The yale school of public health has received a significant gift from Yale College alumnus Dr. Charles Nolan, MD, BA ’59, and his wife, Eleanor Nolan, to fund rapid-response research teams to address urgent public health challenges.

The Charles and Eleanor Nolan Emerging Health Challenge Fund empowers Dean Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, to direct resources swiftly toward response and research on emerging global health crises, including pandemics, addiction, climate change, and gun violence, under the direction of YSPH faculty members.

A primary motivation for supporting the Yale School of Public Health stems from its recent transition into an independent school within Yale University, the couple said.

Having worked in public health for 30 years in Seattle, Charles Nolan was intrigued to learn that YSPH was to become an independent school. He and Eleanor Nolan met with Ranney to learn of her plans for the school and to ask how they might help her realize her vision. “She didn’t hesitate,” Charles Nolan recalled. “She said right away: ‘I would like to have the capability to react quickly to emerging health threats, infectious and non-infectious.”

Ranney noted that the Nolans’ generosity will enable YSPH to address critical public health issues with greater speed, agility, and scientific rigor. “Charlie and Eleanor wanted to ensure that YSPH is able to respond to future health crises as they arise—whether they be infectious diseases, climate events, or anything else unexpected where time is of the essence,” Ranney said. “The flexibility of this funding will allow our faculty to immediately jump into action without having to wait for slower-moving research funds to materialize. Importantly, this gift enables us to link science and society in real time—thereby helping communities everywhere to achieve health.”

Charles Nolan’s career has shaped his understanding of public health’s pivotal societal role. Early in his career, while practicing public health in Seattle, he helped combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and worked extensively on tuberculosis in the U.S. and abroad.

Reflecting on his career, he emphasized the growing recognition of public health’s importance in today’s world. “The creation of an independent School of Public Health shows that Yale University recognizes the critical role that academic schools of public health play in improving the health of populations throughout the world, through research, and training desperately needed public health professionals. With this move, Yale is now poised to take its rightful place among leaders in academic public health and to make even more substantial contributions to this important global effort.”

The Nolans’ connection to Yale runs deep. After graduating from Yale College in 1959 and pursuing his medical and public health career, Charles Nolan maintained strong ties to the University through reunions and trips with fellow alumni. He and Eleanor Nolan co-chaired the 60th Yale College reunion, and this past May, they attended his 65th reunion. “Our connection with Yale has enriched our lives,” he said.