T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S O F V I R G I N I A C O M M O N W E A LT H U N I V E R S I T Y
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Fall 2010
Through innovative research, Virginia Commonwealth University faculty increase their knowledge and understanding of the world, enriching their teaching and inspiring their students
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Chemistry lab: 2010
Newly constructed laboratories in Oliver Hall allow the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Chemistry to enroll 1,000 additional students per semester in the general chemistry program. The sleek, high-tech labs feature a digital projector, innovative fume hoods and an open design that allows instructors an unobstructed view of students.
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Contents [ F E AT U R E S ] 8
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The search for solutions
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One of a kind
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Record breakers
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Groundbreaking generosity
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myTuition
Virginia Commonwealth University faculty enrich their teaching as they engage in groundbreaking research. VCU’s architectural history symposium provides a unique forum for showcasing students’ work. Eight students receive the Fulbright Scholarship, the most ever for VCU in a single academic year. Private giving generates opportunities for faculty to engage students in academic research. A new online resource brings students into the conversation about the cost of higher education.
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University news
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The big picture
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Alumni connections
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Class notes
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Then and now
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Datebook
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Circa
Chemistry lab: 2010 Noteworthy news and research at VCU Kenneth Kahn, Ph.D., talks about transforming the da Vinci Center for Innovation into a national model. Richmond residents turn to hyperlocal blogs and websites to deliver community-specific news. Virginia high schoolers battle their bots in the regional FIRST Robotics Competition. The latest news from the alumni association Updates from alumni, faculty, staff and friends Campus technology advances with the times — and student needs. Upcoming university and alumni events Chemistry lab: 1980s Fall 2010 | 3
Greetings from your alma mater! Thank you for your active dues membership and support of the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association and your university during the past year! Special thanks to all our alumni who have embraced the association’s call to Connect, Engage and Serve as active dues members and volunteer leaders. As a result, new programming and services have been launched in support of the priorities I shared with you last fall — Service to Community and VCU, University Engagement and Student/Alumni Programs, and Membership Acquisition and Retention. The association’s monthly e-newsletter has detailed our progress. To make sure you receive this informative piece, I urge you to verify that we have your current e-mail address and be sure to register on the alumni association website (www.vcu-mcvalumni.org). This summer, we made keeping in touch even easier. For several years, alumni have requested a permanent VCU alumni e-mail address. Now, alumni can show their pride with an @alumni.vcu.edu address! Flip to the back cover to learn how to get yours. This issue of Shafer Court Connections showcases your university as a premier public research institution with a national and international presence. As an indication of its evolving status and significance, VCU recently received a $20 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health. Other articles in this issue present a day-in-the-life perspective of VCU research and describe how the presence of a major, urban public research university benefits students, faculty and the community. I know many of you have heeded the call for alumni to support the Opportunity VCU initiative. I hope many more will help us reach our goal of raising $50 million in scholarship funds to encourage and support the most qualified and motivated undergraduate, graduate and professional students at VCU. Your generosity will help the best and brightest attend your university, join our alumni association and serve their communities as educated citizen leaders. To learn more about Opportunity VCU, visit www.support.vcu.edu/donors/opportunityvcu.html. Alumni must play a critical leadership role to ensure the association’s continued success in meeting its goals and, in turn, the growth of the university as a leading institution in higher education. I urge you to add your voice and energy as an alumni volunteer leader. I know firsthand that you, the association and your university all will benefit from your engagement. Yours for VCU,
Donna Dalton (M.Ed. ’00/E) President
SConnec a er our ons VCU
Fall 2010 • Volume 16, Number 1 www.vcu-mcvalumni.org Assistant Vice President, University Alumni Relations Gordon A. McDougall Executive Director, VCU Alumni Association Diane Stout-Brown (B.S.W. ’80/SW) Director of Development and Alumni Communications Melanie Irvin Solaimani (B.S. ’96/MC) Editorial Kristen Caldwell (B.S. ’94/MC) Design Nathan Hanger (B.S. ’01/MC) Photography Linda George Production Jessica Foster
Contributors Editorial: Kelli Anderson, Jennifer Carmean (B.S. ’98/H&S), Teri Dunnivant, Erin Egan, Polly Roberts, Jamie Stillman (B.S. ’85/MC), Kim Witt
Design: Pamela Arnold (B.F.A. ’87/A), Trina Lambert, Matthew Phillips (M.F.A. ’87/A), Shannon Williams Photography: VCU Libraries – Special Collections and Archives, Kevin Casey, Allen Jones (B.F.A. ’82/A; M.F.A. ’92/A), Tom Kojcsich Shafer Court Connections is published semiannually by the VCU Office of Alumni Relations and VCU Creative Services for Virginia Commonwealth University’s alumni, faculty, staff and friends. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the university or magazine staff. Send address changes to the Office of Alumni Relations, Virginia Commonwealth University, 924 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box 843044, Richmond, VA 23284-3044; telephone (804) 828-2586; vcu-alum@vcu.edu or www.vcu-mcvalumni.org. Letters to the editor should be sent to Shafer Court Connections, Virginia Commonwealth University, 827 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box 842041, Richmond, VA 23284-2041, or e-mail shafercourt@vcu.edu. Please include your name, address and a daytime phone number; anonymous letters will not be published. Letters may be edited for clarity or space.
On the cover Cover illustration by Kevin Casey
Contributions of articles, photos and artwork are welcome, however, Shafer Court Connections accepts no responsibility for unsolicited items. © 2010, Virginia Commonwealth University an equal opportunity, affirmative action university 100302-09
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Virginia Commonwealth University news and research. For the latest updates, visit VCU online at www.news.vcu.edu.
Multimedia studio broadens access VCU and the VCU Health System announced new technology that will give media live or taped interview access to some of the world’s leading physicians, specialists and researchers for breaking news, features or trend expertise. “Teaching, research and patient care are the hallmarks of VCU and the VCU Health System, and this technology will enable us to quickly share new knowledge with the world,” says Marcos Irigaray, vice president of strategy and marketing for the VCU Health System. The university installed the broadcast-quality VideoLink ReadyCam system, a remotely or locally controlled camera technology that uses fiber optics to connect to VideoLink’s headquarters in Boston. From there, experts in VCU’s studio, located on the university’s MCV Campus, can be routed to virtually any location. John N. Clore, M.D., professor of medicine and associate vice president for clinical research, speaks with patient Colleen A. Thoma, as she undergoes a test to monitor brain wave activity.
VCU receives $20 million research grant VCU received a $20 million grant — the largest federal award in its history — from the National Institutes of Health to become part of a nationwide consortium of research institutions working to turn laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The Clinical and Translational Science Award makes VCU the only academic health center in Virginia to join a national consortium of research centers sponsored by NIH’s National Center for Research Resources. This network of academic research institutions accelerates the transformation of laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engages communities in clinical research and trains a new generation of clinical and translational researchers. VCU is among nine institutions selected this year, bringing membership to 55 centers in 28 states and the District of Columbia. “This is a transformational moment for VCU in terms of our status as a research university,” says Sheldon Retchin, M.D., M.S.P.H., vice president for Health Sciences and CEO of the VCU Health System. “This draws on the reputation the university has developed in community-based participatory research and its national reputation for delivery of care to the underserved members of the community.” VCU joins the consortium through its Center for Clinical and Translational Research, a comprehensive matrix center that will support VCU’s efforts to strengthen ties with affiliates and community partners to better share resources and respond to community health needs. John N. Clore, M.D., associate vice president for clinical research and principal investigator for the grant, says the CCTR “will train the next generation of clinical investigators to pool medical informatics, genetics, basic science, clinical research together — and working with the community — to develop a whole new way to do research with a whole new group of investigators that are trained differently, and uniquely, to answer the needs of the 21st century.”
VCU’s on-site ReadyCam broadcast studio makes it convenient for experts to give live broadcast interviews.
Annual Convocation honors faculty The university recognized the following four distinguished faculty members during the 28th Opening Faculty Address and Convocation ceremony in September: • Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., M.Sc., School of Medicine, University Award of Excellence • George W. Vetrovec, M.D., School of Medicine, Distinguished Service Award • William E. Haver, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences, Distinguished Teaching Award • Shiv N. Khanna, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences, Distinguished Scholarship Award An annual event that acknowledges and honors the quality and excellence of the VCU faculty, Convocation also marks the formal opening of the academic year. Fall 2010 | 5
[UNIVERSITY
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Student health program wins award
Learning Commons opens at library
VCU’s Wellness Resource Center, part of University Student Health Services, won an award from the American College Health Association for its work improving student health. VCU was honored for its “Clickerenhanced Social Norms Marketing Intervention” program, which aims to improve the health of students by reducing high-risk drinking. The program combines a campuswide social norms campaign and the use of audience response technology in alcohol education sessions with students during Welcome Week and first-year orientation classes. Data have demonstrated that students who participate in the sessions are more likely to limit their alcohol use.
The new 14,000-square-foot Cabell Learning Commons on the second floor of James Branch Cabell Library provides an improved dedicated study area for students. The space opened during Welcome Week and adds 438 new seats in the library, which hosts more than 2 million student visits each year. Students have a variety of places to settle and always nearby are the amenities they require, including abundant computer monitors, table space and electrical outlets. There are smaller touches, such as cupholders, reconfigurable furniture with flexible lighting and moveable whiteboards on wheels, and larger ones, such as impromptu gathering areas, group study rooms and a multipurpose room big enough to seat as many as 60 people. The Learning Commons is the latest in a series of projects designed to improve the student experience at VCU, following the opening of the Larrick Student Center on the MCV Campus and the Cary Street Gym on the Monroe Park Campus and the establishment of the Harris Hall Student Services Center as a one-stop home for enrollment services needs. The redesign was made possible in part by the move of hundreds of thousands of bound journals to storage space in the new 500 Academic Centre building.
Gift supports education partnerships The VCU School of Education received a $1 million gift from Altria Group Inc. to improve the preparation and support of school leaders and to expand education partnerships in the Richmond area. The gift allows the school’s Center for School Improvement to expand its services, infrastructure and community partnerships. CSI partners with school, district, state and national leaders to build organizational instructional capacity to increase student achievement and school accountability.
Chinese soccer officials visit VCU The Center for Sport Leadership at VCU hosted a Chinese youth soccer delegation to learn the sport’s newest training methods. The center organized the July visit in collaboration with the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club, a large local youth soccer organization, and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs provided funding through a $250,000 grant, which will allow an American contingent to travel to China next summer. “The reason the State Department awards these grants is to increase cultural understanding between countries,” says Carrie Le Crom, Ph.D., assistant director of instruction and academic affairs for the center. The Chinese delegation included 13 people — nine youth coaches, three administrators with the Shanghai Football Association and one coach/ administrator. In addition to technical skills, the visit included an emphasis on the life lessons that soccer can offer and how coaches can integrate those lessons into their instruction. A visiting delegation from China watches a player make a save. 6 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Students fill the study stations at the new Cabell Learning Commons area on the second floor of the James Branch Cabell Library.
VCU adds campaign reinvestment fee Joining universities statewide and nationally, on Oct. 1 VCU implemented a 4 percent campaign reinvestment fee on all qualifying gifts to further fund its development and alumni relations efforts. Half of the fee will support centralized advancement efforts on the university level, increasing functionality and efficiency of gift processing, donor stewardship and alumni engagement, as well as helping execute future fundraising campaigns. The remaining 2 percent will support the advancement infrastructure for the school or unit to which the original gift was made. Depending on available resources, some schools and units, including VCU Massey Cancer Center, may opt out of assessing their portion of the fee. As it faces one of the toughest economic scenarios in its history, VCU must raise support for key education and research initiatives. The reinvestment fee is one part of the process. Additionally, VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., and other senior leaders are committed to developing and strengthening relationships with external audiences, such as the General Assembly, alumni and corporate partners.
Grant improves geriatrics training The Virginia Center on Aging in the VCU School of Allied Health Professions received a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration for the development of the Virginia Geriatric Education Center Consortium. A collaborative response to Virginia’s aging population and the shortage of geriatrically trained health care professionals, the new VGEC aims to improve geriatrics training. “This award comes after an intense national competition, so it is confirmation of the strength of our consortium, with VCU as the leading institution,” says Edward Ansello, Ph.D., director of the VCoA and professor in the Department of Gerontology. As project director, the VCoA will partner with the schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Social Work and Nursing at VCU and at partnering consortium member institutions, the University of Virginia and the Eastern Virginia Medical School.
[UNIVERSITY Reading program earns high marks VCU’s AmeriCorps/America Reads effort was recognized as one of the most innovative programs in the country. The program is highlighted in the newest edition of “Transforming Communities through Service: A Collection of 52 of the Most Innovative AmeriCorps Programs in the United States,” which was published by Innovations in Civic Participations and America’s Service Commissions. “This recognition acknowledges that the longterm partnership between VCU and the area public schools has been successful in developing an approach to help children learn to read,” says Catherine W. Howard, Ph.D., vice provost in the Division of Community Engagement. VCU’s 57 AmeriCorps members offer oneon-one and small-group tutoring and mentoring services for nearly 1,000 children at 17 elementary schools and three Boys and Girls Clubs.
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Research report VCU joins nationwide TBI clinical trial VCU Medical Center researchers geared up to participate in a nationwide study of the use of progesterone, a hormone that occurs naturally in the body, to treat patients with an acute, severe traumatic brain injury. The National Institutes of Health Phase III clinical trial, called ProTECT III, is being conducted at 17 institutions across the U.S. The VCU Medical Center is the only participating hospital in Virginia. The study will examine if treatment with progesterone for the first four days following a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, improves the outcome of these patients. Previous studies suggest that progesterone, given immediately after a TBI, might help treat brain injuries by reducing brain swelling and damage.
New hospital enhances pediatric care
Researchers identify new gene in the development of liver cancer
The VCU Health System and Children’s Hospital have joined to become Children’s Hospital of Richmond. The new hospital provides a unified source of comprehensive, coordinated specialty pediatric care to children and their families at 10 locations throughout the greater Richmond area and in Fredericksburg, Va. Children’s Hospital of Richmond provides increased access to all levels of health care for children — from well-child checks to advanced medical and surgical services for serious conditions to long-term care and therapy. More than 350 Children’s Hospital employees join the nearly 1,000 VCU Health System employees dedicated to pediatric care as well as an additional 1,200 health system employees in medical and surgical specialties who care for children and adults.
