Chronicle of Giving | Winter 2010-2011

Chronicle Of Giving Foundation Financials

MCV Tapestry

New School of Medicine Building Progress

Medical College of Virginia Foundation Winter 2010-2011

Blick Scholars Program Appoints Six

Chronicle Of Giving §

The Chronicle of Giving is published twice a year by the MCV Foundation for alumni and friends of the Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. © 2011 MCV Foundation

§

Contributors: Jennings D. Dawson III, Frances F. Householder, Nan L. Johnson, William P. Kotti, Wendy W. Martin, Brian S. Thomas, and Amanda E. Van Thunen Design: Kevin E. Schindler Photography: As noted MCV Foundation’s mission is to inspire and steward philanthropy throughout the MCV Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Chartered in 1949, the MCV Foundation works in partnership with alumni and friends of MCV Schools, Hospitals and the Massey Cancer Center.

Contents MCV Events 1 Financials 2 Board of Trustees Update 4 Blick Scholars 6 MCV Tapestry 9 Ann Steigleder’s Generosity 10 New Medical Building Update 12 Lecture Series Recap 13

§

We support the institution in its quest: • To preserve and restore health • To seek the cause and cure of diseases • To educate those who would serve humanity

§

Through your donations, the MCV Foundation is an integral support to the dedicated teachers, clinicians, researchers and students whose efforts place the MCV Campus among the world’s leading academic medical centers providing technically superb and compassionate care to patients.

The MCV Foundation supports the education, research and clinical care mission of our MCV Campus Partners: School of Allied Health Professions, School of Dentistry, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, Massey Cancer Center and MCV Hospitals.

Chronicle Of Giving Foundation Financials

MCV Tapestry

New School of Medicine Building Progress

Medical College of Virginia Foundation Winter 2010-2011

On the Cover A unique gift from the estate of Lavinia Blick funds medical research of junior faculty members.

Photo: Kevin E. Schindler

Blick Scholars Program Appoints Six

MCV Events

MCV Campus Endowed Scholarship Brunch Scholarship Donors and Recipients Come Together

The MCV Foundation hosted the sixth Annual 1 MCV Campus Endowed Scholarship brunch on October 24th. The event took place in the Grand Ballroom of the Jefferson Hotel with nearly 300 donors, scholarship recipients and guests in attendance.

MCV Foundation president, Bill Kotti, reported that there were nine new scholarships for the 20102011 academic year, bringing the total number of endowed scholarships for the MCV Campus to 184.

VCU President, Dr. Michael Rao, spoke about the important role scholarships play in attracting excellent students. School of Pharmacy student body president, Brad Martin, shared the students’ perspective on how scholarships can change lives for the better.

1: The William S. Cooper, Sr. Scholarship honors

3: MCV Foundation president Dr. Bill Kotti

the memory of William S. Cooper, the School of Pharmacy’s first African American graduate.

Mrs. LaVerne Cooper and Mr. Ken Cooper met the scholarship’s 2010 recipient, Dr. Stephanie Atueyi.

welcomed Dr. and Mrs. Rao to their first MCV Campus Endowed Scholarship

Brunch along with School of Pharmacy student speaker, Brad Martin.

2

3

2: School of

Nursing Dean, Dr. Nancy F. Langston and School of Nursing graduate Mrs. Helen S. Birch enjoyed the brunch.

New Campaign Reinvestment Fee As of October 1, 2010, Virginia Commonwealth University has joined universities statewide and nationally, by implementing a four percent campaign reinvestment fee on all qualifying gifts to help fund its development and alumni relations efforts.

Half of the fee will support centralized development and alumni relations efforts at the university level, increasing functionality and efficiency of gift processing, donor stewardship and alumni engagement, as well as helping to execute future fundraising campaigns. The remaining two percent will support the development infrastructure for the school or unit to which the original gift was made.

A 26-member Development and Alumni Relations Advisory Council, which is chaired by School of Nursing Dean Nancy Langston and includes other senior university leaders, members of the VCU Board of Visitors, members of the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees, and alumni and donors, is charged with implementation and oversight of the new fee.

Photos: CSI Studios; Chris Ijams

MCV Society Welcomes Spring at Agecroft Hall

Photo courtesy of Agecroft Hall

educational tour and beautiful acreage

Richmond where it was reassembled

to explore, the group will also enjoy a

and restored to its former glory.

reception featuring local Virginia wines

The MCV Society was established

and hors d’oeuvres with the company of

in 1994 and recognizes all donors who

friends who share a common fondness

have made planned gifts to benefit the

and support for MCV.

