Merson Named Interim Leader of Global Programs at Duke

Michael
H. Merson, the founding director of the Duke Global Health Institute and vice
chancellor for Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) Affairs, will take
on the role of interim vice president and vice provost for global strategy and
programs, Duke President Richard H. Brodhead announced Monday.

Merson
succeeds on an interim basis Greg Jones, who is stepping down from the position
for health reasons after creating the Office of Global Strategy and Programs
(OGSP) in 2010.

The
university will launch an international search for a permanent successor to
Jones at the start of the academic year in September.

In
the meantime, Merson will oversee the OGSP and engage the Duke community in the
development of global academic programs across the university, including the
planning for Duke's efforts in Kunshan, China. Merson will continue to lead the
Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI).

"Greg
Jones laid a strong foundation for Duke's global identity, and we are
profoundly grateful for his leadership and ability to connect Duke's many
programs, across the university and around the world, into a unified strategic
vision," Brodhead said.  "We wish Greg a speedy return to full health and
are glad that he will remain a valued member of our faculty and the Duke
community."

Jones
moved into the global role after serving as dean of the Duke Divinity School
for 13 years. He was responsible for the launch of a number of new
interdisciplinary and international programs, the construction of a new building,
and significant fundraising. Over the past year, as the chief advocate for
Duke's global initiatives, Jones helped to articulate Duke's international
engagement and oversaw the planning and negotiations that led to the creation
of Duke Kunshan University.

Jones
will spend the 2011-12 academic year on a research leave and will continue work
on the Lilly Endowment-funded initiative Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
He will return to the Divinity School faculty after that.

Since
joining Duke in 2006, Merson has established DGHI as one of the largest
academic global health programs in the country, with 45 faculty members, 10
education and degree programs for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral
students, and 120 active research projects in 28 countries. In its first four
years, DGHI has been awarded more than $100 million in research grants from
public and private sources. DGHI also plans to offer academic and research
programs at the new Duke Kunshan University campus.

"I
am grateful that Mike Merson has agreed to step into this role. He is the ideal
person to continue Greg Jones' work in coordinating global strategy and
programs," Brodhead said. "Mike's leadership of the Duke Global Health
Institute ensures that he has a deep understanding, not only of the complexity
of Duke's international initiatives, but also of the academic and ethical
considerations underpinning our global strategy. His perspective is critical
and valuable as we move forward."

In
addition to leading DGHI, Merson also serves as the university's liaison to the
Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore, which graduates its first class
of 24 physician-scientists next month.

"Duke's
commitment to education, research and service around the globe is a hallmark of
this great university," Merson said.

The
former dean of public health and chairman of the department of epidemiology at
the Yale University School of Medicine, Merson previously served as director of
the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Program on AIDS, which was responsible
for mobilizing and coordinating the global response to the HIV pandemic.

He
has served in advisory capacities for UNAIDS; WHO; the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; The World Bank; Doris Duke Foundation; World
Economic Forum; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and on several
review panels and advisory committees of the National Institutes of Health.
Merson is a member of the Commission for Smart Global Health Policy at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, and of the Institute of
Medicine (IOM) in the National Academy of Sciences.