VCU researchers have identified a new tumor-promoting gene that might play a key role in the development of liver cancer. Levels of the gene’s expression are significantly higher in more than 90 percent of patients with the disease compared with their healthy counterparts. “Researchers have been studying the role of LSF for more than 25 years in fields outside of cancer, but our work is the first demonstration that LSF plays an important role in HCC,” says principal investigator Devanand Sarkar, Ph.D., M.B.B.S., assistant professor in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics in the VCU School of Medicine, Harrison Endowed Scholar in Cancer Research at the VCU Massey Cancer Center and a member of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine. Researchers at the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine found that LSF plays an important role in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and that inhibiting this gene can reverse the aggressive properties of human liver cancer cells. They also have identified the molecular mechanism by which LSF promotes the growth of tumors.
VCU expands transfer student access
When it comes to helping smokers kick the habit, primary-care practices that employ a telephone quitline are better able to help their patients, according to a study conducted by VCU and the Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network. Although telephone quitlines have been found to be effective for counseling and helping smokers quit, relatively few are offered in collaboration with clinicians. In a study published in the April 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the VCU group found that practices with a quitline provided help quitting to 41 percent of smokers who came to the office, compared with only 28 percent of smokers in practices that did not have a referral system in place. “Practices that used a systematic process to ask about smoking, advise tobacco cessation and assess interest in quitting, along with a fax mechanism to refer interested patients to a quitline, were more likely to provide support to help smokers quit, compared with practices that did not have such a system for assessment and referral,” said Stephen Rothemich, M.D., corresponding author of the study and co-director of the Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network in the VCU Department of Family Medicine.
VCU expanded guaranteed-admission agreements with Virginia’s community colleges that will provide more services and make the transition to the four-year university even easier for community college students. The new agreement, effective fall 2011, guarantees that students who complete a General Education certificate at a Virginia community college with at least a 2.5 grade-point average and who meet other eligibility requirements will be admitted to VCU and will have met the core requirements of the university’s undergraduate curriculum. VCU was among the first universities to sign a systemwide guaranteed-admission agreement with Virginia’s community colleges, ensuring admission for eligible students from any of the 23 community colleges.
Using quitlines with physician support improves smoking cessation
Fall 2010 | 7
Through innovative research, university faculty increase their knowledge and understanding of the world as they inspire and enrich their teaching
by Erin Egan
Every day, a new discovery. At Virginia Commonwealth University — designated as a research university with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation — it happens to be true. Every day, faculty members — from professors to physicianscientists — from all schools and units on the Monroe Park Campus and the MCV Campus pool their many talents and resources to engage in scholarship and creative exploration. These individuals mentor undergraduate and graduate students in the quest for answers about subjects ranging from anesthesia to autism, from cancer to crisis communication, from wildlife to Web-based tools, and then translate the results of their findings to the community. What follows represents just some of the exploration occurring across the university, the breadth of which is truly inspiring.
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HE PADDLES GLIDE into the James River with a quiet splash. Cathy Viverette,
research associate at the VCU Center for Environmental Studies; Lesley Bulluck, Ph.D., instructor in the VCU Department of Biology; and Nyla Khan, a senior biology major, maneuver two green canoes on a clear, cloud-free morning at VCU’s Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences. For the next three hours, the three women will visit nearly 50 nest boxes of the prothonotary warbler along the river and take note of nest conditions, bird weight, wing measurements and plumage condition. Viverette serves as the field coordinator for VCU’s Prothonotary Warbler Monitoring Project. Begun in 1987 by retired VCU Department of Biology ornithologists and ecologists Charles Blem, Ph.D., and Leann Blem, Ph.D., the project studies the breeding biology of prothonotary warblers, which had been experiencing a population decline throughout much of the U.S. The birds migrate from coastal Central and South America in the summer and winter. As field coordinator, Viverette oversees banding and data collection for sites located on the James and Appomattox rivers, trains volunteers and students and participates in related outreach activities with the community. Since the project began, more than 26,000 prothonotary warblers have been raised in the nest boxes, steadily increasing the species’ population. The availability of birds makes the project perfect for faculty and undergraduate and graduate students to engage in research. “When you get these large sample sizes, you have freedom to ask a lot of cool questions,” Bulluck says. “The prothonotary warbler project has allowed me to ask a broader set of research questions.” Aside from the obvious perks of the project (“You can’t complain about being out in a canoe on the river on a daily basis,” Viverette says), the project offers numerous opportunities for collaboration. In May 2010, VCU’s Council for Community Engagement awarded a one-year $15,000 grant to “Team Warbler: From Chesapeake Bay to Panama Bay and Back — Cross Cultural Connections Supporting Sustainable Communities,” a partnership among VCU’s departments of Biology and Biostatistics, the Center for Environmental Studies, the National Audubon Society and Panama Audubon Society. The project will create a bird-monitoring and habitat-protection program that partners local middle school students with students in Panama, with coordination and assistance from the Audubon Society’s International Alliance Program. “The prothonotary warbler project has endless possibilities,” Viverette says. “It’s going to keep going and expanding.”
CREATIVE ENERGY CRACKLES in the VCU University Student Commons Commonwealth Ballroom as more than 60 undergraduates present their findings at the second annual Poster Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creativity on April 28, 2010. Among the presenters, Priscilla Witwer, a senior social work major, stands out in her bright red dress. Her project, “Web-based Research on Intercountry Adoption (ICA) Agencies” examines whether agencies’ websites are consistent with the policies of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, specifically with regard to marketing children. “This topic is pretty controversial,” Witwer says. “It’s not what people want to hear when they think about adoption.” Witwer first became interested in the topic while traveling to Guatemala, which, under the guise of intercountry adoption, had unusually high rates of child theft and kidnapping. Using systematic sampling, she selected 100 intercountry adoption placement agencies from the 2009 membership list of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services. From each agency website, Witwer collected content including
Cathy Viverette monitors the breeding habits of the migrant prothonotary warbler along the James River.
Hague accreditation, photo-listing of children, sending countries’ programs utilized by the agency, number of children placed, religious affiliation, humanitarian activities and quality level of the website. Collecting the data proved to be a grueling process because additional questions Witwer posed tripled her hours on the project. Still, she remains pleased with the outcome. The results provide a snapshot of agencies with Web-based storefronts and their compliance to the - Priscilla Witwer, B.S.W. program HCIA as well as characteristics of an industry in transition. The project has fueled a spark in Witwer, who hopes to continue doing research with the goal of getting published in scholarly journals and pursuing a career in academia. “I’m a very inquisitive person,” she says. “My motto is ‘Life is a treasure hunt. Follow the clues.’ Really, life itself is research.”
“Really, life itself is research.”
Fall 2010 | 9
MORE THAN 100 people pack Educational Room 163
at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital on June 14, 2010. The spectators gather to witness six Henrico County high school students with autism spectrum disorder become the first graduates of the Project Search internship program. For a year, instead of attending their regular high school, the students worked in various areas of the hospital on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Project Search, a national program with 150 outlets, assists people with disabilities. This Project Search partnership among VCU, Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, Henrico County Public Schools and the Virginia departments of Rehabilitative Services and Education, provides work-skills training for young adults with autism with the goal of competitive employment. The collaboration in Henrico is the only program in the country that focuses on young people with autism. “This group has been left out of the employment picture,” says Carol Schall, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’03/E), affiliate assistant professor in the VCU School of Education and special education and disability policy director at the Virginia Autism Resource Center, who worked on the project. “When you look at the statistics of people who are employed, it’s much lower for people with autism than every single other disability. That’s one reason this program is so important.”
Brightly colored local anesthetic fills the glass spine teaching tool created by Lukeythia Bastardi (left) and Jill Schroeder.
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Jennifer McDonough (M.S. ’96/AHP), associate director of training at the VCU Rehabilitation Research and Training Center and project coordinator for the Vocational Rehabilitation Service Models for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, serves as the research coordinator for Project Search. With about 1 percent of school-age children having ASD, McDonough says the issue of finding employment for them needs to be addressed. Programs like Project Search can help. “A huge wave of students with autism is coming down the pipeline through the school systems, and we’re really on the edge of that wave,” she says. “What we’re able to figure out and learn will be able to show us best practices for students going forward.” At the start of the internship program in fall 2009, several of the students made little or no eye contact and barely spoke. On graduation day, they confidently express what the program has given them: “Work skills,” “Confidence,” “New friends,” “Love.” The waterworks really flow when the hospital’s human resources representative announces that all six students will be offered employment. “This really is how we have to do our work,” Schall says. “We’re always collaborating. We have to be out in the community. Our work is always out there.”
HE PHOTOGRAPHER’S CAMERA shutter goes off in rapid succession. In front of the lens sit Lukeythia Bastardi and Jill Schroeder, both dual master’s degree and doctoral students in the VCU Department of Nurse Anesthesia. The women pose with a model of “B.E.S.T,” the baricity educational spinal tool they developed as part of the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program. The 3-D model allows users to inject colored local anesthetic into the spinal canal and visualize how anesthetics with varying baricity, or heaviness, move in the spinal canal space. “We wanted something that students could use on a daily basis,” Schroeder says. “We wanted to have a hands-on tool so you could see what would happen when you gave different local anesthetics.” The spine, built to scale, holds 30 milliliters of fluid (a human spinal canal holds 25 to 35 milliliters), follows a human spine’s correct curve and includes tick marks to identify the nerves spaced along the column. The spine sits on a wood block but can move to different positions to mimic possible patient positions. “So much of being a nurse anesthetist is intangible,” Bastardi says. “We’re always trying to find simple things to help teach ourselves. This is something that’s really inexpensive to make. It’s simple and easy to replicate and gets the point across quickly.” Since the project was conceived in January 2010, the glass spine has created much buzz. An image from the photo shoot may appear in a future issue of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal. In March 2010, Bastardi and Schroeder presented the spine at the Nurse Anesthesiology Faculty Associates summit in Snowshoe, W.Va. They exhibited the spine at the 13th annual Graduate Student Symposium and Exhibit, an event that highlights grad students’ scholarly work and research, at the University Student Commons on April 20, 2010. In August, a poster presentation of the spine also was exhibited at the AANA annual meeting. Bastardi and Schroeder knew the project was a hit when fellow nurse anesthetists lauded their model. Perhaps the most telling comment came at a conference on regional anesthesia. “Everybody thought it was great,” Schroeder says. “One guy said the only problem was that he didn’t think of it first.”
Alton Hart, M.D., M.P.H., recruits African-American barbershops for prostate cancer education.
“In terms of community-based research, it’s extremely important to have community partners.” – Alton Hart, M.D., M.P.H., VCU Department of Internal Medicine, VCU Massey Cancer Center and VCU Center on Health Disparities
EVERAL ACTORS GATHER at the Unique Barbershop in Richmond, Va., to film a scene from “It’s a Big Decision,” a video produced to educate African-American men about prostate cancer and the potential benefits and uncertainties about prostate cancer screening. Watching the action from the sidelines stands the video’s creator, Alton Hart, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor with joint appointments in the VCU Department of Internal Medicine and the Massey Cancer Center and associate scientific director of VCU’s Center on Health Disparities. The film shoot represents the culmination of work supported by a five-year mentored career development grant from the American Cancer Society to develop an interactive decision-making aid. Connecting his research interest in health disparities with a culturally relevant and appropriate setting for reaching African-American men, Hart — with the help of a community advisory council made up of barbershop proprietors — developed a network of 24 shops in the Richmond area open to participating in research. The council reviewed Hart’s protocols, consent forms and documents. “I found having the barbershop advisory council to be a valuable resource,” Hart says. “In terms of community-based research, it’s extremely important to have community partners.” The first two parts of the project involved interviewing and surveying 240 men. Interviews with 40 of the men formed the basis for the video’s format. In addition to scenes with men in the barbershop talking about a barber with prostate problems and family members discussing the disease, the video features information such as technical explanations of procedures, benefits and risks. “It’s providing information in an entertaining way,” Hart says. “It was set to keep the viewer engaged and keep it moving along.” The computer-based decision-making aid could be housed in barbershops and physicians’ offices or on the American Cancer Society website. The latest prostate cancer screening guidelines from the American Cancer Society recommend that men have a chance to make an informed decision with their doctor about whether to be screened for prostate cancer. Hart says the guidelines suggest that a decision aid might be an appropriate way to provide this information. “So the timing is really, really great,” he says.
NSIDE SNEAD HALL’S Capital Markets Center, Dan Salandro, Ph.D., associate professor, and Cory Bunting, the center’s associate director, sit in front of a 30-foot-wide video screen as it flashes Bloomberg News, a stock ticker and ratings from Standard and Poor’s. The two Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate professors in the VCU School of Business banter back and forth, their warm rapport quickly evident. The duo’s easygoing manner served them well while working together. Two years ago, the folks at ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions, a national nonprofit credit counseling company, approached Salandro and asked for his help in assessing their industry. [Full disclosure: Salandro sits on the board of directors at ClearPoint.] Initially, Salandro and Bunting recruited four graduate students to work on the industry study project. Then they took the results and expanded the research themselves. The two professors sensed that consumer credit counseling should have some correlation with the economic cycle. As the economic cycle declines and unemployment increases, consumers would increasingly find themselves in financial difficulty and would seek credit counseling services. “We just wanted to verify that our assumptions were correct,” Bunting says.
Salandro and Bunting looked at numerous data and developed correlations among revenues and profits and the economic cycle. Much as they suspected, there was a very strong connection. “What we discovered was that the correlation came with a lag,” Bunting says. “So in a sense, consumers were reluctant to seek credit counseling and they lagged the economic cycle.” The two are now in the process of building a more lengthy data set. Nevertheless, they presented their findings at ClearPoint’s annual board meeting. The company found the information important because it will help them with staffing needs, fundraising and cost containment efforts. The chance to work on the project excited and inspired Salandro, who has compiled abundant research in his 21 years at VCU. “The kind of research I’ve been involved in is standard research that finance folks do,” he says. “A lot of useful information comes out of it, but with this project I enjoyed doing something that’s more quickly useful.” For his part, Bunting, a longtime Wall Street veteran, relished the idea of sinking his teeth into a new area of interest — and the chance to join forces with Salandro. “He’s got tremendous academic credentials and I come from industry, so it’s a good collaboration,” he says. Fall 2010 | 11
HE SIX MODULES in the second-floor lab of the Goodwin Research Laboratory hum with activity as 20 researchers move from fume hoods to incubators to centrifuge machines, carefully handling leukemia cells. The nonstop action occurs in the lab of Steven Grant, M.D., professor of medicine, biochemistry and pharmacology, who holds the Shirley Carter Olsson and Sture Gordon Olsson Chair in Oncology at the VCU Massey Cancer Center and serves as associate director of translational research for Massey. One of Grant’s most recent projects involves a Phase I clinical trial for patients with acute forms of leukemia, partially subsidized by a $1.2 million National Cancer Society Grand Opportunities grant. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, “GO” grants support research that is ready to “go” from the laboratory to patients through early phase clinical trials. The study employs two novel, targeted agents, belinostat and bortezomib, in combination to develop a new therapeutic approach for treating acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemias; blast crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia; and myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS. Grant’s team is collaborating with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. Grant, whose team has extensive experience leading such multi-institutional trials, says partnerships with other NCI-designated cancer centers benefit all involved.
