WORKING@DUKE

6 7
STEAM PLANT PROFESSIONAL SUSTAINABLE DUKE

4
GOES QUIET DEVELOPMENT A Duke Fuqua School
Once a year over the Duke staff member of Business professor
summer, Duke’s steam advances with skills collects waste oil,
plant shuts down for a attained through which is refined in
maintenance makeover Professional Pittsboro as biodiesel,
in preparation for the Development Institute to fuel his car.
winter months. training.

NEWS YOU CAN USE :: Vo l u m e 2 , I s s u e 8 :: October 2007

Spooky T he spirit of Halloween is alive at Duke.

There’s the Memorial Chapel that serves as the permanent
resting place for members of the Duke family. There’s the mysterious
tombstone found on campus. And there are those spectacular and
sometimes spooky stone gargoyles inspired by Gothic architecture,
peering year-round from their perches atop buildings.
What would Halloween at Duke be without a few historical tales?

E
Duke Mollie Keel, coordinator of Chapel events, recalls a time
several years ago when a visitor with a digital camera asked, “Did you
know there are ghosts in the Chapel?”
She chuckled.
The visitor showed her the picture of the altar in the downstairs
Chapel crypt, where former Duke presidents, including William

Tales
Preston Few, Duke’s first president, and Nanaline Duke, wife of
Duke’s founder and benefactor, James B. Duke, are buried.
Off to the left of the photograph was a white blur, a reflection.
“He said not to worry, that we had good ghosts down here,”
Keel said.
After James B. Duke died in 1925, his friend, James A. Thomas,
organized a drive to fund projects in memory of Duke and his family.
One project was to add a memorial chapel and crypt to the plans for
the Chapel, which opened in 1932.
Between the Memorial Chapel and the chancel, a flight of steps
descends to the crypt, constructed in Romanesque style with rounded
arches and space in the floor for 20 bodies.
Above the crypt and behind iron gates in the Chapel is the
Memorial Chapel, where the gleaming white marble coffins, known
as sarcophagi, of James B. Duke; his father, Washington Duke; and
brother Benjamin Duke, have rested since 1935 when their bodies
were moved from the mausoleum at Maplewood Cemetery in
Durham to the Chapel.
A story appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript in 1935,
describing the three sarcophagi carved from 33 tons of Italian marble
by sculptor Charles Keck in Cambridge, Mass. At the time, the
project cost $55,000, and the sarcophagi, weighing 20 tons, were
brought to Durham on three trucks.
“It’s really an honor to the Duke family, and Duke family
philanthropy,” said Tom Harkins, associate university archivist.
“There aren’t too many universities in the country today that have
as close a connection with the founding family as we do.”

D Kim Sims, technical services archivist for University

Archives, keeps a piece of history on her desk.
It’s a 26-inch tall tombstone
for Emily Johnson, who died
in 1895. The headstone was
found on campus in the late
1960s to early 1970s. Despite
attempts to find its home, no
one knows where the
tombstone originated, and
nothing about Johnson, who
is described on it as “mother.”
“What I do want to do is
to contact the folks at the
Cover: The photo of the
Duke Forest office to see if
“Ghost Chapel,” a description based on they have a record of a cemetery
the reflection of the Chapel, is from the location from the same time
1951 “Chanticleer,” Duke’s undergraduate

>> See SPOOKY TALES, BACK PAGE

yearbook. Bottom Right: Kim Sims,
technical services archivist for University
Archives, wants to help find the home for
a 112-year-old headstone found on campus.

