October/November, 2011 Working@Duke

WORKING@DUKE n NEWS YOU CAN USE n Volume 6, Issue 7 n October-November 2011

INSIDE

Health Benefits Enrollment Volts Offer New Charge Get Rid Of Clutter

Duke In The Bull City Nearly 2,000 employees work downtown, boosting revitalization efforts

Editor’s Note

Contents

LEANORA MINAI Leanora.Minai@duke.edu

Cover: Duke In The Bull City

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hree times a year, we ask a random sample of Duke staff and faculty how they’re enjoying this publication. In August, we sent our second survey of the year by email to 5,000.

Among the August findings, most readers – 75 percent of nearly 600 respondents – say they read Working@Duke each month; 85 percent of readers find it beneficial; 85 percent say it helps them understand Duke’s benefits and 91 percent find the publication credible.

“It makes me feel like part of a larger community of Duke employees,” one reader told us in the survey. From time to time, we also get this reader feedback: “I sometimes feel as if there is a lot of propaganda.”

We’re pleased with the overall results but will closely monitor readership because the way people get news and information continues to evolve. As many of you know, significant enhancements were made in Duke employee communications with the new version of the Duke Today website, which now features a "Working@Duke" section.

Be sure to visit today.duke.edu/working every day for news you can use in real-time and to join the conversation on Facebook.

Please continue to send story ideas and suggestions for how we can improve our print and online news channels. Drop me a note at Leanora.Minai@duke.edu or call (919) 681-4533.

With nearly 2,000 employees downtown, Duke has been a catalyst for projects that helped revitalize Durham over 15 years, including the renovation of the American Tobacco Campus.

Safeguarding Info Online As part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the Duke IT Security Office reminds staff and faculty to keep security in mind when interacting on social networks.

Open Enrollment For Benefits Open enrollment is Oct. 24 to Nov. 5 when staff and faculty have the opportunity to make changes and enroll in medical, dental, vision and reimbursement plans.

+++ This issue of “Working@Duke” includes important news about annual open enrollment, which begins Oct. 24.

Open enrollment is your chance to enroll in, drop or change medical, dental and vision plans and reimbursement accounts. Apart from slight premium increases to medical insurance plans in 2012, the plans are similar to this year.

You’ll find the open enrollment story on Pages 8 and 9, along with information to help you decide whether a health care reimbursement account is right for you.

The health care reimbursement account is another way to save. In 2012, you can shelter up to $4,000 of your income from taxes by putting it in an account.

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Diversity, inclusion through institutional equity office Electric Chevy Volts roll onto campus for car-sharing New, simplified options for retirement investments Duke carbon offsets available for purchase

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

This paper consists of 30% recycled post-consumer fiber.

Please recycle after reading.

Briefly

Get fit with Duke’s employee wellness program

Help beat the flu, get a flu shot Employee Occupational Health and Wellness staff members will travel to buildings across Duke University and Duke University Health System in October and early November to offer the annual influenza vaccination to faculty and staff at no charge. Vaccinations are also available between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday to Friday (except noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday) in the Employee Occupational Health and Wellness office on the basement level of the Red Zone of Duke Clinics throughout the flu season.

The 2011-12 vaccine is one shot and protects against the three strains of flu the World Health Organization Women’s Basketball Coach predicts will be circulating widely this season.

Joanne P. McCallie Flu activity most commonly peaks in January or February. However, seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and continue to occur as late as May. The vaccination provides protection for 10 to 12 months.

Last year, approximately 16,500 employees got flu shots, said Dr. Carol Epling, co-director of Employee Occupational Health and Wellness. “We hope that even more will take advantage of the vaccine this year, since higher vaccination rates are associated with lower incidences of the flu in large populations,” Epling said.

A vaccination schedule is available at duke.edu/flu.

Take action on workplace sustainability Amy Lett, a registered nurse at Duke Hospital, is taking a stand against waste.

To decrease discarded items at work, she formed a “green team” committee on the 8100 unit, organized can recycling and attended a workshop on sustainability hosted by Duke’s Office of Sustainability.

The three-hour workshop provided Lett with resources, ideas and encouragement to guide her department through the Duke Green Workplace Certification.

The office awards the certification to departments that complete at least 40 of 57 steps on a Courtney Stanion, right, safety and health sustainability checklist. specialist for the Occupational and Environmental “We worked with the Safety Office, writes ideas for energy savings sustainability office to generated by fellow participants during the tailor the checklist for Leading for Environmental Sustainability class. inpatient units like ours that don’t have options regular offices do, such as shutting off lights or powering down computers,” Lett said.

The Office of Sustainability offers the free “Leading for Environmental Sustainability” workshop once a quarter. The next class is Oct. 18. Visit hr.duke.edu/training, select “Classes and Workshops” and look for the “Other Classes” section for dates and registration.

LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, is encouraging faculty and staff to increase their daily activity levels with “Take the Stairs,” a health and fitness program offering LIVE FOR LIFE dollars to employees who log their steps going up and down stairs. (LIVE FOR LIFE dollars can be exchanged for pedometers, duffle bags, exercise clothing and much more at the LIVE FOR LIFE store).

In addition to “Take the Stairs,” LIVE FOR LIFE is offering other programs this fall.

They include: the annual Health Fair at the Searle Center (Oct. 19); Pumpkin Fun Run, a 5K run/walk with family activities (Nov. 5); the Great American Smokeout (Nov. 14-18); and Maintain Don’t Gain, a 12-week selfdirected program to help prevent weight gain during the winter holidays (Nov. 14-Jan. 6).

For more information, visit hr.duke.edu/liveforlife.

Employee annual giving campaign runs through December There’s still time to contribute to Doing Good in the Neighborhood, the annual employee giving campaign, which continues to December.

Last year, Duke faculty and staff pledged $588,280 to help the local community.

Employees can choose to direct donations in the 2011-12 campaign to any of six areas: Partnering With Our Schools, Supporting Our Young People, Supporting our Neighborhoods, Partnering for a Healthier Durham, Community Care Fund or United Way of the Greater Triangle.

Deborah Jakubs, vice provost for library affairs at Duke, donates to the campaign for programs that support Duke’s partnership with Durham schools. “I think it is our responsibility, within a distinguished educational institution, to do all we can to make a solid educational foundation possible for Durham’s children,” she said.

For more information about the campaign, visit doinggood.duke.edu.

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Cover Story

Duke In The Bull City W Natalie Spring, who works in University Development on Main Street in Durham, claimed a scavenger hunt prize from this public art sculpture on Parrish Street.

“Working downtown gives me the chance to combine the energy of Duke with the energy of downtown Durham,” she said.

hen Natalie Spring read the email with the first clue in a scavenger hunt hosted by Bull City Burger and Brewery, she acted on a hunch: She paid a visit to the public art sculpture on Parrish Street in downtown Durham.

As she walked from her office on Main Street to a meeting several blocks away with Duke colleagues, she stopped at the sculpture of a coat and hat, peered inside the coat flap and retrieved the prize – a small brass bull that would later entitle her to a weekly free burger for a year.

“I never would have won that contest if I hadn’t been working in downtown Durham,” said Spring, a statistician at University Development on Main Street. “Working downtown gives me the chance to combine the energy of Duke with the energy of downtown Durham.”

She’s not alone. Nearly 2,000 Duke University and Duke University Health System employees from 16 departments work in 13 buildings downtown, up from approximately 50 employees in the early 90s. Duke is the largest leaser of space in downtown Durham, renting approximately 535,000 square feet. In July, Duke signed a contract to purchase its first downtown property, the 93,000 square-foot Carmichael Building, a former tobacco drying and storage warehouse.

At a gathering of downtown Duke employees at the Durham Performing Arts Center in May, President Richard Brodhead and other city leaders thanked Duke employees for their presence downtown.

“You are the urban pioneers and the fuel that keeps downtown thriving,” Brodhead said. “What has happened here is really nothing

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short of astounding. We have theater, restaurants and all these amenities that enrich the lives of everyone who lives in Durham, and everyone who works at Duke.”

Duke has been a catalyst for many projects that helped revitalize Durham over the past 15 years, including the renovation of the American Tobacco Campus (the largest historic renovation in North Carolina) and the creation of the Durham Performing Arts Center (the largest theater between Atlanta and Washington, D.C.).

Durham officials say Duke’s presence and partnership helped the city center recover from what The New York Times described as “a place best avoided after sundown” to a town that placed in the paper’s 2011 list of the top 41 places in the world to visit.

“Duke provided the tipping point,” Durham Mayor Bill Bell said during an interview with Working@Duke. “By bringing a large portion of the workforce downtown, Duke has shown others what the possibilities are. As a result, others are joining the downtown family.”

Changing Downtown’s Trajectory In 1998, Mel Adam, business manager for Medical Center Development, toured the newly built Diamond View Building to scope out the offices where the first large group of employees would move downtown. Looking out the fourth-floor window, he was delighted but dismayed.

“The office had a beautiful view of the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park,” he said. But beyond loomed one million square feet of the abandoned American Tobacco warehouses with broken

Duke staff talk about working downtown: j.mp/dukeanddowntown

windows and barbed wire fencing symbolizing a downtown struggling against decay.

“It was hard to view moving downtown as a step up in the world because downtown was so dead,” Adam said.

The view, and Adam’s outlook, changed dramatically with the opening of a renovated 16-acre American Tobacco Campus (ATC) in 2004 with Duke as one of the first tenants.

“We saw ATC as an opportunity to change the trajectory of Durham,” said Tallman Trask III, Duke’s executive vice president.

“Having an abandoned downtown was not in Duke’s interest. Duke needed new space, and we wanted to invest our money where it could make a substantial difference.”

