Shafer Court Connections Spring 2018

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S O F V I R G I N I A C O M M O N W E A LT H U N I V E R S I T Y

50 REASONS TO

LOVE VCU

2

NO.

sturgeon The Atlantic k thanks ac eb m makes a co s Center to R ice R iver s researcher

>

SPRING 2018

BIGPICTURE

Photo Jud Froelich

The Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, the first major arts institution dedicated to contemporary art in Richmond, Virginia, opened its doors April 21 with a declaration to the power of art and diversity. Located at the intersection of Belvidere and Broad streets, the ICA’s Markel Center, designed by Steven Holl Architects, is an iconic new landmark for the city and VCU and anchors one of Richmond’s busiest gateways. The inaugural exhibit, “Declaration,” explores contemporary art’s power to respond to pressing social issues through the voices of 34 emerging and established artists from Richmond and around the globe. Admission to the ICA is free. VCU alumni receive a 10 percent discount on the Plus and Premier paid membership levels.

Learn more at icavcu.org.

Spring 2018

1

Welcome to the new VCU Alumni It is a personal and professional pleasure to introduce myself as the new president of your alumni association. This is an exciting time to become a part of our organization, dedicated to serving VCU’s 190,000 alumni worldwide.

VCU Alumni recently adopted an inclusive, nondues membership model. Welcoming ALL graduates as members will assist us in creating and sustaining lifelong relationships for all alumni and, ultimately, strengthening the organization. All graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University, the Medical College of Virginia and Richmond Professional Institute are VCU alumni.

In May, the VCU Alumni Board of Governors endorsed ELEVATE, the new VCU Alumni five-year strategic plan, which begins with a year of programming and engagement for all graduates. I encourage you to connect with VCU Alumni by volunteering, attending events or making a philanthropic donation. More opportunities to engage are coming your way.

Look for information on events and activities sent to you by email and through social media.

Welcome to our alumni organization; your participation is important to me and to the university.

Yours for VCU,

Spring 2018 Volume 24, Number 2 vcualumni.org Vice president, development and alumni relations Jay E. Davenport, CFRE Associate vice president, alumni relations Joshua Hiscock Executive director, alumni outreach and engagement Amy Gray Beck Senior director, development and alumni communications Melanie Irvin Seiler (B.S.’96/MC) Associate director, development and alumni marketing and communications Kristen Caldwell (B.S.’94/MC) Director, creative content Mitchell Moore (B.S.’07/MC; M.S.’08/E) Director, business development and marketing Booth Greene

Editorial, design and photography

Dale C. Kalkofen, Ed.D. (M.A.E.’76/A) President, VCU Alumni

VCU Development and Alumni Communications The alumni magazine is published semiannually by the Virginia Commonwealth University Office of Development and 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: Development and Alumni Relations Virginia Commonwealth University 111 North Fourth Street Box 842039 Richmond, Virginia 23284-2039 Phone: (804) 828-2586 Email: alumni@vcu.edu vcualumni.org © 2018, Virginia Commonwealth University

On the cover Matt Balazik, Ph.D. (B.S.’05/H&S; M.S.’08/H&S; Ph.D.’12/LS), holds an Atlantic sturgeon from the James River. As a doctoral candidate at VCU, Balazik worked as part of a research team at the VCU Center for Environmental Studies and the VCU Rice Rivers Center, studying the prehistoric fish species that has been around more than a million years and had been brought close to the brink of extinction.

Photo Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing

2

VCU Alumni

an equal opportunity, affirmative action university

Photo Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing

CONTENTS

18 Features

Departments

10 Heart of the matter

4 University news

The first human heart transplant occurred in 1967, an epic medical advance that was repeated five months later at MCV. This year, VCU Health Pauley Heart Center marks the 50th anniversary of Virginia's first heart transplant. For Jeni Simonitis (B.S.’06/H&S), the milestone also signals a new start.

16 50 things to love about VCU VCU has lots to love, from therapy dogs that bring comfort and care to Ram fans who storm the Stu to late-night greasy spoons that hit the spot. See if you find familiarity and fondness in these 50 heartwarming traits (presented in no particular order).

34 Legacy in the making Three Zafar siblings from Northern Virginia found their perfect fit as computer science majors in the VCU College of Engineering: Ayesha graduated in 2016, Mohammad is a senior and Basima just finished her first year. They’re hoping younger brother Osman keeps up the family tradition.

