Working@Duke Turns 20: Step Inside the Stories That Shaped Our Work Life
A Duke wide committee had spent more than a year studying internal communications and heard a common refrain. Employees felt overloaded with information yet uninformed about what affected their lives and work. The answer was not more content. It was better connection, more meaning.
The Working@Duke publication was born from that moment. It consolidated scattered updates, replaced existing publications and set out to do something enduring: help staff and faculty see the larger picture of where they worked, why it mattered and how their daily efforts fit into Duke’s mission and values.
In its early years, the publication traveled by campus mail truck. Over time, it grew into a digital daily on Duke Today, a weekly e-newsletter, a video channel, social media presence and a magazine delivered to homes. It chronicled economic downturns, leadership transitions and a global pandemic. It also told quieter stories of bus drivers, lab technicians, nurses, housekeepers and countless others whose work sustains Duke every day.
“Twenty years on, we will keep telling stories that help us understand one another, make sense of our work and strengthen the sense of belonging that connects us as a Duke community,” said Leanora Minai, Editor and Executive Director of Communications.
After two decades and 128 issues, what follows are some story highlights from 20 years. They are not just milestones in a publication’s history. They are chapters in yours.
March 2006
“Why You Really Need This Paper”
The debut issue of Working@Duke, launched after a yearlong review of internal communications by a Duke-wide committee, introduced staff and faculty to a new one-stop source for stories that inform, connect and inspire.
Inside the first issue, readers explored stories about campus safety and health coverage, along with a colleague’s journey of losing 50 pounds through the employee wellness program.
“We hope Working@Duke will provide useful information, as well as some inspiration, for its readers,” former Duke University Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said in the issue.
Later in 2006, the publication addressed a difficult chapter in Duke’s history during the lacrosse case with a conversation about accountability and healing with then-Dean of Duke Chapel Samuel Wells.
May 2007
“Who Ya Gonna Call”
This feature spotlighted the versatile, resourceful Human Resources Information Center team. In 2007, they answered an average of 1,833 calls each month from staff and faculty with questions about benefits and life events.
Nearly two decades later, the now-fully-remote team is still fielding phone calls and online requests from employees. In January 2026, the team completed 4,460 help requests by phone and online.
“I still take a great amount of satisfaction from helping people,” said Team Lead Jennifer Frazier, who has been with the HRIC since 1987.
April 2008
“Retirement: Will You Save Enough Money?”
Dwight and LaShosta Parham, who worked in food services on East Campus and were decades from retirement, shared their goals for life after work in this cover story. Dwight dreamed of visiting Africa, while LaShosta imagined unwinding on beaches closer to home.
Today, retirement is closer for the Parhams, now on the Housing and Residence Life’s housekeeping team. Dwight said their pension through Duke’s Employees Retirement Plan, along with decades of savings in the Faculty and Staff Retirement 403(b) plan, will provide financial security.
“We’ve covered all of our bases, so we’re confident,” Dwight said recently.
March 2009
“Duke: Enduring a Troubled Economy”
The financial crisis of 2008 began a period of uncertainty and tough decisions at Duke. In late 2008, Duke’s endowment lost around 20% of its value, creating an expected $100 million budget shortfall.
This cover story shared how Duke leaders sought potential savings in energy and technology while trying to protect jobs and welcoming suggestions for other cost-cutting opportunities.
Working@Duke later showed readers how Duke grappled with the crisis by looking back to how the institution weathered hard times in the 1930s and charted a leaner future. The coverage explained money-saving decisions and, once the budget gap was closed, detailed why Duke needed to remain thrifty.
May 2010
“Rising to the Challenge: Duke Community is Cutting its Carbon Footprint”
In this 2010 story, three years after Duke pledged to become climate neutral by 2024, staff and faculty described the everyday habits they embraced to cut carbon emissions, from switching off monitors and buying local food to, for Rich Kells, biking to work.
While Kells, now Director of Foundation Relations for Duke Health Development & Alumni Affairs, no longer bikes to work, he said he is proud of the progress that Duke has made toward sustainability, achieving carbon neutrality in 2024.
October/November 2011
“Duke in the Bull City”
In the early 1990s, Duke had roughly 50 employees working in downtown Durham. In 2011, when this cover story ran, that number had grown to about 2,000, making Duke the largest leaser of space downtown, with approximately 535,000 square feet under lease.
In the past 15 years, downtown Durham has continued a renaissance as businesses and residents have found homes in new high-rises and classic brick buildings.
“Duke provided the tipping point,” then-Durham Mayor Bill Bell said at the time. “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.”
