A $3 million gift from a Rutgers University alumnus and a longtime supporter will fund the new Perry N. Halkitis Endowed Chair in LGBTQ+ Public Health, a new position for the university’s School of Public Health.
“The plan is to ensure the School of Public Health is always addressing LGBTQ health issues,” said Halkitis in an interview with NJ Spotlight News. “They are often forgotten in pubic health and healthcare. And what this ensures is that I will be able to, in the short term, and the school in the long term always have someone on board who is thinking about these issues.”
Halkitis is the dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, Hunterdon professor of Public Health and Health Equity and is a distinguished professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies.
He said has made it his life’s work to move the LGBTQ mission forward. “When you think about DEI issues, LGBTQ folks are a part of that,” he said. “So, this is keeping this part of the population at the forefront, and thinking through how this population continues to be discriminated against in our society.”
The donor is alum James F. Dougherty, who said in a statement that his motivation was to support an emphasis on LGBTQ+ health at Rutgers long into the future. He said the choice to name the chair after Halkitis was due to Halkitis’ leadership in the field.
In addition to gift of $3 million, Rutgers Health Chancellor Brian L. Strom said the school is devoting an additional $2 million to support the new chair.