Yan Jin, Ph.D., offers a model for harnessing social media to communicate through a crisis.
12 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
“We form alliances,” Grant says. “In that way, many institutions can participate in these trials, and we have the opportunity to explore many new concepts. Our philosophy is that the more concepts we test, the greater the likelihood that one or two of them will turn into a meaningful advance in cancer therapy.” The basis for the clinical trial stems from preclinical evidence developed by Yun Dai, M.D., Ph.D., a Massey researcher and assistant professor of hematology and oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine. A long-standing member of Grant’s lab, Dai remains energized to come to work each day. He often writes down ideas to test in the lab. “If it works, that’s the most exciting thing for me as a researcher,” he says. “If something’s not what I expected, at least it gave me a clue leading me in another direction.” Beata Holkova, M.D., assistant professor of hematology and oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine and a Massey researcher, joined Grant’s group two years ago when the leukemia project was just getting off the ground. Based on Grant’s preclinical data, she wrote the protocol for the Phase I clinical trial. Holkova feels extremely fortunate to join her colleagues in such a significant study. “To be a part of grant writing, designing the protocol, going through protocol-approval process, enrolling the first patient and conducting this trial at a multi-institutional level is really exciting,” she says. “Obviously this is the result of great teamwork.”
AN JIN, PH.D., assistant professor of public relations in the VCU School of Mass Communications, waits in her office on the second floor of the T. Edward Temple Building for the phone to ring. At any moment, Brooke Fisher Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Maryland, will be calling. The two women, who met in graduate school at the University of Missouri, reconnected at an academic conference. The chance meeting spurred them to collaborate on the “Blog Mediated Crisis Communication Model,” a new theoretical framework in understanding crisis communications in the blogosphere. Their paper on the subject was accepted for publication in the Journal of Public Relations Research later this year. “We’re both interested in knowing that, given all this evolution of media, what does this mean to crisis communication?” says Jin, whose area of interest focuses on the role human emotions play in crisis communications and conflict management, particularly among public relations leaders and the public during crisis situations. The two conducted an extensive literature review to see what other researchers reported about crisis communications and social media, whether information was dispersed via a blog or through Facebook, for example. Jin and Liu found many case studies describing how people were using social media and how companies have utilized different functions of social media, but no theoretical piece addressing a framework that could be applied to different organizations when they experience a disaster, accident or reputational threat. “There’s something common behind all those incidents,” Jin says. “There’s something we believe could be more beneficial in providing reference for decision-makers and practitioners in general.” Jin and Liu will move ahead with in-depth interviews, experiments and surveys to test the model. “Give it a few more months and we can really tighten up this model with all the empirical data from different research methodologies,” Jin says. Jin’s funding comes from various sources, including an internal grant from the College of Humanities and Sciences and an external grant from The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, a research center based at the University of Alabama. Her research efforts earned her the College’s Excellence in Research Award in 2008. “This is something I really want to do,” Jin says of her research. “It just feels natural.”
ASAL PUNS FLY at the meeting of the “Nose Study Group” in the Molecular
Medicine Research Building. Once the laughs diminish, the group, which thrives on strong, black coffee served in mugs with “mucus” printed on them, gets down to the business at hand, which — not surprisingly — focuses on the nose. Bruce K. Rubin, M.Engr., M.D., M.B.A., FRCPC, the Jessie Ball duPont Professor and chair of the VCU Department of Pediatrics, physician-in-chief of Children’s Hospital of Richmond and professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, co-directs the 12-member group, with Kelley Dodson, M.D., assistant professor in the VCU Department of Otolaryngology, and P. Worth Longest, Ph.D., who holds joint appointments as Qimonda associate professor in the VCU Department of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics. For a group that began convening in January 2010, its progress is nothing to sneeze at. Each of the group leaders has been awarded independent research funding to study new medications for chronic rhinosinusitis, mathematical modeling of the nasal passage and trachea in health and disease, the effects of humidity on nasal mucus clearance, ways to improve the comfort of nasal CPAP and devices to suction excess mucus from the airway. The team discusses plans to model the airways, with Longest working on a model of a nose complete with sinuses and artificial mucus and Dodson looking into disorders such as post-headand-neck irradiation, empty nose syndrome and chronic sinusitis. Rubin highlights the work of Soichiro Kano, M.D., M.P.H., a postdoctoral fellow from Japan, who evaluates drugs that alter inflammatory response. Kano discovered that a rarely used antibiotic, when dispensed in a very low dose, has a profound effect on chronic inflammation. Tsuyoshi Tanabe, M.D., M.P.H., a second postdoctoral fellow also from Japan, investigates the cause of a rare disorder that affects children, plastic bronchitis, in which the body makes so much mucus that the airway tubes fill up. Patients cannot breathe and doctors pull out the whole bronchial tree. The international registry for this rare disease resides in Rubin’s lab, as do several of these mucus casts. “We have a very interesting freezer,” Rubin says. The word is out that this multidisciplinary group, which also includes an allergist and a radiologist, focuses on the study of nasal and sinus disease. This has led to collaborations within the university as well as interest from outside companies. “People started coming to us with an interest in working with us and that’s nice,” Dodson says. Rubin revels in mentoring his team and guiding them to identify other promising and radical avenues that might lead to treatment. “We’re making connections,” he says.
AT 7 P.M. ON a summer evening, 15 women filter into the mirrored exercise room of the Neighborhood Resource Center in the Fulton Hill area of Richmond, Va. The teacher welcomes the class and begins to lead them in a series of movements in the mind-body practice of tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art. The scene might seem like a typical workout session, but it embodies the results of a research project launched by Jo Lynne Robins, Ph.D., RN (M.S. 91/N; Ph.D. ‘99/N), assistant professor in the VCU School of Nursing. In 2009, the VCU Institute for Women’s Health awarded Robins a $10,000 community-based research grant to improve the health of women in the Richmond area for her project, “Exploring the feasibility and acceptability of a novel tai chi program for stress management in women.” The 12-week tai chi intervention enrolled 22 women and retained 12 of them for the entire session. Good numbers, Robins says, considering the program required an after-work commitment from busy women. “The intervention was well-received,” she says. “People found it to be beneficial, the
practice piece and the cognitive piece, as well as the gathering with women to discuss stresses, how they cope and how they find time in their lives to care for themselves.” Because the Neighborhood Resource Center wanted to expand holistic health options and stress management, tai chi appealed to its staff. The project’s focus all along was to help the center create and sustain its own program so that it would be available for the community. A longtime practitioner of tai chi who has taught numerous people the martial art, Robins delighted in her roles as instructor and investigator. “It had a much more family feel than a regular clinical trial would have,” she says. “They really embraced me in the community and were excited about what I brought.” One serendipitous outcome of the research included learning about community-based participatory research and experiencing what Robins calls “the blessing” of being paired with the Neighborhood Resource Center. “I just can’t say enough about them,” she says. “It will be a place that I will continue to do work and volunteer. It just hooks you.”
A pediatric pulmonary expert, Bruce K. Rubin, M.Engr., M.D., M.B.A., FRCPC, and his team explore new therapies for chronic lung diseases.
PRIP provides funding for faculty research Announced in March 2010, the VCU Presidential Research Incentive Program affords all VCU faculty members the opportunity to apply for internal funding to support new, emerging or continuing research. Grounded in the commitment to develop and boost faculty scholarship by VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., PRIP provides new opportunities for VCU faculty to expand their research interests while enhancing the research enterprise across the institution. In August, 22 awards were announced in the inaugural round of competition for research grants under PRIP. The support given will help colleagues across the university gain better position for major external research funding. Future rounds of PRIP competition will be ongoing. For more information about PRIP and research at VCU, visit
www.research.vcu.edu.
Erin Egan is a contributing writer for Shafer Court Connections. Fall 2010 | 13
One of a kind VCU’s annual symposium on architectural history and the decorative arts gives students a forum to share their research on a national stage — an opportunity they won’t find anywhere else in the U.S.
By Polly Roberts
14 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
For most art history undergraduate and graduate students throughout the country, the moment of truth in many classes comes when they turn in their research paper and receive a grade. But to a select group of Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts students, finishing their research papers is just one piece of a learning puzzle that’s only complete after they share their knowledge with other scholars and enthusiasts during VCU’s annual symposium on architectural history and the decorative arts, held in November at the Virginia Historical Society. “VCU is the only American university that has a nationally advertised annual symposium purely to show off the work of its own students in architectural history and the decorative arts,” says art history professor Charles E. Brownell, Ph.D., who founded the symposium in 1993 as a way for his students to learn the difference between writing a paper to be read and writing a paper to be presented. At symposiums of similar caliber throughout the U.S., presenters include established scholars and experts in the field. At VCU, graduate — and sometimes undergraduate — students get an early start to hone their craft. “It’s a rigorous program,” Brownell says. “Someone who goes through this is prepared to be a professional. They can research topics on architectural history, decoration, preservation, urban planning — and they’re prepared to get up and talk.” The student-centered symposium has no trouble attracting an audience diverse in location (Deep South, New England, Midwest) and background (doctors, lawyers, history buffs). Nearly 400 people attended the 2009 symposium. Regular attendee Calder Loth, who served as the state’s senior architectural historian for 41 years and now works part time for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, says the original research of students continues to impress him. “They turn up a lot about architecture, the makers, who was involved,” he says. “It’s invaluable research that my office doesn’t always have time to do. It’s a big supplement for our work.” For example, a past symposium presentation made Loth and his staff aware of the cast-iron firebacks found in homes throughout Richmond’s Fan District. Now they can use that information when preserving historic buildings. The symposium papers represent two semesters (fall and spring) of research, plus six months of the students rehearsing, revising and working closely with Brownell to perfect their 25-minute presentations, complete with images and illustrations.
Brownell says the success of the program wouldn’t be possible During this process, four-time presenter Susan Hume Frazer (Ph.D. ’01/A) says she gained invaluable skills while researching a without VCU’s “open-air museum” — the blocks of mansions along Franklin Street that date back to 1890 or earlier. variety of topics, including Richmond architect D. Wiley Anderson. “We have enough research topics in our historic buildings to keep “I was encouraged to explore all types of sources,” she says. “I traveled all over to see buildings, how they stood, how they were being you busy the rest of your life,” he says. “I’ve been here 18 years and it just gets better. We use what we have at VCU used. I talked to the people who worked in and to study national and international themes, and used them to determine how the buildings “The fantastic thing about what really packs the wallop.” stood the test of time.” architectural research as that’s Finding the hidden gems in those buildings That combination, says 2009 presenter and introducing them to the preservation comAllison Frew (B.A. ’10/A), is what makes opposed to bioresearch brings a sense of accomplishment to architectural research so unique. or medicine is that we get munity Brownell’s students. “The fantastic thing about architectural “That’s where the satisfaction comes from,” research as opposed to bioresearch or medi- to experience the space Frazer says. “You know what you’re doing is going cine is that we get to experience the space we we are in. That kind of to really last, ultimately saving or discovering are in,” she says. “That kind of emotional and something important to the field.” perceptual response to space adds a whole level emotional and perceptual the sharing of knowledge doesn’t of knowledge to your research … you feel a response to space adds a endIndeed, with the symposium. The student research really deep satisfaction with knowing how to papers that serve as the basis for the presentations look at something and appreciate all these dif- whole level of knowledge live on for reference in the Special Collections ferent aspects of it that create this one thing to your research.” and Archives at VCU’s James Branch Cabell that means something to you.” In 2009, Frew presented her research on – Allison Frew, Class of 2010, Library. “It’s so other researchers can use it and so Palladian windows in the Fan. Before the VCU School of the Arts nothing gets lost,” says Brownell, promptly symposium, she says she was very happy and honored — and very nervous. This year, when she speaks about Ionic chanting one of his mottos. “Don’t keep it to yourself. 2-4-6-8. It’s columns from the Renaissance in Italy to the Colonial Revival in the really great to radiate.” The total number of Brownell student papers in Special Collections Fan District, she will enter the symposium as a veteran with a more and Archives stands at more than 300 … and counting. confident attitude. “I learned how I have these really great ideas, and now I can intelligently speak about them to other people and convey them,” Frew says. “That is Polly Roberts is a contributing writer for Shafer Court Connections. the best skill that I’ve learned from the symposium — in addition to the research and travel — that will benefit me for the rest of my career.” The symposium also serves as a forum for the preservation community to make connections. After the symposium, Frew gave a VCU’s 18th annual symposium on architectural history presentation to the Fan District Association and learned even more and the decorative arts will take place Nov. 19, 2010, from the neighborhood’s residents. at the Virginia Historical Society. For more information, For Frazer, the contacts and exposure she gained at the symposium led to a publishing deal for her to research and write “The Architecture call (804) 828-2784. of William Lawrence Bottomley.” To view the architectural resources in the “That says a lot about the program,” she says. “You gain confidence among those in the community, you meet them, they become your friends and then they support you later.”
library’s Special Collections and Archives, visit www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/vcuarch.html.
Fall 2010 | 15
record By Polly Roberts
Eight VCU students and alumni, representing a variety of programs, receive Fulbright Scholarships — the most ever for the university in a single academic year
16 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
When Jeff Wing, Virginia Commonwealth University’s national scholarship director, began reviewing the Fulbright Student Scholarship applicants for the 2010-11 academic year, he knew VCU had something special. “They are an extraordinary group of candidates,” he says of the 20 applicants. Wing’s instincts proved right when, in spring 2010, eight VCU students and alumni learned that they had received the prestigious scholarship, giving the university a 40 percent acceptance rate — double the national average — and its largest number of Fulbright Student Scholars ever in a single academic year. The recipients — who include graduating seniors, graduate students and alumni from a variety of programs — will study, conduct research, teach or collaborate on artistic projects abroad for up to one year. “They truly reflect the diversity of VCU,” Wing says. “To have a world-class institution in the biomedical fields and a world-class institution in the arts is a bit of an anomaly. Not a lot of universities bring that same diversity of interests into play.” Since 2005, VCU has produced 14 Fulbright Student Scholars. This year’s class includes biology graduate student Philip Shirk, who will travel to Tanzania to study the ecology and potential effects of harvesting on chameleons in the East Usambara Mountains. “I would really like to meet a lot of other scientists — in Tanzania and those from other foreign countries — to get to know them, what they’re doing and to become more familiar with what it’s like to do longterm research in another country without easy access to the resources we’re accustomed to here in the U.S.,” Shirk says.