Medical Campus. For information

For hundreds of years, Agecroft Hall

about supporting the MCV Campus’

was the distinguished home of England’s

schools, hospitals and departments

Langley and Dauntesey families. Rich-

and about joining the MCV Society,

The MCV Society, a planned giving

This year, the group will head to the

monder Thomas C. Williams, Jr. pur-

please contact Brian Thomas, Senior

society created by the Medical College

rolling banks of the James River to

chased the home when it was sold at auc-

Executive Director of Development at

of Virginia Foundation and supporting

tour the estate and gardens of Agec-

tion at the end of the 19th century and

(804) 828-0067 or bsthomas@vcu.edu.

the MCV Campus, will enjoy its fifth

roft Hall, Richmond’s very own 15th

had it dismantled, crated, and shipped to

annual spring outing on April 28th.

century manor house. Aside from the

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

1

F

MCV Foundation For more than six decades, the MCV Foundation has remained true to its mission “to inspire and steward philanthropy throughout the MCV Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Since its founding in 1949, the Foundation has grown in stature, stability, and service. The 2009-10 fiscal year was marked by outstanding accomplishments across the entire MCV Campus. The most noticeable sign of progress is the construction of the new School of Medicine building. As this new facility rises from the corner of 12th and Marshall Streets, all of us are reminded of the important role that the MCV Foundation plays in the future of health care.

The MCV Foundation has a long history of visionary leaders. At our Annual Meeting last May, the Foundation Board recognized the leadership of Ruth Campbell M’57 and presented her with the Dr. Eugene P. Trani Award for MCV Campus Leadership. This special award was established in 2009 to honor a current or past trustee who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, dedication and support of the MCV Campus. Ruth served on the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees from 1989 until 2010, when she became a Lifetime Honorary Trustee. She served as Chair of the Board for seven years. During her tenure as Chair, the MCV Foundation’s assets more than doubled, increasing from $145 million to nearly $360 million.

Also, at the May 10th Annual Meeting, the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees recognized four new lifetime honorary trustees: Dr. Erika M. Blanton, Dr. Ruth W. Campbell, Dr. Frederick Rahal, and James W. McGlothlin, and announced Dianne Harris Wright as the 2010 recipient of the Michael B. Dowdy Award.

The MCV Foundation is proud of its trustees who all serve the community in many ways aside from their membership as MCV Foundation trustees. As a special note: Dr. Richard M. Clary received the HCA Humanitarian of the Year Award, Dr. Richard P. Wenzel received VCU’s University Award of Excellence, Dr. George W. Vetrovec was presented with VCU’s University Distinguished Service Award, and Lifetime Honorary Trustee Dr. Louis S. Harris, along with his wife Ruth, received the Edward A. Wayne Medal from VCU.

Photo above: John C. Doswell II, D.D.S. and William P. Kotti, Ph.D. serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of the MCV Foundation Photo: Thomas Kojcsich

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

Each year, the MCV Foundation receives extraordinary gifts from extraordinary people. Last year more than $22 million was contributed to the MCV Foundation by nearly 22,000 alumni, faculty, friends, corporations, and foundations.

Our cover story in this issue of the Chronicle of Giving highlights the remarkable gift that Lavinia Blick made through her estate. Also, we captured that generosity of Ann Steigleder in this issue of the Chronicle. These are but a few examples of the impact that donors have on the lives of our students and our faculty.

Strong Returns.

Legacy of Leadership.

2

Powerful Philanthropy.

Austin Brockenbrough chairs the Investment Committee. Under his guidance, the MCV Foundation’s endowment has experienced steady growth, as the markets continue recovering from the worst economic downturn in decades. Total MCV Foundation assets increased from $337.9 million to $355.2 million during Fiscal Year 2010.

Our total disbursements were $29.3 million in support of scholarships, faculty chairs and professorships, academic and research programs, equipment, and patient care initiatives on the MCV Campus. We are investing to create future value and to meet the needs of the MCV Campus schools and units.

Shared Vision.

This year, the Foundation inaugurates a strategic planning committee chaired by Bruce V. Thomas, Senior Vice President for Global Market Strategy and Emerging Markets at MeadeWestvaco.

This newly formed committee will work closely with the MCV Campus leadership and VCU President Michael Rao to ensure that the Foundation’s goals and aspirations align with the University’s priorities, and to prepare the foundation as the catalytic partner for the next decade and beyond.

Heartfelt Thanks.

To our alumni and friends who so generously support the mission of the MCV Foundation, we offer our heartfelt thanks on behalf of the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees and staff.

The impact of your gifts is evident in all five of our schools, Massey Cancer Center and MCV Hospitals.

