The Chronicle of Higher Education Names Duke "Great College to Work For"
-- By Missy Baxter
October 07, 2009
Duke selected among Top 10 for publication's honor roll
Maria Maschauer hikes glaciers, goes river rafting and observes wildlife as part of scientific expeditions. She'll seek her next adventure by tapping into Duke's professional development resources to enhance her skills through free computer training workshops.
"Not only does Duke have great benefits and health insurance, but it's wonderful that there are so many ways at Duke to improve your skills and advance your career," said Maschauer, special events coordinator for Duke's Program in Literature. She has taken accounting and database management courses through Duke's Learning & Organizational Development.
For the second year in a row, Duke's benefits and programs helped the University rank among The Chronicle of Higher Education's "2009 Great Colleges to Work For."
"It's an honor to be recognized by The Chronicle as a great place to work," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president of Human Resources. "We can all take pride in this recognition because it is the people who work here that make Duke the outstanding institution that it is today and such a rewarding place to invest your career."
The recognition was more difficult to achieve this year as the survey was broadened to include any non-profit institution that wanted to participate More than 300 signed up for the program.
"That's nearly triple last year's number of participants," wrote Jeffrey J. Selingo in the Editor's Note for The Chronicle. "It also makes this the second-largest workplace-recognition program in the country, after Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For
In addition to being recognized as one of the "Great Colleges to Work For," Duke was also selected for the publication's "Honor Roll" as one of the top 10 institutions of its size. The institutions, which are not ranked, are recognized according to specific best practices and policies based on the size of their workforce.
Duke was recognized for best practices and policies in 14 of the 26 categories ranging compensation and benefits to confidence in senior leadership and healthy faculty-administration relationships. Last year, Duke received recognition in only five categories. Below are the 14 categories in which Duke received recognition this year:
- Job Satisfaction
- Healthy Faculty-Administration Relationships
- Physical Work Space Conditions
- Overall Satisfaction with Benefits
- Compensation and Benefits
- Housing Assistance Programs
- 403(b) or 401(k)
- Vacation or Paid Time Off
- Post-Retirement Benefits
- Work-Life Balance
- Confidence in Senior Leadership
- Internal Communications
- Perception of and Confidence in Fair Treatment
- Respect and Appreciation
"Even in these challenging economic times, Duke recognizes the value of offering competitive benefits and opportunities for professional development and continuing education," Cavanaugh said. "Our goal is to retain and attract the best staff and faculty, which allows Duke to continue its mission as one of the world's top academic, medical and research universities."
Duke staff and faculty also have access to programs such as the Professional Development Institute, which offers courses on topics such as business writing, time management and first-time supervisor training.
"Duke provides the tools to work with to make the most of yourself and improve your life," said Juanita Johnson, staff specialist in the Multicultural Center in Student Affairs.
Johnson is among many staff and faculty who climbed the organizational ladder through professional development seminars and continuing education courses. She joined Duke in 1977 as a Dining Services staff member while still in high school. Johnson later advanced to a clerk in Duke University Hospital's radiology department before assuming her current role as staff specialist.
Faculty can also participate in an array of professional development programs such as workshops for tenure-track professors and management orientation seminars for department chairs and directors of academic centers.
"Duke's support for faculty is well known in the academic world," said Justin Wright, assistant professor in the Biology Department, "so I'm not surprised that Duke is being recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education."
Wright joined Duke in 2004 as a researcher and quickly advanced to a tenure-track position. His wife, Emily Bernhardt, is also an assistant professor in the Biology Department. As parents of two young children, they also praised Duke's parental leave benefit and on-campus childcare facilities.
"Landing two tenure-track positions at Duke has really helped a lot of our dreams come true," Wright said. "It truly is a great place to work."