching or scrapbooking,” said Newbery, an integrated library systems analyst with Duke Libraries’ Discovery and Core Services department. “I felt like I could increase the quality of jewelry I saw and even put my own spin on it.” Since that 2010 trip, Newbery has made dozens of pieces of jewelry, including earrings and necklaces, which take up to Karen Newbery, an integrated library systems analyst 90 minutes to create, at Duke, shows off one of the many handmade depending on necklaces she creates. materials. Her most expensive pieces made with silver links or semi-precious stones rarely cost more than $50.The average cost of making a necklace with a string of fresh water pearls is less than $15. “It makes for great gifts,” Newbery said. “Last Christmas, I made gifts for my family members. I’ll look on blogs and online stores for inspiration and then make my own version of what I find.” Newbery said it doesn’t take special skills to make jewelry – just concentration and practice. It can be as simple as stringing beads onto wires of silver, gold or copper, for example, and attaching a clasp to close the piece. The hobby also makes for good family time. “My 6-year old son, Alexander, enjoys going to bead stores with me and helping me pick things out,” Newbery said. “I try to instill appreciation for crafting and hand making things because it’s important for everyone to understand the time and effort that goes into handmade items.”

William Falls Jr.’s wife, Lorilee, was diagnosed with endometrial cancer of her uterus in 2001. After three hard-fought years, she died in 2004. In between, Falls did a lot of writing. “It was such an emotional roller coaster that I needed an outlet, so I was throwing my thoughts onto my computer and taking notes,” said Falls, a staff specialist in the School of Nursing. “I was able to write down what was on my mind, and it helped me realize that while I felt like the world was going crazy, it was still a normal day on Earth and other people were going through the exact same thing.” After collecting his thoughts and notes, Falls set out to write a memoir about the time spent coping with his wife’s cancer. He’s yet to finish a manuscript, but said it currently sits at about 300 pages and tells the story from the start of Lorilee’s diagnosis through her death. Falls said the hardest part of writing the book was recounting the final two weeks of his wife’s life. “Everything flowed pretty well from the beginning, but once I got to a point near her death my writing came to a complete stop,” he said.

William Falls Jr., a staff specialist in the School of Nursing, poses with his late wife, Lorilee, in this 1995 photo. When Lorilee was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, Falls began writing a memoir about coping with his wife’s illness.

Once a final draft is complete, Falls plans to self-publish the book and distribute it to family, friends or anyone else who might find it inspirational to their life. “I don’t want to get anything out of it, but I hope it could help someone else who goes through what I did,” said Falls, who works on his writing as often as his emotions allow. “I wrote short stories and took creative writing classes in school, but I’ve never done anything like this.” BY BRYAN ROTH

today.duke.edu/working

Police offer personal safety tips for spring

ith the first day of spring on March 20, officers with the Duke University Police Department want Duke community members to keep property safety in mind. Vehicle break-ins at Duke and elsewhere tend to rise with the temperature, said Eric Hester, crime prevention officer with the Duke Police. In 2011, about one-third of roughly 95 vehicle break-ins occurred during February, March and April. To prevent break-ins, Hester suggested rolling up windows, locking doors and removing stereo faceplates, GPS units and other valuables from view. “Crime prevention is about attitudes and behaviors we develop not only for how we prevent a crime from occurring, but how we establish an environment where a criminal doesn’t feel comfortable,” Hester said. “That’s when safety becomes a shared responsibility.” Use these tips to stay safe and protect personal property:

Take

Five

Tips for work and life

1 Property safety Most campus crime involves property thefts that are usually crimes of opportunity. Duke community members should stow or secure electronics like laptops and avoid leaving keys in doors or propping exterior doors. The Duke University Police Department offers a free engraving service to personally mark electronic devices like iPods and laptops.

2 Personal safety A key component of personal safety is to be aware of surroundings. Hester suggested making eye contact with others while walking around campus. If a crime occurred, he explained, witnesses can provide a detailed description of what happened and who was involved. Community members should report threats of violence, stalking or concerning behavior, he said. “If you see people in work areas that don’t belong or aren’t recognizable, don’t hesitate to call us,” Hester said.