John C. Doswell II, D.D.S. Chairman of the Board

William P. Kotti, Ph.D. President

Financial Position & Highlights Medical College of Virginia Foundation Statement of Financial Position

For the year ended June 30, 2010 Amounts in thousands

Assets

Operating pooled investments Cash and cash equivalents $ 17,486 Long-term investments 104,736 Total operating pooled investments

122,222

Managed portfolio pooled investments

217,584

Agency assets

5,823

Other assets

9,661

Total Assets: $ 355,290

Liabilities and Net Assets Liabilities Debt service obligations Accounts payable Due to MCV Alumni Association – Due to Hospital Hospitality House – Agency liabilities

$ 11,170 623 5,823

Total liabilities: $ 17,616

Net Assets Donor restricted Temporarily Permanently Unrestricted Board designated Other

$ 178,676 137,737 20,897 364

Total net assets: $ 337,674

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

Total Assets: $ 355,290

Medical College of Virginia Foundation Financial Highlights

For the year ended June 30, 2010 Amounts in thousands

Total Assets (in millions)

Cash Contributions Totaling $22.1 million by Source

2007

$359.9

2008

$380.2

2009

$337.9

2010

$355.3

31.8% Friends and Grateful Patients 26.2% Foundations 20.4% Alumni 15.1% Corporations 6.6% Organizations

2007

$24.7

Disbursements Totaling $29.3 million by Program

2008

$25.4

2009

$29.7

2010

$29.3

Program Disbursements (in millions)

81.4% Education, research and general 10.2% Faculty salaries and support 6.7% Scholarships and awards 1.2% Other program services 0.5% Indigent patient care

This is a condensed version of the financial statements submitted to the MCV Foundation. Our independent auditor issued an Unqualified Opinion on the complete financial statements, which can be obtained by writing or calling the MCV Foundation’s office.

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

3

2010-2011 Ralph L. Anderson, D.D.S. Edward H. Bersoff, Ph.D. Katherine C. Bobbitt, Ed.D. Roger L. Boevé Austin Brockenbrough III Louise Oliver Brooks Thomas N. Chewning Richard M. Clary, M.D. Judith B. Collins, W.H.N.P. William D. Covington, D.D.S. Charles F. Crone Norwood H. Davis, Jr. John C. Doswell II, D.D.S. (Chair) Alice T. Goodwin Bruce B. Gray J. William Gray, Jr., Esq. Jeffrey H. Gumenick L. Preston Hale JoAnne K. Henry, Ed.D. Mark J. Hourigan Gail W. Johnson, R.N. Barry V. Kirkpatrick, M.D. Lee B. Krumbein John W. Martin William E. Massey, Jr. Dorothy A. Pauley Rebecca T. Perdue W. Baxter Perkinson, Jr., D.D.S..

James H. Revere, D.D.S. Randolph N. Reynolds, Sr. James C. Roberts, Esq. Bertha C. Rolfe, R.Ph. Ellen E. Spong James H. Starkey III Joseph M. Teefey Harry R. Thalhimer Bruce V. Thomas George W. Vetrovec, M.D. Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., M.Sc. Michelle V. Whitehurst-Cook, M.D. Henry L. Wilton Jane P. Wootton, M.D. Dianne Harris Wright Harold F. Young, M.D.

Foundation Board The MCV Foundation Board of Trustees held its annual dinner on May 10, 2010. It was a time to welcome a new trustee, honor newly appointed Lifetime Honorary Trustees and recognize outstanding volunteer leaders.

At the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees meeting, earlier in the day, Jeffrey H. Gumenick was elected as a new member of the Board of Trustees.

Jeffrey H. Gumenick is the Vice Chairman of

Photo: Hunter Henkel

MCV Foundation Board of Trustees

Gumenick Properties and Director of Gumenick Management Co., LLC, a third-generation, family-held real estate management, development and homebuilding firm with offices in Richmond, Virginia and Miami Beach, Florida and properties throughout the Southeast. Mr. Gumenick is a graduate of the University of Miami where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He also holds a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Real Estate and Urban Land Development from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mr. Gumenick is actively involved in many civic and professional organizations, including the President’s Council of the University of Miami, the VCU Real Estate Circle of Excellence and the Young Presidents Organization, among others. The MCV Foundation Board of Trustees is excited to welcome him.

Ex Officio Members: Michael Rao, Ph.D. President of VCU Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., M.S.P.H. CEO of the VCU Health System Vice President of VCU Health Sciences President: William P. Kotti, Ph.D.

4

New Lifetime Honorary Trustees

The MCV Foundation Board of Trustees Chair, Dr. John C. Doswell II, recognized four new lifetime honorary trustees: Dr. Erika M. Blanton, Dr. Ruth W. Campbell, Dr. Frederick Rahal, and James W. McGlothlin. Pictured above are Dr. Bill Kotti, MCV Foundation President, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Rahal, Dr. Blanton, and Dr. Doswell.

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

of Trustees Update Robert W. Irby, M.D. Award for Philanthropic Leadership

Dr. Enrique Gerszten received the Robert W. Irby, M.D. Award for Philanthropic Leadership which was established to honor the memory of Dr. Irby, an MCV rheumatologist who was as devoted to securing financial support for his beloved MCV as he was devoted to his patients and colleagues. Dr. Gerszten, center, is pictured with Dr. Bill Kotti, MCV Foundation President and Dr. Sheldon Retchin, Vice President for Health Sciences, VCU, and Chief Executive Officer, VCU Health System as he receives his award.

Dr. Eugene P. Trani Award for MCV Campus Leadership

Dr. Ruth W. Campbell, pictured, was awarded the Dr. Eugene P. Trani Award for MCV Campus Leadership. The award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and support to the MCV Campus.

