Watson S. Rankin, M.D.
- Trustee, 1924–1950
- Director, Hospital and Orphan Sections, 1924–1950
Dr. Rankin served as the first director of the Endowment’s Hospital and Orphan Sections. Before that, he was Dean of the School of Medicine at Wake Forest College and served as North Carolina’s first full-time state health officer. In that role, he was instrumental in leading the state’s response to the 1918 flu pandemic. He is credited with persuading James B. Duke to devote a portion of the Endowment’s funds to support nonprofit hospitals. He was President of the American Public Health Association and a Trustee of the American Hospital Association. He was named North Carolina’s Citizen of the Year in 1956.
Major Endowment Milestones:
- Supported creation of Duke Medical School
- Supported construction of dozens of rural hospitals in North Carolina
- Helped create the Duke University School of Religion (now Duke Divinity School)
- Developed a uniform system of accounting and data collection for hospitals