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David Boyd Named Hymowitz Professor of the Practice of Global Health

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Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) professor David Boyd has been selected as the first Hymowitz Professor of the Practice of Global Health at Duke University. 

The newly endowed professorship was made possible through a gift from Gregg Hymowitz that received matching funds from the Bass Connections Challenge Fund. The professorship recognizes a DGHI faculty member who is engaged in the Bass Connections theme of Global Health, an interdisciplinary research program in which Duke faculty and students at all levels team up with partners around the world to address health disparities. Beginning in Fall 2017, Boyd will join DGHI professor Mary Story as the co-theme leader for Global Health.

No one at Duke does a better job of incorporating collaborative, problem-centered inquiry into his courses and research teams. We are thrilled to welcome David as a new co-theme leader in Global Health and as the inaugural holder of the Hymowitz chair. —Ed Balleisen

Boyd has taught “Fundamentals of Global Health,” a gateway course for the Bass Connections Global Health theme, and a required course for the global health major and minor. He also teaches “Global Health Capstone,” a required course for seniors in which students work in teams to identify global health programs and design research projects and interventions. This fall, he will teach “Global Health Challenges” to incoming Master of Science in Global Health students.  

Some of Boyd’s teaching reaches across the globe, as his massive open online course (MOOC), “The Challenges of Global Health,” has enrolled almost 20,000 people worldwide. 

Boyd is also the faculty director of DGHI’s undergraduate Student Research Training program in Guatemala, where selected students work in his long-term maternal and child health projects among the indigenous Maya.
 
Boyd has been an essential builder of DGHI’s undergraduate education program. According to former DGHI director Michael Merson, “David Boyd’s teaching has been exceptional, innovative and impactful.” He has been rated one of the best teachers at Duke across multiple years, having been recognized as being among the top five percent of professors in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences six times since 2009. 

David Boyd’s teaching has been exceptional, innovative and impactful. David epitomizes the qualities envisioned for the Hymowitz chair—demonstrated excellence in teaching, mentoring and inspiring global health students. —Michael Merson

In addition, according to Merson, Boyd is an extraordinary student mentor. This year, he received the DGHI Undergraduate Professor Award, which is selected based on student nominations. 

“David epitomizes the qualities envisioned for the Hymowitz chair—demonstrated excellence in teaching, mentoring and inspiring global health students,” said Merson. 

“No one at Duke does a better job of incorporating collaborative, problem-centered inquiry into his courses and research teams,” said Ed Balleisen, vice provost for Interdisciplinary Studies. “We are thrilled to welcome David as a new co-theme leader in Global Health and as the inaugural holder of the Hymowitz chair.”

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