Photo: Dianne Harris Wright was honored with the Michael B. Dowdy Philanthropy Award.

She is pictured with Dr. Gordon Ginder, Director of the Massey Cancer Center (left), and Dr. John C. Doswell II, MCV Foundation Board of Trustees Chair.

Michael B. Dowdy Philanthropy Award

Dianne Harris Wright was the 2010 recipient of the Michael B. Dowdy Award. Mrs. Wright was presented with the award at the November 15th Board of Trustees meeting. She was nominated for the award by Dr. Gordon Ginder, Director of the Massey Cancer Center. The Michael B. Dowdy Award was established in 2006 to recognize Mickey Dowdy, the former president of the MCV Foundation for his thirteen years of service. Each year the award is presented to a volunteer who has provided valuable assistance to the MCV Campus.

Photos: Allen T. Jones

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

5

Quality Medical Care

Unique

Kimberly K. Jefferson, Ph.D.

William Barton, Ph.D.

Devanand Sarkar, M.B.B.S. Ph.D.

Blick Scholars Program Appoints Six Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program

Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program Blick Scholars Program

6

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

Blick Scholars Program

Results in

By: Nan Johnson

Research Gift Mary Jayne Kennedy, Pharm.D.

I

Suzanne Ameringer, Ph.D., R.N.

Jason A. Carlyon, Ph.D.

Photos: Kevin E. Schindler

n the competitive world of grants and public funding, research scientists are

all too familiar with dwindling financial resources and growing laboratory

needs. For six scientists on the MCV Campus, however, the future just got a little brighter. All because of the quality of care provided at the VCU Medical Center.

For those living in rural communities, it’s not unusual to visit urban areas for medical care. So it was for Lavinia and George Blick who lived in Rawlings, Virginia, where she was a homemaker and he worked as a mail carrier, country store owner and farmer during the course of their long life together.

Mrs. Blick developed a fondness for MCV, later VCU Medical Center, where the couple received medical attention from time to time. However, it was her father’s experience there that eventually led her to name the institution as a beneficiary in her estate plan.

As a widow with no children or close relatives, Mrs. Blick thought long and hard about her estate according to the couple’s long-time friend and attorney William Dudley Allen III. “She decided to include the MCV Foundation in her will because her father had received such excellent care there,” said Allen.

Janet Scott Vincent, a Rawlings native and childhood neighbor of the Blicks, remembers the couple as part of her own family. “They were really sweet people who spent every holiday at our house,” she recalls. “Lavinia held MCV near and dear to her heart. She adored her father and always praised the hospital for the care he received.”

Mrs. Blick died in late 2007 at the age of 93, but her name and that of her husband live on through the generous $2 million endowment she established as the George and Lavinia Blick Research Fund to be managed by the MCV Foundation.

It was her wish to give back as a gesture of gratitude. Her only stipulation was that the gift be used to fund medical research on MCV’s Campus. From this fund, academic leadership created the Blick Scholars Program to recognize the outstanding achievements of faculty at the assistant professor level.

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

7

Blick Scholars Program “The Blick Scholars Program is the only ing why some newborn infants develop research award program of its kind on camkidney injury when treated with certain pus,” said Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., Vice antibiotic medications.

President for VCU Health Sciences and CEO, “Cancer research is a major focus and my VCU Health System. “It is unique because it work involves understanding the molecular furthers the promising medical research of our development of cancer and how we can use junior faculty members. The long-term impact that knowledge to develop new technoloof the program has the potential to extend gies,” said Devanand Sarkar, M.B.B.S. beyond our campus boundaries into commuPh.D., assistant professor, Department of nities, research facilities, medical institutions Human and Molecular Genetics; Harrison and patient care plans around the world.”

Endowed Scholar in Cancer Research, “Mrs. Blick’s trust in our mission and in our Massey Cancer Center, VCU Institute of Mrs. Lavinia Blick – financial stewardship is an honor,” said MCV Molecular Medicine. “The ultimate aim is Photo courtesy of Mr. William Dudley Allen III Foundation President Bill Kotti. “She would to take this knowledge to patients in my be proud to know that the Blick Scholars Program, created as lifetime.” Dr. Sarkar is appreciative of Mrs. Blick’s generosity a result of her generous bequest, recently awarded six rising as well as her forethought. “I wish I could have talked with research stars with four years of project funding.” This is the her and gotten to know the person and her thought process.”

“Being named a Blick Scholar is a nice affirmation that first award from the Blick Research Fund.

The investment interest generated by Mrs. Blick’s endowmy colleagues feel my scientific contributions are important ment results in an annual payout award for the purpose of to the school and the research community,” said William medical research. The endowment’s principal is reinvested Barton, Ph.D. assistant professor Department of Biochemfor long-term growth. The 2010 inaugural Blick Scholars istry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Structural Biology Award funds the work of young scientists from the School of and Drug Discovery. “The financial contribution to my Medicine, the School of Nursing and the School of Pharwork is deeply appreciated.”