But Duke didn’t want to overwhelm downtown. To that end, Duke officials told American Tobacco developers they would sign a lease for 100,000 square feet only if at least three for-profit tenants agreed to lease an equivalent amount of space.

“It worked,” said Scott Selig, Duke’s associate vice president of Capital Assets and Real Estate. “We were the first to sign a letter of intent, but the fourth company to make the formal commitment that made building ATC possible.”

Duke now leases approximately 225,000 square feet at the American Tobacco Campus for seven Duke departments and shares the complex with 72 other businesses and retailers, from Burt’s Bees to the American Tobacco Barber Shop.

Mixing Work and Play Ben Kimmel, information architect for Duke Web Services, is a regular at the American Tobacco Barber Shop.

Once a month, he takes a two-minute stroll from his Duke office overlooking the Lucky Strike water tower stage at the American Tobacco Campus and settles in the barber’s chair for a quick clip. After, he ducks into nearby Mellow Mushroom for a slice of pizza. Kimmel finds mixing work and leisure downtown invigorating.

“I love that there is always a lot of activity here, no matter what time of day,” he said. “And the Bull City Connector makes it really easy to get back to campus when I need to.”

On the north side of downtown, Kristina Sigmon, director of statistical operations for the Duke Clinical Research Institute, is able to enjoy another slice of Durham.

At 6:15 p.m. on a summer afternoon, Sigmon left her office in the Durham Centre and walked two blocks to the farmers market in Durham Central Park to stock up on organic vegetables and goat cheese before the market closed at 6:30 p.m.

“I could never make it to the farmers market on time when my office was over by the hospital,” she said.

Sigmon is one of approximately 400 clinical research employees with offices on six floors of the Durham Centre. Working >> continued on page 6

Duke Departments in Downtown Durham Carmichael Building, 300 North Duke St. (planned purchase from Durham County)

Triangle Biotechnology Center, 323 Foster St. Dr. Levin Psychiatry Lab

Durham Centre, 300 West Morgan St. Duke Clinical Research Institute

Brightleaf Square, 905 West Main St. Duke Press, Duke Psychiatry

American Tobacco Campus (Washington, Lucky Strike, Strickland and Noell Buildings) Duke OIT, Duke Financial Services, Duke Divinity School Leadership Education, DUMAC, Duke Office of Counsel, Duke Real Estate, Duke Corporate Education

West Village, 700 West Main St. (Cobb Building, O’Brien Building) Office of Durham and Regional Affairs, Duke University Development

North Carolina Mutual Building, 411 West Chapel Hill St. Center for Child and Family Health, Duke Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke Department of Psychiatry

Source: Duke Capital Assets and Real Estate

Former Blue Cross and Blue Shield Building, 800 South Duke St. Duke Physician Assistant Program

Diamond View I, 512 South Mangum St. Duke Medicine Development and Alumni Affairs

Photos courtesy of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Duke Physician Program and Jeffrey L. Cohen.

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downtown, she said, makes it easier to fit personal errands into her workday. She’s even scheduled two half-day vacations to attend the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival at the nearby Carolina Theatre.

“It was my own little personal vacation, right next to work,” she said.

in bringing people back to the center of Durham. During the recent American Dance Festival season, he arranged to meet friends for a late dinner downtown at Revolution. As Trask walked through the glass doors of the restaurant, he was relieved he had a reservation.

“It was mid-week, 9 p.m. and DPAC hadn’t let out yet, but the restaurant was jam-packed,” he said. “That’s what downtown Durham is like now. There are people there day and night.”

’Jewel of downtown’ Duke’s downtown investment stretches beyond office space to the performing arts. In 2006, Duke donated $7.5 million to the city to help create the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC).

Duke had originally planned a new theater as part of a renovated Central Campus, but when Duke’s administration learned of Durham’s plans for DPAC, they chose to eliminate the campus theater and collaborate with Durham.

“It made more sense to invest our money with Durham and ensure there was one top-notch theater,” Trask said.

With its stunning three-story glass lobby and Broadway showsized stage, the performing arts center has been a roaring success since it opened in 2008. In fiscal year 2011, it ranked second in the nation among theaters of its size for number of tickets sold.

“Its success is beyond what any of us expected,” Trask said. “It is the jewel of downtown.”

Trask, who has lived downtown since 2005, experiences firsthand the success of the performing arts center and other venues

Duke was a pivotal player in the renovation and development of the American Tobacco Campus, which now houses employees from seven Duke departments.

(Photo courtesy of Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau).

Economic Engine Duke’s latest downtown venture is the $6.8 million planned purchase of the Carmichael Building at 300 North Duke St. Constructed in 1926 by Liggett and Myers, the building is currently used by Durham County Social Services.

Duke will lease the building back to the county until the new Human Services Complex on East Main Street is completed in late 2012. Duke officials have not decided yet how to use the old warehouse but made the offer as a hedge against rising lease prices and a lack of large areas of office space downtown. If Duke doesn’t need the space, one option is to sell it to a large for-profit company that would bring new jobs to downtown Durham.

