WORKING@DUKE

4 7
INAUGURAL STAFF DUKE FOREST PROTECT

2
MENTORING EVENT CELEBRATES 75 YEARS PERSONAL DATA
Panelists who draw It grew from farm land Departments urged
200 Duke employees 200 years ago to a to consult with
share inspiring premier research, IT Security and
stories about their teaching and E-Commerce offices
careers. recreational forest. for safety methods.

N E W S YO U C A N U S E : : Vo l u m e 1 , I s s u e 7 : : O c t o b e r 2 0 0 6

Former employees return to Duke

ast year, about 3,800 employees left Duke. Some left to pursue
L career opportunities or more money; others left to go back to
school, retire or relocate.
Top: Hazel Richardson, a
clinical staff pharmacist with
Durham Regional Hospital,

But many returned, including people like Michele Solomon.

arrives for work at Lincoln
Community Health Center

Tempted by $7,000 more a year, Solomon left Duke in March 2005

in Durham.

to work for a private laboratory in Raleigh. She returned last April and
accepted a job at the Duke Center for Living, where she earns slightly less
Bottom: Michele Solomon,
a patient service associate at

than when she left.

the Duke Center for Living, left

“I realized that the grass is not always greener on the other side and
Duke for a higher salary but

that money isn’t everything that you need to be happy,” Solomon said.
returned less than a year later.

Duke hired nearly 4,900 employees for positions across the university
and health system in 2005, according to Human Resources. More than 520
of those new hires included people returning to Duke.
Based on exit surveys conducted from March through August of this
year, most people – 36 percent – left for career development or
promotional opportunities, the most common reasons former employees I realized that the grass is not always greener on

“
who returned during the same time period cited for coming back.
Of those who leave Duke, more than 60 percent said in exit surveys
the other side and that money isn’t everything that
they would consider working here again and would also recommend you need to be happy.”
Duke to others.
For Solomon, Duke was the only place she considered when she was
— Michele Solomon

laid off from her lab job in Raleigh after less than a year.
“I probably would have left down the road anyway,” she said of the
Raleigh lab. “There was no patient contact. I was on the phone eight hours
a 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 the
first person patients see when they come in the door to check in, and I’m the
last person they see as they schedule their next appointment before leaving.”
Coming back to Duke was always part of Hazel Richardson’s plan.
She joined Duke as a pharmacy technician at Durham Regional
Hospital in 2001 after graduating from North Carolina Central University
with a chemistry degree. She left Duke two years later to earn a
professional degree in pharmacy.
After graduating from the UNC School of Pharmacy this spring,
Richardson received several job offers before accepting a position with
Durham Regional as a clinical staff pharmacist working at Lincoln
Community Health Center, a primary care facility that serves the uninsured
and underinsured population of Durham.
“I interviewed with three retail pharmacies, all of which made higher
offers,” Richardson said. “It’s hard to turn down more money, but for me it
was more about quality of life. I have a one-and-a-half year old daughter and
a husband, and this job offered me more stability than the other options.”
SEE WELCOME BACK, BACK PAGE

