Duke Parents Advisory Council Fall Meeting

In coordination with Family Weekend, the Division of Student Affairs hosted its annual Duke Parents Advisory Council (DPAC) fall meeting on October 17th. DPAC welcomed seven new families to help provide feedback and advisement to Vice Provost/Vice President for Student Affairs, Mary Pat McMahon; Dean of Students, Dr. John Blackshear; and senior leadership within the Division. Our newest members bring diverse thoughts and a variety of backgrounds including industry, non-profits, government, and previous board representation. Special thanks to all of the parents and families who applied to join.

Read more about the Fall DPAC meeting from Clay Adams, Vice Dean of Students & Director of Parent and Family Programs, including reflections from senior leadership and new DPAC members.

Important Dates

October 28 - November 9 • Spring 2021 class registration
October 30 • Last day to withdraw with W from Fall 2020 classes
November 16 • Undergraduate classes end
November 17-19 • Undergraduate reading period
November 20-24 • Final examinations
November 30 • Residence halls close at noon*
November 25 - January 19 • Winter Break
January 4-15 • Winter Breakaway (more info below)

* For students not approved to stay over Winter Break
** All dates are subject to change

Student Spotlight

Ananya Vohra T'21 reflects on her experience as an international student throughout her four years at Duke. Ananya highlights ways in which the Duke community has supported her as an international student during the pandemic, and she offers advice to the families of these students. Hear more from Ananya in this month's Parent and Family Podcast.

Parenting during COVID-19

Below are some family resources and readings about supporting students during the pandemic.

Jed Foundation: jedfoundation.org/covid-19-resource-guide-for-parents-guardians/
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): nami.org/Support-Education/NAMI-HelpLine/COVID-19-Information-and-Resources/COVID-19-Resource-and-Information-Guide
Ohio State University - College of Education: news.osu.edu/5-ways-parents-can-support-their-college-age-children-whove-been-forced-to-return-home-due-to-covid-19/

Upcoming Events

Winter Breakaway

This January, Duke is excited to offer a new opportunity for students to develop or strengthen leadership, technical, and communications skills between semesters. The theme this year is “Design Your Future,” and the wide range of offerings includes “AI for Everyone” and “Working Across Cultures” (and many more). Through Winter Breakaway programs, some students will add a technical component to their repertoire while others will strengthen their humanistic skills; some students will do both. Registration for Winter Breakaway is now open!

Duke to Host NBA Commissioner Adam Silver

Families and the entire Duke community are invited to a fireside chat with Adam Silver T’84 on Thursday, November 12th, 5-6pm EDT. Silver will discuss his leadership of the NBA during COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, his experiences at Duke, and his thoughts on leadership and serving on the Board’s Undergraduate Education Committee. Register now.

We Need Your Feedback

For those who attended Family Weekend events, we need your feedback! Last week Parent and Family Programs sent a post-event survey to families who attended Family Weekend sessions. If you did not receive it, please let us know. We would be happy to send you the survey link. Thank you in advance for your time and feedback.

In Case You Missed It

Family Weekend Recap and Recordings

Thanks to the more than 900 families who tuned in for virtual Family Weekend! We had over 2,300 cumulative participants across our synchronous events.

For those of you who were unable to join or who want to re-watch Family Weekend content, most events were recorded and will be posted to the Family Weekend website by November 1st. Some videos, including the President's Welcome and the session about responding to active COVID-19 cases on campus, are already available.

Duke Votes

Campus is abuzz this election season! President Price sent campus-wide emails – including one this week – encouraging Duke community members to vote, students are tabling to answer questions and increase voter registration, and the Karsh Alumni & Visitors Center is serving as an early voting location. Duke Votes, a non-partisan student-led coalition, is the Duke community hub for voter resources and information.

Mental Telehealth for Students

Families, did you know your student now has access to Blue Devils Care? This service provides access to 24/7 mental telehealth support (including after-hours and weekends) for no cost at the time of visit! If they are feeling overwhelmed, students will be able to talk to a licensed provider from their smartphone or any web-enabled device.

Encourage your student to register now at bluedevilscare.duke.edu with their Duke email address and the Service Key "DUKE2020."

For frequently asked questions, please visit bluedevilscare.duke.edu.

Career Everywhere

Duke Career Center defines career readiness with insight from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness research.

Through a task force of college career services and HR/staffing professionals, NACE developed a definition of career readiness based on extensive research among employers, and identified seven competencies associated with career readiness.

Career Readiness is the attainment and demonstration of the necessary competencies that broadly prepare college students and graduates for a successful transition into the workplace (and graduate and professional school).

NACE Career Readiness Competencies

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
Oral/Written Communications
Global/Intercultural Fluency
Teamwork/Collaboration
Digital Technology
Leadership
Professionalism/Work Ethic
Career Management

In short, students should do their best to take full advantage of all that Duke has to offer. Employers (and professional and graduate schools) want students who have developed these competencies through courses, extra-curricular activities, internships/experiential experiences, civic engagement, and projects. The Career Center is a great resource to help students make sense of these competencies and develop examples and stories to illustrate their experiences.

Through students’ time at Duke, we encourage them to take an active role in their professional development by engaging in and developing the Career Management competencies, in combination with the NACE competencies, to prepare for lifelong post-graduation success. Our goal is to partner with Duke students to help them discover and determine what is meaningful and valuable in their lives and apply this to careers.