Eric Hester, crime prevention officer with the Duke University Police Department, engraves the back of an iPod. Free engraving services are provided to the Duke community.

3 Use Duke Vans Duke provides free transportation from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. to employees and students in specified service areas when Duke buses aren’t running. Rides are provided to and from any Duke campus facility that is open for use at the time of the ride request by calling (919) 684-2020.

4 Stay informed Duke community members can get crime statistics and safety information at the Duke University Police Department website. Hester encouraged community members to familiarize themselves with emergency procedures and register their mobile phone number to receive emergency text messages sent through the DukeALERT system at emergency.duke.edu.

5 Keep a preventive mindset Hester said creating a culture of safety is about being proactive instead of reactive. “A lot of times it’s as simple as following a gut feeling if something seems wrong,” he said. “If there’s something you think needs to be checked on or reported, report it.” “Take Five” is an ongoing series that provides Duke staff and faculty with tips to enhance their work and personal lives. BY BRYAN ROTH

Working@Duke

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Visit duke.edu/police to learn more about safety resources

Registration underway for

Duke’s Run/Walk Club Beth Doyle, left, competes in Duke’s annual Pumpkin Fun Run in November 2011. Doyle used LIVE FOR LIFE’s Run/Walk Club to prepare for the race, her first 5K event.

or Beth Doyle, making a New Year’s resolution was easy in 2011. She wanted to complete her first 5K race but reaching that goal was tougher than she anticipated. After months of training on her own, she joined Duke’s Run/Walk Club, a twicea-week gathering to exercise with faculty and staff. Doyle found the motivation to achieve her goal in 2011 when she finished Duke’s Pumpkin Fun Run in 42 minutes. “I used to get out of breath from climbing two flights of stairs,” said Doyle, head of conservation services for Duke Libraries. “Joining Run/Walk was a great way to ease into exercise because everyone in the group is great and you don’t need any equipment or a membership. You just show up.” Registration for the 12-week Run/Walk Club is now underway for the session that runs March 12 through May 30. Last year, about 720 total faculty and staff participated in the fall and spring sessions of the club, which is sponsored by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program. The club meets from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Monday and Wednesday. Walkers and beginning runners meet at the East Campus

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wall, across from Whole Foods on Broad Street; more advanced runners meet in front of Wallace Wade Stadium. At each location, participants form groups according to fitness level and follow clearly laid out plans to help participants improve fitness and lower stress. “The important part of our efforts with the Run/Walk Club is that we offer something for everyone, whether they’re training for a 5K or a marathon,” said Liz Grabosky, fitness manager with LIVE FOR LIFE. “Our aspiration is to help anyone who joins our group work toward achieving their fitness and health goals.”

That’s what happened with Aurea Gagliardotto, who didn’t exercise regularly and never thought of herself as a runner. She didn’t think the group was right for her until she decided to give it a try in March 2011 at the suggestion of a friend. “The first time I ran with the group I felt like such a fish out of water,” said Gagliardotto, a staff assistant in the Duke Clinical Research Institute’s Office of Cardiovascular Research. “Now I can run for 20 to 25 minutes straight, and I think it’s the best exercise I’ve ever done.” BY BRYAN ROTH

Spring Into Shape The Run/Walk Club will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Monday and Wednesday from March 12 to May 30. Walkers and beginning runners meet at the East Campus wall, across from Whole Foods on Broad Street; more advanced runners meet in front of Wallace Wade Stadium. Groups also meet from 5 to 6 p.m. at Durham Regional and Duke Raleigh hospitals. The club is free of charge.

