Nanaline Duke was James B. Duke’s wife, and the fund established by her will in 1973 still supports the priorities that were important to the couple when they endowed Duke University—including health care. Today’s academic medical centers are worlds different than in the Duke family’s day, but the greatest need is still the same: skilled doctors to teach the art and science of medical practice and research.
So when the Department of Surgery was in need of expendable funds to build staff and faculty, the Nanaline H. Duke Trust supported its ambitions with a $2.5 million gift to be used at the discretion of department chair Allan D. Kirk M.D.’87, Ph.D.’92. More than 40 years later, a fund that traces directly back to the university’s origins is still supporting medical research, education, and patient care.