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Ten years after a colorectal cancer diagnosis, Assistant Vice President for Duke University Student Affairs Clay Adams is still grateful. 💙

At 37, Clay was training for races and feeling strong. Then came the call: cancer. What followed was a six-hour surgery at Duke University Health System, months of uncertainty, and a decision that would shape his life.

As National Cancer Survivors Day approaches June 7, Clay’s story is a reminder of what’s possible with early care, medical research and the people like family members and colleagues who stand with you along the way.

“This place may be my employer, but the mission and focus of this place is personal,” Clay said. “To put it simply, I owe my life to this place.”



Duke Cancer Institute | Duke Health | Duke Divinity School

A Decade After Cancer, A Duke Employee Thrives | Duke Today A Decade After Cancer, A Duke Employee Thrives As National Cancer Survivors Day approaches on June 7, Clay Adams’ story shows what rising cancer survival rates can mean for patients and families Image Clay Adams, Assistant Vice President for Duke Student Affairs, says he owes a chance at life with...

A lobster trap, a boat off the coast of Maine, and a little went a long way for Lydia Cato.

The Duke University Hospital case manager spent Memorial Day weekend in Portland, learning from local fishers and pulling up lobster traps herself.

“It was really cool … I learned so much and got to experience some fun new things,” she said. “That’s why I love my PTO at Duke.”

Her snapshot is the first winning entry in this summer’s Duke Time Off campaign. For her photo, Cato will receive a cooler, courtesy of Duke University Stores.

Show us how you’re making the most of your Duke time off benefit by tagging Working or submitting a photo through our form.

You’ll be in the running for amazing prizes from the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, the Duke Lemur Center, Duke Arts Presents, Duke University Stores or Duke Dining. To be eligible for prizes, your photos must be taken and shared between May 20 and Aug. 3, 2026.

Learn more about Cato’s photo and how to enter!

A Lobster Boat Adventure Nets First Duke Time Off Photo Prize | Duke Today A Lobster Boat Adventure Nets First Duke Time Off Photo Prize All eligible staff and faculty photos taken and shared between May 20 and Aug. 3, 2026, will be entered to win grand prizes Image Lydia Cato holds up a lobster while on a visit to Portland, Maine. Photo courtesy of Lydia Cato. Caption Clo...

Are You Under 50 with a Cancer Story?

For some colleagues at Duke, cancer has arrived during years often associated with building careers, raising families and planning for the future. A recent National Cancer Institute report found that rates of 14 cancers rose among Americans under 50 from 2010 to 2019. With 56% of Duke’s workforce under 50, Working@Duke wants to hear how cancer has shaped the lives of young colleagues across Duke. For an upcoming Working@Duke magazine cover story, we want to hear from staff and faculty who were diagnosed with cancer before age 50 during their employment at Duke. If that’s part of your story, we invite you to share your experience.

Share your story: https://hr.duke.edu/SendNews

At the start of this year, Rena Springer temporarily moved from East to West campus while her office underwent renovations.

One perk she looked forward to: being closer to the Duke Farmers Market.

“It was like coming home,” said Springer, Business Manager and Program Coordinator for Duke University Army ROTC.

For the past six years that Springer has worked on East Campus, visiting the market on the Duke Medicine Pavilion Greenway took more planning than a stroll outside her office on Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the season.

Her first visit to the Duke Farmers Market in years resulted in a sourdough bread purchase from a new-to-her baker along with fresh green beans and zucchini.

“They did not disappoint,” Springer said. “They were sweet and delicious.”

Springer has moved back to her West Duke Building office on East Campus but plans to make Market Thursdays more regularly this year.

“I am a gardener myself and love seeing the freshly grown veggies, sprouts, breads and food trucks,” she said.

Learn more and visit the Duke Farmers Market this Thursday: https://today.duke.edu/2026/04/duke-farmers-market-opens-24th-season-april-23

Could you pass Duke’s workplace safety quiz? Put it to the test and win cookies.

Penny Ferry-Leeper helps keep Duke’s Department of Ophthalmology labs by spotting hazards, guiding teammates and staying ready for the unexpected.

Last year, she completed Duke’s workplace safety quiz and walked away with a dozen cookies from Southern Sugar Bakery, LLC.

This month, you’ve got the same chance.

The quick 10-question quiz covers real workplace situations involving fire safety, extreme heat and more, whether you work in an office, lab, clinic or out in the field.

