Working@Duke February/March 2016 Issue

The Innovators

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Your Path to Duke Benefits

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Share the Love

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WORKING@DUKE  NEWS YOU CAN USE  february/march 2016

Piecing Together a Diverse Duke

Editor’s Note Leanora Minai

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Love is on the Air

ove stories. Many of us have one.

On Feb. 12, you can listen to Durham love stories during a “Love is on the Air” listening party at the Museum of Durham History. The free event is a collaborative effort with Audio Under the Stars, an audio festival hosted at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies in the summer.

During the Valentine’s event at the museum, recorded interviews with up to six Durham couples will be intermittently played while visitors mingle and view other exhibits, which include an item about the Blue Devil. A raffle for prizes, such as a Monuts gift card and Carolina Theatre movie tickets, will be held, and refreshments will be available.

“These stories—especially on a topic so universal as love—connect us to the past and to one another,” said Katie D. Spencer, the museum’s executive director. “Who knows what will come from this evening: maybe new love will blossom, community love will grow, and just maybe folks will be inspired to record their own stories for friends, family, and future generations.”

Recording memories and experiences of Durham are an integral part of the Museum of Durham History’s programming. The museum has conducted about 100 interviews with residents of Durham, and some of the interviewers are Duke employees who volunteer at the museum. In addition to love stories, topics range from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination to the city’s start-up/ entrepreneur stories.

Stacy Torian, a communications specialist in the Duke Graduate School, volunteers for the museum’s “Story Squad.” In the past year, she has conducted nine interviews with 11 people, including leaders from TROSA, a residential substance abuse recovery program in Durham.

“I like hearing people’s stories, learning from them and finding out what makes them tick,” Torian said. “It’s fun.”

The Museum of Durham History [modh.org] is a local gem. It opened in 2013 in a downtown bus station at 500 W. Main St. I currently serve on the board of directors, and enjoy learning more about Durham through the museum’s rotating exhibits, including the current display about the Hayti neighborhood.

I hope to see you at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at the museum for the listening party, and if you’re looking for other ideas to celebrate Valentine’s Day, see page 14 in this issue for Duke employee discounts, including deals on confections, music performances, and a membership to the Nasher Museum of Art. Share the love!

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Contents

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Cover: Piecing Together a Diverse Duke

Significant university initiatives are underway, including unconscious bias conversations, a focus on diversity and inclusion in developing Duke’s new strategic plan, and the appointment of a Task Force on Bias and Hate Issues.

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The Innovators

Whether a staff assistant or Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Duke employees take their jobs one step further out of passion to create something novel and productive to help an office, the university and world at-large.

Path to Duke Benefits

While October’s Open Enrollment is when employees enroll in or change health coverage, other life events may adjust needs or eligibility for certain benefits.

Learn about these milestone events.

11  Three ways to find your resilience 12  Share your college photos with Working@Duke 14  Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these discounts 15  2016 Sustainability priority: Eco-friendly office items Cover photo: These Duke employees were either interviewed for the “Piecing Together a Diverse Duke” cover story on page 4 or for Dialogue@Duke on the back of the publication. Clockwise, beginning at top right, is Tom Rankin, Gina Streaty, Whitney Baker, Imam Adeel Zeb and Hae-Young Kim. 2014 Gold, 2013 Silver, 2009, 2007 Bronze, Print Internal Audience Publications and 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007 Gold Medal, Internal Periodical Staff Writing

This paper consists of 30% recycled postconsumer fiber. Please recycle after reading.

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Nominate a colleague for the Presidential Award

Has a coworker made a significant impact at Duke University or Duke University Health System by completing Duke President Richard H. Brodhead, center, a formidable task or exceeding poses with the 2015 Presidential Award recipients. expectations?

Consider nominating him or her by Feb. 12 for a Presidential Award, one of the highest staff and faculty honors at Duke.

President Richard Brodhead will present each of the five Presidential Award recipients with a Presidential Medallion and check for $1,000 at a luncheon on April 14.

David Bowersox, associate dean of finance and administration in the Duke School of Nursing, received a Presidential Award last year for helping to lead the school’s growth and implementing the $20-million School of Nursing North Wing addition, which opened in 2014.

“I was already extremely committed to Duke before I was nominated for this award, and I love working here and having been part of the school’s growth,” Bowersox said. “Receiving even just a nomination only strengthened that. It strengthened my commitment.”

Nominees must be full-time employees who have served in their current position for at least one full year.

More information is available at bit.ly/dukeprezawards.

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Get help with tax preparation

Duke employees with a household income of $54,000 or less may qualify for free federal and state tax preparation assistance through the Duke Law Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Ashley Waid, a Duke law student and Duke Law VITA volunteer, said volunteers see a lot of returning clients who receive assistance with taxes.

“It gives a lot of people comfort during tax season to know they have somewhere to go that they can get help,” Waid said.

Appointments are available at the Duke School of Law and Duke Credit Union.

To schedule an appointment, visit sites.duke.edu/dukelawvita.

