Serving Duke and the National Guard

Name: Joe Rusnak

Position: Financial Management Analyst II, Duke Human Vaccine Institute

Years at Duke: 5

What I do at Duke: I help manage grants for work on AIDS research at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. Right now, I'm managing one major grant. This is the final year of the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) grant, a seven year grant for approximately $315 million. I also work on 20 to 25 smaller grants, manage seven Shared Resources and help manage the Center for Human Genome Variation and a Protein Expression Core. 

To start a conversation with me, ask about: The National Guard. I've been a soldier for about four and a half years with the 113th Finance Detachment based in Siler City. I spend one weekend a month training. Our unit was deployed to Iraq in 2009, but my daughter, Alyssa, was in the hospital with whooping cough. I'm grateful that my readiness sergeant found someone to step in to take my place, but for the whole year they were gone I kept thinking, "I should be there."

My first ever paid job: I was a mechanic's assistant at Interstate Equipment Company working on big loaders and rock quarry tractors.

What I would do with $5 million: That's not enough to buy a professional baseball team, which I'd love to do. So I would probably just keep working and not tell anyone, not even my fiance. Then I'd just start giving bigger and bigger gifts until someone realized Joe had too much money.

What I love about Duke:  I love the athletics, and I love that there are always opportunities to move ahead. I've never felt stuck at Duke.

My dream job: Salary cap manager for a professional sports team.

A memorable moment at work: My fiance, Tiffany Norquest, used to work in President Brodhead's office, and he threw us a baby shower when she was pregnant with our son, Logan. It's neat to know I can go up to the President and say "Hi, Dick."

When I'm not at work, I like to:  Tinker on old cars. I have a 1967 Ford Fairlane station wagon, and my grandpa has a 1950 Jaguar. He says it is my inheritance, but it is still in pieces. He lives in Siler City, so I see him once a month and tinker on it with him.

The best advice I ever received: When I was on the fence about joining the National Guard, my fiance said, "If you have a good opportunity, just do it. I don't want you spending years wondering 'what if?' "

If I could have one superpower, it would be:  The ability to fly - to jump out of my chair and go wherever I want to.

Something most people don't know about me: I'm a pretty good sax player. I used to play more often, but I gave my cousin my sax when he started high school two years ago.