Support the Department

The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is committed to maintaining excellence in our strategic mission of improving the health of people in their communities. To continue to build this department of distinction, we must rely on the generosity of individuals who share our vision. The following areas are giving opportunities currently available to support the growth of our department.

Opportunities for Major Giving

Naming opportunity for Duke Family Medicine Center

Duke Family Medicine provides full spectrum primary care to the Durham community and houses the Duke Family Medicine Residency Training program. Our current facility is notably outdated, and its size, location and structure limit our ability to attract patients and care for them in a maximally patient-centered way. A new Duke Family Medicine Center that is non-hospital based will allow us to care for more patients and train more family medicine physicians and physician assistants to meet the growing primary care workforce demand.

Funding for Center for Latino Health

LATIN19 has made a tremendous impact in Durham and throughout the state. A Center for Latino Health would allow this critical work to continue, bringing together clinical care, research, advocacy, community engagement, and education in support of our Latino population.

Endowments

  • Family Medicine & Community Health Professorship Endowment: Funds would help create and support a department professorship.

  • Duke PA Endowments support faculty and students in the #1 ranked Duke Physician Assistant Program.

Research

  • Family Medicine & Community Health Research Support and Education Fund: This fund provides for general departmental education and research support.
  • Goldwater Occupational Medicine Research Fund: These funds support general research in the field of occupational and environmental medicine.
  • LGBTQ+ Health Disparities Fund: The Duke Family Medicine Center is working to expand its clinical practice to include an LGBTQ+ patient-centered medical home (PCMH), in coordination and cooperation with key Duke University stakeholders and the local LGBTQ+ community, to increase the quality of care experienced by Durham and Duke’s LGBTQ+ identified patients. There is a need for medical professionals to incorporate LGBTQ+ advocacy and research into their professional development, to not only allow for advancements within medicine, but also to serve as positive role models for more junior LGBTQ+ individuals in medicine.

Education & Training

The Joyce Copeland, MD, Residency Education Fund

The Joyce Copeland, M.D., Residency Education Fund honors Dr. Copeland’s decades of service to the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, specifically the family medicine residency and division. The fund supports residency learning and academic excellence for our physicians-in-training, and honors Dr. Copeland’s long and rewarding career as a physician, mentor, and friend.

Duke Physician Assistant Program Giving Opportunities

The Duke Physician Assistant Program has three scholarship funds to provide grant-in-aid awards to deserving students. In the past 10 years, over 250 Duke PA students have received scholarships through the donations of alumni and others. 

You can designate your gift to any of the three funds:

  • General Scholarship fund: All students are eligible for grants-in-aid awards from the general scholarship fund. These scholarships are awarded annually in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

  • Global Health fund: The Global Health fund awards one $1,000 scholarship each year to a student who is pursuing a Global Health Elective, to offset costs of travel and housing in the host country.

  • Striver fund: This fund awards scholarships designated for students who are overcoming disadvantaged economic or educational backgrounds, and honors the memories of Fiona Lawrence (Class of 2012) and Marcus Johnson (Class of 2013) who passed away during their enrollment in the PA program.