Scarab Spring 2015

The magazine of the MCV Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University Spring 2015

Remote rx

Medical mission trips broaden students’ clinical, procedural and cultural skills

Vol. 63, No. 1

Remote rx Medical mission trips broaden students’ clinical, procedural and cultural skills

BIGPICTURE Student volunteers from the School of Pharmacy check a young girl’s blood pressure at the VCU Wellness Block Party, held March 21 at Armstrong High School in Richmond, Virginia. General health screenings were just part of the free health and wellness services available to the 500 children and adults in attendance. Formerly the VCU/MCV Community Health Fair, the eighth annual student-led event embraced its new “block party” vibe, offering a variety of activities, including live music, face painting and an obstacle course, in addition to 60 community organizations providing educational and healthy lifestyle resources. More than 130 students from VCU’s health sciences schools volunteered at the event, which was organized by the MCV Campus Student Government Association in partnership with Richmond’s 7th District Healthy U and Camp Diva’s Date with Dad Weekend.

Spring 2015

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Greetings from the MCV Campus of VCU!

I

n this issue of Scarab, we look at the many ways Virginia Commonwealth University invests in efforts to improve human health.

Examples of our commitment can be found across the university, from students who work to change the lives of those not fortunate enough to have access to medical care, to our academic leaders who share a common quest to improve human health through multidisciplinary approaches. But as you’ll read in this issue, improving human health extends beyond medicine and research. In his column, President Michael Rao explains VCU’s role in nourishing a healthy ecosystem for the region by creating an environment where entrepreneurship and innovation flourish. After all, a healthy community translates into more opportunities and a better quality of life for residents.

Speaking of, have you ever wondered how healthy Richmond is? We did, so on Page 26, you’ll find a visual depiction that shows how VCU truly sits at the heart of one of the healthiest cities in America. Other stories we’re excited to share with you in this issue include a celebration of the School of Education’s golden anniversary and a salute to a remarkable legacy family boasting seven proud graduates.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue and that you are encouraged and inspired to engage with your alma mater. The MCV Alumni Association of VCU, in partnership with other constituent organizations — academic, geographic and shared interest — under the umbrella of VCU Alumni, strives to provide alumni with a menu of value-added engagement opportunities in support of the university’s strategic plan, Quest for Distinction. MCVAA is a dues-driven organization that offers a full spectrum of benefits and services, and I invite you to learn more at vcualumni.org.

It has been my pleasure and honor to serve as the president of the MCV Alumni Association of VCU for the past two years and to work collaboratively with distinguished School of Dentistry alumnus W. Baxter Perkinson Jr., D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’70/D), in his role as the first president of VCU Alumni. In the MCV Tradition, we are #RamProud.

I thank you and thousands of your fellow alumni for being actively engaged with your alma mater!

Spring 2015 Volume 63, Number 1 vcualumni.org Associate vice president, University Alumni Relations Gordon A. McDougall Senior director, finance and services Judy Frederick Senior director, outreach and engagement Ramin Mirshah (B.A. ’01/H&S) Senior director, development and alumni communications Melanie Irvin Seiler (B.S. ’96/MC) Senior director, VCU Alumni Diane Stout-Brown (B.S.W. ’80/SW)

Editorial, design and photography VCU University Relations The alumni magazine is published semiannually by the Virginia Commonwealth University Office of Alumni Relations. The views and opinions expressed in the alumni magazine do not necessarily represent those of the alumni office or university.

Send address changes or comments to: Office of Alumni Relations Virginia Commonwealth University 924 West Franklin Street P.O. Box 843044 Richmond, Virginia 23284-3044 Phone: (804) 828-2586 Email: alumni@vcu.edu vcualumni.org

Yours for VCU and in the tradition of MCV, © 2015, Virginia Commonwealth University an equal opportunity, affirmative action university 000036-01

Kenneth Kolb, Pharm.D. (Pharm.D. ’82/P)

On the cover As a biomedical engineering major, Shruthi Muralidharan (B.S. ’15/En) traveled abroad to deliver needed services to underserved communities. Read about her and other students’ experiences on Page 16.

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contents

26 Features 10 A better world Academic medical centers play a vital role in advancing human health and improving the communities around them.

16 Globalized health Students change the lives of those not fortunate enough to have access to medical care.

20 A common quest VCU’s academic leaders discuss how the university strives to improve human health through a multidisciplinary approach.

Departments 26 The healthy heart of Richmond VCU sits at the center of one of the healthiest and happiest cities in America.

28 Est. 1964 Fifty years later, the VCU School of Education remains as vital and influential as ever.

30 Seven family members, one alma mater The Johnson children, all six of them, continue the VCU tradition first set by their mother.

4 University news 9 Presidential perspective 32 Alumni connections 37 Alumni support 38 Class notes 41 Alumni profile: Pam El

4 4 Alumni profile: Joseph Roderique, M.D.

53 Datebook

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UNIVERSITYnews

Virginia Commonwealth University news and research.

For the latest updates, visit VCU News at news.vcu.edu.

Collaboration

Adapting ‘Macbeth’ for the big-screen

Photo Arielle Bryant

The School of the Arts is producing a feature-length film adaptation of “Macbeth,” starring a cast of actors drawn from the popular AMC series “TURN: Washington’s Spies.”

Written and directed by “TURN” star Angus Macfadyen (“Braveheart”), the project marks the first instance of a university effectively acting as the production company for a major feature film, with the School of the Arts’ Cinema Program overseeing all aspects

of production — from script development to final cut. This unprecedented production model offers a unique opportunity for VCU arts students to collaborate with a cast of established film professionals on a project whose scale far exceeds that of a typical student film.

The budget for “Macbeth” is about $600,000, a figure that comprises an equity investment from VCU School of the Arts and in-kind donations of production resources and staffing, as well as support from the Virginia Film Office. The majority of the crew consists of VCU cinema undergraduates, working under the guidance of university faculty. Reflecting VCU School of the Arts’ distinctively interdisciplinary approach to creative collaboration, students from various departments are participating in different aspects of the filmmaking process.

Macfadyen stars in the title role alongside several other members of the “TURN” cast, including Taylor Roberts, Kevin McNally and Samuel Roukin.

“Macbeth” was shot in and around Richmond on 35mm cameras. The film, anticipated to make its festival debut later this year, is executive produced by Rob Tregenza, director of the Cinema Program at VCU and an award-winning director and cinematographer (“Talking to Strangers,” “Werckmeister Harmonies”).

VCU student Seddik Niazi (left) on the set of “Macbeth” with director of photography Art Eng, star and director Angus Macfadyen and Rob Tregenza, executive producer and director of VCU’s Cinema Program

Grants

rankings

The sponsored research awards portfolio at VCU closed fiscal year 2014 at an all-time institutional high of $262.3 million — a 5.8 percent increase compared with the previous year.

A quantitative measure of VCU’s success is found in the research funding resulting from investigator-initiated grants. This amounted to about $187 million in fiscal year 2013 and increased to $206 million in fiscal year 2014, representing a 10 percent increase in the faculty-driven core funding of the VCU portfolio.

“Underpinning the growth of VCU’s research enterprise are our faculty researchers,” says Francis Macrina, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation at VCU. “Our faculty are asking important questions and proposing creative strategies to get answers that increase our knowledge.”

The top four VCU schools or colleges in terms of sponsored programs awards were: Medicine ($134.9 million), Arts ($42.7 million), Education ($28.8 million), and Humanities and Sciences ($17.2 million).

Several VCU graduate programs have improved their rankings among the top 50 of the nation’s best in the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools.”

Among those programs with updated and improved rankings for the 2016 edition, the VCU School of Education ranks as the 27th best graduate school for education, the VCU School of Nursing is 34th, the VCU School of Medicine is 49th for best primary care and the VCU School of Allied Health Professions ranks third for its health administration program and fourth for its rehabilitation counseling program. In addition, nurse anesthesia in the School of Allied Health Professions ranks No. 4 in its updated ranking.

In total, VCU boasts 22 graduate programs ranked in the top 50 by U.S. News & World Report.

More than 1,900 graduate programs were analyzed as well as reputation surveys from more than 13,700 academics and professionals in the disciplines.

Research funding at all-time high

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‘Best’ graduate programs

ACCOLADES

SUSTAINABILITY

Making fresh food accessible

GRANT

Urban training for teachers

The VCU School of Education’s Center for Teacher Leadership was awarded a $7.5 million grant to refine and expand its Richmond Teacher Residency program and to evaluate the program’s impact on teacher retention and student achievement in critical shortage areas within Richmond Public Schools. Terry Dozier, Ed.D., is the program director and will lead this effort.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the highly competitive Teacher Quality Partnership grant as part of a $35 million project to improve student achievement by supporting partnerships between universities and high-need school districts.

The Richmond Teacher Residency program addresses the unique challenges of preparing teachers for urban education. Individuals with strong GPAs and a passion to level the playing field are recruited into the program and make a four-year commitment that includes a year of residency and three years of urban school teaching.

Albert Farrell, Ph.D., a psychology professor in the College of Humanities and Sciences, received a 2015 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The award, the highest honor for faculty at Virginia’s public and private colleges and universities, recognizes superior accomplishments in teaching, research and public service.

Farrell is founder and director of the VCU Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development.

HAIR-RAISING Recognition

Sonya Clark, chair of the Department of Craft and Material Studies in the School of the Arts, earned the coveted top award at ArtPrize, an international art competition. Clark shared this year’s $200,000 juried grand prize award with Anila Quayyum Agha. For her “Hair Craft Project,” Clark enlisted 12 local hairstylists to manipulate her hair into a work of art and then create an equivalent piece on a handstitched silk canvas using silk thread.

pOWERFUL award

Ammon Williams, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering in the School of Engineering, received a prize in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research competition. Williams’ award-winning research paper, which was written with his adviser, associate professor Supathorn Phongikaroon, Ph.D., explores ways to optimize a process that treats the byproducts of nuclear power generation.

HIGH HONOR

Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., dean of the School of Pharmacy, received the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s 2014 Paul F. Parker Medal for Distinguished Service to the Profession of Pharmacy.

DiPiro was chosen based on his three decades of leadership in clinical pharmacy practice, education and research.

hackathon HEROES

A team of students won $10,000 in a San Francisco hackathon for designing an innovative mobile app that makes it easier for salespeople to pull up customers’ information while talking on the phone. Matthew Bates, Matthew Jenkins and Allen Calderwood, students in the Department of Computer Science in the School of Engineering, took 10th place in their category, beating out more than 300 teams competing in the Dreamforce hackathon.

Photo Naoko Wowsugi

For the second consecutive year, a team of VCU students received the coveted Ford College Community Challenge grant awarded to colleges and universities for student-led projects focused on “Building Sustainable Communities.”

The team, made up of members of the student organization Springboard VCU, received $25,000 for its project, Green Ride RVA. The project builds on the Tricycle Gardens’ Healthy Corner Store Initiative, started

by VCU’s winning team in last year’s Ford C3 Challenge. Green Ride RVA will expand a sustainable transportation solution to increase community access to fresh produce in neighborhood corner stores, especially in East End neighborhoods considered food deserts because they are more than a mile from a grocery store.

“I am really excited about the 2014-15 C3 team and its food delivery project,” says team adviser David Berdish (M.S. ’83/B), executive-inresidence in the Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics in the VCU School of Business and retired manager of social sustainability at Ford Motor Co. “It is one more way to show that VCU cares about the Richmond community.”

ToP FACULTY

Uncommon distinction

The VCU Board of Visitors named psychology professor Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D., a Commonwealth Professor, one of the highest distinctions the board can bestow on a faculty member.

Candidates nominated for this rank must have an established prominence through extraordinary scholarly attainment, educational advancement or leadership in an academic discipline or field of study.

Worthington is an internationally recognized expert in the field of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Global spotlight

VCU received the 2015 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award, which recognizes initiatives that contribute to the internationalization of a university.

The award, granted by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, honors the VCU Globe living-learning program, which prepares students to live and work in a 21st-century global environment through the connection of course work, co-curricular activities and a vibrant residential experience.

VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., with students at T.C. Boushall Middle School, a site for the Richmond Teacher Residency program

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Universitynews GIFT

$28 million for pediatric heart care

Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU received an unprecedented $28 million gift, the largest gift to pediatric health care in VCU’s history.

The gift, from Children’s Hospital Foundation, will establish a pediatric cardiac surgery program in Richmond.

The gift advances pediatric heart care in Central Virginia through the development of the Children’s Hospital Foundation Heart Center at CHoR. CHoR has made many advancements in children’s health thanks to the unwavering support of the foundation. Since 2010, the hospital has hired more than 40 pediatric specialists, opened a dedicated pediatric emergency room and broken ground on a new psychiatric facility.

The Children’s Hospital Foundation Heart Center will be led by Thomas Yeh Jr., M.D., Ph.D. (H.S. ’93/M; Ph.D. ’97/M; H.S. ’97/M), a senior board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon with nearly 20 years of surgical experience, including thousands of Advancing pediatric heart care successful pediatric cardiac surgeries. in Central Virginia The $28 million gift will fund the staff, including Yeh and additional anesthetists, perfusionists, cardiologists, nurses, nurse practitioners and specialists, necessary to support the new comprehensive center. VCU Medical Center will supplement the major gift with a $14 million commitment toward equipment and operating expenses.

Leadership

A pharmacy student consulting with a patient at the Remote Area Medical event, one of the PCOC initiatives honored by the Magrath Award

AWARD

High honor for community engagement

VCU won the 2014 C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award for the Pharmacist Collaborative Care and Outreach in the Community program in the university’s School of Pharmacy.

The national award is presented annually by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities in recognition of outstanding community outreach and engagement partnership efforts by a four-year public university.

The Pharmacist Collaborative Care and Outreach in the Community program includes seven academic-community partnerships with independent senior-living facilities and underserved clinics, five large-scale community outreach programs, and programs to train the next generation of health professionals.

PCOC initiatives focus on underserved populations including the uninsured, older adults, homeless individuals and those living in rural areas. Through the initiatives, 14 School of Pharmacy faculty members, 500 students and 35 residents have provided more than 20,000 patient care encounters in the Richmond area since 2001.

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« Gail Hackett, Ph.D., joined the university in March as

provost and vice president for academic affairs. She previously served as provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, a position she held since 2008. At UMKC, Hackett led the strategic planning committee that created and developed the university’s 10-year strategic plan, guiding academic strategic plans and a new campus master plan that emphasizes research, student success and diversity. She also chaired the university budget committee. Under Hackett’s leadership, UMKC significantly increased quality program and course offerings through online and distance learning.

« Will Wade, who served as an assistant coach for the Rams

from 2009-13, returned to VCU men’s basketball in April as head coach after spending two seasons at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Wade was a vital part of VCU’s 2011 Final Four run, and the Rams were 113-37 with three NCAA Tournament appearances during his initial tenure.

As head coach at Chattanooga, Wade was 40-25 in two seasons, including 27-7 in the Southern Conference. Wade steered the Mocs to a 22-10 campaign in 2014-15, the school’s first 20-win season since 2004-05.

Universitynews Education

Increasing students’ digital fluency

During summer 2014, more than 100 students and several dozen additional scholars from around the world participated in VCU’s first connectivist Massive Open Online Course, also known as cMOOC. The course, a special “digital engagement pilot” version of UNIV 200: Inquiry and the Craft of Argument, was designed to increase digital fluency by teaching students how to use digital media as a means for learning, thinking more deeply and solving problems.

The cMOOC, “Living the Dreams: Digital Investigation and Unfettered Minds,” introduced students to the thinking of digital age pioneers such as Vannevar Bush, J.C.R. Licklider, Ted Nelson, Alan Kay, Adele Goldberg and Doug Engelbart.

The Doug Engelbart Institute also provided $5,000 scholarships to William Sullivan, who is majoring in art, and Mary “Anisa” Kannan, who is majoring in biomedical engineering. The scholarships, the first of their kind to be offered by the institute, covered tuition for the course and allowed the students to help catalog Engelbart’s archives.

Gardner Campbell, Ph.D., vice provost for learning innovation and student success, with Christina Engelbart, executive director of the Doug Engelbart Institute

Education

VCU dropping SAT requirement

Students collaborating on campus

Support

A jump-start for student entrepreneurs

A new program will provide financial support to entrepreneurial students who have promising business ideas and the ambition to launch their own companies. The Go For It! program will provide qualifying students in the College of Humanities and Sciences with a stipend of up to $5,000 to take part over the summer in an intensive pre-acceleration program that aims to help them develop their business plans and get their companies or products off the ground.

The program will be led by VCU Innovation Gateway in the Office of Research and Innovation, in partnership with 804RVA and Lighthouse Labs, which operates an accelerator program for the Richmond metro area.

As part of the program, which will run from early May to the beginning of August, participants will take part in a series of labs and will be partnered with a dedicated mentor.

Go For It! is part of the university’s VCU Squared strategy to enhance the culture of entrepreneurship at VCU and is funded by gifts from alumni, friends and advisory board members of the college.

VCU announced it no longer will require applicants with a high school GPA of 3.3 or higher to submit SAT scores, following a national trend toward relying on the GPA as a better predictor of student success.

About 800 universities around the country, including four in Virginia, already have dropped the requirement. VCU is the first of the three research universities in Virginia to do so. The SAT still will be required for some programs, such as engineering, and for some of the university’s endowed scholarships.

VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., emphasized that VCU is not lowering its quality standards for students who are admitted, but rather it is emphasizing GPA over SAT scores because the GPA has proven to be a better determinant of how well a student will do in college.

Also, Rao said, research has shown that the SAT has racial and socioeconomic biases, and VCU’s internal research has verified that.

The announcement was made in January during Rao’s annual State of the University address to students, faculty and staff.

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Universitynews GRANT

Funding anti-bullying research

Terri Sullivan, Ph.D. (M.S. ’95/H&S; Ph.D. ’98/H&S), an associate professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, received a $2.66 million federal grant to study the effectiveness of an anti-bullying program in Richmond middle schools.

Sullivan received the four-year grant from the National Institute of Justice to evaluate the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, a schoolbased program that aims to prevent youth violence and bullying in middle schools across the country.

The program is offered in hundreds of middle schools, though few studies have evaluated its impact.

The grant will build on an existing research project by VCU’s Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development, led by Albert Farrell, Ph.D., that has collected data from students and teachers about the bullying prevention program in two Richmond middle schools since 2010. The new grant will allow researchers to continue implementing the program in the two schools, as well as add a third school.

EXHIBIT

Rare items on display online

Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder (right) and political analyst Bob Holsworth, Ph.D., who is a member of the VCU Board of Visitors and former dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, at the symposium

Symposium

The legacy of Gov. Wilder

A daylong symposium and gala reflected on the legacy of former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first popularly elected AfricanAmerican governor. Symposium speakers included members of the media, former members of his administration and two of the Republican governors who succeeded him in office.

The December symposium was organized by Wilder’s namesake, the VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, to reflect on his historic election and the continuing impact of decisions made during his term in office.

“His name on our school is a reminder of the work we do and the communities we reach,” says Niraj Verma, Ph.D., dean of the Wilder School.

“Gov. Wilder is both a legend and a leader, but, most of all for our school, he is a highly respected friend and distinguished faculty colleague.”

In his opening remarks, VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., said Wilder’s election made history but also has profound meaning for the future. “It is about what all of our people can achieve in the face of any obstacle, how they can contribute and make a difference that matters, how they can do what no one else has ever done and how they can inspire others.”

VCU Libraries is putting on display some of the rarest and most intriguing items from its collections and archives, such as the papers of influential Richmond artist Theresa Pollak, as part of a new online gallery space.

VCU Libraries Gallery features materials mostly held in Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library and TompkinsMcCaw Library for the Health Sciences and will include items from the libraries’ collections of book art, comic arts, manuscripts, rare books, medical artifacts and more.

VCU Libraries Gallery launched with three exhibits. One of the inaugural exhibits featured highlights, including documents, photographs and correspondence, from the papers of Pollak, founder of the VCU School of the Arts. Another exhibit showcases illustrations and excerpts from a collection of old and rare medical books donated to VCU Libraries in 1995 by Herman J. Flax, M.D. (M.D. ’40/M). The third inaugural exhibit, “Through the Looking Glass,” displays microscopic images created by VCU students, faculty and staff as part of an ongoing exhibit in Tompkins-McCaw Library.

The world is coming to Richmond.

Sept. 19-27, Richmond will host the international UCI Road World Cycling Championships, the sport’s pinnacle event, and VCU has a front-row seat with race courses running through and around campus. Find out how your alma mater is getting involved as well as event logistics at richmond2015.vcu.edu.

Theresa Pollak (right) in class with a student, circa 1969

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VCU Alumni

Presidentialperspective

A healthy impact Strategies to develop and nourish Richmond’s innovation ecosystem cultivate entrepreneurial talent in faculty and students

By Michael Rao, Ph.D., President, VCU and VCU Health System

T

that has developed through this he job market is no longer just about the landscape. It pathway a “chip” that can be placed is about a region’s ecosystem and, more specifically, a on medical devices for physicians and region’s innovation ecosystem. In our region, the Richmond patients to monitor proper usage and Innovation Council, led by the Virginia BioTechnology intervene during low adherence. Initial Research Park, is working to identify and leverage the major trials of a prototype have begun. resources of Central Virginia to help benefit and influence For research faculty and staff, VCU talent, technology, enterprise systems and culture.