This paper consists of 30% recycled

post-consumer fiber.
LOOKING
@ DUKE
AHEAD
OCTOBER 14-17 : : 55th
Annual Southeastern Regional
Association of Physical Plant
Administrators Conference &
Exhibition, hosted by Duke
University, Sheraton Imperial
Hotel in Research Triangle Park,
www.srappa.org.
OCTOBER 24 : : LIVE FOR
LIFE HealthCheck, free 30 minute
personal health assessment for
Duke faculty and staff that
measures cholesterol, blood
pressure, height and weight. 10
a.m. to 4 p.m., Duke North, 8th
floor, staff elevator lobby.
NOVEMBER 15 : : Provost's
Lecture Series, John Poindexter,
former national security adviser,
will speak on the topic of privacy
as it relates to national security.
5 p.m., Love Auditorium, Levine
Science Research Center (LSRC).
For more events, check the
university’s online calendar
at http://calendar.duke.edu
I think
“know whether you
do or not.”
people
care about what you
—President Richard H. Brodhead
▲
VIEW EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Watch highlights from the
Aug. 17 mentoring event
online at
www.hr.duke.edu/
training. Select
Mentoring@ Duke.
2 Clint Davidson, vice president for Human Resources.
Newsbriefs
Duke named among top family-friendly workplaces
Duke University and Duke University Health System has been named
one of the top family-friendly workplaces in North Carolina by
Carolina Parent.
This marks the fifth
consecutive year Duke has made
the list. The magazine, which
does not rank the 40 companies,
published the annual list in its
September issue. With more
than 27,000 faculty and staff,
Duke is the largest private
employer in the Triangle.
“Duke University and
Health System offers an extensive family-
friendly benefits package for its many employees,” editors for
Carolina Parent wrote. “And even more diverse options are being
added almost all the time.”
Carolina Parent cited Duke’s Child Care Partnership among the
programs in its decision to name Duke. Nearly 370 families at Duke
take advantage of the partnership, which provides placement at 29
area child care centers for children of Duke employees.
LIVE FOR LIFE health fair
Want to quit smoking, lose weight or have your blood pressure
checked? Attend the health fair hosted by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s
employee 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 answer
questions. Employees can also receive a variety of free screenings,
including cholesterol. For more information, call (919) 684-3136
(option 1).
Mentoring event draws 200 Duke employees
PANELISTS SHARE INSPIRATIONAL STORIES ABOUT CAREER PATHS
P
resident Richard H. Brodhead, a teacher at heart, was
in his element, offering advice to a room packed with
people 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 in
being that. I’ve really had very
few days in a career of 30 or
more years in which I didn’t
believe in that. I think people
know whether you care about
what you do or not.”
Brodhead was among the
Duke University and Health
System panelists who discussed
their professional development during an inaugural
mentoring event for staff in the Searle Center on Aug. 17.
The event, which evolved from the Women’s Initiative, was
the first in what is expected to become a quarterly event.
Other panelists included Dr. Brenda Armstrong,
associate dean and director of admissions for the School
of Medicine; Kevin Sowers, chief operating officer for
Duke University Health System; Ben Reese, vice president
for the Office for Institutional Equity; Judith Ruderman,
vice provost for academic and administrative services; and
Deborah Roth, chief operating officer for the Duke
Clinical Research Institute. The event was moderated by
Duke Postal Operations introduces Web site and
customer guide
Did you know that Duke Postal Operations processes nearly
12 million pieces of mail annually to students and virtually every
university and health system department? In an effort to help
customers use its services, Duke Postal has developed a Web site
and customer guide for reference.
Customers can learn the ins and outs of receiving and sending
mail; locations of campus post offices;
how to address an Inter-Department
envelope to ensure next day
delivery; and other services such as
mail tests to determine how long it
takes to send an item through
campus mail.
Several thousand customer
guides were mailed to department
business managers, staff assistants and administrative
assistants in September. The guide is available on the new Web site
at www.postoffice.duke.edu. For a printed copy, call Duke Postal
Operations 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, runs
through Oct. 14. Duke’s premiums will increase no more than $2.50 per
month for individuals, and no more than $10 per month for families
next year. And, there are no increases for co-pays or deductibles for
health, dental and vision insurance. Open enrollment is an opportunity
for employees to choose health, dental and vision plans that best meet
their needs. Employees who want tax savings through a health care or
dependent care reimbursement account must enroll separately in
these plans. They do not automatically renew each year. Visit
www.hr.duke.edu or call (877) 371-9963 for more information.
Panelists shared who influenced their lives; the factors
that led to their success; recommendations for finding a
mentor; and what “bumps and scrapes” they encountered.
“Some key things that have helped me as I’ve gone
through my career were to plan,” Armstrong said. “I
planned my life in five year intervals and set out goals.
Some of them are goals, and some are dreams. I have
tried to be realistic about my dreams so that they are
doable goals.”
Every five years, Armstrong reviews the goals with
her mentor and decides whether or not she accomplished
them. If she diverted, she evaluates whether that path
was good for her.
Armstrong offered a quote from her father when she
came to Duke as an undergraduate. “Be tough. Don’t let
anybody see the moments when you feel like you’re ready
to give up because that is when the next opportunity is
standing waiting for you. Remember that anything that you
get in life comes because you will make a sacrifice, so be
prepared for sacrifice.”
— By Leanora Minai
Editor, Working@Duke
The sellout mentoring event drew 200 Duke employees.
 Want more
New bike repair station information?
opens on the Plaza Duke Bike Advocates
www.duke.edu/web/
bikeadvocacy
FREE FLAT TIRE FIXES, BRAKE ADJUSTMENTS AND MORE OFFERED
Durham bike resources

