News From the Board of Governors: December 2023
Gift of $3 Million to Fund New Chair in LGBTQ+ Health
A gift of $3 million from James F. Dougherty, a Rutgers alumnus and longtime supporter of the university, will fund the Perry N. Halkitis Endowed Chair in LGBTQ+ Public Health, a new position at the School of Public Health that has been unanimously approved by the Board of Governors.
Halkitis, who in addition to serving as dean holds the roles of Hunterdon Professor of Public Health and Health Equity, and Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, praised Dougherty’s generosity. “The endowed chairship in LGBTQ+ Public Health is a commitment to the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people and populations by supporting research, academic excellence, and community engagement in this area,” says Halkitis, who also is founder and director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies (CHIBPS).
Dougherty says his motivation for making the gift is to support an emphasis on LGBTQ+ health at Rutgers long into the future. He says he chose to name the endowed chair after Halkitis, who began as dean in 2017, because Halkitis has been a tremendous leader. “My hope is that there will always be a champion for LGBTQ+ rights and public health continuing on in the mold that Perry has established,” he says.
Endowed Professorship Honors History Professor’s Legacy
Margaret Marsh, a University Professor of History at Rutgers, and her husband, Howard Gillette, a professor emeritus of history at Rutgers-Camden, are making a $500,000 gift to establish the Gerald Grob Endowed Legacy Professorship.
When Marsh was earning her Ph.D. in U.S. history at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Gerald Grob filled the role of her most important mentor. The Henry E. Sigerist Emeritus Professor of the History of Medicine and a founding member of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Grob was “widely acknowledged as the twentieth century’s most eminent and productive historian of mental illness and the treatment of the mentally ill in the United States,” Marsh says.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Camden professorship, which has been approved by the Board of Governors, will have a dual appointment to the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
George G. Rhoads Leaves a Legacy in Public Health
The Rutgers University Board of Governors has unanimously approved the George G. Rhoads Endowed Legacy Professorship.
Although Rhoads, a Rutgers professor of epidemiology for more than 30 years, retired in 2020, his impact on the university will endure through the legacy professorship he has endowed at the Rutgers School of Public Health.
“While I support scholarship funds within the School of Public Health, I was looking to do more to assist in long-term structure and institution building,” says Rhoads, now a professor emeritus in the School of Public Health. “Endowing a professorship in the field of epidemiology allows me to support the field at Rutgers in perpetuity.”
The professorship is the School of Public Health’s first legacy professorship, a Rutgers program for current, emeritus, and retired faculty and their families to create an endowed professorship that pays tribute to their legacy.
Charles E. Menifield Appointed University Professor
The Rutgers Board of Governors appointed Charles E. Menifield, who has served on the Rutgers University-Newark faculty and was Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) from 2017-22, a University Professor effective January 1, 2024.
A renowned scholar with impactful research in budgeting and financial management, public health and welfare, use of lethal force by police, public management information systems, education finance, and public administration education, Menifield made an indelible mark across SPAA. He established the Office of Community Engagement, implemented a new strategic plan, revitalized the SPAA Alumni Association, and bolstered the school’s reputation by cultivating and elevating faculty, staff, and student accomplishments.
In addition to earning numerous honors and awards for his research and service, Menifield has authored several books and book chapters, and co-edited the award-winning Politics in the New South: Representation of African Americans in Southern State Legislatures. He has received over 100 invitations to serve as keynote speaker, lecturer, or conference presenter and served on editorial boards of leading disciplinary journals.
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