“I’ve always seen our investment downtown as an economic development engine for Durham,” Trask said. “Durham needs more employment and more employers.”

He has considered the option of moving some Duke employees out of downtown if a top-notch for-profit company wanted to move in and needed room.

“But that would make a lot of Duke people really mad at me,” Trask said. “Folks really like working downtown. Nobody wants to leave.”

BY MARSHA A. GREEN

In May 2011, hundreds of Duke employees who work downtown gathered at the Durham Performing Arts Center for a Duke employee appreciation reception.

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Staying safe on social network sites

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hen it comes to social networking, Cara Rousseau likes being “out there.” As Duke’s social media manager, she shares information about the university in daily posts on Facebook and Twitter.

But she’s also careful to protect herself and her information online, because she understands the risks of exposing too much on social networks.

“It’s an individual’s preference for how much information he or she wants to share publicly,” Rousseau said. “There’s a huge range of privacy settings and ways to customize who can see your information.

But the best rule of thumb is to think about anything you’re putting out there as public, no matter what your privacy settings.”

As part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the Duke IT Security Office is reminding students, faculty and staff to keep security in mind when interacting on social networks.

The popular social networking platform Facebook, for instance, is notorious for changing privacy settings without notice, said Richard Biever, Duke’s chief information security officer.

“Remember, you are not the customer of a social networking site. You are the product,” Biever said. “They can take the information you put on their platform and repurpose it for selling ads and data mining for advertising.”

The Internet provides a sense of anonymity, and the lack of physical interaction can create a false sense of security. Some users tailor posts for their friends to read, forgetting others may see it. They may not be aware photos and text can be retrieved even after deletion.

“What you post on social networking sites could be used against you,” Biever said.

Because of the popularity of social networking sites, attackers use them to distribute malicious code, often through third-party applications. Those applications can infect computers or share personal information without a user’s knowledge.

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For Duke IT security resources, visit security.duke.edu

To protect herself, Rousseau stays up-to-date on privacy and security issues by reading technology blogs regularly. She has created various Facebook groups to customize who can see different types of content.

She doesn’t recommend creating two profiles to separate the personal from the professional but advocates a healthy sense of skepticism.

“Not everything online is what it appears to be, and there’s a certain amount of risk whenever you click,” she said. “While these platforms offer a lot of value, you need to filter incoming content carefully and understand that what you put out there stays out there. If you’re not sure if it should be posted to Facebook, then don’t post it.”

BY CARA BONNETT

Cybersecurity Tips Check privacy settings regularly. Default settings may allow anyone to see your profile, but settings can be customized to restrict access to certain people.

Limit personal information. For example, do not post your address or schedule.

Only post information you are comfortable with anyone seeing.

Be wary of third-party applications. Avoid applications that seem suspicious, and modify settings to limit the amount of information applications can access.

Use strong passwords and different passwords on different sites.

Use and maintain anti-virus software. Duke offers free anti-virus software for faculty and staff for download on the Office of Information Technology website [oit.duke.edu].

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This is a word cloud of the description of Duke’s medical, dental and vision insurance plans on the Human Resources website. The word’s size reflects how often it appears.

Duke medical plans remain stable for 2012 OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR HEALTH BENEFITS BEGINS OCT. 24

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coverage will increase between $2 and $8 per month for individual uring open enrollment for benefits from Oct. 24 to Nov. coverage and between $14 and $35 per month for family coverage.

5, faculty and staff will find that Duke’s medical plans There will be no increase for vision for 2012 look insurance. Dental insurance will rise remarkably similar between 67 cents and $6.50 per to 2011. That’s an uncommon month, depending on which plan is mark of stability in a national Our employees chosen and how many dependents environment where medical care and their are covered. costs are rising faster than “We are pleased that we are able inflation and many businesses are families have been great to maintain stability in our plans this revamping healthcare offerings. partners in helping year and to keep our premium In 2012, Duke will continue the four medical plans increases below the national average contain health care again,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice offered to staff and faculty since costs by using programs president for administration. “Next 2004, with no changes in cosuch as DukeWell and year is also relatively quiet with regard payments and deductibles and to national health care reform, but we with modest premium increases. moving to generics and can expect more substantive changes Depending on which of Duke’s mail order for their medications.” in 2013 and 2014, as other elements four medical plans selected, the of the act take effect.” premiums for individual — Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration 8

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“

DukeWell and moving to generics and mail order for their medications,” Cavanaugh said.

Duke spends approximately $50 million to pay for medications for people covered by its plans.

During 2011, Duke expects to save about $2.3 Individual Family million because employees and their dependents have switched to lower-cost generics.

2011 2012 2011 2012 Celeste Hodges, a web developer in the Duke Basic $25 $27 $237 $251 Computer Science Department, said she appreciates Duke’s attention to keeping premiums as low as Duke Select $63 $67 $373 $396 possible. She and her husband are pleased with affordable out-of-pocket costs for treatments for Blue Care $104 $112 $467 $500 illness and for routine care. Last year, in addition to maintaining her medical coverage, she enrolled in Duke Options $100 $108 $460 $495 Duke’s vision insurance plan.