Squared, again, develops pathways A healthy ecosystem should create connections, not Michael Rao, Ph.D. that support commercialization of competition. It is flexible and nimble, able to influence research. This pathway travels from technology validation change and, at the same time, adapt to change. Virginia and protection to pre-seed funding and, finally, transfer Commonwealth University, one of three major research of that technology to industry or entrepreneurial partners, universities in Virginia, is poised to nourish Richmond’s ecoas seen with the ischemia device developed by a group system with talent and infuse it with an entrepreneurial spirit. of VCU researchers. This hand-held, point-of-care device VCU is in a unique position to fill a specific workforce conducts testing within minutes to help clinicians make gap for RVA in the health care field, a major industry for more timely treatment or discharge decisions regarding Richmond. And the majority of innovations developed by VCU patients with heart attack symptoms. faculty are medical in nature. By cultivating VCU’s innovation The activity VCU Squared has generated in just two and entrepreneurial talent we can help attract and expand the years has made a significant impact. In the 2012-13 acatalent available to RVA to bring our technologies to market. demic year, before VCU Squared, only about 125 students With more than 3,300 full- and part-time faculty members were engaged with the who tout a sponsored three entrepreneurial research portfolio of Studen t start- ups programs available on $262.3 million and more campus. This year we than half of our 31,000 stuof VCU students have a high or moderate estimate that more dents indicating an interest interest in starting their own company, than 1,500 students are in starting their own according to a recent VCU survey engaged in 15 programs. company, VCU represents VCU Innovation Gateway a significant pipeline of of VCU students have already started reports hearing more than innovation for RVA. a company, have a business idea or are 200 new company pitches Led by VCU Innovation actively pursuing business formation, this year alone. They also Gateway, Venture Creation according to a recent VCU survey report identifying and University (or VCU working with 12 highSquared) is VCU’s internal potential teams and forming eight companies, six of which strategy for supporting commercialization of research and are already generating revenue. This equals real, tangible developing entrepreneurial talent. It focuses on transformresults, and we are only scratching the surface. ing thinkers into creators and turning opportunities into Today, the university is developing funds to seed economic value. high-potential, early-stage research being developed The VCU Squared strategy builds pathways that support by the university’s research faculty as well as to seed entrepreneurial activity of our students — from a student’s specific opportunities for students, such as entrepreneurial initial exposure to entrepreneurship, to educational courses, stipends, start-up internships, start-up grants and a new to programs focused on product validation, company entrepreneurial living-learning center. formation and even early seed funding. For example, Scott It is an exciting time to be at VCU and to be a part of Luchau (M.B.A. ’14/B), a recent graduate student in the the Richmond region. And our collective commitment to School of Business and a fuel projects engineer at Dominion innovation and entrepreneurship is just one reason.

Virginia Power, is a founding member of Aware Engineering

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“We’re responsible for training the next generation of scientists to answer important questions that will ultimately make the world a healthier place.”

– Quincy Byrdsong, Ed.D., associate vice president for VCU Health Sciences and vice president for VCU Clinical Research Administration and Compliance

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VCU Alumni

A

better world Higher education and human health form an inseparable relationship

By Samieh Shalash

Take a second. Visualize the world of medicine. Picture human health.

Do you see the students, teachers and academic medical centers behind each image? So often, universities are the driving force for improvements to the health of the world’s population.

That includes Virginia Commonwealth University, which has an inherent responsibility to positively affect the lives of the people it serves, says Quincy Byrdsong, Ed.D., associate vice president for VCU Health Sciences and vice president for VCU Clinical Research Administration and Compliance.

“Our role is not only to train students to meet the needs of individual patients but to meet the needs of society at large,” he says. “As an urban university, we have an opportunity to address the emotional, social and economic health of our communities.”

VCU accepts its responsibility in ways that push well beyond its campus and medical center. Byrdsong points to the university’s wealth of clinical trials, donor gifts that help enhance training and education, and outreach programs that send cadres of students into the community to work with underserved populations.

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Attention on employees Who wouldn’t want a healthy, happy workforce? As a state agency, VCU uses a combination of state resources and in-house programs to help employees live their best lives.

“When our employees come to work, we want them to be healthy and motivated,” says Debra Fitzgerald, VCU’s coordinator of work/life and wellness resources. “They’re our most important resource, and we care about their well-being.”

Here’s a look at some of the ways the university helps employees maintain their health and wellness:

“The world of women’s health medicine is in its infancy right now. Passing on this important body of knowledge to our VCU adult learners gives us great satisfaction and joy.”

– Lisa Ellis, M.D., co-founder of the Ellis Women’s Health Lecture

• CommonHealth: This state wellness program includes quarterly on-site seminars about topics such as healthy eating habits and coping with allergies.

• Weight Watchers: Weekly on-campus meetings allow employees to participate, at a discounted rate, in the weightloss program.

• Global Corporate Challenge: A walking challenge in which participating employees receive a pedometer to log their steps online with a goal of “walking around the world” by the end of the program. Participants compete with others worldwide.

• Gym discounts: Employees are eligible for discounts at VCU’s recreation centers and other health clubs in the Richmond area.

• Speaker series: Brown-bag lunches throughout the year educate employees about topics such as diabetes prevention and exercises you can do at your desk.

• Flu shot clinics: Nearly 2,000 employees take advantage of on-campus flu clinics each fall.

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VCU Alumni

Treatments and cures Several hundred clinical trials are underway at VCU at any given time as researchers work on treatments and cures.

The university leverages a perfect convergence of assets to conduct its trials: high-tech infrastructure, expert investigators and a diverse patient base with a range of health care needs.

VCU has an innate responsibility to improve human health, says F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., director of the VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research.

“It’s just what we do,” Moeller says. “Academic medical centers are designed to be inquisitive and to establish and support the assets that make it possible for good clinical practice to occur.”

The number and complexity of trials have steadily increased alongside VCU’s standing and accomplishments as a premier, urban public research university, Moeller adds.

He cites a $3.2 million multicenter study led

by VCU that investigates whether high doses of vitamin C can effectively protect patients

from sepsis, which is caused by the immune system’s response to a serious infection. It can shut down organs and results in millions of deaths globally each year.

VCU took the reins of a pilot study that seeks treatment for sepsis. It launched under the leadership of Alpha “Berry” Fowler III, M.D. (H.S. ’76/M; H.S. ’79/M), chair of the Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine and the William Taliaferro Thompson Professor of Medicine.

Fowler began by successfully showing the benefit of high doses of vitamin C in a lab model, then moving into a small study involving the sickest patients in the ICU. That trial showed that the vitamin significantly improved patient outcomes.

So, what happened next?

VCU received a multimillion-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2013 to partner with three other universities.

Together, they are enrolling about 170 patients to test vitamin C as an intervention for early lung injury stemming from sepsis.

Lisa Ellis, M.D., and Zach Ellis, M.D., chat with John E. Nestler, M.D., the William Branch Porter Chair in the VCU Department of Internal Medicine. The couple was inspired by their time as residents at VCU to fund an endowment for an annual women’s health lecture.

“This research is important because the current standard of care doesn’t work and it is expensive,” Fowler said after receiving the grant. “We’re hopeful that vitamin C might be an effective intervention that will save lives.”

Gift of knowledge The spaces and ways in which VCU conducts its important work sometimes results from the generosity of those indelibly connected to VCU. Take, for example, the namesakes of the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center, which opened in 2013. The couple gave $25 million toward the School of Medicine building in honor of Harold F. Young, M.D., a VCU neurologist who cared for them.

“Those gifts transcend a person’s time in our facilities and provide state-of-the-art buildings and programs that allow us to train scientists and practitioners for decades to come,” Byrdsong says. Patients, alumni and others can contribute in many ways to areas they are personally connected to or passionate about, he adds.

That was the case for Lisa Ellis, M.D. (M.D. ’01/M; H.S. ’04/M) and Zach Ellis, M.D. (H.S. ’04/M), who say VCU opened their lives to incredible opportunities by believing in and nurturing them during their residencies. The couple knew they wanted to give a gift to VCU that spreads knowledge about women’s health and improves the lives of everyone it touches.

That inspired the inaugural Ellis Women’s Health Lecture, held in May. Each year, funds from the couple’s $100,000 endowment will bring a renowned scholar to VCU to work with residents in clinics and to present grand rounds for the Department of Internal Medicine.

They hope that lessons learned from the lecture will stay with medical residents and, ultimately, improve the delivery of health care to female patients. Lisa Ellis says her dream is for the gift to inspire VCU residents to enthusiastically embrace women’s health and to ignite a passion that leads them to join the field.

“I want those who attend to remember that the presentation of disorders, diagnostics and

treatment of women can be very different than it is for men,” says Ellis, chief medical officer of MCV Physicians and associate professor of internal medicine and OB-GYN in the VCU School of Medicine. “The world of women’s health medicine is in its infancy right now. Passing on this important body of knowledge to our VCU adult learners gives us great satisfaction and joy.”

No borders Improvements to community health aren’t confined to labs, hospital rooms or classrooms.

For VCU students and faculty, they take place everywhere. That includes directly where the need is, such as in housing units that serve Richmond’s aging, low-income residents.

Every week, interdisciplinary teams studying medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work and psychology hold clinics at three such locations through the Richmond Health and Wellness Program.

The program is part of the VCU Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care, a hub for educating the next generation

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Ready to respond Try throwing a curveball at VCU Medical Center. It won’t work. Highly trained staff members are on standby to tackle everything from infectious diseases (think Ebola) to viral outbreaks.

What makes them so ready to go to bat?

As an academic medical center, VCU is responsible for protecting its patients, staff and the community, says Janis Ober, director of the VCU Health System Infection Prevention Program.

To excel in that role, medical center staff regularly participate in emergency management drills using evidence-based practice, Ober says. The medical center also has policies and procedures in place to respond to any rare pathogen and has world-renowned infectious disease experts on call to deal with any incidents.

In recent years, VCU Medical Center has responded to epidemics including H1N1, MERS, SARS and Ebola.

“We began planning for Ebola and other unique pathogens last year and have worked with federal, state and local public health officials to make sure we’re prepped to treat any patients with viral illnesses,” says Robin Manke (B.S. ’93/AHP), director of emergency management for the medical center.

Preparation involves around-the-clock availability. The medical center has a 24/7 hotline that connects directly to the infectious diseases team, and alerts are built into the medical center’s patient software system so that when uncommon pathogen cultures show up in the lab, all reportable diseases are flagged for the Virginia Department of Health.

In addition to staff training, the medical center’s facilities are well-equipped, too. Isolation rooms are available to treat patients with suspected or actual cases of infectious disease, and the Emergency Department has a special area for assessing patients along with a multidisciplinary team trained to screen, triage and treat cases of infectious diseases.

“We’re ready to meet all patient needs and will continue to form and set into place best standards of care,” Manke says.

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VCU Alumni

Lana Sargent (left), assistant professor in the VCU School of Nursing, and K.C. Ogbonna, Pharm.D. (right), assistant professor in the VCU School of Pharmacy, bring on-site clinical care to a senior living facility as part of the Richmond Health and Wellness Program.

of health care professionals in a team-based environment. The center is directed by Alan Dow, M.D. (H.S. ’04/M; M.S.H.A. ’05/AHP), associate professor of internal medicine.

“Our special job at VCU as an urban university is to really engage with our community and train the people who will make critical discoveries for improving its health,” Dow says.

Under the guidance of faculty members, about 50 students participate in the program each year by running the clinics, where they assess individual needs and any barriers to meeting them. That includes everything from conducting mental health screenings to ordering medical equipment or setting up prescription delivery for those who can’t get to a pharmacy.

The program has become a national model for community-based interprofessional practice as experts seek ways to improve health outcomes, to lower the cost of health care and to improve patient experiences.

“VCU is urban and health-focused, so we have a really specific obligation to be thinking about these types of programs and how we can help tackle those challenges,” Dow says.

Mission: never ending As long as there are universities, their mission to make the world a healthier place is an ongoing responsibility.

So says Byrdsong, who sums it up by pointing out that you can’t just train the professionals, administrators, scientists and staff who make the world of health care turn.

You have to hold on to some, too. Because otherwise, who would train the next generation?

“That’s the university’s two-pronged mission,” he says. “Training people to do the work that meets the needs of society and training the academics and scientists who come back and allow that cycle to continue.”

– Samieh Shalash is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

Selfless improvement.

“From the day I got here, I had all kinds of alumni helping me, giving me the kinds of information no one else tells you and sharing everything they know about working, about life. They forced me to be successful, and I want to pass that on. I want to make sure that students get the same tips I got, in a way that’s relevant to them.”

– Timothy Nguyen (B.S. ’11/B) #RamProud

More moments at makeitreal.vcu.edu an equal opportunity, affirmative action university

Globalized

health VCU students Lead the charge to deliver

Needed care in developing countries

By Anne Dreyfuss

Zack Lipsman, M.D. (M.D. ’15/M), checks the eyesight of a young boy during a 10-day service trip to Honduras.

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VCU Alumni

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in Pinares, where they saw patients t was nearing evening in a remote at a 1,000-square-foot cinderblock mountain village in southwestern Honduras when Zack Lipsman, clinic for conditions ranging from Improving patient health also means ensuring hospitals have working equipment.

As an engineering student, Shruthi Muralidharan (B.S. ’15/En) traveled to Nicaragua M.D. (M.D. ’15/M), spotted a young musculoskeletal complaints to acute where she mended broken machines. girl waiting with her friends outside appendicitis. of the makeshift clinic where he “You can’t go down there and just had been working all afternoon. He administer medicine,” Lipsman says.

“Global health is an issue of growing “You need to develop relationships was there on a 10-day service trip in importance at VCU. We have a student June 2012, the summer after his first with the folks in these villages.” body that is exceptionally committed year of medical school at Virginia The School of Medicine organizes to community engagement.”

Commonwealth University. three trips a year to Pinares, where medical and pharmacy students “She looked kind of sad and lost,” – McKenna Brown, executive director, Lipsman says. He went outside with a and faculty volunteer on public VCU Global Education Office few other medical students to ask if she health initiatives geared toward needed to be seen by a doctor. As he got improving villagers’ quality of life. closer, he realized why she was there.

HOMBRE also hosts clinics in “When we saw she was pregnant, everyone kind most of them rely on donor gifts either through other areas of Honduras, as well as Peru and of just froze for a minute,” he says. “She was so specific scholarships or to individual students to the Dominican Republic. The dean’s office at young, and she clearly had no concept of what her cover expenses such as flights, accommodations the School of Medicine helps pay for a porfuture would be like. We had to huddle together and medical supplies. tion of the students’ airfare to the sites, but to think about how we could best help her.”

Brown estimates that more than a dozen most of the funding comes from donations to The 13-year-old was late in her second trinoncredit international service trips take place a HOMBRE and personal contributions. The mester and had never been seen by a doctor. year, often supported by student-run organizadonations help pay for medications, equipment The students arranged for her to have her first tions with representatives from both campuses and educational materials. at every level of the university.

Now in his fourth year of medical school, prenatal screening the next day.

“That was a turning point for a lot of students Lipsman returned to Pinares for eight days in “Global health is an issue of growing imporin realizing the gravity of what we were doing tance at VCU,” Brown says. “We have a student February to volunteer at the clinics. body that is exceptionally committed to comthere,” Lipsman says.

“I hope to involve myself in a project that is munity engagement.”

Since 2006, VCU School of Medicine stuset up similarly to this as a doctor, where you dents have been traveling to Honduras to can be a part of a team that goes down multiple times yearly to an established site,” he says. “For provide direct medical care and health care VITAL Checkups a lot of these things to be successful, they have education to underserved populations in some of the poorest areas of the country. The No roads led to the village where Lipsman to be sustainable.”

Honduras Outreach Medical Brigada Relief and a team of medical students and faculty Effort (HOMBRE) is one of many universitywould be volunteering on that June day, so they Sustained care affiliated organizations that offer students departed from Pinares, Honduras, before suninternational health care service opportunities.

Success comes naturally to the VCU School of rise to hike through the mountains for three During the trips, students apply what they’ve Dentistry’s Jamaica Project, which has hosted hours, arriving by late morning at a one-room been taught in the classroom to a clinical a clinic near Clark’s Town, Jamaica, for almost school more than 4,600 feet above sea level. setting and learn invaluable lessons from the “All of us brought backpacks,” Lipsman says.

30 years. communities they serve.

“We would fill them with as many supplies as Since April 1986, fourth-year students and faculty have gone to a farming community near “VCU faculty and students are not content we could carry.” to just theorize about making a difference,” When they arrived, they set up eight stathe Trelawny sugar belt every year to provide says McKenna Brown, VCU Global Education tions where they checked vital signs such as cleanings, extractions, restorations and oral Office executive director. “They want to roll up blood pressure and hemoglobin levels. They health education. their sleeves and have a direct impact on what also distributed anti-parasite medication and Through the Jamaica Project, students see put dental varnish on children’s teeth. about 1,400 patients a year at a 500-squarethey see as crucial issues.”

University support through the Global During the 10-day trip, School of Medicine foot minimal health clinic and at elementary Education Office and individual schools helps students treated about 350 children in seven schools throughout Trelawny Parish. Students to fund a portion of the outreach trips, but villages. Students and faculty also volunteered pay for their own airfare and meals. In 2012

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Shruthi Muralidharan (B.S. ’15/En), former president of VCU’s Engineering World Health chapter, works to repair a medical device at a Nicaragua hospital during a 2014 trip.

“The trip reinforced the importance of giving back to people who don’t have the access to care that they need.”

– Dental Alumna courtney Schlenker

the Robert F. Barnes Jamaica Fund was established in honor of the former faculty adviser to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the project. The money from that fund is used to purchase portable dental equipment. The program also relies on individual donations to help pay for supplies, such as toothbrushes.

“You don’t realize how important it is to donate until you go down there and see what the people don’t have,” says Virginia Beach, Virginia-based dentist David Mueller, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’90/D).

In addition to donating financially every year since 1988, Mueller often travels to Jamaica with the school to volunteer his time. “When you go to the market and the cost of a toothbrush is equivalent to the cost of a week’s food, it’s easy to see which decision they make.”

After the free dental exams, every patient receives a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss.

“There would be a line of people outside every day,” Courtney Schlenker, D.D.S. (Cert. ’10/M; M.S. ’11/M; D.D.S. ’15/D), says of the clinic that was housed in a rural area outside of the city. “They would literally wait all day until they could be seen.”

The recent graduate extracted about 80 teeth during the week she was there in October 2014.

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VCU Alumni

International service trips help students become globally minded by providing them with the knowledge, skills and experiences to navigate differences in languages and culture.

“At school you might extract 10 teeth in four years,” she says. “Our confidence level for performing extractions is a lot higher than students who don’t do these projects.”

Schlenker recalls a 17-year-old patient who waited outside the clinic all day just to thank her for extracting a few teeth.

“That he would wait for hours just to thank me for getting him out of pain shows how grateful they are,” she says. “The trip reinforced the importance of giving back to people who don’t have the access to care that they need.”

Gratuity included During a 2014 trip to Guatemala with Nursing Students Without Borders, Katherine Connell (B.S. ’15/N) was inspired by the thanks she received from the community members she was there to serve.

A little more than a year before Connell went to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, the area had been hit by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that killed 11 people in the mountain valley city and destroyed many homes.

Connell recalls one family in particular whose home was buried under a mudslide soon after the quake.

“They lost everything,” she says. The 22-year-old was there on a joint humanitarian aid trip between NSWB and the Highland Support Project, a Richmond, Virginia-based nonprofit organization.

In addition to conducting health screenings and hosting health care education workshops, students help build stoves for local families so that they would have a safer, cleaner method for cooking meals.

“The stove idea originated because families in the Highlands are used to cooking on open fires, so kids would get badly burned, and people would develop respiratory illnesses,” Connell says. “In a way, the stove is a preventative health measure.”

Connell helped to build a stove for the family who had been hit with the earthquake and mudslide. She worked in the family’s home for two days, assembling the stove from cement blocks, bricks and rocks.

“They were so grateful we were there,” she says. “It made building the stove that much more important for me. I felt like I gave something that is going to help that family for years to come.”

Donations to the university’s NSWB chapter help pay for the stove-building supplies as well as for medical supplies that students use during health screenings they host throughout the week.

“It’s a wonderful way for the students to be exposed to global health,” says former NSWB faculty adviser Victoria Menzies, Ph.D. The associate professor in the Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems at the VCU School of Nursing has donated financially to the organization in past years in addition to helping organize the trips. “I believe in students giving back,” she says. “Who knows what will come of their careers because of that experience.”

During the health screenings, Connell would check weight, height and glucose readings for the community, in which diabetes and hypertension are common health concerns.

“Tortilla and corn are the staples of their diet because that’s what is available,”

Katherine Connell (B.S. ’15/N) (left), Erica Neary (B.S. ’15/N) and Katie Deasy travel with Nursing Students Without Borders in 2014 to build stoves for families in Guatemala.

Connell says, adding that a swath of new convenience stores has contributed to the already unhealthy diet in the community.

“It’s cheaper to buy a Coke than grow a cabbage in the field.”

Practicing nursing in a community and seeing how the patients live underscored Connell’s commitment to preventive health and provided her with a perspective beyond the confines of a classroom or hospital.

“It’s OK to sit down and have a conversation with your patient,” she says. “In the hospital we get used to doing the same assessments and asking the same questions. When you’re in the community, you see things you wouldn’t otherwise consider.”

Beyond the lab Biomedical engineering graduate Shruthi Muralidharan (B.S. ’15/En) credits the experience she had working in the field, and out of the classroom laboratory, for helping her develop real-world skills.

While working at a small, rural hospital outside of Esteli, Nicaragua, last summer, Muralidharan encountered an aging electrocardiogram machine that needed to be repaired.

The former president of VCU’s Engineering World Health chapter worked with a fellow student volunteer to open the machine and examine the connections.

