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The Tuckahoe Woman’s Club Since 1936
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Please consider using The Tuckahoe Woman’s Club for your next event. For more information call
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LOCAL
PLENTY OF VACANCY With regional hotel bookings down significantly this year, sports tourism offers a glimmer of hope for recovery
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STR, a global hotel data provider. s clean and sure as a surgeon’s knife, the coronavirus panSTR says revenue per room dropped by demic has cut into the 15.6 percent as corporate travel has largely heart of the Richmond stopped and more expensive rooms are region’s tourism and not being rented. The Greater Richmond hospitality industry. Convention Center says that hotel sales for fiscal year 2019-20 dipped 11.7% over The patient survives and is now awaitfour regional jurisdictions: Chesterfield, ing better days. Hanover and Henrico counties and the “We’ve had recessions, we’ve had tercity of Richmond. rorist attacks, but for a pandemic, no one has an answer,” says Jack Berry, president Total hotel sales are $331 million, comand CEO of Richmond Region Tourism pared to $375 million the previous year. (RRT), the nonprofit that serves as the The downward spiral in the hotel region’s primary tourism marketer. industry also is chipping away at the Berry, who has headed the region’s finances of RRT, which receives 1.75% of tourism efforts for nearly three decades the region’s 8% hotel occupancy tax to and seen nearly everything, says, “There support marketing efforts. is no rulebook on this.” For the 2019 fiscal year, a record $30 In a year-to-date comparison million in hotel occupany taxes Shamin Hotels of the first six months of 2019 vs. CEO Neil Amin is were collected. The region was counting on the first six months of 2020, hotel sports on pace for another record year tourism to occupancy dropped by 30.5% in the when the coronavirus derailed the fill rooms while hotel industry Richmond-Petersburg metropoli- the momentum. suffers a decline tan statistical area, according to For the 2020 fiscal year ending in bookings.
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June 30, $24 million was collected. “It was off by 19.79%,” Berry says. “In the middle of March was when the doors shut.” “Half of March was good, half of March was awful. April was the worst month.” To save money, Berry says his staff is not traveling and not making sales calls. Virginia Tourism Corporation, the statewide agency for tourism promotion, has adopted a position that says in part, “We look forward to the day when you can visit again — and we’ll be here when you’re ready.” Its WanderLove campaign promotes scenic road trips, outdoor destinations and off-the-beaten-path attractions as ways for Virginians to vacation close to home. In campaigns being launched in Tidewater, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., Berry says RRT is taking a similar “when you’re ready” approach. Because the Richmond region is a short drive from those areas and offers good restaurants and numerous outdoor venues, Berry expects that as people look to get away, this region will be a preferred choice. If there’s a bright spot amid the gloom, Berry says, it’s been sports tourism. “Sports tourism hasn’t missed a beat,” he says. “I have 30 events this summer of sports tourism.” Events included a senior softball tournament in August, soccer, lacrosse and archery tournaments and a senior bowling tournament. Chesterfield’s Neil Amin, the CEO of Shamin Hotels, the largest hotel operator in Virginia, has high hopes for what sports tourism can do for the hotel industry. “Sports tourism is definitely a key demand driver that will recover first and assist in a quicker recovery for our industry,” he says via email. Dan Schmitt, board chair of RRT and owner of RMC Events, which provides personnel for tourism events across the commonwealth, says, “My doomsday is hotel operators not surviving. When we get moving again, we need those properties to be successful.” —Gary Robertson
ZAID HAMID
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FROM TOP LEFT: RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH COLLECTION, THE VALENTINE; LIBRADO ROMERO/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
school board argued that despite its best efforts, desegregation couldn’t work without the cooperation of nearby Henrico and Chesterfield counties. In January 1971, Merhige ruled that the achievements of the present plan were “less than remarkable.” On April 5, 1971, he ordered pupil and faculty reassignments and free citywide transportation. The most profound aspect was the extension of busing to all pupils straight down to kindergartners. Two weeks later, the ruling came down on the first busing case to reach the Supreme Court, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The court approved extensive busing to promote desegregation. On Jan. 10, 1972, Merhige, now with the Swann decision backing him, issued a 325page opinion: Full desegregation of the schools necessitated the implementation of a single regional system combining the city of Richmond with Henrico and Chesterfield counties, to include busing across city and county lines. Opposition arrived swiftly, and it was
(Clockwise from top left) Children are escorted to a school bus in Richmond on Sep. 21, 1970; Anti-busing demonstrators march along Franklin Street near Virginia Commonwealth University on Sep. 16, 1970; Gov. A. Linwood Holton escorts his daughter Tayloe Holton to the first day of class at John F. Kennedy High School in September 1970. (Opposite) Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr.
