The following is a story that originally appeared on Giving to Duke Health .
A longtime Duke physician and his late wife spent decades working to bring communities and health systems closer together. Now, that mission will continue through a major gift aimed at improving community health in Durham and beyond.
Dr. J. Lloyd Michener, professor emeritus at Duke University School of Medicine, has established the Michener Family Community Health Fund to support partnerships between Duke Health and the Durham community. The fund will help coordinate research, clinical care and community input to improve patient outcomes.
Michener and his late wife, Gwendolyn C. Murphy, built their careers around the idea that better health comes from collaboration with communities. Michener served as chair of Duke's Department of Family Medicine & Community Health for 22 years, while Murphy worked for the School of Medicine as a registered dietitian and education consultant. Murphy died on Feb. 27, shortly after the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
"It's been a long and glorious journey," Michener said. "This is work we shared and care deeply about, and this gift was her vision too. This is the start of a new chapter."
Throughout his career, Michener helped elevate community engagement to a key component of health research. He was the lead editor of "The Principles of Community Engagement," a guide downloaded more than 10 million times. He also founded the Duke Center for Community Research and advised primary care redesign efforts in more than 20 countries.
The new fund will be implemented through Duke's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), which works to move research discoveries into real-world care. CTSI Director Susanna Naggie, MD, said the gift will strengthen trust and collaboration with the community.
"This gift from the Michener family ensures that Duke can be a reliable and trustworthy partner with our community," Naggie said.
For Michener, the fund also honors his wife's legacy. One of her proudest projects was the "Tooth Ferry," a mobile clinic that still visits Durham schools to provide dental care.
"You really can improve health, but it's not by figuring out what people should do and telling them to do it," Michener said. "It's by listening to their concerns and their interests, then figuring out together how to build on their strengths."