2007 Gold Medal, Internal Periodical Staff Writing This paper consists of 30% recycled
2007 Bronze Medal, Print Internal Audience Tabloids/Newsletters post-consumer fiber. Please recycle after reading.
LOOKING
@ DUKE
AHEAD
OCTOBER 11 : : Jeffrey Toobin,
lawyer, author and CNN legal analyst,
talks about his new book, “The Nine:
Inside the Secret World of the
Supreme Court,” 5:30 p.m., Terry
Sanford Institute of Public Policy,
Fleishman Commons.
OCTOBER 19 : : Public Skygazing
led by Physics department, 7:30 p.m.,
Duke Teaching Observatory, off
Cornwallis Road, 1.5 miles west of
Kerley Road. Event is subject to
weather cancellation. Visit
www.cgtp.duke.edu/~plesser/
observatory for last-minute updates.
OCTOBER 29 : : Provost’s
Lecture Series, Simon Blackburn,
Professor of Philosophy at the
University of Cambridge, discusses
alternative conceptions of human
nature and whether they require
alteration/abandonment in light of
scientific advances, 5 p.m., Love
Auditorium, Levine Science Research
Center, (LSRC).
For more events, check the
university’s online calendar
at http://calendar.duke.edu
2
Newsbriefs
Duke named among top schools
for environmental efforts
“Kiwi,” a publication whose audience is primarily parents and
families, has named Duke University among 50 schools “that are
making a significant commitment to the environment.” In the “Kiwki
2007 Green College Report,” the magazine cites Duke as being one
of the largest university purchaser's of green power and notes its
pledge for all new construction and renovation to be LEED-certified.
Duke also was highlighted for student activities such as the
Eco-Olympics and educational opportunities through the Nicholas
School for the Environment. Read the September/October report
at www.duke.edu/sustainability.
Enroll, make changes to health benefits
Open enrollment, the time to select or make changes to health
insurance plans, which include vision, dental and reimbursement
benefits, runs through Oct. 17. Faculty and staff can learn about a new
health care card, determine which health plan meets their needs or
find out about reimbursement accounts during information sessions
through Oct. 17. Visit www.hr.duke.edu.
Be the first to know about Duke Stores deals
If you want to be in the know, sign up for the latest feature from
Duke University Stores. Duke community
members can get exclusive news
about new arrivals, special collections,
the latest in technology, sales events,
textbook buyback and more by
signing up for an e-mail alert. To
enroll, click on the “BTFTK” icon on
the left side of Duke Stores Web site at www.dukestores.duke.edu,
and Duke Stores will be in touch.
Start feeling like a million – attend upcoming health fair
Attend the LIVE FOR LIFE Health Fair on Oct. 25 or Nov. 8 and
start making you health changes this year. The fair is open to all Duke
faculty and staff regardless of benefit status. More than 35 health
representatives will be available to answer questions and provide
information on preventive health, nutrition, fitness and smoking
letters
to the Editor
This letter is in response to the article titled “Campus security
chief, others reviewing Duke’s emergency response plans” in the
June/July issue. I applaud our university officials for reviewing our
emergency response and notification systems. However, I believe the
Virginia Tech massacre has brought deeper questions and thoughts
which will require deeper answers as well as actions. I believe that we
will all agree, the main objectives are preparedness and
communication in a consistent and timely manner for the safety
of the Duke community.
Upon reviewing the aftermath of massacres on primary,
secondary and post secondary campuses, usually the person(s)
displayed some type of warning signs. Are Duke’s faculty, staff, and
students trained to recognize warning signs from individuals who
depict behaviors of needing help? After the 9/11 attacks, I believe
Duke’s police department and fire department were given special
training. However, it is also my belief this type of training has not
been given to Duke’s police and fire departments since the 9/11 attacks.
As Duke employees and students, we are trained to evacuate a
building in the event of a fire; however, this seems to be the extent
of training on emergencies.
Along with the 14,000 students who are enrolled at Duke, there
are approximately 29,000 employees, some whom are not tied to a
computer, cell phone, or fax. Providing that Duke’s police department
has all hands on deck during an emergency, it is my belief there would
not be enough officers within the initial response to perform direct
contact of buildings.
It is my expectation, once the university has set up an appropriate
emergency response and notification system that all faculty, staff, and
students will be notified and some form of training would be provided.
Robin James Ramsey
Staff Specialist
Student Service Center
•••••••••
Letters to the Editor must include name and contact information. E-mail letters to working@duke.edu or mail them to
Working@Duke Editor, Box 90496, Durham, NC 27708. Fax letters to (919) 681-7926. Please keep length to no more than 200 words.
cessation, among other health topics. A number of free screenings will
also be available, including for bone density, cholesterol and blood
pressure. Free flu shots will be available for all Duke faculty and staff.
The first fair is at Durham Regional Hospital in the lower level Lecture
Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 25. The fair will be at the Searle Center
near Duke North from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 8. For more
information call (919) 684-3136 (option 1).
Duke Dining introduces new venues for meals
In an effort to enhance the dining experience and create more
social space on campus, Duke Dining has launched several new dining
initiatives this fall. An a la carte brunch and
dinner service prepared by Sage & Swift is
being offered in Upstairs @ The
Commons, located in the Faculty
Commons in the West Union Building.
Brunch is served 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays, and dinner is
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through
Thursdays. There is a one-hour social at
4:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays before dinner. A beer and wine
menu is available. Also, the Refectory Café in the Divinity School has
added dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Sundays.
In addition, the Armadillo Grill in the Bryan Center now has an
outdoor patio. The patio includes a 52-inch TV and granite countertop
with seating for 75 to 100. Coming soon is a 9-by-12 foot projection
screen TV and free-floating canopy for inclement weather. The patio
has specialty beers on tap. To learn more about Duke’s 31 eateries,
visit www.dining.duke.edu.
New diversity Web site launched
A new Web site about diversity at Duke serves as a way for
prospective students, parents, alumni, trustees, as well as current
students, staff and faculty, to learn about and celebrate the many
aspects of diversity at Duke. Through profiles of faculty, staff and
students, the site underscores the university’s strategic goal of linking
diversity to academic excellence. The Web site will also assist
members of the Duke community who are searching for resources
related to diversity issues. For more, visit www.diversity.duke.edu.
The safety and security of the Duke campus is a top university
priority. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings in April, Duke
began reviewing its emergency response and notification procedures.
Executive Vice President Tallman Trask III asked Kemel Dawkins, vice
president for campus services, and me to review Duke’s emergency
preparedness.
Several committees have been conducting a comprehensive
assessment of Duke’s emergency processes and protocols, which
includes a review of Duke’s communication procedures, technology and