elissa Mills started biking to Duke last year after With high gas prices and the average Duke employee
www.bikewalkdurham.org

driving to the university for 21 years. driving 26 miles a day to and from work, other commuting
M “I live only a mile and a half away, but I didn’t
make the decision to bike until it became a financial issue,”
alternatives are growing more appealing. Peter Agre, Nobel
Laureate and vice chancellor for science and technology at
Triangle bike resources
www.gotriangle.org
said Mills, special assistant to the Dean of Arts and the School of Medicine, hopes the station will create more
Sciences. “Now I wouldn’t give it up, even for a free bike commuters.
parking permit.”
“We all have a moral and practical responsibility to
Initial Bike Station Hours:
She is among Duke bike commuters excited about a
reduce our resource use,” he said. “Biking is part of the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
new repair station, which opened in September on the Plaza
culture in other countries and at many of our peer
Monday through Friday
on West Campus. The repair station was financed with a
institutions. It’s time to make
$20,000 grant from the Green Grant Fund, which is
that a reality here at Duke.”
administered through the office of Executive Vice President
Mills, who started biking
Tallman Trask III. The station is staffed with a mechanic 15
to work last year, said biking is
hours a week for employees and students to get free minor
faster than parking and driving.
bike repairs, as well as safety and bike route information.
She wears business clothes and
The idea evolved from Duke Bike Advocates, which
keeps rain gear for wet days. A
works to make Duke more bicycle friendly through
common refrain from co-
education and advocacy. Over the years, the group has
workers is “how can you bike
sponsored periodic free bike fix-up days for faculty, staff
to work in heels?” She replies
and students.
with a laugh, “You don’t pedal
“But flat tires don’t happen on a schedule, and that’s
with your heels.”
the number one reason people stop riding their bikes,” said
Michael Wolosin, a doctoral candidate in ecology and
— By Tavey McDaniel

Duke Bike Advocate who wrote the grant application. “By

Environmental Sustainability

providing campus cyclists a central access point for air, a

Coordinator

new inner tube, or a brake adjustment, we hope to increase

the number of students, faculty and staff who choose to Aaron Stoertz, Duke bike repair

ride their bikes to and around campus - and who leave

station coordinator, left; Chris Oishi,

their cars at home.”

Duke Bike Advocates member, and
Melissa Mills, Duke employee and
bike commuter, gear up for the
station opening.

e mployee spotlight
MEET DENNIS WOODY, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT HEAT AND AIR MEISTER

ennis Woody gets paid to take Duke’s temperature.
D He’s in charge of controlling temperatures efficiently
and to the satisfaction of thousands of students,
faculty and staff on campus.
Woody, who celebrates 24 years at Duke in December,
came to the university as a HVAC control mechanic when
Duke was changing from electrical heating and air
conditioning to a system that utilizes chilled water and steam.
Today, he can log on to any of the dozen or so
personal computers from his office and around campus.
From these computers, he can adjust the temperature in
most any university building. He can even access the
system 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’ve
seen it through a lot of different phases.”
Woody, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning
coordinator, can adjust the temperature with remarkable
precision 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 occupant
“Twenty years ago, most of it was local
control 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 to
update all these time clocks.”
Now the system is centralized with a
central chilled water system supplying
thousands of gallons of water daily throughout
the campus. In summer, chilled water flows
through coils in each building. A fan blows air
across 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 parts
of the heating and cooling system operate.
Sometimes, he can repair a problem from his
chair. Other times, he calls a mechanic on
duty to make a fix at the site. After hours, his
beeper may sound while he’s home. Dennis Woody logs on to the

has the thermostat set on 73.5,” Woody said. “In 1982, when I started,” Woody said, “we had about
software that allows him to adjust

2,500 points on the system. A point would be like the

the temperature in most any

As Woody worked, a walkie-talkie sounded. A member

university building.

of his team reported that someone wanted the temperature
adjusted in a Bryan Center meeting room. It was too cool.
Woody retrieved the building schematic on his computer
screen. He clicked the mouse, slowed the flow of chilled
water to that area, and the temperature changed accordingly.
thermostat on the wall, a monitoring point. Now, there are
around 100,000 points in the buildings controlled by our
system. We’ve done a lot of growing over the years.”
— By Eddy Landreth
Working@Duke Correspondent