Individuals must bring their Social Security card, copies of tax documents and have a record of medical expenses and charitable donations.

Duke employees with a simple return and household income of $62,000 or less per year can prepare their own free tax returns using myfreetaxes.com and receive free guidance through email, by calling a helpline or participating in a live online chat.

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Brain Awareness Week is March 28-April 3

Brain Awareness Week returns for its eighth year at Duke and invites the Duke community and public to participate in activities March 28 to April 3.

Organized by the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Brain Awareness Week is an international effort to promote the progress and benefits of brain research and will feature brain-related, hands-on demonstrations and activities, lab tours, and more led by Duke researchers and students.

“Brain Awareness Week is about increasing public awareness about brain research,” said Minna Ng, leader of educational strategies and community partnerships at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see people share their fascination about the brain.”

For more information, visit dibs.duke.edu/BrainWeek.

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Share campus events through ‘DukeFlyer’

Get more eyes on announcements through a new system for Duke’s digital signs.

Members of the Duke community can submit fliers to “DukeFlyer,” a web-based system that allows anyone with a Duke NetID to upload a digital flier.

Through the system, submitters can request the posting of fliers on more than 30 digital signs across the university. The owners of the digital signs will review submitted fliers for their displays.

Submitters can monitor when and where their fliers are displayed. Digital signs located in the Duke University Health System are managed separately.

Fliers must follow Duke Style Guide standards [styleguide.duke.edu/toolkit/ signage], be a 1920-by-1080-pixel horizontal image that’s 72 or 96 dpi, and be submitted in a JPEG or PNG file format.

Learn more at flyer.duke.edu.

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Find a fitness routine with Run/Walk Club

Faculty and staff can find a social way to exercise after work when Duke’s Run/Walk Club returns March 14.

The 12-week program, which meets for low-pressure workouts twice a week, is free for employees. Run/Walk Club is ideal for all fitness levels and meets until June 1 at multiple locations.

The club, organized by Duke’s employee wellness program, LIVE FOR LIFE, meets at 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays on East and West Campus, 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at Duke Regional Hospital, and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. at Duke Raleigh Hospital. In addition to run/walk sessions, members will also have access to weekly events focusing on yoga or circuit training. Employees who wish to do the workouts on their own can register independently and receive the same workout plans and incentives.

Katie MacEachern, a LIVE FOR LIFE fitness program manager, said the variety of offerings build stamina, flexibility and strength while supporting a positive group dynamic.

“I see spring Run/Walk as a breath of fresh air,” MacEachern said. “It becomes more than just a workout. It becomes a social event. It becomes something you look forward to.”

For more information or to register, visit hr.duke.edu/runwalk.

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Piecing Together a Diverse Duke Initiatives underway to create a more inclusive campus culture

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ook at Tom Rankin’s profile, and he is white, male, married to his wife of 8 years, and 58 years old.

He is also a Duke professor, documentarian and member of two Duke faculty job search committees.

Before Rankin began reviewing resumes for the two faculty jobs, he underwent training about unconscious bias, which includes implicit positive or negative attitudes or associations toward Tom Rankin a person that sways choices, decisions and behavior. The training is required for all search committees in Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

During the training, which is provided by Duke’s Office for Institutional Equity, Rankin and other search committee members discussed casting a net in a diverse applicant pool by nurturing professional relationships with Duke Ph.D. graduates or attending national conferences with a focus on minority or female faculty, among other actions.

“We do risk replicating ourselves if we’re not careful,” said Rankin, a professor of the practice in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies. “If you think of it like an ecosystem, you don’t survive very well just replicating the same DNA over and over and over again.”

Following racial and homophobic incidents on campus last year, and amid a broader national discussion about race on college campuses, significant university initiatives are underway.

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These include unconscious bias conversations, a focus on diversity and inclusion in the development of Duke’s new strategic plan, and the appointment of a Task Force on Bias and Hate Issues

by President Richard H. Brodhead and Provost Sally Kornbluth.

The task force is reviewing Duke’s policies, practices and culture as they pertain to bias and hate, and is expected to make an initial report to Brodhead and Kornbluth by mid-April.

“Intolerance and bigotry have no place in civilized community,” Brodhead told students, staff and faculty during a community forum in November. “Intolerance and bigotry have no place most specifically in a university community, and they have no welcome and will receive no welcome at Duke University as a community.”

Whether it’s a department hosting diversity workshops or an individual taking steps to learn more about her unconscious biases, areas across Duke are continuing to foster open, proactive dialogue to create a more inclusive campus culture.

Diversity: Key tenet for new ideas, creativity A look at Provost Sally Kornbluth’s appointment calendar reveals that she’s trying to talk about diversity and inclusion every day in all corners of the campus.

She’s meeting with a search committee about a pool of job candidates. She’s attending an Academic Council meeting focused on faculty diversity initiatives. She’s talking with student groups about the campus climate.