She discovered that one of the machine’s leads had a severed point, which she fixed by salvaging a replacement part off an old, unused EKG. Muralidharan also noticed that a lead that connected to a patient’s chest

was not staying attached, so she retrieved an old blood pressure cuff from the hospital maintenance staff and used it to fashion a makeshift connector.

“I learned how to troubleshoot and not be afraid to look into the machine,” Muralidharan says. “When you’re here in lab and you’re working on different circuits, if you don’t get it you can ask the teaching assistant. There, you have two months to work with something, and if you don’t fix it, they’re stuck with nonfunctional equipment.”

Muralidharan spent her first month in Nicaragua taking Spanish and engineering classes in Granada and volunteering at the city’s hospital once a week, where she would do preventive maintenance and repairs on the hospital’s mostly donated equipment.

During the second month, she worked more independently at a remote hospital in Esteli, repairing much-needed medical equipment and training doctors to operate the machines.

“We would sit at Wi-Fi cafes on days off and find manuals for specific machines that we’d translate into Spanish,” Muralidharan says. “The doctors were grateful for that. They said it helped a lot because they could understand how to use the machine properly.”

Muralidharan, who graduated in May, hopes to work at a medical device company.

She believes that direct experience she got from working on machines at the hospitals will help her feel more confident as a young engineer.

“I feel like I’m more courageous to be able to troubleshoot and take on problems head on,” she says.

Paul Howell (B.S. ’15/En) (right) engages with villagers while on a 2014 service trip to Tanzania where he spent two months.

“In the hospital we get used to doing the same assessments and asking the same questions. When you’re in the community, you see things you wouldn’t otherwise consider.”

– nursing Alumna Katherine Connell

Committed to serve In addition to donations from individuals and businesses in the Richmond community, the Global Education Office helps to fund international health service opportunities for students through various grants, including the Quest Global Impact Award and the VCU Global Health Fund.

The money raised from the awards helps enhance the recruitment of students into global health research and practice careers by providing them the means to attain international clinical or other field experiences.

As a research university with a commitment to advancing human health, VCU makes it a priority to help fund them.

“Our responsibility as a university is to prepare the students of Virginia for success in an increasingly globalized world,” Brown says. “Even if a student never intends to leave their home community, having the knowledge, skills and experiences to navigate across differences in language and culture is going to give them a competitive edge and prepare them for greater professional and personal success.”

– Anne Dreyfuss is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

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Barbara D. Boyan School of Engineering

Hong Cheng Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture

James Coleman College of Humanities and Sciences

Joseph T. DiPiro School of Pharmacy

Cecil B. Drain School of Allied Health Professions

Barry L. Falk Honors College

Jean Giddens School of Nursing

Ed Grier School of Business

A common quest

Look across Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus and you’ll find students, faculty and staff openly collaborating as they pursue the same goal: improving the health of people everywhere. The goal is ambitious but doable, as proven

by a number of initiatives that are already showing results.

VCU’s academic leaders discuss how tackling issues of human health from a multidisciplinary perspective can make a real difference in the lives of individuals and communities.

B y K atherine S chutt

James E. Hinterlong School of Social Work

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Kenneth B. Kahn da Vinci Center

VCU Alumni

David Sarrett School of Dentistry

Joseph H. Seipel School of the Arts

Leonard Smock VCU Rice Rivers Center

Jerome F. Strauss III School Of Medicine

Niraj Verma L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Christine Walther-Thomas School of Education

Mark Wood School of World Studies

I

n early April, five containers of medical supplies arrived in Ségou, Mali, an area of strategic importance in the fight against Al-Qaeda and one of five international cities with which Richmond, Virginia, maintains a sister-city relationship. The shipment, courtesy of the nonprofit Supplies Overseas, found its way across the Atlantic Ocean as a result of the two-day 2013 Women, War and Peace in Africa conference, which was hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University to highlight health and humanitarian issues in West Africa.

Supported by 21 VCU units across the university, plus community groups, the conference brought together universities, nonprofits and government entities who are working cooperatively to support overextended medical facilities in French-speaking Mali. One of the highlights was a roundtable discussion on interdisciplinary approaches to women’s health care with participants from VCU’s schools of Nursing, Medicine and World Studies. It was enough to spur Supplies Overseas into action. This type of outcome is what VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., had in mind when he designated human health as one of the four key pillars of VCU’s strategic plan, Quest for Distinction.

“When I came to VCU, I asked our leadership team to help develop a strategic plan that focused on a few priorities that would advance our mission, and one of them was an inexorable commitment to human health,” Rao says. “We saw this commitment embraced almost immediately, and not just on the medical campus, but all over VCU, and in some very unique ways.”

VCU’s top-ranked School of the Arts, for example, has become a strong partner with the School of Medicine in projects ranging from how physicians interact with patients to how plastic surgeons reimagine the human body.

The School of Education is helping to rethink the medical education curriculum, while the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences is investigating ways to use social

and mobile media to promote healthy living.

Developing solutions to improve human health, therefore, requires an interdisciplinary Faculty from the School of Social Work join physicians, nurses, therapists, nutritionists approach and an open-minded environment. and pharmacists to help ensure that patients “I know of no other university that has both a at VCU Medical Center have the most comtop-ranked School of the Arts and a top-ranked hospital, and where you find them working plete care, even after they’ve left the hospital.

“Medical schools and academic medical together,” Rao says. “The value of these partcenters can’t exist in a vacuum,” says VCU nerships is that they inspire the new ways of School of Medicine Dean Jerome F. Strauss thinking that we need. Students, especially those III, M.D., Ph.D., also the interim vice presfrom outside of the health sciences, come into a ident of VCU Health Sciences and interim partnership and say, ‘Why do we do it this way?’”

CEO of VCU Health System.

“To neglect the wisdom and expertise in disciplines that “We saw this commitment [to human health] are not part of the health sciences would be a mistake.” embraced almost immediately, and not just To that end, VCU’s array on the medical campus, but all over VCU, and of programs allows the uniin some very unique ways.” versity to tackle issues of human health from a number – Michael Rao, Ph.D., President, VCU and VCU Health System of perspectives.

“We’ve got doctors with hands-on patient care and scientists developing therapeutics, but we’ve A unique opportunity also got people, for example, at the Rice While higher education institutions nationwide are collaborating across disciplines on Rivers Center, focused on environmental health,” says Leonard Smock, Ph.D., interim issues of health, VCU is well-positioned to be a leader in this arena, despite steadily declining vice provost for life sciences and research and director of the Rice Rivers Center. “Of course, financial support from the state. the health of our environment cascades down “If you look around the country and try to to being critical to the medical and psychologfind academic medical centers similar to VCU, ical health of people.” you will be surprised. There are fewer than 10 Which is a crucial point. Human health, places in the U.S. with all five health science after all, isn’t the same as health care, though schools, plus a significant public health prothat’s often the first thought that comes to gram, plus its own hospital, in one physical location,” says David Sarrett, D.M.D., dean of mind when the topic is broached. The idea encompasses a much wider spectrum than the the School of Dentistry. “This is a rich resource that distinguishes VCU from the majority delivery of patient services.

“It seems to me any sort of adequate defiof institutions engaged in health sciences nition of human health has to be holistic or education and research.” integrated,” explains Mark Wood, Ph.D., Significantly, the inclusion of human health director of the School of World Studies in the in VCU’s strategic plan establishes the initiaCollege of Humanities and Sciences. “Even tive as a focal point for the entire university, physical health relies on social, environmental, not just the medical campus. intellectual and emotional health. All of these “For me, the emphasis on human health things go together and affect each other.” as a university priority is coming right from

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our president and from our Board of Visitors,” says Niraj Verma, Ph.D., dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. “There are no ‘ownership’ questions. It extends the field to all our programs.”

“Our faculty understands that the complex issues affecting people’s lives really are best addressed through innovative, open collaboration.”

– James E. Hinterlong, Ph.D., dean, School of Social Work

With charge in hand, VCU’s academic leaders strive to find natural ways of working together.

“There is a ‘Yes, we’ll try that’ attitude at VCU, which I think distinguishes us,” says James E. Hinterlong, Ph.D., dean of the School of Social Work. “Our faculty understands that the complex issues affecting people’s

lives really are best addressed through innovative, open collaboration.”

Sarrett agrees. “When I talk to deans at other dental schools, many say it’s not easy to reach across the aisle and work with other deans,” he says. “They’re often siloed. We have a culture of openness to consider collaborations. That’s the culture of VCU in general.”

Working toward real change

Of course, multidisciplinary collaboration on issues of human health means nothing if it doesn’t make its way off campus and into the lives of people and communities. To truly make a difference, VCU’s interdisciplinary work has to have a tangible impact on the health of people in Richmond and around the world. These days, one doesn’t have to look far to see how VCU is affecting meaningful change.

Impacting patient care Start, for example, in VCU’s own health sciences schools. Beginning this fall, all health science students

will be required to take a onecredit course, Foundations of Interprofessional Practice, based on a successful two-year pilot program led by Sharon Lanning, D.D.S. (H.S. ’99/D), associate professor in the School of Dentistry. During the course, small, multidisciplinary teams from all five schools will explore the roles and responsibilities of each health care profession and how they fit together in a patient-centered, team-based care model.

“One of the major complaints about the U.S. health care system is disjointed care, where patients feel providers do not communicate with each other,” Sarrett says. “The No. 1 time for medical errors to occur is during the handoff from one practitioner to the next. When you establish a team, the outcome has to be better than fragmented people working in their silos. Improved communication and engaged problem-solving ultimately results in better outcomes for patients.”

VCU’s academic leaders on ...

The importance of collaborative patient care “A lot of places are catching up now, but clearly VCU is out there in front when it comes to health professions’ interprofessional education. People in health care recognize that to have the highest-quality, most cost-efficient health care, you have to have health professionals working at the top of their license, fully contributing within their own skill sets. For that to happen, you have to have teams of professionals working together, where each uses the best of their skills and knowledge to the benefit of the patient. That’s where it’s all going. By having pharmacists working on teams, we can make physicians and nurses more effective at doing their jobs.”

Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., Dean, School of Pharmacy

“Our interdisciplinary educational focus helps make our graduates exceptionally well-informed health care professionals by giving them a very good understanding of the role and function of other allied health disciplines. We developed Grand Rounds, in which students from each of our nine disciplines give presentations on their profession. All of our students end up with a working knowledge of what everybody does. We met with gigantic success, to the point where the format is now being used across all the health sciences schools.”

Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., Dean, School of Allied Health Professions

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VCU Alumni

Patients are also benefitting from collaboration between the VCU departments of Internal Medicine and Theatre on a communication curriculum that uses a theater-based approach to teach empathy to medical students and health care professionals.

The Standardized Patient Program has demonstrated marked improvement in the communication skills of participants, which has included students from the schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Social Work.

“It’s rehearsal or practice for what a real-life situation could be,” says School of the Arts Dean Joseph H. Seipel of the program, which has received widespread media coverage and serves as a model for similar efforts nationwide. “Students have contact with highly trained actors in a simulated clinical environment where both diagnostic and sometimes difficult conversations can take place. Patients can then be treated by a doctor who demonstrates empathy and a compassionate bedside manner.”

Improving communication and understanding Health practitioners aren’t the only ones in need of more awareness and improved communication. Patients also can benefit significantly from a better understanding of their situation and the treatment options available to them.

To that end, units across VCU work together to improve understanding of complex health topics.

Students from the schools of Arts and Engineering, for example, recently collaborated on a Science Museum of Virginia exhibit to educate the public on mitochondrial disease. Funded through a VCU Quest Innovation Fund grant, the project stemmed from a 2013 report that found nearly 40 percent of children suffered from energy deficiency disorders, which often result from childhood obesity and mitochondrial diseases. The exhibit, on display through June, takes advantage of different perspectives and training to educate the public about bioenergetics, mitochondria and healthy lifestyle choices.

“Over the course of a semester, the students produced a phenomenal piece of work that is almost seamless in how art and engineering have come together,” says Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering. “This project is going to immediately impact patients because it is providing new ways of talking about the disease to help people understand it better. Being able to share this information in a visual way allows the information to go to people who are not sophisticated medically, and I think that’s important.”

“The students produced a phenomenal piece of work that is almost seamless in how art and engineering have come together. This project is going to immediately impact patients.”

– Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., dean, School of Engineering

VCU Medical Center

Tackling health issues from different angles “The School of Business partners with the School of Allied Health Professions to offer a health care management concentration for many of our graduate programs. Students in this concentration combine a broad perspective on how the health care industry is evolving with specialized knowledge in critical functions such as supply chain, economics, marketing, finance, management and decision analytics. We’re educating students who will contribute to policy changes and process improvements as well as inspire change in leading organizations.”

Ed Grier, Dean, School of Business

“Our faculty and staff pursue interdisciplinary collaborations that directly and indirectly impact the health of children and their families. For example, faculty within the School of Education’s Department of Counselor Education and the School of Allied Health Professions’ Department of Rehabilitation Counseling are co-teaching a course that connects our students who work in agency-oriented, school-focused organizations with rehabilitation counselors to work on issues related to positive psychology and development. They are looking at how counselors can work with clients to build on strengths rather than thinking from a deficit model. Our students in these courses really focus on client well-being, mindfulness and stress reduction, as they cope with different challenges.”

Christine Walther-Thomas, Ph.D., Dean, School of Education

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The Center for Media and Health, located in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture and founded by faculty from the Robertson School, School of Medicine and other universities, recently hosted the second

“Our focus is exploring the most effective ways to use different types of media, especially mobile and social, to create and disseminate human health-related messages.”

– Hong Cheng, Ph.D., director, Richard T. Robertson School of media and culture

Media+Health Symposium. Broadcast online via a Google Hangout, the symposium brought together — physically and virtually — scholars and professionals from around the world to discuss the creative and responsible use of mobile and social media in health communication, including

during times of health crisis, such as the recent Ebola epidemic.

“Our focus is exploring the most effective ways to use different types of media, especially mobile and social, to create and disseminate human health-related messages,” says Hong Cheng, Ph.D., director of the Robertson School. “That has a tremendous number of implications to the community, to find out and showcase how to use this type of technology, to design a campaign and to disseminate this information to target the right audience at the right time through the right channel.”

Informing public policy Research collaborations at VCU also can directly impact health-related public policy, which affects different aspects of communities, from health care services to environmental safeguards. Steven Woolf, M.D. (H.S. ’93/M), director of the VCU Center on Society and Health and professor of family medicine and population health

in the VCU School of Medicine, testified before a Senate subcommittee in 2013 to call attention to the widening gaps in life expectancy based on social and economic status and where someone lives. He was able to do so as a result of a VCU collaboration that produced maps displaying the statistics in stark geographic context.

Ivan Suen, Ph.D., associate professor in the Wilder School’s urban planning program, applied his skills in geographic information systems to help the center develop maps that identified specific areas of poverty and poor health in different parts of the country, says Verma of the project, which also included members from the School of Medicine. “That kind of knowledge had not been there previously.”

Closer to home, interprofessional teams of faculty and students from the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Social Work and the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences are working to improve

VCU’s academic leaders on ...

VCU’s potential to make a difference “The College of Humanities and Sciences contributes a great deal to human health. Our research spans the biological to the community to the soul. We study autoimmune diseases such as asthma; contribute to drug discovery; develop new imaging tools for cancer research; improve clinical mental health services and train mental health providers; curtail substance abuse and eating disorders; develop interventions to improve health in impoverished communities; improve fitness through athletic training; work to understand the nature of health in different cultures and religions; and much more. Additionally, VCU’s third-largest grant, $18.3 million dollars to study the health risks of tobacco products, is housed in the Department of Psychology’s Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, right here in the college.”

James Coleman, Ph.D., Dean, College of Humanities and Sciences

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the health of indigent, older adults through the Richmond Health and Wellness Program, a communitybased, care-coordination program.

Supported by a three-year, $1.5 million federal grant, the project, which sends interdisciplinary teams into indigent housing settings across the metro Richmond area to conduct weekly clinics, has caught the attention of three influential organizations, including LeadingAge, a policy group for research and support services for the elderly that reports to Congress.

“Nationally, what everybody’s trying to figure out with interprofessional education and practice is how to translate education to practice and take it to the community,” says Jean Giddens, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing. “It’s really tough. We’ve gained national attention because of the ability of this program to make a difference by doing just that. There are huge policy implications for what we are modeling.”

Changing the world, bit by bit

In March, six VCU undergraduate and graduate students from the schools of Allied Health Professions, Engineering and Pharmacy and the Brandcenter, part of the School of Business, participated in Caring for the Caregiver Hack, a two-day event dedicated to developing high-tech tools to improve the health of caregivers. The VCU team devised a tool called Voluntask, a website and smartphone app, that connects caregivers to volunteers who are willing to run errands, mow the lawn or help with other tasks. Should it go to market, the tool would enable caregivers, who often neglect their health as they devote hours to helping family members, to find some relief as they build a network of support within their neighborhood.

This undertaking — like the Women, War and Peace in Africa conference and so many other initiatives across VCU — aims to improve human health through discovery and the creative application of knowledge,

a mission best achieved through crossing borders, sharing information and collaborating on innovative and effective solutions.

“We’ve gained national attention because of the ability of this program to make a difference ...

There are huge policy implications for what we are modeling.”

– Jean Giddens, Ph.D., dean, School of Nursing

“I would call it a moral imperative for each field to collaborate with others to achieve this,” Verma says. “It’s something that our professions and our constituents expect from us. So to have this ‘one university’ approach is, in some ways, fulfilling our promise to our constituents.”

– Katherine Schutt is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

VCU Rice Rivers Center

“For me, innovation is about getting to purposeful use. How do we translate research into ideas and ideas into functional devices and functional devices into purposeful, useful products? Purposeful use is making sure a product is safe, something people can understand, not overly complex, and actually meeting the need. That’s the VCU da Vinci model, and that’s innovation.”

Kenneth B. Kahn, Ph.D., Director, da Vinci Center

“I think The Honors College is in a really unique position to foster collaboration and break down silos. We have students from every major and every school and college. We work with faculty from every unit. We are really a center for collaboration. About 40 percent of our honors students at the moment are in health sciences fields, so we have a constituency here who is really anxious to engage and help solve health-related issues.”

Barry L. Falk, Ph.D., Dean, VCU Honors College

Spring 2015

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VCU: The healthy A

ccording to the Travel Channel, Richmond ranks as a Top 20 Healthiest City in America.

We’re also the happiest*. No surprise to those who live here. From the per capita density of parks, playgrounds and rec centers to the many miles of hiking and biking trails to the impressive roster of top-notch health and wellness facilities and professionals, Richmond makes healthy living easy. And VCU is proud to be at the heart of it all. *U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research

Transportation ●● ●● ●● ●●

13 charging stations for electric vehicles at VCU 5% of parking reserved for low-emission vehicles on VCU campuses 300,000 gallons of diesel saved by 25 natural gas city trucks 59 city buses fueled by natural gas

Fitness/outdoors ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

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Top 20 Fittest Cities in America, ACSM 2 VCU rec sports centers + outdoor center 27+ VCU sport clubs and leagues 550 acres in the James River Parks System Class I–IV rapids downtown

of Richmond ❤ Green/environment ●● ●● ●● ●●

14% of VCU campuses LEED certified 408,000 kWh generated by solar panels at VCU 50% solar-heated water at Shafer Court Dining Center 5 tons of food composted each month on campus

Medical ●● ●● ●●

●●

No. 1: VCU Medical Center top-ranked in metro area 1,736 hospital beds in RVA, 779 at VCU 200+ medical, allied health and related specialties offered at VCU Medical Center Region’s only Level 1 trauma center at VCU Medical Center

Bikes ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●

Bronze Award: Community, League of American Bicyclists Silver Award: University, League of American Bicyclists No. 4 “Cities you should explore on 2 wheels,” Buzzfeed 80 miles of bike sharrows/lanes in RVA 145+ miles of dirt trails in RVA parks 1,880 spaces in VCU bike racks 12 free-to-use RamBikes on campus

Food ●● ●● ●● ●●

12% VCU food budget spent on organic 28% locally sourced food served at VCU 24 farmers’ markets in RVA Top 10 vegan-friendly city, PETA

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Photo VCU Libraries

Est.1964

U.S. News & World Report ranks the VCU School of Education 27th nationwide and 17th among public graduate programs.

The VCU School of Education marks 50 years Over the course of five decades, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education has traveled from humble beginnings to a position of national prominence. In the year of its golden anniversary, the school’s faculty, friends, students and alumni gathered through scholarly lectures, meetings and other events to share stories and reflect on the school’s ability to reach beyond the status quo, transcend education through new programs and achieve higher measures of quality.

By Drew Vass Main photo: A student teacher, circa 1970, takes her classroom learning to a nearby school. Inset, from top: The school plans to replace its current home, Oliver Hall, with a state-of-the-art building (rendering courtesy of NBBJ and BCWH); active faculty, such as associate professor William Muth, Ph.D., keep students engaged.

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Rendering: BCWH and N

NBBJ

“The VCU School of Education was founded at a significant time in the public dialogue on education — as the Civil Rights Act was enacted, followed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Over the past 50 years, we’ve worked across Richmond, the commonwealth and nationally to address many of the problems that plague public education. In the process, our affiliated centers were developed in response to the need to understand the science behind our practice.”

– Christine Walther-Thomas, Ph.D., dean, VCU School of Education, 2012-present

1960s and 1970s: Beginnings

The school was founded as part of Richmond Professional Institute, under the direction of Dean James W. Bailey, and became the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education in 1968. In its earliest years, before it had an official home, the School of Education struggled for a sense of place amid a new campus and university system. Through this challenge, however, were born two of the school’s cornerstones: collaboration and community.