3
 Duke Forest
S
Judd Edeburn, left, Duke Forest
manager, and Randy Boggess, a
ue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for Student Affairs,
has jogged the trails in Duke Forest for 25 years.
Randy Boggess, who is 93, was among the pioneer
researchers who collected leaf samples from the woods.
And Judd Edeburn, forest manager, has watched the forest
ecosystem develop and change over 28 years at Duke.
For these Dukies and many more people, the 7,046 acre Duke
Forest is a green jewel, premier research terrain that also draws
more than 170,000 recreational visits annually. On Oct. 19 and
Oct. 20, the forest celebrates 75 years since its establishment in
1931. The anniversary will be marked by an evening reception,
research symposium, field tour and scheduled book release, The

“It’s not only a treasure for Duke University, but a treasure

Duke Forest At 75: A Resource for All Seasons.
pioneer forest researcher, celebrate

nationally,” said Boggess, a member of the first master’s in forestry

the 75th anniversary of Duke Forest

class at Duke in 1938. “Forest land is disappearing. That is prime

during a field event this year.

land, and if it was up for sale, it would be wiped out in a hurry.”

In these woods grow more than 900 plant species and more
than 100 tree varieties – pine stands more than 120 years old and
hardwood trees more than 200 years old. At any given time, more
than 50 studies are underway, research ranging from plant succession
and dynamics of southern forests to the interaction between forest
ecosystems and human activity.
By The Numbers 7 ,04 6 — Acres Thousands of trees each year, both young
and old, are harvested for paper pulp,
g
g
oriented strand board, lumber, even
75 — Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for Student
Year
telephone poles. Income from
Affairs, jogs in the Duke Forest.
s of
these timber management products supports the forest’s
rese
operating expenses.
arc
hg
\1 “For most of us,” wrote Rachel Frankel in her Duke senior honors
seminar in 1984, “a walk through the Duke Forest is more than fresh
70
,00
0— air and tall trees…”
DUKE FOREST Annu
al recr
Circa 1930-1932 eational v
isits g 13,
n Forest placed under intensive management
000 — Annual stu
Historians say
dent vis
for research and education with Clarence its
Korstian as its first director the Duke Forest, the largest private
research forest in North Carolina and one of the largest in
g

n Of 4,708 acres, loblolly and shortleaf pines

the country, came to be in part by accident. In 1924, James B. Duke, who
comprised most of the land - 1,690 acres
900 —

created Duke University, authorized the purchase of parcels of forest and

n 42 acres of abandoned fields planted with abandoned small farms. He and others envisioned part of the property as a
37,000 trees at $5.90 per acre
Spec

site for Gothic buildings and as a gateway into the new campus. es o
n 10 forest fires burned 52 acres; suppression By late 1925, Duke had acquired about 5,000 acres. Five years later,
g 10
i

costs: $60.43
n 74 visitors from 11 states, England and 25
institutions toured the forest
n Average income per acre from forest
products for fiscal year: 6 cents
n 61 Christmas trees sold
n Duke faculty began buying wooded lots off
nearby streets for houses. Lot price: $1,500
n 1,200 Oriental Chestnut trees planted near
Highway 751
Source: Duke Archives and Robert F. Durden’s “The
Launching of Duke University, 1924-1949.”
f plants
Clarence F. Korstian was named the first forest director, and he and others
began planting seedlings in open tracts.
Pine and hardwood canopies now spread over Durham, Orange and Alamance counties,
a patchwork of tracts purchased over 80 years from more than 100 landowners, including the
Couch family who, for 200 years, planted corn, winter wheat and tobacco on its land.
Remnants of the past dot the forest landscape: cemeteries, foundations of homes, stone
chimneys. Old furrows from corn and tobacco crops line sloping terrain.
“Since the time Duke bought the tracts and even before, there hasn’t been a lot of
disturbance at these sites, so people can go back and do historical, archeological mapping
and reconstruction of what was there,” said Edeburn, the forest manager. “These sites have
information about life in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the 19th century. But
in a lot of places because of subdivisions, parking lots and shopping centers, whatever record
there is gone.”
The historical and cultural roots are not the forest’s only assets. Duke maintains 75 miles

of roads and trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Two picnic shelters stand among
pine trees off Highway 751.