emergency management. As part of this process, we have traveled to
other institutions to review best practices for emergency notification
systems. By the end of the year, the assessment will be complete, and
Duke will have formalized its crisis communications and emergency
management plans. Planning is underway to communicate and educate
the various Duke community audiences about emergency notification,
so community members know their roles and what they should do. The
education plan also includes annual exercises and drills to help us
refine our emergency preparedness.
Duke takes a proactive approach to maintaining a safe campus.
For example, the division of Student Affairs recently launched
DukeReach, a new Web site, to assist Duke community members who
have concerns about a student’s physical or mental health with finding
appropriate resources. Please familiarize yourself with the Web site at
http://dukereach.studentaffairs.duke.edu.
Training is critical, and the police officers in the Duke University
Police Department are equipped to respond to emergencies.
Since 9/11, our officers have participated in training for confrontation
management and weapons of mass destruction, among other
scenarios. Several of our sworn supervisors have attended training for
the Incident Command System to prepare for and respond to critical
incidents in coordination with other agencies. In the event of a disaster
or critical emergency, Duke, like many institutions, has a mutual aid
agreement with Durham’s law enforcement agencies for support.
Even after we complete this assessment, Duke will continue to
update and review its emergency plans to ensure we adequately
respond to critical incidents.
Aaron Graves
Associate Vice President
Campus Safety & Security
Duke leads in collaborative
and innovative technology
uke University is among the best institutions in higher
D education for its commitment to collaborative and
innovative uses of technology “throughout every
aspect of our lives,” spanning research, academic, co-
curricular and administrative pursuits, Duke’s Chief
Information Officer Tracy Futhey told Duke faculty and
staff in September.
Futhey’s presentation for Primetime, a quarterly forum
with Duke senior administrators, offered observations about
emerging trends and the rise in national prominence of
Duke as an information technology innovator and
collaborator.
“There’s really never a time when people don’t say, ‘how
can we work on this together,’ ” Futhey told 200 employees
who gathered in Griffith Theater on Sept. 13.
What’s ahead at Duke?
Mobility will be increasingly important as people expect
to be online anywhere at any time, Futhey said. Everything
will be digital, requiring increased data-storage capacity and
data-sharing capabilities. Social networking will continue to
evolve, enabling users to find one another wherever they are
and help them gather in online, “virtual” worlds.
Futhey said Duke will develop more options that give
users the “ability to get at things yourself,” such as setting
personal spam-filter levels, clicking on a Web browser
button to increase e-mail capacity and initiating a Web
conference or setting up a collaborative wiki. “The more we
can make those available 24/7, the better,” she said.
Futhey attributed Duke’s position at the forefront of
higher education information technology to its spirit and
willingness to experiment with new technology. She traced
Tech talk
Satisfy your appetite
for technology through
Learn IT @ Lunch
We often hear that “technology is
constantly changing.” Technology at Duke is
no exception, as DukePass to iTunes U have shown.
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is
introducing new technologies this fall, including DukeWiki
(an online collaboration tool) and WebFiles (a way to store
and retrieve personal files).
To help Duke faculty and staff put these and other
tools to good use, OIT is offering a new training series,
Learn IT @ Lunch, which started in September and runs
most Tuesdays through Nov. 27.
Tech topics include an iTunes overview, maintaining
your personal computer, creating an online survey and
more. Each 30-minute session is offered twice on Tuesday
“
Duke’s emerging leadership in
information technology to 1993, when a
faculty group issued a “clarion call” for
improving computing on Duke so that
it could recruit and keep faculty.
Those efforts blossomed into
forward-thinking projects such as the
Duke Digital Initiative. In 2004, Duke
gave Apple iPods to undergraduate first-
year students. It was unclear how the
consumer device could be used beyond
entertainment, but Duke experimented.
“If we can’t experiment with such
things here where else can you do that?”
Futhey asked. “We launched what at that time was a pretty
bold experiment to find how those could be used for
academic content and a way to use the iPod to deliver digital
There’s really
materials to students.” never a time
Duke found many classroom uses for the iPod right out when people don’t say,
of the box, leading to another thought: using the Apple
music-delivery format iTunes to deliver course material
‘how can we work on
through the iPod. Duke worked with Apple to develop a this together.’ ”
delivery system that has become the multi-university effort — Tracy Futhey
known as iTunes U. Duke’s Chief Information Officer
These efforts are buttressed by Duke’s strategic plan,
“Making a Difference.” Information technology plays a vital
role in the plan, which cites as a priority investing in
emerging technologies to improve collaborative learning and
create new opportunities to connect knowledge in the
service of society.
— By Gene Galin LISTEN AT
Writer, OIT www.itunes.duke.edu
– at noon and 12:30 p.m. – in 101 Bryan Center, the
collaborative lab in the OSAF office. No registration is
required, but seating is limited to no more than 25 people.
During the sessions, faculty and staff are invited to ask
questions of IT staff, and register to win computer-related
prizes sponsored by Duke’s Computer Store.
All sessions will be recorded and archived on iTunes U
at www.itunes.duke.edu.
— By Christine L.Vucinich
OIT
LEARN IT
Technology Training Coordinator, OIT
5 gigs at your fingertips
Until this fall, employees on the Duke network had
@ LUNCH
10 megabytes of file and media storage – enough for one
or two high-resolution photographs. Now, with a new OIT Oct. 16:
service called WebFiles, employees have 5 gigabytes at their
disposal. That’s enough digital capacity to stream 30 hours
Maintaining Your
of iPod-quality video. Personal Computer
WebFiles enables anyone with a Duke account to store
and retrieve documents and images, including video Oct. 30:
streamed directly from servers. WebFiles also provides a
iTunes U: An Overview
shared space for group collaboration that includes ready-
made group space for courses and allows sharing media Nov. 27:
with the broader community.
WebFiles includes a button to create a streaming video
Creating An Online
publishing directory. Files placed in this directory are Survey With ViewsFlash
available as video streams so that users can easily share
video content and send URLs of content to friends. For more info and
WebFiles also allows users to load content and pages to
create personal Web sites.
a complete calendar,
The service requires no special software. All anyone at visit OIT at
Duke needs is a network connection and a Web browser. www.oit.duke.edu/
Information about how to use WebFiles is at training
www.oit.duke.edu/comp-print/storage/webfiles/
index.html.
— By Gene Galin
Writer, OIT News & Information
Duke community members listen during a recent Learn IT @ Lunch seminar
as Kevin Witte, senior manager for Duke’s Office of Information Technology, 3
discusses DukeWiki, a new service that lets faculty, staff and others share
information and collaborate online.
 Prepping The Steam Plant
For Winter