today.duke.edu/working

Career Tools: Tips for managing multiple priorities

racyene Charles, a library assistant at Perkins Library, sometimes finds herself balancing three or four competing projects at once. “I have one supervisor, one boss, and four other people who have input on how I spend my time,” she said. “Sometimes, everything seems to come due at once.” Sound familiar? If you find yourself juggling multiple projects at the same time, one of Duke’s professional development classes may offer a roadmap for managing deadlines. “Managing Multiple Priorities” is a day-long, $99 course that provides a variety of tactics for allotting time and priorities. “Employees want to know how to make life easier, please their bosses and get the work done,” said Kathryn Helene, an instructor with Duke’s Learning and Organization Development, who teaches the class. “The best way to do that is to learn to control the work, rather than letting it control you.” Here’s a sampling of some tips from Helene:

Divide time wisely To help class participants consider how they spend time, Helene uses a graphic popularized by Stephen Covey, author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective 12

Working@Duke

People.” Divide a paper into four quadrants and place tasks from a typical day within the areas: 1. Work that is important and urgent 2. Work that is important but not urgent 3. Work that is urgent but not as important 4. Work that is neither urgent nor that important Helene said the ideal is to spend 80 percent of time on tasks that are important but not yet urgent. “Don’t automatically start working on a new task the moment it is handed to you,” she said. “Think about where it belongs.”

Create a planning system Helene keeps a “to do” system of multicolored Post-it notes on notebooks, her telephone and steering wheel. She advises participants to find a way of capturing tasks that suits them. Paper or online calendars, notepads or smartphones are all ways to maintain to-do lists, she said. “The key is to find a system that works for you and stick to it,” she said. Charles left the class determined to make a weekly, monthly and yearly schedule of tasks and post them on a calendar. “If the tasks are on my calendar, where I can see them, it will be harder for me to procrastinate,” she said. “And I’m also going

to ask a colleague to remind me about the calendar to provide extra motivation to stick with it.”

Concentrate on one task at a time When too many tasks end up as both urgent and important, focus on one item at a time, but break the task into smaller chunks with reasonable stopping points. “Multi-tasking is a myth,” Helene said. “When you rapidly switch attention from one project to another, you lose energy, concentration and focus.” Working on one project until you reach a logical stopping point gives a sense of accomplishment and makes it easier to pick the task up again after an interruption, she said. “Career Tools” is a series of articles with tips and tools for professional development at Duke. BY MARSHA A. GREEN

Taking The Class The next “Managing Multiple Priorities” classes are March 8 and June 13. Learn more:

hr.duke.edu/training

Climbing stairs to lose weight and get fit

regory Minor kept a steady pace as he climbed the Davison Building stairs. Reaching the seventh floor, he took a deep breath, grabbed the handrail and headed down. Nearly 130 steps later, he stood in the basement, where he had started his workout 15 minutes earlier. “I see my results, and it makes me feel good,” said Minor, a housekeeper in the Duke Clinic building. By climbing stairs twice daily through a stair-climbing program with LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, Minor lost 80 pounds in 18 months. He swapped 52-inch waist pants for 42-inch waist pants and dropped three sizes in shirts. He’s one of about 400 employees tracking stairs they climb each day – both up and down – as part of Take The Stairs, a program to encourage more daily movement. The year-round, start-any-time program replaced StairWELL to Health. “It’s a great way to build physical activity into everyday living without having to purchase any special equipment,” said Liz Grabosky, LIVE FOR LIFE fitness manager. After registering for Take The Stairs, participants receive an electronic or paper log sheet. As participants reach certain predefined goals, they turn in log sheets for prizes. To help participants understand how stairs add up, the goals are based on equivalent distances one might train to walk or run. “You start with a mile and work toward a marathon,” Grabosky said. Bob Baldwin, a clinical data specialist at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, wants to climb up and down 500 steps a day to complete the half-marathon level of 26,200 steps. He climbs up and down 111 steps to his office on the fifth floor of the North Pavilion building at least three times a day. “I still work out in the evenings, but Take The Stairs encourages me to stay active all day,” he said. Watch a video about Take The Stairs at j.mp/takethestairsvideo

“

If people started taking the steps instead of the elevator, they’d be surprised at what can happen.” — Gregory Minor, Duke Clinic housekeeper

Gregory Minor has dropped 10 inches from his waist by incorporating stair climbing into his daily exercise routine.