9 Presidential perspective 30 Alumni profile: Libby Meggs (B.F.A.’65/A)

32 Alumni support: Will Sheffey Kappa Sigma Memorial Scholarship

36 Alumni connections 40 Class notes 46 Alumni profile: Christopher Colenda, M.D. (M.D.’77/M)

53 Datebook Spring 2018

3

UNIVERSITYNEWS

Virginia Commonwealth University news and research.

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

COMMENCEMENT

Boris Kodjoe speaking at VCU Commencement

Star-struck graduation

Photo Jud Froelich

Actor and VCU athletics hall of famer Boris Kodjoe (B.S.’96/B) challenged graduates to face their fear of failure and to step out on faith at the university’s spring Commencement ceremony May 12.

“The fear of failure is real. But that’s where faith comes in,” said Kodjoe, who was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, VCU’s highest form of recognition. “Dear Class of 2018, I implore you, you must give yourself permission to fail in order to experience the privilege of success. There’s no success without failure because there’s no triumph without adversity, no diploma without a lesson learned.

Have faith that when you fall and get up again, you will win.”

Kodjoe made his on-screen debut in 1998 on “The Steve Harvey Show.” He is an accomplished actor with dozens of credits that span film (“Downsized,” “Ferdinand”), TV (“The Last Man on Earth,” “Real Husbands of Hollywood”) and theater (“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”). He currently stars as Dr. Will Campbell on “Code Black,” a medical drama on CBS. He was a standout tennis player from 1992-96 at VCU and was inducted into the VCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

VCU awarded more than 5,000 professional, graduate and undergraduate degrees at the ceremony.

GRANT

WILD HONOR

VCU has received $21.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to promote and expand research and improve access for Virginians to cutting-edge treatments for diseases. This is the largest NIH grant ever awarded to VCU. The five-year Clinical and Translational Science Award through NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences was awarded to VCU’s C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research.

“This award is critically important in helping the Wright Center carry out its commitment to advancing research from basic science into clinical practice,” says Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU and VCU Health System.

In 2010, the Wright Center received a $20 million CTSA. This new grant funds the center for another five years, allowing it to cultivate and train the translational science workforce, integrate special and underserved populations in clinical and translational research, improve the quality and efficiency of clinical and translational research, engage in research in informatics and promote community-engaged research.

Calumma uetzi, a rainbow-colored chameleon from Madagascar, has been named after Peter Uetz, Ph.D., associate professor of systems biology and bioinformatics in the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity in VCU Life Sciences.

The researchers who discovered the new chameleon species dedicated it to Uetz for developing and maintaining the Reptile Database, an indispensable resource for those who study lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles and other reptiles. Uetz founded the database in 1995. As of March, the database included informaCalumma uetzi tion on 10,711 species.

Largest NIH grant in VCU’s history

VCU Alumni

Photo courtesy Frank Glaw, Ph.D., Zoologische Staatssammlung München

4

New species named after VCU professor

Photo courtesy Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia

ACCOLADES

VCU alumni and members of the RVA GOLD Chapter Joseph Stemmle (B.S.’13/B) (left), Timmy Nguyen (B.S.’11/B) and Khanh Burks (B.S.’13/B); Gov. Ralph Northam; and Allison Toney, Amy Beck and Joshua Hiscock from VCU Alumni

VOLUNTEERISM

Gold star for VCU Alumni chapter

VCU Alumni’s RVA GOLD Chapter was honored in April with the 2018 Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Education Organization.

VCU Alumni’s Richmond chapter received the award from Gov. Ralph Northam for making volunteering a key priority in its initiatives, from leading the charge against hunger in Virginia to delivering hot meals to area veterans to taking Richmond students back-to-school shopping to writing cards for overseas military troops. The chapter represents more than 65,000 VCU alumni who live in the Richmond metro area.

VCU received one of nine 2018 volunteer awards presented by Northam at a ceremony at the Executive Mansion.

“These individuals, organizations and companies are wonderful examples of how we can all impact our communities,” Northam said.

“Their selfless acts have made a real difference to so many lives across Virginia.”

EDUCATION

Two schools now two colleges

Two VCU schools and one department have adopted new monikers.

