Did you know that as a Duke staff member, you are eligible for work/life balance, stress management, wellness, and entertainment benefits, many for free or at a reduced cost? Here are some of the resources available to Postdoctoral Associates and Postdoctoral Scholars
Career
The Duke Office of Postdoctoral Services provides individual career counseling, resume/CV, cover letter, and personal statement critiques, professional development workshops, and social events for Duke postdoctoral associates and postdoctoral scholars. Free social events for postdocs include Postdoctoberfest in the fall and Spring Fling in the spring. For an individual counseling appointment, email Molly Starback, Director of Duke Postdoctoral Services. For a list of upcoming events and seminars, see the Duke Postdoctoral Services Events Calendar.
Duke HR benefits: Duke’s overall benefit plan has long been recognized and valued because of its comprehensiveness and competitiveness in the market. In addition to a robust array of traditional benefits such as medical care, dental care and retirement. Duke also offers a wide range of family-friendly and cultural benefits to attract, support and reward the skilled employees that help Duke remain a premier education, research and health care institution.
The Employee Tuition Assistance Program provides tuition reimbursement for full-time employees with at least two years of continuous full-time service for classes taken at Duke (or any other higher educational institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools with a physical presence in North Carolina). Courses must be related to the employee’s current job or continued career growth at Duke.
Special Employee Tuition Rate for Duke Classes: Staff and faculty are able to take courses at Duke at a special tuition rate that represents a savings of more 80 percent off regular tuition. As part of the program offered through Duke Continuing Studies, employees working at least 20 hours per week can take an undergraduate course for academic credit for $975; the normal rate for the fall semester is $5,287. Or, employees can audit a class for $100 instead of the regular $514 audit fee. A maximum of two courses can be taken per semester through the program; one per summer session. The program is independent of the Employee Tuition Assistance Program offered through Duke Human Resources. However, staff and faculty may use the tuition assistance program to be reimbursed for courses taken for academic credit, as long as tuition assistance eligibility requirements are met. Employees who complete a for-credit course can receive a Duke transcript showing the grade. Employees can use the transcript to apply for a transfer of credit if they choose to apply later for a bachelor’s degree program at Duke or if they enroll in a degree program at another higher education institution. The new Special Duke Employee Tuition Rate program applies only to undergraduate classes from Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke Marine Lab and Sanford School of Public Policy. Courses and programs not eligible for the special tuition rate include: music lessons, physical education courses, study abroad, courses at the Pratt School of Engineering and all graduate-level classes. Temporary employees and full-time degree students are not eligible for the special tuition rate. For more information, visit the Continuing Studies website, call (919) 684-6259 or send email to learnmore@duke.edu.
Interested in a career in clinical research? The Duke Office of Clinical Research offers classroom training programs for Duke investigators, clinical research coordinators, financial and research study staff. Free trainings for Duke personnel include Financial Basics for Clinical Research; Research Data Integrity and Data Security; Study Documentation: Regulations and Best Practices; and other sessions that cover the basics of clinical research at Duke for researchers serving as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, or Sub-Investigator.
The Duke Professional Development Institute provides individual assistance with resumes, goal setting, career planning, educational opportunities, and job interviewing. These services are provided to Duke employees – eg, Research Associate Seniors, Research Scientists, Associates in Research. (Postdoctoral Associates and Postdoctoral Scholars may make individual appointments with Molly Starback, Director, Duke Postdoctoral Services for these same services.)
The Duke Writing Studio meets with Duke faculty, graduate students, and staff on a space-available basis. These community members may schedule a maximum of five appointments. The emphasis of these five sessions will be to familiarize users with online and help-for-hire resources, workshop opportunities, and self-revision techniques.
Duke University is proud to be an Institutional Member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD). Duke postdocs are eligible for free membership. The NCFDD provides an external mentoring community designed to help postdocs increase research and writing productivity and improve work-life balance. NCFDD offers professional development training, intense and reliable support from highly trained and successful mentors, a confidential “safe space” for problem solving, and a downloadable virtual format so members can learn at their convenience. NCFDD currently supports more than 88,000 graduate student, postdoc and faculty members from institutions all across the country.
The Duke Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC), Duke Student Government, and Duke Postdoctoral Services have partnered with a local law firm to provide the Lawyer Assistance Program. Attorneys are available for every Monday from 4-7 pm during the fall and spring semester. The attorneys may be able to answer questions regarding a wide range of legal issues, including street law and police-community interactions.
Data/Visualization Training Sessions: Being able to manipulate data and present findings to a general audience is a skill set that is increasingly in demand for all career paths. Data and Visualization Services at the Duke Library hold a regular series of workshops for teaching these valuable skills to members of the Duke community. Their workshop schedule may be found here.
Technology Training Sessions: The Innovation Co-Lab at Duke holds regular classes for learning technical skills at various levels of experience, all the way from basic programming skills to hardware hacking, as well as weekly studio nights.
Wellness
Personal Assistance Service (PAS) is the Duke employee assistance program. The staff of licensed professionals offers assessment, short-term counseling, and referrals to help resolve a range of personal, work, and family problems. Common concerns include balancing time, money management, stress, and depression. PAS services are available free of charge to Duke staff and their immediate family members.
Duke’s Staff and Family Programs Department provides information and assistance in balancing work and family responsibilities, parenting and other family concerns. Referrals are available for both child care and elder care.
The Office of the Ombudsman offers confidential and anonymous support and advocacy to Duke postdoctoral appointees from both Campus and School of Medicine departments. The Ombudsman addresses postdoc concerns about how and when to approach existing resources (e.g., Staff and Labor Relations, Office of Institutional Equity, Chair’s or Dean’s Offices) when they feel mistreated or have a conflict with another member of the Duke community. The role of the Ombudsman is to investigate and facilitate resolution of allegations by postdoctoral appointees of perceived unfair, inappropriate, discriminating or harassing treatment or behavior by faculty, staff, administrators, or fellow postdocs. This includes violations of University policy of equal treatment without regard to race, creed, religion, color, veteran status, sex, sexual preference, age, national or ethnic origin, or handicap.
LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, offers a variety of programs and services including health assessments, smoking cessation programs, fitness activities and nutrition counseling to help Duke staff and their family members reach health and fitness goals. LIVE FOR LIFE sponsors the Duke Farmers Market on spring and summer Fridays beginning April 15.
The Duke Fitness Club includes a network of full-service fitness facilities in locations throughout North Carolina that offer Duke staff and their families discounted membership rates.
DukeWell helps Duke Select and Duke Basic insurance participants focus on specific areas of life to improve overall health and wellbeing. Benefits include a free Health Risk Assessment, the ability to earn up to $450 in pharmacy credit, monthly prize drawings, and free seminars on exercise, stress relief, weight management, and healthy cooking.
Duke Integrative Medicine’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program is a method of using meditation and yoga to cultivate awareness and reduce stress. Participants learn to discover and observe his or her reactions to life’s stressors and to choose how to respond. Duke Integrative Medicine’s philosophy is that the skills taught in the MBSR Program are of benefit to everyone. For that reason, there is a Financial Aid Program that enables you to learn MBSR skills and use them in your daily life, regardless of socio-economic status.
Duke Recreation offers a variety of trips and clinics open to the Duke community. Students, faculty and staff have the chance to sign up for hiking/camping trips, backpacking clinics, rock climbing lessons, horseback trail riding and mountain biking trips at a reduced cost. Duke employees receive free or discounted admission to several aquatic activities, including Family Fun Swims (free for gym members; $10 per family for Duke employee, non-gym members) and swimming lessons (save up to $90, depending on number requested).
Social
The PERQS Program provides food, service and entertainment opportunities to faculty and staff at discount rates, including discount tickets to Broadway Series South, Durham Bulls, Carolina Theater, Durham Performing Arts Center, Ben & Jerry’s, North Carolina Symphony, Disney On Ice, Busch Gardens, Biltmore House, and more.
Duke offers GoPass, a local and regional bus pass, to Duke staff and faculty whose offices are on the East, West, Central and Medical Center campuses; the American Tobacco Campus or within one-half mile of the East, West, Central or Medical campuses. For an annual fee of $25, GoPass allows staff unlimited rides on DATA, Triangle Transit, Capital Area Transit and C-Tran, the town of Cary’s transit service.
A member of the Duke University Union, Freewater Presentations screens quality films on Duke’s campus during the academic year. Tickets are $1 for Duke employees, $2 for general admission.
Duke Gardens hosts adult and family classes and events, including Spring Flower Walks, Nature for Sprouts, Traditional Japanese Teas, Bird Walks, the Arts in The Garden Performance Series, and the Spring Family Fun Day.
The Nasher Museum of Art hosts leading-edge art exhibitions and dynamic programs, including Family Days, performing arts events, lectures, film series and social gatherings. The 65,000-square-foot building, designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, houses three large gallery spaces, a museum store, university and community classrooms and the Nasher Museum Café. Admission is free for staff with Duke ID, and free for everyone on Thursdays from 5-9 pm.
Jazz at the Mary Lou: On Wednesday evenings during the academic year, you can enjoy free live jazz performances at the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture on West Campus. Jazz nights begin at 9:30pm and end at 12:30 am. You can stay for just one set or for the whole program.
Duke Appreciation Week: Each year, Duke celebrates and recognizes the faculty and staff of the University and Health System. Institutional events include Duke Family Night at the Durham Bulls, Art and Music on the Quad, and Duke Gardens Family Fun Day.
Miscellaneous
Duke Libraries: The William R. Perkins Library and its seven branches, together with the University Archives and the separately administered libraries serving the schools of Business, Divinity, Law, and Medicine, comprise one of the nation’s top ten private university library systems. As staff members, Duke postdocs can check out materials using their DukeCard. Loan periods and polices vary according to the library/collection.
Duke SSRI (Social Science Research Institute) brings together researchers with interests in problems that cross the various social and behavioral sciences, including problems that connect with the humanities and natural sciences. SSRI promotes multidisciplinary collaboration among scholars as they work on important social issues that are challenging to address fully from within any given discipline. Surrounded by team rooms devoted to research and projects, a welcoming, large space known as ‘The Connection’ features informal areas to cross paths on the way to coffee and refreshments, and extensive whiteboards and writable glass to facilitate instant exchange of ideas. The Connection Bar provides assistance with data access, data management and social science methods.
The Duke Statistical Consulting Center offers statistical consulting to Duke University faculty, students and staff on research involving statistical methods. Consultants are Duke Statistics faculty and graduate students pursuing PhDs in statistics. To schedule an appointment, email scc@stat.duke.edu with a brief description of your problem and times when you are available. You will be scheduled with a consultant. Some questions can be answered during the initial consultation. Others require several meetings over a period of months as the research progresses. Still others result in long-term collaboration between the center staff and other university researchers. Normally the SCC and its consultants do not receive compensation for consulting, although compensation may be appropriate in some circumstances.
Duke University Federal Credit Union (DUFCU) membership is available to all Duke staff and employees. DUFCU is a non-profit financial cooperative, owned and operated by and for its members. All Duke employees and their immediate family members are eligible for membership with DUFCU.
Duke Office of Information Technology (OIT) Training: OIT provides free technology training to Duke students, staff and faculty, including hands-on training seminars, OnDemand training for Duke-specific tools and services, monthly brown bag sessions, and online training tutorials.