4
 75 years

Top: A researcher studies tree growth as part of a project

examining effects of elevated carbon dioxide levels on the
forest. Middle: Researchers examine the growth of a sample
plot established in 1934. Bottom: These logs along North
Carolina Highway 751 are being loaded for lumber in 1935.
75th
“One of the most beautiful parts of my run is just experiencing the sunrise through the Anniversary
trees,” said Wasiolek, the assistant vice president for Student Affairs who runs 40 miles a
week. “And even on the most humid days, when there’s fog and haze, the sun just comes Events
through the trees, and it’s just revitalizing. It lets you know you’re alive and the day is starting
and you’re there to experience it.” Oct. 19
In 75 years, hundreds of studies have been conducted, providing scientists with a record WHAT: Recollections,
of ecosystem changes. One of the largest projects underway involves examining effects of stakeholder meeting and
elevated carbon dioxide levels on the forest. Vertical pipes shower trees with carbon dioxide,
recognition of Duke

which fuels plant growth.

Forest as a premier

Jen Morse and Elizabeth Sudduth are studying for doctorates in ecology at Duke. They
research, teaching and

are examining how land development affects Mud Creek, a forest stream. A subdivision
recreation site.
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
covers much of the creek’s headwaters. Runoff drains into the creek, where the channel has WHERE: Bryan Center
00 — eroded and not many insects, mollusks or crustaceans thrive there. Von Canon Hall B and C

But, their research shows, as Mud Creek moves deeper into the forest, away from
Sp
development, it recovers. Oct. 20
eci

“It’s just so neat to have that resource right here,” Sudduth said.
es of

WHAT: Research
Perhaps, an account about a forest tour in the 1931 Alumni Register, sums up Symposium; highlights of
the forest best:
trees g 81 — Butterfly spec

past and present

“The members of the exploring party turned away from the forest, which is
research

so old, and yet so new, whose life is young, old and middle-aged, with a feeling that
WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to

perhaps they had been close to the heart of one of the greatest parts of this great
noon.
WHERE: Bryan Center
institution.” Von Canon Hall B and C
— By Leanora Minai
WHAT: Tour
Editor, Working@Duke WHEN: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
pines g
dest
WHERE: Research sites
Ol and trails
oads
25 primarily in the forest’s
sg ld— 0 r
ie

o yea f Blackwood Division;

150 years rs o s trees g 75 — Miles o reserve a bag lunch and
ld — O woo d transportation by calling
ldest hard (919) 613-8013 or writing
dukeforest@duke.edu.
DID YOU KNOW?
g The Korstian Division was home to the largest black walnut tree on record in North Carolina in 1986. It stood 113 feet tall with a 33 inch diameter.
g Duke Chapel and other Gothic-style buildings on campus are constructed of “Duke Stone” quarry from the forest. 5
 BuildingBlocks
One of the most exciting design features of
the $10 million project is turning the two-story
main gallery into tiers of offices. Rays of sun
Duke’s historic campus is changing and growing.

from a large skylight will stream from the roof

Duke’s Facilities Management Department The Fuqua School of Business classroom addition will be
manages 200 construction projects annually. complete in 2008. This is an architect's rendering of the view

through the open floors, an efficiency factor for a

In Building Blocks, we offer periodic updates from Science Drive.

targeted rating of silver in green design.

on significant projects.

Construction on the $17 million facility

began this summer and is scheduled to be done
he Old Art Museum on East Campus is
When the Fitzpatrick Center for in July 2007. Visitors will be able to watch the

T getting its second makeover since it opened

in 1927.
For 42 years, the red brick building housed
Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine and
Applied Sciences opened in 2004, space was set
aside for a state-of-the art Shared Materials
work of scientists who will be dressed in
coveralls that don't shed dust particles and look
like space suits.
science classrooms. In 1969, much of the
interior was gutted, transforming the Georgian Instrumentation Facility (SMIF), which has a
building into an art museum with four huge cleanroom and characterization facility.
A cleanroom is a space where, combining the The bulldozers are grading earth and
skylights. Since then, galleries filled the renovated excavating trenches for the installation of utilities
space until the Nasher Museum of Art opened use of air filters and continuous air circulation,
levels of airborne particles are much lower than for a new classroom building addition at the Fuqua
last year on Central Campus. School of Business. By fall 2008, the entrance off
In August, crews started renovating the atmospheric levels. Duke’s 6,110 square feet facility
will include space that averages 360 air changes per Science Drive into the Fuqua school will be new.
60,000 square feet The entrance will be at the base of a five
interior, while retaining hour. Consider: an office averages 12 air changes
per hour. Researchers will be able to design and story tower of Duke stone, precast concrete, metal
original features: and glass that rises above the addition’s roof line.
terrazzo floor, marble build new diagnostic tools for health care, ever
smaller chip-scale systems (ladybug size) and Since 1989, Fuqua’s total MBA student
baseboards, wide enrollment has increased from 694 students to
hallways, wood molding machines comprised of parts that are the thickness
of a cell membrane or the size of a virus. nearly 1,450 - without an increase in classroom or
and 11 feet high ceilings. library space.
All 194 windows will be SMIF is a university-wide facility that builds
on Duke’s strength in biologically-oriented The $40 million addition will be 91,000
replaced for more square feet and will include, among other
energy efficient ones material science and nanomedicine. It will enable
opportunities for leading contributions in these features, three, 65-seat tiered classrooms; two
with the same look. classrooms (for 140 and 120 students); team and
When completed in emerging fields. Nan Jokerst, the J.A. Jones
professor of electrical engineering, will be the seminar rooms for projects; new library space;
June 2007, academic and an outdoor terrace area.
departments will executive director of SMIF, and Dr. Mark
occupy the space. Walters is the director.
This is the two story art gallery in
— By Leanora Minai
the Old Art Museum that will be
Editor, Working@Duke
turned into tiered offices with the
skylight.