loud and vigorous. Picketers, including members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazis, came to the bottom of the driveway of Merhige’s house every Sunday. The family dog was tied up and shot (though it survived), and a guesthouse where Merhige’s 75-year-old mother-in-law lived burned to the ground. Mark Merhige, then 11, attended the private Collegiate School, which caused charges of hypocrisy. The judge explained that his son had started there in kindergarten, and he saw no reason to change. Judge Merhige remained steadfast and acknowledged in a 1987 interview, “At times it got awfully depressing. But I did what I did not only because it was the law, but also because I believed it was right. And for that I have no regrets.” The landmark ruling was overturned when the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled that Mehrige had exceeded his authority. On May 21, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, which had provided Merhige with precedents for his decisions, upheld the Fourth Circuit in a split decision with Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. recusing himself by citing a conflict due to his 1952-1961 chairmanship of the Richmond School Board. The court then invalidated most busing across city-county boundaries. City schools again became majority-Black. Merhige and the era of busing are detailed in a recently completed documentary titled “The Judge: Character, Cases and Courage,” produced locally by director Robert Griffith and artist Al Calderaro. In the film, Constitutional scholar Rodney Smolla, dean of Widener University Delaware School of Law, observes, “I think had he not been overruled, we might be a different country today. I think racial progress and harmony, and the quality of our public school systems across the country, would’ve been much stronger if that pragmatic solution had been allowed to stand.” R
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The prognosis was poor, with death imminent, and outsized egos of the doctors behind the operation, and doctors decided that Tucker was the prime candidate the race to perform the procedure, which had made a to be the organ donor for a heart transplant that would worldwide star out of Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the South be a prestigious first at the school and for its program. African surgeon who, five months earlier, had performed But MCV, the forerunner of VCU Health, and authorities the first successful heart transplant. The book also prowere lax in their search for his relatives: They did little files some of the recipients of those organs, as well as the all-too-often-overlooked men whose organs made more than send police out twice on door-knocking excurthe procedures possible. sions, even though Tucker had the business card of his brother, William, in his pocket. (It was returned to him But the book’s focus is on Tucker and the lack of care when he claimed Tucker’s effects long after his death and concern over the donor and his family, which was and the surgery.) part of a long, sordid history of medical mistreatment After the accident, Tucker’s heart was still beating, and indifference to African Americans and the poor — not crucial in preventing damage to the organ, but his brain just in Richmond, but throughout the world. Jones delves was showing no activity. This was a time before brain into this, tracing the practice in Richmond of using the death was an accepted standard, but it was a determining bodies of enslaved people whose graves were desecrated factor in having Tucker declared dead and allowing the by “resurrection men” and medical school staff and MCV team to perform the transplant. workers in search of cadavers for use in training, with Tucker’s place in the transplant story wasn’t the bones later discarded into an old well. announced initially by the hospital — he was anonRASH AND BRASH ymous. It took a mortician to make the connection and The tale of the first MCV heart transplant is one of give some sense of dignity and acknowledgment, actions taken in haste. through his obituary. “He was caught in the crosshairs of history,” says Chip A successful human heart transplant was a surgical Jones, author of “The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story holy grail in the mid-20th century, the medical equivalent of the First Heart Transplant in the Segreof the space race, the international compeThe Richmond Timesgated South” (Gallery/Jeter Publishing), tition to place a man on the moon. Donald Dispatch first report on the donor, Bruce Tucker, from May which details the story of that procedure and McRae’s 2006 nonfiction book “Every Second 28, 1968, by reporter Beverly the court action that followed. The book, Counts: The Race