The schools of Allied Health Professions and Engineering are now the College of Health Professions and the College of Engineering, respectively. The name changes reflect the colleges’ breadth, depth and level of academic programming as well as an increase in programs, research, faculty and student enrollment. VCU defines a college as a large academic unit with a broad scope of degree-granting programs covering multiple disciplines. Both colleges have new buildings on the horizon. The College of Health Professions building opens in fall 2019 while the College of Engineering will open the Engineering Research Building in 2020.

The Department of Management in the School of Business is now the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, reflecting the department’s expanded focus on entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. The department already offers undergraduate and graduate degrees with a concentration in entrepreneurship and this fall will offer a minor in entrepreneurship open to all VCU undergraduate students.

OVERSEAS SCHOLARS

TOP-SHELF LIBRARY

VCU has been recognized among educational institutions that sent the most students overseas in academic year 2016-17 through the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. VCU ranked No. 41 among nearly 150 universities nationwide.

VCU Libraries is one of three recipients of the national 2018 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award. The annual honor recognizes staff at college, university and community libraries for providing exemplary programs, resources and services. VCU Libraries also celebrated the addition of the 3 millionth volume to its collections in March.

BEACON OF EXCELLENCE The 30-member nursing team at the VCU Health Evans-Haynes Burn Center has been recognized with a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

The center, the oldest civilian burn unit in the country, provides acute, progressive and intensive levels of care.

BEST GRAD SCHOOLS Several VCU academic programs received top 50 rankings in the newest edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools,” released in March.

Programs with top 50 rankings in this year’s edition are nurse anesthesia (No. 1), health care management (No. 3), rehabilitation counseling (No. 4), occupational therapy (No. 17), School of Pharmacy (No. 17), physical therapy (No. 20), nuclear engineering (No. 24), School of Education (No. 26), School of Social Work (No. 30), School of Nursing (master’s, No. 41; Doctor of Nursing Practice, No. 48) and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs (No. 44).

LEVEL 1 CARE VCU Medical Center has been reverified as a Level I trauma center until 2020. This is the medical center’s fifth consecutive verification for excellence in trauma care by the American College of Surgeons.

ART EXCHANGE Addiction and recovery artist John Freyer, assistant professor in the School of the Arts, will bring his practice to the U.K. this summer during a weeklong residency as the first U.S.-based Tate Exchange Associate. Tate Exchange, a new project for London’s Tate Museum, explores how art makes a difference to society. VCU’s arts school is the Tate Exchange’s first U.S. partner.

MCV CAMPUS ANNIVERSARIES It’s a year of celebrations on the MCV Campus: 50 years for Pauley Heart Center, 60 years for the Hume-Lee Transplant Center, 70 years for the Evans-Haynes Burn Center, 125 years for the School of Nursing and, in November, 180 years for the School of Medicine along with a century of admitting women to the medical school.

BEST EMPLOYER VCU has landed the No. 1 spot for Virginia on Forbes’ list of best employers for diversity. A survey of 30,000 U.S. employees puts the university nationally at No. 40 out of 250. The survey asked questions about ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age. Factors including the gender makeup of management teams and proactive communications about diversity also were considered in the rankings.

Spring 2018

5

UNIVERSITYNEWS FELLOWS

Elite status for biomedical engineers

Three VCU professors have joined the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, an elite group that comprises the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers nationally.

Fellows are recognized for their contributions in teaching, research and innovation. AIMBE inducted Gregory Buck, Ph.D., of the School of Medicine, and B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’00/H&S), and Lukasz Kurgan, Ph.D., both of the College of Engineering, into its prestigious College of Fellows Class of 2018 in April. These inductions bring the university’s total number of AIMBE Fellows to 12.

“Becoming an AIMBE Fellow is more than just another honorific designation,” says Milan P. Yager, AIMBE’s executive director. “AIMBE Fellows are expected to ‘give back’ by contributing to AIMBE’s critical mission of advancing excellence and advocating for the fields of medical and biological engineering.”

CAMPUS ART

Sculpture inspired by RVA’s James River

The latest addition to VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library isn’t a book.

It’s a 27-foot-long wood sculpture that doubles as a bench in the library’s entranceway.

“Fall Line” was created by Heath Matysek-Snyder (B.F.A.’00/A), assistant professor in the Department of Craft and Material Studies and lead professor of the wood area in the School of the Arts, who has been working on the piece for more than two years.

“My hope is that when people walk into Cabell Library, they’ll recognize it as the James River, which I find to be an amazing element of Richmond, a really amazing feature of the city,” Matysek-Snyder says.