United Way Duke Partnership Campaign underway

FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR DUKE EMPLOYEES IS $1 MILLION

How to Give
A guide of Triangle United
Way member agencies
and pledge forms are
uke employees contributed
$1 million last year to the
D United Way Duke Partnership
Campaign. This year, the goal is no
different: raise another $1 million.
“Duke employees help people meet
basic survival needs, deal with crises
and flourish fully as community
members,” said Monica Pallett, Staff
Here are two Duke employees’
donation stories:
“Through the United Way, I
support the Triangle Radio Reading
Service, a local organization that
disseminates news and information to
more than 15,000 blind, low vision
and physically disabled people in the
assistance, tutoring, counseling,
education programs and advocacy for
change for those in need. Supporting
Catholic Charities through United
Way is a way for me to expand on the
work I do at Duke with the Latino
community, but the scope of the
organization extends to anyone in the
community regardless of religious,

& Family Programs manager and greater Triangle area. About 150 social or economic backgrounds. It is
available online at

United Way Duke Partnership volunteers, including myself, read 87 important for me to participate and
www.hr.duke.edu/unitedway.
Employees who would like
more information may write
Campaign coordinator. “Every pledge hours of programming per week that give back to the community. I choose
makes a difference in helping us reach is broadcast over radio, television and to support the United Way because
sfp@duke.edu or call

or exceed our goal.” cable. One of the programs includes I know my contribution helps to
(919) 684-1942.

The United Way Duke reading local newspapers from cover strengthen the lives of so many.”
Partnership Campaign began to cover, from describing
September 25 and ends photographs to explaining grocery
— Rebecca Reyes,

November 3.
Latino Health Project coordinator at Duke

store advertisements. Our audience

The Triangle United Way depends on this service to stay in
— By Jen Mathot

works with local agencies, touch with what is happening in their

Senior Communications Strategist,

coordinating a health and

Human Resources
communities and helps to alleviate
human services response.
their feeling of isolation.”
Each year, nearly 3,200 Duke
employees open their hearts
— Jo Ann Garofalo,

and wallets to contribute to

Division of Plastic and

the campaign. Many pledge

Reconstructive Surgery nurse

donations to the Community “Because of my work with the

Care Fund, which provides Latino Health Project at Duke, I have
Jo Ann Garofalo reads the

for a broad range of services. Others witnessed the impact that Catholic
newspaper to the Triangle Radio

donate to their favorite charities. Charities has had on the growing

Reading Service audience. Photo by
Bruce DeBeer.

Hispanic population in our community.

6 Catholic Charities provides emergency
Rebecca Reyes, center, supports Catholic Charities.
Duke departments urged to
protect personal data
CONSULT WITH IT SECURITY AND E-COMMERCE OFFICES FOR SAFETY METHODS

