GREENVILLE, N.C. (March 10, 2026) — A transformational $10 million gift from David and Laura Brody of Raleigh, and Hyman and Stacy Brody of Greenville, will support and expand the Brody Scholars Program, East Carolina University and ECU Health Foundation announced today.
The university will honor the family and their steadfast ties to the institution and region with the naming of the new 195,000-square-foot Brody Center for Medical Education when it opens for the 2027-28 academic year. Approved by the ECU Board of Trustees on Feb. 13, the naming recognizes a decades-long philanthropic relationship between the family and the university to strengthen ECU’s mission.
The gift directly strengthens the Brody Scholars Program and the Brody School of Medicine’s mission to train physicians to serve North Carolina, especially in rural and underserved communities.
“The Brody family has once again demonstrated its extraordinary commitment to the mission and success of East Carolina University,” Chancellor Philip Rogers said. “For nearly 50 years, our university has answered the call to train high quality physicians who will meet the health care needs of our rural communities. The state of North Carolina has put its trust in us to continue that success. I am profoundly appreciative of the Brody family’s unwavering generosity and steadfast commitment to enhancing the health and well-being of our region.”
“This gift builds upon the significant funding put forward by the North Carolina General Assembly and the UNC System Board of Governors to advance the future of health care in our state,” cousins Hyman Brody and David Brody said, before thanking those elected and appointed leaders as well as Rogers, deans of the school Drs. Michael Waldrum and Jason Higginson, and others whose work has made the new building a reality.
Next year, the medical school marks 50 years since the first four-year medical school class arrived on campus. In 1999, the ECU Board of Trustees named the school, the Brody School of Medicine ¾ the first time at the university a school had been named for a donor ¾ in recognition of the family’s decades of significant contribution.
“Our family’s connection to East Carolina University dates to 1947 when (former Chancellor) Dr. Leo Jenkins’ friendship with my father, Morris, and my uncles, Sammy and Leo, planted seeds that grew into a shared belief in this university’s mission,” Hyman Brody said. “That relationship led to our family’s initial support of the School of Medicine — a commitment rooted not only in philanthropy but stewardship and partnership.”
Along with improving health outcomes in the region, the Brody family has funded arguably the premier medical school scholarship in North Carolina — the Brody Scholars program. It provides full tuition, fees and enrichment opportunities for four years of medical education. The Brody family’s latest contribution will expand the Brody Scholars Program. Today, there are 12 Brody Scholars at the Brody School of Medicine and 147 alumni of the Brody Scholars Program.
“This contribution to the Center for Medical Education is especially meaningful to Laura and me because it expands the Brody Scholars Program so more students can graduate medical school with little or no debt and focus on what matters most: caring for patients,” said David Brody. “Investing in those students is, to us, exactly what doing good looks like.”
The family’s gift will be added to an existing endowment dedicated solely to supporting the Brody Scholars Program, according to Dr. Scott Senatore, chief philanthropy officer with the ECU Health Foundation. The investment ensures long-term sustainability for the scholarship and signals the importance of philanthropy in advancing medical education, supporting community health and inspiring future generosity. The Brody family’s cumulative giving to ECU now totals more than $35 million. The new Brody Center for Medical Education will serve as one of ECU’s most advanced instructional facilities, enabling the medical school to expand its class size to 120 students while offering state-of-the-art simulation spaces, learning studios, a new anatomy lab, student collaboration spaces and outdoor gathering areas. Construction of the new $265 million facility is funded by the state of North Carolina.
“The Brody School of Medicine was founded to meet the health care needs of our state, and this gift advances that mission in profound ways,” said Waldrum, who along with his academic role, is also CEO of ECU Health. “Brody Scholars become the kind of physicians every community needs — compassionate, skilled and committed to service. This investment ensures that more of those physicians will stay in North Carolina, where their impact is immeasurable. It is deeply gratifying to know that the Brody name will accompany this new state-of-the-art facility.”
The Brody School of Medicine is nationally recognized for graduating physicians who choose primary care specialties and practice in rural communities historically underserved by medicine. The new naming gift reinforces ECU as a leader in this mission and encourages additional philanthropic investment in the university’s medical education and health sciences enterprise.
Click here to learn more about the Brody Center for Medical Education.
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University held orientation week for new residents, officially welcoming the Class of 2029. The week included a lecture and luncheon was funded by the Albernaz family endowment. The entire week was laced with food, treats and programming made possible by gifts from alumni and donors to the Brody Loyalty Fund, maintained by the ECU Health Foundation.
The Brody Scholars program, created in 1983 with gifts from the Brody family and the Brody Foundation, is a merit award that pays for tuition over four years, most living expenses and $5,000 for travel. Only three incoming students get it.
Blue and silver Pinwheels for Prevention adorned yards, clinics, daycares and other businesses in Greenville, eastern North Carolina and across the country throughout National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. The pinwheels, meant to represent childlike whimsy and lightheartedness, are a signature display during the month-long campaign to raise awareness around a difficult and important topic.
For team members and supporters at ECU Health and the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University’s Tender Evaluation, Diagnosis and Intervention for a Better Abuse Response (TEDI BEAR) and Mt. Olive Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs), the tireless effort to prevent child abuse in eastern North Carolina is a year-round endeavor.
At the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, the Class of 2025 celebrated Match Day in style.
Sixty-eight of the 69 students in the class matched. One student elected to do a research year in orthopedics before entering the match program. Fifty-two percent of the class will enter primary care residencies, with 42% staying in North Carolina and 20% matching at ECU Health Medical Center.
The class stood with their families, friends, classmates and faculty members as they tore open their envelopes to reveal the next stop in their medical school journeys. Prior to receiving their envelopes, each student had the opportunity to walk across the stage to a song of his or her choice and a personalized presentation slide shown on a projector screen.
“Match Day is always a special moment in a physician’s journey, and today is no exception,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, dean of the medical school and CEO of ECU Health. “These students have dedicated themselves to the noble pursuit of caring for others and now have the opportunity to take all they’ve learned here at the Brody School of Medicine to improve the lives of countless patients they will serve in their careers. I could not be more proud of the Class of 2025 on this special day.”