Top Left: Plumber Jim Burton,

left, and senior steamfitter
L.A. Dillard work to repair and
replace steam pipe components
in one of the access areas on
East Campus during the steam
plant’s Aug. 3 shut down.
Bottom Left: Dillard emerges
from one of the access points.

t’s just after 7 p.m. on a recent Friday, and the Duke steam plant “It’s not too bad,”
said Burton, guzzling
I control room is quiet. On any of the other 364 days of the year, this
would be trouble. But on this night, it’s a sign that everything is going
according to plan.
Gatorade. “What kind
of person is going to
Duke’s Facilities Management Department spent the past year go down in that hot
preparing for the next 12 hours when crews changed valves, repaired hole if you didn’t like
leaking pipes, replaced gaskets and much more. what you’re doing?”
To accomplish this task, Duke’s steam plant was shut down from Dennis
7 p.m. Aug. 3 to 7 a.m. Aug. 4, so more than 100 FMD employees and Kennedy, steam
Top Right: Ray Cofer, right, master steamfitter, confers with Gary Teeter,

plant manager, said

supervisor of steam distribution and site utilities, in the basement of

contractors could repair the 20-plus miles of pipe that supply steam to
White Lecture Hall during the shut down.

heat Duke’s buildings and sterilize hospital surgical equipment. all FMD shops,
Bottom Right: Plumber Jim Burton, left, and senior steamfitter L.A.

Crews worked in 33 “manholes” and in two underground tunnels on from HVAC to

Dillard work to replace a steam trap near an access point on East Campus.

East and West campus. The scope included 83 items in 53 different
locations across the university and medical center. During this one-time,
annual shut down, no hot water is available, and surgeries are curtailed.
“We’re replacing traps that take the water out of the steam and
replacing old pipes and valves and things that don’t work anymore,” said
Gary Teater, FMD’s supervisor of steam distribution and site utilities.
“It requires a lot of preparation, but everybody helps out on it.”
For 21 years, Teater has supervised the shut down of coal boilers and
the underground maintenance. He drives around campus, a radio crackling
with voices from the field.
One crew member in the field was Jim Burton, a Duke plumber. He
emerged from one of the “manholes” after replacing an existing trap for a
smaller one that allowed for more water to collect. Traps gather water that
go back to the steam plant for reuse.
Burton’s hair and beard were drenched. Beads of sweat raced down his
face. His saturated sleeveless gray T-shirt and navy blue overalls made him
look as if he has just climbed out of a pool, not an underground tunnel.
maintenance
mechanical, worked the shut down. “We would not be able to accomplish
what we had to get done if other shops and trades didn’t volunteer to
work,” Kennedy said.
Summer is not ideal for outdoor work, but it’s the most opportune
time for the shut down because steam use is at its lowest.
“The steam plant has six boilers, and in the winter time, you’ve got to
have four or five of them going to keep up to provide steam for heat,”
Teater said. “You’ve got to make sure they’re in tip-top shape for the
winter heating season coming up.”
Bringing the steam plant online after the maintenance takes four to five
hours. The boilers need to warm before steam starts running back through
the pipes.
By daybreak Aug. 4, the shut down was complete, and the FMD crew
was already beginning planning the next annual maintenance. Said Teater,
“We start our prep list for next year’s shut down in a week.”
— By Tim Candon
Working@Duke Correspondent