memory stick with 6,500
student social security numbers
A was stolen from a faculty
member. Names, addresses, social
security numbers and birthdates of
21,000 federal loan borrowers were
inadvertently exposed on a Web site.
And credit card information from
nearly 19,000 online store customers
was stolen.
Fortunately, these examples of
data breaches were not at Duke, but
they offer an important lesson: if
sensitive information had not been
stored on these electronic devices, the
data may not have been exposed to
fraud or abuse.
In an effort to protect
confidential information at Duke, the
university is reminding departments
not to store personal data such as
social security and credit card
numbers in any form - electronically
or in paper files.
The University IT Security Office
and Treasury & Cash Management, in
collaboration with Chief Information
Officer Tracy Futhey and Executive
Vice President Tallman Trask III, are
asking departments to review their
use and storage of sensitive
information, including passwords. If
confidential data must be kept,
departments should consult with the
University IT Security Office for safe
ways to store and access the
information.
Several years ago, all departments
were asked to discontinue collecting
and storing social security numbers to
protect students and employees from
identify theft. Only a handful of
departments retain social security
numbers for legal or tax reasons.
“Every employee at Duke must
take responsibility for the security of
sensitive information collected and
stored within their department, in
addition to protecting their own
personal data,” said Chris Cramer,
University IT Security officer.
The North Carolina Identity
Theft Protection Act of 2005 requires
businesses and other groups to take
measures to protect against
unauthorized access or use of
personal data. The act also requires
groups to notify users whose personal
information has been compromised.
Cramer said Duke has made
significant progress raising awareness
among departments to not offer social
security or bank account numbers by
phone or electronically. Human
Resources introduced a new applicant
tracking system that no longer requires
job seekers to enter social security
numbers. And Duke, which adheres to
industry standards for credit card
security, has also eliminated avenues for
data theft by focusing E-Commerce Technology
efforts on the DukePay system.
“DukePay is the single approved security
method for processing internet questions?
payments for the university,” said
Christa Stilley Poe, E-Commerce
director.
University IT
Prior to DukePay, some
Security Office
departments hosted Web sites with
www.security.duke.edu
online bill pay options that processed
Send e-mail to security@duke.edu
personal data through multiple
Report abuse of network or
servers. Now departments are
computing resources to
required to use DukePay, so all credit
abuse@duke.edu
card information is collected and
processed on a third-party server that
Credit card
is centralized, remote and secure, security
removing the risk of transmitting data questions?
from a Duke Web site.
— By Dave Menzies Treasury & Cash
News & Information Manager
Management
Office of Information Technology
Send e-mail to
ecommerce@duke.edu

GladyouAsked Have a
businesses can view Question?
program requirements
“I know all of you are working hard to find

and submit their discount

discounts for Duke employees and your

offers. “We are always

efforts are appreciated. What is being

looking to broaden the

done to find PERQs discounts for those

range of discounts
of us who live outside the immediate

offered and encourage

Durham area in counties such as Wake,

employee participation to
Person and Orange?”
Each month, Working@Duke

We talked with Monica Pallett, manager of Staff & help this happen,” Pallett selects a question about
Family Programs, to find out how businesses are selected said. “Faculty and staff
for PERQs, Duke’s employee discount program. The can also send us e-mail at
working at Duke. We’ll research
Monica Pallett, manager of

PERQs program provides discounted products and sfp@duke.edu with discount

Staff & Family Programs and print the answer. Send us
services offered by participating businesses, including suggestions. If the suggested business meets all of the
stores, hotels, restaurants, theme parks and entertainment requirements, they will be added to the PERQs program.”
your questions by email at

providers throughout the Triangle and beyond.
“Since its inception in 2000, the program has been
very successful, and we’re adding new discounts almost
on a weekly basis,” Pallett said. “We have 12,950
Pallett explained that recently, several restaurants working@duke.edu; by fax at
in Raleigh were added to the program. There are also (919) 681-7926 or by campus
discounts offered for entertainment outside the Durham
area such as the North Carolina State Fair, Biltmore
mail at Working@Duke,

employees currently on the e-mail list to receive Estate, Chimney Rock Park, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld Box 90496, 705 Broad St.,
notification when new discounts are offered, and that and Six Flags.
number continues to grow.” Duke is able to provide an array of discounts at
Durham,NC27708

Pallett explained that although Duke occasionally
solicits businesses for the PERQs discount program,
businesses generally approach Duke. The PERQs program
is available to any business that meets Duke's requirements,
including a review process and good standing with the
Better Business Bureau. If faculty and staff have a favorite
restaurant, business or service they want added to the
program, they should contact Staff & Family programs or
direct the business to the vendor registration Web page at
www.hr.duke.edu/discounts/vendors.html. From here,
no cost to Duke employees because employees represent
an attractive market for area businesses, Pallett said.
“Businesses want to market their products and services
to large audiences, and they are willing to offer significant
discounts for the opportunity to do so,” she said.
To learn more about PERQs or to join the mailing
list for discount e-mail alerts, visit
www.hr.duke.edu/discounts or call Staff & Family
Programs at (919) 684-9040 for more information.
7
WORKING@ DUKE