Minor, the housekeeper, set a personal goal of climbing the 127 steps in the Davison Building each day until he can tighten his belt another four inches. “From 52 down to 38. That would be a big change, but I know I can do it,” Minor said. “If people started taking the steps instead of the elevator, they’d be surprised at what can happen.” BY MARSHA A. GREEN

Get Climbing Take The Stairs is a year-round, start-any-time program that encourages more daily movement. LIVE FOR LIFE, the Duke employee wellness program, provides workout plans to map an increase in the number of steps to complete the one-mile level in one month and the marathon level in six months. Register at hr.duke.edu/takethestairs or visit the LIVE FOR LIFE office on the lower level of Duke Clinic (Duke South) in the Red Zone.

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PERQS employee discounts

Sweet savings on Valentine’s Day gifts

he average person in the U.S. spends approximately $116 on loved ones on Valentine’s Day, according to a survey in 2011 by the National Retail Federation. Duke staff and faculty can celebrate on Feb. 14 with special savings on gifts through PERQS, Duke’s employee discount program. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Sweet Treats, Delivered Veronica Yoshida of Southern Gold Leaf Cakes in Durham will bake and deliver made-from-scratch treats such as heart-shaped cookies, cupcakes, cake pops and cakes in a cup. Be sure to call ahead to check availability and arrange delivery. Duke employees receive a 10 percent discount on all orders. Learn more about the sweet options at southerngoldleafcakes.com.

The Gift of Touch The bodywork team at Duke Integrative Medicine offers Swedish, deep tissue, sports and pregnancy/postpartum massages. With a 20 percent discount on therapeutic services, prices start at $40 for 25 minutes. Visit dukeintegrativemedicine.org for details.

Get Close to Nature Treat your sweetheart to something uniquely Duke – the Lemurs Live! tour at the Duke Lemur Center. Duke employees get tickets for $8 instead of $10. Call (919) 401-7240 for reservations or visit lemur.duke.edu for more information.

A Shower of Flowers The Duke discount program offers savings at seven floral shops. Save 15 to 20 percent when you order flowers and gift baskets online through the PERQS employee discount website from vendors such as 1-800-Flowers.com, From You Flowers and ProFlowers. To shop local, call Fallons Creative Flowers at (919) 828-4134 and receive free delivery in the Raleigh area.

A Bit of Broadway See the 25th anniversary production of the musical “Les Miserables” at Progress Energy Center’s Raleigh Memorial Auditorium Feb. 14 to 19. Duke employees save 10 percent on Broadway Series South tickets. Tickets range from $51 to $116 and are available through the PERQS employee discount website (search under the “Entertainment” section).

Capture a Memory Let Yesterday and Today Frame Shop in Hillsborough help you create the perfect frame for a precious photo. Duke employees get 10 percent off all orders. Find out more at yesterdayandtodayframeshop.com. COMPILED BY MARSHA A. GREEN

Working@Duke

go online

For a full list of employee discounts, visit hr.duke.edu/discounts

Sustainable uke YOUR SOURCE FOR

GREEN

N E W S AT D U K E

Join the ‘Green Devil Smackdown’ sustainability challenge

tarting this month, students, faculty and staff can participate in the first “Green Devil Smackdown,” an eightweek team competition to encourage sustainable behaviors on campus. Teams of Duke community members earn points for “green” actions, such as taking the bus, carpooling or completing the Duke Carbon Calculator. At the end of the competition, the team that earns the highest average points per participant will be crowned champion and receive a customdesigned Green Devil championship belt similar to belts presented to boxing or professional wrestling champions. Duke will also purchase offsets for individuals on the winning team to neutralize their carbon emissions at Duke. Tavey Capps, sustainability director at Duke, said the competition should raise visibility and increase support for Duke’s Climate Action Plan and efforts to be carbon neutral by 2024. “We need support from the campus community because behavior change is one of the most important aspects to meet our sustainability goals,” Capps said. “Hopefully this competition will be a fun way to encourage students, faculty and staff to take action.” Beginning in early February, Duke community members can join the competition by visiting

