Hubert Trust Funds Education and Research in Global Health
A $5 million gift to Duke’s Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health will expand research, service, and educational opportunities in global health for students and health care professionals at Duke and neighboring colleges and universities.
The gift is intended to foster collaborations with other organizations and institutions to make the best use of resources, expertise, and experience. The program previously received major gifts from the Hubert Trust, Yeargan Charitable Foundation Trust of Garner, N.C., and Gary Hock, owner of G.M. Hock Construction Company.
Under the direction of G. Ralph Corey, MD, the Gary M. Hock Distinguished University Professor of Global Health, the Hubert-Yeargan Center partners with clinical and research sites in Tanzania, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Thailand, and many other developing countries.
“The Hubert family’s partnerships in global health—with Duke and many other academic and charitable organizations—have been characterized by a wonderful spirit of collaboration and service, knowledge of the complex issues involved, respect for other cultures, and a genuine desire to raise awareness, understanding, and interest in global health among future leaders,” said Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead. “We are very grateful for their vision and generosity to Duke.”
Richard N. Hubert, trustee, said the Hubert Trust was encouraged by Brodhead’s commitment to global health and by the launch this past summer of the Duke Global Health Institute.
“We found what we had started at Duke with Dr. Corey to be a worthy program, and with President Brodhead’s interest we saw a real opportunity for Duke to become a principal player in global health,” said Hubert, who is a 1957 graduate of Trinity College.
Corey’s program had its beginnings in 1986 when Duke Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases began several international projects in order to study HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases and provide international health education and service opportunities for its residents and fellows.
The center’s mission is to improve the health of people throughout the world by providing experiential learning opportunities in developing countries for students and health care professionals and by supporting collaborative research to reduce the burden of disease.
Other global health programs endowed by the Hubert Trust include the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and agricultural partnerships with charitable and faith-based organizations in North Korea and Haiti.