Altvater graduated from Duke University (A.B., 1930 and M.A., 1932). He earned a certificate in hospital administration in 1933. An original member of the faculty, held the position of the superintendent of Duke Hospital from 1930 to 1946.
Joseph W. Beard was professor of surgery from 1937 to 1973. Beard, and his wife Dorothy, were an internationally prominent cancer team. In 1946 Beard became the James B. Duke professor of surgery and was appointed professor of virology in 1965.
Wolfgang (Bill) Joklik was James B. Duke Professor of Microbiology at Duke University, cancer researcher, and co-founder of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. Joklik was chair of the Dept. of Microbiology from 1968 to 1994.
James B. Wyngaarden was a professor and administrator of Duke University Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital of Durham, North Carolina. He was chair of the Duke Univeristy Dept. of Medicine from 1967 to 1983.