INAUGURAL STAFFMENTORING EVENT
Panelists who draw200 Duke employeesshare inspiringstories about theircareers.
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PROTECTPERSONAL DATA
Departments urgedto consult withIT Security andE-Commerce officesfor safety methods.
7
DUKE FORESTCELEBRATES 75 YEARS
It grew from farm land200 years ago to apremier research,teaching andrecreational forest.
WORKING
@
DUKE
ast year,about 3,800 employees left Duke.Some left to pursuecareer opportunities or more money;others left to go back toschool,retire or relocate.But many returned,including people like Michele Solomon. Tempted by $7,000 more a year,Solomon left Duke in March 2005to work for a private laboratory in Raleigh.She returned last April andaccepted a job at the Duke Center for Living,where she earns slightly lessthan when she left.“I realized that the grass is not always greener on the other side andthat money isn’t everything that you need to be happy,”Solomon said.Duke hired nearly 4,900 employees for positions across the university and health system in 2005,according to Human Resources.More than 520ofthose new hires included people returning to Duke.Based on exit surveys conducted from March through August ofthisyear,most people – 36 percent – left for career development orpromotional opportunities,the most common reasons former employees who returned during the same time period cited for coming back.Ofthose who leave Duke,more than 60 percent said in exit surveysthey would consider working here again and would also recommendDuke to others.For Solomon,Duke was the only place she considered when she waslaid offfrom her lab job in Raleigh after less than a year.“I probably would have left down the road anyway,”she said oftheRaleigh lab.“There was no patient contact.I was on the phone eight hoursa day,stuck in a cubicle.It was just a very different environment.”Solomon feels more connected to patients in her role at Duke.“I’m thefirst person patients see when they come in the door to check in,and I’m thelast person they see as they schedule their next appointment before leaving.”Coming back to Duke was always part ofHazel Richardson’s plan.She joined Duke as a pharmacy technician at Durham RegionalHospital in 2001 after graduating from North Carolina Central University with a chemistry degree.She left Duke two years later to earn aprofessional degree in pharmacy. After graduating from the UNC School ofPharmacy this spring,Richardson received several job offers before accepting a position withDurham Regional as a clinical staffpharmacist working at LincolnCommunity Health Center,a primary care facility that serves the uninsuredand underinsured population ofDurham.“I interviewed with three retail pharmacies,all ofwhich made higheroffers,”Richardson said.“It’s hard to turn down more money,but for me it was more about quality oflife.I have a one-and-a-halfyear old daughter anda husband,and this job offered me more stability than the other options.”
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This paper consists of 30% recycledpost-consumer fiber.
SEE
WELCOME BACK
, BACK PAGE
Top: Hazel Richardson, aclinical staff pharmacist withDurham Regional Hospital,arrives for work at LincolnCommunity Health Centerin Durham.Bottom: Michele Solomon,a patient service associate atthe Duke Center for Living, leftDuke for a higher salary butreturned less than a year later.
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I realized that the grass is not always greener onthe other side and that money isn’t everything thatyou need to be happy.”
— Michele Solomon
“
Former employees return to Duke
NEWS YOU CAN USE :: Volume 1, Issue 7 :: October 2006
PANELISTS SHARE INSPIRATIONAL STORIES ABOUT CAREER PATHS
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Duke named among top family-friendly workplaces
Duke University and Duke University Health System has been namedone of the top family-friendly workplaces in North Carolina by
Carolina Parent
.This marks the fifthconsecutive year Duke has madethe list. The magazine, whichdoes not rank the 40 companies,published the annual list in itsSeptember issue. With morethan 27,000 faculty and staff,Duke is the largest privateemployer in the Triangle.“Duke University andHealth System offers an extensive family-friendly benefits package for its many employees,” editors for
Carolina Parent
wrote. “And even more diverse options are beingadded almost all the time.”
Carolina Parent
cited Duke’s Child Care Partnership among theprograms in its decision to name Duke. Nearly 370 families at Duketake advantage of the partnership, which provides placement at 29area child care centers for children of Duke employees.
LIVE FOR LIFE health fair
Want to quit smoking, lose weight or have your blood pressurechecked? Attend the health fair hosted by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’semployee health and wellness program, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov.2 in the Searle Center.More than 35 health representatives will be available to answerquestions. Employees can also receive a variety of free screenings,including cholesterol. For more information, call (919) 684-3136(option 1).