HOW TO REACH US
Editor: Leanora Minai
(919) 681-4533
dialogue@Duke
leanora.minai@duke.edu How do you think Duke’s health
Director: Paul S. Grantham
benefits compare to other employers?
(919) 681-4534

I think they’re pretty good. They’re not as good as some, but they are a lot better than some
paul.grantham@duke.edu

others. Their coverage on medications is quite good.”

“
Graphic Design & Layout:
Paul Figuerado
Donna Ruger
Staff assistant Department of Physics
Photography: Jon Gardiner, Les Todd
21 years with Duke
and Megan Morr of Duke University
Photography.

Support Staff: Mary Carey

All I know is that it is really good insurance. I’m pleased with mine.”
and William Blackburn.

Working@Duke is published monthly

by Duke’s Office of Communication
Services. We welcome your
feedback and suggestions for
future story topics.
“
Mary Torain
Housekeeper specialist
16 years with Duke

Please write us at

I worked for another major company, and they’re comparable as far as I’m concerned.
working@duke.edu or

I’m retired from IBM.”

“
Working@Duke, Box 90496,
705 Broad St., Durham, NC 27708
Call us at (919) 684-4345.
Gerald Gunnell
Send faxes to (919) 681-7926.
Traffic enforcement
12 years with Duke

— By Eddy Landreth
Working@Duke Correspondent

BACK TO SCHOOL
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Why did they
leave Duke? Based on her prior employment, Richardson already
knew about Duke’s benefits and felt comfortable with the
36% Career development/ work culture.
“In some settings, the driving force may be the dollar,”
she said. “Here, the driving force is patient care.”
promotional

While in school, Richardson also saw the potential for

opportunity

20% Relocation career growth at Duke while working eight different

16% Return to school
or changing career
rotations at Duke Hospital, including the intensive care
unit, hematology and inpatient medicine.
“There is such opportunity across Duke,” she said.
“You can advance within a career path without ever leaving
“It’s hard to turn down more money, but for me it was more about quality of

Duke. The sky’s the limit.”

life,” said Hazel Richardson, a clinical staff pharmacist with Durham Regional

10% Supervisor Hospital. She works at Lincoln Community Health Center in Durham.

In a poll conducted during Duke Appreciation Week

10% Compensation in May, more than 450 employees were asked about their
perceptions of working at Duke. Results indicated that
3% Location (traveling those who worked at other employers had a more favorable
impression of working at Duke than those who only
worked at Duke.
distance)
North Carolina to manage its off-site primary care clinics.
The business was later sold, and UNC decided to bring
the management of the clinics in-house.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a state employee,”
Franklin said. “When I looked at the Duke benefits, the

2% Difficult co-workers “Many people spend their entire careers here,” said
Clint Davidson, vice president for Human Resources. “Our
1% average tenure among employees is 10 years. While that’s a
remarkable statistic, longer-term staff may be less familiar
Personal health
retirement plan was much better, and I have a son, so the
tuition benefit was also a factor.”
Like Solomon, Franklin was initially lured away by
more money. When he decided to return to Duke, he

1% with what’s happening at other employers. Duke is pretty considered more than just the pay and benefits.
unique in continuing to offer the level of traditional benefits “Working at an outside company gave me some
Benefits

1% for things such as retirement, health insurance and education.
But it also has expanded professional development programs
Maternity
Source: Exit survey data with the new tuition benefit, the mentoring initiative and the
from the university and Professional Development Institute.”
health system, March to For Scott Franklin, associate director of finance and
budget planning for the Office of the Provost, benefits
August 2006
were a key factor when he decided to return in 2000. He
worked at Duke from 1991 to 1998, but he was lured away
by a small firm that contracted with the University of
perspective that I didn’t have before I left Duke,” Franklin
said. “Duke is such a large and interesting place to work.
I’ve been exposed to a lot of things that I wouldn’t have
been by working at a small company. Things that may not
be directly related to my job but help me learn and grow
in ways I probably couldn’t find some place else.”
— By Paul Grantham
Director, Office of Communication Services

For the latest news and information,

D U K E T O D AY visit www.duke.edu/today