After 23 years, a unique combination of academic rigor and development ethos has produced a special hybrid that has redefined the notion of a University. Courses offered are meant to build human resources in key areas where those resources have until now been lacking, especially in health care and education; research it conducts must be relevant and have an impact on chronic and emerging diseases in developing societies; the models it formulates are meant to be emulated, both formally and informally; and the benchmarks and standards it sets, which are invariably high, are meant to raise the overall standard of health care and education.