4
 e mployee spotlight
MEET ZOILA AIRALL, A LOVER OF THE ARTS AND CAMPUS LIFE

oila Airall’s role as Duke’s assistant vice president for campus life in the office of
student affairs requires a delicate balancing act.
Z She manages the directors of Duke’s cultural centers and community service and
student clubs. She serves on several university committees. She advises 24 undergraduates.

“
And every spring, she teaches an undergraduate course, Anthropology and Education.
While her tasks may seem daunting, Airall relishes them. Her passion to do the job
makes it hardly like work.
“If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t want to come to work every day, and I wouldn’t have
the energy,” Airall said. “I’m just really excited.”
Airall came to Duke in 2002 after working as director of institutional diversity at Bryn
Mawr College in Philadelphia. After a lunch meeting with a friend in Philadelphia, she
learned about the job at Duke, and she decided she wanted to return to student affairs.
“Zoila’s just one of those remarkable people,” said Larry Moneta, Duke’s vice
president of student affairs. “She instantly connects with whomever she’s talking. She has
an amazing ability to engage with anyone, any kind of person.”
In her career, Airall has experienced a lot. She worked as a guidance counselor in the
Bronx, where she rode the subway every day with a gang that welcomed her with open
arms. She became the first African-American to hold any job at Bethany College, in
Bethany, W. Va., where she coordinated counseling services.
Airall recognizes the enriching value of unforeseen experiences and wouldn’t trade
Zoila Airall

them for anything. “I never started out and said, ‘This is where I want to be,’ ” Airall said. “I’ve just been very, very
fortunate.”
A lover of the arts who grew up in a military family, Airall has lived all over the world – Panama, Thailand, Germany, Zoila’s just
to name a few. As an adult, the arts were never far away when she lived outside of New York City and Philadelphia.
In Durham, she has discovered plenty of culture at her fingertips. She used to go to New York at Christmas to see
one of those
the Alvin Ailey dance troupe. The first year she was at Duke, Alvin Ailey came to the Triangle three times. remarkable people.
In addition to the fulfillment her work offers, Airall recharges her battery by indulging in her recreational passion – She instantly connects
playing the organ.
“I can be really tired, but if I go to the Biddle music lounge or to Goodson Chapel, and sit down and play the organ,
with whomever she’s
even for a half hour, I am refreshed,” Airall said. “There are a lot of people who get their endorphins going by going to talking.”
the gym. I get mine by completing a Bach prelude.” — Larry Moneta
— By Tim Candon Vice President
Working@Duke Correspondent Student Affairs

Duke contributions
help those in need
TRIANGLE UNITED WAY DUKE PARTNERSHIP CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY
athy Winn has not led an easy life. Since age 17,
she’s struggled with a chronic and disabling mental
K illness that causes depression, disorientation and
hallucinations, forcing many hospitalizations.
In 1992, she was robbed and assaulted in Charlotte,
exacerbating her illness and prompting her move to Durham
with her son. She sought help from her sister who lives here,
and later, from social services agencies, Genesis Home and
Threshold Clubhouse in Durham.
The agencies helped Winn receive financial support
through the Triangle United Way’s Community Care Fund
– one of many funds that Duke faculty and staff
be walking in the sunshine, and the next, you’re
in the pits of despair. It’s important to give back
when you can.”
Winn and her son lived at Genesis Home
for about a month in 1992 until she found a job
and home. Genesis Home helped her adjust to
the area, and she got out on her own. But two
years later, Winn was nearly overcome by her
illness. “I was really sick. I couldn’t handle
taking care of myself,” she said. “I couldn’t
handle my finances or keep a job.”
She went to a shelter, but after she was robbed a Kathy Winn, a board member for

contribute to during the United Way Duke Partnership second time, she said, she lived in her car until she was
Threshold Clubhouse in Durham, has

Campaign, now underway through Nov. 2. The Triangle hospitalized. She recuperated with help from her sister
benefited from services through

and later joined Threshold Clubhouse, which provides

Threshold Clubhouse, which receives

United Way is a non-profit organization that provides

financial support through the Triangle

resources for basic community needs such as hospice, pre-vocational skill development, employment, education,
United Way’s Community Care Fund.