“My appointment as a Blick Scholar is, to me, a symbol macy. “Blick Scholars are chosen through a highly competitive nomination process which includes documented growth that my dedication to research, to human health and to toward achievement of national or international recognition, teaching, is recognized by my peers and by my University,” a developing record of obtaining external research funding, said Kimberly K. Jefferson, Ph.D., assistant professor, collaborative scholarship and a primary faculty appointment Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Jefferin one of the health sciences schools,” explains David C. son’s funds will be used to further her studies of bacterial Sarrett, D.M.D., M.S., Associate Vice President for VCU vaginosis, a highly prevalent vaginal disorder that significantly Health Sciences. “This program recognizes those who are increases a woman’s risk of preterm labor and of acquiring setting a high standard and, as such, will encourage others to HIV. Her ultimate aspiration is to produce knowledge that try and attain similar levels of recognition.” will lead to improvements in therapy and reduce the rates “Being named a Blick Scholar is a great honor,” said of bacterial vaginosis and its associated detrimental effects Jason A. Carlyon, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department on women’s health.

“I’m thrilled to receive the Blick Scholar recognition,” of Microbiology and Immunology. “It means that the VCU School of Medicine greatly values the scientific contributions said Suzanne Ameringer, Ph.D., R.N., assistant profesthat my lab has made thus far and has confidence that we will sor, School of Nursing. “It allows me time for my research continue to produce science that is of high quality and stands and scholarship.” Dr. Ameringer studies pain and symptom to benefit others.” Dr. Carlyon’s work involves microbes that management in young adults with chronic disease. “It’s bind, invade and survive within host cells to cause disease. It fascinating to me because [Mrs. Blick based her decision to include is his ultimate hope to develop novel ways to treat or prevent the entire MCV campus in her estate plan] on the care that was infectious disease. provided by physicians, nurses, care partners, and adminis “The title of Blick Scholar carries with it a significant respontrative assistants – it takes all those people to make a wondersibility to continue the standard of excellence in patient care ful impression and for some reason research struck a chord and research that inspired Mrs. Blick to so generously give back with Mrs. Blick.”

Mrs. Blick may not have realized just how much of an to MCV,” said Mary Jayne Kennedy, Pharm.D., assistant professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes impact her generosity would make on so many people both Science. “I am extremely humbled to have been entrusted here at home and, potentially, around the world. Or, perhaps, with that responsibility.” Dr. Kennedy focuses on determinshe did. For the Blick Scholars, it’s a dream come true.

8

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

6

Dedication and ribbon cutting for the Cancer Center on March 19, 1983.

Photo: Courtesy of Massey Cancer Center

FILM

6075

KODAK

SAFETY

FILM

6075

MCV tapestry

The Massey Cancer Center Thread The History of the Medical College of Virginia is eclectic and varied and can be likened to a tapestry, woven of individual threads that together make up a bigger picture but retain their own individual identity as well.

We know that the School of Medicine came first in 1838 as the Medical Department of the Hampden-Sydney College. What you may not know is how the Massey Cancer Center developed from there.

• 1939 First focus on cancer treatment at MCV was begun with the establishment of the multidisciplinary tumor clinic at MCV. • The Tumor Clinic was the responsibility of Dr. George Zur Williams, a clinical pathologist with an active interest in cancer research.

• 1946 Dr. George Zur Williams became the head of a section of clinical pathology.

• 1953 A young MCV internist with oncology interests, Dr. Louis Le one spent three years as a resident in cancer medicine and then in 1953 returned to MCV to help with the cancer program here.

• 1955 Dr. Louis Leone became the new director of the Division of Cancer Studies.

• 1960-1966 Dr. Susan J. Mellette served as Director of the Division of Cancer Studies after coming to MCV with clinical experience and interest in both clinical cancer and cancer research in 1954.

• October, 1974 a cancer center is officially established within the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University structure.

• The Lewis Strauss Research building became the initial home of the MCV/ VCU Cancer and remained so until 1979.

• October, 1974 – Dr. Walter Lawrence, Jr. became Director of the Cancer Center.

• May, 1975 Initial Cancer Center Core Support Grant to MCV was awarded by the National Cancer Institute for three years, a sign of credibility for the program that had been proposed.

• 1979 Lyons building of the Dental School became the home of the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University Cancer Center until 1982.

• March 19, 1983 Ribbon cutting ceremony at the dedication of the Cancer Center took place.

• May, 1983 – Two months after the dedication, the Board of Visitors officially named the new facility the Massey Cancer Center. At this time, private donations totaled $5.1 million and state and institutional allocations were $3.2 million.

• 1988-1995 Dr. I. David Goldman served as Director of the Massey Cancer Center.

• 1995-1997 Dr. Francis L. Macrina served as the Center’s Interim Director.

• 1997-present Dr. Gordon D. Ginder assumed the role of Director of the Massey Cancer Center.