VCU student receives Goldwater Scholarship Earlier this year, VCU senior and biology major Christopher Pang received the Goldwater Scholarship, the premier national scholarship for undergraduate math, science and engineering students. Pang became the university’s seventh Goldwater Scholar since 2006. These scholars are selected based on academic merit and the potential to pursue a research career. The oneand two-year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. (From left to right) Alison Alexander, Laura Baker, Kerry Lucinda Brown, Tennessee Dixon, Tarfia Faizullah, HaNa Kim, Aaron Kunk and Philip Shirk
The eight Fulbright Student Scholars and their research interests are: •
Alison Alexander (M.U.R.P. ’10/GPA), who will research the effects of politics on public spaces in Germany
•
Laura Baker (M.U.R.P. ’09/GPA), who will examine sustainability in the spatial planning process in Ireland
•
Kerry Lucinda Brown, a doctoral candidate in art history who will travel to Nepal to further her research in South Asian and Himalayan art
•
Tennessee Dixon, an M.F.A. student in scene design who will pursue creative collaborations with two contemporary dance companies in Budapest, Hungary
•
Tarfia Faizullah (M.F.A. ’09/H&S), who will write poems based on recorded testimonies of Bangladeshi birangona (war heroines) taken as sex slaves during the war for independence in the 1970s
•
HaNa Kim, a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology who will examine self-concept in South Korean adolescent cancer survivors
•
Aaron Kunk, an education graduate student who will serve as a teaching assistant in an English classroom in Germany and continue his research on music pedagogy
•
Philip Shirk, who will study the ecology and potential effects of harvesting on chameleons in Tanzania’s East Usambara Mountains
“Teaching is an important part of promoting research. Students are encouraged to think more broadly about research, put it into international context.” – Jeff Wing, VCU National Scholarship Office
Pang’s research in the School of Medicine’s Department of Human and Molecular Genetics focuses on understanding gene expression in erythroid cells. He hopes that his research ultimately will lead to new ways to treat patients with hemoglobinopathies, such as sickle cell disease. Pang also founded and organized a medical science internship program for high school students at VCU and is the founding editor-in-chief of “Auctus: Research and Creative Scholarship Journal at VCU,” an annual publication that promotes and showcases the products of VCU students’ scholarly pursuits.
In addition to the student recipients, VCU faculty members received four Fulbright Scholarships and a Fulbright grant for the 2010-11 academic year: Kevin Beanland, Ph.D., mathematics and applied mathematics assistant professor; Paul Bukaveckas, Ph.D., biology associate professor; Wendy Kliewer, Ph.D., psychology professor; Marie E. Anzalone, Sc.D., occupational therapy assistant professor; and Timothy Bajkiewicz, Ph.D., mass communications associate professor. Wing attributes much of VCU’s Fulbright success to the eagerness of the faculty to engage students in research. “It’s not necessarily research at the expense of teaching,” he says. “Teaching is an important part of promoting research. Students are encouraged to think more broadly about research, put it into international context.” Now eight VCU students will travel abroad to continue to learn through research. “This is, to some extent, a watershed year,” Wing says. “Success breeds success. The best students in any program can apply for Fulbright, if they have an interest and international aspirations.” Shirk says he expects student application numbers to grow. “It still takes a good project and a lot of work toward your application,” he says, “but when students start to see people they know or people at their school who can do it, they’ll be encouraged to go out and do the same thing.”
Polly Roberts is a contributing writer for Shafer Court Connections. Fall 2010 | 17
[ FAC E
t o FAC E
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The innovator:
VCU director celebrates one year at the helm of a thriving university center
Kenneth Kahn, Ph.D., became the inaugural director of the Virginia Commonwealth University da Vinci Center for Innovation in August 2009. In just one year, Kahn has expanded and transformed the center that bridges the gaps between the arts, business and engineering disciplines. Student teams collaborate throughout the semester on real-world projects posed by companies throughout the Richmond metropolitan area. The center provides opportunities outside the classroom for VCU students as they “learn and do innovation,” Kahn says. “If you participate with da Vinci, you truly get an experience that you won’t get in a typical class.” Kahn recently sat down to talk about how the da Vinci Center has grown and plans he’s already started to implement. As director, what are your goals for the da Vinci Center and how do you hope to reach them? My goal is to make the da Vinci Center a national model for a center of innovation at a university. This idea isn’t new but it’s still very novel for universities. The immediate goal is to make the da Vinci Center sustainable and that includes ensuring that we have sponsors every semester for our projects and that we have a very solid curriculum. When I got here, we had the da Vinci Project course. I thought that we shouldn’t just have a stand-alone course but a whole program around the topic. So now we are creating a whole program — a curriculum — around innovation. We had an undergrad curriculum and certificate program launched this fall and hopefully a Master of Product Innovation in fall 2011. In the future, who knows, maybe we’ll do something at the doctoral level. How are the students grouped to take on product development projects and design challenges? We try our best to balance each project with two arts, two business and two engineering students. We’re creating interdisciplinary teams versus multidisciplinary teams. There is a very keen difference. Multidisciplinary is when you have representatives from different disciplines but then you take 18 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
the project on from your own lens. Da Vinci students work together on what may be disciplinary problems but from an interdisciplinary perspective. Why is the collaboration between the disciplines of arts, engineering and business important? Product concepts reflect the three elements of form, function and benefit. Form pertains to aesthetics and human factors, including how the product relates to the customer or user. This is very much an art aspect. Function concerns technology and how the product operates. This is very much an engineering aspect. Benefit addresses what the customer wants and articulating the product in such a way so customers can understand it. Benefit also may clarify the opportunity for the company. This is very much a business aspect. Form, function and benefit are elements that arts, engineering and business students help to achieve; jointly arts, engineering and business students achieve a total product concept. What is an interesting project that students created? There was a group of six students that were tasked to design a space to teach innovation for K through 12th-graders at the Science Museum of Virginia. Students created three distinct spaces: an idea generation space, a collaboration space and a prototype
space. The science museum took their design and built it this past summer as a permanent exhibit. Some of the students were even hired part time to work with the contractor as they built this space. How can the da Vinci Center aid in establishing VCU as a research university? If you want to study the innovation process, why not use da Vinci as a laboratory? We have two- to four-student teams working on product development projects every semester. This affords us the opportunity to observe how that process works and how teams really behave. We have the teaching aspect, the learning aspect and are now working to develop the research aspect. What role do companies in Richmond have with the da Vinci Center? It’s a way for companies to engage with the VCU community and observe the students. My intent also is to help people network and have the da Vinci Center be a focal point. While the da Vinci Center is at VCU, it’s also about the city of Richmond. Through the center, I think we can connect people and companies to create an innovation network. If we can do this, we’ll help spur innovation regionally and that’s really what the da Vinci Center can do. It truly is a center for innovation.
Interview conducted by Kelli Anderson, a contributing writer for Shafer Court Connections.
[MY
New voices
COLLEGE TOWN
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Peter Feddo overlooks Richmond’s Boulevard, the subject of his blog, Boulevardizen.
Hyperlocal blogs alert neighbors of the news By Kim Witt
Richmond’s newest journalists hunt down their next big story while out walking their dog, shopping at the grocery store or chatting with their neighbors. Across the city, residents are taking part in a growing trend toward hyperlocal news targeted to a specific geographic area. Many news sites take the form of a neighborhood blog, such as Boulevardizen, founded in 2007 by Joe Schilling (M.B.A. ’09/B) and Peter Feddo, who attended Virginia Commonwealth University from 2001-05 as an information systems major. The website covers the neighborhoods along the Boulevard — from The Diamond to Byrd Park — including the Museum District, the Fan and Carytown. “The site fills an important gap between the news that the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other local media outlets don’t adequately fill,” Feddo says. “When people come to my site, they know what they’re getting is relevant to them, and I will give it to them straight up and as quickly as possible.” VCU’s School of Mass Communications also supports the pro-am — or professional-amateur — model of journalism. With funds from a New Voices grant administered by J-Lab, an organization that promotes high-tech news experiments to engage communities, and supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the school worked with the Fulton Hill community to start the Greater Fulton News website. VCU mass communications students were tasked with contributing content to the site and faculty supported the program by holding monthly journalism workshops for community members that covered topics such as writing skills, interviewing, shooting photos and video, and website maintenance. “News looks easy to generate, but when you get right down to it, it can be difficult to sit down and distill your thoughts into 300 words,” says Jeff South, associate professor in
the School of Mass Communications. “Sometimes it’s tough to get people over that barrier.” As more readers of the Fulton Hill site turned into contributors, the content began to reflect the varied interests of the community’s residents. One revealing and moving article showed pictures of the Fulton neighborhood before it was razed in the 1970s after flooding. “Younger community members and leaders had no idea how devastating it was until reading the article,” says Bridgette Huff, a Greater Fulton News contributor. “It pushed the community dialogue in a different direction, just as new urban renewal and construction projects were getting under way.” Feddo agrees that the blog’s format welcomes a solutionoriented dialogue. “I can inject a certain amount of opinion and use it as more of an advocacy platform,” he says. “A lot of news organizations would prefer to be more objective, but I think, as a member of the community, I can take a nonobjective position because I want the neighborhood to be a better place.” South explains that the Fulton Hill site’s emphasis on improvement is evident in the success of fundraising events, community meetings and fruitful discussion about crime prevention and public safety. “We wanted to get people more engaged, whether with neighborhood watch or participation in civic activities,” he says. “We wanted to foster community building and start a dialogue about enhancing the community and environment.” Visit Greater Fulton News at http://greaterfultonnews.org and Boulevardizen at www.boulevardizen .com, or find a list of Richmond-area blogs at http://rvablogs.com.
Kim Witt is a contributing writer for Shafer Court Connections.
Fall 2010 | 19
20 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
THE
PICTURE
BATTLE BOTS > The Stags, a team from Martinsville, Va., battle in the
FIRST Robotics Competition Virginia Regional, an annual engineering challenge held at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Stuart C. Siegel Center. With VCU engineering students serving as mentors, more than 60 high school teams from five states design, build and program a robot, before premiering at the competition to a crowd of 3,000.
Fall 2010 | 21
Groundbrea generosity Philanthropic support creates opportunities for faculty to engage students in research
By Melanie Irvin Solaimani
ewly minted Ph.D. graduate Ev Worthington embarked on his career in the fledgling Counseling Psychology Program at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1978. He jumped at the chance to help shape a program and to enjoy significant interaction with undergraduate students. He also liked the diversity of VCU’s student body. Today, VCU’s Counseling Psychology Program in the College of Humanities and Sciences is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Worthington has developed a robust body of research on forgiveness, other virtues — humility, mercy, justice, gratitude — and religious and spiritual issues in families, individual life and society. “Now, I am also exceptionally impressed with the idealistic commitment VCU students have to making a difference in the world. I couldn’t be at a better place,” he says. Much of Worthington’s research has been funded through private giving. Most recently, he received grants from the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Fetzer Institute, which aims to “foster the awareness of the power of love and forgiveness.”
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Following the scientist-practitioner-leader model of training, students play a major role in Worthington’s research. “My students are simply exceptionally bright and hard-working colleagues who serve as primary authors of most of the research I’m fortunate enough to collaborate with them in doing,” he says. “We publish a lot, so the students get to be part of making science actually happen.” That student involvement in academic research not only helps students develop confidence and critical thinking skills but also benefits the university as a whole by creating an engaged student body. “Students report that they learn to work independently and gain experience in how to handle uncertainty as they work on problems that may have no clear solutions,” says Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D. “Research mentorship is a powerful relationship for both the faculty member and the student. At VCU, the pursuit of new knowledge is a team approach, where faculty members work collaboratively with colleagues, undergraduate, graduate and professional students.”
aking y Jeff Jennings, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and works with Worthington, echoes Warren’s assessment. “Being able to work with Dr. Worthington really gives me the opportunity to see what good science is. The most important skill I’ve acquired is to be a more critical thinker,” he says. “Dr. Worthington takes time with students and really invests in them. He sees it as his role to mentor his students and really teach them how to do what he does.” In addition, Warren values the investment made by private sources and underscores the critical impact that generosity has on the university and its students’ development. “Engaging in academic research can be costly. Donor-funded research expands opportunities for faculty and students and often provides funding for community-engaged research that may not be well funded through state and federal sources,” she says. “Donors often have a passion for particular areas of interest that blend well with vital research focusing on solutions to real-world problems.” Donor-funded research is prevalent throughout the university. For example, Altria supports fellowships for out-of-state graduate
research assistants in the chemistry department; Marjorie and Charles Cooke support the Melissa Lynn Rowley Memorial Fund for head and neck cancer research at the VCU Massey Cancer Center; and a bequest from a former high school teacher funds the Inez Caudill Eminent Professor of Biomedical Engineering and supports the pioneering flow control, fluid mechanics and disaster science research of Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, Ph.D. For Worthington, such generosity is crucial. “I believe that donors can catch the vision of a scientist’s work and can get a strong feeling of being truly able to multiply their own resources to change the world for the better,” he says. “Private support has placed me in contact with many scientific and political world leaders, which I hope has played a role in bringing forgiveness into the world. That is my life mission: to do all I can to promote forgiveness in every willing heart, home and homeland.” To help support research at VCU, contact Thomas C. Burke (B.S. ’79/E; M.P.A. ’95/H&S), executive director of the VCU Foundation, at (804) 828-3958 or tcburke@vcu.edu.
Melanie Irvin Solaimani (B.S. ’96/MC) is director of development and alumni communications at VCU.
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myTuition The university brings students into the conversation, responds to questions about the cost of higher education By Jamie Stillman
The myTuition website answers many of the questions raised following the university’s recent tuition increase such as: • How is my tuition determined? • What’s new for me?
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his past summer, Virginia Commonwealth University launched a new online resource to help students and their parents understand the costs of higher education. Developed jointly by staff and students, the myTuition website at www.mytuition.vcu.edu provides an overview of the various facets of tuition revenue and allocation as well as an easy-to-access link to more detailed information. “Initially, a lot of students did not understand why there was such a substantial tuition increase,” says Adele McClure, a senior business major and president of the VCU Student Government Association. “They wanted to know why tuition increased and where the money was going. Transparency is the key to alleviating this general feeling among the student body.” In May, McClure, Tobias Guennel, a biostatistics major and president of the VCU Graduate Student Association, and several other student leaders met with Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D., and John C. Doswell II, D.D.S., chair of the VCU Board of Visitors’ Student Affairs 24 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
• How does VCU compare with other schools? • Where does my money go? • How can I get help?
