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Take a few minutes to test your knowledge with Duke’s 10-question safety quiz, open throughout June for . You’ll raise awareness of common risks and get a chance to win a box of cookies from Southern Sugar Bakery, LLC. Ten winners will be selected at random after the quiz closes.

Take the quiz now and see how you stack up! 🍪

https://today.duke.edu/2025/05/think-you-know-workplace-safety-prove-it

Duke Facilities Management

Lilly Library may be under renovation until summer 2026, but we’re rewinding with this throwback at the reference desk from a summer in the 1970s.

Check https://library.duke.edu/about/hours for library summer hours!

Image courtesy of Duke University Archives

| Duke University Libraries | Lilly Library Duke University

In a recent “Health Matters” webinar, sponsored by LIVE FOR LIFE, the employee wellness program, colleagues got creative with some meditative art.

"Mindful art involves being fully present and engaged in the creative process… It helps you connect your mind and body,” said Anna Batsakes, webinar leader and Health Education Specialist for LIVE FOR LIFE.

Take a look at what your colleagues made – and try it for yourself! Watch the on-demand session, “Meditation through Art: A Practice for Relaxation and Reflection.”

https://bit.ly/MeditationThroughArt

Art by:

Ambrosia Garcia, Duke Human Vaccine Institute
Brenda Tate, Accounting
Brian Zelanko, LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program
Jennifer Foster, Research Admin Support Resource
Rose Volponi, Population Health Sciences

Has Duke’s Medical Research Changed Your Life? We Want to Hear from You.

Working@Duke invites Duke staff and faculty to share how Duke biomedical research has made a difference in their lives or in the lives of their immediate family members. Your story will help illustrate the human impact of federally funded research at Duke and show how innovation here directly supports the health of the people who make Duke what it is.

🩺 Has a clinical trial at Duke led to a treatment you didn’t think was possible for yourself?

⚕️ Did you or a loved one benefit from research that changed how patient care is delivered?

🧬 Has a groundbreaking discovery by Duke researchers – such as cochlear implants or genetic testing for Alzheimer’s and ovarian or breast cancer – helped you or an immediate family member?

If you or a loved one has been personally helped by Duke biomedical research, we’d be honored if you would consider sharing your story by answering our questionnaire by June 16, 2025.

https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eaNXUM4Ak56d2Oa

The Duke Farmers Market happens every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Stop by for:

🍓 Locally grown fruits and vegetables
🍞 Freshly baked breads and handcrafted treats
🌸 Seasonal flowers and artisanal goods
🎶 Live music and a welcoming atmosphere

At the market? Post a pic with your find and tag us to win a Working@Duke insulated shopping bag.

Learn more: https://today.duke.edu/2025/04/eat-shop-and-stroll-local-every-thursday-duke-farmers-market

Over Memorial Day weekend, Duke Raleigh Hospital Registered Nurse Erin Banbury and her boyfriend, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Cody Stephens, ventured to New York, where they attended the graduation ceremony of Cody’s younger brother, Lowe, at West Point - The U.S. Military Academy.

Banbury shared a photo of herself with Cody, who is also a graduate of West Point, as part of our photo campaign that illustrates the value of using Duke’s paid time off benefit for well-being. The photo, one of roughly 60 submissions from the first week, was selected as the first winner in Working@Duke’s annual summer-long campaign.

“It was nice to spend Memorial Day weekend New York, especially at West Point, which is such a big part of American history,” Banbury said.

Read more and learn how to share your own photo for a chance to win prizes from the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, Duke Lemur Center, Duke Arts Presents and Duke University Stores.

https://today.duke.edu/2025/06/duke-time-photo-campaign-kicks-first-winning-memorial-day-moment

A sign at the bottom of the spiral staircase that leads to very top of Duke University Chapel proclaims, “WARNING. If you are afraid of heights, claustrophobic, asthmatic or have health problems, please do not go to the top of the tower.”

It’s true: The 239 steps to the top of the Chapel are challenging and dizzying, but the reward is well worth the effort.

On a recent climb, we found the views from the highest point on Duke’s campus revealed vibrant stretches of green lawns and trees beneath an endless blue sky. In the distance, it’s easy to spot the Lucky Strike Tower in downtown Durham and even the domed top of Baldwin Auditorium on East Campus.

LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, offers Chapel tower climbs each spring and fall.

Sign up to receive LIVE FOR LIFE’s email at https://duke.is/LFLemail

Share your pictures of campus with us! https://hr.duke.edu/SendNews

In January, Stuart Carr, a Research Program Leader with Duke Pediatrics, was stuck at his home in Hillsborough recovering from a broken arm. Unable to drive, his days involved quiet afternoons with his husband, Dennis, and their energetic 3-year-old poodle, Sophie.

“I was going a little stir crazy.” Carr said. “For me, most of the time, work is not really work. I’m busy doing things, getting things together. I see it as a good thing. I like to keep my mind busy.”

For years, Carr assumed he would retire at 67. But after experiencing a glimpse of retirement, he realized he wanted to find a new pursuit once his time in his current role comes to an end.

What that next act might be hasn’t crystallized yet. He’d love to audit college history courses or find a part-time role contributing to the medical research he’s currently involved in.

“I’m not very good at being bored,” Carr said. “There’s only so much Netflix you can watch or reading you can do. I need to do something a little more complex than that.”

Keep reading for more Duke staff and retiree reflections: https://today.duke.edu/2025/04/redefining-road-retirement

Imagine having a secure, Duke-supported AI assistant at your fingertips – one that understands your work, respects your data and helps you get more done.

Duke has partnered with OpenAI to launch a new pilot giving staff, faculty and students free or significantly discounted access to ChatGPT-4o. It’s part of a broader effort to expand AI tools that support teaching, research and operational excellence.

“Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are transforming higher education – enhancing creativity, improving efficiency and accelerating discovery,” said Duke Provost Alec D. Gallimore.

Keep reading to learn how you can use AI at Duke:

Duke Partners with OpenAI to Expand Suite of Secure, Duke-Managed AI Services | Duke Today Duke Partners with OpenAI to Expand Suite of Secure, Duke-Managed AI Services Image Starting June 2, Duke undergraduates will have free, unlimited access to GPT-4o through a new pilot with OpenAI. Caption Close Image Starting June 2, Duke undergraduates will have free, unlimited access to GPT-4o thr...

Sadia Kamal, an IT Analyst for Duke's Fuqua School of Business, prays, walks in nature when she can, and still finds herself craving more silence.

She told her husband that even though she’s never been to Alaska, she might like to move there someday – for one reason.

“It seems so peaceful and quiet,” she said.

In a recent Duke wellness webinar, Kamal learned why that longing for stillness runs deep. Snow, for example, can absorb sound. That kind of quiet, experts say, helps lower stress, improves focus, and even resets our bodies on a cellular level.

“Just letting our bodies be in that for a little while is helpful physically and emotionally,” said Moria Smoski, a Duke Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Explore how to turn down the noise and turn up your well-being.

How to Turn Down the Noise and Turn Up Your Well-Being | Duke Today How to Turn Down the Noise and Turn Up Your Well-Being Duke wellness experts share simple ways to embrace silence and care for your mental health Image A scene from Duke Forest. Photo by Megan Mendenhall, Duke University Caption Close Image A scene from Duke Forest. Photo by Megan Mendenhall, Duke U...