Jo Rae Wright was remembered as an extraordinary
colleague, friend, researcher and administrator during a memorial service Monday
in Duke Chapel. Former dean of the Graduate School and professor of cell
biology, medicine and pediatrics, Wright died Jan. 11, aged 56, after battling
breast cancer.
Duke President Richard Brodhead offered the
opening and closing statements during an hour-long remembrance that featured
former students, colleagues and friends. Sally Kornbluth, vice dean of the
school of medicine sang an a capella rendition
of a song from the musical "Wicked," and Scott Gibson, executive vice
dean of the medical school, recounted how Wright told a joke about
baldness at his expense as her chemotherapy began.
The university has established a fellowship for
two female Ph.D. students in Wright's name, and the dining facility in the new
School of Medicine Learning Center will be called the "Jo Rae Cafe"
in her honor, Gibson said (pictured below).