“Prior to moving to Oliver Hall in late 1975, the School of Education departments were housed in numerous buildings. I recall teaching classes in a laboratory of the biology building, in the Temple Building and in what is now the Child Development Center. We [also] made significant efforts to work closely with the area school divisions, often placing programs in selected schools, where we taught professional studies classes part of the day, and VCU students worked in K-12 classes.”

– Alan M. McLeod, Ph.D., professor, 1969-2004, and division head, Teacher Education, 1986-2003

1980s: Quest for accreditation

With a new home in Oliver Hall and several successful programs underway, the ’80s marked a time of opportunity. Led by John S. Oehler, Ed.D., who assumed the position of dean in the mid-1980s, programs were aligned with the (then) standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The subsequent NCATE accreditation quickly cemented the school’s viability. Meanwhile, collaborative efforts with the College of Humanities and Sciences helped to phase out four-year programs, replacing them with newer and more substantial five-year, Master of Teaching degrees.

1990s and 2000s: Perseverance

While the School of Education grew into its identity as an innovator within three short decades, leaving it poised for further recognition, the early 2000s brought a time of difficult transition. After

about 15 years of distinguished service, Dean Oehler stepped down, and Interim Dean Richard J. Rezba, Ph.D., was tasked with deepening the school’s impact, while grabbing the national spotlight. But following the tragic events of 9/11 and amid a new economic recession, state funding plummeted, and 11 staff, as well as adjunct and tenure faculty members, were let go. Yet, through the resiliency of its faculty, students and alumni, a 2002 document, “Points of Pride,” emerged.

Authored by Rezba with the help of faculty members, the small, single-fold document shared key points in the school’s accomplishments over its then 38-year history.

“We printed it when post-9/11 times were severe and there was no money for a larger, glossy publication. … It was easy to read on busy deans’ desks and different from all of the other big publications sent out by other schools of education.”

– Richard J. Rezba, Ph.D., interim dean, 2001-02

Following the document’s distribution to more than 1,500 colleges and universities, the school’s rankings soared for grants and external funding, placing it No. 1 on the Monroe Park Campus (second universitywide) and tying it with the University of California, Berkeley for 25th in the nation for external funding awards.

In the years that followed, and under the leadership of the school’s first female dean, Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D., FACSM (interim dean, 2005-07, and dean 2007-10), faculty recovered to prerecession levels, moving the school back on its trajectory.

“The faculty is our greatest asset. Growing it will allow us to offer more quality programs, serve as leaders in sponsored research and strengthen collaborative ties with local school divisions.”

– Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D., FACSM, dean, 2007-10

2010s: An upward trajectory

Today, the School of Education flourishes with 3,800 students and 19,000 alumni in all 50 states and 15 foreign countries.

Top: Milestones in the school’s history make the local news. Bottom: The school celebrates its golden anniversary in September 2014 with a reception at the Library of Virginia.

Join us in celebration of the VCU School of Education’s 50-year anniversary by visiting soe.vcu.edu.

“When you look at the new hires over the past five, six, seven years — we’ve been able to bring in folks with what I would say are wonderful pedigrees.…

One might be more of a statistician, someone might be more of a historian, but together they make the fabric of the School of Education.”

– Michael D. Davis, Ph.D., interim dean, 2010-12 “Over 14,000 [alumni] are teachers and the rest serve as school administrators, counselors, educational researchers and evaluators, policymakers and college or university faculty. To put that in perspective, over the course of a 30- or 40-year career, a middle school or high school teacher works with more than 130 students a day. The cumulative impact for lives influenced is immeasurable.”

– Dean Walther-Thomas

On the brink of its next 50 years, the School of Education will continue its mission. One goal is to replace the aging Oliver Hall with a technologically equipped facility. To make your contribution toward the lives of the world’s next great educators, visit support.vcu.edu/education.

– Drew Vass (B.A. ’02/H&S) is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

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seven family

n, Carey, Jerry, Mary, The Johnsons — Jacob (left), Susa a family picnic.

Joseph, Emily and Sarah — enjoy

members,

one

alma mater One Johnson after another continues the VCU tradition

By Tom Gresham

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VCU Alumni

W

hen Susan Johnson, Ph.D., RN (B.S. ’81/N; M.S. ’82/N; Ph.D. ’10/N), clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing, walks around the Virginia Commonwealth University campus, she often is transported back to her student days. Johnson arrived at VCU more than 40 years ago to study nursing. To this day, she says, certain places on campus, such as Hibbs Hall or West Hospital, trigger memories of when she was a new student finding her way.

“I loved having that feeling as a young person that knowledge was here — that something bigger than you was in this place — and I still get that feeling,” says Johnson, who earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing from VCU. In fact, that sensation has strengthened with the passing of time and with the successive experiences of her children. Each of Johnson’s four daughters and two sons followed in her footsteps to VCU, and they all thrived as students,

Susan Johnson, Ph.D., RN, works in the School of Nursing.

graduating with bachelor’s degrees: Carey (B.A. ’00/H&S), Joseph (B.F.A. ’02/A), Sarah (B.S. ’03/H&S), Jacob (B.S. ’08/LS), Mary Beth (B.S. ’11/H&S) and Emily (B.S. ’14/H&S).

Susan says she relished the opportunity to share the university with her children and to see it anew through their eyes and interests.

“One of the great things about having my children be part of the VCU community is how much I have learned as a parent about the diversity of what VCU has,” Susan says. “I’ve learned so much more about VCU through my children because they’ve followed their own pathways.”

The last of the Johnson graduates, Emily, took the least direct road to VCU. Emily opted to follow her interests in agriculture following high school, and she bypassed college to work on a farm. She later attended community college and earned her associate degree in biology. When she decided to pursue further studies in that field, she did not look far. She was aware VCU had a

Susan and Jerry sport their Rams gear for a VCU men’s basketball game.

Sarah (left), Mary, Emily and Carey

“lake hop” in the Sierra Nevada.

Children in Africa’s Katansha Village dance

along to Jacob’s music.

Jacob visits with members of the Sustainable Agriculture Peace Corps team in Zambia.

Jerry and Susan spend time in Afric a where Jacob was working with the Peace Corps.

Joseph and Jerry take time to catch up.

strong biology program. Also, not insignificantly, she felt the pull of a burgeoning tradition.

“It was easy to pick VCU,” Emily says. “I wanted it to stay in the family. I wanted to continue that legacy.”

Susan insists her children’s gravitation toward VCU was never by design. She and her husband, Jerry, both thought highly of VCU and the education it offered, and they appreciated its proximity to home, but they were not dead set on each child choosing that route. For Johnson after Johnson, however, VCU proved to be the best option for reasons unique to that particular child.

“Every single one of them has had a very positive experience,” Susan says.

Carey was first.

“She started looking at different colleges, including some out of state, but she came back because she realized she wasn’t going to get a better education anywhere else,” Susan says.

Then came Joseph, a sculptor who was drawn to the university’s renowned School of the Arts.

“A lot of my teachers encouraged me to apply to VCU because of the arts program, and it was just an obvious choice,” Joseph says.

The momentum built from there. “Once the first two siblings went, I think that became an influence on the other kids, because they saw the good experiences they had, and they knew it was a good place to be,” Susan says.

Joseph says the variety and quality of the educational paths available at VCU help explain the reason the Johnsons kept selecting the university.

Carey majored in English, Joseph in sculpture, Sarah and Emily in biology, Jacob in environmental science, and Mary Beth in history and women’s studies.

“We’ve been all over the place at VCU, in all kinds of different disciplines, and I think it says a lot about what VCU has to offer that we could all study our own interests there,” Joseph says.

Susan says a common thread that has run through the college experiences of both her and her children is VCU’s diversity and commitment to the community. Education at VCU, she says, has aspirations beyond the individual. She has been proud to watch the ways all six of her children have applied their educations in the world after graduation.

“I think because of the urban campus, VCU teaches us this idea that you must be aware of the communities around us,” she says. “The university is not just about learning for the sake of learning but learning to bring our knowledge out into the world around us.”

Susan says she felt a particular sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when Emily graduated in December, completing the family line and prompting her to realize, “We did it.”

– Tom Gresham (M.F.A. ’15/H&S) is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

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alumniconnections

News, highlights and event photos from VCU Alumni. Stay connected at vcualumni.org.

Awards highlight the steadfast service of alumni volunteers

I

n October 2014, VCU Alumni honored a collection of the university’s most dedicated and accomplished alumni at the Alumni Volunteer Service Awards. The awards celebrate alumni who have worked with particular devotion to serve the VCU community.

“We’re blessed to boast such an active and dedicated alumni community,” says Gordon McDougall, associate vice president for alumni relations and executive director of the MCV Alumni Association.

“These awards are one way that we can demonstrate our appreciation for their continued contributions to VCU.” Award winners were nominated by volunteer peers and university faculty and staff, and were selected by the University Alumni Leadership Council, a group that serves as the executive committee for the VCU Alumni Board of Governors. Each honoree received a glass medallion bearing the VCU seal, crafted by Sean Donlon (B.F.A. ’12/A).

Elaine and W. Baxter Perkinson Jr. and Vickie and Thomas Snead Jr. Alumni Award for Extraordinary Service

VCU Alumni Service Award

Awarded to alumni who have shown extraordinary leadership and made outstanding contributions to the university Mary C. Doswell and John Doswell II, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’79/D), have a long history of giving their time, leadership, energy and resources to the university and its alumni organizations. John Doswell, a periodontist in private practice in Richmond, Virginia, joined the MCV Foundation board of trustees in 1998 and chaired that group from 2008-13. He also sat on the VCU Board of Visitors from 2003-13, serving as rector in his final year, and served on the VCU Health System Authority Board and School of Dentistry advisory board. He has been president of both the MCV Alumni Association and its School of Dentistry division. Mary Doswell, senior vice president of retail and alternative energy solutions for Dominion, has joined her husband for years in support of the university, most recently as president of the School of Engineering Foundation board and a past chair of the VCU Rice Rivers Center advisory board.

Edward H. Peeples Jr. Award for Social Justice Leadership

An inaugural award recognizing Peeples and honoring an alumnus for leadership in humanitarian contributions in combating inequality and social injustice Edward H. Peeples Jr., Ph.D. (B.S. ’57/E), began his efforts in the area of civil rights while he was a student at Richmond Professional Institute, now VCU, in the 1950s. Following graduation, he volunteered with the American Friends Service Committee in Prince Edward County, Virginia, where public schools had been closed to avoid integration. His work there later formed the basis for his master’s thesis and spawned documents and photographs used in reports for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the U.S. departments of Justice and Education. Peeples joined the faculty at RPI in 1963 and continued throughout the 1960s to work with local and national groups on desegregation of schools and health care across the Deep South. During his long academic career, he taught, researched, consulted and published in the fields of medical behavioral science, behavioral epidemiology, public health, violence prevention, intergroup relations and sociology. Peeples retired in 1995 but continued to work to document the struggle for Civil Rights in Virginia.

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VCU Alumni

Awarded to a graduate who has made significant contributions to VCU Alumni (past or present) B. Ellen Byrne, D.D.S., Ph.D. (B.S. ’77/P; D.D.S. ’83/D; Ph.D. ’91/M; H.S. ’91/D), relishes involvement in alumni organizations and has assumed a variety of leadership roles. She has proven particularly effective in leading fundraising efforts: for example, she spearheaded the campaign to secure a $300,000 donation by the dentistry Class of 1983 at its 30th reunion. She also was a key volunteer for the DentSim campaign that raised funds to bring dental simulation technology to first- and second-year VCU dental students. Byrne has volunteered with the MCV Alumni Association since her first graduation in 1977, holding leadership roles in both the dental division and the basic health sciences division of the association. Byrne’s energy is not only valued on campus but also within her fields of dentistry and pharmacology through extensive lecturing and scholarly publications.

VCU Alumni Pride Award

Awarded to a graduate who has shown outstanding service in one of VCU Alumni’s constituent organizations Frank J. Shortall Jr. (B.S. ’96/B), vice president of the VCU Business Alumni Society, spent 10 years as a nontraditional student working on his degree and became an alumni volunteer to continue involvement in what had been such a large part of his life. In addition to helping run the society’s golf event, open houses and tipoff events, Shortall volunteers with the Ram to Ram Mentoring Program, where he gets the chance to work directly with students and share his successful business experience in starting and managing small enterprises.

Glass medallion award crafted by alumnus Sean Donlon

alumniconnections

VCU Service Program Award

MCVAA Outstanding Alumnus Award

Recognizes an innovative and successful program to further the mission of VCU Alumni and the person behind its creation

Presented to a graduate of the MCV Campus who is nationally recognized and acknowledged by leaders in their chosen profession as having made distinguished contributions to health care

While Robert A. Almond (B.S. ’74/E; M.Ed. ’85/E) served on the university’s alumni board in 2010, he developed the idea of an awards program for regional high schools that would ultimately provide an incentive for top students to come to VCU. The Monroe Scholars Book Award provides awards to students in Richmond and surrounding counties for leadership, service and academic excellence. VCU alumni visit the high schools to present the awards, which also increases the visibility of the university and VCU Alumni in the community.

Winners of the award, if they are later accepted and enroll as VCU students, receive a $1,000 scholarship. Since the program began in 2010, it has presented 98 awards and 10 scholarships to VCU students. Almond, executive assistant and consultant to the state superintendent for public instruction, has been active in the School of Education Alumni Council for almost 20 years and helped create the school’s annual golf tournament to raise scholarship funds.

VCU GOLD Award

Awarded to a graduate of the last decade for commitment to the university and to VCU Alumni “Involved” aptly describes Timothy Nguyen (B.S. ’11/B). As a student, he lent his enthusiasm to multiple organizations — from Business Student Ambassadors to STAT — and was named VCU Co-op Student of the Year. Graduation didn’t deter his engagement, as he first served on the VCU Business Alumni Society board and now serves on the VCU Alumni board of governors. He also joined VCU Alumni as a Life member and serves as a volunteer leader with the RVA GOLD Chapter, where his ideas and leadership inspired programs such as the Alumni Charity Challenge, which brought together 13 Virginia colleges and universities and gathered 4-plus tons of food for the food bank.

VCU STAT Award

Awarded to a member of Students Today Alumni Tomorrow for outstanding leadership and service Daniel J. Metz (B.S. ’14/En) took an active role in STAT as a student, providing leadership that helped the group grow from a collection of two dozen students to one of the largest student organizations on campus with more than 1,100 members. As a member of STAT, Metz represented the School of Engineering his sophomore year, served as director of recruitment his junior year and was president his senior year. He co-created the highly successful leadership structure currently in place in STAT and led the organization to win five of seven regional awards at the CASE ASAP national conference and two national awards, one of which was Outstanding Student Organization.

Marianne R. Rollings (B.S. ’63/P) has held top leadership roles in state and national pharmaceutical associations and was the first female member of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy and later its chair. She has led local, national and international efforts to train women in pharmacy for leadership. In recognition of her success in promoting and encouraging pharmacists to attain leadership within the profession, she was awarded the prestigious Gloria Niemeyer Francke Award by the American Pharmacists Association. She also has a passion for sharing the impact of gender differences on the effectiveness of medication therapy and has conducted or facilitated many programs on the subject for professionals, students and alumni. A willing volunteer for alumni programs and activities for many years, she has served on the board and as president of the MCV Alumni Association.

MCVAA Hodges-Kay Service Award

Presented to a graduate of the MCV Campus in recognition of service to the MCV Alumni Association and participation in the activities of the association, their school and/or the university. The award was created in 1991 and named in appreciation of the dedicated service of longtime volunteers Frances Kay (B.S.N. ’59/N) and the late Edward Hodges Jr., D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’56/D).

Patricia B. Bernal (B.S. ’80/N; M.S. ’91/N) joined the MCV Alumni Association board in 1996 as chair of its nursing division.

During her term, she helped establish a scholarship fund and a research fund. She continues to participate in the alumni organization by helping to organize class events and Reunion Weekends.

In 2007, she spearheaded the Nurses for Nursing Campaign that provided a naming opportunity for the nursing school building, and in 2013, she co-chaired the committee for the School of Nursing’s 120 Visionary Leaders.

Bernal has worked for the VCU Health System for more than 35 years and, even with her retirement from full-time work in 2008, has remained committed to the VCU community with her part-time administrative role at the health system.

As a top professional in his field, Alvin J. Schalow Jr. (B.S. ’61/P) has generously given his time and talents to VCU and to the pharmaceutical field. He took an active role in local, state and national professional associations and was elected to top leadership positions in most. Fascinated with the field of pharmacy and its long history, Schalow has created programs to present to both pharmacy students and civic groups, and he’s now playing an integral part in the development of a history of pharmacy museum at the VCU School of Pharmacy that will appeal to students and history buffs alike. Over the years, Schalow has served as a lecturer, adviser and preceptor for VCU pharmacy students. He spearheaded the creation of the School of Pharmacy Scholarship Golf Tournament and serves on the school’s National Advisory Council. He has also devoted time, energy and resources to support the MCV Alumni Association, including serving as its president and raising funds to restore the Maupin-Maury House, now home to the MCVAA.

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alumniconnections

“I was surprised by the award, but at the same time, not completely,” says former STAT President Brendan Hood (B.S. ’15/B), who graduated from the School of Business in May. “Our committee members and board of directors really are dedicated to the mission of STAT. I wasn’t too shocked considering their commitment and dedication.”

That devotion led to three more district-level awards in February 2015, including an Outstanding Student Leader honor for Hood.

In addition, STAT’s Rammys program won Outstanding Internal Program, and the Ram Spirit Walk ran away with Outstanding External Program.

STAT is one of VCU’s largest registered student organizations, with about 1,100 members. A dues-paying organization known for its multitude of popular programs and events aimed to promote school spirit, STAT facilitates interactions between students and alumni to enhance the student experience and strengthen lifelong loyalty to VCU.

Advance your career with HireVCURams STAT members gather for a group photo at the 2014 Rammys, an end-of-the-year recognition program celebrating the organization’s achievements and the members who made it happen. The Rammys program won Outstanding Internal Program at the district-level CASE ASAP awards.

National awards recognize STAT’s success

O

n the heels of its sweep at the district level, VCU’s student alumni association, Students Today Alumni Tomorrow, made history in August 2014 when it took home two national awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Affiliated Student Advancement Programs. VCU STAT was the only organization to win two honors on the national level that year.

The group’s annual Barnes & Noble Blackout event won for Outstanding Tried and True Program while the group itself earned the coveted Outstanding Organization honor. STAT was recognized among 300 student advancement programs from throughout North America.

Reach out to more than 160,000 VCU Alumni with a business membership!

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VCU Alumni

H

ireVCURams.com is your personal career portal. It provides a direct link to thousands of full- and part-time jobs across a range of industries. Filter your search by location, industry and experience level. You can even create and save resumes for future use. Plus, explore upcoming career events and networking opportunities. All VCU alumni have free, lifetime access to HireVCURams.

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Get started at: vcualumni.org /Benefits/alumni-students /HireVCURams.

Want to hire a Ram? Contact Joslyn Bedell at (804) 828-1645 or visit hirevcurams.com to learn about job posting and recruitment opportunities.

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A business membership can provide excellent exposure opportunities for your company in an arena full of people you are trying to reach who are looking for your services. Learn more at vcualumni.org/businessmembers.

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TheWorld

Take anwithadventure your fellow Rams!

“This was a trip of a lifetime! The Oceania offered A+ accommodations with excellent restaurants. I loved the country club casual dressing at dinner and the ability to pick and choose guided tours or to explore on my own at each port of call. The best part was getting to know other VCU alumni and socializing together.”

– VCU Alumni traveler Stephanie L. Holt (B.S. ’74/E) on her Oceania Italy Cruise

As a VCU Alumni traveler, you can discover fascinating places around the world while enjoying exclusive perks, such as preferred access to popular attractions, specially arranged cultural experiences and perspectives from faculty experts and knowledgeable local guides.

Let VCU Alumni make your next journey one to remember. Learn more at vcualumni.org /travel or (804) 828-2586.

2015 -16 Trips Oct. 2-11, 2015 ��������������������Swiss Alps and Italian Lakes Oct. 18-26, 2015 �����������������Cuba: People to People Oct. 24-Nov. 5, 2015 ����������Passage of the Moors (Cruise from Spain to Morocco) Dec. 1-12, 2015 �������������������Holiday Markets (featuring Paris) Jan. 20-Feb. 7, 2016 ������������Bridge of the Americas (Luxury cruise from Miami to Lima, Peru) Feb. 6-13, 2016 ������������������Sailing the Windward Islands (Chartered sailing yacht) Feb. 21-March 9, 2016 �������Tasman Treasures (Luxury cruise from Sydney to Auckland) Feb. 28-March 8, 2016 �������Voyage of Discovery: Wonders of the Galapagos Islands (Galapagos cruise) March 25-April 4, 2016 �����Atolls and Islands (Luxury cruise highlighting French Polynesia) May 4-12, 2016 �������������������Sultans and Palaces (Luxury cruise from Istanbul to Athens) May 21-29, 2016 �����������������Italian Riviera (Seven nights in Sestri Levante, Italy) May 26-June 3, 2016 ����������River Life Along the Elbe River (River cruise through the Czech Republic

and Germany)

Spring 2015

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Sit back, relax and enjoy your membership benefits.

Being a VCU Alumni member means having access to a range of benefits and resources at the palm of your hand.

+ As a member, you receive exclusive benefits, including: • Online journals access for academic and professional publications • Alumni magazine subscription • License plate frame • Expanded access to online alumni directory • Member pricing at alumni events

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As an alumnus or a friend, joining VCU Alumni today is the best way to network with alumni, stay connected to your alma mater, support the present and invest in the future.