As part of the effort to build a broad and diverse faculty community, a new Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement whose mission will focus on faculty diversity, inclusion and development will be appointed by Fall 2016. Meanwhile, this spring, all schools will create a Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee to partner with their respective dean and form a plan that includes improving mentoring and retention programs and addresses unconscious bias, faculty hiring, harassment prevention and cultural awareness.

Committees will work with the new vice provost for guidance and assessment of school diversity goals, so that each Duke school will have a customized diversity and inclusion plan, said Duke Academic Council Chair Nan Jokerst.

“The faculty, chairs and dean in each school will collaborate on a diversity and inclusion plan based upon faculty data, informed by best practices, and followed by assessment and revision, which is a great process for creating a community in which all of our members are respected and valued,” Jokerst said.

At the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, which awards nearly 80 percent of undergraduate degrees and is second in faculty size only to Duke’s School of Medicine, Dean Valerie Ashby has been visiting each department since she joined Duke last May to talk about diversity values with faculty and staff.

At left, university leaders address Duke community members who attend a community conversation in Page Auditorium in November 2015 about racial and homophobic incidents on campus.

“These conversations need be part of the dayto-day conversation,” Kornbluth said. “You have to be in it for the long haul and really be committed.”

This spring, Duke’s new Strategic Plan will be written, and a top goal is to “develop a truly diverse, inclusive and vibrant Duke community.” She said the community must recognize diversity as a key ingredient for new ideas and creativity, and while advances have Left, Duke Provost Sally Kornbluth and Duke President Richard H. Brodhead answer questions at the community conversation. been made in diversifying Right, Dean Valerie Ashby is leading diversity efforts in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. student populations, “our Unconscious bias training has been a requirement for all success on the faculty diversity front has not kept pace. And in Trinity faculty search committee members since early 2015, both groups, we need to make the environment more inclusive.” and a small group of Trinity faculty is part of a pilot program According to the Academic Council “Task Force on Diversity” that provides training around the subtleties of speech and report released last May, the percentage of black faculty at Duke communication in classrooms. increased from 3.8 to 4.4 percent from 2004 to 2013; Hispanic “Sustainable change is going to happen from folks who are faculty increased from 1.8 to 2.6 percent, and Asian faculty going to be here day in and day out, and it’s really going to start in increased from 11 to 15 percent. Regular rank female faculty the faculty and in the administration,” Ashby said. increased from 30 to 36 percent during the same period. >> continued on page 6

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“I wanted to take the implicit bias test because I know just by the nature of being a white person raised a certain way in a certain place, these things exist in my life, too.”

Whitney Baker web design/production manager, Center for Documentary Studies Caption

Exploring hidden biases When Whitney Baker voluntarily took an online implicit bias test, she said it made her think about growing up in a lower-middle class household in Graham, N.C., and how despite struggling with money sometimes, she may have had more opportunities than others because she is white.

As part of the implicit bias test, which is available through Duke, Baker played a sorting game that associated photos of AsianAmerican and European-American faces as looking “American” or “Foreign.” Another aspect of the test examined biases regarding obesity and other identities.

“I wanted to take the implicit bias test because I know just by the nature of being a white person raised a certain way in a certain place, these things exist in my life, too,” said Baker, web design and production manager at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies (CDS). “The whole idea is getting out of a place of self-judgment to improve.”

At work, Baker and other CDS staff have met for lunchtime conversations about race, gender and sexual identity issues, and last April, they invited Duke’s Office for Institutional Equity (OIE) to speak about unconscious bias.

In 2015, OIE hosted more than 20 in-person unconscious bias trainings for areas across Duke, from Undergraduate Admissions staff to Duke orthopaedic surgeons. OIE has seen more requests for unconscious bias training, which has been offered by OIE at Duke for about 13 years. Duke community members can find the online “Implicit Association Test” that Baker took as well as other resources in an OIE toolkit [web.duke.edu/equity/toolkit]. OIE also offers workshops on sexual and gender diversity, generational differences, religion, and other topics.

When Benjamin Reese, vice president for Institutional Equity at Duke, leads the in-person unconscious bias training, he discloses one 6

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of his own unconscious biases. When he worked with an employee who used a wheelchair, Reese would instinctively place his hand on the back of her wheelchair, helping to push it. The employee pointed out the habit. Reese said he realized he was acting upon an implicit bias, that individuals in wheelchairs needed his help.

Being aware of personal tendencies is key to positively altering interactions in the classroom or workplace, Reese said.

“We all have first impressions,” he said. “It’s about being able to recognize and admit areas of your own personal bias so when you’re in those situations, you can be extra vigilant.”

Creating safe spaces for conversations Visitors in Michelle Coleman’s office in the Duke Clinical Research Institute may notice the sticker on the wall next to her Duke calendar. She said she hopes the bold yellow equal sign that represents equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals sends a clear message: Her office is a safe space where differences are valued.

When the Duke Clinical Research Institute, also known as DCRI, hosts diversity conversations for staff and faculty, Coleman makes it a point to attend with colleagues. During a recent workshop led by Duke’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, Coleman shared a story about recently navigating an awkward conversation with a colleague, who was surprised that Coleman has been in relationships with men and women.

