Editor's Note: Stay Connected During COVID-19
The October-November 2020 issue of Working@Duke is mailed home
In early March, campus life, including the members of the Working@Duke editorial team, hummed along with regular rhythms and routines. We were writing about the kaleidoscope of color in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, celebrating Women’s History Month, planning the future issues of the print publication and more.
In fact, the April-May issue, featuring a story about how colleagues implement well-being techniques in their lives, was days away from printing.
And then suddenly, 2020 became a year unlike any we’ve seen.
Most university staff and faculty left campus offices and set up workstations at home in mid-March, while Duke health care professionals and colleagues elsewhere responded to the front lines of the emerging pandemic to keep vital operations running.
On March 12, we decided not to print the April-May issue, but you can read the issue on the archive site and now read the cover story, Mental Fitness. We quickly shifted our focus to the online news site, the Working@Duke section of Duke Today. Since then, we’ve produced more than 150 stories about topics ranging from the re-opening of 150 campus buildings and the distribution of 150,000 face masks, to technology tips and well-being resources to help you through trying times.
We temporarily suspended the “Blue Devil of the Week” profile and created the weekly “Dedicated Devils” series highlighting staff and faculty nominated by colleagues for rising to the challenge of the pandemic.
The October-November print issue of Working@Duke marks a return of the publication, sent to you this month at home because a significant portion of our workforce continues to work remotely. Through stories shared in the latest edition, we offer a reminder that we’re all in this together.
“Now that many of us aren’t coming in and seeing each other face-to-face, that sense of community is hard to grasp on to,” said Senior Writer Stephen Schramm. “But in some small way, Working@Duke – both online and in the magazine – represents that connection.”
In the issue, you’ll learn about Duke colleague and COVID-19 survivor Harvey Fletcher, and the team charged with keeping Duke’s workforce healthy. You’ll meet Professor Thomas Pfau who kept a virtual poetry class engaging. And you’ll see pictures featuring the work and appreciation for Duke Health professionals.
As we navigate the uncharted path ahead, stay connected daily to Working@Duke on Duke Today [working.duke.edu], read the e-newsletter “Working@Duke This Week,” and join the conversation on Facebook [facebook.com/workingatduke] and Twitter [twitter.com/workingatduke].
We hope to bring you the next print publication in February 2021. Until then, please take care and write us at working@duke.edu with your questions and story ideas.
Stay well,