Duke Flags Lowered: Ernest Mario, Founding Chair of DUHS Board of Directors, Dies

Dr. Ernest Mario, the founding chair of the Duke University Health System Board of Directors and a leader in the pharmaceutical industry, passed away at his son’s home in Durham on October 20, after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking leadership and contributions to health care and education. He was 86.

Born in 1938 in Clifton, New Jersey, to immigrant parents, Mario was educated in public schools,