Todd A. Durham, PhD and Sandra B. Greene, DrPH ’77
For their recipients, scholarships are incredibly meaningful in the short term, and they serve as investments in public health that will pay dividends for years to come.
After a career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dedicated to environmental enforcement and compliance, Sherry Milan, JD, MSPH ’80 (epidemiology), created a new scholarship to continue her work. Established through a planned gift, the Sherry D. Milan Environmental Justice Scholarship will support Gillings students with a demonstrated commitment to environmental justice. Sustaining the mission of Gillings School — to promote individual well-being and eliminate health inequities across North Carolina and the U.S. and around the world — calls for a new generation of public health professionals who have experience working directly with communities to address needs at the intersection of equity and the environment.
Todd A. Durham, PhD ’16 (health policy and management), MS ’95 (biostatistics), and his wife, Heidi P. Durham, PharmD, are planning for the future. They’re not just thinking of themselves but also about family, their state and public health. They recently made a planned gift by donating an independent retirement account to the Gillings School to support priority initiatives under the discretion of the dean. Todd is deeply connected to the Gillings School; as well as being an alum, he serves on the board of the UNC Gillings Public Health Foundation — a 501(c)3 organization that manages the School’s endowments and charitable gifts. These experiences give him and Heidi confidence the value of their gift will be maximized in service of a healthier N.C.
“We are pleased to contribute to the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, its future success and the improved health of the citizens of N.C. and the world in this way.”
Sandra B. Greene, DrPH ’77 (biostatistics), professor of the practice of health policy, made an addition to a fund she’d established previously, to continue and add to the practice of public health at the Gillings School. The purpose of the Sandra B. Greene Scholarship in Health Leadership is to enable a highly qualified doctoral student with a demonstrated commitment to public health practice to seek a degree at the Gillings School’s Department of Health Policy and Management. Based on Greene’s extensive experience with health insurance claims data, Governor Roy Cooper appointed her chair of the N.C. State Health Coordinating Council, which oversees health planning across the state including the annual plan that guides expansion of health care services. Additionally, she works with the Cecil G. Sheps Center to ensure valuable datasets about health care utilization and cost are available to researchers across UNC. Her philanthropy will help make sure N.C. benefits from leadership and decision making that is informed by timely data about the health of North Carolinians.
