The last time I’d seen Holden Thorp, he was accompanying children on the keyboard at his church the week before reporting for duty as the new chancellor. So when the invitation to the naming of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health was extended, I accepted, wanting to see him wearing his new hat.
Chancellor Thorp did not disappoint, and the experience further opened the world of public health to me.
Rosenau Hall, home of the UNC School of Public Health since it was established in 1940, was revamped and updated with the 2005 addition of the Michael Hooker Research Center. The ceremony took place in its stunning three-story glass, steel, brick and wood atrium. The entire space filled with over 1,000 people including faculty, staff, students, donors, alumni and friends as a relaxed and efficient Thorp led the event.
Standing next to me on the floating stairs was Marianne Jackson, a student in the master’s program who moved here from New Hampshire, where she has enjoyed a career as an obstetrician/gynecologist. Her daughter recently graduated from the University of Colorado and her son, a student at Duke, is studying in China.
“I arrived on Aug. 9, and haven’t filled my gas tank yet,†she said proudly. “I feel so lucky to be in Chapel Hill. The bus system is so good.â€
She lives in an apartment on the northeast side of town, which some might consider far from campus. But she comes from rural America, with the closest Apple Store two-and-a-half hours away, where there is no broadband — much less Wi-Fi — digital network access.
“A lot of the world doesn’t understand rural life,†she said. She’s here to share and learn how to better serve it.
The topic of the day — UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health — was framed in short speeches by Erskine Bowles, UNC president; Roger Perry, chair of the UNC Board of Trustees; Barbara Rimer, dean of the school of public health; Lauren Thie, co-president of student government; Leah Devlin, state health director; and Thorp, before the philanthropic namesakes — Dennis and Joan Gillings — were introduced and invited to speak.
Dennis Gillings was born and educated in England. After receiving his doctorate in biostatistics in 1971, he was tapped to teach in UNC’s department of biostatistics in its school of public health. In 1974, his future wife, Joan, then a single mom, joined the staff of the department, and before long sparks (that led to marriage) were flying. Always generous with information, Dennis’ statistical consulting and data management expertise led him to found Quintiles and later to become its chairman and chief executive officer.
“It is with great humility that my wife and I stand here,†he said before sharing his personal vision: “Think global public health; act with local public health.â€
He and his wife have acted. Their $50 million donation has transformed the school already by funding the Gillings Innovation Laboratories, where faculty, students and staff collaborate with external researchers to develop solutions to some of the world’s greatest public health problems like: creating vaccines; developing portable tools for monitoring air pollution; addressing the rise in mental health problems in our state; and, among others, examining the health impact of a local, sustainable food system.
Jackson was fired up after the ceremony as we made our way to the tent where locally produced food was served.
“I could have gone to Harvard,†she said. She chose UNC because of its reputation of having such an exceptional faculty.
“It’s a phenomenal experience to be in the classroom with not only the person who wrote the book we’re learning from but who advised the presidents who set the policy. I already know that my contributions to a school in the future will go here.â€
She has learned what the Gillings know — that a local investment (of time, talents and money) can affect positive change around the world.
Their gift has proved worthy of changing a school’s name.
Contact Valarie Schwartz at 923-3746 or valariekays AT mac DOT com.