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Communicating with People

Robin Puckett knows people have a pleasant tendency to trust her, but she can't shake the feeling that it has to do with hair.

"I think it's my white hair," said the administrative assistant to Norm Christensen, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment. "Students and others come in this office and see this hair and they just seem to trust me. We had a British visitor here on short notice who needed a lot of help with changing schedules. When he left he told me, 'Robin, you would make a wonderful mother.' That's what this hair seems to conveys."

Others believe the reason for that trust has more to do with Puckett's listening skills and ability to work through difficult problems and situations. She joined Christensen's staff six and a half years ago when the school was still in its infancy. Her considerable efforts in helping establish that young school are the primary reason she has been awarded the Presidential Award this year.

In nominating Puckett, Christensen said she has played a varied role, from problem solver to organizer to greeter.

"Robin has a keen sense of the chemistry and morale among the support staff so critical to our day-to-day functioning," Christensen said. "She is not only my ears in these matters, but has provided wise counsel with regard to appropriate interventions to remedy problems. Because she is so respected by the staff, she is often able to mediate conflict long before it becomes serious."

Puckett came to the Nicholas School after nearly a decade at the Duke Chapel. She started as the chapel hostess, where her outgoing personality suited her well in greeting and helping chapel visitors. She then took a full time job doing chapel publications. She loved working there, but when the Nicholas School job opened, she leaped at the opportunity to work more with the public.

"I love communicating with people," she said in an interview. "I knew from the start that working in the dean's office would broaden my exposure and give me an opportunity to work with more people on different things.

"I'm not sure what Norm was looking for when he hired me," she said. "I was the first person in this specific position, so it didn't come with a very detailed description. But the moment I was hired, I knew I would enjoy it. Norm said he wanted an open-door policy, so I knew I would be working with students, faculty, staff, visitors, anyone who walked into the office."

She also has been helpful on organizational issues ranging from planning the school's graduation ceremony to tackling staff and unforeseen problems, Christensen said. As an example, he cited a chemical spill in the Levine Science Research Center back in 1997.

Christensen was out of town at the time. Puckett, concerned about the safety of the people working in the building, worked to get answers. "I was very worried that people might have been exposed to something dangerous, but I tried to remain calm and started calling people within the environmental safety office," Puckett said.

As it turned out the spill was contained in the closet where it occurred. But her ability to get information and communicate it to others helped defuse employee concerns. In addition, she continued to work with others to attempt to learn from the spill and to improve safety protocols."That was an unfortunate incident, but one benefit from it is that we're now better informed about whom to call and what to do in similar situations," she said.

Puckett said she looks forward to retiring later this year, but she will take with her many memories of the people she met on the job. For her, the exciting thing about winning the award was the nomination from her boss.

"The award is a very personal affirmation from the dean of a job well done," she said.

"That means a lot to me. I've been privileged to watch him in action as the dean of this new school, creating a vision and working very hard to make it all happen."