ANNOUNCEMENT
THE TORCH CLUB OF DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
David Durack, Presiding
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Opening Social Time/ Wine Reception: 6:00 p.m. (NEW TIME)
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Introduction of Speaker: Dr. Gary Gereffi, Program Chair
Speaker Presentation/Q&A: 7:30 p.m.-8:45 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Chris Beyrer, Gary Hock Distinguished Professor of Global Health, Director, Global Health Institute, Duke University
Presentation Topic: “Operation Warp Speed and the Development and Testing of COVID-19 Vaccines”
Biographical Sketch:
Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, is an internationally recognized epidemiologist who has worked on the front lines of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 treatment and research. In 2022, he came to Duke to serve as the Director of the Duke Global Health Institute. In October, the DGHI celebrates its 20th Anniversary. Duke Global Health Institute – 20th Anniversary.
Beyrer, who has worked on COVID-19 vaccine trials since 2020, currently serves as senior scientific liaison to the COVID-19 Vaccine Prevention Network. He is past president of the International AIDS Society, the world’s largest body of HIV professionals and has served as advisor to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, the National Institutes of Health’s Office of AIDS Research, the U.S. Military HIV Research Program, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and the Open Society Foundations, among numerous other organizations. The author of “War in the Blood: Sex, Politics and AIDS in Southeast Asia,” he has conducted collaborative research in Thailand for 30 years.
Before coming to Duke, Beyrer was the inaugural Desmond M. Tutu Professor of Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Beyrer received his medical degree from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and holds a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2014.
Here is the announcement of the 2026-2027 Series
Torch Club Speaker Series, 2026-2027
Croasdaile Country Club, Durham, NC
President, Durham Chapter: David Durack (Past president: Curt Richardson)
President-Elect: John Aldrich
Membership Chair: Rod Gerwe
Secretary: Louise Maynor
Program Coordinator: Gary Gereffi
Treasurer: Doc Muhlbaier
| DATE | SPEAKER | POSITION | TOPIC |
| Sept. 19, 2026 | Chris Beyrer, M.D. | Director, Duke Global Health Institute. Gary Hock Distinguished Professor in Global Health, Duke University. | Operation Warp Speed and the development and testing of COVID-19 vaccines. |
| Oct. 21 | Rachel Baker | General Manager, Duke Men’s Basketball Program. | Duke basketball in a new era: Tradition, NIL and the future. |
| Nov. 18 | Louise Maynor | Torch Club Secretary. Member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. | Lumbee identity, assimilation, and recognition: Caroline talks with Louise. |
| Dec. 16 | Eugene Brown | Durham City Council (2003-2015). Author, A River Flows Through Them (2026). Otherwise, actively retired. | From Snake River boatman to Durham City Council…Jackson Hole, Wyoming to the Bull City: An intriguing American journey. |
| Jan. 20, 2027 | Patrick Duddy | U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela in the Bush and Obama administrations. Senior Lecturing Fellow, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. | What does the U.S. really want from the Western Hemisphere? |
| Feb. 17 | John Aldrich | Pfizer-Pratt University Professor of Political Science, emeritus, Duke University. | Congressional elections, including 2026, are the driving forces of American politics. |
| March 17 | Benjamin A. Alman, M.D. | Chair of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke School of Medicine. | The future of osteoarthritis treatment. |
| April 21 | William V. “Bill” Bell | Durham, NC County Commissioner (1972-1994; 1996-200; Chair, 1982-1994). Former Durham Mayor (8 terms, 2001-2017). Retired IBM Corp. senior engineer (1968-1996). President/CEO UDI Community Development Corp., Durham, NC (1996-present). | Perspectives on Durham – where we are today and how we got here. |
| May 19 | Howard Sawhill | Founder of Cone Blue Pottery, Durham, NC. | Pottery down the rabbit hole. |
Current version: August 17, 2026