April/May 2012
“Degrees of Distinction”
A cover feature on Duke’s Employee Tuition Assistance Program spotlighted Jameca Dupree’s career journey. Starting as a part-time Duke food service employee with a high school diploma, Dupree used professional development programs to become a full-time Financial Analyst at Duke University Libraries after earning a bachelor’s degree.
Since 2012, Dupree used the tuition benefit to earn her MBA, helping her move into a business manager role and eventually becoming Associate University Librarian for Finance and Operations and Duke University Libraries’ Chief Financial Officer.
“The talents I’ve obtained and the things I’ve learned, I want them to stay at Duke,” said Dupree, also a 2022 Duke Leadership Academy graduate. “Duke helped me get here, so I feel a strong obligation to return that contribution.”
April/May 2013
“The A Team: Duke Celebrates its 2,200 Administrative Professionals”
Office of Research Support Staff Assistant Rodney Coffin was featured in this cover story about the role of Duke’s administrative professionals. Coffin, who started at Duke in 2008 in sterile processing, charted a career as an administrative professional after learning business and technology skills in Duke’s Professional Development Institute office training program.
Now an Award Specialist, Coffin appreciates how Duke helps those with curious minds find avenues for growth.
“When I was ready for something new, I was able to use my experience and expertise to help my team,” Coffin said. “Duke does so much high-quality research, and I’m happy that I get to help with that.”
February/March 2014
“The Future of Duke’s Workforce”
With millennials making up 23% of Duke’s workforce in 2014, this story explored how the fast-growing cohort was changing a workforce dominated by baby boomer and Gen X colleagues.
Then 29, Associate Professor of Sociology Jessi Streib said working alongside older colleagues sometimes brought a humbling realization: “It strikes me from time to time that the person I’m talking to has been doing the job I’m starting now longer than I’ve been alive.”
Today, millennials, including Streib, have become the majority, accounting for 53% of Duke’s workforce.
October/November 2015
“Covering a Duke Family”
This cover story about Duke’s employee medical plan benefits featured Matthew Rougeux, a father of five children under age 6, including one who required specialized care for sickle cell disease.
Rougeux shared how his family’s medical plan through Duke allowed him to focus on enjoying his children instead of worrying about meeting their healthcare needs.
Today, Rougeux, Duke University Hospital’s Vice President for Children’s Services, still finds comfort in his family’s health plan. He can spend time keeping up with his kids – now ages 11 to 16 – and their busy lives filled with school plays, basketball games and driving lessons instead of worrying about how to keep them healthy.
“When my kids need care, I can focus on their wellbeing, confident they will receive exceptional care without added financial pressure," Rougeux said.
December 2015/January 2016
“No Place Like Home”
Since 2013, the Duke Homebuyers Club has connected qualifying Duke staff with financial counseling, educational resources and one-on-one coaching to help them fulfill the dream of owning a home.
This story featured Duke Urgent Care Certified Medical Assistant Lolita Guasp, who went through the program and, in 2016, bought her first home for herself and her four children in Durham’s Southside neighborhood.
With her now-grown children living on their own, Guasp has the house to herself.
“I love my front porch,” Guasp said. “I can just sit out there, relax, read a book and enjoy seeing my neighbors walk by.”
August/September 2017
“A Conversation with Duke’s New President”
When Vincent E. Price became Duke University’s 10th President, he answered questions submitted by staff and faculty about the future of Duke, his leadership style and daily routine.
Readers also learned about his first job at McDonald’s, TV shows he binged – “The Wire” and “House of Cards” – and how he how wanted to make campus a welcoming place.
“A university is a unique and perhaps ideal setting to encourage open expression on the most pressing issues that face us, even – or especially – when they may seem difficult or uncomfortable to talk about,” Price said. “I hope to find ways to promote constructive conversations among as many people in our community as possible.”
August/September 2018
“Comeback Colleagues”
This 2018 cover story introduced readers to a few of the roughly 6,400 employees at the time who left Duke employment but choose to return.
Mitch Yelverton, now Director of Site-Based Research in the Duke University School of Medicine’s Office of Research Contracts, was featured in the story. Now almost nine years since returning to Duke, he continues to appreciate the connections he has with his colleagues and the way his work supports life-changing research.
“I still find great satisfaction in our sense of purpose and dedication to our service as a mission-driven organization,” Yelverton said.
August/September 2019
“Demystifying Duke’s Finances”
This cover story examined where Duke’s funding comes from, how it’s allocated and why careful stewardship is essential. It shared how most money Duke gets from its endowment is obligated to meet specific needs, limiting what Duke can spend elsewhere. It also outlined how many parts of Duke’s educational and research missions ultimately lose money, making revenue generators – such as Duke Stores – crucial to helping Duke stay on firm financial footing.