homelessness and hunger. socialization and recreational activities for adults with
“If it weren’t for the United Way and their mental illness.
contributions, Threshold Clubhouse would really be “Eventually I started doing some office work and The IRS no longer
struggling,” said Winn, who is 50. “I credit Threshold so began to build my confidence,” Winn said. allows rollover
much for the life I have now.” Winn is now an advocate for the mentally ill and payroll deductions
During last year’s campaign, Brenda Kerr, a Duke homeless, speaking publicly on behalf of Threshold and for United Way contributions.
insurance claims specialist, was among the Duke faculty the United Way. She serves on the Threshold Board of Duke faculty and staff must
and staff who contributed to the nearly $1 million raised Directors. She has stayed on her medication and visits submit a new pledge for
for the campaign, making Duke the fourth largest her therapist regularly, reducing hospitalizations. 2008. Visit www.hr.duke.
contributor to the Community Care Fund. “Without Threshold,” Winn said, “there’s no telling edu/unitedway
“Life can change on a dime,” said Kerr, who has what would have happened to me.”
donated to the fund for several years. “One day you may — By Elizabeth Michalka
Writer, Human Resources Communications
5

Submit A Pledge at www.hr.duke.edu/unitedway

 Frontline for
ergonomic improvements
eth McCurdy took a deep breath as he began pushing
Start An Tamara James, ergonomics director. “The committees will
Ergonomics S a cart filled with books across the multi-colored carpet
in Bostock Library.
“The texture of this new carpet makes it more
help raise awareness and help reduce work-related injuries by
improving the physical work environment.”
Ergonomics can make life easier – and safer – for
Committee challenging to move the carts,” said McCurdy, evening Duke faculty and staff.
services supervisor in Perkins Library. “That’s why we’ve “People can wind up with musculoskeletal discomfort in
been trying different things, such as bigger wheels on the the wrist or back and other health problems from repetitive
Contact Ergonomics at

carts, to make it easier to push them.” movements or improper body positioning,” James said.
(919) 286-1722, ext. 271,

Finding an easier way to push book carts is one of “Those are the types of problems we strive to prevent.”
or send an e-mail to

the latest projects for McCurdy and other members of a The library ergonomics committee and members from
ergonomics@mc.duke.edu.

Library Ergonomics Committee formed a year ago with the the Ergonomics Division conducted tests recently to
assistance of the Occupational & Environmental Safety measure the amount of force required to push a book cart
Visit Ergonomics online at

Office’s Ergonomics Division. The library committee on the new carpet in Bostock Library. They determined it
www.safety.duke.edu/

provides computer station takes about 50 percent more force to push the carts.
ergonomics.

evaluations and other assistance
for about 300 employees in
Duke Libraries.
“We do everything from
teaching co-workers how to
adjust their chairs to changing
the location of a computer to
make it easier on the employees
and to prevent work-related
injuries,” said McCurdy, who
serves on the committee.
About a dozen similar
ergonomics committees have
formed in other departments
across Duke. The committees
are overseen by the Occupational & Environmental Safety
Seth McCurdy, evening services
“We think we can make it better, though, by getting
wheels that are bigger, but not too wide,” McCurdy said.
The library has modified two book carts and is shopping
for suitable replacement wheels to test before rolling them
out to the whole fleet.
Some improvements require a simple adjustment,
while other ergonomic issues are resolved with a little
engineering and construction. For ultra-sonographers in
the health system, for instance, an ergonomics committee
worked with Duke ergonomists to develop an arm support
device, which bears the weight of a forearm during
extended scanning procedures.
“It helps to have the committees as our partners,”
James said. “They give
us valuable input and provide a resource for their
co-workers.”

Office’s Ergonomics Division.

supervisor in Perkins Library,
pushes a book cart.

“The goal is to train the peers on the committee so they

— By Missy Baxter

can serve as our frontline and do the initial assessment,” said

Senior Writer, Office of Communication Services

Professional development program

opens doors for Duke staff
indy Shelton Wicker has Duke, and the program includes a four-month internship
come a long way from the at Duke. Participants are encouraged to intern outside of
C

“
Duke mail room where she
started working 10 years ago.
While delivering mail, she
built a rapport with customers.
One day while at the Office of
Licensing and Ventures, she was
encouraged to apply for a
position there. She was reluctant
at first because she didn’t have
any computer skills, but after
some urging, Wicker applied
and landed a Level 6 position in
Cindy Shelton Wicker, standing left,
the late 1990s.
She worked in the Office of Licensing and Ventures
staff specialist for the Institute for
their department to learn new skills and develop
professional relationships.
“The program is structured to help participants
develop their strengths and discover their career
possibilities,” said Sally Allison, Professional Development
Institute manager.
When Wicker was in the Office of Licensing and
Ventures, she worked on patents for various scientific and
medical technologies developed at Duke, which fascinated her.
During the Office Staff Development Program, one
of Wicker’s mentors, Courtney Orning, suggested that
Wicker consider an internship in grant work. Orning, a
public relations specialist at the Social Science Research
Institute, connected Wicker with Ellen Brearley, senior

for the next eight years, taking computer classes at Duke to specialist of sponsored programs at the Institute for
Genome Sciences and Policy,

enhance her skills. Wicker later learned about the Office Genome Sciences and Policy. Brearley offered Wicker an
graduated from the Office Staff

internship, and she learned how to manage grants.