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Alumnisupport Grace and David Gallagher sport their SpeakUp5k T-shirts for Richmond’s 2015 Monument Avenue 10K. SpeakUp5k is a series of events inspired by their daughter, Cameron, and designed to raise awareness of teenage anxiety and depression. The SpeakUp5k is coming to Richmond Sept. 12.

Learn more at SpeakUp5k.com.

Cameron’s dream

A family’s tragedy inspires support for depressed teens

By Nan Johnson

C

ameron Gallagher was 16 when an undiagnosed heart condition took her life just moments after she crossed the finish line of her first half-marathon in March 2014. She had trained for months for the race and had previously run in Richmond’s Monument Avenue 10K and Jingle Bell 5K. Training to run wasn’t her only challenge. For two years, Cameron had been treated for depression and anxiety at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children at Virginia Commonwealth University. The half-marathon was her last race, but it started a movement to give a public voice to the private challenges faced by teens with depression.

“Cameron’s dream was focused on eliminating the negative stigma of teenage depression,” says her father, David Gallagher (B.S. ’97/B). “It bothered her to see young people become social outcasts because of it. There’s a negative connotation associated with it.”

To honor Cameron’s memory and to fulfill her dream, David Gallagher and his wife, Grace, through the Cameron K. Gallagher Memorial Foundation, gave $50,000 to support the VTCC’s Children’s Mental Health Resource Center at its new facility, now under construction. The resource center, slated to open in 2017, will be renamed in Cameron’s honor.

“Grace and I felt like Cameron’s voice could be most heard through a resource center like this,” David Gallagher says. “That was a big struggle for us when Cameron was really down; we didn’t know where to go or who to call. We now want to be a part of a ‘mental health GPS system’ to help guide people.”

The resource center, part of the VCU School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, provides families

with the assistance they need when searching for information and help, resulting in improved access to children’s mental health services.

“We have developed a database of providers to help families locate the right Cameron Gallagher provider for their needs,” says Joel J. Silverman, M.D., the James A. Shield, Jr., MD Professor in Psychiatry and chair of the Department of Psychiatry. “Since many of the family education services that the Children’s Mental Health Resource Center provides are not covered by insurance, support of the community of philanthropists, like the Gallaghers, is vital to our continued ability to quickly help families find services that fit their child’s mental health needs.”

The Gallaghers’ gift increases tenfold the number of families helped each month, Silverman explains.

“We are currently assisting 100 to 200 families per month and we’re growing,” he says.

With more than 200,000 children waiting for mental health services in Virginia, the Cameron Gallagher Resource Center will provide help and hope for families who need answers.

“Sometimes when a teen is struggling, they don’t think they deserve to have a voice,” Grace Gallagher says. “Cameron would say to these kids, ‘We’re here for you.’ She wanted to celebrate and be positive.”

– Nan Johnson is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

Spring 2015

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Classnotes Updates

1940s Arthur A. Kirk, M.D. (M.D. ’41/M; H.S. ‘47/M; H.S. ’51/M), was named the 2014 Outstanding Individual Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Virginia – Hampton Roads Chapter. L

1960s Emerson Hughes (B.M.E. ’65/A) and Kathy Hughes (B.M.E. ’65/A) M celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a party held Aug. 30, 2014.

Kathy served as a VCU Department of Music accompanist until May 2014. The couple has been longtime supporters of VCU Opera and met in the voice studio of L. Wayne Batty, founder of VCU Opera.

James H. Revere Jr., D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’65/D; H.S. ’89/D), director of planned giving in the School of Dentistry, received the Presidential Medallion at VCU’s 2014 Faculty Convocation. The award recognizes extraordinary achievement in learning and commitment to the mission of VCU. L John Wilson (B.F.A. ’63/A) L retired in November 2014 following a 50-year career in broadcasting as a radio and TV news anchor. An award-winning journalist with three Emmys to his credit, Wilson worked at numerous stations, including in Tampa Bay, Fla., where he was at Fox 13 for the past 32 years. He and his wife, Mary Kathryn Burton Wilson (B.M.E. ’65/A), L have three sons.

1970s Jay Fitzgerald (B.S. ’75/H&S) was inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 28, 2014, for his career as a swimming coach at Pine Crest School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. William J. Harvey (B.S. ’72/B), president of DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers in Wilmington, Del., was appointed to Washington College’s board of visitors and governors.

George “Steve” Loder (B.S. ’71/B) and his wife, Linda, established the George S. Loder Scholarship in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences, to be presented for the first time in 2020. Loder created the award to recognize the contributions Richard T. “Dick” Robertson (B.S. ’67/MC; H.L.D. ’05) has made to VCU. L Karl Peace, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’76/M), was commended by the Virginia General Assembly in House Joint Resolution No. 5073 as “a prolific biostatistician and devoted educator.” Peace has served as affiliate faculty in the VCU Department of Biostatistics for more than 30 years and is a senior research scientist and

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VCU Alumni

Can’t wait to see what’s happening with your fellow alumni? View archived and expanded class notes online at vcualumni.org/classnotes.

professor of biostatistics at the Georgia Southern University Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.

Peace created scholarship awards that have helped more than 50 students earn master’s or doctorates in biostatistics from VCU.

Lisa Troutman Oliva (B.S. ’89/MC) has been promoted to group vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond with responsibility for corporate communications and government affairs. She most recently served as vice president of corporate communications. M

Leslie Portney, D.P.T., Ph.D., FAPTA (M.S. ’74/AHP), dean of the MGH School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award from the VCU Department of Physical Therapy.

John Patykula (M.M. ’82/A), area coordinator of guitars and assistant chair of the Department of Music in the VCU School of the Arts, wrote the article “The Role of American Television in the Career of Andrés Segovia,” published in Classical Guitar magazine.

Robbin Thompson (B.S. ’73/MC), co-owner of In Your Ear Studios, received the Renaissance Award from the CenterStage Foundation for his contributions to the Richmond, Va., art community.

1980s Chris Dadlez (M.H.A. ’80/HA) participated in the discussion “Fiscal Fitness: Strategies for Success,” which was convened by the Health Forum in May 2014 in New York and published in the September 2014 issue of Hospitals & Health Networks. Dadlez, along with other industry experts, discussed the critical success factors of the future in the era of health care reform.

Janet M. Eddy, M.D. (M.D. ’87/M; H.S. ’90/M), was honored in October 2014 by the Medical Society of Virginia Foundation with its Salute to Service award for her service to the uninsured and underserved. Eddy is medical director of the Bon Secours Richmond Health Care System’s Care-A-Van and helped lead the mobile outreach program’s expansion into Hampton Roads.

Jean-Venable “Kelly” R. Goode, Pharm.D., BCPS, FAPhA, FCCP (B.S. ’89/P; Pharm.D. ’94/P), professor and director of the VCU School of Pharmacy’s Community Pharmacy Practice Program and its Community Pharmacy Residency Program, was named president-elect of the American Pharmacists Association. She will begin her term in March 2016.

Sebastian Joyce, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’88/M), professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University, spoke to VCU medical students in October 2014 about his unconventional approach of using T cell-targeted vaccines against infectious diseases.

Jeffrey Lamont, M.D. (H.S. ’82/M), pediatrician with the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, was named Pediatrician of the Year by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. His work in school health on behalf of the WI-APP also earned him a national Award of Excellence from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Lamont is medical adviser for three school districts as well as Marathon County Special Education.

Jerry Lewis (B.S. ’81/MC) was appointed senior vice president for communications and public affairs at Emory University. Lewis served for the past seven years as vice president for communications at the University of Texas at Arlington. L

Gary Shaver (B.M.E. ’83/A) celebrated the 30th anniversary of his band, Spectrum, in May 2015.

Robert A. Short (B.S. ’89/E; M.Ed. ’03/E) was named headmaster of Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond, Va. He was formerly Trinity’s assistant head of school.

Ron Smith (M.F.A. ’85/H&S), an award-winning poet, was named poet laureate of Virginia. Smith is the writer-in-residence and George O. Squires Chair of Distinguished Teaching at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Va., and the author of three books of poetry. L Tracy Kemp Stallings (B.S. ’85/N; M.S.H.A. ’95/AHP), COO of HCA Virginia’s Johnston-Willis Hospital, received a 2014 Executive Women in Business Achievement Award, which honors the women who are leading the business community in Richmond, Va. L Luisa K. Whiting (B.F.A. ’83/A) finished restoring a 1939 Cape Cod-style house, her eighth restoration.

She resides in Essex, Conn.

1990s Matthew Anderson (B.S. ’94/MC) has been named partner and global chief marketing officer at New York-based Code and Theory, one of the largest independently owned creative agencies in the U.S. Brenda Bates (B.S. ’93/AHP) was certified as a registrant of the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists.

Karmalita Bawar (B.M. ’90/A) was invited to be a master teacher at the weeklong University of Louisville Suzuki Piano Institute in July 2014.

Elizabeth Cabell, ASID, CID (B.F.A. ’97/A), and her studio, Cabell Design Studio, were included in the early 2014 summer issue of French Style magazine.

The article featured a French-style house project her studio completed for a client in North Carolina.

Stephen L. DeBiasi, CMPE, FACHE (M.H.A. ’95/ AHP), CEO of OrthoWilmington, in North Carolina, announced that Orthopaedic Specialists has joined his practice.

Donwan T. Harrell (B.F.A. ’92/A), founder and director of New York-based Prps, is featured in “Denim Dudes” by Amy Levertons, released in February 2015.

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

classnotes

Bryan Hill (B.F.A. ’96/A), a visual arts teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Washington, D.C., received the Mayor’s Art Award for Excellence in Arts Teaching. Hill has taught art in D.C.’s public school system for 16 years.

Dust off your thes is

or diss

ertation.

VCU Libraries will publish it digitally .

VCU Libraries is offeri ng a new program tha t captures and publishes for fre e the intellectual wo rk of the university, including work by alumni.

Scholars Compass (sc holarscompass.vcu.e du) is a digital university press that preserves and electron ica lly disseminates articles, book ch apters, presentations, da ta and other work produced by fac ulty, students, staff an d alu mni.

A large part of the 4,5 00 items currently ho used in Scholars Compass is the collection of electr onic theses and dissertations. Wi th your permission, VC U Libraries will add your publish ed dissertation to the co llection.

Why get involved? Yo ur work can help oth ers worldwide as they can lea rn from previous res ea rch .

You’ll help strengthen VCU’s sch olarly reputation by adding your work to Scholars Co mpass, plus you’ll rec eive reports on how many times people have read yo ur opus.

To give VCU Libraries permission to scan yo ur graduate paper and add it to Scholars Compass, ca ll Sa m Byrd at (804) 827-3556 or em ail libcompass@vcu .edu.

Adam Larrabee (M.M. ’98/A), guitarist, toured Ireland with Love Cannon, headlined the Bluegrass Festival at Ulster American Folk Park and performed on RTE Radio 1’s Sean O’Rourke Show, BBC TV and BBC Radio.

Cade Martin (B.G.S. ’90/H&S) joined a group of photographers who flew to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in October 2014 to capture the spirit of the Day of the Dead festival. They set up a mobile studio in the middle of the city’s center square so that they could capture festivalgoers. Martin shared his goals for the project in an article published in The Huffington Post.

Tom Mayhew, PT, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’91/M), associate professor in the VCU Department of Physical Therapy, was honored in June 2014 with the Lucy Blair Service Award at the American Physical Therapy Association’s NEXT Conference in Charlotte, N.C. L Kenneth D. McArthur Jr. (B.A. ’90/H&S) joined Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti LLP and will run the firm’s newest office in Richmond, Va. He also has taught, since 2005, the pharmacy law course at VCU’s School of Pharmacy.

Clarence Penn (B.M. ’91/A) was featured in the August 2014 issue of DownBeat magazine’s “Blindfold Test,” a column in which prominent artists are given a listening test that challenges them to discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings.

Kari Pessarra (A.S. ’94/AHP) serves as the director of medical support at Patient First – Genito in Midlothian, Va. M Cynthia C. Romero, M.D. (H.S. ’96/M), was honored for her contributions promoting the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health through political service. She accepted the Clarence A. Holland, M.D. Award during the Medical Society of Virginia’s annual meeting in October 2014.

Romero serves as director of Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Brock Institute for Community and Global Health and is the physician manager for Romero Family Practice in Virginia Beach, Va.

2000s Andrew V. Bailey II (M.B.A. ’00/B) was named president for Lewis Berger’s Services operation. Bailey formerly served as the Lewis Berger group vice president of Global Operations, which transitioned to Services in June 2014.

Taylor Barnett (B.M. ’02/A; M.M. ’04/A), coordinator of musicianship studies, and Bryan Hooten (M.M. ’06/A), adjunct instructor of jazz and music theory in

M Member of the alumni association

the VCU School of the Arts’ Department of Music, were in several performances in summer 2014 with the No BS! Brass Band: the Ottawa Blues Festival, the Festival D’éte Internationale de Quebec and the Low Down Hudson Festival in New York. The band also launched the inaugural weeklong RVA All Day Brass Band Camp at the Collegiate School in Richmond, Va. Jared Broussard (B.M. ’08/A) accepted a position teaching trumpet at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Ryan Ehrensberger, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’07/E), was named director of research at the United Network for Organ Sharing, where he will oversee programming and data analysis pertaining to organ donation and matching and transplantation.

Branden Engorn, M.D. (M.D. ’09/M), completed his pediatric chief residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

As chief resident, he served as co-editor of the 20th edition of The Harriet Lane Handbook, the go-to resource for pediatric residents throughout the U.S. Mark J. Ingraham (B.M. ’04/A), trumpet player, John Lilley (B.M. ’08/A), saxophone player, and Toby Whitaker (B.M. ’01/A), trombone player, and their band, Bio Ritmo, released their latest full-length

L Life member of the alumni association

album, “Puerta Del Sur,” on Vampisoul Records. It’s been ranked No. 5 in the CMJ World Music Charts and No. 8 in the DJ Latino’s Record Pool.

Verniece Love (B.S. ’09/B) collected cash and prizes with an overall value of more than $70,000 during a commanding performance on “Wheel of Fortune” that saw her solve six of the episode’s seven puzzles.

The show aired Sept. 29, 2014.

Sarah Mizer (M.F.A. ’07/A) showed work in a group exhibit, “Dining and Discourse: A Discussion in Three Courses,” from Feb. 6 through May 10, 2015, at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Aaron K. Perkins, D.P.T., OCS, CSCS, CMTPT (D.P.T. ’05/AHP), owner and chief executive manager of Physical Therapy of Central Virginia LLC in Fredericksburg, Va., has expanded his facility to a 4,400-square-foot sports rehabilitation center.

Debbie Quick (M.F.A. ’06/A), assistant professor and assistant chair of the VCU Department of Craft and Material Studies, had work on display in October 2014 as part of the group show “Exquisite Corpse” at 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Va.

Spring 2015

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classnotes

Adrián Sandí (B.M. ’06/A) has become an artist/clinician for Buffet Crampon, a manufacturer of woodwind musical instruments. A clarinetist, Sandí is also a member of the Mimesis Ensemble, which performed Oct. 27, 2014, at Carnegie Hall.

Kazue Taguchi (M.F.A. ’07/A) had her work in the Project Space exhibit “Zwischenzeitlich,” held in Berlin at the Glogauair artist-in-residence program.

What ’s new?

Send us your news — promotion, relocation, wedding, baby or other good news — and we’ll share it in the alumni magazine and online. Drop us a line at classnotes@vcu.edu.

Or, update your information and view archived and expanded class notes from your fellow alumni at vcualumni.org/classnotes.

Samson Trinh (B.M. ’06/A) launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete his Upper East Side Big Band’s Christmas album and TV special. Trinh is also helping spearhead the ukulele-education trend. He offered four Uke ‘n’ Roll webinars in 2014 with live attendance in Richmond, Va.

2010s Stephanie Auld (B.M. ’12/A) serves as graduate opera assistant at Converse College.

Adeeb Barqawi (B.S. ’10/LS; B.S. ’10/H&S) teaches physics to high school students in Houston through Teach for America, a nationwide program dedicated to expanding educational opportunities in low-income communities. He was honored as Teacher of the Year by the Texas Alternative Certification Association.

Nick Berkin (B.M. ’13/A), pianist, is on his second contract with Holland America Line, cruising through the Alaskan season. He leads the show band and backs up guest entertainers on the ship.

Rob Brandenberg (B.I.S. ’13/H&S), former standout player on the VCU men’s basketball team, signed a deal with the Gussing Knights of the top Austrian Basketball League.

Abram Deslauriers (M.F.A. ’14/A) exhibited work in “Emerge 2014: A Showcase of Rising and Evolving Talents in Kiln-Glass” held at the Bullseye Gallery in Portland, Ore. He also had work in “Production & Administration of Stanislav Libenský Award” at the Prague Gallery of Czech Glass Dancing House in Nusle, Czech Republic.

Sean Donlon (B.F.A. ’12/A) showed work in the Sept.

4, 2014, group show “Rhythm: A Fall Line Festival Group Exhibition” at Gallery 5.

Andrea Donnelly (M.F.A. ’10/A) had a solo exhibit, “Cross Pollinations,” at Quirk Gallery in September 2014. M Shahbano Farid (B.S. ’14/B) won the ASOS Around the World internship competition, a prize consisting of an all-expenses-paid, six-week internship that included travel to six cities. Farid beat out 9,000 other applicants for the job at the clothing store.

40

VCU Alumni

Krina Patel (B.A. ’12/H&S; B.A. ’12/H&S) was one of five people nationally to receive the 2014 Donald M. Payne International Development Fellowship.

The award allows recipients to attend a graduate program and to join the Foreign Service upon completion.

Gwendolyn D. Perkins, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’11/E), an assistant principal in Richmond, Va., was named a 2013-14 School Bell Award recipient for her work in education by the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals.

Juvonte Reddic (B.S. ’14/H&S), former forward on the VCU men’s basketball team, signed a deal with the Victoria Libertas, a professional basketball team in Italy.

Victor Haskins (B.M. ’13/A) presented a TED Talk on improvisation at TEDxLizardCreek in North Carolina.

A trumpet player, he also presented a clinic at the 2015 Jazz Education Network Conference on his improvement concept, “Melodic Improvisation.”

David Hood (B.S. ’13/H&S; B.M. ’13/A), John Hulley (B.M. ’11/A) and Sam Koff (B.M. ’12/A) were in several performances in summer 2014 with the No BS! Brass Band: the Ottawa Blues Festival, the Festival D’éte Internationale de Quebec and the Low Down Hudson Festival in New York. The band also launched the inaugural weeklong RVA All Day Brass Band Camp at the Collegiate School in Richmond, Va. Gregory Kimbrell (M.F.A. ’11/H&S) received the Crab Orchard Series Poetry First Book Award for his manuscript “The Primitive Observatory.”

Leah Kruszewski (B.M. ’10/A) won a scholarship for a year’s study at the Fundacion Cristina Heeren in Sevilla, Spain.

Nathaniel Lee (B.M. ’10/A) was appointed lecturer of trombone at the University of Virginia and serves as principal trombone of the Charlottesville Symphony.

David Matturro (M.Ed. ’12/E) was named lead assistant coach for the Shenandoah University men’s basketball team. He previously served as the director of basketball operations at Mount St. Mary’s University.

Matturro also served as a graduate manager with the VCU men’s basketball team when the squad qualified for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Katelyn McCarter (B.A. ’12/A) had the lead single from her studio effort “Beyond Skin Deep” released

by Dreamin’ Out Loud Entertainment. A two-time International Music and Entertainment Association Christian Female Vocalist and Christian Entertainer of the Year award recipient, McCarter also serves as a spokesperson for Angels and Doves, an antibullying organization.

Marla Smith (B.M. ’13/A) launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund NoteCritique, an online educational tool dedicated to the musical and entrepreneurial advancement of talented chamber ensembles.

Ensembles upload audio and video clips of rehearsals and performances to receive constructive critiques by other members on the site. The project is supported by the Eastman School of Music’s Institute of Music Leadership in Rochester, N.Y. Hannah Standiford (B.M. ’11/A) won the Darmasiswa Indonesian Scholarship, beating out applicants from more than 75 countries. The scholarship promotes interest and awareness of Indonesian language and arts. Standiford will study karawitan, the playing of gamelan instruments, at the Institut Seni Indonesia in Solo, Java.

Kimberly Waits (B.S. ’10/H&S) was accepted into the Peace Corps and departed for South Africa in July 2014 to begin training as an English teacher. Waits lives and works at the community level teaching conversational English and developing teaching materials with local teachers at the secondary-school level.

Justin Williams (B.M. ’11/A) teaches strings at Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia.

Births Kandrac Wilson, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’11/D), and Adrian Wilson, Pharm.D. (Pharm.D. ’10/P), welcomed daughter Corinne Veronica Wilson on March 26, 2014.

Faculty and staff Edmund Acevedo, chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, was inducted as a fellow into the National Academy of Kinesiology at its 84th annual meeting, held Sept. 11-13, 2014, in Austin, Texas.

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

Photo Steve Freeman/NBAE

ALUMNIPROFILE

“Forming an emotional connection with consumers, that’s the dream.”

At the top of her game Pam El puts her own spin on NBA marketing

I

t all started with a Chevy Vega. “You probably don’t remember the Vega,” Pam El (B.S. ‘83/MC) says with a laugh, “but that car got me to Richmond to start my education at VCU. I originally enrolled as a public relations major but realized it wasn’t for me within a day. I switched to marketing and advertising, and it was a perfect match.”

