Bill Purdy

Bill Purdy rowed at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire and then at the University of Pennsylvania. He led the Penn eight to the International Rowing Association (IRA) title in both 1967 and 1968. He also won the coxed fours at the 1968 National Association of Amateur Oarsmen (NAAO) meet, which qualified him for the Mexico City Olympics.

After the Olympics Purdy joined the Peace Corps and served in Uruguay. He was out of school for five years when he returned to Case Western Reserve Medical School, graduating in 1977, and then did an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin. Purdy spent 18 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan practicing pediatrics and adolescent medicine. In 1998 Purdy joined the Duke University Medical Center, eventually becoming head of student health services at Duke in 2005.