Duke Postal Operations introduces Web site andcustomer guide
Did you know that Duke Postal Operations processes nearly12 million pieces of mail annually to students and virtually everyuniversity and health system department? In an effort to helpcustomers use its services, Duke Postal has developed a Web siteand customer guide for reference.Customers can learn the ins and outs of receiving and sendingmail; locations of campus post offices;how to address an Inter-Departmentenvelope to ensure next daydelivery; and other services such asmail tests to determine how long ittakes to send an item throughcampus mail.Several thousand customerguides were mailed to departmentbusiness managers, staff assistants and administrativeassistants in September. The guide is available on the new Web siteat
www.postoffice.duke.edu
. For a printed copy, call Duke PostalOperations at (919) 382-4506.
Open Enrollment for health benefits ends October 14
It’s not too late to enroll in or make changes to your health,dental and vision benefits. Open enrollment, which began Oct. 2, runsthrough Oct. 14. Duke’s premiums will increase no more than $2.50 permonth for individuals, and no more than $10 per month for familiesnext year. And, there are no increases for co-pays or deductibles forhealth, dental and vision insurance. Open enrollment is an opportunityfor employees to choose health, dental and vision plans that best meettheir needs. Employees who want tax savings through a health care ordependent care reimbursement account must enroll separately inthese plans. They do not automatically renew each year. Visit
www.hr.duke.edu
or call (877) 371-9963 for more information.
LOOKING
AHEAD
@
DUKE
OCTOBER 14-17
: :
55thAnnual Southeastern RegionalAssociation of Physical PlantAdministrators Conference &Exhibition, hosted by DukeUniversity, Sheraton ImperialHotel in Research Triangle Park,
www.srappa.org
.
OCTOBER 24
: :
LIVE FORLIFE HealthCheck, free 30 minutepersonal health assessment forDuke faculty and staff thatmeasures cholesterol, bloodpressure, height and weight. 10a.m. to 4 p.m., Duke North, 8thfloor, staff elevator lobby.
NOVEMBER 15
: :
Provost'sLecture Series, John Poindexter,former national security adviser,will speak on the topic of privacyas it relates to national security.5 p.m., Love Auditorium, LevineScience Research Center (LSRC).For more events, check theuniversity’s online calendarat http://calendar.duke.edu
News
briefs
Mentoring event draws 200 Duke employees
P
resident Richard H.Brodhead,a teacher at heart,wasin his element,offering advice to a room packed withpeople wanting to succeed.Key to his success,Brodhead told 200 Duke employees, was doing what he loves and believing in it.“I am a person who really has always absolutely loved what I do and believed in it,”Brodhead said.“The only thing I ever wanted to be in my life was an educator.I succeeded inbeing that.I’ve really had very few days in a career of30 ormore years in which I didn’tbelieve in that.I think peopleknow whether you care about what you do or not.”Brodhead was among theDuke University and HealthSystem panelists who discussedtheir professional development during an inauguralmentoring event for staffin the Searle Center on Aug.17. The event,which evolved from the Women’s Initiative,wasthe first in what is expected to become a quarterly event.Other panelists included Dr.Brenda Armstrong,associate dean and director ofadmissions for the SchoolofMedicine;Kevin Sowers,chiefoperating officer forDuke University Health System;Ben Reese,vice presidentfor the Office for Institutional Equity;Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services;andDeborah Roth,chiefoperating officer for the DukeClinical Research Institute.The event was moderated by Clint Davidson,vice president for Human Resources.Panelists shared who influenced their lives;the factorsthat led to their success;recommendations for finding amentor;and what “bumps and scrapes”they encountered.“Some key things that have helped me as I’ve gonethrough my career were to plan,”Armstrong said.“Iplanned my life in five year intervals and set out goals.Some ofthem are goals,and some are dreams.I havetried to be realistic about my dreams so that they aredoable goals.”Every five years,Armstrong reviews the goals withher mentor and decides whether or not she accomplishedthem.Ifshe diverted,she evaluates whether that path was good for her. Armstrong offered a quote from her father when shecame to Duke as an undergraduate.“Be tough.Don’t letanybody see the moments when you feel like you’re ready to give up because that is when the next opportunity isstanding waiting for you.Remember that anything that youget in life comes because you will make a sacrifice,so beprepared for sacrifice.”
— By Leanora Minai Editor,Working@Duke
I thinkpeopleknow whether youcare about what youdo or not.”
—President Richard H. Brodhead
“
The sellout mentoring event drew 200 Duke employees.
VIEW EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Watch highlights from theAug. 17 mentoring eventonline at
www.hr.duke.edu/training.
SelectMentoring@ Duke.