• October, 2003 Groundbreaking for a new research facility was held as the Campaign for Massey began.

• May 6, 2006 Dedication of The Goodwin Research Laboratory was celebrated by the Massey and Goodwin Families and the Richmond community.

Sources: Origins and Development of the Massey Cancer Center by Walter Lawrence, Jr., M.D., Director Emeritus of the Massey Cancer Center and the Massey Cancer Center Archives.

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

9

By: Nan Johnson

The Simple Physics of Love of Science and Learning Leads to Endowment Bequest Ann Steigleder, MCV School of Nursing, Class of 1948, has always looked at things a bit differently. She’s quick to point out that her thinking is well in line with that of Spock, the iconic character in the Star Trek television series. “That’s my idea of how you should live your life,” she says. “Logically.” Coincidentally, the popular 1960’s series aired around the time of Ms. Steigleder’s efforts to change nursing education on the MCV Campus from rote learning to integrated critical thinking. “I want things to be logical. Human behavior is illogical to me,” she says. “Math is logical, geometry is logical. I do well in those things.”

She is so attuned to the science of things she once pointed out to a medical intern that a patient’s drainage system had been set up incorrectly. He insisted that he had been taught to do it that way, only to be told by Ms. Steigleder, “Look, it’s just simple physics.”

To everyone’s surprise but hers, she corrected the mistake. “What girl back in the 40’s and 50’s knows about physics?” she laughs.

Ann Steigleder knows about physics. Her dream was to become an engineer, but she was steered into nursing by her parents, receiving her diploma in nursing from MCV and both her B.S.N. and M.S.N. from Western Reserve College, now Case Western University, in Cleveland, Ohio. Whether her scientific interests stemmed from her father, a building contractor who relocated the family to Hawaii to put in piers at Pearl Harbor during the depression, or from her own natural abilities, she recognized early on that her strengths were atypical of young ladies of her era. “I was good in math, I was not good at the social side of things,” she remembers.

Ms. Steigleder readily admits that her campus-wide reputation, first as a nursing diploma student in the 1940’s, then as a surgical nursing instructor at the School of Nursing from 1955 to 1965, was less than stellar on the social side. “I was going to infect every student I could get a hold of and turn them into logical thinkers and they were going to learn to think for themselves.” It wasn’t until later, during the tenure of Dean Doris Yingling that a graduate program for nurses, the first in Virginia, and the first formal research office in a

10

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

school of nursing were both established on the MCV Campus.

Clearly, Ann Steigleder was forging new ground for future nurses, and for the future of nursing, at a time when procedure was everything and problem solving was left to the physicians.

Mrs. Phyllis Chickos Patrick, MCV Nursing, B.S. 1961, said of Ms. Steigleder, “She was a giant among teachers. As a country girl from West Virginia, I was scared to death of her, but I always respected her. One time, Ms. Steigleder had us write a paper about a patient we had cared for in the hospital.

After class on the day we got our papers back Ms. Steigleder asked to see me and she said, ‘I had no idea you were that smart; that you put that much thought into your nursing. From now on I will always have students write about their nursing experiences.’

So, she questioned everything, even her own teaching methods.”

“Nurses follow doctors’ orders, but that’s not nursing,” Ms. Steigleder explains. “That’s not what nursing is. You carry out doctors’ orders intelligently; yes, you do that. It’s a cooperative relationship. But there has to be a body of knowledge that underlies nursing practice.” It was this body of knowledge she hoped to build, if not through changes in the educational system itself then through the classes she taught. Her experience as an operating room nurse helped make the case for patient education, which took place rarely if at all. And she was perplexed by the illogical departmentalization of medical nursing and surgical nursing. “I wanted to teach medical surgical nursing [as one] and was told, ‘nobody can do that, they’re two different things.’” She was a frustrated medical futurist in a world where nursing students simply staffed hospitals in the name of clinical experience.

Her idea was simple: teach nursing as part of a team-oriented integrated patient experience. From advocating research and problem solving, to patient education and lifelong critical thinking, Ann Steigleder was a dedicated patient-centered nursing educator.

“Ann was actually way ahead of her time in efforts to assure that the scientific basis of nursing, or what we currently refer to as evidence-based practice and research, was the foundation

Ann Steigleder, N’48 for the curriculum and courses of the school,” says Nancy F. Langston, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, Dean and Professor for the VCU School of Nursing and Executive Director of Academic Nursing for the VCU Health System. “She expected students to engage in critical thinking and clinical reasoning in ways that are now being rediscovered.”

According to Mrs. Margaret Vaughn Harvey, MCV Nursing, B.S. 1962, “Everybody loved her. She didn’t do anything the conventional way. She had an unusual way of thinking. And she challenged us, encouraging us to ask questions and to think outside the box.” In fact, it was Ms. Steigleder who encouraged Miss Vaughn to take the project she developed for her senior leadership course to Miss Pottinger, the director of nursing at MCV Hospital at the time. As a result, she and seven others from the Class of 1962 were given the opportunity to run the third floor South and West at the old MCV Hospital for two years using an interdisciplinary approach to nursing and health care. “It was my undergraduate experience at MCV and that project that led me to Boston University for a master’s degree in nursing with a focus on interdisciplinary treatment plans.”