to Transplant the First Orndorff. The transplant occurred three days earlier. which was released in August, looks at the Human Heart” details the timeline and personalities of the leaders in the field seeking to perform the first human heart transplant, looking at South Africa’s Barnard, who earned that distinction while besting other pioneers, including Dr. Richard Lower at MCV. Jones tasked himself with finding another approach to telling this story, focusing on Tucker and the legal aftermath. Honing his writing and reporting skills with stints at newspapers such as the Roanoke Times and The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jones also served as the communications and marketing director for the Richmond Academy of Medicine. He began mulling a book on the heart transplant race in 2016; talking with people at the academy, then digging into various archives and records. He supplemented the paper trail with interviews. It is a tale of frustration. The halfhearted effort in tracking down Bruce Tucker’s family was indicative of the
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in us that is vital for us to best serve our patients.” Today, the Richmond-based United Network for VCU says it will craft a new diversity, equity and Organ Sharing (UNOS) serves as the national coordinator for organ donations. You can declare yourself an inclusion statement as a guide, according to the release, organ donor by regsitering to be one when you get your and the university “recently vowed to fearlessly accept driver’s license. In the event of death, family members criticism and continuously learn from our mistakes in will be counseled about donation, about whether the transparency and humility.” deceased has registered as a donor and about the The school touts its transplant program’s accomplishdonation process as part of the procedure to gain authoments in terms of providing services to more than twice rization, according to the UNOS website. It’s all to the national average of African American heart trans“ensure it’s understood by the family and next of kin,” plant recipients, and in being a top destination for Quader says. transplant patients of minority communities. Klett, the first recipient of a transplanted heart at VCU also has taken steps to help new generations VCU, survived for a week. Heart transplants captured of medical professionals be more aware and responsive the imagination at the time, but the complications, to the communities they seek to help. especially the rejection of the organ by the body, were As part of their training, VCU School of Medicine a major problem. After the first year, there was a morstudents learn about historical trauma and harmful atorium imposed on heart transplants, with only four actions and policies that VCU’s predecessors and other centers around the world medical institutions engaged allowed to continue, says in over the course of 200 or “ T R E AT I N G A L L PAT I E N T S Quader. MCV was one. so years, according to Dr. WITH DIGNITY AND “If it was not for the four Mark Ryan, an associate propioneers to continue, we fessor of the medical school’s R E S P E C T I S A N U N WAVwould not be doing heart family medicine and popuE R I N G CO M M I T M E N T O F transplants today,” he says. lation health department. Over the decades, proceHe’s a co-director for the O U R H E A LT H SYS T E M . dures and techniques have medical school’s patient/phyT H AT SA I D, W E H U M B LY evolved and improved, with sician society course. AC K N OW L E D G E T H AT The course addresses a median survival after transissues such as segregated plant of 14.8 years, according T H E R E H AV E B E E N T I M E S to Quader. There have been institutions and the infamous W H E N W E H AV E FA L L E N more than 22,000 heart transsyphilis study in Tuskegee, Alabama, that ran from the plants done since Barnard’s S H O R T O F T H I S G OA L ...” pioneering procedure, with 1930s into the 1970s, in which VCU STATEMENT 3,552 of them performed in the Black men in the federal 2019, according to UNOS. experiment were never informed of the nature of the study, and were given Without a transplant, the average patient would live placebos instead of treated for the disease. about two additional years. “The heart transplant has There’s also the matter of VCU’s past including the delivered more than the hype it has created,” Quader says. infamous well of discarded bones and remains that was R E C T I F Y I N G T H E PA S T found during a construction project in the 1990s. The remains were taken to the Smithsonian Institution in In response to “The Organ Thieves,” VCU in July issued Washington, where they were studied before being a statement that says the book’s release gives the school returned to