Gates Foundation Key Player to Meet with Hendrix Students

Dr. Orin Levine, who leads Global Delivery Programs for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will visit the Hendrix College campus Monday, Nov. 18, to interact with students, share about the work of the Foundation, and discuss potential career paths with undergraduates. 

Following a series of student-focused meetings on campus, Dr. Levine will deliver a public talk at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon in Worsham Student Performance Hall. It includes time for students to ask questions about his career and learn about the work of the Gates Foundation in fighting disease across the globe.

“Dr. Levine’s visit will help students understand the many and varied career path options in the sciences, not to mention the global impact of the Gates Foundation,” said Leigh Lassiter-Counts ’01, director of the Office of Career Services at Hendrix. “And, his visit ties in perfectly with the mission of the Hendrix College STEM Scholars program.” 

The College’s STEM Scholars program is funded by a National Science Foundation S-STEM grant and provides scholarships, support, and research opportunities to talented Pell-eligible students as they prepare for careers as professional scientists.

“It’s truly an amazing opportunity to have Dr. Levine visit Hendrix College,” said Dr. Laura MacDonald ’09 assistant professor of biology. “His work truly aligns with the mission we have at Hendrix, which is to prepare students to be engaged citizens in ways that transcend fields of study.  I’m thrilled that he will be able to visit with my class on epidemics and also share his career progression with the Hendrix College STEM Scholars. The work that he does is so interdisciplinary — he embodies what it means to be a scientist solving global problems.”

An epidemiologist and a former professor at the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Levine began his work with the Gates Foundation began in 2012. In addition to leading Global Delivery Programs, he serves as the Gates Foundation’s focal point for engagement with the Gavi Alliance, whose mission is saving children’s lives by increasing access to immunization in poor countries. 

Before joining the foundation’s Global Development Program, Dr. Levine was a Professor of International Health, and Executive Director of the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has also served as a Steering Committee Member of the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration and Co-Chair of its Global Access Working Group, as well as President, Committee on Global Health, American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. 

Dr. Levine graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College and received a Ph.D. in epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

This opportunity is presented by the Hendrix College Office of Career Services and the Department of Biology and Health Sciences.