“We all have first impressions. It’s about being able to recognize and admit areas of your own personal bias so when you’re in those situations, you can be extra vigilant.”

Ben Reese vice president for Institutional Equity

That workshop, which was part of a Diversity Lecture Series for DCRI employees, provided another safe space for Coleman and others, whether they are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning community or not, to ask questions and share experiences.

“We don’t have to believe the same things. It’s OK to be different,” said Coleman, a budget and proposal analyst in DCRI. “At the end of the day, we’re here to do a job, so in the workplace, we all need to be accepting of each other.”

Gina Streaty, Human Resources and Organizational Learning program coordinator for DCRI, which has more than 1,300 employees, organizes the Diversity Lecture Series. She’s now planning a program about diversity of thought with Noah Pickus, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics, who will discuss how Americans define American citizenship.

“That special takeaway moment is to see people happily come into the room and sit there and say to themselves, ‘Finally, I have space. I have a place that I can be who am,’ ” Streaty said. “It’s opening up doors.” n

Duke Clinical Research Institute employees attend a December 2015 holiday party that incorporates multicultural food and decorations. Employees shared their holiday and religious traditions. In the front row, left to right, are employees Shawna Alkon, Divinagracia Pinson, Hayat Azhari and Yolonda Wilder.

In the back row, left to right, are Rodney Reeves and Gregory Hill.

By April Dudash

dialogue@Duke Find more campus commentary about diversity on the back of the publication.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources at Duke Bias Response Advisory Committee

International House

Office for Institutional Equity

A committee through Student Affairs to advise the Vice President for Student Affairs on allegations of bias-related incidents that may impact the Duke community. studentaffairs.duke.edu/bias-response

Cross-cultural programming to enhance Duke’s global mission. studentaffairs.duke.edu/ihouse

Provides leadership in enhancing diverse and inclusive work and learning environments. Offers a toolkit that includes an implicit association test that employees can take on their own to learn more about unconscious attitudes and associations. web.duke.edu/equity/toolkit

Center for Multicultural Affairs Promotes community engagement, multicultural education and leadership among students and employees. studentaffairs.duke.edu/cma

Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Offers education, advocacy and more for lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, questioning, queer, and ally students and employees. studentaffairs.duke.edu/csgd

Disability Management System Ensures an accessible, hospitable working and learning environment for people with disabilities. access.duke.edu

Human Resources Duke Human Resources provides training for managing a diverse workforce and developing diverse candidate pools, offers programs for minorities and women to promote career progression, and recognizes efforts in the workplace in support of Duke’s Guiding Principle of Diversity. hr.duke.edu

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Jewish Life at Duke Celebrate holidays, enjoy meals, discuss Israel and connect to Jewish opportunities on campus and elsewhere. studentaffairs.duke.edu/jewishlife

LGBT Task Force Makes ongoing assessments of attitudes and conditions at Duke regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons and issues. web.duke.edu/lgbttf

Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture Promotes racial understanding and fosters an appreciation for knowledge of black history and culture. studentaffairs.duke.edu/mlw

Muslim Life

Task Force on Bias and Hate Issues Formed in November 2015, the task force is charged with a broad review of Duke’s policies, practices and culture as they pertain to bias and hate in the Duke student experience. The Task Force works in partnership with the Bias Response Advisory Committee in Student Affairs.

Email taskforce-biashate@duke.edu

Veterans at Duke Provides resources for veterans employed at the University and Health System. bit.ly/dukeveterans

Women’s Center Dedicated to helping women become self-assured through programs on gender equity and social change. studentaffairs.duke.edu/wc

Works to enrich lives of Muslim students and others through events and activities. studentaffairs.duke.edu/muslimlife

Access a diversity toolkit, websites and more at diversity.duke.edu

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The Innovators Duke staff and faculty take initiative to solve problems, serve society

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n any academic campus, there are great minds to be found all over.

Whether a staff assistant or Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Duke employees take their jobs one step further out of interest and passion to create something novel and productive to help an office, the university and world at-large.

“Ideas are the currency of the 21st century,” said Eric Toone, vice provost and director of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. “Ideas have power and impact in their application, and Duke excels at helping its entire community turn them into real things that have real impacts on campus and in the service of society.”

Innovation isn’t just a buzzword at Duke, it’s something that staff and faculty practice and preach every day. Of all the ideas that come to fruition, here are just a few making a difference.

Finding New Efficiencies As every semester starts anew, students file into classrooms and faculty stand in front of them, prepared to share hours of expertise.

But there’s a lot of legwork to create and place a class before teaching begins. That’s why in 2013, Tiwonda Johnson-Blount took a new approach to collaborate with faculty to streamline a process of sharing information and registering classes.

Instead of back-and-forth emails and calls with faculty in the Program in Literature, she created an online submissions system to capture all required data in one swoop, saving hours of follow up for her and others.

