It is hard for us to believe but it has already been six months since our founder and dear friend, Greg Dees, passed away. We continue to feel his absence – and his inspiration – every day.
We wanted to share the videos and materials from the memorial service so that those who could not be with us can share in the celebration of Greg’s life and work. The memorial was held on February 11, 2014 and was an opportunity for CASE, the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, and the entire social entrepreneurship community to celebrate Greg as the pioneering academic who helped to build the field of social entrepreneurship but also as our friend, mentor, and teacher.
“The Open Solution Society” event and panel
We started the evening by holding an event at Fuqua to celebrate Greg’s work and his impact on the field. The full event video below includes:
- Opening remarks and reflections from CASE Executive Director, Erin Worsham (0:13 – 9:50).
- A remembrance from David Bornstein (29:45 – 40:42).
- Reflections from Bridgespan’s Tom Tierney (42:17 – 47:22).
- A panel discussion with David, Tom and CASE’s Cathy Clark on Greg’s impact and work (47:22 – 58:58), followed by discussion with the audience (58:58 – 1:23:07) and finally, discussion of Greg’s in-process work, “The Open-Solution Society” (1:23:08 – 1:38:48).
Sally Osberg, President of the Skoll Foundation, offered her remembrances of Greg via video:
A moving tribute from Fuqua alumni – a compilation of videos and photos that alumni submitted from all over the world:
We closed out the Fuqua portion of the event with a photo slideshow of Greg through the years:
Memorial Service at the Duke Divinity Chapel
We then moved to the Duke Divinity School to remember and mourn Greg as the truly wonderful person and friend that he was to us all. Although we did not record the Chapel service, below you will find some of the remarks that were delivered that day from Greg’s close friends and colleagues:
- Memorial Service Program and Program Insert
- Remarks from Beth Anderson (download PDF)
- Remarks from Edward Skloot (download PDF)
- Remarks from Duke President Dick Brodhead (download PDF)
- Selections from the Second Book of Tao, read by Matt Nash (download PDF)
Although it was an extremely difficult day for us all, it was also inspiring to have so many from near and far come together to share their memories of a wonderful man. To read more remembrances and memorials of Greg, see the listing on the CASE blog or share your own memories at posthope.org/greg-dees.