Take the quiz by June 30 to refresh your safety knowledge and be entered for a chance to win cookies of your own!

| Duke Eye Center

How Much Do You Know About Workplace Safety? Show Off! | Duke Today How Much Do You Know About Workplace Safety? Show Off! Complete a 10-question quiz for National Safety Month in June for a chance to win a box of delicious cookies Image Published May 29, 2026 Credits Stephen Schramm Working@Duke Senior Writer Tags HR Staff As a Research Analyst and Laboratory Manag...

Devlin, Working@Duke’s miniature correspondent, spent time recently with Administrative Coordinator Kimberly Dorman at the Kenan Institute for Ethics, learning how the institute puts Duke’s values into action.

While basking in the sun with plants, Devlin heard about the institute’s origins and how in 1995, then-Duke President Nan Keohane spoke of ethics as a matter of community and character and of a program that would extend to “the general life of the nearby community and the nation,” providing not only “reasonable intellectual constructs but opportunities for commitment.”

“Over almost 30 years, the Kenan Institute for Ethics has taken shape from these origins,” Dorman said.

Throughout his stay, Devlin met some of the people who keep Kenan’s work moving forward. He helped make copies and scans with Dorman and Executive‑in‑Residence Kay Jowers. He also connected with Brooks Emanuel, who works on undergraduate programming centered on radical imagination and social change, and Laura Pinto‑Coelho, a research associate supporting Indigenous studies initiatives. He also couldn’t help but spend some time exploring the Carceral Studies and Ethics and Society Certificates, two programs of study offered at the institute.

Devlin capped off his visit with time on the West Duke Building’s front porch with staff and student assistants and a trip to the Full Frame Documentary Festival with Shannan Hayes, Associate Director of Student Engagement.

Want Devlin to visit you? Complete the interest form and we’ll schedule his stop!

https://today.duke.edu/2026/02/strike-pose-devlin-workingduke-correspondent

Week 2 of our annual summer campaign is underway, and the photos are rolling in!

Show us how you’re making the most of your Duke time off benefit by tagging Working at Duke or submitting a photo through our form.

You’ll be in the running for amazing prizes from the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, the Duke Lemur Center, Duke Arts Presents, Duke University Stores or Duke Dining. To be eligible for prizes, your photos must be taken and shared between May 20 and Aug. 3, 2026.

https://today.duke.edu/2026/05/show-us-how-you-spend-your-duke-time-summer-2026

She almost didn’t apply.

After 24 years at Duke, Jenise Washington wasn’t sure she had time for the Duke Leadership Academy.

Now, she says the connections made it all worth it.

From meeting colleagues across campus to building lasting relationships, this program shows how growth happens, and how community makes it stick.

“The biggest part of it that has been most beneficial is connecting with the other individuals,” Washington said. “Of course, they give good information for the tools, but it really has been the conversation and getting to know the other people.”

Thinking about expanding your own network at Duke?

Read the story about the reunion at the Duke Lemur Center and see what the Duke Leadership Academy is all about.



Duke Learning and Organization Development | Duke Facilities Management | Duke University Press

Duke Leadership Academy's Annual Gathering Builds Connections and Community | Duke Today Duke Leadership Academy's Annual Gathering Builds Connections and Community Reunion at the Duke Lemur Center highlights how relationships shape the experience for participants and alums of professional development program Image Current participants in the Duke Leadership Academy and alums of the pro...

In between interviews with promising job applicants, Barbara Stokes, Director of Dining Services with Duke, celebrated something exciting during a job fair in Durham on May 20: adding a few new team members to Duke University.

More than 125 people attended the job fair at the NCWorks Career Center- Durham on Briggs Avenue, where recruiters and hiring managers worked side by side to fill about 10 openings.

“We have never done something like this at this scale, so we are really excited about it,” Stokes said. “Being able to do interviews and give offers on the same day is huge for us.”

For many candidates, Duke’s strong benefits, flexible schedules, career growth opportunities and upcoming $20 minimum wage beginning July 1 made the organization stand out.

“This is a great opportunity to hire local,” said Roberta Maldonado Franzen, Director of Talent Acquisition and Recruitment for Duke Human Resources. “We have a lot of great talent right here in the area and we recognize that.”

The event also reflected Duke’s continued investment in Durham and the people who call this community home.

Explore opportunities and grow your career at Duke: https://careers.duke.edu.

| Duke Dining | Duke Community Affairs