Richmond in 2019. Officials and a citizens an “opportunity to reflect and learn,” noting that learning group will determine a final resting place. and understanding the institution’s history can help improve VCU Health and its relationship with the com“We bring those historical facts into play,” Ryan says. munities it serves. The course helps students understand why some “Treating all patients with dignity and respect is an people may be leery of doctors or lack trust in medicine, unwavering commitment of our health system,” the and it aims to give future doctors training and skills to statement reads. “That said, we humbly acknowledge use when working with patients of different experiences, that there have been times when we have fallen short helping them “to be thoughtful so as not to re-create of this goal and damaged the trust communities place the trauma or bring new issues to bear,” Ryan says. R
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2020’ S BE S T U N P U BLIS HE D NO V E L W IN N E R
‘THE SWEET SCENT OF DEATH’ B Y L E S L E Y S T. J A M E S
I L L U S T R A T I O N S B Y C AR S ON MCN AM AR A
The following excerpt picks up with Virginia native Jill Cooksey, a public relations account executive who is trying to launch a new fragrance for her client and prove to herself and everyone around her that she is not a complete failure. After a glamorous launch event in Central Park is marred by a fight between the campaign spokesmodel and her jealous TV costar, the spokesmodel goes missing. Or does she? Jill is convinced there has been foul play and sets out for the Waldorf Astoria hotel to investigate.
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T he Waldorf Astoria hotel towered above Park Avenue in art deco splendor. I had organized and attended several events here over the years, so I hoped to find a sympathetic staff member to help me track Juliet down. I was in luck. The concierge on duty was my old pal Jean-Paul. As usual, he was dressed better than any of the hotel’s patrons as he stood behind an exquisite antique rosewood desk and surveyed his domain. Tall, dark, and ooh-la-la, Jean-Paul was the ultimate metrosexual. He oozed sophisticated charm, and with his Hermès ties, impeccable taste, and sexy French accent, he was the occasional subject of my daydreams. He saw me coming from across the lobby, and his cool gaze never wavered from me. The effect on most people is intimidation, a concierge’s best weapon, but like I said, I knew Jean-Paul. I had once seen his custom suit splattered with crème brûlée by a novice waiter at the American Society of Cosmetic Surgeons annual dinner. The sight of custard sliding down his lapel thoroughly humanized JeanPaul in my eyes. Now that cool gaze, instead of intimidating me, just made me smile. He was so sexy. Consciously, I added a little sway to my walk.
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“Bonjour, Jean-Paul,” I cooed at him as I sidled up to the desk. “Bonjour, Mademoiselle Cooksey,” he said and smiled the faintest smile while cocking an eyebrow. “How may I be of service?” “I’m looking for someone, and I’m hoping you can help.” Automatically his lips pursed a little. While one of the concierge’s duties is to be overwhelmingly helpful while remaining chillingly polite, the other is to safeguard the privacy of his guests. This was going to be tougher than I thought. “Mademoiselle, you of all people should know that I cannot divulge the identities of our guests,” he said. “But it’s a matter of life and death!” As I hissed the words at Jean-Paul, I suddenly knew in my gut that it was a matter of life and death. Jean-Paul must have sensed my sincerity because he didn’t argue with me. He simply cocked another eyebrow and surveyed me calmly before he replied. “Could it possibly wait for ten minutes? Jean-Pierre will be here then, and I will be at liberty to talk. If indeed someone’s life is hanging in the balance as we speak …” “I can wait ten minutes,” I breathed with a sigh of relief. Jean-Paul directed me to a small cafe around the corner, and I headed there to wait for him. Cafe Montmartre was full of patrons munching pastry, swilling espresso, and eagerly reading the day’s newspapers. I ordered a latte and sat at a table by the front window. As I sipped, I suddenly felt silly for being so dramatic with JeanPaul. Was it really a matter of life and