Source: Duke Human Resources “I couldn’t believe how much cheaper my glasses were with insurance,” she said. “I saved more As the cost of providing health insurance has increased, more than $500 on my glasses compared to what I would have paid colleges and universities have shifted a larger portion of health care without insurance.” costs to employees, according to a survey of benefit programs by Duke covers nearly 60,000 faculty, staff and dependents, up the College and University Professional Association for Human from approximately 51,000 at the end of 2007. With a growing Resources. The survey indicated that more than a quarter of workforce and more dependents, Duke could insure close to 63,000 institutions changed their health plan last year to include a highfaculty, staff and dependents by the end of 2012. deductible plan, which requires participants to pay more out of Cavanaugh said health care costs are an ongoing issue, pocket before the plan kicks in. especially with the growing popularity of Duke’s plans during the “Our employees and their families have been great partners economic downturn. in helping contain health care costs by using programs such as “For each person we add, we have additional costs,” Cavanaugh said. “This year, we expect to pay $22 million more for our health plans than last year. We have to continue to find ways to focus on improving health and using health care wisely to help contain future costs.”

2012 Monthly Health Care Premiums

Need a Health Care Reimbursement Account?

Will you have medical, dental, or vision expenses that are not covered by your insurance plans, such as deductibles, co-payments, or amounts in excess of the usual and customary limits?

Will you have prescription drug expenses that are not fully covered by insurance, such as deductibles or co-payments?

Do you plan to buy new eyeglasses or contacts, have your hearing tested, or get braces (orthodontia) for your teeth?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may benefit from participating in a Health Care Reimbursement Account in 2012. Remember, health care reimbursement accounts must be renewed each year. Visit hr.duke.edu/ reimbursementaccount for more information.

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For more information, visit hr.duke.edu

BY MARSHA A. GREEN

Open Enrollment Tips “My Health. My Life.” information packets will arrive by mail at home in October. Review the information about medical, vision and dental coverage, as well as reimbursement accounts.

Remember, for 2012, you can shelter up to $4,000 of your income from taxes by putting it in a health care reimbursement account, and up to $5,000 in a dependent care reimbursement account.

Enroll and make adjustments at Duke@Work [work.duke.edu] or call the Duke Enrollment Service Center [(919) 684-5600] to speak with a customer service representative.

Open Enrollment representatives are available at (919) 684-5600 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays Oct. 24 - Nov. 4 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday Oct. 29 and Nov. 5.

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Office for Institutional Equity fosters diversity and inclusion at Duke Department: Office for Institutional Equity Years at Duke: 16 years Who they are: The Office for Institutional Equity (OIE) provides leadership in areas of diversity, inclusion and equity through strategic leadership, workshops and training focused on diversity, inclusion, equal opportunity, harassment and discrimination prevention.

What they’re known for: The office and its consultants play a key role in developing and implementing strategies and initiatives to insure the Duke community is inclusive and respectful.

What they can do for you: OIE offers services designed to support Duke’s commitment to learning and work environments that are diverse, inclusive and free from prohibited behaviors. Office for Institutional Equity services, which are open to the entire Duke community, include the creation and facilitation of senior-level diversity leadership groups, in-person training, online tools for supervisors, as well as long-term collaborations with individual departments. “We are always working to get employees across the institution to play an active role in enhancing a culture of diversity and inclusion. It can’t only be top-down,” said Ben Reese, vice president for institutional equity. “Through our work with others, we want to help foster a sense of inclusion and excellence that contributes to a better institution.”

Ben Reese, vice president for institutional equity, leads a workshop about the role of his office. The Office for Institutional Equity helps to support Duke’s diverse work environment.

Number of employees: 11 Hidden department fact: Instead of using Duke employees to role-play

workplace interactions for training videos, OIE uses professional actors to demonstrate productive and non-productive workplace behaviors and to provide managers with practice in resolving workplace issues. “Professional actors allow us to re-play and modify simulations to provide an opportunity for managers to arrive at the most effective approach to many of our complex workplace issues,” Reese said.

Significant achievement: Reese is proud of the work done by the office in establishing diversity leadership groups within the Duke University Health System. Senior health system administrators and human resource personnel comprise the groups’ membership. On campus, an Institutional Equity Council is comprised of deans and administrators. “By bringing together top leaders to work on strategies, we’re able to improve our work environment all across Duke,” Reese said.

Big goal: “We’re constantly trying to contribute to building a more inclusive work environment,” said Reese, noting that OIE works continuously to make diversity and inclusion an integral component of Duke. “We want to create a place where every employee can feel like he or she makes an important contribution regardless of job level, role or location. Every employee is valued and has a place at the table.”