Now, about a dozen pieces of information for each class – from course type, syllabus and room characteristics – are all electronically sent to Johnson-Blount, assistant to the director of graduate studies in the department. She took the initiative to create this new process through Qualtrics, a widely used survey tool at Duke.

“I felt like I needed to make it easier for faculty as well as myself to get the job done better,” said Johnson-Blount, who has worked at Duke for 18 years. “Being able to Tiwonda Johnson-Blount implement something that can help others makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.”

In 2014, Johnson-Blount received a Presidential Award in part because of her initiative to create the new process.

“Her ability to put in place procedures to make it easier for faculty to adapt quickly to changes in curriculum protocols makes all the difference in the world to hard-pressed instructors,” said Wahneema Lubiano, director of graduate studies for the Program in Literature.

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Reaction has been so positive that Johnson-Blount will roll out a second online submission form to ease the burden of creating course numbers with each faculty member in the department.

“It’s given me the confidence I can do more,” Johnson-Blount said. “If this worked, I knew it would make me feel like I can find more problems to tackle, too.”

Empowering Women, Highlighting Duke In recent years, several polls have tried to estimate the number of women who act as editors for Wikipedia, the online, crowdsourced encyclopedia. At best, the figure reaches 16 percent, while many cite a survey by the Wikimedia Foundation noting that 9 percent of editors are female.

Kelly Wooten wanted to do something about that.

Two years ago, she created the “Women at Duke Wikipedia Edita-thon,” a gathering of students, faculty and staff to encourage more women to get involved as editors for Wikipedia, while also creating new entries on prominent Duke women from the university’s history.

Kelly Wooten Wooten has organized the Edit-a-thon with Duke community members each year, helping to spark the creation of a dozen entirely new entries to highlight Duke women like Julia Grout, who served as chair of the Women’s Department of Health and Physical Education at Duke from 1924 to 1964. The event has enhanced other Duke women’s Wikipedia pages with stronger citations. She’s now contributing to a toolkit for state archivists to host similar edit-a-thons.

“Capturing the contributions of women is an essential component of understanding how Duke became the institution it is today,” said Bridget Booher, director of Duke Women’s Impact Network. “Future scholars and students can connect the dots to see how they’re part of this powerful historical legacy.”

In addition to the Edit-a-thons, Wooten prepared Duke to host the Zine Librarians (un)Conference in 2014, marking the first time the gathering of national librarians and enthusiasts for homemade books or magazines came to the South. Along with Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture colleagues, she helped sponsor Durham’s own zine festival.

“There aren’t a lot of librarians who may have the kind of institutional support we receive at Duke,” said Wooten, research services and collection development librarian at the Sallie Bingham Center. “But I never feel like I have to make a hard sell to try something new.”

Medicine and Teamwork Collide When Guillermo Sapiro came to Duke four years ago, little did he know he would create something special with his office neighbor, Dr. Helen Egger.

In Fall 2015, Sapiro, the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with Egger and 23 other faculty and staff from the university and health system, including co-investigators Dr. Ricky Bloomfield and Geraldine Dawson, launched an Apple ResearchKit app with help from the tech company.

Called “Autism & Beyond,” the Guillermo Sapiro program tests the reliability of smart phone questionnaires and video analysis of facial expressions as a possible screening tool for autism and other developmental disorders of children.

Sapiro said the creation of the app – developed over four months by programmers, scientists and students – exemplifies the innovative and interdisciplinary spirit of Duke. Together, the group was recognized with a Teamwork Award at Duke’s 2015 Blue Ribbon Awards.

“I don’t think this kind of thing could have happened at any other institution other than Duke,” Sapiro said. “It’s an attitude that we, as faculty and administrators, are not going to let any smart idea go by because it’s challenging or we don’t have the resources.”

On top of daily responsibilities of teaching, caring for patients and maintaining Duke’s technology, the Autism & Beyond team put in work to bring the app to fruition. Sapiro said he felt empowered thanks to support from Lawrence Carin, vice provost for research, and Information Initiative at Duke Director Robert Calderbank, who continually told Sapiro the app was an important part of Duke’s effort of research and service to society.

“That’s the right attitude I see at Duke every single day,” Sapiro said. “It’s why we’re proud to tell everybody what we can accomplish here.” n

By Bryan Roth

Do you have an innovator in your office? Share their story by tweeting @WorkingAtDuke, posting at facebook.com/workingatduke or emailing working@duke.edu.

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Your Path to Duke Benefits How Duke’s benefits help when work, family or life events change

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wo days after the birth of her son, Lauren Stulgis sent an email to Duke Human Resources to ask that her newborn be added to her health insurance plan.

“It was a simple process, and my pediatrician’s office was really surprised when I showed up for Thomas’ threeweek check-up and he already had his own ID card,” said Stulgis,

program coordinator for undergraduate education at the Pratt School of Engineering.

While October’s Open Enrollment is when Duke employees enroll in or change health coverage, other life events during a career may adjust needs or eligibility for certain benefits. Here’s a look at some of those milestones. n

By Marsha Green and Bryan Roth

Start work at Duke

Back to School

Eligible employees who work at least 20 hours per week have 30 days to enroll in medical, dental and vision insurance coverage, or they can wait for Open Enrollment in October.