Thirty-six years later, El, a native of Lynchburg, Virginia, is the first female chief marketing officer for the NBA, based in New York City.

While the landscape of Fifth Avenue is a stark contrast to Lynchburg, El’s passion for human interaction and problem-solving remains constant. “What I loved about marketing in the beginning has stayed with me throughout my career; it’s all about problem-solving and finding solutions,” El says. “Thirty-plus years later, I’m still problem-solving and finding solutions for clients. I’m lucky to come to work and get excited over my job every single day.”

Finding solutions is El’s signature in the industry. Before joining the NBA in 2014, she held executive-level positions with Nationwide and State Farm Insurance, furthering each company’s mission with her notable experience in brand marketing.

While consumers might see insurance and sports entertainment as two extremely different industries, El saw distinct similarities between them in her pursuit of the NBA position. “The products, fans and consumers feel very different on the surface, but it all comes down to emotion. All brands are trying to accomplish the same thing with marketing efforts: connecting emotionally to consumers,” El says. “The NBA seeks to do the same thing. We emotionally connect with our core and our casual fans. Forming an emotional connection with consumers, that’s the dream.”

El also values the family-like atmosphere of the NBA. “While the NBA is a global entity spanning several countries, we have around 1,400 employees in

By Aine Norris

13 offices worldwide, versus my previous industries with 100,000-plus people on the payroll. I value the connected, intimate culture of the NBA.” El’s primary marketing focus is strategic outreach to consumers in hopes of attracting fans to the game of basketball in fresh, unique ways. “Reaching out to fans is really exciting. I’m passionate about reaching fans of all ages, but it’s most exciting to see children get interested in and play basketball,” she says. “Through our program NBA FIT, we’re able to encourage kids to go out and play basketball.

At the NBA, we firmly believe if you can get a child to play basketball at a young age, it will benefit them throughout their entire life, and they’ll be a lifelong fan.”

Despite years of success and professional awards, including earning Advertising Age’s 100 Most Influential Women award in 2012, El remains humble. “I am blessed to be at the pinnacle of my career. Getting this far requires you to prepare, get an education and put in a sincere effort every day. I landed in the right role but worked hard to get here,” she says. “Every student can do the exact same thing if they work hard and find something they really want to do. Perseverance is the No. 1 tool I wish for all recent graduates.”

When asked about her personal brand, El instantly relates it back to her education and time spent at VCU. “My informal education with upbringing and family in conjunction with my formal education at VCU helped shape my personal brand,” El says. “I try to live my life in a way that’s authentic and real, understanding that other people’s needs are much larger than my own. I see VCU sending and galvanizing the same message of authenticity right now, and it reaffirms the university’s efforts that made me who I am today.”

– Aine Norris (B.A. ’08/H&S) is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

Spring 2015

41

classnotes

New releases

Faculty and alumni books Illuminating secrecy Jason Ross Arnold, Ph.D.

Written by Ross, assistant professor in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, “Secrecy in the Sunshine Era: The Promise and Failures of U.S. Open Government Laws” investigates how the government routinely keeps information on a vast array of topics unnecessarily secret, despite 1970s-era reforms that require greater transparency.

Race and political activism Adam Ewing, Ph.D.

Assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences, author Ewing examines the rise and fall of Garveyism — a race-first political movement led by Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey — across the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa following World War I in “The Age of Garvey: How a Jamaican Activist Created a Mass Movement and Changed Global Black Politics.”

Health care by the numbers Yasar Ozcan, Ph.D.

This new edition of “Health Care Benchmarking and Performance Evaluation: An Assessment Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)” by Ozcan (Ph.D. ’88/AHP), the Charles P. Cardwell Jr. Professor, director of the M.S.H.A. program and vice chair of the Department of Health Administration, provides health

42

VCU Alumni

care practitioners and administrators with information about what is lacking in specific aspects of performance and then outlines the ways that these performance inadequacies can be improved.

health services, policies and strategies and provides concrete and pragmatic recommendations for how to begin overhauling the delivery of mental health services.

Sins of the founding father

Oliver Speck, Ph.D.

Taking turns on Tarantino

Ryan Smith, Ph.D.

A biography by Smith, professor in the Department of History in the College of Humanities and Sciences, “Robert Morris’s Folly” reveals how Morris, a wealthy financier of the American Revolution who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, ended up financially ruined and publicly disgraced.

Lessons from Virginia Tech

An associate professor of film studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences’ School of World Studies, Speck has edited a collection of essays examining director Quentin Tarantino’s most commercially successful and, arguably, most controversial film, compiled in the new book “Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained: The Continuation of Metacinema.”

Tips for health care admins Kenneth White, Ph.D., APRN, FACHE, FAAN

Aradhana “Bela” Sood, M.D., FAACAP

Written by Sood (M.S.H.A. ’06/AHP), professor of psychiatry and pediatrics in the VCU School of Medicine, “The Virginia Tech Massacre: Strategies and Challenges for Improving Mental Health Policy on Campus and Beyond,” is based on the author’s experience and perspective as a panel member appointed to the special independent review committee asked to consult on the mental health system implications of the Virginia Tech shooting.

It discloses her personal experience as a child psychiatrist and panel member and her role in shaping the final report. It also offers examples of effective mental

Co-authored by J. Stephen Lindsey, “Take Charge of Your Healthcare Management Career: 50 Lessons that Drive Success” offers 50 succinct lessons to help those starting their health care management career achieve success. White (B.S. ’95/N; M.S. ’95/N; Ph.D. ’96/AHP), an emeriti faculty member in VCU’s Department of Health Administration, is the associate dean for strategic partnerships and innovation at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. He also holds the University of Virginia Medical Center Professorship in Nursing with joint appointments in U.Va.’s McIntire School of Commerce and Darden School of Business.

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

classnotes

Robert L. Balster, Ph.D., Luther A. Butler Professor of Drug and Alcohol Studies and affiliate professor of psychology and psychiatry in the School of Medicine, received the Presidential Medallion at VCU’s 2014 Faculty Convocation. The award recognizes extraordinary achievement in learning and commitment to the mission of VCU. Francesco S. Celi, M.D., chair and professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the School of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine, served as lead author on a study linking cooler bedroom temperatures to a boost in metabolic activity.

The study was published in the journal Diabetes.

Andréa Keys Connell, assistant professor in the Department of Craft and Material Studies, was featured in the September 2014 issue of Ceramics Now. Timothy G. Cook, director of the Risk and Insurance Studies Center in the School of Business, is the 2014 recipient of the Jack F. Derrickson Award for Outstanding Course Leadership, given by The Institutes. The award honors a teacher whose students pass The Institutes’ exams at a rate higher than the national average.

Charles Geyer, M.D., physician-researcher at Massey Cancer Center, co-authored practice-changing, international research on breast cancer that was presented at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research involved a combination of two large, international Phase III clinical trials, which found that the drug exemestane is more effective than tamoxifen at preventing breast cancer recurrence in young women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer.

Richard A. Glennon, Ph.D., Alfred and Frances Page Burger Professor of Biological and Medicinal Chemistry and chairman of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy, was inducted into the American Chemical Society’s 2014 Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. He also received the fifth annual Philip S. Portoghese Medicinal Chemistry Lectureship Award.

Reni Gower, professor in the School of the Arts, received the Distinguished Teaching Award at VCU’s 2014 Faculty Convocation.

Tom de Haven, professor in the Department of English in the College of Humanities and Sciences, received the University Award of Excellence at VCU’s 2014 Faculty Convocation.

Darryl Harper, chair of the Department of Music, released a double CD recording, “The Need’s Got To Be So Deep,” on Hipnotic Records. The album features new pieces by eight composers in formats ranging from duo to octet. M

William L. Dewey, Ph.D., Louis S. and Ruth S. Harris Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, received special recognition at the National Institute on Drug Abuse International Program’s 2014 Awards of Excellence.

Dewey was recognized for his excellence in scientific accomplishments and for his devoted service to the addiction research community.

David Holdford, professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, received the National Community Pharmacists Association’s Outstanding Adherence Educator Award in October 2014. He oversees a graduate program of 27 students and advises 10 students in their research in health outcomes assessment and pharmacoeconomics.

Tabatha Easley, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Music, presented “Biculturalism in American Flute Music” at the National Flute Association’s annual convention in Chicago.

Susie Ganch, associate professor in the Department of Craft and Material Studies, exhibited work at the PULSE Contemporary Art Fair in Miami Beach, Fla. Antonio Garcia, associate professor and director of jazz studies, completed a concert band commission from trombonist Marshall Johnson in honor of the 25th anniversary year of the Hanover Concert Band.

Tracey Gendron, Ph.D., assistant professor of gerontology in the School of Allied Health Professions, was one of 10 finalists for the 2014 Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement for Early Career Faculty. The award, announced by the New England Resource Center for Higher Education and the Center for Engaged Democracy at Merrimack College, recognizes a faculty member who connects his or her teaching, research and service to community engagement.

M Member of the alumni association

Susan Iverson, professor in the Department of Craft and Material Studies, exhibited work in the group show “The Art is the Cloth” at New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, N.H., in fall 2014.

Oleg Korenok, Ph.D., economics professor in the School of Business, helped create a proposal for a National Council for Reforms in his native country, Ukraine, during a government-sponsored retreat in July 2014. The three-day event took place just days before Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his cabinet announced their resignation on July 24, 2014.

Elizabeth King, a sculptor and professor in the Department of Sculpture and Extended Media in the School of the Arts, is a recipient of an Anonymous Was a Woman award, a $25,000 grant. The award was created in 1996 in response to the decision of the National Endowment of the Arts to stop supporting individual artists.

Tony Martucci, adjunct professor of drums in the Department of Music, took part in the Capitol Jazz Project, an ongoing initiative that supports music education for middle school students in Washington, D.C.

L Life member of the alumni association

Martucci taught a weeklong camp and performed “Swing Time – The Musical!” at the Navy Memorial.

Suzanne Mazzeo, Ph.D., professor of psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, received a two-year, $100,000 grant to study recent changes to the National School Lunch Program. The study will be conducted in partnership with Greater Richmond Fit 4 Kids, along with other VCU faculty, graduate students and undergraduate research assistants.

Mark A. McHugh, Ph.D., professor in the School of Engineering, received the Distinguished Scholarship Award at VCU’s 2014 Faculty Convocation.

June Nicholson, Ph.D., professor and director of graduate studies in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences, was named the 2014 Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communications Education by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Commission on the Status of Women.

Charles O’Keeffe, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, received a 2014 Award of Excellence from the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s International Program. O’Keeffe, also a professor in the VCU Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, earned the award for his role in advising three U.S. presidents on international health and drug policy issues and as a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization and other U.N. agencies.

Marc P. Posner, M.D., FACS, David M. Hume Endowed Chair in Surgery, professor and chairman of the Division of Transplant Surgery in the School of Medicine and director of the Hume-Lee Transplant Center at VCU Medical Center, received the Distinguished Service Award at VCU’s 2014 Faculty Convocation.

Jason Reed, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences, received a roughly $2 million grant with a collaborator at the University of California, Los Angeles. The pair will work toward developing a new method to rapidly determine how a cancerous tumor responds to a battery of candidate therapies and then to pick the agents that are most effective for treating the patient’s particular disease. About $1 million of the four-year National Cancer Institute grant will go to research conducted at VCU. Rex Richardson, trumpet professor in the Department of Music, released two CDs in October 2014: “Blue Shift,” a small-group CD, and “Bugles Over Zagreb,” which features big-band music composed and conducted by music professor Doug Richards.

Carol Shakeshaft, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Educational Leadership in the School of Education, helped spearhead a video project about racial divisions in the Richmond, Va., region. “Race in Richmond,” which consists of four videos delving into education, transportation, housing and economic development, went live on the Richmond Peace Education Center website.

Spring 2015

43

ALUMNIPROFILE

A

fresh air Innovative antidote combats carbon monoxide

By Carrie Carroll

– Carrie Carroll (B.S. ’06/MC; M.S. ’11/MC) is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

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VCU Alumni

Photo courtesy Joseph Roderique

A breath of

s a first-year student in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Joseph Roderique, M.D. (M.S. ’13/M; M.D. ’14/M), came up with the idea for an injectable antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning. It was a big idea, one that could have dramatic and wide-ranging results if he could make it work.

Carbon monoxide inhalation is the No. 1 cause of lethal poisoning worldwide. In the U.S. alone, carbon monoxide exposure results in 15,000 emergency room visits, 5,000 neurologic injuries and up to 500 deaths annually. Only two treatments exist, and neither is low cost, nontoxic or easily administered. An injectable antidote — cheap, portable and widely available — could help thousands of people every year.

“For the first time ever, we could have a medication that an EMT or firefighter could give to a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning that can dramatically improve their condition within seconds to minutes,” Roderique says.

Bolstered by promising initial research, Roderique found an ally in Bruce Spiess, M.D., professor of anesthesia and director of the VCU Blood Utilization Committee and Practicing Excellence in Transfusion Therapies.

Spiess helped him secure internal sponsorships from the Department of Anesthesiology, the Division of Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery and the Department of Surgery. This vital support enabled Roderique to take a year away from clinical medical student training to work in the anesthesiology and VCU Reanimation Engineering Shock Center laboratories, developing a unique reduced form of vitamin B12 and demonstrating that it could be an effective treatment for experimental carbon monoxide poisoning.

In the few years since, Roderique’s research has flourished. Now an alumnus of the School of Medicine, Roderique serves as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and is a surgery resident with the U.S. Navy Medical Corps.

He was named “Best Young Investigator” for his work on an injectable antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning at the 2014 Military Health System Research Symposium, the premier scientific meeting of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Spiess describes the injectable antidote as ”a potential breakthrough in medicine and pharmaceutics that has plagued mankind since the discovery of fire.” Its practical implications are numerous and exciting.

In addition to being used for saving the lives of fire victims, the injectable antidote could be used to treat hemorrhagic or septic shock, and cyanide and smoke inhalation injuries. “It can do all of this yet is low volume, so a single provider could carry multiple doses, which could be a major benefit in a mass casualty incident such as an office building or apartment fire. This is especially important for military personnel. Being around smoke and fire is a part of everyday life for deployed combat forces,” Roderique says.

Plans are underway to take the drug to a human trial within the next three years.

Roderique says his research and its beginnings demonstrate the kind of ambitious work that can incubate at VCU: “I really think that things are heading in the right direction for VCU and for future students like me with way outside-the-box ideas.”

classnotes

Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, received a nearly $940,000 grant to promote the study of forgiveness in West and South Africa. The grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation will support the three-year project.

Bohyun Yoon, assistant professor in the Department of Craft and Material Studies, had work in the Sept.

6, 2014, group show “Glass Unpolished” at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Va. Yin Zheng, D.M.A., coordinator of keyboard area and assistant professor in the Department of Music, led a successful inaugural Global Summer Piano Institute at VCU. A group of 21 piano teachers, students and parents from China spent a week presenting eight marathon concerts and being immersed in a variety of cultural activities.

In memoriam

1930s Doris H. Jones (B.S. ’39/N), of Lumberton, N.J., July 28, 2014, at age 95.

1940s W. James Baggs, M.D., FACS (M.D. ’43/M), of Newport News, Va., Aug. 11, 2014, at age 94.

Arthur K. Black Sr., M.D. (M.D. ’48/M), of Birmingham, Ala., June 24, 2014, at age 93.

Louis F. Birckhead Jr. (B.S. ’49/B), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 14, 2014, at age 89.

Margaret A. Bolbat (Cert. ’48/AHP), of Philadelphia, Feb. 18, 2013, at age 85.

Frances P. Bracy (B.S. ’40/N), of Siler City, N.C., Nov. 30, 2014, at age 96.

Sarah H. Jones, M.D. (M.D. ’43/M; H.S. ’44/M; H.S. ’47/M), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 28, 2014, at age 95.

Nathan Bushnell III (M.H.A. ’51/AHP), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 19, 2014. L

William C. Link, M.D. (M.D. ’49/M; H.S. ’50/M), of Unionville, Ind., Sept. 1, 2014, at age 90.

William A. Cassada Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’55/M; H.S. ’67/M), of Crozet, Va., Aug. 30, 2014, at age 86.

Virginia C. Love (Cert. ’47), of Richmond, Va., June 17, 2014.

Anne Jean P. Cavender, M.D. (M.D. ’52/M), of Charleston, W.Va., July 6, 2014, at age 86. L

Edward Y. Lovelace Jr., D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’40/D), of Bedford, Va., July 3, 2014, at age 99.

Gwendolyn J. Cox (B.S. ’54/AHP), of Waverly, Va., July 11, 2014, at age 82.

John W. McBride Jr. (M.S. ’48/H&S; B.S. ’53/H&S), of Lexington, Ky., Oct. 10, 2014, at age 91.

Ellen D. Cross (B.S. ’51/E) of Mechanicsville, Va., Sept. 16, 2014, at age 85. L

Virginia Cary Lancaster McDonald (B.F.A. ’44/A), of West End, N.C., Oct. 6, 2014, at age 89. L

John J. Cusson (B.S. ’54/AHP), of Vero Beach, Fla., July 16, 2014, at age 85.

Maude Middleton (Cert. ’43), of Holly Ridge, N.C., Dec. 1, 2014, at age 93.

L. Lynton Goulder Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’54/M), of Pompano Beach, Fla., Aug. 6, 2014, at age 85.

Warren L. Moorman Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’43/M), of Salem, Va., Oct. 8, 2014, at age 95.

Janet K. Gravatt (Cert. ’53), of Houston, Oct. 30, 2012, at age 81.

David S. Palmstrom, M.D. (M.D. ’49/M), of Ravenna, Ohio, Oct. 11, 2014, at age 90.

Robert L. Groves (B.F.A. ’55/A), of Williamsburg, Va., May 31, 2014, at age 82.

Forrest W. Pitts, M.D. (M.D. ’47/M), of Mechanicsville, Va., June 9, 2014, at age 89. L John J. Richardson, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’46/D), of Florence, S.C., Oct. 9, 2014, at age 93.

Gervas S. Taylor Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’44/M; H.S. ’50/M), of Crozet, Va., July 23, 2014, at age 92.

Genevieve D. Tolar (B.S. ’45/N), of Maitland, Fla., July 24, 2014, at age 90.

Evelyn F. Tredway (B.S. ’69/E), of Richmond, Va., June 13, 2014.

Martha G. Warren (Cert. ’47), of Dublin, Ohio, June 13, 2014, at age 90.

Betty A. Williams (B.S. ’49/N), of McLean, Va., Nov. 17, 2012, at age 86.

Robert M. Wilson Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’43/M; H.S. ’49/M), of Spokane, Wash., Nov. 19, 2014, at age 100.

Margaret Jean Hopewell, RN (B.S. ’55/N), of Suffolk, Va., June 21, 2014, at age 82. L Thomas U. Hopkins, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’57/D), of Norfolk, Va., Oct. 28, 2014, at age 82. L Julius M. Jones (B.S. ’52/B), of Fredericksburg, Va., Sept. 6, 2014.

Jane M. Laughlin (B.S. ’52), of Waynesboro, Va., Sept. 13, 2014, at age 84.

James T. Magee Jr. (B.S. ’58/P), of Richmond, Va., July 31, 2014, at age 79.

Mary A. McComb (Cert. ’59/B), of Hedgesville, W.Va., Oct. 2, 2014.

Frances W. Merkey (B.S. ’51/N), of Ankeny, Iowa, Oct. 29, 2014, at age 85. L Col. Margaret P.C. Nelson (Dipl. ’56/N), of Charlottesville, Va., July 1, 2014, at age 82.

1950s

Charles E. Nimmo Jr. (M.S.W. ’51/SW), of Williamsburg, Va., Nov. 22, 2014, at age 89.

William D. Ambrose (B.M.E. ’59/A), of Hayes, Va., June 8, 2014, at age 77.

Jane L. Olsen (B.S. ’50/AHP), of Clearwater, Fla., Aug. 3, 2014, at age 86.

Jane G. Anderson, Ph.D. (B.S. ’52/N), of Boulder, Colo., Sept. 2, 2014, at age 88.

Thomas P. Overton, M.D. (M.D. ’52/M; H.S. ’54/M), of Henrico, Va., Oct. 17, 2014, at age 87.

Thomas J. Fitzgerald, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’43/D), of South Hill, Va., Oct. 30, 2014, at age 93. M

Ellwood Ernest Austin (B.S. ’59/B), of Richmond, Va., June 17, 2014.

Joan Cope Paez (B.F.A. ’54/A), of Savannah, Ga., Aug. 31, 2014, at age 83.

Ira Gould, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’44/D), of Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 23, 2014, at age 94. L

Col. H. Maynard Bellamy Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’58/M), of Clemmons, N.C., Sept. 18, 2014, at age 81.

John T. Parrish III (B.S. ’56/P), of Chester, Va., Sept.

16, 2013.

Beryl P. Hawkins (B.S. ’46/H&S), of Clover, S.C., Aug. 25, 2014, at age 89.

Lena M. Brake (B.S. ’53/AHP), of Knoxville, Tenn., May 5, 2014, at age 83.

James E. Powers, M.D. (M.D. ’59/M; H.S. ’64/M), of Naples, Fla., May 31, 2014, at age 83.

Margaret A. Hukill (B.S. ’49/AHP; M.S. ’57/AHP), of Columbus, Ohio, July 25, 2014, at age 90.

Rudolph H. Bruni Jr., D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’51/D), of Henrico, Va., June 25, 2014, at age 88.

Randy Pugh (’55/A), of Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 10, 2014, at age 80. L

Regina B. Cuffaro, M.D. (M.D. ’48/M), of Wheeling, W.Va., Oct. 19, 2014, at age 91.