“This will be an object that greets you. It will be a place to meet. And it will be a feature that says goodbye as you walk back out.”

The white oak bench mimics the contours of a 7-mile section of the James River, from Pony Pasture to the 14th Street Bridge, with aluminum on top of the bench representing the outline of the river. The bench is broken into four sections, with each of the three negative spaces representing a different iconic Richmond bridge.

VCU Libraries commissioned the sculpture, wanting a piece in the new library’s entranceway that brings people together in a way that is unique to Richmond and VCU, says University Librarian John E. Ulmschneider.

Capital funds earmarked for the construction and furnishing of the recently expanded Cabell Library covered the costs for “Fall Line.” No tuition or student fee monies were used.

W E B E X T R A Hear Heath Matysek-Snyder talk about his process for creating “Fall Line” at tinyurl.com/y97zahas.

6

VCU Alumni

Photo Jay Paul (B.G.S.‘85/H&S), courtesy of VCU Libraries

Installation of ‘Fall Line’ at Cabell Library

LEADERSHIP

« Beth Angell, Ph.D., joins VCU on July 16 as dean of the

School of Social Work. She currently serves as associate professor and chair of the faculty for the School of Social Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Angell’s research focuses on mental health and substance abuse treatment and has been supported by more than $10 million in grants from state and federal agencies and private organizations, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust.

« Tomikia P. LeGrande, Ed.D., joined VCU as vice provost

for strategic enrollment management. She previously served as vice president for SEM at the University of HoustonDowntown. She also worked at UH as dean of enrollment management, associate vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, and vice president for student affairs and enrollment management.

« Aashir Nasim, Ph.D., a scholar and academic administrator, has been named vice president for inclusive excellence.

Nasim previously served as interim senior vice provost for faculty affairs and director of the Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation (iCubed) at VCU. In his new position, Nasim leads the Division for Inclusive Excellence and is implementing a newly adopted strategic plan to fulfill VCU’s vision of becoming a model university for inclusivity.

« Constance Relihan, Ph.D., joins VCU on July 9 as dean

of the University College. She comes to VCU from Auburn University, where she served as associate provost for undergraduate studies and director of University College. She held that position since 2011 and was responsible for a variety of programs focused on undergraduate student success, including The Honors College, University College, undergraduate research, first-year experience activities and programs, the Auburn Connects! common book program, academic counseling and advising, and cooperative education.

UNIVERSITYNEWS GRANT

Stemming the teacher shortage tide

Rosalyn Hobson Hargraves, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the School of Education and an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering, who is part of the team working on the Noyce Phase III project

RESEARCH

OBITUARY

After becoming the first to definitively discover genetic markers for major depression, VCU researchers and collaborators have found more genetic clues to the disease.

A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry details the discovery of three additional genetic risk markers for depression, which builds on the groundbreaking discovery of two genetic risk factors in 2015.

Lead authors include Roseann Peterson, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’12/M), assistant professor of psychiatry at the VCU Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, and Na Cai of the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the U.K. Both sets of findings were the result of an international collaboration among researchers from VCU, the University of Oxford and throughout China. Principal investigators Kenneth Kendler, M.D., at VCU and Jonathan Flint at the University of California, Los Angeles, led this large-scale, collaborative effort, which resulted in a study of more than 10,000 Han Chinese women from 50 hospitals across China.

Kendler, professor of psychiatry and human molecular genetics in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and one of five VCU faculty authors, said the work could shed more light on subtypes of depression and their treatment.

“We have struggled for years using twin and family studies to try to understand how genes and environment interrelate in causing depression,” Kendler says. “This is the first study where we have been able to do this using molecular variants. This is an important advance in our understanding of this important, severe and common psychiatric disorder.”

Grace E. Harris, Ph.D. (M.S.W.’60/SW), whose leadership helped shape VCU during a pioneering 48-year career, died Feb. 12 at age 84.

Harris joined the social work faculty at Richmond Professional Institute in 1967, a year before the school merged with the Medical College of Virginia to form VCU. Over the course of her career, Harris rose to the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at VCU, becoming the first African-American woman to serve as the chief academic officer at a four-year public university in Virginia. She also assumed the role of acting president twice, in 1995 and 1998.