Bi-weekly paid employees who are eligible to participate in the Employees’ Retirement Plan are vested in the pension plan.

After two years of continuous full-time service, employees who work full-time can submit an application for up to $5,250 per year in tuition assistance at qualified universities.

3 years at Duke

5 years at Duke

Monthly-paid employees who are eligible to receive the university contribution to the Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan are fully vested, which means the employee owns Duke’s contribution.

I do Add a spouse to your medical, dental and vision insurance within 30 days of marriage.

If you become disabled and have at least three years of continuous service, you may be eligible for Duke’s Disability Program. It replaces 60 percent of your salary after a required waiting period of four months.

Child going to college

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Birth or adoption

Disability protection

Duke provides up to three consecutive weeks of 100 percent paid parental leave to the eligible parent serving as primary caregiver following the birth or adoption of a child.

Plan carefully – a reimbursement account for dependent care can only be used for children under age 13. Children are eligible to remain on a parent’s health insurance up to their 26th birthday.

Eligible university employees with at least five years of full-time service may qualify for the Children’s Tuition Grant for undergraduate tuition for full-time study at any accredited college or university. See program description for eligibility details and requirements.

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Happy 50th birthday!

Child under 13 or 26

The limit on retirement account contributions increases for most employees when they turn 50. Call (919) 684-5600 to see if you qualify.

For more information about these and other Duke benefits, visit hr.duke.edu/benefits

Three Easy Ways to Find Your Resilience

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or each feeling of burnout, there is opportunity for resilience.

It’s all two sides of the same coin, said J. Bryan Sexton, associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke’s School of Medicine and an expert in the idea of resilience, the ability to bounce back from life’s obstacles. The trick is to build mental muscles to deal with challenges J. Bryan Sexton “The key is thrown our way, both personally and to savor those positive emotions to retrain professionally, when many feel like they’re your brain to remember good things,” asked to do more.

Sexton said.

“Once we normalize it and make it less taboo to talk about burnout and Show Gratitude resilience, then we can do something about Grab a pen and paper and write a it,” Sexton said. “You can eat right, sleep letter of appreciation to someone – anyone. right and call your mom each week, but Take five minutes to explain something it’s more than that.” they did, how it impacted you and the Sexton suggests these three ways benefits you received. to deal with the threat of burnout and Whether you share the letter or not, increase resilience.

Sexton said it can have lasting impacts, increasing happiness while lowering Three Good Things depressing thoughts because focusing Sexton said that humans are hardon benefits forces us to linger on wired to remember the negative aspects positive thoughts. of our day, but flipping around the natural “People take on a massive amount of inclination is simple. responsibility with no ability to push the Promoting positive thoughts and pause button for a while,” Sexton said. building resilience can be as easy as taking “This can help reverse that.” notes each night before bed. Think of three things that happened during that day that Rediscover Awe went well and your role in the positive Among the most common complaints outcome, then jot down those three things. of American workers is there’s never Best results for the exercise come after enough time to complete all the tasks asked 14 consecutive entries.

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Find resilience resources at dukepatientsafetycenter.com

of them. While it’s impossible to put more time into the day, Sexton has an alternative.

Through an “awe intervention,” you can create a sense of slowed down time, which offers a calming sensation and feeling of having more time available.

Finding awe can be easy, too. Study a photo of the Grand Canyon, peer through a telescope at a starry night or find something new in nature.

“There is such profound beauty and grace in the world,” Sexton said.

“When we reconnect with the emotion of awe, it helps us feel inspired and time slows down.” n

By Bryan Roth

Resilience Workshops Duke Learning & Organization Development is offering a new course, “Resilience: Building Skills to Endure Hardship and Prevent Burnout,” in March and May. Space is limited. Learn more at hr.duke.edu/training/workshops or call (919) 613-7600.

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Share Your College Photos with Working@Duke … and lessons from your undergrad days

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t’s time to relive those college memories.

Working@Duke invites staff and faculty to dig into scrapbooks, yearbooks and digital albums, and send their favorite photos from their college days as part of an ongoing Throwback Thursday (#tbt) campaign on social media.

On certain Thursdays on Working@Duke’s Facebook and Twitter pages, the editorial staff will share employee photos and stories about areas of study, extracurricular activities and how a college experience helped shape his or her Duke career.

David Stein, education outreach coordinator for the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership and Duke University Libraries, shared a photo from 1972, when he was a 19-year-old education major at Antioch College in Ohio.

As a student, Stein played volleyball, participated in folk dancing and served on the Antioch Community Council, which handled socio-economic matters on campus. He was taken with Antioch College’s exhortation of “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”

“I have been lucky to almost always have jobs where a major motivation was to help people,” he said. “It’s what gets me fired up every day to help students and teachers.”

Have a photo to share?

Email working@duke.edu and tell us about the photo and your college experience.

