Obituary of Stuart O. Bondurant
Chapel Hill, NC - Stuart Bondurant, Dean Emeritus of the School of Medicine of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died on May 26, 2018 following a brief illness.
Born into the historic Moravian community in Winston-Salem, NC, Dr. Bondurant was the son of Dorothy Siewers and Stuart Osborne Bondurant. After completing three years as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, he received his B.S. and M.D. degrees from Duke University. Throughout his long and distinguished career, he served as President and Dean of Albany Medical College, Professor of Medicine and Dean of the Medical School of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Interim Executive Vice President and Executive Dean of Georgetown University Medical Center.
Dr. Bondurant was a pioneer in medical research and a leader in medical education. His early research focused on heart attack; during his service in the Air Force, he experimented with the human centrifuge to determine the limits of the heart’s ability to endure stress. In 1966 when he became the Chief of the medical branch of the Artificial Heart-Myocardial Infarction Program of the National Heart Institute, the first organized research on heart attack was established.
Turning his primary attention to medical education, Dr. Bondurant became a leader in reorienting the research and clinical communities toward identifying and addressing the health needs of the patient and of the broader society. His influence in this updated approach to education has been felt throughout the country. Deeply committed to the importance of the best scientific research as an integral aspect of academic medicine and medical education, he also brought a new emphasis on ethics and compassion to the modern medical curriculum, thus producing generations of medical professionals whose professional service would reflect those values. He had the privilege of awarding nearly 3,000 M.D. degrees during his years serving as dean of three medical schools.
Dr. Bondurant’s devotion to improving the health of the people of North Carolina was reflected in his co-founding of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and chairing for many years the North Carolina Governor’s Commission on the Reduction of Infant Mortality. On a national level, he served as advisor to a variety of federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services including the NIH and the FDA, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Air Force.
Dr. Bondurant’s achievements as a physician, scholar, and administrator have been recognized internationally. He served with distinction in the highest leadership positions of some of the country’s most distinguished professional and scientific organizations. Among many honors, he received Honorary degrees from Indiana University and Georgetown University, the Distinguished Service Medal of the UNC General Alumni Association, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and from Duke University School of Medicine, the naming of Bondurant Hall at the School of Medicine of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the American Heart Association’s Award of Merit and its Citation for Distinguished Service to Research, the Alfred Stengel Award from the American College of Physicians, and the David P. Rall Award from the National Academy of Medicine. In addition to his deanships, he served as President of the American College of Physicians, chair of the American Association of Medical Colleges, Acting President of the National Academy of Medicine, and President of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. He was a Master of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advance of Science.
Dr. Bondurant is survived by his wife, Susan H. Ehringhaus of Chapel Hill, NC, his children, Stuart F. Bondurant (Lisa) of Atlanta, GA, Margaret Lynn Bondurant (Gary Derr) of Danby, VT, and Nancy V. Bondurant (Mario Belloni) of Davidson, NC, and five grandchildren, William Bondurant, Elizabeth Bondurant, Benjamin Bondurant (Catherine), James Bondurant, and Emily Belloni. He is also survived by his sister, Ann B. Young of Winston Salem, NC, his brothers, Gordon E. Bondurant (Linda) of Charleston, SC and William L. Bondurant of Chapel Hill, NC, his sister-in-law, Josephine E. Ayers (Brandt) of Anniston, AL and their daughter Margaret, and his brother-in-law, J.C. Blucher Ehringhaus (Nancy), of Charlotte, NC, and their daughters Katherine Edelshain (Benjamin) and Julia.
Following a private service, the family will receive friends and colleagues on Saturday, June 2 from 4:00 pm to 6:00pm at the DuBose House at The Rizzo Conference Center, 150 DuBose Home Lane, Chapel Hill. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the UNC School of Medicine, 123 W. Franklin Street, Suite 510, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.