How they make a difference: Because of its responsibilities and mission, the Office for Institutional Equity helps focus the university’s diversity efforts. “We recognize that with students and employees, building an environment that emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusion is as important as ever in the global environment we live in,” Reese said. “We’re going throughout Duke to make sure the Duke community has a wide range of skills and ways of appreciating people with a variety of race and cultural backgrounds.”

“INSIDE DUKE” HIGHLIGHTS DEPARTMENTS ACROSS DUKE. GOT A DEPARTMENT IN MIND? SEND EMAIL TO

WORKING@DUKE.EDU

INTERVIEW BY BRYAN ROTH

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To learn more about OIE, visit duke.edu/web/equity

Tips for getting rid of clutter

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ne day in July, Roxanne Tuck opened her garage door and discovered that her new washing machine couldn’t be delivered until she created a path through bags, boxes and tools that had accumulated in the garage over six years.

The following day, she learned about a free class, “Making Sense of Clutter,” at Teer House, Duke Medicine’s health education facility.

The class, one of the weekly wellness offerings available to Duke employees and the public, gave Tuck time to consider how clutter affected her life and how to clear it up.

“It was a last-minute opportunity that was just what I needed,” said Tuck, a program coordinator for Duke’s Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program.

Using class tips like starting small and having a plan for excess stuff, she spent an afternoon returning garden tools to the shed and sorting through bags of items.

“I donated some things and got $70 by returning items I had set aside

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previously to return to Home Depot, Ross and Walmart,” she said.

The shrinking clutter piles gave Tuck confidence to tackle paper clutter at work, where she is responsible for organizing continuing medical education courses throughout North Carolina.

In less than an hour, she created a new filing process, switching from piling documents in order of urgency to filing them by region.

“Now if someone calls, I just pick up that region’s folder,” she said. “I feel less worried that something will slip through the cracks.”

That peace of mind is keeping Tuck on track with her new habits.

“I realized that I’m not a hoarder. It just hadn’t been a priority for me to spend time organizing,” she said. “The class helped me realize that the free time I think I’m getting from not dealing with clutter is no longer worth the amount of stress it is costing me.”

BY MARSHA A. GREEN

Visit dukehealth.org/events for details on classes

Tips for Clearing Clutter 1

Determine clutter’s cause. “Whatever you do that causes clutter gives you some reward in the short term," said Alicia Gonzalez, a clinical nurse specialist at Duke who co-taught the Teer House class on clutter. “If you know why you are cluttering, it is easier to change.”

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Start small. “It takes time to de-clutter, just like it takes time to lose weight," said Monica Taylor, program coordinator at Teer House and co-teacher of the class.

“Choose one area to start on and give yourself a huge pat on the back when you get it organized.”

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Share a plan. Research shows individuals are more likely to follow through with plans if they share them.

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Create de-cluttering habits. Duke’s Learning and Organization Development advises employees to tidy up at work two ways each day: the email inbox and the desktop.

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Know where to get rid of items. “You don’t want to simply move things from one pile to another,” Taylor said.

Want to take a class?

Teer House, 4019 North Roxboro St., offers free and low-cost resources through Duke’s Department of Clinical Education and Professional Development. Upcoming classes include: • Diabetes Support Group (Oct. 18, Nov. 15) • Healing Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain (Oct. 20) • When Your Heart Skips a Beat (Nov. 2)

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As part of the new WeCar car-sharing program, Duke has four Chevy Volts parked on the Bryan Center Meter Lot on West Campus.

Volts give car-sharing a new charge at Duke

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ince it debuted at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Roger Barr has patiently waited for the arrival of the Chevrolet Volt – a plug-in, hybrid electric car.

His wait is over.

Barr, a professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department, was among the first Duke community members to drive one of four Chevy Volts parked at Duke as part of WeCar, Duke’s new carsharing program operated by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Describing it as a “revolutionary car,” Barr said he was excited to take the Volt for a spin after making it a topic of discussion in his classes every semester since the car was unveiled four years ago.

“I think every single person at Duke should sign up for WeCar to try out a Volt,” said Barr, noting that driving the Volt is quick, smooth and very quiet. “When I parked off campus, people I didn’t know came up and started walking around the car, looking at it.

That was, for me, a unique experience.”

Parked in consecutive spaces in the Bryan Center Meter Lot on West Campus, the Chevy Volts can travel up to 50 miles on battery charge alone, depending on terrain, temperature and driving technique. Once the battery is depleted, the car’s onboard gas generator creates electricity that powers the Volt. The total range with a full gas tank and battery is about 400 miles.

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The Volts can be plugged into any outlet and have a power cord for connection. On campus, there are special charging stations at the Bryan Center Meter Lot. Depending on climate, a Volt can take up to 10 hours to fully charge.

The Volts are among 16 total Chevrolet vehicles available to Duke students, faculty and staff through the WeCar car-sharing program. Other Chevrolet cars across Duke’s campuses include the Cruze, Malibu, Aveo, Equinox and Traverse.

