Of all Jeannette Rinehart’s many interests, her most cherished pastime involves learning anything and everything about lemurs. Rinehart graduated from Duke University in 1951 and received a bachelor of arts in sociology. She moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, before the Duke Lemur Center opened in 1966. “The Duke Lemur Center was not there when I was […]

Duke University Office of Gift Planning teamed up with our friends at Sarah P. Duke Gardens on August 30 to host a special tour of the Duke Gardens and breakfast. It was wonderful to spend a beautiful (and slightly less humid) morning with so many gardens supporters. We were excited to have Cindy Brodhead join […]

Marjorie Bekaert Thomas ’69, CEO at Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc., who has funded $1.4 million toward Alzheimer’s research in addition to supporting faculty, endowing a scholarship, and contributing to the Annual Fund. What inspired you to make your gifts and why did you choose to focus on Alzheimer’s research? My good friend Kitty Wrenn left […]

Image: Andrew Samwick (far left) pictured with Martha Putallaz, former Executive Director of Duke TIP, and David Shaywitz, another Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth.  This past May, Duke TIP recognized Dr. Andrew Samwick as an alumnus of […]

Janis Jordan Rehlaender ’77 Biomedical Engineering Greenwich, Connecticut Work: Retired director of corporate planning for Baxter International Community service: ·          Founding board member, The Given Limb Foundation ·          Former chair, Darien Board of Education Duke volunteer leadership: ·          Pratt School of Engineering Board of Visitors (Chair, 2011–2014) ·          Leadership Gifts Committee, Duke Forward ·          Co-chair […]

Duke University Chapel reopened on May 11, 2016, after undergoing one year of major renovations.  The Durham community celebrated the grand reopening of what many consider the heart and soul of Duke. See historical photos of Duke University Chapel from its construction to today in this video: The $19 million project was the first restoration […]

Frances Thackston doesn’t consider herself wealthy by any means, but she feels confident the modest contributions she has made to Duke Medicine over nearly 30 years have truly made a difference to countless patients—herself included. “I would send $10, $50, or $100 occasionally,” she says.  “All of that adds up.” The Virginia resident credits Duke […]

Duke University Office of Gift Planning held its very first Heritage Society luncheon at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC on Tuesday, July 7.  We had a wonderful turnout with more than 40 attendees, and it was a pleasure to spend a beautiful afternoon with our local friends and Duke supporters. David Johnston, […]

Elizabeth Harden, MD’78, HS’81-’84, and Richard Hoefer, DO, have known the value of a good partnership since they met 30 years ago, while both were serving in the Air Force in Texas. They’ve been a couple ever since, in life and in work. Harden, a medical oncologist, and Hoefer, a surgical oncologist, work in different […]

He studied medicine before there was a polio vaccine. She researched mother-to-child HIV transmission in the 1990s. He advocated for child-proof medication caps at a time when they were rare. She looks to iPad technology to improve medical education. Pediatricians Glenn A. Kiser, M.D., and Kathleen A. McGann, M.D., worked decades apart, but they share […]