Duke Treasurer Emeritus J. Peyton Fuller Dies

Friday, January 19, 2001

J. Peyton Fuller, who served as Duke University's leading planner and treasurer during a period of significant growth and expansion in the late 1980s and early 1990s, died Jan. 13 at Triangle Hospice. He was 68. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Fuller grew up in St. Louis and St. Petersburg, Fla. He first came to Duke in 1951 as a student, graduating summa cum laude in 1954. He was responsible for establishing an accounting system that served the university for more than 20 years and developing the financial management plan for Duke University Hospital. He also devised the financing plan for Duke North, the Erwin Road building now known as Duke Hospital. In addition, he was responsible for the financial terms and conditions of the university's first tax exempt bond issue. Fuller retired in March 1994 as vice president for planning and treasurer. At that time the Duke University Board of Trustees honored him by naming him treasurer emeritus. The trustees also passed a resolution praising him for his work at Duke and for training a generation of top financial planners who have worked both at Duke and other universities. "Peyton Fuller's many valued contributions to the development and success of Duke University, his alma mater, may never be fully understood and appreciated," said William Donelan, executive vice president of the Duke University Health System. "Spanning four decades, Peyton's identification and nurturing of human talent in administration and financial management may be, above all, his greatest bequest to Duke and its pursuit of excellence." Fuller was nationally recognized for his efforts and was active in several professional organizations. In 1992, he was named president of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers. The Eastern Association is one of the largest regions in the National Association of College and University Business Officers. After his retirement, he remained active in the local community, most notably serving on the board of the Durham Casualty Insurance Co. Survivors include his son David of Durham; his daughter, Valerie Grantham of Tuscaloosa Ala.; and a granddaughter. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that people make memorials in Fuller's name to the J. Scott Byrd Endowment Fund at Duke, an endowment that was established by Fuller to benefit cultural services programs at Duke University Hospital.