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From Center to CenterDan L. Duncan has come a long way from Center, a small town near the Toledo Bend Reservoir in the Piney Woods of East Texas.by Deborah Fiorito Not only does the contribution set a new standard in giving to education and medicine in Houston, but it also comes on the heels of two other gifts from the family during the last two years—$2 million to endow the Dan L. Duncan Family Chair in Prostate Disease and $35 million to help fund Phase II of the Baylor Clinic, scheduled to open in 2008. "Generous gifts even approaching the size of the Duncan family's Cancer Center contribution truly develop and advance research and patient outcomes," said Peter G. Traber, M.D., president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine. "Winston Churchill once said, 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' Dan Duncan is a splendid example of one who has indeed made a great living by being an outstanding businessman but will now make millions of lives better through his family's extraordinary gift to medical science."
"We have had the good fortune of being able to support the fight against cancer in a meaningful way, and we are proud to make an investment in what is sure to become one of the world's most respected and successful cancer research and treatment centers," said Duncan. "Our belief in Baylor College of Medicine's ability to move the fight against cancer forward is underscored by the College's commitment to partnering with other great institutions here in the Texas Medical Center and elsewhere." BCM has a long history of cancer research and patient care and has been building programs strategically since the mid-1990s in support of a bid to become a National Cancer Institute-designated center. In 2002, the year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cancer was responsible for nearly 23 percent of American deaths, the College formally established the Cancer Center to coordinate all cancer-related research and clinical care under a single umbrella. "Our mission is to integrate all the cancer activities at Baylor College of Medicine and its affiliated institutions so that we can reduce cancer mortality through state-of-the-art patient care, research and education," said C. Kent Osborne, M.D., director of the Cancer Center and the Breast Center at BCM. "We want the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center to foster the kind of communication that expedites cancer research from the bench to the bedside." 
Dan L. Duncan and wife Jan with daughters Milane (far left) and Randa The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center provides an organizational structure that facilitates multidisciplinary study and action across our partner institutions. It is a consortium of BCM and our hospital affiliates, Texas Children's Hospital, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Ben Taub General Hospital. The result is the creation of a clinical research network, development of community outreach programs and building of clinical programs of excellence in the effort to reduce cancer incidence and mortality. The Duncan family's contribution will go toward expanding development of BCM's cancer-related programs and should help to ensure the long-term growth and stability of the Cancer Center, which has applied for NCI designation. Only two Texas medical institutions currently hold that designation, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the San Antonio Cancer Institute. "This incredible gift allows us to further develop our Cancer Center and bring together some of the best minds in the world." "With this gift, we will not only be able to meet the necessary requirements of NCI, but exceed them," said Osborne. "NCI designation is what separates and distinguishes cancer centers. The Duncans' contribution will be a major part of that accomplishment." The BCM and M.D. Anderson programs complement one another and this gift, coupled with NCI designation of the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, will enhance an already fruitful environment where leading researchers and clinicians from both institutions work together in search of a cure for cancer. Today, the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center is concentrating on eight theme-specific programs within which researchers can establish collaborations that will drive research at the College. Clinical programs are in breast, pediatric, and prostate cancers, and in cell and gene therapy. Basic research programs are in molecular carcinogenesis, nuclear receptors, and cancer biology. There is also a cancer prevention and population sciences program. 
C. Kent Osborne, M.D., To facilitate research, members of the Cancer Center have access to shared laboratories and equipment for biostatistics and data management, cell processing and vector production, proteomics, flow cytometry, genetically engineered mice, genomic profiling, integrated microscopy, and pathology and tissue banking, as well as a clinical trials support unit and a program for seed funding and collaborative grants. "This incredible gift will allow us to further develop the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center and bring together some of the best minds in the world. All of us at BCM are grateful to the Duncan family for their generosity and outstanding support," said Traber. Duncan is the co-founder, chairman and majority owner of Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., the second largest publicly traded midstream energy partnership in North America. A self-made billionaire, Duncan's mother and only sibling died when he was seven years old. His grandmother raised him, instilling the motto: "Do the best you can every day." After graduating from Shelbyville High School, Duncan worked in pipeline construction and as a roughneck before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1953. After serving two years, he enrolled in Massey Business College, focusing his studies on finance and accounting. In 1969 he joined a small company called Enterprise Products. With one truck, three partners and $10,000 in cash, Enterprise Products would later become a Fortune 500 company under Duncan's leadership. He bought out his partners and formed Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., which went public as a midstream energy partnership in 1998. In 2002, Barron's listed Enterprise as one of the top 100-best managed companies. The Duncan-owned family of companies, including Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., Enterprise GP Holdings, L.P., and TEPPCO Partners, L.P., have an enterprise value of approximately $23 billion. A Texas Business Hall of Famer, Duncan has been honored and celebrated time and time again as a business leader, philanthropist and even a "tough guy" by the Conklin Foundation (2005) for his amazing big game hunting record and conservation efforts. He has been included in the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest individuals. To this day, Duncan still maintains that true wealth is not found in dollars, but in deeds accomplished, says his daughter, Randa Duncan Williams, whose husband, Charles A. Williams, serves on the BCM Board of Trustees with Duncan. 
From left: Dr. Traber, Dr. Osborne, Dan and Jan Duncan The Duncan family—Dan, wife Jan Ellis Duncan and four children, Randa Duncan Williams, Dannine Duncan Avara, Milane Duncan Frantz, and Scott Daniel Duncan—have been long-time supporters of health-related programs, civic organizations and other Houston nonprofits. Duncan is quick to point out that, while $100 million is a significant amount to give to a single entity, its impact can be fully realized only if others continue to invest in medical breakthroughs. "My family considers this gift to Baylor College of Medicine a challenge to others who have been as fortunate as we have been in our lives. If our contributions encourage someone else to give ten dollars or another $100 million, we will call ourselves real 'philanthropists,'" he added. |
Patient CareA New Medical School for Botswana ResearchStars and Workhorses: A Varied Future for Stem Cells Unfolding the Tiniest Problems EducationCommunity ServiceAlumni & DevelopmentThe Story Behind the Jewish Building From a One-Room School to Medical Research College News
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Volume 2, Issue 1, Spring 2006 |
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
In January, Duncan, his wife Jan, and the Duncan family donated $100 million—the largest single philanthropic gift in Texas Medical Center history—to name the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine.
Duncan, a BCM Trustee since 2002, said it was his own experience with prostate cancer in 1995 that made him appreciate the quality and commitment of BCM physicians and inspired his desire to support the College's programs.