Charles E. Wynes ('52)

Survivors of Ebola should credit the late Charles E. Wynes for preserving the memory of the man largely responsible for modern treatments. In writing "Charles Richard Drew: The Man and the Myth," Wynes corrected the stubborn myth that Drew, the African- American physician who developed the groundbreaking method for plasma storage, died of medical neglect fueled by racism. The son of a tenant farmer who rose to become professor of history and associate dean at the University of Georgia, Wynes devoted his life to history and education. That legacy, which he and his wife, Carolyn, solidified with an endowment, will support in perpetuity the history department that launched his storied career.