Working@Duke will award a coffee mug to participants. n

By April Dudash

S end Us Your Pic! Email your college photo to working@duke.edu and check Working@Duke’s Facebook [facebook.com/workingatduke] and Twitter [twitter.com/WorkingatDuke] pages on Thursdays to learn more about your colleagues.

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 Working@Duke

Duke staff and faculty members share their college photos. Clockwise, at top left, is David Stein, education outreach coordinator for the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership and Duke University Libraries; Jennifer Chambers, director of alumni education for the Duke Alumni Association; Li-Chen Chin, middle, director of intercultural programs; Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for Undergraduate Education; and Amanda Kelso, executive director of the Global Education Office and assistant vice provost for Undergraduate Education.

Beyond the Basic Chart Duke experts share best practices when creating charts and graphs

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resenting data can be as simple as plugging numbers into a bar or line graph, pie chart, or map. But the colors, details and storytelling can drastically alter how data is perceived.

“People don’t always treat their visualizations in the way they treat their writing,” said Eric Monson, a data visualization analyst with Duke’s Data and Visualization Services. “In writing, we’re very used to having it be a multi-stage process of a rough draft and editing and really crafting it to be as effective as possible.”

When creating charts and graphs, keep it simple. Avoid using effects such as 3-D shapes, drop shadows and gradients because they can distort the data.

“Everyone wants their work to be noticed, so they’ll try to make it really flashy to gather attention,” Monson said. “They just don’t understand that in the end, those effects get in the way of their message.”

Also, free up color. Try to use the same color for all data points and then use a different color to accent an important piece of data, said Duke data visualization coordinator Angela Zoss. Don’t use colors that are too bright or clash with the background of a presentation or publication.

And most importantly, tell a story. If a line chart is showing that Duke hiring peaks in July, make a notation as to why. In Duke’s case, July is the start of the new fiscal year.

Zoss said to keep in mind the variables in your data that are most exciting, whether it be zeroing in on a time period or population segment.

“Always think from the beginning what the purpose of the visualization is,” Zoss said. n

Keep it simple

Keep a pie chart simple by using a 2-D shape and placing accompanying text in each ‘slice.’

In this example, numbers from a June 2015 Duke workforce report show how the Duke employee population can be dissected by job category.

Tell a story

By April Dudash

Want to learn more?

Duke Libraries’ Data and Visualization Services Department can help with all phases of a data visualization project, from finding and cleaning data to using the right software and design.

The department hosts free workshops during the year. Email askdata@duke.edu or visit library.duke.edu/data Tell a story by making notations in a chart or graph. Here, numbers from the June 2015 Duke workforce report show that job hiring peaks in July, which is the start of a fiscal year.

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PERQS employee discounts

Share the Love with Valentine’s Day Discounts Celebrate with art, cupcakes, flowers and more Valentine’s Day cupcakes handcrafted by Kimmi’s Confection Expressions in Durham.

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cake for singer Michael Bolton during a recent eborah Jakubs and her husband love the arts, a shared passion that Durham visit. “I always say I hope they like it, draws them closer after 32 years of and they always do.” marriage.

Duke employees receive 15 percent off cake Jakubs, the Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway and cupcake orders from Kimmi’s Confection Jim Roberts and Deborah Jakubs University Librarian and vice provost for Library Expressions. Visit kimmisconfection.com for Affairs, and husband, Jim Roberts, executive vice provost for

more information. finance and administration, have been members of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke for nearly 10 years.

“It’s just a short walk from our offices,” Jakubs said. “Having a Year-round, Duke Performances offers 15 percent off Duke resource like that is just another one of the wonderful things about employee tickets to nearly every show. A Duke ID is required working at Duke.” at the time of purchase, and the deal is limited to two tickets.

This Valentine’s Day, Duke staff and faculty can save on a Nearly 20 diverse performances are scheduled for February Nasher Museum of Art Duke Plus membership, which is good and March, including dance company Abraham.In.Motion for one Duke employee and a family member. The membership performing a work inspired by two triumphs of international civil is $125 (regularly $250) and includes other perks. Learn more at rights, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the abolishment nasher.duke.edu/join. of apartheid in South Africa, on Feb. 19 and 20; and Dublin’s The Here are other Valentine’s Day savings through Duke’s Gloaming, a five-piece ensemble of Celtic musicians, on March 26. employee discount program to impress that special someone: See the schedule at dukeperformances.duke.edu.

Music to one’s ears

Sweets for your sweetie

Kimwa Walker furrowed her brow in concentration, maneuvering silver sugar pearls atop a swirl of baby-pink buttercream frosting.

Walker, owner of Kimmi’s Confection Expressions in Durham, was placing finishing touches on a batch of personalized vanilla cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. “That’s where the love comes into play with the giving of desserts,” said Walker, whose portfolio includes creating a birthday

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 Working@Duke

Brighten a day with flowers

Surprise someone with a delivery of roses and save on the bouquet. Gift Blooms, an online gift delivery service, provides fresh flowers, food baskets and other gifts. Employees save 20 percent with a special coupon code offered at bit.ly/dukegiftblooms.

