Rubenstein to Speak at 2012 Founders' Day Ceremony Friday

David M. Rubenstein, a 1970 Duke alumnus, noted figure in private equity and one of the world's leading philanthropists, will deliver the main address at the annual Duke Founders' Day ceremony Friday, Sept. 28, in Duke Chapel.

In addition to Rubenstein's address, the ceremony will include recognition of faculty, staff and students who have won other university awards, including presentation of the University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service to trustee emerita Dr. Rebecca Trent Kirkland and long-time faculty member and former vice provost Judith L. Ruderman.

Founders' Day, which begins at 5:30 p.m., celebrates the founding of the university and provides an opportunity each year for the school to reflect on its history and heritage and recognize major contributions by students, faculty, administrators, employees and alumni. All members of the Duke and Durham communities are invited to attend.

Co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group, Rubenstein is currently vice chair of the university's board of trustees. He has made several large donations to key Duke initiatives. These include $13.6 million to the Duke University Libraries in support of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, which was renamed after him; $15 million to Duke's Innovation and Entrepreneurship program; $5.75 million to help the Sanford School of Public Policy transition from an institute to a school; and $5 million toward the completion of Sanford's Rubenstein Hall.

In addition, Rubenstein has supported a number of leading cultural institutions across the country, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center, and has purchased a number of historic documents, including the Magna Carta, which will be donated to the National Archives upon his death. He also has provided scholarships for students in Washington, D.C., and supported other philanthropic causes.

Kirkland and Ruderman will receive the University Medal, one of the university's highest awards, which recognizes "devotion to education and public service."

The great-great granddaughter of Washington Duke, for whom the university is named, Kirkland graduated from what was then the Woman's College at Duke in 1964 and from Duke University Medical School in 1968. She joined the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine in 1975, and in a long career in pediatrics and academic administration Kirkland helped reshape medical education at Baylor. She is now professor emerita of pediatrics.

Among Kirkland's medical interests are endocrinological problems in children, including short stature, growth problems and thyroid disorder. She contributes her expertise in a number of volunteer positions; for five years, she served as coordinator of Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) for Texas. She was a founding member and chair of the Institute of Child Health Services and Policy of Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital.

In 1992, the Duke University Medical School Alumni Association presented her with the Distinguished Service Award. As a member of Duke's board of trustees from 1995 to 2007, she served on the executive committee and the Medical Center Affairs Committee, chaired the Human Resources Committee and co-chaired the Academic Affairs Committee. Since 2003, Kirkland has chaired the Duke University Health System's Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Committee.

Ruderman's connection to Duke is similarly deep. She earned her Ph.D. in English from Duke in 1976. Currently a visiting professor of English at Duke, she directed the Duke Office of Continuing Education and University Summer Session for 12 years and served as vice provost for academic and administrative services from 1995 to 2009.

Ruderman is the author of "D.H. Lawrence and the Devouring Mother: The Search for a Patriarchal Ideal of Leadership;" "William Styron;" and "Joseph Heller." A longtime teacher of undergraduate seminars in English and member of the planning committee for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, Ruderman has received numerous honors from the Duke community. Among them are Duke's Samuel DuBois Cook Award and Spectrum Award, both in recognition of her efforts to foster a diverse community; the Duke Student Government's Dean Suzanne Wasiolek Award for the quality of her interactions with undergraduates; and the Teamwork Award for her work toward the university's reaccreditation.

She also has received the Sara and Mutt Evans Leadership Award from the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation in recognition of her service to the Jewish community, notably her work with Duke's Freeman Center for Jewish Life.

Daniele Armaleo, associate professor of the practice of biology, will receive the Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.  A specialist in cell and molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics and genomics, Armaleo has been praised by his students for fostering an exciting and participatory learning environment on a subject noted for its rigor.

Jack Bovender, retired CEO of the Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.  A native of King, N.C., near Winston-Salem, Bovender received an undergraduate degree in 1967 and a master's in hospital administration degree in 1969.  At Duke, Bovender has served on the Divinity School Board of Visitors and on the executive committee of the Duke Annual Fund. Currently he is a member of the Fuqua School Board of Visitors and the board of directors of Duke University Health System. He was elected to Duke's Board of Trustees in 2007; on the board, he is vice chair, a member of the executive committee, chair of the Audit Committee, and vice chair of the Business and Finance Committee.  Along with his wife Barbara, he has made a $25 million bequest to support Fuqua, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, and the School of Nursing. More recently, they established a $1 million scholarship fund to encourage Duke's diversity efforts.

Other faculty awards cited at Founders' Day include:  

-- Mohamed Noor, David and Janet Vaughan Brooks Trinity College Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- Michael Valdez Moses, Robert B. Cox Trinity College Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- Laurent Dubois, Howard Johnson Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- Michael Ferejohn, Richard K. Lublin Distinguished Award For Teaching Excellence;

-- Ami Shah, Award for Excellence in Teaching Writing;

-- Ruth Day, Dean's Distinguished Service Award;

-- Neal Simmons, Klein Family Distinguished Teaching Award at the Pratt School of Engineering;

-- Mark Palmeri, Lois and John L. Imhoff Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- Gabriel Lopez, Stansell Family Distinguished Research Award;

-- Stefan Zauscher, Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research;

-- Bridget Fletcher, Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising;

-- Susan C. Alberts, Farshid Guilak and Charles Piot, Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring.

Staff members will also be honored, including:

-- Michael Golden, James Hildebrand, Cynthia Sherwood and Ellen Wilbur received Presidential Awards;

-- Hope Kaczmarczyk and Lucy Reuben received Diversity Awards. Meritorious Service Awards went to 13 employees;

-- Teamwork Awards went to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Course Renumbering Team and the Durham Regional Hospital Clinical Informatics Team.

Others to be honored during the Founders' Day service include Angier B. Duke Scholars, Benjamin N. Duke Scholars, Karsh International Scholars, James B. Duke Graduate Fellows, Reginaldo Howard Scholars, University Scholars, Robertson Scholars, Faculty Scholars, the MasterCard Foundation Scholars, The Duke Endowment Fellows and many other undergraduate and graduate scholars.