“The need for cost-consciousness across Duke will be as urgent as ever in the coming years, with or without another financial downturn, if we are going to fully execute on the many ambitions of Duke,” said then Vice President of Finance Tim Walsh.
October/November 2020
“Surviving COVID-19: A Duke Employee’s Journey”
The COVID pandemic’s early months brought fear of a deadly virus, sweeping disruptions to daily life and stories of heroic service from colleagues on the front lines of healthcare and essential operations.
Just days before going to press, the April issue of Working@Duke was halted and published online only, and another issue was skipped. But in October, the magazine returned with a cover story about Duke Financial Care Counselor Harvey Fletcher’s experience fighting the virus.
“I am extremely, extremely thankful to God that I made it through,” Fletcher said at the time.
Also in the issue, a collection of photos and words of appreciation entitled “Thank You, Duke Health,” honored caregivers who rose to the unprecedented challenge.
April/May 2021
“A Remote Future”
In this issue, nine months after the COVID outbreak forced many off campus, we reported on a survey about remote work preferences among Duke staff and faculty.
More than 2,200 responded, with 74% preferring to work remotely three to five days a week. Respondents cited having no commute, greater productivity and flexibility as top benefits, while work-life boundaries were the biggest challenge.
“There’s a lot to be said for revisiting workplace policies and transportation and environmental impacts,” Daniel Ennis, Duke’s Executive Vice President said at the time.
Today, 41% work remotely one to four days each week, 32% fully remote and 27% fully on site.
February/March 2022
“A Coach for All”
In 2022, as Duke’s Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski approached retirement, the sports world shared stories of his influence. In this cover story, Duke colleagues described lessons they drew from him, whether firsthand like Jon Scheyer or from a distance, and how those lessons continue to shape them.
For Erica Hill, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Associate Dean for Alumni Engagement & Development, the thoughtful questions Krzyzewski asked during a presentation she helped give underscored the value of an inquisitive mind.
“I think that’s a great way to go through life,” Hill said in 2022. “Just be curious and keep learning.”
April/May 2023
“A New Era”
Duke University and Duke University Health System hired 21,401 new staff and faculty between 2020 and early 2023, representing nearly half of the workforce. The story, “A New Era,” explored how Duke was attracting talent in a competitive landscape while preserving the culture that defines the institution.
We invited employees hired since 2020 to share headshots, and the response was overwhelming. We received 525 submissions. The cover featured 220 faces, with more appearing on pages inside, reflecting a workforce reshaped and renewed.
“As we reinvent ourselves, we still have to stay true to who we are fundamentally,” said Antwan Lofton, Vice President for Duke Human Resources.
February/March 2024
“Duke 100”
For Duke University’s 100th birthday, a special Centennial issue traced the story of the Duke and its people. Organized by eras beginning in 1924, it highlighted trailblazers, milestones and defining moments while also acknowledging difficult chapters, including inequality.
Drawing on payroll logs, memos and photographs from the University Archives, alongside reflections from retirees and current colleagues, the magazine brought to life the people who built Duke and those who continue its vital work today.
“As we step into the Centennial year, this issue is a tribute to Duke’s workforce. It offers reflection, celebration, aspiration, and a commitment to fostering a community that continuously shapes a better world,” Working@Duke Editor Leanora Minai wrote.
October/November 2025
“Saved By Duke Research”
For decades, Duke’s research has driven medical breakthroughs, advanced treatments for rare and chronic diseases and saved lives. Federal funding has long been central to that work, shaping discoveries that define Duke’s identity.
“It’s part of our brand, it’s part of our identity,” said Jennifer Lodge, Duke’s Vice President for Research & Innovation. “It’s why faculty come here. It’s why students come here. It’s a big part of what we do and what so much of our staff does.”
New federal policies sharply reduced research funding. This cover story explores what that means and how Duke’s discoveries continue to change lives, including those of Duke colleagues who have benefited firsthand.
Spring 2026
“AI at Work – And What it Means”
As AI’s influence becomes more embedded in workplace and classroom routines, Duke staff and faculty are beginning to grasp how the technology will shape the future. This cover story, explored how Duke staff work more efficiently with AI, how faculty prepare students for a world where AI will be ever-present and how physicians use it to create more time for meaningful connections with patients.
“It's clearly a hugely powerful tool, perhaps the most disruptive tool that humankind has seen certainly since the internet, maybe even electricity,” said Duke Provost and Chief Academic Officer Alec Gallimore. “It’s that disruptive.”
Take a stroll down memory lane in the Working@Duke publication archive.
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