death? So a friend stood me up for lunch. It happens all the time. What made this situation any different? Juliet made it different. She had needed to talk to me, and she had suggested lunch at my place out in the hinterlands. It was too odd a suggestion for her just to forget about it. And the scene with Amber the night before had made me realize that even “It Girls” have enemies. Maybe it wasn’t life and death, but something was certainly wrong. I needed to help a friend. As I reached this conclusion, JeanPaul strode into the cafe. With a slight bow of his head he sat down, and I swear five seconds later a tall blonde waitress/ supermodel (Wait, where did she come from? I had to order at the counter) deftly set a double espresso in front of him. He flashed her a smile in thanks, and she smiled back … with her whole body. “You must be a regular.” Now I was cocking an eyebrow. In response JeanPaul merely shrugged his shoulders and slightly pursed his lips in that all too French way that neither confirms nor denies. “Now Mademoiselle, what is this all about?” I briefly explained my relationship with Juliet and our lunch plans. I could tell by the end of the story that Jean-Paul wasn’t buying it. “So Mademoiselle, you are telling me that Juliet Scott, star of television and silver screen, decided not to go to Queens, that cultural Mecca, that glittering gem of the five boroughs, to have lunch, and this surprises you?” His smile of contempt was probably the closest Jean-Paul
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VA COLLEGE GUIDE
SCHOOL NEWS
VCU’s new dean, Batwoman’s Hampton roots and GMU looks beyond
ADMINISTRATION
Listening Spaces Carmenita Higginbotham named new dean of VCUarts
COURTESY VCUARTS/STEVEN CASANOVA
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ollowing 2019 student protests calling for a more diverse faculty and mandatory diversity training for staff and faculty, Carmenita Higginbotham says she plans to listen to student concerns when she becomes dean of VCUarts in September. “Students need to have a space to communicate with administrators,” Higginbotham says. “It has to be productive, and it has to be honest.” Last year’s protests came after VCU officials suspended associate professor Javier Tapia who called security on a visiting Black professor who was sitting in a faculty lounge in late 2018. Protestors objected to Tapia’s potential return to VCU and rallied for changes to make the school more inclusive. To ensure student voices are heard, Higginbotham says she wants to provide town halls, interact with student groups, or offer another platform for students to reach the dean’s office. Higginbotham, 48, last served as department chair of the McIntire Department of Art at the University of Virginia and taught courses on art film and Afri-
can American art as an associate communicating with students. VCUarts Dean and Disney “She’s always very aware of professor. She also has taught expert Carmenita who her audience is,” Fordham courses on Disney’s impact on Higginbotham says. “I think she’s looking for popular culture. She appeared ways to meet students where they are.” in PBS’s 2015 American Experience documentary “Walt Disney” and says disHigginbotham says she’s most excited cussing Disney lets her explore a part of to speak with the artists who call VCU home and wants to further a sense of American culture that influences “the way school pride. we see the world.” “Being a graduate of VCUarts means Douglas Fordham, a professor of art history at UVA, worked with Higginbothyou have entered a group of creative indiam in the art department for 14 years and viduals who go on to change the world,” Higginbotham says. —Anika Mittu says she’s casual and expressive when RICHMONDMAG.COM
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College Admissions Flex Amid COVID-19
The pandemic changes the college application process as admissions
BY DINA WEINSTEIN
leaders encourage students to pursue dreams and tell their stories
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GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
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VA COLLEGE GUIDE
TO BE CONTINUED...
Adult programs and professional schools for furthering education
ADULT EDUCATION (Richmond Region Only) Averett University Cost: Bachelor’s, $480 per credit hour. Master’s $530 to $695 per credit hour. Evening classes for accelerated undergraduate or graduate degrees in business, education and criminal justice. Online classes available. 420 W. Main St., Danville, 434-791-5600 or averett.edu.
Bluefield College
Cost: $365 per online undergraduate credit hour. Undergraduate programs for eight majors online. Graduate degrees for licensed teachers who are currently employed. Cost: $495 per credit. 800-872-0175 or bluefield.edu.
Catholic Distance University
Cost: $165 per credit for continuingeducation courses; $305 per credit hour for undergraduates; $450 per credit for graduates. Distance-learning courses for AA in Catholic studies, BA in theology and graduate degrees theology. 300 S. Gorge St., Charles Town, West Virginia, 888-254-4238, ext. 700, or cdu.edu.