Committee, to discuss student sentiment about the tuition increase. “It was an outstanding meeting with a focus on ensuring that the students’ perspectives were heard,” Warren says. “The students thanked us for keeping them informed and basically said ‘Keep the dialogue going.’ They asked the administration to work with them to keep students in the loop about how their tuition dollars were being used now and into the future.” Although the university had maintained minimal increases throughout its 42-year history, the significant decline in financial resources from the commonwealth made this year’s increase an essential, yet
difficult, decision, according to VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “The board took this action only after careful deliberation and after considering at length the impact it might have on continuing and entering students,” he says. Rao noted that even after the increase in tuition, which is part of an $892 million operating budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, VCU’s tuition is still below average for the state’s 15 four-year institutions. The increase was a critical step to ensuring the quality of the VCU degree, representing a new focus on setting priorities for more faculty, course sections and student financial aid. “These are investments in student success,” he says. “More faculty and class sections mean that students are able to graduate on time with a quality education.” A portion of the revenue from the tuition increase was earmarked for 2010-11 to more than double the financial aid available to students,
VCU students (left) return to the university for the start of the fall 2010 semester. First-year medical students (above) gather before the 2010 White Coat Ceremony, where they mark their entry into the VCU School of Medicine. Banners (right) hang from lampposts in Linden Court highlighting VCU traditions and events.
bringing support more in line with what is offered at other doctoral institutions and allowing VCU to be more competitive with other universities and colleges. “Everyone pays for a college education differently,” says Brenda Burke, interim director of financial aid for VCU. “Students use a combination of federal and state grants, government and private loans, private and university scholarships, student employment programs or veterans benefits to pay their expenses. At VCU, we also have needbased grant programs for students who do well academically or whose family income is considered to be at the poverty level,” she says. Another concern for students is the ability to enroll in the courses they need to stay on track toward completion of their degrees. “Some students find that they aren’t able to graduate on time because of ‘bottleneck’ courses — those courses that large numbers of students must successfully complete in order to move forward in their programs, including courses that are specialized, upper-level courses in the major,” says James Mays, assistant dean for undergraduate academic
affairs in the College of Humanities and Sciences. “Others find that they are limited in their choices for core education courses.” To date, 57 full-time faculty have been hired on the Monroe Park Campus specifically to meet the demands for these courses. Just in the College of Humanities and Sciences, which is the university’s largest academic unit, additional sections have been added for Basic Human Anatomy (BIOL 205), Medical Microbiology Laboratory (BIOZ 209), Principles of Nutrition (BIOL 217), Biochemistry I (CHEM 403), Organic Chemistry and Laboratory (CHEM/Z 301-302), Life Span Developmental Psychology (PSYC 304), Psychology of the Abnormal (PSYC 407), interdisciplinary science courses (INSC 301, 310), Calculus with Analytic Geometry (MATH 200-201), statistics (STAT 208, 312, 314, 541) and numerous upper-level courses in English, forensic science, mathematics, political science, criminal justice, and homeland security and emergency preparedness. “All of these courses are offered through the college,” Mays says. “But these courses also address needs for other programs outside the college, for example, pre-health science programs, health, physical education and exercise science, life sciences, nursing, social work, engineering, liberal studies for early and elementary education, and interdisciplinary science.” To address core education pressures, approximately 2,700 additional seats have been made available in core education courses for fall 2010 compared with the enrollments last year at this time. McClure had mixed emotions about the tuition increase but says she’s excited about how the added tuition dollars are ensuring the quality of education at the university and the value of a VCU degree. She’s especially proud of the collaborative outcomes, such as the myTuition website. She and Guennel worked closely with their constituents to ensure the voices of the students were heard by the administration. “A lot of different perspectives and opinions went into the development of this website,” McClure says. “I am happy to have been a part of that development process.” Guennel agrees. “After Dr. Warren, Dr. Doswell and the staff collected feedback from the student leadership and other groups across campuses, members representing each part of the VCU community were brought together to make this website as useful as possible. It was a collaborative effort,” he says. “I really feel like this process exemplifies the new spirit of togetherness and inclusiveness Dr. Rao has created since he took office. The reality is this: The VCU community has lots to offer and we can achieve more when we join forces.” Jamie Stillman (B.S. ’85/MC) is director of external relations for the VCU Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Fall 2010 | 25
News, highlights and event photos from the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association and the African-American Alumni Council.
Rams at Work
Photo Marsha Polier Grossman
Connections Alumni
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A new tradition: VCU Alumni Month ramps up Ram pride VCU celebrated the inaugural
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Alumni Month in April with an
Open houses held at the Richard T. Robertson Alumni House and the MCV Alumni House allowed students, faculty, staff and alumni to visit, pick up Alumni Month buttons, posters and spirit items and learn more about the benefits and services offered through the alumni associations.
The VCU Alumni Association presented the Alumni Award to Roberto Celis during the Leadership and Service Awards Ceremony. Celis, who was a member of Students Today Alumni Tomorrow, graduated in May with degrees from the School of the Arts and the College of Humanities and Sciences.
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Rams Night Out brought 60 VCU alumni and graduate students together for a night of food and fun at the VCU Chili’s, Gibson’s Grill, T. Miller’s and Home Team Grill. Participants traveled from place to place in trolley cars and received cool VCU gear at each stop.
The African-American Alumni Council hosted its annual golf outing at Sycamore Creek Golf Course in Manakin-Sabot, Va., to kick off the 2010 AAAC Reunion Weekend. Afterward, 50 juniors from Richmond Community High School visited VCU as part of the AAAC’s Reunion Weekend community-service project. The students toured the campus, dined at Shafer Court Dining Center and interacted with alumni and VCU undergraduates.
array of exciting activities held on campus and throughout the Richmond community. As part of the monthlong celebration, the VCU Alumni Association offered a new spirit program: Rams at Work. Alumni in more than 70 workplaces across the U.S. requested and received packages of VCU gear to display
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and wear. More than 400 alumni
About 40 alumni, students and other volunteers participated in a communityservice project at Richmond Community High School, where they created new flower beds, planted flowers and shrubs and gave the exterior of the school a makeover.
in all participated, showing their VCU pride at work.
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April 23 More than 100 alumni, faculty and friends gathered at the Richard T. Robertson Alumni House to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Richard
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T. “Dick” Robertson (B.S. ’67/MC) was the featured speaker, with additional remarks by VCUAA President Donna Dalton (M.Ed. ’00/E), VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., and Ken Magill (B.S. ’65/B; M.S. ’69/E), chair of the original alumni house planning committee. Following the anniversary celebration, a reception was held in the Scott House to welcome RPI alumni back to campus for their annual Reunion Weekend.
April 24 Alumni and friends attended the dedication of the Henry H. Hibbs and Margaret L. Johnson Plaza, which surrounds the RPI Commemorative Sculpture, “Tableith.” A gift from the late William R. O’Connell Jr. (B.M.E. ’55/A) and his wife, the late Peggy O’Connell, funded the construction of the plaza. After the dedication, the annual RPI 50 Year Golden Circle Alumni Club dinner — a luau this year — was held at the Scott House.
April 24 More than 200 alumni and friends gathered at Crump Park for the AAAC’s annual
Park Outing. Later, about 600 alumni and friends attended the annual AAAC Reunion Weekend Dance, co-hosted by the Eta Tau chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and the Delta Upsilon chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.
April 28 The chemistry department hosted a bakeoff in support of the VCUAA, raising $137. Department staff promoted the event with handmade signs and fliers posted around campus, while chemistry graduate students and members of the ACS Organization-VCU Chapter contributed baked goods.
April 30 VCU Alumni Night at The Diamond offered reduced ticket prices to alumni and friends of VCU and brought in more than 500 guests. VCU had a visible presence throughout the game with “Did You Know” facts posted on the video boards and at the VCUAA tent. President Rao, with help from his son, Miguel, threw out the first pitch.
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Photo Marsha Polier Grossman
Benefit spotlight: CareerBeam
Photo Michael Andrews
Photo Jesse DePriest
Photo Jesse DePriest
April 23
CONNECTIONS
As a VCU graduate, you have access to CareerBeam, a virtual career center. Even if you’re currently employed, you can use CareerBeam’s unique tools to help you improve your career. The site will help you explore and understand your personal assets, enhance your communication skills and guide you on strategic career growth. To learn more about CareerBeam, visit the VCU Alumni Association website at www.vcu-mcvalumni.org and select Benefits and Services and then Benefits for Active, Dues-Paying Members.
Program honors young scholars The VCU Alumni Association recognized eight Richmond high school juniors as recipients of this year’s Monroe Scholars Book Award. Established in 2009, the scholars program honors students who embody the leadership and citizenship ideals of U.S. President James Monroe. In addition, award recipients and their parents are invited to attend a number of events at VCU to familiarize them with the university and encourage students to apply for admission. Award recipients who enroll at VCU in fall 2011 receive a $1,000 scholarship. The association plans to expand the program next year to high schools outside the city of Richmond. If you’re interested in making a donation to the Monroe Scholars Book Award, please call (804) 828-2586 or e-mail vcualum@vcu.edu.
RPI council seeks fellow grads The Richmond Professional Institute Alumni Council is recruiting RPI graduates to join the group and the fun. Anyone who is an RPI graduate can join the council. In 2011, the council will celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the Class of 1961, and RPI alumni have already begun planning for this big occasion. If you are celebrating your 50-year graduation anniversary in 2011 and would like to contact your fellow classmates, call Diane Stout-Brown (B.S.W. ’80/ SW), executive director of the VCU Alumni Association, at (804) 828-7020 or e-mail dstout@vcu.edu.
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CelebrateVCU Your membership in the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association allows you to connect with other alumni, engage in activities to support the university and serve your community. Your membership is critical to our ability to continue communication with you and to fund programs that benefit alumni like you and the VCU students following in your footsteps. Membership includes exclusive benefits, such as: • Online Journals access • CareerBeam • Shafer Court Connections alumni magazine • License plate frame Plus, money-saving discounts: • Save 10% at Barnes & Noble @ VCU • Save $5 per ticket for men’s basketball games (limit two per game) • Save up to 25% on car rental and hotels • Save $86 on VCU Recreational Sports membership
Not a member? Join the ranks of fellow Rams making a difference at VCU and in the world. One of our membership options is perfectly suited for you.
Single membership Annual Recent Grad* Lifetime Lifetime Installment Senior (55 and older)
$40 $25 $495 $110 annually for five years $225
Joint membership** Annual Recent Grad* Lifetime Lifetime Installment Senior (55 and older)
$55 $35 $595 $130 annually for five years $275
* Recent Grad: First VCU degree within last five years ** Joint: Two people living at the same address
Join the VCUAA today! • (804) 828-2586 • www.vcu-mcvalumni.org
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Photo Markus Elblaus
VCU Qatar hosts networking reception for alumni
VCU Qatar alumni visit with Monica Rao (fourth from left); Mohammed Al-Ansari, chairman of Barwa Media; Michael Rao, Ph.D.; Allyson Vanstone, dean of VCU Qatar; Matthew Woolman, director of Design Entrepreneurship at VCU Qatar; and Sana Al-Buainain (far right), VCU Qatar alumni affairs director.
The VCU School of the Arts in Qatar held an alumni networking reception in May with VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., and VCU International Alumni Relations Liaison Monica Rao at Bistro Café in Alfardan Towers. The alumni reception was preceded by a presentation by Barwa Media, 80 percent of whose staff members are VCU Qatar graduates, with 90 percent of the design department comprising VCU Qatar alumni. The event also included a tour of the new Barwa Media offices, designed by VCU Qatar alumni. The visitors then proceeded to the café where alumni, including those from Barwa Media, gathered to meet with the Raos. “Interacting with VCU Qatar graduates at this alumni event has been most gratifying,” Monica Rao says. “These are clearly talented and bright individuals who value their VCU education and want to stay engaged in the life of the university. My husband and I look forward to keeping alumni engaged and involved as VCU advances to the next level. We see tremendous potential at VCU Qatar and look forward to making great strides in the years to come. What I observed is evidence that VCU and its graduates in Qatar are helping to shape the future, society and economy of Qatar.”
VCUAA welcomes new and returning board members Three directors joined the VCU Alumni Association board in June: Carolyn L. Bishop (B.A. ’86/H&S; M.P.A. ’88/H&S), administrator for Powhatan County; Steven B. Brincefield (M.S. ’74/B), senior vice president with Thalhimer Corp.; and Franklin B. Wallace (B.F.A. ’87/A), director of operations, VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. In addition, the following current directors were reelected to serve a second three-year term: Rejena G. Carreras (B.F.A. ’70/A; M.A.E. ’80/A), William L. Davis (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.S. ’79/H&S), David R. Dennier (B.S. ’75/B) and John Jay Schwartz (B.S. ’69/B).
Carolyn L. Bishop
Steven B. Brincefield
Franklin B. Wallace
A portion of all proceeds from the sale of Rams Roast will go directly to the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association and the MCV Alumni Association of VCU to support programs that benefit graduates and students.
Rams Roast coffee
The perfect gift for your VCU friends Order 12-ounce cans online or sign up for a six-month subscription and save 10 percent.
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/ramsroast V
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The World ...
brought to you by the VCU Alumni Association.
2011 Travel Destinations
2011 Trips
Jan. 5-15 Cruise Costa Rica on the Wind Star Feb. 7-15 Insider’s Perspective: Rome Feb. 15-25 Mayan Mystique Cruise March 6-17 Cruise the Panama Canal March 10-26 Asian Explorations Cruise March 30-April 12 Mysteries of the Mekong River April 2-13 Historic Reflections Cruise April 26-May 12 Passage to Panama Cruise May 6-15 Celtic Lands Cruise
May 7-16 ACA Normandy with Paris May 9-22 Cradle of History Cruise June 7-17 Alaskan Adventures Cruise June 9-20 Changing Tides of History/Baltic Sea and Norwegian Fjords Cruise Aug. 26-Sept. 10 China and Tibet Land and Yangtze River Cruise Journey Sept. 18-Oct. 1 Greek Isles Odyssey Cruise Oct. 10-19 Crossroads of the Classical Mediterranean (C’est Bon culinary cruise) Oct. 22-31 ACA Israel (Look for travel discount information at the website.)
For more information call (804) 828-2586 or visit
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/travel
Class notes
Send information about your professional and personal accomplishments to shafercourt@vcu.edu. Or, mail your news to Shafer Court Connections, Virginia Commonwealth University, 924 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box 843044, Richmond, VA 23284-3044.
Updates Joyce (Bly) Fletcher (M.S.W. ’69/SW) retired in Florida after working as a clinical social worker, EAP account manager and hospital social worker/discharge planner. William “Bill” Ginther* (B.S. ’69/B; M.S. ’74/B) serves on the Virginians for the Arts board of directors and was named to the VCU Board of Visitors. Robert G. Green (B.S. ’67/H&S; M.S.W. ’70/SW) is a retired VCU School of Social Work faculty member and volunteers in his new hometown of Corolla, N.C. Jacquelin Moore Williams* (B.S.W. ’64/SW) retired from the St. Louis County Department of Family and Children’s Services.
