Stay Connected with OIE: Institutional Equity Exchange Quarterly Newsletter

We’re excited to announce OIE’s Fall Workshop Series! This semester’s offerings will include both virtual and in-person sessions, all open to the Duke community. The workshops are especially valuable for staff interested in building skills and strengthening workplace culture within their departments. Registration is required for each session, but participation is free.

October 6 | 10:00AM-11:00AM

October 29 | 2:00PM-3:00PM

October 21 | 9:30AM-11:00AM

November 19 | 9:30AM-11:00AM

During summer 2026 we piloted the OIE's Summer Virtual Workshop Series. We made the decision based on feedback from community members who would find a remote option more accessible, easier to join during a busy day, or more suited to their remote work schedules. As with all of our public and tailored sessions, our resources are free to the Duke Enterprise, so community members can register with no obligation and join up until the first five minutes of the session elapsed. Held entirely over Zoom, the series brought our community together across seven sessions and five topics: OIE 101, Communicating Our Values, Social Identity, Generational Differences: Collaborating Across Age and Experience, and Disability and Inclusive Excellence. More than 300 people registered, with 217 attending, and registration nearly tripled from the first session to the last.

We are so excited that the virtual series had the intended effect of lowering barriers to participation for staff, faculty, and students. We saw more community members from different parts of the enterprise than ever. People seemed to enjoy joining sessions from their workspaces without the additional logistics of attending in person. As with all our sessions, the interactivity remained lively thanks to the strong engagement of participants throughout the series. Our virtual series was more learner friendly in part because we encourage participants to join in a way that best works for them: using the chat or unmuting to share, staying for as long as your schedule allows, and joining breakout rooms only if they have the bandwidth to participate. We also got great feedback about how to improve our offerings in the future.

This pilot has offered the OIE team valuable insight as we look towards future educational programming and opportunities for continued learning and dialogue. The sessions demonstrated how we can continue to promote inclusive excellence in formats that encourage flexibility and accessibility. We thank everyone who engaged with us for making this summer series a success. We look forward to seeing you soon!

If you have any ideas about how to make our public facing series work for you, please let us know at OIE-education@duke.edu. For tailored education request for your team, please complete the request form.

The Office for Institutional Equity is pleased to announce the second cohort of Dialogue Across Difference: Effective Engagement for Building Understanding, an initiative sponsored by the Provost’s Initiative on Pluralism, Free Inquiry, and Belonging.

Building on the success of the inaugural cohort, the Fall 2026 program will offer participants an opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills needed to engage effectively across difference, foster understanding, and prevent or navigate conflict. Through a series of half-day training and practice sessions, participants will explore foundational frameworks, strengthen their dialogue skills, and consider ways to apply dialogic approaches within their departments and across the Duke community.

Following the completion of the learning component, cohort members will have the opportunity to develop and lead dialogue-based projects that support connection, understanding, and collaboration at Duke. Participants will also remain connected through a community of practice where they can share ideas, receive support, and learn from one another as they implement their projects.

Fall 2026 dates: October 2 & 6, November 6 & 13, and December 14 & 16

Please note that submitting the participant form does not guarantee admission to the program. All submissions will be reviewed for consideration. For additional information about the Fall 2026 cohort, please email Amanda Gonzalez at amanda.gonzalez@duke.edu.

Trauma Informed Approaches for Leadership is a cohort-based multidisciplinary educational engagement focused on skill development in the following areas: collective action, inclusive practices, workforce development, social awareness, and intervention design for leaders in health fields, particularly School of Medicine staff and faculty. Given the recent impact of shifting policy on the SOM, this program supports health care leaders in developing approaches that re-center and emphasize belonging and engagement across difference in their units.

In this new program, participants also engage in a five-part series of learning and practice sessions. These sessions are designed to deepen their understanding of leading teams that bolster workforce development, belonging, engagement across difference, and well-being. Trauma informed work environments reduce turnover, support patient-centered care, and increase work quality and efficiency. Participants in this program learn about developing interventions that promote belonging, innovation, and inclusive excellence. In the Spring semester, participants implement a trauma informed leadership project and evaluate the impact on their unit and work. Spring work also involves a community of practice model and micro-learning resources to help with diffusion of these practices. Experts in trauma informed approaches will offer guidance and collaboration throughout the process. In addition, an evaluation component is available to support units as they implement their action plan.

Fall 2026 dates: October 15 & 17, November 12, and December 8 & 15. Optional lab on December 10. To learn more about the Fall 2026 cohort, please email Amanda Gonzalez at amanda.gonzalez@duke.edu.

In Conversation with OIE is a opportunity to learn more about the staff of OIE—their work, interests, and what motivates them. This month highlights members of our Compliance team: Erin MacDonald & Lonnie Hinton.

Compliance work matters because, at its core, it is about people who want to be heard, treated fairly, and assured that their concerns will be addressed. In our roles, we have the opportunity to help uphold those principles because compliance work extends beyond conducting investigations and making policy determinations; it provides an opportunity for individuals and organizations to listen, learn, and heal.

At the heart of our work is a genuine desire to help others. We find that supporting a fair process, listening with empathy, and contributing to a workplace where people are treated with dignity and respect is both meaningful and rewarding.

We strongly believe that, in conducting investigations, objectivity can be partnered with empathy without compromising the integrity of the process. For us, this means setting aside assumptions, giving each person the opportunity to be heard, and carefully considering information that may challenge initial impressions. We have found that some of the most important facts emerge only when people feel genuinely heard, and those moments have repeatedly reinforced the importance of fairness, humility, and objectivity in the investigative process.

As part of its annual retreat, OIE spent intentional time exploring Duke Gardens and building connections. Through teamwork, discovery, and a little friendly competition during a scavenger hunt, the team had an opportunity to recharge and strengthen the relationships that support our work. The photos below highlight moments from the experience.