“We’re excited to now be among the first university campuses in the country to offer an even greener way to get around with our Chevy Volts,” said Sam Veraldi, director of Parking and Transportation Services. “This is just another way Duke promotes environmentally-friendly behavior.”

The Volts on campus can be rented with a WeCar membership for $9 per hour, $38 overnight (6 p.m. to 8 a.m.) or $69 for 24 consecutive hours. All fuel, maintenance and basic liability insurance is covered with a WeCar membership. All cars can be driven up to 200 miles per day with a 45 cent cost per additional mile.

BY BRYAN ROTH

Learn more about the WeCar car-sharing membership at parking.duke.edu/wecar

Simplified options for retirement investments

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hen enrolling in Duke’s 403(b) retirement plan earlier this year, Tonya Jolly-Ahearn wanted a simple option for investing her funds.

“I have so much on my plate,” said Jolly-Ahearn, a nurse practitioner for pediatric neurosurgery in Duke Hospital.

“I’m a mom, I have a full-time job, and I’m involved in various community interests.”

Jolly-Ahearn consulted with a VALIC investment counselor and chose a target date fund, which includes a diversified mix of stocks and bonds that automatically adjusts to be more aggressive when she is younger and more conservative as she approaches retirement.

“Duke has so many investment options that it’s a little overwhelming,” she said. “Playing the stock market isn’t for me. I found it difficult to follow closely, so the target fund was a good option for me.”

Jolly-Ahearn’s perspective is not uncommon; Duke offers more than 300 investment funds through five retirement plan vendors. But choosing investment options became easier in September when Duke introduced a new model to help simply investment decisions for all faculty and staff.

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“While diversity and choice are good features to have in a retirement plan, the multitude of options at Duke can be intimidating to many,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration. “We are not eliminating any funds or any current retirement vendors at this time. We are simply organizing the funds into three tiers to simplify how the options are presented.”

Each of Duke’s five retirement plan vendors will offer investment options in the same three-tiered structure, providing faculty and staff with the opportunity to build a diversified investment portfolio without having to spread their investments over multiple providers.

The new model includes the following investment options: Tier 1: Asset Allocation Funds offer a way to make a single choice for retirement needs based on an individual’s expected number of years to retirement through Target Funds, the option chosen by Jolly-Ahearn, or Balanced Funds, which offer a fixed exposure to stocks and bonds.

Tier 2: Core Funds represent stocks, bonds and short-term instruments that have been carefully reviewed and

selected as “best-in-class.” These funds may represent a good option those who are more comfortable diversifying their own investments.

Tier 3: Other Funds include all other funds offered by the plan that are not already represented in Tier 1 or Tier 2.

These funds will not be monitored and participants are encouraged to regularly review the holdings and performance of these funds to ensure they remain in line with their investment strategy.

Cavanaugh said that Tier 1 and Tier 2 funds will be closely monitored and reviewed annually by a new Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) comprised of Duke faculty and administrators working closely with investment experts to identify best-in-class funds with the lowest reasonable administrative and investment fees.

“These changes do not require individuals to take any immediate action, but we encourage faculty and staff to review the information carefully to ensure they have invested in the options that are best for them,” Cavanaugh said.

For more information, visit hr.duke.edu/retirement or call the HR Information Center, (919) 684-5600

BY PAUL S. GRANTHAM

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Armentha Branche, an administrative assistant at Duke, took advantage of the employee discount for a deal on this used Honda CR-V.

Fully loaded and a discount, too

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PERQS employee discounts

Auto Dealer Savings GM, Volvo, Ford Motor Company, DaimlerChrysler, Leith Volkswagen in Cary, Leith Honda of Raleigh and Marc Jacobson Toyota in Durham are among other dealerships that offer Duke faculty and staff discounts through PERQS. Visit hr.duke.edu/discounts and select “automotive discounts” for details.

rmentha Branche, an administrative assistant at Duke, wasn’t sure if the timing was right to buy a car. But last fall, when she received an email advertising a Duke employee discount at an auto dealership near her Henderson home, she looked at the dealer’s website to check available cars.

As she browsed, she came upon a used, black Honda CR-V loaded with items she had always wanted: a sunroof, sound system, leather seats and anti-theft control system.

“Oh my goodness,” she said to herself. “That’s my car right there.”

Branche visited the Toyota of Henderson dealership with a printed copy of the discount offered through PERQS, the Duke employee discount program.

The discount deal included a $300 credit toward any pre-owned vehicle listed on the dealer’s website. But that still left Branche stretching to fit the car within her budget. Al Camacho, the salesperson, helped her compare loan options from the Duke Credit Union and a local bank.

“We are in a small town, so we really try to help people out,” Camacho said.

“Ms. Branche really wanted that car, so we bent a little on the price to get it within the parameters she had to deal with.”