1970s
Debbie L. (Stubbs) Bell (M.S.W. ’76/SW) is the corrections director for the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar Medical Inspector in San Diego. She is also a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and inspects mental health programs as part of a military/Joint Commission team that accredits hospitals worldwide. Donna (Lackey) Betteridge (B.F.A. ’74/A) works at Deloitte Tax. She and her husband, Michael, as part of a consortium, purchased a radio station in Thurmont, Md., where she hosts a live radio show every Sunday night. Jane Dowrick* (B.A. ’74/H&S; M.Ed. ’92/E) completed the spring 2010 HIGHER Ground leadership program with VCU’s Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute. Dowrick is director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Richmond. Karen C. Gillett (M.S.W. ’77/SW) is alpha counselor for the Center for Drug-Free Living and works with at-risk elementary school-children in Orlando, Fla. Michael J. Mastropaolo (M.S.W. ’76/SW) retired after a 40-year career in Virginia’s juvenile justice system. Eileen McClellan (B.F.A. ’70/A) was awarded the Outstanding Middle School Art Teacher for Texas from the Texas Art Education Association. Linda W. Pharis (B.F.A. ’70/A; M.Ed. ’75/E) retired as vice president of education at Blue Ridge PBS. Her husband, John H. Pharis (B.F.A. ’73/A), also retired as assistant principal for Roanoke County Public Schools. Phillip Sager (B.S. ’73/MC) retired from teaching and started a business in Baltimore dealing in stamps and historical letters for collectors. Dan E. Shorter (B.S. ’78/MC) is vice president, digital media, for the New York Times Co.’s Regional Media Group.
1980s
Martha Randolph Carr (B.S. ’83/H&S) started a free newsletter based on her syndicated column and latest book, “Live Your Big Adventure.” Brett Cole* (B.S. ’83/B) is a professor of business at Westwood College in Annandale, Va. He also operates Family Financial Development, assisting consumers with financial recovery and career advice. Mabel Washington Jenkins* (B.S. ’81/B) was recognized by the Virginia Municipal Clerks Association as the 2010 Clerk of the Year in acknowledgment of her accomplishments as city clerk for Newport News, Va. Kevin W. Johnson* (B.S. ’83/B) was appointed pastor of ministry at Celebration Church in Columbia, Md.
Educational game teaches 4th-graders peace Thirty years ago as an undergraduate at Virginia Commonwealth University, John Hunter (B.S. ’78/E) took part in a groundbreaking “nontextbook” model teaching program that placed teachers-in-training in the field immediately. Today, the elementary school teacher is breaking ground of his own. A dedicated student of Eastern philosophy and religions who traveled to India, China and Japan during college, Hunter combined those interests to create the World Peace Game to use in his classroom. A hands-on political science simulation, the game pits four countries against one another in every way possible — politically, socially, militarily and economically. Over the course of eight weeks, students have to solve all the world’s problems simultaneously without combat, if possible. Since the game’s inception, Hunter, who teaches at Agnor-Hurt Elementary School in Charlottesville, Va., says he still never knows what’s going to happen. Each class is a blank slate and brings a unique perspective to the game. The game, and Hunter’s teaching Fourth-graders play the World Peace Game, created philosophy, intrigued filmmaker Chris by VCU alumnus John Hunter. Farina so much that he approached Hunter to make a documentary about it. “John is a master at allowing students to think for themselves,” Farina says. “He’s very comfortable with himself and in not knowing the answers. Kids are struck by that. Being wrong is not a problem. It’s a part of the learning experience.” “World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements” premiered in February 2010 and is currently making the film festival rounds. It will be shown Oct. 20-27 at the Bergen International Film Festival in Norway and at the Virginia Film Festival in November. Promoting the film has been a slightly overwhelming experience for Hunter, but he appreciates the opportunity. “I’ve gotten to see what I do from a different perspective,” he says. “It’s an inspiration to get that kind of affirmation to keep on doing what we teachers do.” Hunter harbors no illusions that world peace will come about because of his game but hopes that “if an individual child becomes inspired to have a personal peace or seek peace or help others do that, then the game has more than fulfilled its purpose for me.” For more information about “World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements,” visit www.rosaliafilms.com.
Bonnie Matthews (B.F.A. ’85/A) was featured as a Wellness Warrior on “The Dr. Oz Show” in January 2010 after losing 130 pounds. She now blogs on the Dr. Oz website. Carol D. Nardini (M.S.W. ’80/SW), director of community services for Orange, Conn., received the Humanitarian
Award from Bridges Inc. for advocating on behalf of persons with behavioral health issues. Mary (Crews) Nunnally (B.S.W. ’81/SW; M.S. ’01/AHP) is program coordinator for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services in the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services.
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Photo © Will May
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Alumna celebrates her lifetime of learning Marlene Mondziel’s (B.I.S. ’10/H&S) diploma represents more than the degree she earned at Virginia Commonwealth University — it’s a symbol of her lifelong appreciation for education. Mondziel, executive assistant to the chancellor for the Virginia Community College System, earned an associate degree in 1996 from Genesee Community College in Batvia, N.Y., but she always had her sights on continuing her education. She took classes at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., while employed at the college in the late 1980s, and in 1999 she enrolled at John Tyler Community College in Chester, Va. “There were times when I got very discouraged because it was taking so long,” she says. “There are things that you have to give up because Marlene Mondziel celebrates her graduation from VCU with her son, Steve (left), daughter, Karen, and husband, Bob. you have papers to write and tests to study for.” With the support of her husband and two children, Mondziel forged ahead and completed her general-education course requirements before transferring to VCU in 2004. She continued to take one course a semester for the next six years, working toward a B.I.S. with a concentration in public administration. “She really caught my eye,” says Anne Stratton (B.S. ’83/MC; M.A. ’95/H&S), director of administration for the College of Humanities and Sciences and the instructor for Mondziel’s final course at VCU. “She brought the perspective of someone who’s already successful and knows that what she’s getting from school is real knowledge.” On May 22, 2010, at VCU’s Commencement exercises, Mondziel celebrated the culmination of 11 consecutive years in school. “I was ecstatic,” she says. “It was great to finally get to that long-range goal. My husband, son and daughter were there and were just as excited as I was — maybe even more so.” Mondziel says she hasn’t finished learning yet. She and her husband, Bob, plan to sign up for tennis classes and a white-water rafting class on the James River, and she hopes to pursue guitar lessons in the future. “I believe in lifelong learning, obviously,” she says. “It’s been an interesting journey, but I finished [my degree] and that’s the most important thing.”
Victoria Oakley (M.Ed. ’88/E) is the chief academic officer for Richmond Public Schools. Stephanie (Peyton) Shea (B.S.W. ’86/SW; M.S.W. ’88/ SW) is a social work case manager at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va. She recently celebrated her 20th anniversary with the hospital. James E. Williams* (M.S. ’82/SW) is semiretired and works for the Bruder Counseling Center in Virginia Beach, Va. Vernon R. Williams (B.A. ’80/H&S) is senior vice president and regional manager for PNC Bank in the greater Philadelphia area. Dawn Walton Wilson (M.S.W. ’87/SW) has worked for 30 years as a professional social worker, including 19 years as a dialysis social worker.
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1990s
Lee Archard (M.S.W. ’98/SW), a prevention consultant with Chesterfield Mental Health Support Services in Chesterfield, Va., serves as a field instructor for VCU M.S.W. students and coordinates Chesterfield’s field placement program. Andrea Leigh Barnes (B.S. ’93/E; M.S.W. ’99/SW) is a placement supervisor at the National Counseling Group in Richmond, Va. Karl Burkheimer (M.F.A. ’96/A) is associate professor and head of the wood department at the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Linnie S. Carter* (B.S. ’92/MC; M.S. ’98/MC) completed her Ph.D. at Old Dominion University in November
2009. She is president and CEO of Linnie Carter and Associates and assistant professor of public relations at North Carolina A&T State University. Karen Ann Case* (M.S.W. ’90/SW) is a psychiatric social worker for Kaiser Permanente’s Psychology Department in Clayton, Calif. She recently completed a two-year certificate program with the The Sanville Institute in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Valerie K. Cauthorne (M.S.W. ’90/SW) is a clinical social worker with the VCU Medical Center and Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Va. Theresa A. Clark, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’97/SW) is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Social Work and Communication Sciences and Disorders at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. Dawn E. Farrell-Moore (M.S.W. ’95/SW) is a special projects manager at the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority. Frank Gilliam (B.F.A. ’90/A), co-owner of Richmond advertising agency Elevation, was recognized as one of the Ad Persons of the Year by the Richmond Ad Club. Janice B. Hairston (B.S. ’93/H&S; M.S.W. ’99/ SW), a licensed clinical social worker, provides outpatient psychotherapy in Richmond, Va. Sofia A. Hiort-Wright (B.S.W. ’98/SW; M.S.W. ’99/SW; Ph.D. ’06/SW) is director of VCU Student Athlete Support Services. Kimberly Y. Hunter (B.S.W. ’94/SW; M.S.W. ’95/ SW) is a research analyst for the VCU Survey and Evaluation Research Lab and manages the Ryan White AIDS grant. J. Neal Insley (B.S. ’92/H&S) was appointed chair and commissioner of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in May 2010. Héloïse “Ginger” Levit* (M.A. ’98/A) won two first-place awards in the Virginia Press Women 2009 Communications Contest for her articles on museum exhibits and artists John Singer Sargent and Andrew Wyeth. Adam Mathew Lipton (B.F.A. ’93/A) won round three of the Hugo Create Global Advertising and Design Competition for his “City Sounds” consumer advertising concept. It was selected from more than 3,000 entries. Sherman Kelley Ryan (B.S.W. ’93/SW; M.S.W. ’94/SW) is a grief counselor for the Hospice and Palliative Care Center in Clemmons, N.C. Ryan is also an elected member of the North Carolina National Association of Social Workers board of directors. Kenneth S. Smith* (B.A. ’90/H&S; M.P.A. ’93/H&S) was named associate provost for resource management and planning at Virginia Tech. Erica Lavette Stewart (M.S.W. ’98/SW) is a school social worker for Dinwiddie County Public Schools.
2000s
LaToya S. Artis (M.S.W. ’04/SW) is an LCSW for the U.S. Air Force in District Heights, Md. Lisa (Colegrove) Asiamah* (Cert. ’05/AHP; M.S.W. ’05/SW) is a community social worker for the Better Housing Coalition in Richmond, Va. Margaret A. Brammer (M.S.W. ’09/SW) is the youth advocacy coordinator for the Bright Future Foundation in Eagle, Colo. Danika R. (Ricks) Briggs (M.S.W. ’03/SW) is a senior social worker for the Chesterfield Department of Social Services in Chesterfield, Va. She is also in practice at the Behavioral Awareness Center. Alva F. Carter-Kershaw (M.S.W. ’01/SW) is a clinical social worker for Veterans Affairs in Richmond, Va. Brian Lee Christopher (Cert. ’09/B) was licensed as a certified public accountant in January 2010. Sarah (Kinder) Cook (M.S.W. ’06/SW), an LICSW with Child Protective Services, D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, blogs about child welfare issues on the Just Child Welfare website.
[CLASS Gabriel Craig (M.F.A. ’09/A) and Arthur Hash (B.F.A. ’01/A) were in the show “Not the Family Jewels” at Gallery 1724 in Houston. Craig also spoke at the 2010 Society of North American Goldsmiths in March about his thesis work at VCU. John Z. Crandall (B.A. ’06/H&S) is the head wrestling coach for the University of Florida’s club team. Amanda B. Cruey (M.S.W. ’00/SW) is a social worker for Greene County Public Schools in Madison, Va. Christine D. Delo (M.S.W. ’04/SW) is a case manager for the city of Virginia Beach, Va. Keesha T. Edwards (M.S.W. ’05/SW) is an LCSW for the Fairfax County parenting education programs. Katie Glusica (B.F.A. ’05/A), a graduate student at Savannah College of Art and Design, received an award for best thesis proposal. Ryan Gothrup (M.F.A. ’09/A), Akiko Jackson (M.F.A. ’09/A) and Sarah Mizer (M.F.A. ’07/A) were featured in the “New Waves 2010” exhibit at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia in Virginia Beach. Colin R. Greggs (B.M. ’09/A) completed U.S. Navy basic training in Great Lakes, Ill. Brooke Hine (M.F.A. ’04/A) curated an exhibit of ceramics and prints during the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts and Philagrafika 2010 symposiums. She also had a solo exhibit, “In-Motion,” at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. Sarah Holden (B.F.A. ’08/A) had work in the “Charmed” exhibit at the Society of Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, and the 2010 juried exhibit “Textural Patois” at the Allen Priebe Gallery in Oshkosh, Wisc. Katie Hudnall (M.F.A. ’05/A), an assistant professor in the furniture design program at Murray State University, exhibited her work in “Studio Furniture: The Next Generation” at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and had two pieces featured in Lark Books’ “500 Cabinets.” Matt Isaacson (M.F.A. ’07/A) is the ceramics coordinator and instructor at St. Louis Community College. Amity N. Kim (M.S.W. ’05/SW) is the children’s program coordinator for Doorways for Women and Families in Northern Virginia where she built a children’s program addressing the needs of families facing homelessness and domestic violence. Hsiang-Hsing Kung (Cert. ’08/AHP; M.S.W. ’08/SW) is a doctoral candidate in applied gerontology at the University of North Texas. Katie Laub (B.F.A. ’08/A) was accepted into Rhode Island School of Design’s glass master’s program. Heath Matysek-Snyder (B.F.A. ’00/A) was appointed faculty associate for the Wood/Furniture Design Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was also in the exhibit, “Studio Furniture: The Next Generation.” Helen M. O’Beirne* (M.S.W. ’06/SW) is director of the Center for Housing Leadership at Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia in Richmond, Va. She was appointed to the Governor’s Council on the Status of Women and teaches social justice at the VCU School of Social Work. Craig D. Patterson (M.S.W. ’07/SW) is a court social work specialist for the Richmond Department of Social Services. Elizabeth Perkins (M.F.A. ’04/A) was awarded an artistin-residence at North Lands Creative Glass in Scotland. Cheryl D. Riley (M.S.W. ’07/SW) is a program administrator for the Department of Housing and Community Development in Richmond, Va. Michael Schoenwetter (B.F.A. ’09/A) completed basic training for the U.S. Navy in Great Lakes, Ill. Michael B. Steele (M.P.A. ’05/H&S) joined Kaufman and Canoles’ Newport News office as an associate in the Litigation Section. Kazue Taguchi (M.F.A. ’07/A) moved to Paris in April 2010 to begin her one-year artist-in-residence program at Cite Internationale des Arts Paris. Angella S. Thuotte (B.S. ’08/H&S) graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J.