go online

sustainability.duke.edu/smackdown and registering with a NetID at the “My Profile” page to get started. Participants are encouraged to join or form teams by department, by building/residence hall or by organizational group or club of between 10 to 100 members. The competition runs from Feb. 27 to April 20. Points will be awarded on a sliding scale based on difficulty. For example, a competitor receives 25 points for “liking” Sustainable Duke on Facebook. A one-time amount of 625 points is given for obtaining an alternative transportation permit to bike or carpool to campus instead of driving alone. Participants can also earn points by taking special Green Devil Challenges that encourage individuals to make small changes in their daily lives to help reduce carbon emissions at Duke. Sophomore Jessye Waxman will sign up for the Smackdown, which she likened to the Eco-Olympics, an annual energy, waste and water reduction competition between residence halls on East Campus. “The Green Devil Smackdown, like Eco-Olympics, will bring sustainability to the public eye and make environmental consciousness a fun and engaging experience by means of friendly competition,” Waxman said. During the competition, online leaderboards on the Smackdown website

will display results for top-performing teams. Leaderboards will also show results for individuals, affiliation (students, faculty, staff), school and class year for students. “We’re excited to see how this competition encourages and rewards sustainable behavior in a way we haven’t really attempted on a campus-wide basis,” Capps said. “It’s amazing what a little competition can produce and how these small changes can add up to big results.” BY BRYAN ROTH

Join The Smackdown, Win Prizes Students, faculty and staff can sign up for the Green Devil Smackdown in early February. The competition begins Feb. 27. A full list of points and how to report sustainable actions is available at the Smackdown website at sustainability.duke.edu/smackdown. A drawing will be held at the end of the competition to award three individuals with grand prizes, including an Amazon Kindle, bicycle and tickets to Duke basketball games.

today.duke.edu/working

WORKING@DUKE HOW TO REACH US Editor: Leanora Minai (919) 681-4533 leanora.minai@duke.edu Assistant Vice President: Paul S. Grantham (919) 681-4534 paul.grantham@duke.edu Graphic Design & Layout: Paul Figuerado (919) 684-2107 paul.figuerado@duke.edu Senior Writer: Marsha A. Green (919) 684-4639 marsha.green@duke.edu Writer/Videographer: Bryan Roth (919) 681-9965 bryan.roth@duke.edu Photography: Duke University Photography and Marsha Green and Bryan Roth of Communication Services.

Working@Duke is published every other month by Duke’s Office of Communication Services. We invite your feedback and story ideas. Send email to working@duke.edu or call (919) 684-4345. Don’t forget to visit the “Working@Duke” section daily on Duke Today: today.duke.edu/working

dialogue@Duke “Which social networks do you use?”

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Social media tends to sort of bleed into both my professional and personal life. Facebook and Twitter are the heavy hitters, but Google+ is unique because of the wealth of applications and data it stores. Twitter is good to keep up with news and events. Facebook tends to be more about friends and family. Our office uses LinkedIn to provide a community for alumni too.” Brett Walters Director of information technology/web services, Duke Alumni Association 7 years at Duke

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I moderate a Facebook group for our admitted master of public policy students so they have an online forum to meet one another and establish rapport in advance of setting foot on campus. It helps to create a sense of camaraderie and eases the transition to Duke. I also host online chat sessions so prospective students can talk with faculty, current students, alumni and program staff prior to making their decision to enroll.” Jessica Pan Director of admissions and financial aid, Sanford School of Public Policy 1 year at Duke

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I actually don’t use social media for a couple different reasons. I’m on a computer all day at work, and I don’t want to go home and do that some more. I also tend to prefer actual person-to-person interaction or talking over a phone rather than using a social networking site.” Jeff Fleming Senior IT analyst, Duke Libraries’ Discovery and Core Services 3 years at Duke

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