Gerald F. Dederick Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’42/M; H.S. ’43/M), of Delray Beach, Fla., June 17, 2014, at age 97.

Helen R. Ferguson (B.S. ’48/N), of Smithfield, Va., Aug. 7, 2014, at age 89.

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

Spring 2015

45

classnotes

Ram pride on the road

Show your love for the VCU Rams with new license plates from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Two designs are available. Choose from the VCU Athletics brand or the university’s academic brand. Not only are you representing VCU while you’re on the road, but your purchase also funds multiple academic scholarships for VCU students.

Out of state? You can still order an ornamental souvenir license plate with the option to personalize it. Order at DMVnow.com.

June P. Hawks (B.S. ’66/E), of Hopewell, Va., Oct. 19, 2014, at age 96.

Harry L. Hinson III (B.F.A. ’62/A), of New York, Sept.

4, 2014. L Douglas M. Hudson (’68/A), of Monroe, N.C., May 14, 2013, at age 68.

Carol C. Hughes, Ed.D. (B.S. ’68/H&S; M.S. ’76/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 26, 2013, at age 78.

Donald S. Ikenberry (B.S. ’60/MC), of Henrico, Va., Sept. 23, 2014, at age 82.

Richard H. Kerr (M.H.A. ’64/AHP), of Mystic, Conn., Nov. 11, 2014, at age 90.

Jean L. Kinnear, Ph.D. (B.S. ’69/H&S), of Marquette, Mich., Sept. 17, 2014, at age 68.

Clinton R. Lincoln, M.D. (M.D. ’60/M), of Holly Springs, N.C., April 9, 2014, at age 83.

Pauline C. Lingle (B.S. ’65/H&S), of Ashland, Va., July 26, 2014, at age 99.

Penelope L. Mills (B.S. ’68/E; M.Ed. ’73/E), of Ashland, Va., July 16, 2014.

Minter B. Ralston III (B.S. ’54/P), of Weston, W.Va., Nov. 11, 2014, at age 84. M

John P. Atkinson (B.S. ’62/B), of Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 23, 2014, at age 76.

Charlotte E. Ransone (B.S. ’54/E), of Mathews, Va., Nov. 1, 2014, at age 83.

Madeline B. Brooks (M.S. ’65/AHP), of Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 13, 2014, at age 90.

Milo F. Russell (B.F.A. ’55/A), of Chester, Va., Dec. 22, 1014, at age 93.

Shirley B. Clements (B.M. ’60/A; M.M.E. ’76/A), of Chester, Va., Oct. 17, 2014, at age 76.

Frances H. Santi (Cert. ’58/A), of Henrico, Va., July 31, 2014, at age 78.

Elizabeth C. Crowling (M.S.W. ’68/SW), of Norfolk, Va., Sept. 1, 2014, at age 92.

Leigh P. Showalter (B.S. ’53/B), of Richmond, Va., July 29, 2014, at age 86.

Linwood W. Custalow, M.D. (M.D. ’64/M; H.S. ’69/M), of Williamsburg, Va., Dec. 21, 2014, at age 77.

Jay Merchant (M.H.A. ’65/AHP), of Hopkins, S.C., June 25, 2014, at age 77.

Leslie M. Davis Jr. (B.S. ’68/B), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 6, 2014, at age 72.

Kenneth N. Orange (B.S. ’63/B), of Richmond, Va., July 25, 2014, at age 74.

Ronald W. Dillon, M.D. (M.D. ’64/M), of Roanoke, Va., Nov. 21, 2014, at age 84.

H. Jackson Payne, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’62/D), of Culpeper, Va., Nov. 25, 2014.

William G. Ellis Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’61/M), of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, May 14, 2014.

Frances D. Phillips (A.S. ’66/B; B.S. ’78/B), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 17, 2014.

Charles P. Fleet Sr. (B.S. ’66/B), of Mechanicsville, Va., Nov. 20, 2014, at age 84.

Ann P. Ralston (M.S. ’64/AHP), of Sanford, N.C., Sept. 11, 2014, at age 73.

Robert F. Graham, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’63/D), of Radford, Va., Aug. 20, 2014, at age 76.

Kathryn T. Ramsey (B.S. ’68/N), of Wichita Falls, Texas, Nov. 22, 2014, at age 68.

Nancy G. Grizzard (B.S. ’68/E), of Ashland, Va., Dec. 2, 2014, at age 69. L

Holman C. Rawls III, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’67/D), of Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 9, 2014, at age 73.

Howard A. Hall, M.D. (M.D. ’62/M; H.S. ’66/M), of South Dartmouth, Mass., Oct. 25, 2014, at age 80.

Peter Rosanelli Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’65/M; H.S. ’69/M), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 8, 2014, at age 78.

1960s

Jerry W. Harville (B.S. ’69/H&S), of Carson, Va., Nov. 9, 2014, at age 67.

Roger L. Sager (B.S. ’64/P), of Henrico, Va., Oct. 14, 2014. M

William A. Armentrout, R.Ph. (B.S. ’60/P), of Radford, Va., June 22, 2014, at age 80. L

William E. Haymes (B.S. ’65/H&S), of Richmond, Va., June 12, 2014, at age 92.

Henry H. Schmoele Jr. (M.S. ’65/E), of Virginia Beach, Va., April 8, 2013, at age 90.

J.W. Simmons III, M.D. (M.D. ’57/M; H.S. ’62/M), of Stone Mountain, Ga., July 28, 2014, at age 83.

Richard H. Smith Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’53/M), of Bridgewater, Va., Nov. 6, 2014, at age 87.

Joanne W. Stevens (’52/A), of Fort Mill, S.C., Oct. 17, 2014, at age 83.

Arnold F. Strother, M.D. (M.D. ’58/M; H.S. ’59/M), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 17, 2014, at age 81.

Harley A. Tomey Jr. (B.S. ’50/P), of Waynesboro, Va., Dec. 11, 2014, at age 88.

Allen L. Wallace (B.S. ’59/B), of Amherst, Va., June 21, 2014, at age 80.

David L. Wines (’56/B), of Front Royal, Va., Oct. 11, 2014, at age 79.

46

VCU Alumni

Francis E. McGee, M.D. (M.D. ’64/M; H.S. ’68/M), of Manakin-Sabot, Va., Oct. 27, 2014.

F. Wayne McMillan (B.S. ’66/B), of Forest, Va., Aug. 28, 2014, at age 73.

Mary M. McPherson (B.S. ’69/E), of Ellenton, Fla., July 17, 2014, at age 102.

Cecil D. Mercer (M.S. ’68/AHP), of Gainesville, Fla., Nov. 21, 2014, at age 71.

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

Charlene A. Seibert (M.S. ’68/M), of Pelham, Ala., Sept. 23, 2014, at age 72.

James E. Tate (B.S. ’61/B), of Winter Park, Fla., Sept.

29, 2014, at age 79.

Wyatt W. Thompson, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’64/D), of Fredericksburg, Va., Aug. 7, 2014, at age 78. M Nancy C. White (M.S.W. ’65/SW), of Lynchburg, Va., Nov. 4, 2014, at age 87.

Darlean Wilkins (Dipl. ’60/N), of Asheville, N.C., Oct. 13, 2014, at age 85.

Want to join the more than 7,000 alumni who call themselves Rams for Life? Upgrade to Life today at vcualumni.org before the price increases July 1.

The following alumni and friends have recently made a lifetime commitment to VCU by becoming new Life members of VCU Alumni. Thank you!

List includes individuals who joined VCU Alumni as Life members between June 2, 2014, and Jan. 31, 2015.

Jesse W. Williams (B.S. ’69/H&S), of Stuart, Va., Sept. 24, 2014, at age 76.

Dorothy T. Winfree (B.S. ’67/SW), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 28, 2014, at age 96.

Jane B. Wolfe (B.S. ’68/N), of Richmond, Va., July 9, 2014.

1970s William E. Andrews (B.S.W. ’77/SW; M.S.W. ’87/ SW), of Richmond, Va., June 1, 2014, at age 61. M Bette Susan Bahen (B.S. ’71/AHP), of Annapolis, Md., Sept. 21, 2014, at age 64.

Ellen B. Barksdale (M.Ed. ’74/E), of Danville, Va., Oct. 2, 2014, at age 67.

Mary R. Barnes (M.Ed. ’75/E), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 18, 2014, at age 80.

Johnny D. Best (B.S. ’76/P), of Portsmouth, Va., Aug. 26, 2014, at age 62.

Frank T. Bishop, M.D. (M.D. ’74/M), of Christiansted, Virgin Islands, Oct. 22, 2014.

Shirley B. Blackmore (M.S. ’73/AHP), of Richmond, Va., April 10, 2014, at age 69.

Jon L. Boisclair (B.S. ’72/B), of Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 2014, at age 68. L Stephen F. Brock (B.S. ’74/B), of Salem, Va., Nov. 11, 2014, at age 69.

Ann F. Camp (B.F.A. ’77/A), of Virginia Beach, Va., Nov. 21, 2014.

Brock St. Clair Childress (B.F.A. ’74/A), of Virginia Beach, Va., Sept. 10, 2014, at age 65.

Charles D. Coates (B.S. ’74/B), of Winchester, Va., Aug. 23, 2014, at age 67.

Dorothy S. Crowder (B.S. ’74/N; M.S. ’76/N), of Colonial Heights, Va., July 12, 2014.

Helen V. Dierks (B.F.A. ’71/A), of Norfolk, Va., Dec. 11, 2014, at age 89.

Dr. Carole J. Adams Dr. Mostafa Hassan Mohamed A Ahmed Stanley E. Allen Dr. Lancy D. Allyn Suja S. Amir Tiffany J. Armstead-Flowers Randy G. Aslett Harry W. Atkinson Jr. Herbert W. Atkinson Kathleen K. Barron Alton Baskerville Phyllis A. Baskerville Dr. Christopher P. Bass Dr. Adam W. Bateman Kristen S. Bateman John Bates Dr. Edward J. Bayne Dr. Andrew Beaumont Dr. Archie J. Beebe Mary B. Bellone Anne H. Bentzen Deborah Bingham Paul A. Bishop Dr. Wilsie S. Bishop M. Robin Blanks Thomas A. Bliley Dr. Deborah A. Blizman William S. Bonwell Heather C. Boone Carol Booth Heather H. Boros William W. Boros Jacqueline Y. Braxton Brenda T. Brickhouse Thurman Y. Brickhouse Jeanette M. Bruce Carola Bruflat Esther H. Bucher Dr. John A. Byrd Jr. Louauna S. Byrd Timothy O. Callahan Andrea Cauble Dr. Carole Jean Christman

James N. Christman Mark W. Clark Rene Hurley Clark Dr. Michele A. Cofield Gregory S. Collins Suzanne L. Cousins Dr. Joseph R. Craig Dr. G. Kristin Crosby George L. Crowder Wendy W. Daniel Lois A. Delbueno Jenna L. Dennis Dr. James Bradford Depew Roger R. Desrosiers Barbara Anne deTreville George W. Detterman Jr. Dr. Thomas J. Donohue Robert J. Downer Daisy T. Duong Dr. Tana H. Durnbaugh Dr. Tina A. Eastment Tish Edmonds Dr. R. Benjamin Ellis Christopher J. Engel Dr. Gina Davis Engel Louise Smith Evans Kristoffer B. Everson Hoor Fatima Alvin D. Felgar Dr. Lamont A. Flowers Shawn M. Floyd Sheryl L. Garland Statia Gibson William Gilbert Thomas E. Gillespie Dr. Barry L. Golembe Larry J. Gordon Debra S. Graves Keith W. Graves John T. Grier Mary E. Grier Chrystal N. Hall Robin G. Hall Dr. Lance J. Hampton

Suzie Hampton Allison B. Hannah Kyle D. Hannah Brent P. Harrison Emily B. Harrison Col. Raymond S. Hawthorne Daniel Hicks Alvin L. Hill III Harvey Lee Hinson Emery S. Hite David R. Hopkins Dr. Allen B. Horne Dr. Vaughan H. Howard Jr. Dr. Bing Huang Nathan V. Hughes Dr. Almeta S. Hunt Douglas K. Hurd Dr. Margaret Lucas Jacobs Eldon James Lauren Lee Jaslow Tai A. Jenkins Dr. William G. Jones Jedd Katrancha Dr. Christine S. Kell Yvonne Trahadias Kemp Jeffrey J. Kepcke Kimberly L. Kepcke Patricia H. King Richard A. King Dr. Alexander D. Korzyk Kelly J. Korzyk Russell E. Koss Dr. Geoffrey B. Kostiner Deborah P. Krajacich Janet M. Kramer Dr. Jonathan S. Krauss Dr. Robert B. Laibstain Dr. Charles R. Lamb Jr. Mary C. Lamb Keith R. Lantz Dr. Bruce E. Large Taryn Laster-Whitehead Dr. Luan T. Le Dr. Clifton C. Lee

Peter L. Dunmore (B.A. ’71/H&S), of Cherry Hill, N.J., May 24, 2014, at age 64.

Spring 2015

47

Alice K. Dykes (B.S. ’72/E), of Oxnard, Calif., Nov. 16, 2014, at age 83.

Why I became a Ram for Life

Michael T. Erwin (B.S. ’74/B), of Chester, Va., Sept.

14, 2014, at age 67.

“I chose Life membership in VCU Alumni soon after graduation because VCU shaped my identity and character, and no matter what lies ahead I will forever be a proud and accomplished VCU nurse.

I consider it a responsibility to support my school and help grow our alumni-in-training.”

Henry E. Ford Jr. (M.Ed. ’72/E), of Glen Allen, Va., Dec. 10, 2014.

Charles J. Gambill III (B.S. ’76/H&S; Cert. ’88/B), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 5, 2014, at age 65.

Garland W. Gammon (B.S. ’73/B), of Mechanicsville, Va., June 27, 2014, at age 62.

Joseph A. Garten, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’79/H&S), of Midlothian, Va., Aug. 14, 2014, at age 64.

– James Jenkins Jr. (B.S. ’07/N)

Anne Vaneeta Hamilton (B.S. ’75/H&S), of Arlington, Va., Oct. 11, 2014, at age 62.

Dr. Kimberly B. Lee Dr. Marcia Levetown Richard W. Lewis Dr. David Liao Leilani A. Littlefield William A. Locke Andrea R. Loyd Brenda S. Lucas Shearer T. Luck Dr. John W. Mack Maryanne MacMurren Dr. Carmelina B. Magat-Gordon John Alexander Marin Ralph L. Martin George D. Mason Phyllis W. Mason Dr. Jose F. Matos Stephen McClelland William Frank McConnell Meagan A. McCormick Amoy A. McDonald Veronica R. McKinney Patrick R. McLemore Julie Wash McLeod Paul Michael McLeod J. David McNeil Tiffany McQueen Robert C. Meixner Jr. Jennifer Mercurio Amanda M. Mills Charles H. Mosley Jr. Gayle A. Moyer Dr. Rebecca A. Muminovic Anthony Phillip Muron John M. Myers Stephanie A. Myers Dr. Leigh Ann Burns Naas Philip W. Nichols Jean C. Noblette Michael W. Noblette Richard A. Nunnally

Sophia A. Omara-Alwala Dr. Gerald D. Oster Frederick Payne Dr. Carrie Peltz Wendy Gale Phillips Michael Philllips Elizabeth Hullinger Planansky Carrie Owen Plietz Margaret W. Poland Robert L. Poland Jr. Christian M. Porter Jeanne Marie Posner Elinor Powell Dr. Ralph M. Powers Jr. Megan M. Quinn Carlene Ratliff H. Lindsay Reavis Kacie Reid Jessica Robertson Melvin E. Rosen Jr. Dr. Amy J. Rosenthal Pamela K. Royal-Summers Cheri Ruch Alison Ryan Dr. Cora S. Salzberg Sharon C.Y. Sanchez Joanne N. Satterfield James R. Schiele Jenny N. Seitz Jane T. Settle Nelson L. Showalter Phyllis E. Showalter Elizabeth B. Shumate Kathryn A. Skudlarek Carol E. Steele Dr. Robert N. Stitt James E. Stout Tamara B. Stroble Priscilla P. Strudwick Jane W. Sullivan Susan H. Swart

Margaret E. Tarkington Gladys Tatarsky Laura E. Taylor Lorraine A. Taylor Dr. Michael P. Taylor Elizabeth B. Thomas Lora L. Toothman Michael S. Townes Sr. Khiem Q. Tran Burlette C. Trent Dr. Gregory D. Turner Patricia C. Valadka Dr. Charles Varsel Lydia P. Vaughan Marshall S. Vaughan Dr. Sandra L. Venegoni Lt. Col. Anthony H. Vervena David L. Vladimirou Jack Vo Dr. Kate Wahlberg Barbara Walker Dr. Paul Walker Tscharner D. Watkins IV Curtis White Dr. George F. White Joyce C. White Anthony Whitehead Judith S. Whitehead Richard L. Whitehead Russell W. Williams Taylor E. Williams Vann T. Williams Dr. W. Daryl Wilson Dr. Derek M. Winegar Regan D. Wynne Dr. Anita M. Wyrick Denez W. Yancey Dr. Glenn A. Young Dr. Lin R. Young Dr. Charles F. Zaglin

James B. Horner (M.Ed. ’76/E), of Chester, Va., Nov. 18, 2014, at age 64.

Ollie W. Hudgins (M.Ed. ’78/E), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 22, 2014, at age 88.

Caudill L. Johns (M.Ed. ’77/E), of Emporia, Va., Dec. 26, 2013.

Wendy N. Kierstead (B.F.A. ’72/A), of Topsham, Maine, Nov. 1, 2014.

Beatrice T. Klein (’73/A), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 10, 2014, at age 94.

William M. Koogler II (B.S. ’71/B), of Raphine, Va., July 4, 2014, at age 73.

Clayton H. Light Jr. (B.S. ’75/B; M.B.A. ’79/B), of Mechanicsville, Va., Aug. 6, 2014, at age 67.

George Everett Long, M.D. (M.D. ’73/M), of Felton, Del., July 11, 2014. L William L. Manning (B.S. ’70/B), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 30, 2014, at age 74.

Charlotte B. McCutchen, M.D. (M.D. ’70/M), of Fallbrook, Calif., Sept. 11, 2012.

Thomas P. McKean (B.S. ’78/P), of Gordonsville, Va., Aug. 25, 2014, at age 59.

J. Gregory Montgomery (B.F.A. ’78/A), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 14, 2014, at age 59.

Arline V.J. Mosier (B.S. ’72/SW; M.S. ’84/AHP), of Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 6, 2014, at age 93.

Bernard P. Novak, M.D. (M.D. ’70/M), of Fullerton, Calif., June 26, 2014, at age 70. L Edith Sheppard Ott, Ph.D. (M.S. ’72/H&S; Ph.D. ’79/H&S), of Richmond, Va., June 9, 2014, at age 76. L Werner A. Paul (B.A. ’71/H&S), of Mechanicsville, Va., Oct. 28, 2014, at age 68.

Linda M. Purdy (B.S. ’76/E), of Swartz Creek, Mich., Oct. 4, 2014, at age 66.

Glenn S. Rudacille Sr. (M.Ed. ’78/E), of Mechanicsville, Va., Aug. 14, 2014.

48

VCU Alumni

classnotes

Owen S. Shoemaker III, Ph.D. (M.Ed. ’78/E; M.S. ’85/H&S; Ph.D. ’89/H&S), of Sullivan’s Island, S.C., Nov. 13, 2014, at age 63.

James L. Skeen Sr. (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.Ed. ’83/E), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 1, 2014, at age 66.

N.J. Sorrow Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’70/M; H.S. ’71/M), of Lutherville Timonium, Md., Dec. 21, 2014. L Oris P. Spence (B.S. ’70/B), of Sanford, N.C., Feb. 4, 2013, at age 70.

James A. Stevenson (B.S. ’77/GPA), of Colonial Heights, Va., April 18, 2013, at age 71.

Gwendolyn Q. Stover (B.S. ’71/SW), of Waynesboro, Va., Nov. 14, 2014, at age 66.

James A. Thompson III, M.D. (M.D. ’75/M; H.S. ’76/M), of Richmond, Va., May 22, 2014, at age 64.

Ann M. Threadgill (B.S. ’71/E), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 22, 2014, at age 81.

George D. Twyford (B.S. ’74/H&S), of Statesboro, Ga., Oct. 12, 2014, at age 66.

Doris J. Williams (B.S. ’71/AHP), of Newport News, Va., Aug. 10, 2014, at age 65.

Lynwood A. Williams, D.D.S. (M.S. ’77/M), of Lawrenceville, Ga., Jan. 23, 2013, at age 63.

1980s Eleanor Anders-Workman (M.I.S. ’88/H&S), of Henrico, Va., Aug. 7, 2014, at age 69.

James E. Baxter II (B.S. ’83/B), of Richmond, Va., July 16, 2014.

Nancy A. Brenner (B.S. ’83/B), of Columbia, Tenn., June 21, 2014, at age 67.

Marcia M. Cantrell (M.S. ’82/AHP), of Midlothian, Va., Nov. 24, 2014, at age 73.

Karen A. Crowder (B.S. ’80/WS), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 25, 2014, at age 57.

Robert N. Davis Jr. (Cert. ’89/B), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 31, 2014, at age 57.

William H. Farthing Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’89/M; H.S. ’95/M), of Hopkinsville, Ky., July 27, 2014, at age 51.

Luther F. Holloman (M.B.A. ’87/B), of Peoria, Ariz., June 11, 2014.

Gwendolyn D. Long (B.S. ’80/N), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 7, 2014.