Development Program in July.

Staff Development Program, the 11-month Professional

Development Institute for training in clerical office “I was shocked and very excited to be given the
management skills. opportunity to go into the field because I had no previous
Wicker applied to the program, and after a competitive experience with grants,” Wicker said. “I was really interested
I knew that it
was a good selection process, she was picked to participate in the in it because I knew there was a lot to learn and it would
training, which began last September. She and 16 other be challenging.”
Wicker completed the internship and was offered a
program, and it would
Duke staff members graduated July 13.
enhance my resume
“At the time, I didn’t know what I was looking for or Level 9 staff specialist position working for Brearley at the
and skills.” where I wanted to go with my career, but I knew that it was Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, a promotion.
a good program and it would enhance my resume and Wicker said she has many to credit for her professional leap
skills,” Wicker said. and success in the office staff program. She is one of eight
— Cindy Shelton Wicker

The Office Staff Development Program helps staff promoted so far from the July graduating class.
Staff Specialist

members qualify for a variety of Duke career

opportunities. Participants are paired with mentors at
— By Elizabeth Michalka
Writer, Human Resources Communications
6
Learn More About Professional Development — Visit www.hr.duke.edu/pdi or call (919) 684-5406.
Sustainable uke

“
YO U R S O U R C E FO R G R E E N N E W S AT D U K E

I now have
a different
relationship with my
fuel. I make it.”
— Bob Clemen

Running Professor
Duke’s Fuqua School of Business

On Vegetable Oil
Bob Clemen, Duke Fuqua School of Business professor, stands by his biodiesel-fueled Jetta.

o look at Bob Clemen’s silver Volkswagen Jetta,
nothing suggests it is any different from the dozens of
T other vehicles in the parking lot adjacent to Duke’s
Fuqua School of Business.
To ride in the car, there’s nothing to indicate that it
isn’t just like the millions of other vehicles running on
petroleum.
But there is something different about Clemen’s
automotive means of transportation, and he keeps an
example of it in a Mason jar on his desk in the Fuqua
School of Business.
Biodiesel.
It’s more eco-friendly, and it’s the fuel that gives the
Jetta life.
“The main thing is it’s not petroleum-based,” said
Clemen, a professor of decision sciences at Fuqua. “So,
I don’t have to fight a war in Iraq to have fuel for my car.
And I don’t have to burn fossil fuel and put the fossil
carbon into the atmosphere in order to drive my car.”
Biodiesel is a clean-burning alternative fuel, produced
from domestic, renewable resources. It contains no
petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with
petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It is produced
from any animal fat or vegetable oil through a refining
process called transesterification.
Clemen, who says he’s a “product of the ’60s
environmental movement,” started using biodiesel about
two years ago. He and his wife, Margaret, bought a diesel
engine RV after doing their homework and deciding to
trade in their model that ran on unleaded gasoline.
They started using biodiesel in the new rig because,
“We thought this was a good thing to do.”
That led to buying the diesel-engine Jetta and joining
Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative in Pittsboro. Nearly every
week, Clemen collects waste oil and drives it to Pittsboro,
“I turn the key, and it never ceases to amaze me,”
Clemen said. “This complicated machine is running on
fuel made from waste vegetable oil.”
The Jetta on biodiesel has similar fuel economy to
unleaded gas – mid 30 miles per gallon. The biodiesel
Got A
Sustainability
burns cleaner, reducing carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides
and sulfates emissions.
“I now have a different relationship with my fuel,”
Story?
Clemen said. “I make it. That takes effort and time. It’s
a lot of fun. I like doing it. Now I think a little bit harder Influence others —
about putting trips together and being more efficient
about what I do.”
Write us at
His passion carries over to the classroom. With working@duke.edu
Lincoln Pratson of the Nicholas School, Clemen ran an
independent study last spring with more than a dozen
Duke students who assessed the viability of collecting
waste vegetable oil from restaurants near Duke. What
would it take to have a collection route? What’s the cost?
And would area restaurants be interested in contributing
to the cause?
Clemen said some students involved are interested in
pursuing the study further as a part of a master’s project.
Clemen hopes that one day, Duke will be able to have its
own collection system, a reactor perhaps run by Duke
students.
He recognized, though, that most people don’t have Want More?
the ability to trade in their current vehicles for one with a
diesel engine. But that doesn’t mean people can’t do their Visit
part to raise their eco-consciousness. The best thing people
can do, he said, is use compact-fluorescent light bulbs. www.duke.edu/
“You get bulbs that will reduce your energy sustainability
consumption to just about one-tenth,” he said. “That’s the
simplest, easiest, inexpensive way to make a difference.”
— By Tim Candon

where Piedmont Biofuels refines the oil into fuel for his car.
Working@Duke Correspondent