Travis Townsend (M.F.A. ’00/A) presented his work and gave a workshop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Art Department Colloquium. Barbara M. Vazquez (M.S.W. ’03/SW) is an emergency services therapist in Chesterfield, Va. Adam Welch (M.F.A. ’03/A) was in a group exhibit, “Artaxis.org: An Evolving Independent Network of Artists,” at the Gladys Wagner Gallery/Cheltenham Art Center in Pennsylvania.
2010s
Roberto Celis* (B.S. ’10/H&S; B.F.A. ’10/A) received the Elena Prentice Scholarship to attend Haystack Mountain School of Crafts this past summer. Andrea Donnelly (M.F.A. ’10/A) had work included in the International Student Triennial in June 2010 at the University of Marmara in Istanbul.
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Younseal Eum (M.F.A. ’10/A) is an off-site kinetic art researcher at HanSung University in Seoul, South Korea. In addition, a robot she helped design with a Virginia Tech team appeared on the cover of Popular Science. James Ryan Tanner (B.F.A. ’10/A) had work included in the Corning Museum of Glass magazine’s New Glass Review 31, released in May 2010.
Faculty and staff
George Hoffer, economics professor, retired from VCU in June after 40 years with the university. A renowned transportation economics expert, Hoffer taught approximately 16,000 students during his VCU career.
Friends of VCU
Sandra Lee Kjerulf was elected secretary of the Virginians for the Arts Foundation.
Faculty and alumni books
Brian Castleberry (M.F.A. ’08/H&S) and Andrew Blossom (M.F.A. ’07/H&S) were co-editors of “Richmond Noir,” a collection of short fiction by local authors, published by Akashic Books. The collection features works set in Richmond from a number of recent VCU graduates and faculty members. Tom De Haven, professor of creative writing in the Department of English, published “Our Hero: Superman on Earth” as part of Yale’s Icons of America Series. The book addresses three primary questions — why Superman has lasted for almost 70 years, how we can explain his appeal and whether he still matters. Elisabeth Crawford (B.F.A. ’91/A) published “Flavors of Friuli: A Culinary Journey through Northeastern Italy,” which explores the unique fusion of cuisines in the northern mountains, central hills and plains, and the southern coastline of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The book was awarded a bronze medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards and a silver medal in the Living Now Book Awards. Kevin Wayne Johnson* (B.S. ’83/B) is publishing his seventh book, “The Power in the Local Church,” in the nine-book “Give God the Glory!” series. The books focus on putting God first and foremost in personal relationships, on the job, in families, in the local church, and while at rest and recreation. June O. Nicholson, professor in the School of Mass Communications, Pamela J. Creedon, Wanda S. Lloyd and Pamela J. Johnson co-edited of “The Edge of Change: Women in the 21st Century Press,” published by University of Illinois Press. The compilation addresses the subject of women in the news media. Rebekah L. Pierce (M.A. ’02/H&S) published “Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders,” a historical fiction novel centered around Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood in 1929. Chieu Anh Urban (B.F.A. ’92/A) released her debut children’s book, “Raindrops: A Shower of Colors,” in April 2010 with Sterling Publishing. The book is a concept/novelty board book for preschoolers. Michele Young-Stone (B.S. ’91/B) released her debut novel, “The Handbook for Lightening Strike Survivors.” The book focuses on two young people through their childhoods and young adult lives, punctuated by disasters. Diane Woodcock (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.F.A. ’04/H&S), assistant professor at the VCU School of the Arts in Qatar, published “In the Shade of the Sidra Tree,” a small collection of poetry inspired by the six years she has lived in the Arabian Gulf country. The cover art for Woodcock’s new book features a painting by artist and VCU Professor Emeritus Charles Bleick, former associate dean of academic affairs at VCU Qatar.
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Alumni association Officers President: Donna M. Dalton (M.Ed. ’00/E) President-elect: Kenneth “Ken” A. Thomas (B.S. ’91/B) Treasurer: Mary E. Perkinson (B.F.A. ’91/A; B.S. ’03/En) Secretary: Thomas H. Beatty (B.A. ’93/H&S) Officer-at-large: Paul D. McWhinney (B.S. ’74/SW; M.S. ’79/SW) Immediate past president: C. Dandridge “Dan” Massey (B.S. ’92/B)
Directors Mary H. Allen (B.S. ’80/E) Robert A. Almond (B.S. ’74/E; M.S. ’85/E) (presidential appointment) Carolyn L. Bishop (B.A. ’86/H&S; M.P.A. ’88/H&S) Peter A. Blake (B.A. ’80/H&S; M.S. ’88/MC) Steven B. Brincefield (M.S. ’74/B) Elizabeth W. Bryant (B.S. ’83/MC; M.S. ’04/MC) Leah L.E. Bush, M.D. (M.S. ’80/H&S; M.D. ’84/M) Julia M. Cain (B.S. ’01/En) (presidential appointment) Rejena G. Carreras (B.F.A. ’70/A; M.A.E. ’80/A) William L. Davis (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.S. ’79/H&S) David R. Dennier (B.S. ’75/B) Gregory B. Fairchild, Ph.D., (B.S. ’88/MC) Aaron R. Gilchrist Jr. (B.S. ’03/MC) Stephanie L. Holt (B.S. ’74/E) Raymond E. Honeycutt (M.Ed. ’76/E) (presidential appointment) Christopher R. Jones (B.S. ’01/En) Elizabeth J. Moran (M.P.A. ’92/H&S) John S. Philips (M.S. ’78/B) Edward Robinson Jr. (B.G.S. ’00/H&S; M.S.W. ’03/ SW) (presidential appointment) John Jay Schwartz (B.S. ’69/B) Jacqueline Tunstall-Bynum (B.S. ’82/H&S) Franklin R. Wallace (B.S. ’87/A; M.P.A. ’08/H&S) Natalee A. “Lee” Wasiluk (B.F.A. ’86/A) Col. James E. Williams (B.S. ’84/H&S; M.S. ’96/H&S)
School and affiliated organization representatives Joseph E. Becht Jr. (B.S. ’80/B), VCU Business Alumni Society Tobias Guennel, Graduate Student Association Eugene H. Hunt, Ph.D., (B.S. ’59/B; M.S. ’61/B), RPI Alumni Council Dale C. Kalkofen, Ph.D., (M.A.E. ’76/A), School of Education Alumni Council Lillian Lambert, VCU Board of Visitors Elizabeth M. McAdam (B.S. ’05/H&S; M.S.W. ’07/SW), School of Social Work Alumni Network Adele McClure, Student Government Association, Monroe Park Campus Norma Ortiz-Robinson, VCU Faculty Senate Gaurav “G” Shrestha (B.S. ’03/B), Young Alumni Council Elizabeth M. Thompson (B.M. ’04/A), VCU Music Alumni Faith Wilkerson (B.S. ’03/MC; M.Ed. ’05/E), African-American Alumni Council
34 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Daphne Maxwell Reid, who received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from VCU in 1999, was elected secretary/treasurer of the Virginians for the Arts board and treasurer of the VFTA Foundation board.
Births
2000s
Gaurav “G” Shrestha (B.S. ’03/B) and his wife, Megan, welcomed twins, Mia and Grant, on June 29, 2010.
In memoriam
1940s
J. Cleiland Donnan (’42/A), of Richmond, Va., March 19, 2010. Nathan Benjamin Evens* (’48/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 14, 2010. Catherine I. Hastings* (B.S. ’41/H&S), of Meridian, Miss., June 16, 2010. Patricia R. Perkinson* (B.S. ’46/H&S; M.S. ’56;H&S), of Topping, Va., Feb. 14, 2010. She was the former secretary of the commonwealth and community services director at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. Barclay Sheaks (B.F.A. ’49/A), of Newport News, Va., April 13, 2010.
1950s
Dianne W. Bynum* (M.S. ’58/E), of Houston, March 6, 2010. Bessie S. Cartwright (B.S. ’55/H&S), of Mechanicsville, Va., June 19, 2010. Paul M. Kline (M.F.A. ’59/A), of Bridgewater, Va., Oct. 19, 2009. E. Cofer Loomer* (M.S. ’50/E), of Medford, Ore., Nov. 7, 2009. Floyd L. Mitchell (B.S. ’52/B), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 17, 2010. Nancy W. Peachee* (M.S. ’54/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 23, 2010. August A. Thieme Jr. (B.S. ’53/H&S), of Richmond, Va., May 22, 2010.
1960s
Henry C. Ahalt Jr. (M.S. ’69/E), of Manassas, Va., Feb. 9, 2010. Angelo W. Alexandri (B.S. ’63/B), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 29, 2009. Dorothy M. Brewer (B.S. ’66/B), of Winchester, Va., March 30, 2010. Sandra L. Dean (B.F.A. ’64/A), of Richmond, Va., June 21, 2010. Hilda Gibbs (M.S.W. ’64/SW), of Seven Springs, N.C., Feb. 25, 2010. Charles A. Hudson (Cert. ’60/SW), of Bluefield, W.Va., April 24, 2010. J. Joseph May Jr. (B.S. ’68/H&S), of Walkerton, Va., Feb. 1, 2010. Robert M. Moad (B.S. ’68/E), of Harrisonburg, Va., Feb. 16, 2010. Fred E. O’Connell (B.S. ’68/B), of Daytona Beach, Fla., Dec. 28, 2009. Paul S. Oliver (A.S. ’68/B), of Henrico, Va., June 8, 2010. Frederick A. Young (M.S. ’68/SW), of Providence, R.I., Feb. 22, 2010.
1970s
A.E. Berlinghoff Jr.* (B.S. ’71/B), of Hardyville, Va., March 7, 2010. Raymond W. Cahen (B.S. ’79/MC), of Montpelier, Va., April 1, 2010.
Susan B. Cook (B.S. ’79/E), of Midlothian, Va., June 10, 2010. Ann B. Davis (B.S. ’71/E), of Richmond, Va., June 4, 2010. Aliceann N. Fleming (M.S. ’71/B), of Richmond, Va., June 2, 2010. Betty Ann Lee Gillelan* (M.S.W. ’72/SW), of Richmond, Va., May 6, 2010. Belinda C. Glidewell (B.S. ’71/E), of Doswell, Va., Jan. 7, 2010. C. Warren Green Jr. (M.P.A. ’78/H&S), of Farmville, Va., May 3, 2010. Bobby E. Hodges (B.S. ’70/H&S), of Midlothian, Va., May 18, 2010. Ronald H. Johnson (M.S. ’79/H&S), of Omaha, Neb., May 26, 2010. Kathryn A. Keany (B.S. ’76/E), of Alexandria, Va., Jan. 29, 2010. Maude L. Kirby (M.Ed. ’71/E), of Midlothian, Va., March 18, 2010. Carl J. Koenig (M.Ed. ’74/E), of Bedford, Va., Jan. 13, 2010. Katherine H. Ludlow-MacCormack (M.S.W. ’75/SW), of La Plata, Md., March 6, 2010. Megan E. Lyons (B.S. ’73/H&S), of Fairfax, Va., April 14, 2010. Perry K. Mandaleris (M.S. ’78/B), of Virginia Beach, Va., Jan. 14, 2010. Nancy J. McCreedy (M.A.E. ’78/A), of Boones Mill, Va., Jan. 22, 2010. Gerald M. Morgan (B.S. ’72/B), of Harrisburg, Pa., March 22, 2010. R. Dennis Morris (M.S. ’73/B), of Chesapeake, Va., May 13, 2010. Joyce Y. Parker (B.S. ’75/E), of Clinton, Md., Sept. 10, 2009. Anne L. Powell (B.F.A. ’71/A), of Centreville, Md., April 28, 2010. Barbara K. Priebe (M.Ed. ’78/E), of Richmond, Va., March 16, 2010. Paula R. Randall (B.S. ’79/MC), of Houston, Feb. 22, 2010. Richard F. Roberts (B.S. ’73/B), of Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 12, 2010. Edward S. Robson (B.S. ’78/B; M.B.A. ’84/B; Cert. ’00/B), of Richmond, Va., May 21, 2010. William I. Scherling (M.S.W. ’75/SW), of Richmond, Va., May 6, 2010. Charles L. Tate (B.A. ’73/H&S), of Midlothian, Va., Jan. 24, 2010. Lisa M. Thalhimer (B.S. ’77/E), of Richmond, Va., April 27, 2010. A. Daniel Thomas Jr. (B.F.A. ’70/A), of Rockville, Va., April 1, 2010. William H. Zeiner (B.S. ’71/H&S), of Prince George, Va., Dec. 28, 2009. Richard J. Zink* (M.S.W. ’73/SW), of Hartford, Conn., Dec. 29, 2009.
1980s
Elizabeth W. Anderson (B.G.S. ’85/H&S), of Richmond, Va., March 3, 2010. Kimberly Archer (B.S. ’88/MC), of Petersburg, Va., Aug. 10, 2009. Crystal S. Charity (M.S.W. ’84/SW), of Charles City, Va., April 2, 2010. David D. Cobb (B.A. ’81/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 19, 2010. Ann T. Cocke (M.Ed. ’87/E), of King George, Va., March 27, 2010. Carlton T. Davis Jr. (B.S. ’85/B), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 19, 2010. Hazel B. Forbes (M.S.W. ’80/SW), of Garner, N.C., April 11, 2010.
[CLASS Margaret Furgerson-Gregory (B.M.E. ’86/A), of Chesterfield, Va., March 1, 2010. Dorothy C. McLeod (’83/B), of Richmond, Va., March 6, 2010. James M. Powell Jr. (B.S. ’84/H&S), of Glen Allen, Va., Jan. 3, 2010. Mary Kathryn Feeney Solner (B.S. ’86/MC), of Cornwall On Hudson, N.Y., Feb. 16, 2010. Lynda L. Waddill (M.P.A. ’85/H&S), of Richmond, Va., April 24, 2010.
William D. Sheffey (B.S. ’90/B), of Overland Park, Kan., May 2, 2010. Patricia A. Slavin (M.S.W. ’99/SW), of Charlottesville, Va., Dec. 27, 2009.
1990s
Faculty and staff
Keeva M. Beach (B.S. ’98/H&S), of Glen Allen, Va., May 1, 2010. H. Thomas Bloom II (B.G.S. ’91/H&S), of Richmond, Va., May 21, 2010. Paul A. Calvan (B.A. ’93/H&S), of Arlington, Va., Dec. 14, 2009. William B. Charlton (M.T. ’93/E), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 6, 2010. Ezra Z. Cohen (B.S. ’96/H&S), of Hobe Sound, Fla., Jan. 10, 2010. Welborn G. Dolvin Jr. (M.S.W. ’98/SW), of Stevensville, Va., Dec. 30, 2009. Cheryl Ellis Hager (B.S. ’92/B), of Rockville, Va., March 10, 2010. Danette Holloway (B.G.S. ’99/H&S), of Amelia Court House, Va., Jan. 13, 2010. Essie V. McDonald (M.Ed. ’90/E), of Richmond, Va., March 17, 2010. William K. McDonald (M.U.R.P. ’90/H&S), of Lynchburg, Va., Jan. 30, 2010. Eleanor O. McGehee (M.S.W. ’91/SW), of Richmond, Va., April 14, 2010.