More discounts on flowers and gift baskets can be found in the “Other Discounts” section of the employee discount website at bit.ly/dukeperqs. n Compiled by April Dudash

go online

Check out all employee discounts at bit.ly/dukeperqs

Sustainable uke YO U R S O U RC E FO R G R E E N N E W S AT D U K E

2016 Sustainability Priority: Ecofriendly Office Items Duke to identify best practices of purchasing

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s the university continues its march toward carbon neutrality in 2024, campus leaders are focusing on new strategic priorities to complement Duke’s reduction of greenhouse gases.

This academic year, purchasing will be a focus in an effort to make procurement policies more sustainable, from how faculty and staff buy office supplies to computers. In doing so, Duke’s Campus Sustainability Committee will look to update environmentally preferable purchasing guidelines based around energy and water savings, recycled content products, and even items that impact forest conservation.

“We can do a lot operationally to reduce emissions, but we also need to rely on individual day-to-day decisions that impact a variety of sustainable needs,” said Tavey Capps, Duke’s sustainability director. “We want to understand purchasing choices so we can find better ways and tools to reduce our environmental impact.”

For the past 10 years, Duke has offered help and advice in green purchasing through Duke Procurement, guiding employees to computer standardization and Energy Star-rated and postconsumer content items. Since 2011, employees have had access to the Buy@Duke portal, a catalog of preferred vendors with items that can be sorted by environmentally-friendly options.

Other ways Duke supports sustainable procurement choices include:  A supplier diversity program that partners with locally owned and minority and woman-owned businesses to keep purchases local.  The Duke Surplus program, which refurbishes and recycles office and lab equipment.  Education at the Leading for Environmental Sustainability Workshop, which includes a focus on how to find “green” products for office and departmental use.

go

Duke employees can make sustainable decisions when purchasing offices supplies like these, from notebooks to light bulbs.

“These programs contribute to our sustainability efforts, but we have an opportunity in the long term to change the way people view daily purchases,” said Mary Crawford, director of Duke’s procurement programs.

With roughly 10,000 procurement/corporate cards in circulation at Duke, the biggest hurdle is the decentralized nature of purchasing, Capps said. Offices, departments and schools may have varied and established vendors or ways of buying products and materials that aren’t as sustainable or have been purchasing habits for years.

A big goal toward sustainable buying practices in 2016 is providing better information to campus purchasers about the social, economic and environmental impact of products. From there, administrators hope trends support sustainable items and employee mindsets shift to focus on “green” decision making, including opportunities to save money beyond environmental impacts.

For now, faculty and staff can support Duke’s effort by paying attention to what they buy. That includes energy-efficient electronics, paper made from recycled content and office furniture, which can be sourced for free from the Duke Surplus program.

“Duke was among the first schools to adapt a green purchasing program,” Crawford said. “We want to continue moving forward by putting money into our local, diverse community and identify initiatives to help reduce our carbon footprint.” n

Learn 15online  Working@ Dukemore about sustainable buying options at bit.ly/GreenProcurement

By Bryan Roth

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WORKING@DUKE How To Reach Us Editor/Communications Director: 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/Videographer: Bryan Roth (919) 681-9965 bryan.roth@duke.edu Writer/Videographer: April Dudash (919) 684-4639 april.dudash@duke.edu Photography: Duke University Photography and Bryan Roth and April Dudash 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.

Visit“Working@Duke” daily on Duke Today:

working.duke.edu This publication is available in alternative format on request.

Please call (919) 684-4345.

dialogue@Duke “What does diversity mean to you?”

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iversity allows us to give people opportunities to succeed in life where D they may not have had the opportunity to do so. I come from a rural area in South Carolina, and if it weren’t for the career opportunity I was given at the University of Tennessee when they were attempting to diversify, I would not be sitting here at this desk today. My whole goal through our diversity initiatives and the things we’re doing is to provide opportunities to get people in the door.”

Gerald Harrison Senior associate director of athletics and internal affairs, Duke Athletics 8 years at Duke

y first overseas experience was in New Zealand on a one-year fellowship M for training in teaching English as a second language. I was 27 years old.

I met with a lot of people from all over the world in various fellowship programs there. It nurtured me as an educator and also as a member of various levels of community. I expect to work with people from very different experiences and backgrounds, and I feel constricted if it’s too monotone.”

Hae-Young Kim Chair and professor of the practice, Duke Asian & Middle Eastern Studies 18 years at Duke

iversity is when everyone at the table can feel like they’re equally D represented at the table in a multitude of ways, that empathy is not a choice, but an understood requirement that people are wholly in tune with and in agreement with. There’s so much to learn. Diversity is like the river that attempts to satisfy the unquenchable thirst. You can’t get enough diversity, really. You’re always learning more about people. The Quran says that we created you in different tribes so that you may know one another.”

Imam Adeel Zeb Muslim chaplain and director of Muslim Life at Duke 1 year at Duke

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