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Julian Deryl Hart (1894-1980), surgeon and university president, was born in Prattsburg, Ga. He attended Emory University (A.B., 1916; A.M., 1917) and John Hopkins School of Medicine (M.D., 1921). Hart continued on at Johns Hopkins in surgery and pathology from 1921-1930. Hart came to Duke University in 1930 as professor of surgery and chairman of the department in the Duke University School of Medicine and Hospital. At Duke, Hart led in the development of the private diagnostic clinics and his pioneering work on the use of ultraviolet radiation as a way to combat airborne infections in the operating room won national acclaim.
Hart retired from the medical faculty to become president pro tem of Duke University in April, 1960. The Board of Trustees appointed him president, retroactive to that date. Hart brought to the university, then in a period of administrative turmoil, a concept of leadership defined by the need for teamwork. During his presidency, the relationships among trustees, administrators, and faculty were reorganized to eliminate conflict and tension. Hart also presided over major expansions of the university campus. Under his leadership, faculty salaries were raised substantially and the number of endowed professorships doubled. Hart retired from the presidency in 1963.
Hart married Mary Elizabeth Johnson of Raleigh in 1932. They had six children. Hart was an active Democrat and a member of the Methodist Church.
Contributed by Kaye Sandlin
[Portions of this text are taken from William S. Powell's Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, c1979-1996.]
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