FXB Foundation

The FXB Foundation has invested in many of the things that fascinated François-Xavier and inspired his life: a love of the Valais and the Alpine region where he worked, a fascination with flight and space, his academic studies and the promotion of human rights and public health around the world.

Vision

Perpetuate the values of generosity and compassion that had guided François-Xavier Bagnoud's life, and keep his mission alive by also seeking to rescue people – some of the poorest on the earth.

Story

The story of FXB started in 1986, when Albina du Boisrouvray’s only son François-Xavier, a rescue pilot, was killed in a tragic helicopter accident when he was just 24. This life-changing loss prompted Albina to walk away from a successful career as a film producer and dedicate her life to champion the cause of the tens of millions of vulnerable women and children left in the wake of the devastating AIDS. In 1989, Albina give away most of what she had to found the FXB Foundation and the FXB Association (FXB International) in honor of François-Xavier.

What we have created

FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard

The creation of FXB’s Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard is a result of a visionary partnership between Albina du Boisrouvray and Dr. Jonathan Mann. In 1993, the FXB Foundation donated $20 million, one of the largest donations ever made to the Harvard School of Public Health, to establish the Center and pay for the construction of the seven-story François-Xavier Bagnoud Building on Huntington Avenue and the François-Xavier Bagnoud Professorship in Health and Human Rights. The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights is the leading international center for education and scholarship on health and human rights. The FXB Center’s faculty operates at both the national and international levels through collaboration and partnerships with health and human rights practitioners, governmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and international agencies.

Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Michigan

The FXB Foundation sponsored various programs and initiatives run by the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Michigan where François-Xavier graduated with honors as an engineer and published a reference manual “Theory of the helicopter for the private pilots”.

The Wave Field, a memorial to François-Xavier Bagnoud, is truly an artistic treasure of the North Campus at the University of Michigan. The Wave Field is an earthen sculpture on the Southeast side of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Building. It was designed and created by Maya Lin, an artist well known for creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC in addition to the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery Alabama.

Since 1991, the Foundation has also been financing FXB grants for students of the second and third cycle in aeronautics studies as well as an FXB Chair of aeronautics engineering specialized in the study of vertical flights in 1998. From 1992 to 1999, the FXB Aerospace Prize – created to honor the memory and ideals of its homonym and to recognize contributions and progress made within the field for humanity’s benefit – was awarded every two years for the most significant contributions in these areas.

François-Xavier Bagnoud Chair in Pediatric Allergy, Rutgers

The François Xavier Bagnoud Center (FXB Center), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey began in 1987 as a clinical program that provided family-centered care for HIV, infectious diseases, and immunologic disorders. Early in the 1990s, the center received generous funding from Countess Albina du Boisrouvray’s FXB Foundation to enhance the local clinical program to treat pediatric HIV and to expand the expertise to the rapidly growing HIV pandemic. In recognition of this generous award, the Center was named the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center in memory of her son. The FXB Foundation also launched the FXB endowed chair in Pediatric Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chair in Community Pediatric Nursing. Corina Lelutiu-Weinberger, Ph.D. is the current recipient of the chair in Community Pediatric Nursing. In July 2013, the FXB Center, which is operating without financial support from FXB, was incorporated with Rutgers School of Nursing.

Today, FXB Center at Rutgers provides interdisciplinary, compassionate care to all of our clients and their families. It reaches some of the most vulnerable populations in New Jersey including people with HIV and children in the foster care system. Over the past 30 years FXB Center has conducted applied research with the goal of creating a lasting impact on the physical and mental health of disenfranchised groups served, provided continuing education and training of health care providers working in the fields of HIV and child welfare nursing, built coalitions, and informed policy throughout New Jersey, nationally, and globally. Together, we aim to eliminate barriers to high-quality health care for those in greatest need.

Its Vision
The FXB Center envisions healthcare systems that meet the needs of vulnerable populations, promoting optimum health and eliminating health disparities.

Its Mission
The FXB Center aims to eliminate barriers to high-quality health care for vulnerable populations. It unites community health practitioners, educators, collaborators and researchers to reduce socially determined health disparities that are unjust and modifiable.

For more information about our many programs please visit: http://fxbcenter.org or contact Dr. Andrea Norberg, DNP, MS, RN, Executive Director: norberan@sn.rutgers.edu