Learn About Biodiesel — Visit www.biofuels.coop

WORKING@ DUKE

“
HOW TO REACH US
Editor: Leanora Minai
dialogue@Duke
(919) 681-4533
leanora.minai@duke.edu
“In the spirit of Halloween, what do you think
Assistant Vice President: is the spookiest spot at Duke?”
Paul S. Grantham

This building, the Community Service Center, is part of the old Trinity College campus.

“
(919) 681-4534

If we work late, sometimes we joke around that we hear things. It isn’t always a joke.
paul.grantham@duke.edu

Graphic Design & Layout:

There are some strange noises.”
Paul Figuerado Lindsay Mamula
Student Outreach Specialist, Community Service Center
4 months at Duke
Photography: Jon Gardiner, Les Todd
and Megan Morr of Duke University
Photography

A lot of people probably think that the Chapel

“
Support Staff: Mary Carey
and William Blackburn
is the spookiest place at Duke. I’d have to agree
with that. It’s a beautiful place, but there is something
Got A
about it.”
Working@Duke is published monthly
by Duke’s Office of Communication
Services. We invite your William Hall
Recruiter, Human Resources
Story
feedback and suggestions for
future story topics.
3 years at Duke
Idea
The forest paths behind Nicholas are sort of
Please write us at

spooky and so are the underground tunnels

working@duke.edu or

that connect all the buildings at Levine Science

Working@Duke, Box 90496,

Research Center (LSRC). Plus, the parking garage near

705 Broad St., Durham, NC 27708
Write
the Searle Center can make you feel claustrophobic.”
Call us at (919) 684-4345.
Send faxes to (919) 681-7926. working@duke.edu
Carolyn Leith
Staff Assistant, Film/Video/Digital Program Call
15 years at Duke (919) 681-4533
— By Missy Baxter
Senior Writer, Office of Communication Services

Spooky Tales
continued from page 1

period with the same surname,” Sims said. “I also would like to look
through the 1890 census records for Durham County.”
Paperwork in the University Archives file about the tombstone
said that according to oral tradition, the headstone was discovered
at the construction site of an addition to the Divinity School
building begun in 1970. “This would mean, one assumes, that it
marked a family grave in the woods near the center of campus and
was untouched by construction and … traffic from 1927 to when
the divinity addition was begun,” according to the file.
The tombstone found its way to the Divinity School Library,
where former head librarian Donn Michael Farris kept it until his
retirement in 1992. In 1993, the tombstone was transferred to
University Archives.
“I’m glad it’s in our custody and not discarded by whoever was
initially responsible for removing it in the first place,” Sims said. “It
boils down to respect for the dead and reverence for burial grounds. Ray Walker, staff architect for the Facilities Management
I know that as long as it is with University Archives, it will be safe Department, said that in architecture, a gargoyle is defined as a
until its proper place can be determined, if ever.” carving of a grotesque figure that operates as a waterspout to convey

B
Perched atop a clock tower in Crowell Quad overlooking
West Campus is a stone mythical animal. From another vantage point,
a beast with a demonic-looking face peers down with wide eyes and
extended tongue.
More than a dozen eerie gargoyles were crafted by stonecutters
in the late 1920s and early 1930s to add architectural elements.
“Since gargoyles are usually associated with scary movies, some
people might consider them spooky or scary, but I prefer to think that
they are there to ward off evil,” said Theresa Aiken, staff assistant
with Residence Life.
The gargoyles, along with other decorative carvings on West
Campus, were crafted by stonecutters for John Donnelly Inc. of New
York, a design firm that constructed public buildings across the
country, including the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
rain water away from the sides of buildings.
“The stone cutters were given quite a bit of free rein to explore
their creativity, so many of the images are products of the artists’
imaginations,” Walker said. “Since these statues don’t act as
waterspouts, they aren’t gargoyles by definition. Most people agree,
though, that they possess all the other gargoyle qualities such as the
scary appearance.”
The ghoulish statues and carvings have been the subject of books,
research papers and fodder for visitors’ questions.
“There are surprises to be found among the stone carvings on
campus,” said Tom Harkins, associate university archivist. “I think it
all adds an artistic flair, and for some, a bit of mystery.”
— By Leanora Minai and Missy Baxter
Working@Duke

For daily news and information, visit

D U K E T O D AY www.duke.edu/today