Old Dominion University will establish a new nutrition and lifestyle medicine school thanks to a $15 million donation from philanthropist Joan Brock.
The donation, from the Virginia Beach philanthropist and wife of the late Dollar Tree co-founder Macon F. Brock Jr., will establish the Joan P. Brock Institute for Nutrition Science and Health, the university announced Monday.
The new school will integrate a nutrition and lifestyle health program into medical and health professions education, basic science and translational research, clinical innovation and community health, according to the announcement.
“Through the Joan P. Brock Institute for Nutrition Science and Health, Old Dominion University will lead the nation in reimagining how medicine is taught by integrating nutrition as a foundational element and driving force of whole person care and wellbeing,” university President Brian Hemphill said in the announcement.
Brock’s gift is inspired by living with her own health conditions, according to the announcement. Brock, a three-time cancer survivor, credited a balanced diet and daily exercise, along with medical treatments, for overcoming her health issues.
The program aims to bring nutrition and lifestyle training to medical training, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes in Hampton Roads.
The gift also creates a new Master of Science in nutrition degree in the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences program, with the first students matriculating in fall 2026.
According to the announcement, the first year of the program will center around hiring an executive director, integrating the medical education component into existing degree programs and establishing foundations for research and community outreach.
“I think we will inspire other medical schools to look at nutrition, see what we build here,” Brock said in the announcement. “We are teaching doctors to be doctors, but we are also teaching them to model what it means to be a person who is responsible with their own health.”
The Brocks have donated millions of dollars to various causes and institutions across Virginia, including the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences program at ODU, the Chrysler Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon College in Ashland and the Brock Environmental Center, among others.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com