Community College Workforce Alliance
Cost: Call for details. Workplace training courses in the greater Richmond region as a partnership between John Tyler Community College and Reynolds Community College. Multiple training and meeting facilities 804-523-2292 or ccwatraining.org.
John Tyler Community College
Cost: $160 per credit hour; call for program details. Online associate’s degrees in a variety of disciplines. Teacher recertification courses available. 13101 Jefferson Davis Highway, 804-796-4000; Midlothian campus, 800 Charter Colony Parkway, Chester, 804-594-1544 or jtcc.edu.
Lifelong Learning Institute
Cost: Call for details. Academic and fitness classes for ages 50 and older. 13801 Westfield Road, 804-378-2527 or llichesterfield.org.
Mary Baldwin College in Richmond
Cost: $460 per credit hour through MBU online. Bachelor’s degrees in more than 15 majors. Teacher licensure. Master’s in teaching, education. Certificate programs in business management, health care administration, entrepreneurship, human resource management, leadership studies and long-term care. 2810 N. Parham Road, Suite 303 and 360, 804-282-9111 or marybaldwin.edu/ilearn/richmond.
Old Dominion University, ODUOnline
Cost: $360 per undergraduate credit hour; $551 per graduate credit hour. More than 120 online degrees and certificates in business, education, engineering, health/social sciences, nursing
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and technology. Transfer agreements with Reynolds and John Tyler. 800-968-2638 or online.odu.edu.
information. VCU Continuing and Professional Education offers noncredit, credit and CEU opportunities. 804-828-1322 or ocpe.vcu.edu.
Cost: $166.60 per credit; visit website for program details. 1651 E. Parham Road; downtown campus, 700 E. Jackson St.; Goochland campus, 1851 Dickinson Road, 804-371-3000 or reynolds.edu.
Cost: $405 per undergraduate credit hour. $577 per graduate credit hour. The Bachelor of Individualized Studies degree draws on a range of disciplines. Master of Interdisciplinary Studies also offered. 1 Hayden St., Virginia State University, 804-524-5000 or vsu.edu.
Reynolds Community College
Strayer University
Cost: $1,480 per course for undergraduates; course rate varies by program for graduate students. Associate to master’s degrees in business, accounting and more. 11501 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, 804-527-1000; 15521 Midlothian Turnpike, Suite 401, Midlothian, 804-794-2033 or strayer.edu.
Union Presbyterian Seminary
Cost: $470 per semester hour. Graduate programs in biblical and theological studies, ministry, and Christian education. 3401 Brook Road, 800-229-2990 or upsem.edu.
University of Phoenix
Cost: $398 per credit hour. Undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs, including business, social and behavioral science, education, health sciences, technology, and nursing. 9750 W. Broad St., Glen Allen, 804-281-3900 or phoenix.edu.
University of Richmond, Robins School of Business Cost: Call for details. Executive
Education, offering a variety of noncredit professional development programs to nurture leadership talent. MBA program, part-time, fully accredited graduate program designed for working professionals. 804-289-8550 or robins.richmond.edu.
University of Richmond, School of Professional and Continuing Studies
Cost: Degree program tuition starts at $495 per semester hour. Other course fees vary by program. Evening and weekend undergraduate and master’s degrees in education, liberal arts, information systems, HRM and more. Plus a variety of professional development and training programs, including a coding boot camp. Also offers the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. 804-289-8133 or spcs.richmond.edu.
University of Virginia Richmond Center
Cost: Undergrad, $488. Graduate, $590. Bachelor’s degree completion programs, graduate certificate programs, custom education programs. 2810 N. Parham Road, Suite 300, 804-662-7464 or scps.virginia.edu.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Cost: Varies by program. More than 160 graduate and professional degree and certificate programs offered on campus and online; call 804-828-6916 or visit graduate. admissions.vcu.edu for full list and application
Virginia State University
Virginia Tech Richmond Center
Cost: varies by program. Graduate degrees, professional development programs, continuing-education and certificate programs, including leadership management development, education and public administration. 2810 N. Parham Road, Suite 300, 804-662-7288 or richmond.vt.edu.
