Advance Excellence in Service

Our mission calls for a stronger “culture of service” with a clear commitment to faculty and staff colleagues and to our students. For faculty, it calls for a commitment to the entirety of scholarship: teaching, research, and service. For students, it calls for engaging robustly and respectfully with faculty and fellow students. For staff, it calls for working collectively and collaboratively as a part of a team for the greater good. We seek to nurture, within faculty, students, and staff, a stronger sense of identification with, and belonging to, the Duke community. To accomplish these aspirations, we must help articulate the excellence of the arts & sciences and our pride in Duke. We must detail clear expectations for community and professional interactions, provide feedback when expectations are not met, and visibly recognize and tangibly reward when they are. Creating a community where all members are valued is difficult work, and achieving that is an imperfect process. We seek to emphasize constantly the privilege of, and the responsibility for, contributing to the greater University.

Our Goals

  • Create a stronger “culture of service” to the department, college, and university
  • Provide clear expectations for, and increased recognition of, faculty and staff service
  • Support opportunities for community identification and celebration.
graduates

Faculty Service to the University

We are clearly communicating service expectations for faculty at all levels of their professional development.

  • We frame service as a core value and faculty requirement in all faculty offer letters.
  • We help faculty understand what service is most appropriate for their career stage in our mentoring-by-rank meetings.

Brodhead Service Award

In 2016, we established the Brodhead Service Award, named in honor of President Richard H. Brodhead. This is an annual award given to a Trinity College of Arts & Sciences undergraduate, alumnus/a, or staff member who has demonstrated exemplary service to or in support of the school. A nominee could, for example, be an engaged volunteer or board member; a student who launched a program, led an initiative, or held a leadership position in a service-oriented organization; or a staff member who served the university in a professional or advisory capacity for many years. The award was established by the Trinity College Board of Visitors to honor President Brodhead’s 13 years of service to and leadership of Duke University. President Brodhead and his wife Cynthia are shown at right. 

More about the Brodhead Service Award

Richard and Cynthia Brodhead

Appreciating Our Staff

In 2016, we launched a new annual Trinity College Staff Appreciation reception at the close of the spring semester. This is a moment for our staff to take a break after graduation in May, and to hear and be recognized for the many contributions they make to our students' experience at Duke, and to the efficient running of our school. In addition, we have reinstituted the Trinity faculty and staff family night celebrations, enabling our community to share a meal and a Duke football or basketball game with their families. 

Dean's Pillars of Excellence Staff Awards

In 2017, we established the Dean's Pillars of Excellence Staff Awards. These awards will be presented annually to non-teaching staff making significant contributions to the excellence of the school through their commitment to service, initiative, outstanding leadership, increased efficiency, enthusiasm, collaboration, mentoring, and diversity. Each award will include a $1,000 honorarium.