Hundreds of people gathered Friday, Jan. 23, 1015, in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center for Health Education to meet and hear A. Eugene Washington, M.D., who will arrive April 1 to become Duke University’s new chancellor for health affairs and president/CEO of Duke University Health System.

Washington received a warm and lively reception as he mingled with members of the Duke community, shaking hands, chatting, and posing for pictures.

“My wife Marie and I are absolutely thrilled to be joining the Duke family and the broader Durham and North Carolina community,” Washington said later in comments he delivered at the reception held in his honor. “This is a wonderful, attractive position and tremendous opportunity to do some great things around the world. I can’t think of a better group of individuals or institution to be working with.”

He praised the dedication to excellence, pride and spirit that he said forms the foundation of Duke Medicine, and said Duke is in an enviable position moving into the future.

“I do believe that this is a particularly propitious time in medicine, health, science, nursing, and graduate education, and that there are very few institutions that have the reputation, people and programs that we have at Duke to take full advantage of the opportunities that we in fact do enjoy today.”

Washington, 64, comes to Duke from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he is vice chancellor for health sciences, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine, and chief executive officer of the UCLA Health System, as well as a distinguished professor of gynecology and health policy.

He is a national leader in health care policy, biomedical research, education, and patient care.  He brings deep experience as an executive at two top academic medical centers, international recognition for his research, and a commitment to education and community health.

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