Drs. David Ballard and Michela Caruso

Ballard, a four-time UNC alumnus, was a Morehead (now Morehead-Cain) Scholar as an undergraduate. In 1983, he received Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in Public Health degrees from the University's schools of medicine and public health, respectively, and received a Doctor of Philosophy in epidemiology in 1990. The medical school presented him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2008. A 1995 recipient of AcademyHealth's Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award, Ballard currently is senior vice president and chief quality officer at the Baylor Health Care System in Dallas.

Caruso, a native of Rome, is a graduate with honors from the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" and, along with Ballard, of the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in Rochester, Minn. She is a radiation oncologist, partner and former board member at Texas Oncology, the nation's largest oncology group practice.

Why are they such ardent supporters of the School?

"We recognize," Caruso says, "that UNC is uniquely positioned to cultivate future health care leaders who can generate innovative solutions to globally escalating health care costs and issues of health care quality and equity."

"We hope other individuals and organizations that have benefited from Dr. White's and Dr. Wagner's more than half-century of scholarly leadership will join us in adding to this endowment over time," Ballard adds.