My parents were my models, even though they didn’t have the resources for philanthropic giving. They did, however, dedicate a significant amount of their time and energy to philanthropic causes and to education in particular. As for philanthropic giving, my models have been friends and peers who have generously given to schools, research groups, and community service organizations.

The best experience I had at Duke was being in the first class of the first black professor at Duke. Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook became a mentor and good friend for life. He embodied what I loved about the South and did not allow the things we both hated to divide us. Fifty years later, he still inspires me to be a better person and certainly a better boss.

Early in my career, after being at Deloitte only a few years, I began to realize that being involved in the local community was an important part of building a professional network. So I joined the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which awards grants to local nonprofit organizations.

I hope that Duke can continue to nurture the concept of cross-disciplinary collaboration in the quest to solve critical local, national, and global problems. This innovative approach, when coupled with “outrageous ambitions,” will lead to successes that could not be achieved in other ways.

As a young person, I participated in and supported organizations focused on ending the apartheid regime in South Africa, and I organized the fundraising effort of a student organization in my high school to sponsor a child in Burkina Faso.

My parents taught me that when you believe in something or somebody you give whatever you can—mind, body, and soul (and wallet if possible)—in support.