Today, Ms. Steigleder spends the majority of her time in the sleepy Northern Neck community of Farnham, Virginia, where she tends to several ponds, thins out the woods on her property, and annually stays in touch with former classmates and colleagues. Though she no longer considers herself a nurse, she supports the VCU School of Nursing and has made a generous million-dollar bequest to establish the Steigleder Endowed Chair for Research. By working closely with Dr. Langston and the School of Nursing development staff, Ms. Steigleder has created a lasting legacy to the continued evolution of researchbased nursing education.

“With Florence Nightingale as the acknowledged ‘mother’ of modern nursing, we might expect that research was embedded in the DNA of the discipline,” said Dean Langston. “But that’s not the case. Full engagement in the conduct of research did not emerge for almost a century after Nightingale’s work. Once again, Ann has shown herself to be ahead of the curve and we are again very, very grateful. We are grateful for her forethought. And we are grateful for her generosity.”

Ms. Steigleder’s generosity today is just as sincere and heartfelt as her teaching was years ago. “Everything I have came from nursing,” she explains. “Nurses are the main caregivers and if they are well-educated people, I know that the cost of healthcare can come down because I’ve seen it.” More importantly, she explains, good research draws good faculty and good students. “How do you know what to teach without the research?” Not only is that logical, it’s just good physics.

Photos: Allen T. Jones

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

11

New Building Update

Demolition Complete, Work Continues on New Medical Education Building

F

A trusted name in demolition contracting for nearly 50 years, Richmond-based S.B. Cox Demolition Inc. carefully takes down the A.D. Williams Clinic. The demolition makes way for the School of Medicine’s new medical education building with more than 200,000 square feet of space for classrooms, research and clinical simulation.

12

Chronicle of Giving Winter 2010-2011

By: Nan Johnson

rom safeguarding the campus-wide steam tunnels to fabricating new foundation caissons, it’s full speed ahead for the construction of the School of Medicine’s new education hub at the corner of 12th and Marshall Streets. The A.D. Williams Clinic demolition is complete and the preparation for the new building’s structural support system is underway. The two-phase pre-construction project included preparation of the building’s interior to remove potentially hazardous materials and demolition. The process took approximately six months from beginning to end.

“Every project has a particular challenge,” explains Brian J. Ohlinger, P.E., Virginia Commonwealth University’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management. “Getting the site ready was the most difficult.”

The new building’s location is directly over the steam tunnels serving the entire MCV Campus, which makes the demolition and excavation work especially complex. “As the contractor excavates the basement area for the new building, care must be taken to ensure that the surrounding building foundations are not damaged and that the steam tunnels are carefully excavated around them,” according to Ohlinger. “It’s interesting to note that 35 projects were completed by the Health System and the University in order to move the former occupants of the A.D. Williams Clinic.”

Former Clinic occupants are now housed in a variety of locations including newly renovated space in Main and North Hospitals, Grant House, Leigh House, West Hospital, One Capitol Square and the Nelson Clinic.

The new 200,000 square-foot, 12-story, state-of-the-art education and training building was designed by I. M. Pei’s internationally acclaimed architectural firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, known for its design of the East Wing of the National Gallery and the Louvre Pyramid among other landmarks. “Our new medical education building will have an enormous impact on generations of physicians and their patients,” said Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D. “This facility will give us flexible, innovative space that reflects the needs of our students. It will transform the way we train and educate not only our students and housestaff, but also will offer new opportunities for continuing medical education to practicing physicians.”

The firm designed the new education building in the context of Virginia culture by celebrating space, light, landscape and a spirit of collectiveness and craftsmanship. The surface treatment of the building draws from the tradition of Virginia craft, with the wooden boards forming the architectural concrete reminiscent of the tradition of local tobacco shed construction. A large sheltering entry porch continues the practice of building welcoming spaces lining the historic streets of Richmond. In its light color palette, the new building evokes the nearby Capitol Complex, Hunton Hall and other important historic buildings in the immediate area.

Excavation is expected to be completed shortly, the foundation and basement by May 2011, steel superstructure by November 2012, and the building itself by December 2012. The final punch list and move in is expected to take place from January to March 2013.

Funding comes from a variety of sources including private gifts.

The estimated total project cost is $158.6 million of which $37 million is expected to come from private gifts. The remaining funds stem from state support ($70 million) and Health System and University Funds ($51.6 million).

Photo: Allen T. Jones

Future of Health Care: Fulfilling the Promise of Decoding the Human Genome This fall, the MCV Foundation presented its first-ever lecture series on the Future of Health Care: Fulfilling the Promise of Decoding the Human Genome. The three-part series provided VCU and MCV alumni, friends, donors, faculty and staff with an opportunity to engage the nation’s leading experts on one of medicine’s most provocative topics and also learn about the advances in genetic medicine that are being innovated and implemented on the MCV Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. All three lectures were held at the Virginia Historical Society.