Virginia Union University
Cost: Call for details. Evening business courses, theology courses and weekend teacher licensure programs. 1500 N. Lombardy St., 804-257-5600 or vuu.edu.
Visual Arts Center of Richmond
Cost: Online fall classes range from $40 to $265. On-site fall classes range from $140 to $245. A long-standing community arts center that offers more than 1,000 youth and adult art classes in 15 media each year. Popular programs include: clay, painting and drawing, glass and fiber. A 1,800-square-foot gallery. 804-353-0094 or visarts.org.
VMFA Studio School
Cost: $60 to $230. Call for details. Classes for ages 16 and older in creative writing, drawing, printmaking, painting, pottery, design, photography and yoga. 2915 Grove Ave., 804-367-0816 or vmfa.museum.
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS (Richmond Region Only) Bryant & Stratton College Cost: Call for details. Degree programs in business, health care, hospitality, legal studies and technology. On-site child care center. 8141 Hull Street Road, 804-745-2444 or bryantstratton.edu.
South University
Cost: Call for details. Programs in health care, criminal justice, business, public relations, psychology, theology, pharmacy and more. 2151 Old Brick Road, Glen Allen, 804-727-6800 or southuniversity.edu. Last updated August 2020. To suggest an update to this listing, please contact Special Projects Editor Nicole Cohen at 804-355-0111 or nicolec@richmag.com.
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what's new
Design on the Run Jamie Coffey's new mobile design showroom By Valerie D. Parker
le n e Ad e f s by ; o n e o w lo h g P il C lo t b o r a t in le p a ll S im h co rms s w it t fi c e th ro je o n p o ff ey C
Jamie Coffey (the former
creative director for Williams & Sherrill) created XOJ as a resource for design professionals.
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WHEN THE POPULAR DESIGN CENTER
Williams & Sherrill (W&S) abruptly closed last year, creative director Jamie Coffey was at a loss. He had been with the firm for 25 years, since joining it as the fabric manager in his twenties, and he had dedicated his career to helping the business grow. He gave himself three days to grieve before assessing his vocational path. He wrote in his journal: “What do I want?” “What do I need?” and “What am I good at?” Coffey decided to build a new business for himself, creating XOJ, a mobile interior design showroom. He knew from experience that many local designers — up-and-coming and established alike — who had relied on W&S as a resource for their projects were left high and dry with the closing, and he realized he could fill that gap. Drawing upon his decades of experience and vast network of industry contacts to create his roster, he decided to forego a bricks-andmortar location and bring the showroom to the designers, making himself available to meet at project sites, delivering samples
and offering virtual meetings. “It would be a disservice not to share the wealth of information I have with others,” Coffey says. The firm’s name, XOJ, honors his parents, always his biggest cheerleaders. Inspired by his signature on letters to his guiding light, his late mother, Frances, XOJ represents a diverse group of furniture, upholstery and textile manufacturers, many from the W&S roster, and it’s primarily open to members of the trade. However, Coffey, who developed his own interior design client list through the years at W&S, also offers residential and commercial design services. Coffey is also busy brokering new projects with manufacturers with whom he’s enjoyed long relationships, including Adelene Simple Cloth in Atlanta and Annie Selke’s Pine Cone Hill division in Massachusetts. Coffey was instrumental in the development of Selke’s first furniture line. “We spark off of each other, and the next thing you know, the house is on fire,” Coffey laughs. xojco.com
Courtesy Jamie Coffey
8/7/20 5:47 PM
ABOVE: McWilliams designed the golden hand, mirror, console and staircase. The table is by Eero Saarinen and chair is by Eames. NEAR RIGHT: McWilliams designed the dining table and chairs, an Ettore Sottsass light fixture, and a Davi Det Hompson concrete construction on the wall. RIGHT: McWilliams designed the quilt, side chair and prints over the bed.
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