Within 48 hours, Branche struck a deal with Toyota of Henderson. With a small down payment and a loan from the Duke Credit Union, Branche climbed behind the wheel of her CR-V. She also received a complimentary package of oil changes, tire rotation, roadside benefits and a promise to send $100 to a charity of her choice – all part of the PERQS deal.

“I’ve bought cars before, but never this fast and this easy," Branche said.

“It was painless.”

After Branche drove away in her shiny black Honda, Camacho returned to his office to complete the final paperwork, including following through on Branche’s request to send $100 to a local Jehovah’s Witness congregation.

“People at Duke are always mighty proud to have that $100 go to a charity in their name,” Camacho said. “And it’s a nice way for us to say thanks for the business.”

BY MARSHA A. GREEN

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Working@Duke

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

Sustainable uke YOUR SOURCE FOR

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N E W S AT D U K E

The Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative’s project at Loyd Ray Farms in Yadkinville installed a new synthetically lined and covered anaerobic digester that captures methane generated from hog waste, reduces air and water pollution and generates renewable electricity. The digester replaces the existing open-air hog waste lagoon at right.

Duke carbon offsets available for purchase

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tarting in October, Duke community members can lower the emissions they can’t reduce or avoid by supporting greenhouse gas emission reduction projects sponsored by Duke.

Employees and students can buy “offsets” through the Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative to lower their own carbon footprint and support local projects. The offsets have been generated as a way to meet Duke’s climate neutrality commitment and provide local and regional benefits beyond carbon reductions.

“This is another opportunity to help educate students, faculty and staff on ways they can become more sustainable, while making a difference in North Carolina,” said Tatjana Vujic, director of the Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative. “This is a major part of getting the campus prepared to become climate neutral by 2024.”

Carbon offsets are created when a person or group funds activities or projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gases. For example, at Loyd Ray Farms in Yadkinville, Duke created an offset project to capture methane gas from a lined and covered anaerobic digester to help control emissions, reduce pollutants and generate renewable energy. Because of that, Duke is entitled to the greenhouse gas emission reductions the project achieves.

Currently, self-reported results from Duke’s carbon calculator show the average

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Visit sustainability.duke.edu

employee contributes about three metric tons of carbon emissions per year to Duke’s overall carbon footprint based on habits related to diet, commuting, air travel, and computer use. That’s equivalent to burning 336 gallons of gas or three months of powering a home.

Through Duke’s Offsets Initiative, employees and departments can purchase offsets to address emission footprints starting at $10 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, meaning an average employee would only pay about $30 to offset an entire year of Dukerelated carbon emissions.

Tavey Capps, Duke’s director of environmental sustainability, said buying offsets through Duke will better North Carolina instead of supporting projects unrelated to Duke.

“While our first priority is helping individuals reduce their carbon footprint, we recognize that offsets will be necessary to reach our goal of neutrality,” Capps said.

“This isn’t just any offset, it’s one that directly benefits our local communities.”

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions will be among one of the first units to buy offsets.

A key priority for the Institute is to become carbon neutral, said Director Tim Profeta.

“We see this as a means to walk the walk and ensure that the activities of the Nicholas Institute aren’t worsening the global warming situation we’re trying to help solve,”

Profeta said. “Any solution needs to be from the ground up, meaning it will take individuals to spur change.”

In addition to the Yadkinville hog farm, Duke is considering other offset projects such as reforestation of North Carolina lands and energy efficiency in homes and businesses across the state.

“We want our initiative to be similar to investing in a mutual fund, where you can support a variety of projects that make up a diverse portfolio,” Vujic said. “Making these offsets available gives everyone a chance to make a difference far beyond what they are already doing to address climate change.”

BY BRYAN ROTH

To Purchase Offsets Duke students, faculty and staff can buy offsets now. An online portal for buying offsets will be available this fall to the Duke community at sustainability.duke.edu/carbon_ offsets. Or, buy offsets by contacting Tatjana Vujic at tatjana.vujic@duke.edu or (919) 660-1411 or David Cooley at david.cooley@duke.edu or by calling (919) 613-7466.

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

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.

dialogue@Duke “What’s your favorite aspect about downtown Durham?”

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I’ve been to Chamas at Brightleaf Square and that was one of the most impressive restaurants I’ve eaten in. I also like to take my wife to the American Tobacco Campus because it can be nice and quiet. I like taking her to the restaurants there and also see music performances.”

Robert Jones Utility worker, Housekeeping 3 years at Duke

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I don’t know if I can have just one favorite thing. I really like the emergence of a lot of places like the Beyu Caffé and Fullsteam Brewery.

You can find a lot of places that are small scale and not high budget. These businesses have given downtown a real sense of place in Durham.”

Bill McCraw Staff architect, Office of Project Management 4 years at Duke

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I don’t go downtown often, but I go to the American Tobacco Campus every year during Christmastime. I like to see the lights when they’re put up and music shows Durham schools put on. I enjoy hearing the songs and seeing the choruses.”

Robin Warren Dispatcher, Parking and Transportation Services 21 years at Duke

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