“People in Central Virginia know that the VCU Medical Center is the place to be if they are experiencing a serious health crisis,” said John Martin, chair of the MCV Foundation’s Board of Trustees Communications Committee.

“But every single day, the MCV Campus’ faculty and staff conduct work that advances medicine on a global scale. This lecture series is a way to share those internal dialogues with the rest of the Richmond community.”

The first lecture on September 28th featured Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His lecture entitled, “The Future of Health Care: Fulfilling the Promise of the Human Genome Project,” explored the wide-ranging impacts of genomics on health care and society in general.

According to Guttmacher, genomic health care creates a fundamental understanding of the biology of many diseases (even many “non-genetic” ones), leads to defining disorders by biology of causation (rather than by symptoms), and provides knowledge of individual genetic predispositions via microarray and other technologies.

Jennifer L. Howse, Ph.D., president of the March of Dimes Foundation since 1990 presented the second lecture on October 26th. Since becoming president of the March of Dimes Foundation, Howse has doubled the foundation’s revenue and helped launch highly successful national campaigns promoting folic acid and premature birth prevention.

Prior to Dr. Howse’s presentation, Leslie G. Wyatt, vice president of Children’s Services and executive director of Children’s Hospital of Richmond, described the Children’s Hospital’s new relationship with the VCU Health System and how the venture is promoting children’s health and resolving questions concerning children’s health issues.

After her presentation on combating childhood diseases, Dr. Howse joined a panel of VCU physicians from a broad array of disciplines for a discussion on the genetic medicine being researched and implemented at the VCU Medical Center. The panel fielded questions from the audience after each member summarized their work in genetic medicine. The panel discussion was led by Dr. Bruce K. Rubin, the Jessie Ball DuPont Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, the Professor of Biomedical Engineering for the VCU School of Medicine, and the Physician in Chief, for the Children’s Hospital of Richmond. It also featured: Dr. Joann Bodurtha, Professor of the VCU Department of Human Molecular Genetics, Pediatrics, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Epidemiology and Community Health; Dr. Kelley Dodson, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, and Associate Residence Program Director for the VCU Medical Center; and Dr. Edmond Wickham, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at VCU. The panelists addressed questions on topics including: the scope of genetic research into childhood disease at VCU, the roles medical genetic services play in the evolution of personalized medicine, hereditary diseases, cure development after scientists identify a gene that causes a disease, obesity in families, and specific treatments for patients with genetic causes of obesity.

Marie A. Bernard, M.D. spoke on December 7th in the MCV Foundation’s final installment of its three-part lecture series. As Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging and the NIA’s senior geriatrician, Dr. Bernard spoke about her focus on taking research from the lab to the community, as well as helping to ensure a future pipeline of scientists who examine the questions relevant to the aging population.

After her presentation, Dr. Bernard joined a panel discussion led by Dr. Peter A. Boling, Professor of Medicine, Interim Chair for the Division of General Internal Medicine, Director of Long-term Care and Geriatrics and also featured

Pictured are VCU experts and nationally known guest speakers following the Future of Health Care Lecture Series’ panel discussions held as part of each of the three lectures in the series.

Photos: Allen T. Jones

Reaction to the Guttmacher lecture “The lecture was absolutely superb. This is cutting-edge stuff. It’s the future of medicine. [Guttmacher] was so articulate, but he took really complex things and made them coherent to people who didn’t know what he knew. He hit on all the right levels.”

– MCV alumnus Jackie Jackson (B.F.D.H. ’72)

“As Dr. Guttmacher said, the Human Genome Project was an international effort, and genomic research remains global in nature. Recently, our own Dr. Paul Fisher, professor of and chair of VCU Human and Molecular Genetics, developed techniques for gene discovery involved in susceptibility to cancer, neurodegeneration and infectious diseases. His findings have led to a number of novel therapeutic strategies based on these genes.”

– Sheldon Retchin, M.D., M.S.P.H., Vice President for VCU Health Sciences & Chief Executive Officer of the VCU Health System

Dr. James Bennett, Chair of the Department of Neurology, Director of the VCU Parkinson’s Disease Research and Treatment Center, and the Bemiss Professor. The panelists shared how genetics influenced their work, and fielded questions on how genetic advances will impact the growing number of seniors in our population.

Watch the whole series The entire three-part lecture series was videotaped for broadcast by Community Idea Stations and were broadcast on WCVE Richmond PBS and WHTJ Charlottesville PBS. Check local television listings for rebroadcasts of the lectures later in 2011. You can also watch the unedited full length lectures at any time by going to the MCV Foundation’s website at www.mcvfoundation. org and clicking on the “Lecture Series” button on the left side or at the top of the page.

MCV P.O. Box 980234 • Richmond, Virginia 23298-0234

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 1182 Richmond, Virginia

Photo: Allen T. Jones