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Hare Trust Sends $9M to School of Medicine

From his graduation day in 1935 through the year 1999, Robert A. Hare, MD’35, showed only modest interest in contributing to the Duke University School of Medicine. The successful Los Angeles-based ophthalmologist contributed a total of $12,580 to the Davison Club and the Medical Annual Fund over the course of almost 65 years. His largest single gift was $1,500.

But behind Hare’s humble donations rested a deep respect and gratefulness for his Duke medical education. When he died in 2002, the school of medicine learned just how beholden Hare was.

Hare had named the school of medicine as the beneficiary of his estate following the eventual death of his only living relative—a step-son, Edward F. Mead—who was the income beneficiary of the Hare Trust while alive.

Mead passed away last October, and the $9 million that remained in the trust was transferred to the school of medicine.  One million dollars will be used to establish a scholarship fund in Hare’s name, as he requested. The remaining $8 million of unrestricted funds will go toward the new Learning Center, currently under construction and slated for completion in 2013.

“We are extremely grateful to Dr. Hare for his generosity,” said School of Medicine Dean Nancy C. Andrews, MD, PhD. “Obviously, he didn’t know it when he designated this gift to us, but he is helping to change the face of medical education at Duke.”

Hare’s gift was the largest to the Learning Center other than the initial $35 million from The Duke Endowment. Together with gifts from alumni, it brings the total funds raised for the Learning Center to $45.6 million. The fund raising goal is $50 million.

“Certainly, this gift is a wonderful surprise,” said Ellen Medearis, vice president for Duke Medicine Development and Alumni Affairs. “Bequests are very important to us, and Dr. Hare’s will have an impact for many generations to come. I only wish we had the opportunity to thank him.”

The 83,000-square-foot Learning Center is designed to educate adults in the ways they learn best—through individual preparation, team-based learning, and hands-on practice. It will provide collaborative education with students from nursing and other health professions, and include an entire floor for the most state-of-the-art medical simulation equipment.