“Throughout our 180-year history, a handful of people have been so vital to the story of VCU that their names are forever linked with ours,” says VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “One of those people was Grace Harris. She was a giant in legacy and in character, a woman whose contributions to VCU and to the countless lives we touch are Grace E. Harris, Ph.D. truly immeasurable."

Harris also served as a distinguished professor in the Center for Public Policy and led the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, both in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. The institute was established in her name to honor her longstanding leadership, service and contributions to the university. In 2007, the university dedicated the building that formerly housed the School of Business in honor of Harris.

Genetic clues to the cause of depression

Photo courtesy School of Education

The National Science Foundation awarded $1.2 million to a VCU scholarship program that recruits science, technology, engineering and math students and trains them to serve as secondary school math and science teachers in the Richmond, Virginia, region.

The grant to the Noyce Scholarship program at the VCU School of Education aims to help address a longstanding shortage of STEM teachers. The Noyce Scholarship is a collaborative effort among the School of Education and the colleges of Engineering and Humanities and Sciences in partnership with the school districts of Richmond and Henrico and Chesterfield counties. The program provides scholarships to STEM majors interested in teaching in high-needs districts.

The NSF grant funds a new project, Noyce Phase III, that builds on past successes of the program and provides new recruitment and retention opportunities. It will provide 25 scholarships, stipends and fellowships for students interested in pursuing teacher training in mathematics and science. Over five years, the project will support 12 undergraduate STEM majors and 13 Master of Teaching students.

Loss of a transformative, graceful leader

W E B E X T R A Read more about Grace Harris’ legacy and lifetime of achievement at go.vcu.edu/graceharris.

Spring 2018

7

UNIVERSITYNEWS CAMPAIGN

Campaign nears $750 million goal

Shaping future educators

The Dale Kalkofen Scholarship in Educational Leadership, established in 2013 by Dale Kalkofen, Ed.D. (M.A.E.’76/A), provides need-based financial assistance to undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking students who plan to pursue a career in K-12 school leadership. The scholarship prepares visionary scholars and leaders to promote equity, inclusiveness and justice in education. Shayna Cooke, a doctoral student and 2016 scholarship recipient, is focusing her research on racial justice reconciliation work that is happening at the Koinonia School of Race and Justice in Richmond, Virginia.

Cosmic impact on health

Upon completion of a NASA Aerospace Medicine Clerkship, Brent Monseur, M.D. (M.D.’16/M), realized he could combine his career path of becoming an OB-GYN with another childhood passion: space. While working with the physicians who look after those who travel into space, he discovered that astronauts face obstacles with contraception and fertility preservation. Now an OB-GYN resident physician and reproductive biologist at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Monseur hopes to specialize in fertility medicine as it relates to astronauts and to investigate issues surrounding spaceflight contraception and cosmic radiation.

Monseur, a first-generation college student, says the scholarships he received at VCU helped by lessening the number of loans he needed to take out and made his dreams less daunting.

River of research flows from Rice

The Thomas F. Huff Graduate Scholarship in Integrative Life Sciences was established by Burt Adelman, M.D., and Lydia Rogers to honor the memory of Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D., VCU's inaugural vice provost for life sciences and research. The scholarship is awarded to Ph.D. students conducting interdisciplinary research relevant to the mission of the VCU Rice Rivers Center. The 2017 scholarship recipient, Jane Remfert, is researching genes of flowering dogwoods in urban and native environments while this year’s scholarship recipient, Ellen Stuart-Haëntjens, is studying wetland ecosystem restoration and its long-term impact on the environment.

To learn more about the Make It Real Campaign for VCU or to make a gift, visit campaign.vcu.edu.

8

VCU Alumni

VCU Alumni's Military Veterans Alumni Council at a campus event

CERTIFICATION

More support for military veterans

VCU received Training and Education Alliance certification from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services for its demonstrated commitment to veteran and military students.

VCU is one of 14 TEA-certified colleges and universities. TEA assists institutions by providing training on veteran cultural competency and military and veteran student recruitment, retention and employment.

The certification recognizes the university’s efforts to support veteran and military students, says Stephen Ross, director of Military Student Services at VCU. Ten percent of Virginia’s population are veterans, and VCU’s Military Student Services office has taken steps in recent years to enhance support for military veterans. The university’s Green Zone program has become a national model for helping military students navigate college. Military Student Services, the School of the Arts and the nonprofit organization CreatiVets have collaborated to help men and women whose lives were scarred by war use art to help process their experiences, and in 2017, VCU Alumni announced the creation of the Military Veterans Alumni Council.

