From Duke Government Relations

Guide to Advocacy

(this can also be found in this link):

Duke recognizes and supports faculty and staff’s engagement as private citizens in public policy and the political process and does not restrict such interactions.  Certain forms of government interaction involving Duke, however, are subject to federal and state regulation, e.g., attempting to influence legislative or executive action; therefore, faculty and staff must be transparent when participating in political activity in a personal capacity.

Employees (faculty and staff) should only use personal e-mail, social media, or other online accounts (and not duke.edu accounts or other Duke electronic resources) to communicate with state and federal policymakers about legislation and legislative proposals or to circulate or distribute petitions and similar material.

When participating individually in political advocacy, faculty and staff must:

1. Clearly distinguish individual, personal political activities from your Duke role, including not using Duke resources, e.g., Duke email or Duke electronic resources.
   1. Faculty and staff should use personal e-mail, social media, or other online accounts:
      1. to communicate with state and federal policymakers regarding Executive Orders, federal or state legislation/regulations, and regulatory/legislative proposals
      2. to author op ed articles
      3. to circulate participation in rallies, or similar events
      4. to circulate or distribute petitions and similar material
   2. Faculty and staff should use off-hours or PTO to participate in political activities

• Faculty or staff who are identified (by themselves or with others) using their Duke titles or affiliations must indicate that their comments are purely personal and not made on Duke’s behalf. A disclaimer should be added, noting that “titles and affiliations are provided for identification purposes only and that any views expressed by the individual are theirs alone and do not reflect the views of Duke University or any of its constituent institutions.

• Please reference these resources for additional information:
  1. Government Relations Activities Policy – Government Relations
  2. Duke Health Social Media Policy

If you have any questions, please contact govrelations@duke.edu.

Media Inquiries

(these can also be found on this page of our department intranet along with additional communications resources):

The Protocol for responding to media inquiries:

• Per DUHS policy, any Duke Health team member who is contacted directly by any media should forward the request to Sarah Avery (sarah.avery@duke.edu) and Stephanie Lopez (stephanie.lopez@duke.edu) in the Duke Health News & Media Office before responding to the journalist/media outlet. Please also copy Courtney Sparrow (courtney.sparrow@duke.edu) on these emails. This protocol is in place to help faculty members navigate the nuances and logistics of media inquiries. Sarah and Stephanie can assess the media request, assist with logistics such as scheduling interviews, and provide media engagement tips.

Photos or Videos from Outside Groups:

• If a news organization, nonprofit, or anyone else wants to film or take photos at Duke, you must notify the media team and someone from the media team must accompany the outside source during their visit. Please copy Courtney Sparrow (courtney.sparrow@duke.edu) on emails to media team about this as well.