2000s
Lindsey Crider (B.S. ’03/H&S), of Chesterfield, Va., April 7, 2010. Thomas J. Krejci (B.S. ’02/En), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 8, 2010. Gerald Donato, former professor of painting and printmaking, Feb. 14, 2010. Donato retired from VCU in 2005 after 38 years. Stephen W. Harkins (M.P.H. ’09/M), professor emeritus of gerontology, May 20, 2010. Harkins also retired as a research coordinator with the VCU Dementia Clinic in 2004 and conducted some of the nation’s first neuropsychological functioning assessments with the elderly to identify personality or cognitive differences and brain dysfunction. Melanie Njeri Jackson, Ph.D., special assistant to the provost for diversity, July 23, 2010. Jackson joined VCU in 1990, became chair of the Department of African American Studies in 1998 and was appointed as special assistant to the provost for diversity in July 2007. In that position, Jackson served as the university’s chief diversity officer and was responsible for the creation, design, implementation and assessment of diversity initiatives as called for in VCU’s Five Year Diversity Plan. She also served as a consultant, adviser, board member and educator for public, educational and private agencies and received numerous awards for her teaching and service, including the VCU Presidential Award for Multicultural Enrichment,
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the Riese Melton Award and the Women of Color Professional Achievement Recognition Award. Ignatius “Pete” Liberto, of Henrico County, Va., March 17, 2010. Liberto taught Italian at VCU for 15 years and assisted with foreign exchange students at the university. Paul Mitchell Umberger, of Henrico County, Va., July 28, 2010. Umberger taught entry-level college business mathematics along with calculus and economics for 33 years at VCU and its predecessor, Richmond Professional Institute. He came to Richmond in 1959 and earned an M.B.A. at RPI. He retired from the management department of the VCU School of Business in 1992.
Friends of VCU
Joseph L. Antrim III, of Richmond, Va., June 3, 2010. William Hamilton Flannagan, of Roanoke, Va., May 4, 2010. Paul H. Fox, of Richmond, Va., Feb. 14, 2010. Andrew Jaffe, Feb. 26, 2010. Jaffe was a board member of the VCU Brandcenter, as well as former editor of Adweek, head of the CLIO Awards and a distinguished journalist. Hugh W. Owens, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., June 23, 2010, at age 76. Joseph M. Porter, of Richmond, Va., Feb. 7, 2010. Terry Sisisky, a broadcaster for VCU basketball and baseball, July 22, 2010. In his 28 years with the Rams, Sisisky was an unforgettable presence at all but three games. For his dedication to the university, Sisisky was inducted into the VCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. He received the Frank Soden Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, and was inducted into the Richmond Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Raymond Straus, of Richmond, Va., March 6, 2010. S. Joseph Ward, of Midlothian, Va., March 8, 2010.
Did you recently win an award? Move? Change jobs or titles? Celebrate an addition to your family? Whatever your recent successes or life changes, reconnect with your former classmates and let fellow alumni know where you are and what you’re doing. Use the space below to send us your information or attach a note with your news and mail it to: Virginia Commonwealth University, Office of Alumni Relations, 924 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box 843044, Richmond, VA 23284-3044. You can also e-mail news to shafercourt@vcu.edu or use the online form at www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/classnotes.
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My news:
o Please do not publish this information. I am submitting for record purposes only. Fall 2010 | 35
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New lifetime members
Abbreviation key
Robert E. Antonelli Kristine K. Bakos Stephen Bakos Frederick W. Baynes Kyla R. Bennett Carolyn Lowenthal Bishop Cynthia T. Booker Anne M. Broadhead Martin Brooks Rita N. Brooks Erika L. Brown Gary R. Brown Linda H Brown Thomas C. Burke Jr. Valerie Ware Campbell Avery L. Carter Kay Carter Jacqueline R. Cherry Jonathan B. Cherry E. Barry Chewning Andrew V. Clark Shawn S. Clarke Mary E. Creegan Matthew X. Creegan Paige Dickinson Katherine R. Flowers Janice B. Freed Robert L. Freed Stephen L. Gillum Charles B. Goodman Jr. Joanne M. Goodman Karen A. Gregory-Williams Anna L. Harmon, Ph.D. Marcia P. Harrigan, Ph.D. Joseph M. Iaquinto, Ph.D. Kathryn L. Jackson Sebastian L. Jackson Jr. Jason M. Jacobs
Alumni are identified by degree, year and college or school. An asterisk (*) identifies members of the VCU Alumni Association.
Magnus H. Johnsson Francesca D. Jones Freda J. Layne Jack D. Layne Jr. Bobbe Lehew Gregory W. Lehew Pamela D. Lepley Albert M. Marcus Sr. Joseph P. Mason Jacqueline E. McCreary Micah L. McCreary, Ph.D. Gordon A. McDougall Katie McDougall Bruce E. Mercier J. Steven Millington Roland B. Minton, Ph.D. James W. Mitchell Stan J. Orchowsky, Ph.D. Hong-Yen Pham Adam A. Pillsbury Teresa F. Plageman Bathsheba L. Przygocki Tammie Pulliam Marjorie M. Rhodes W.C. Riddick Jr. Constance B. Sharp, Ph.D. Larry L. Sinsabaugh, Ph.D. Ray Smith Kim Snead Charles N. Tanner Gail B. Tanner Matthew J. Tessier Robert C. Thompson Jeanette Winder Tipling Ellen M. Walk, Ph.D. Lyn R. Westermann Robert L. Westermann Jr. Sarah W. Woodhouse, M.D.
List includes individuals who joined the new VCU Alumni Association as lifetime members between Jan. 1, 2010, and June 30, 2010.
Did you know? VCU Libraries advances the research success of the university through one of Virginia’s most comprehensive academic library systems. Together, the James Branch Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus and the TompkinsMcCaw Library for the Health Sciences on the MCV Campus provide students and faculty with access to a variety of resources, allowing them to further explore academic interests, conduct research and satisfy intellectual curiosity. 36 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Libraries collections Volumes: 2,011,010 Journal subscriptions: 50,646 Microforms: 3,250,360 Films and videos: 19,519 Audio recordings: 29,707 Graphic images: 156,001 Manuscripts and archives: 5,279 (linear feet)
College and schools H&S A AHP B D E En GPA GS LS M MC N P SW WS
College of Humanities and Sciences School of the Arts School of Allied Health Professions School of Business School of Dentistry School of Education School of Engineering L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Graduate School VCU Life Sciences School of Medicine School of Mass Communications School of Nursing School of Pharmacy School of Social Work School of World Studies
Degrees A.A., A.S. Cert. B.F.A. B.G.S. B.I.S. B.M. B.M.E. B.S. B.S.W. D.D.S. D.N.A.P. D.P.A. D.P.T. M.A. M.Acc. M.A.E. M.B.A. M.Bin. M.D. M.Ed. M.Envs. M.F.A. M.H.A. M.I.S. M.M. M.M.E. M.P.A. M.P.H. M.P.S. M.S. M.S.A.T. M.S.D. M.S.H.A. M.S.N.A. M.S.O.T. M.S.W. M.T. M.Tax. M.U.R.P. O.T.D. Pharm.D. Ph.D.
Associate degree Certificate Bachelor of Fine Arts Bachelor of General Studies Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music Education Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Social Work Doctor of Dental Surgery Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Doctor of Public Administration Doctor of Physical Therapy Master of Arts Master of Accountancy Master of Art Education Master of Business Administration Master of Bioinformatics Doctor of Medicine Master of Education Master of Environmental Studies Master of Fine Arts Master of Health Administration Master of Interdisciplinary Studies Master of Music Master of Music Education Master of Public Administration Master of Public Health Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences Master of Science Master of Science in Athletic Training Master of Science in Dentistry Master of Science in Health Administration Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Master of Social Work Master of Teaching Master of Taxation Master of Urban and Regional Planning Post-professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate Doctor of Pharmacy Doctor of Philosophy
[THEN
and NOW
]
tools of the times From computer labs to mobile apps, VCU keeps pace with advancing technology By Erin Egan hen Claire Davis entered Virginia Commonwealth University this fall as a marketing major, her technological experience proved markedly different — and much more advanced — than that of her father Scott Davis (B.S. ’79/B; M.B.A. ’80/B). As a VCU undergraduate more than 30 years ago, the elder Davis, director of application services for VCU Technology Services, remembers visiting the computer lab and receiving a deck of cards onto which he manually entered data using a keypunch device. He then fed the cards into a mammoth machine, waited 30 minutes and picked up a printout of his data. In terms of handheld devices (they did exist, says Davis), he used a calculator and wrote simple equations in it. “That’s what using a computer was,” he says. Today, with more than 98 percent of freshmen arriving on campus with a laptop computer and close to 50 percent of students owning smartphones, Technology Services strives to keep pace with students’ increased demand for advanced technology, including faster, more reliable wireless service. Keith Deane, director of network services for Technology Services, says the wireless buildout on VCU’s campuses began about five years ago. “We started with the open student spaces, the libraries, the student commons, the dining center,” Deane says. “That has given students freedom. Before, they had to go to the computer lab in order to do their work. Now, they don’t have to.” Eric Erdahl, a junior international studies major, finds that working on his laptop in the University Student Commons or at the James Branch Cabell Library suits him. “It’s more convenient,” he says. “With the laptop, I can go wherever I need to go.” Despite the increased number of students with laptops, computer labs with stationary machines still exist at VCU. Stop by Cabell Library on any given day and witness the 241 available workstations continually in use. Computer labs have evolved from the sterile rooms of the 1970s to the lounge like centers of today and they
remain necessary for universities, says Jim Bostick, director of user services for Technology Services. A small percentage of students don’t own a computer and issues with laptops can arise, including limited battery life, printing availability and storage worries. “What do you do with it when you go eat lunch or go to the gym?” Bostick says. The latest tech tool from Technology Services — VCU mobile — travels with students, giving them instant, on-the-go access to news, events, images, maps, videos and directories on their smartphones. The apps also include a courses component, allowing students to view courses and seat availability. Ultimately, students will be able to register for class with the press of a button on their smartphone. “They’ll be able to do it right on the spot without being tied down or waiting behind somebody,” Davis says of the mobile app’s convenience. “That should help the students out quite a bit.”
1970s
Erin Egan is a contributing writer for Shafer Court Connections. Computing at VCU evolves with technology and student needs. [then] In the 1970s, mainframe computers kept students tethered to a wired connection. [now] Nearly 1,000 wireless access points throughout the university mean students can connect to the Internet from almost anywhere on campus.
2010
Fall 2010 | 37
Datebook October
Mark your calendars for these Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Alumni Association events. For more alumni activities, go to www.vcu-mcvalumni.org or visit http://events.vcu.edu for campus happenings.
January
Oct. 22 Emeriti Director’s Reception* VCU Scott House (804) 828-2586
Jan. 15 VCUAA Night at the Stuart C. Siegel Center: VCU vs. Northeastern (804) 828-2586
Oct. 25-29 Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale James Branch Cabell Library (804) 828-1105
Jan. 23 VCU Guitar Series: Robinson Guitar Duo W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (804) 828-6776
Oct. 27 Barnstorming with Coach Smart Glory Days Grill (West End location) (804) 828-1740
Jan. 29 Homecoming basketball game: VCU vs. UNC-Wilmington Stuart C. Siegel Center (804) 828-1740
November Nov. 3 Alumni Reception: Raleigh-Durham, N.C.* (804) 828-2586 Nov. 11-21 Theatre VCU – “Les Liaisons Dangereuse” W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (804) 828-6026 Nov. 13 SunTrust Richmond Marathon (804) 828-2586 Nov. 14 VCU Music Alumni Concert W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (804) 828-6776 December Dec. 3 Graduating International Student Reception VCU Scott House (804) 828-2586 Dec. 11 Winter Commencement Stuart C. Siegel Center (804) 828-1917
February Homecoming Weekend Various events/locations (804) 828-1981 Black History Month at VCU Various events/locations (804) 828-6672 Feb. 12 Men’s basketball game: VCU vs. ODU Stuart C. Siegel Center (804) 828-1740
April 10 VCU Day at The Diamond (804) 828-2586 April 15-17 Reunion Weekend* Various events/locations (804) 828-2586 MAY May 18 New Graduate Reception: Your Passport to the World* Science Museum of Virginia (804) 828-2586 May 19 Graduating Student Scholars Reception* VCU Scott House (804) 828-2586 May 21 Spring Commencement Richmond Coliseum (804) 828-1917 * VCUA A event
March March 27 VCU Guitar Series: Berta Rojas W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (804) 828-6776 April Alumni Month Details to follow in the spring magazine and at www.vcu-mcvalumni.org. (804) 828-2586 Rams Night Out* (804) 828-2586 April 1 Faculty/staff appreciation* (804) 828-2586
38 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
April 2 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k (804) 828-2586
Do you work in the sustainability field? We’d like to hear from alumni who are helping make our world a greener place. Please e-mail vcu-alum@vcu.edu.
CIRCA
Chemistry lab: 1980s
Virginia Commonwealth University students, including Janet E. Crawford, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’82/H&S), on the left, work on coal gasification on the fourth floor of Oliver Hall in the research laboratory of Gordon A. Melson, Ph.D., professor in the VCU Department of Chemistry.
Fall 2010 | 39
VCU
Virginia Commonwealth University Office of Alumni Relations 924 West Franklin Street P.O. Box 843044 Richmond, Virginia 23284-3044
Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 869 RICHMOND, VA
New! VCU e-mail addresses for alumni! In partnership with Google, the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association now offers alumni a free, lifetime VCU e-mail address.
By signing up for your @alumni.vcu.edu e-mail address, you can permanently display your alumni pride while gaining access to the powerful tools available through Google Apps: Sites: Quickly create and publish collaborative sites Docs: Publish and collaborate in real-time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations Calendar: Organize schedules and share events and calendars with others E-mail: Improve your existing mail account with Gmail’s powerful search engine and SPAM filter Chat: Call or send instant messages to contacts for free — anytime, anywhere in the world by downloading Google Talk, or by opening the Google Talk Gadget
o n l i n e
t o d a y !
Photos Marsha Polier Grossman
R e g i s t e r
w w w . v c u - m c v a l u m n i . o r g