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M
elissa Mills started biking to Duke last year afterdriving to the university for 21 years.“I live only a mile and a halfaway,but I didn’tmake the decision to bike until it became a financial issue,”said Mills,special assistant to the Dean ofArts andSciences.“Now I wouldn’t give it up,even for a freeparking permit.”She is among Duke bike commuters excited about anew repair station,which opened in September on the Plazaon West Campus.The repair station was financed with a$20,000 grant from the Green Grant Fund,which isadministered through the office ofExecutive Vice President Tallman Trask III.The station is staffed with a mechanic 15hours a week for employees and students to get free minorbike repairs,as well as safety and bike route information. The idea evolved from Duke Bike Advocates,which works to make Duke more bicycle friendly througheducation and advocacy.Over the years,the group hassponsored periodic free bike fix-up days for faculty,staff and students.“But flat tires don’t happen on a schedule,and that’sthe number one reason people stop riding their bikes,”saidMichael Wolosin,a doctoral candidate in ecology andDuke Bike Advocate who wrote the grant application.“By providing campus cyclists a central access point for air,anew inner tube,or a brake adjustment,we hope to increasethe number ofstudents,faculty and staffwho choose toride their bikes to and around campus - and who leavetheir cars at home.” With high gas prices and the average Duke employeedriving 26 miles a day to and from work,other commuting alternatives are growing more appealing.Peter Agre,NobelLaureate and vice chancellor for science and technology atthe School ofMedicine,hopes the station will create morebike commuters.“We all have a moral and practical responsibility toreduce our resource use,”he said.“Biking is part oftheculture in other countries and at many ofour peerinstitutions.It’s time to makethat a reality here at Duke.”Mills,who started biking to work last year,said biking isfaster than parking and driving.She wears business clothes andkeeps rain gear for wet days.Acommon refrain from co- workers is “how can you biketo work in heels?”She replies with a laugh,“You don’t pedal with your heels.”
— By Tavey McDaniel Environmental SustainabilityCoordinator
New bike repair stationopens on the Plaza
FREE FLAT TIRE FIXES, BRAKE ADJUSTMENTS AND MORE OFFERED
e
mployee
spotlight
D
ennis Woody gets paid to take Duke’s temperature.He’s in charge ofcontrolling temperatures efficiently and to the satisfaction ofthousands ofstudents,faculty and staffon campus. Woody,who celebrates 24 years at Duke in December,came to the university as a HVAC control mechanic whenDuke was changing from electrical heating and airconditioning to a system that utilizes chilled water and steam. Today,he can log on to any ofthe dozen or sopersonal computers from his office and around campus.From these computers,he can adjust the temperature inmost any university building.He can even access thesystem from a laptop in his house.“I’ve been working with this system since 1982,”said Woody,an avid NASCAR fan.“It’s like raising a child.I’veseen it through a lot ofdifferent phases.” Woody,the heating,ventilation and air conditioning coordinator,can adjust the temperature with remarkableprecision in a specific office or room.In demonstrating,he called up the software program and typed in a building name.“It’s 73.5 degrees in that room,and the occupanthas the thermostat set on 73.5,”Woody said. As Woody worked,a walkie-talkie sounded.A memberofhis team reported that someone wanted the temperatureadjusted in a Bryan Center meeting room.It was too cool. Woody retrieved the building schematic on his computerscreen.He clicked the mouse,slowed the flow ofchilled water to that area,and the temperature changed accordingly.“Twenty years ago,most ofit was localcontrol in the buildings,”Woody said.“Buildings had individual chillers.There were time clocks for the buildings,so if there was a power outage or daylight-saving time,you had to send people around toupdate all these time clocks.”Now the system is centralized with acentral chilled water system supplying thousands ofgallons ofwater daily throughoutthe campus.In summer,chilled water flowsthrough coils in each building.A fan blows airacross the coils and into the ductwork,cooling the building.In winter,air blows on coils filled with water heated by steam. Woody can sit and watch all the partsofthe heating and cooling system operate.Sometimes,he can repair a problem from hischair.Other times,he calls a mechanic onduty to make a fix at the site.After hours,hisbeeper may sound while he’s home.“In 1982,when I started,”Woody said,“we had about2,500 points on the system.A point would be like thethermostat on the wall,a monitoring point.Now,there arearound 100,000 points in the buildings controlled by oursystem.We’ve done a lot ofgrowing over the years.”
— By Eddy LandrethWorking@Duke Correspondent
Want moreinformation?
Duke Bike Advocates
www.duke.edu/web/bikeadvocacy
Durham bike resources
www.bikewalkdurham.org
Triangle bike resources
www.gotriangle.org
Aaron Stoertz, Duke bike repairstation coordinator, left; Chris Oishi,Duke Bike Advocates member, andMelissa Mills, Duke employee andbike commuter, gear up for thestation opening.Dennis Woody logs on to thesoftware that allows him to adjustthe temperature in most anyuniversity building.
MEET DENNIS WOODY, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT HEAT AND AIR MEISTER
Initial Bike Station Hours:
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.Monday through Friday
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Working@Duke - October, 2006
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