In the mid-2000s, Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA, Jerry Reves, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology, and current chairman of Duke Anesthesiology, had the foresight to launch a philanthropic program within the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division to provide bridge funding for research and endowed professorships. He appointed Elizabeth Perez, RN, BSN, as director of strategic planning and development. Under the leadership and support of Mathew and former department chairman and Duke Private Diagnostic Clinic president, Mark F. Newman, MD, Merel H. Harmel Professor of Anesthesiology, this program soon became a department-wide initiative and became known as the Duke DREAM Campaign.

As the program grew, a team of advisors was established to serve as mentors, ambassadors, and supporters of Duke Anesthesiology’s philanthropic initiatives. Rebecca Hinshaw, RN, served as the campaign’s first advisory board chair. Elizabeth Allardice, a passionate philanthropist and prominent realtor in the Triangle, served as the campaign board’s chairwoman. Like many DREAM Campaign supporters, Allardice is a member of the local community who believes in the power the DREAM Campaign has to positively impact patients’ health and quality of life. Other DREAM Campaign supporters include the department’s faculty, staff and alumni.

The purpose of the DREAM Campaign is to raise philanthropic support for research initiatives focused on improving patient outcome, pain management, and quality of life, as well as to establish endowed professorships. Rather than depending solely on extramural agencies to support essential programs within the department, we place power in the hands of our community. One of our primary objectives is to educate the public on the importance of perioperative research and highlight the influential role the anesthesiologist plays in the medical arena.

Whether you are …

• An alumnus or alumna whose career blossomed at Duke
• A current or former faculty member who was given dedicated time in the laboratory to make critical scientific discoveries
• A member of our community who relies on Duke to deliver cutting-edge techniques and top-notch clinical care to you and/or your loved ones

… chances are Duke Anesthesiology’s research program has positively impacted your life.

• Establish endowed professorships to invest in world-class faculty who would, in turn, secure funding from the National Institutes of Health. Interest dollars from these endowments are to be used to support investigator salaries and provide them with the time and resources necessary to develop research programs.
• Raise funds to support research through the DREAM Innovation Grant, known as DIG.
• Establish philanthropic support as a long-term mechanism of limiting the adverse consequences of cyclical federal funding.

Since our inception, we have encouraged innovative research ideas and programs with the capacity to generate independent federal funding. The DREAM Campaign provides support to Duke Anesthesiology in two primary ways: endowed professorships and internal grants.

Endowed professorships, or endowed chairs, are the most prestigious faculty appointments at Duke University Medical Center made possible by generous individuals and/or families who want to invest in Duke’s legacy of excellence and create a partnership with the department to work toward a brighter tomorrow. Endowed professorships are awarded to the department’s most distinguished physician-scientists or used to recruit the best and brightest individuals who have exhibited both outstanding achievement and strong potential for future accomplishment. Those who choose to establish an endowed chair are given the honor of naming it after an individual of their choice.

“Duke Anesthesiology has a number of endowed chairs,” explains former chair and DREAM Executive Board member, Joseph “Jerry” Reves, MD. “That’s what sustains the department through the years . . . to have that sort of support and effort to strengthen the fundamental wherewithal of the academic department.” It was the legacy of Dr. Reves that inspired the DREAM Campaign’s first philanthropic initiative: The Jerry Reves Professorship Campaign. In 2011, the DREAM team celebrated the naming of Dr. Mathew as the first Jerry Reves, MD, Professor of Cardiac Anesthesiology.

In 2012, we were proud to announce the Joannes H. Karis Professorship, named in honor of the legacy of one of Duke Anesthesiology’s most distinguished former faculty. The Karis Professorship has been made possible through the generous donations of the Karis family. Like the Jerry Reves Professorship, this endowment is used as a means to attract new world-class faculty to Duke Anesthesiology for generations to come.

At Duke University, the cost of funding a professorship is $2.5 million. We invite you to take advantage of this opportunity to create a permanent legacy in honor of a mentor or a loved one.

Want to find out how to turn $1,101,109 into more than $17 million dollars? Just ask 13 of our DREAM Innovation Grant (DIG) recipients.