New Mentorship Program Supports Next Generation of Duke Supervisors

From navigating Duke’s complexities to honing people skills, new supervisors learn from seasoned peers

Two women pose for a photo.
Assistant Director of Education Outreach Programs for Duke Community Affairs Andrea Petifer, left, poses for a photo with her supervisor, Duke Community Affairs Senior Director for Education Domoniqúe Redmond, right, after the closing ceremony for the Mentoring for New Supervisors program. Photo by Travis Stanley.

When Krystal Berry joined Duke last year as Associate Director of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, she knew she would be navigating three new cultures.

Coming from Baylor University in Texas, Berry expected she would need to adjust to life in Durham, learn how Duke operates and find her footing within the Divinity School, her new academic home.

When she heard about a new Mentoring for New Supervisors program offered by Duke Human Resources, she jumped at the chance to participate.

“I knew I couldn’t do this entire journey by myself, even with all the experience that I’ve had in leadership,” Berry said. “I thought it was fitting for me to be connected to a program that would help me see the vision of the university and still be able to do the local work in my own department.”

Participants in the Mentoring for New Supervisors program applaud during last month's closing ceremony. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Launched in March, the Mentoring for New Supervisors program paired 14 new supervisors selected from across Duke University and paired them with experienced leaders.

Over six months, the mentors and mentees met virtually and in-person for monthly facilitated conversations and check-ins to discuss challenges and strategies and learn how to navigate supervisor responsibilities with greater confidence and skill.

Late last month, the first cohort gathered for a closing ceremony in the York Room at Duke Divinity School to celebrate the completion of the program and enjoy another opportunity to connect.

“This program is absolutely phenomenal and exactly what is needed as we move Duke forward,” Antwan Lofton, Duke Vice President for Human Resources, told the group during the celebration. “I’ll often find myself in meetings with Duke leadership when they’re asking the age-old question, ‘Where are the next set of leaders that are going to shape this organization?’ You are those leaders.”

The Duke Divinity School's Krystal Berry speaks during the closing celebration for the Mentoring for New Supervisor program. Photo by Travis Stanley.

Berry, the Associate Director of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, was paired with Duke Facilities Management Director of Human Resources Michelle Carter-Jenkins, who has been at Duke for 25 years.

Berry said that during her conversations with Carter-Jenkins, she learned about Duke and was reminded of the importance of the human element of leadership. Meanwhile, Carter-Jenkins relished the opportunity to help Berry get comfortable at Duke.

“When you are a mentor, you want to learn about an individual,” Carter-Jenkins said. “You’re not trying to make them be you, you want to give them advice on what they’re seeing, what challenges they face, what their goals are and how you can help them reach them.”

The next edition of the program, which is open to supervisors who complete Duke’s online New Supervisor Orientation course, launches this month.

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