David M. Hippchen (M.B.A. ’90/B), of Chester, Va., Aug. 16, 2013, at age 58.

Mary E. Lynch (M.A. ’87/A), of Savannah, Ga., June 28, 2014, at age 54.

James A. Lloyd (B.F.A. ’94/A), of Monroe, Conn., June 18, 2014.

Joan S. Lustig (B.S. ’83/AHP), of Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 10, 2014, at age 53.

F. Stanford Massie Jr., M.D. (M.D. ’94/M), of Birmingham, Ala., June 26, 2014, at age 79.

Barbara F. Mann (M.S.W. ’87/SW), of Norfolk, Va., Nov. 24, 2014.

Brian S. Mays (B.S. ’94/H&S; M.B.A. ’99/B) of Staunton, Va., Nov. 15, 2014, at age 42.

Robert McEleney (’88/AHP), of Appomattox, Va., Jan. 23, 2014, at age 85.

Michael E. McCamley (M.S.W. ’91/SW), of Las Cruces, N.M., May 20, 2014, at age 74.

Roberta C. Neblett (M.A. ’80/H&S), of Henrico, Va., Sept. 14, 2014.

Rose M. Neblett (M.S. ’94/AHP), of Newport News, Va., Sept. 22, 2014, at age 65.

Nancy H. Parker (B.F.A. ’87/A), of Savannah, Ga., Sept. 12, 2012, at age 77.

Eddie A. Swanson, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’95/D), of Syracuse, Utah, Sept. 12, 2014, at age 47.

Mary P. Pearman-Copeland (B.S. ’85/N), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 26, 2014, at age 53.

Judith A. Perry (B.S. ’81/AHP), of Williamsburg, Va., July 29, 2014, at age 70.

Mee Z. Yoon (B.F.A. ’95/A), of Richmond, Va., Sept.

9, 2014, at age 71. L

Elizabeth T. Pippin (B.F.A. ’85/A), of Manakin-Sabot, Va., Dec. 9, 2014.

2000s

Sarah A. Reilly (B.S. ’80/H&S; Cert. ’85/B), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 10, 2014, at age 57.

Michelle M. Dexter (M.S. ’05/AHP), of Virginia Beach, Va., Aug. 27, 2014, at age 56.

Vernon M. Rogers (B.A. ’81/H&S; M.S. ’95/AHP), of Henrico, Va., June 20, 2014, at age 60.

Nancy Ann Lampert, Ed.D. (M.A.E. ’01/A), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 12, 2014.

Carolyn E. Seidner (B.F.A. ’85/A), of Osseo, Minn., April 8, 2013.

Brandon M. Miller (B.S. ’09/GPA), of Stafford, Va., Oct. 28, 2014, at age 28.

Sharon G. Singleton (B.F.A. ’86/A), of Petersburg, Va., July 20, 2014, at age 64.

Steven J. Pantaleo (B.S. ’07/MC), of Richmond, Va., July 31, 2014.

Lisa E. Spiers (B.S. ’84/N), of White Stone, Va., Sept.

16, 2014, at age 52.

Charles C. Waddell (M.S.N.A. ’06/AHP), of Pennington Gap, Va., June 2, 2014, at age 41.

Cynthia B. Stadler (M.Ed. ’86/E), of Midlothian, Va., Dec. 6, 2014, at age 58.

Lisa S. Willinger (B.S. ’09/B), of Chester, Va., Oct. 25, 2013, at age 53.

Stephen F. Stewart (B.S. ’80/B), of Petersburg, Va., July 19, 2014.

2010s

Howard R. Swaim (B.F.A. ’82/A), of Henrico, Va., March 23, 2012, at age 51.

Timothy B. Howell (B.S. ’14/WS), of Portsmouth, Va., Dec. 8, 2014, at age 22.

1990s Betty J. Bazemore (M.Ed. ’98/E), of Spotsylvania, Va., Nov. 7, 2014, at age 57.

Charles T. Holloway Jr. (B.A. ’82/H&S; Cert. ’84/B), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 28, 2014.

Richard H. Cowles, Ph.D. (B.G.S. ’93/H&S; M.S. ’94/ AHP; Ph.D. ’00/E), of Midlothian, Va., June 17, 2014, at age 67.

Debra C. Jones (B.S. ’82/E), of Alexandria, Va., Aug. 24, 2014, at age 55.

Deana L. Douglas (B.S. ’94/N), of Mechanicsville, Va., June 17, 2014, at age 43.

James W. Lanham, D.Ed. (M.Ed. ’86/E), of Glen Allen, Va., Nov. 12, 2014, at age 60.

Kurt D. Godwin (M.F.A. ’96/A), of Alexandria, Va., Sept. 19, 2014.

Carol E. Lee (B.S. ’87/H&S), of Alexandria, Va., Oct. 20, 2014, at age 53.

Marcia A. Hayes (M.Ed. ’99/E), of Ruther Glen, Va., Aug. 15, 2014, at age 62.

M Member of the alumni association

Michael I. Waraksa (B.S. ’99/En), of Harvest, Ala., Dec. 16, 2014.

L Life member of the alumni association

Brittany J. Middaugh (B.S. ’11/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 31, 2014, at age 24.

William James Presley IV (B.S. ’13/GPA), of Petersburg, Va., Oct. 26, 2014, at age 25.

Casey M. VanFossen (B.F.A. ’12/A), of Glen Allen, Va., Dec. 7, 2014, at age 24.

Alasdair B. Willey (B.S. ’13/GPA), of Lanexa, Va., Aug. 20, 2014, at age 27.

Faculty and staff Lorna Mill Barrell, Ph.D., of Richmond, Va., Sept.

16, 2014, at age 83. She was an associate professor in the School of Nursing.

Spring 2015

49

classnotes

William C. Bosher Jr., Ed.D. (M.Ed. ’70/E), of Mechanicsville, Va., Nov. 30, 2014, at age 68. He was the founder and executive director of the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and former dean of the School of Education.

Bosher also served as a distinguished professor of public policy and education in the Wilder School. During his career, he was a teacher, principal, state director, superintendent of the Henrico and Chesterfield school districts, and superintendent of public instruction for Virginia. He was the only superintendent in Virginia to be twice named superintendent of the year and was voted the arts administrator of the year by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He also served on five public and private university boards of trustees, served as a consultant in more than 35 states and 12 foreign countries, and wrote more than 40 articles and co-authored two books on school law and educational leadership. L Shirley D. Brady, of Midlothian, Va., June 18, 2014, at age 83. She retired after more than 10 years of service to the School of Dentistry.

John H. Cookson, of Midlothian, Va., Dec. 5, 2014.

He was a retired faculty member.

Melissa J. Dopp, of Montpelier, Va., Aug. 27, 2014, at age 51. Dopp worked in Technology Services providing customer support and website development. She previously held a position at VCU Massey Cancer Center.

Claudia Emerson, of Richmond, Va., Dec. 4, 2014, at age 57. Emerson, a creative writing professor, won the

2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her collection “Late Wife” and was among the most critically acclaimed poets in the country. She was the recipient of a host of notable awards and recognitions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011 and two additional Pulitzer Prize nominations. In 2008, then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine named her poet laureate of Virginia. Emerson joined VCU’s creative writing faculty in the Department of English in summer 2013. The Claudia Emerson Fund has been established for those wishing to contribute.

Gifts can be sent to the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences, P.O. Box 842019, Richmond, VA 232842019. Make checks payable to VCU Foundation; note the Claudia Emerson Fund on the memo line.

Hans S. Falck, Ph.D., of Richmond, Va., June 29, 2014, at age 91. Falck retired as professor emeritus in the School of Social Work.

Alyce Geber Hawks, of Henrico, Va., Aug. 13, 2014.

She served as head secretary in the Department of Psychiatry.

Jack R. Hunter, of Richmond, Va., July 17, 2014, at age 92. Hunter served as chairman of the journalism department of the then School of Mass Communications.

George R. Jarrell, Ph.D., of Kilmarnock, Va., June 4, 2014. He served as professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling and assistant dean in the School of Allied Health Professions before retiring in 1993 as professor emeritus.

Margaret L. May, of Richmond, Va., Nov. 11, 2014.

She was an associate professor emerita of biology in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D., of Richmond, Va., Feb. 1, 2015, at age 62. Appointed inaugural vice provost for life sciences and research in 2001, Huff put VCU at the forefront of U.S. universities preparing students in the new fields of the biological sciences that had opened through research to sequence the human genome.

Through his commitment to the study of biological complexity, he led hundreds of faculty members across both campuses and at three VCU-chartered centers.

Huff earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Louisville. He arrived at VCU in 1985 as an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He was promoted to associate professor in 1991 and to professor in 1995.

During his career at VCU, he also served as director of the intramural grants program and group leader of the immunology program at VCU Massey Cancer Center.

Eugene “Gene” Hunt, Ph.D. (B.S. ’59/B; M.S. ’61/B) L, of Henrico, Va., Dec. 29, 2014, at age 81, and Rosalia “Honey” Hunt of Henrico, Va., March 17, 2015, at age 79. Gene served as a professor in the School of Business from 1968 until 1996. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the university community, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion in 2014, one of the highest honors bestowed by VCU. He also served as chairman of the RPI Alumni Council of the VCU Alumni organization. Gene and Honey were lifelong supporters of the VCU Athletics department, attending nearly every athletic event and helping fund numerous facilities projects that helped enhance the student-athlete experience for hundreds of Rams.

Abbreviation key College and schools

Degrees

H&S A AHP B D E En GPA

GS LS M MC

N P RI St.P SW WS

A.A., A.S. Associate degree Cert. Certificate B.A. Bachelor of Arts B.F.A. Bachelor of Fine Arts B.G.S. Bachelor of General Studies B.I.S. Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies B.M. Bachelor of Music B.M.E. Bachelor of Music Education B.S. Bachelor of Science B.S.W. Bachelor of Social Work D.D.S. Doctor of Dental Surgery Dipl. Diploma D.N.A.P. Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice D.P.A. Doctor of Public Administration D.P.T. Doctor of Physical Therapy H.L.D. Doctor of Humane Letters H.S. House Staff M.A. Master of Arts M.Acc. Master of Accountancy M.A.E. Master of Art Education M.B.A. Master of Business Administration M.Bin. Master of Bioinformatics M.D. Doctor of Medicine

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 Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture School of Nursing School of Pharmacy Office of Research and Innovation St. Philip School of Nursing School of Social Work School of World Studies

Alumni are identified by degree, graduation year and college or school.

50

VCU Alumni

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.I. M.P.S. M.S. M.S.A.T. M.S.C.M. 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.

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 Product Innovation Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences Master of Science Master of Science in Athletic Training Master of Supply Chain Management 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

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

classnotes

Officers of the MCV Alumni Association of VCU President Kenneth W. Kolb, Pharm.D. (Pharm.D. ’82/P) President-elect and vice president, basic health Michelle R. Peace, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’05/M) Immediate past president Paula B. Saxby, Ph.D. (M.S. ’85/N; Ph.D. ’92/N)

MCV Alumni House An ideal location for all types of gatherings!

Are you looking for a great location to host a private party or reception? Do you need a room for your next meeting or event? Why not rent a room in the MCV Alumni House and Paul A. Gross Conference Center?

This great facility, located at the corner of 11th and Clay streets, includes formal parlors with vintage fireplaces and chandeliers, large multipurpose meeting rooms, a formal board room and small meeting rooms.

Treasurer Peter Kennedy (M.H.A. ’10/AHP) Secretary Tammy K. Swecker (B.S. ’93/D; M.Ed. ’05/E) Vice presidents Allied Health Professions Elizabeth Howell (M.S.N.A. ’04/AHP) Dentistry Ellen Byrne, D.D.S., Ph.D. (B.S. ’77/P; D.D.S. ’83/D; H.S. ’91/D; Ph.D. ’91/M) Medicine Kelsey Salley, M.D. (M.D. ’03/M; H.S. ’06/M; H.S. ’09/M) Nursing Jim Jenkins Jr. (B.S. ’07/N) Pharmacy Tana Kaefer, Pharm.D. (Pharm.D. ’04/P)

Book your room today!

Active, dues-paying members receive a 25 percent discount on rental fees.

Call (804) 828-3900 or check out the virtual tour of the facility at vcualumni .org/about/mcvalumnihouse.

Trustees Allied Health Professions Rebecca T. Perdue (B.S. ’62/AHP) Basic Health Quynh Do (B.S. ’01/H&S; M.P.H. ’05/AHP) Jenica L. Harrison, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’09/M) Diane C. McKinney, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’00/M) Dentistry Renita W. Randolph, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’91/D) James H. Revere, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’65/D; H.S. ’89/D) J. Neil Turnage, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’97/D) Medicine Clifford L. Deal III, M.D. (M.S. ’95/M; M.D. ’00/M; H.S. ’05/M) Melissa Byrne Nelson, M.D. (M.D. ’98/M) Nursing Kristin Filler (B.S. ’09/N) Trula E. Minton (B.S. ’79/N; M.S. ’88/N) Pharmacy Bronwyn M. Burnham (B.A. ’89/P) Joseph E. Hopper (B.S. ’89/P) J. Tyler Stevens, Pharm.D. (Pharm.D. ’06/P) MCV Campus SGA president Jonathan Ramey

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classnotes

F. Stanford Massie Sr., M.D., of Richmond, Va., June 26, 2014, at age 79. Massie served as a clinical professor of pediatrics at VCU since 1983. He was recruited in 1967 to teach general pediatrics as a full-time academician, and during the 10 years that ensued, he developed the first board-approved training program, a fellowship, in pediatric allergy in Virginia.

Nedathur Narasimhachari, of Moorestown, N.J., July 8, 2014. Narasimhachari was a professor of pharmacology.

Otto D. Payton, PT, Ph.D., FAPTA, Sept. 4, 2014, at age 84. A professor emeritus, he taught physical therapy and served as director of the M.S. in Physical Therapy program from 1971-82, and chaired the Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Allied Health Professions from 1982-87. During his career, he was president of the Virginia Physical Therapy Association, edited the Journal of Physical Therapy Education, was chairman of the editorial board for “Clinics in Physical Therapy,” authored “Research: The Validation of Clinical Practice,” was a fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, and was a practicing physical therapist for more than 50 years. The Otto D. Payton Professorship in Physical Therapy was funded by a donation in November 2004 and recognizes the contributions of Dan Riddle, PT, Ph.D., the department’s assistant chair.

Walter L. Richards Jr., of Richmond, Va., Dec. 10, 2014, at age 95. He was a professor emeritus in the Department of Biology.

F.J. Spencer, M.D., of Ruther Glen, Va., June 17, 2014, at age 90. Spencer served as professor and chairman of the former Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health in the School of Medicine until his retirement at age 61.

Jesse L. Steinfeld, M.D., of Long Beach, Calif., Aug. 5, 2014, at age 87. Steinfeld served as dean of the School of Medicine from 1976 to 1983.

George P. Vennart, M.D., of Overland Park, Kan., Sept. 13, 2014, at age 88. He was a professor emeritus of pathology in the School of Medicine.

Warren E. Weaver, Ph.D., of Henrico, Va., July 10, 2014, at age 93. Weaver taught at the School of Pharmacy from 1950-56, served as dean from 1956-81 and continued to teach part time for several years after his retirement. While at MCV and then VCU, he established several pivotal pharmacy programs, including the master’s and Ph.D. degree offerings. He implemented one of the first pharmacy experiential education programs in the country, and he initiated the postbaccalaureate Pharm.D. program. Weaver was a founding trustee of the Virginia Pharmacists Association Foundation and, on the national level, he served as 1968-69 president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In 2006, the School of Pharmacy Class of 1956 celebrated its golden reunion by endowing a lectureship in

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VCU Alumni

Weaver’s name. Each April since then, the Warren Weaver Endowed Lectureship has been presented during Reunion Weekend by current pharmacy faculty. In addition, the Warren E. Weaver Scholarship is awarded annually to a student who is outstanding in character, leadership and academic performance.

Lawrence J. Winters, Ph.D., of Midlothian, Va., June 1, 2014, at age 83. Winters served as professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry in the College of Humanities and Sciences until his retirement in 1996.

Friends of VCU Raymond H. Boone Sr., of Richmond, Va., June 3, 2014, at age 76. Boone was the founder of the Richmond Free Press as well as editor and publisher.

He often served as the voice of conscience for the Richmond community and was a mentor to black men and women entering the communications field.

Robert P. Buford, of Richmond, Va., July 20, 2014, at age 88. Buford was chairman of the Metropolitan Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Bar Foundation.

Simeon Alexander Burnette, Ph.D., of Irvington, Va., Aug. 8, 2014, at age 79. He became president of J. Sargent Reynolds Community College in 1976 and served in that position for 26 years.

Sylvia A. Costen, of Richmond, Va., May 28, 2014, at age 93. Costen was a retired editor for the Richmond News Leader.

Jack Paul Fine, of Richmond, Va., July 18, 2014. Fine worked as a special agent at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. from 1951 until his retirement in 2013. He and his wife, Beatrice, were active in Richmond’s Jewish community and supported many areas of VCU. Jerome Gumenick, of Miami Beach, Fla., Sept.

30, 2014, at age 85. He was chairman of Gumenick Properties, which his father, Nathan, founded in Virginia in the 1940s and brought to Miami in the 1950s. In 2005, he contributed to the expansion and renovation of VCU Medical Center’s Sophia and Nathan Gumenick Suites, which were originally funded and named for his parents, who were longtime supporters of VCU Medical Center.

Robert V. Hatcher Jr., of Manakin-Sabot, Va., Nov. 24, 2013, at age 83. Hatcher, retired chairman of Johnson & Higgins, served on the boards of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and Media General Inc. He also served on the board of the Boys Club of Richmond and the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council study committee on insurance.

Vernard W. Henley, of Richmond, Va., Aug. 26, 2014, at age 85. Henley retired in 2001 as chairman and CEO of Consolidated Bank and Trust Co.

Beverly W. Reynolds, of Richmond, Va., Nov. 23, 2014, at age 68. Founder-director of the Reynolds Gallery, she was a longtime VCU School of the Arts advocate and worked for 37 years to help Richmond attain status in the art world. In October 2014, VCU announced the naming of the first-floor gallery in the Markel Center of the Institute for Contemporary Art in honor of Reynolds. This lasting tribute was made possible by gifts in support of the ICA fundraising campaign in her honor from more than 80 donors and a recent significant contribution by her close friends, Harmon and George Logan of Charlottesville, Va. Campaign co-chairs Pam and Bill Royall and ICA donors Carolyn and John Snow directed a portion of their gifts also be made in her honor, bringing the total gifts and pledges in Reynolds’ name to $3 million.

James Roberts, March 8, 2015, at age 82. He served as managing partner at Troutman Sanders in Richmond, Va., for many years, overseeing the firm’s tremendous growth in the 1980s and 1990s and was named in the Best Lawyers in America list in more categories, for more years, than any other lawyer in Virginia. Among his many achievements, he served as lead counsel for Richmond pharmaceutical firm A.H. Robins Co. during its bankruptcy proceedings and reorganization and led the defense in U.S. v. Holland.

In addition to his legal work, Roberts was a tireless philanthropist and volunteer for many organizations, including VCU. From 2005-07, he and his wife, Charlotte, served as co-chairs of the MCV Campus campaigns for the Campaign for VCU, which raised a record $410.3 million for the university.

C. Edward Scott Jr., of Glen Allen, Va., Oct. 15, 2014, at age 70. He was an avid VCU Rams fan and retired from the Virginia Department of Transportation after 38 years.

Richard L. Sharp, of Richmond, Va., June 24, 2014, at age 67. Sharp, the co-founder of CarMax Inc. and former top executive of Circuit City Stores Inc., served on the VCU School of Engineering Foundation board of trustees.

Edward M. Smith, of Midlothian, Va., Dec. 24, 2013, at age 64. Smith retired after 26 years with Bank of America and was serving as chief development officer with Commonwealth Catholic Charities.

Charles G. Thalhimer Sr., of Marco Island, Fla., Sept.

2, 2014, at age 94. Philanthropist and leader of the department store that bore his name, Thalhimer was a member of the VCU School of Business advisory board and a board member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond and Maymont. He was a major backer of VCU and in 1986, not long after he retired, was named chairman of the university’s $52 million fund drive. Later he was among the leaders of larger funding initiatives for VCU.

M Member of the alumni association

L Life member of the alumni association

Check out more university and alumni events at vcualumni.org and events.vcu.edu.

datebook

VCU Broad Street Mile Oct. 17

It’s part 5K, part street festival and all-around fun: The 2015 VCU Broad Street Mile converges on campus (and slightly beyond) this fall to raise money for great causes, from student scholarships to local animal shelters.

Thousands are expected to get their hearts pumping at the event, which stretches along Broad Street and features a series of 1-mile fun runs in addition to the 5K. Register or learn more at vcubroadstreetmile.com.

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Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid RICHMOND, VA Permit No. 869

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Alumni 1016 East Clay Street P.O. Box 980156 Richmond, Virginia 23298-0156

Alumni ID number:

Join Sheryl Garland as a Ram for Life.

If you love Virginia Commonwealth University, then you will love being a Ram for Life – an active, lifetime member of VCU Alumni.

In addition to saving money and demonstrating a lifelong loyalty to VCU, Life members: • Never worry about renewing their memberships • Receive additional benefits (like the annual photo calendar and access to special discounts) Not only will you save money (over annual membership dues) but also your contribution multiplies as it eliminates the need for annual mailings and renewal notices, which allows VCU Alumni to make the best use of its resources.

Last chance to join and save!

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July 1, 2015

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Sheryl Garland (M.H.A. ’88/AHP)