Humanitarian Dr. Paul Farmer will speak at this year's commencement ceremony.
Farmer, Trinity '82, is best known for his work providing health care to rural areas and developing nations, particularly in Haiti. The founder of international nonprofit organization Partners in Health, he currently is a professor at Harvard University, where he received his medical degree and Ph.D. He was appointed to Duke's Board of Trustees in 2009.
In a meeting with student leaders Thursday afternoon, President Richard Brodhead detailed some of his personal criteria for a commencement speaker—noting his desire to choose an individual with an existing connection to Duke who will give a speech well-suited to the specific moment, rather than something that can be recycled for any year's graduation.
Farmer, Brodhead said, will not disappoint. He praised Farmer's intellect and drive, in addition to his warmth and humor.
"He's the least pretentious person you'll ever meet," Brodhead said of Farmer.
As an undergraduate, Farmer was a B.N. Duke scholar. A few years after graduating, he co-founded Partners in Health and began his work in Haiti.
His efforts have earned him numerous awards and honors, including being named the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Community-Based Medicine in 2012 and membership to the Institute of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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