RESEARCH

Addressing mortality through policy

Societal issues are driving an increase in death rates among Virginia’s white population, according to a new report from VCU’s Center on Society and Health. Stress-related conditions — including unintentional drug overdoses, suicides, alcoholic liver disease and alcohol poisonings — are killing white Virginians ages 25-54 at increasing rates.

Death rates have generally decreased in the U.S. and other industrialized countries in the past century. The report helps underscore the importance of addressing the root causes of poor health and of adopting policy solutions that can ensure opportunities for optimal health among Virginians of all backgrounds.

“The need for policies to improve living conditions and economic opportunity for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations could not be more urgent,” says Center on Society and Health Director Steven Woolf, M.D. (H.S.’93/M), a professor in the VCU School of Medicine.

The report, published March 21, reveals that stress-related deaths among white people ages 25-54 increased 83 percent between 1995-2014.

The report also highlights other trends, such as statewide increases in deaths from organ diseases, which are possibly linked to substance abuse and trauma. These include liver cancer, viral hepatitis and some forms of heart disease. The researchers examined eight regions of Virginia, including all 95 counties and 38 independent cities.

Photo Lindy Rodman, University Marketing

As of June 1, 2018, the Make It Real Campaign for VCU has raised $613.5 million of its $750 million goal. The most ambitious campaign in the university’s history launched publicly in September 2016 and concludes June 30, 2020. Gifts to the campaign fuel transformative growth within three major focus areas: people, innovations and environments. Featured below are impacts already being realized by students, faculty members, caregivers and researchers.

PRESIDENTIALPERSPECTIVE

What makes VCU such a great university?

People. You make the heart of our diverse and inclusive community tick.

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

W

hen asked what I love most about Virginia Commonwealth University, the answer is quite simple. I feel a great deal of affinity for the people who make up the university. You, as alumni, along with current students, faculty, staff and clinicians are the heart of the university.

You are the embodiment of our core values and reflect our commitment to the academic excellence, engagement, and research and discovery that positively impacts communities locally and globally.

I love that we are a diverse university community with a variety of life experiences and perspectives. I love how we are united in acknowledging the importance of education, discovery, creativity and the advancement of humanity. The university community realizes its potential is limitless and collaborates across disciplines to defeat the insurmountable. I am in awe of the good that comes out of VCU. In the past year, we’ve witnessed what happens when groups work together for the public good. I love how educators and health care providers at VCU and VCU Health are dedicated to the restoration and

Connect

with Dr. Rao preservation of health for those living in the Richmond, Virginia, region and beyond. From on social media providing world-class mental health care to @VCUpresident pediatric patients to tackling the problem of food deserts in the city, members of the Michael Rao VCU community work tirelessly to make the commonwealth a better place for all members of society.

And, I love that VCU community members ask difficult questions and challenge the way we do things. This is necessary. Challenging the norm causes me to think more deeply about the ordinary and to consider what can be done for VCU and the community. Your questions and passionate dialogue spark solutions that can be implemented to change things we didn’t realize needed improvement.

Thank you for your belief in and love for your university. You make VCU the great place that it is today.

Spring 2018

9

HEART of the MATTER Pauley Heart Center: Proud of its past.

Poised for the future.

BY JA N ET SHOWA LTER

10

VCU Alumni

J

Photo Jud Froelich

Two-time heart transplant recipient Jeni Simonitis

eni Simonitis (B.S.’06/H&S) was 8 years old as she lay in a hospital bed at MCV Hospitals in December 1992.

With her parents by her side, she anxiously awaited news that a donor heart had been found to save her life.

Twice she went into cardiac arrest.

“It was scary,” she says. “We weren’t sure they would find a match in time. But they did. I remember the doctor coming in and telling us we had a heart. It was a Christmas miracle.”

Twenty-five years later, in December 2017, Simonitis underwent her second successful heart transplant at VCU Health Pauley Heart Center.

“It never crossed my mind to go anywhere else,” says Simonitis, 34. “The team there is just amazing.

They are passionate about what they do, and they are the best in the field.”

The world’s first successful human-to-human heart transplant took place in December 1967 in South Africa. Five months later, the first heart transplant in Virginia — ninth in the country and 16th in the world — took place at the Medical College of Virginia, a predecessor to Virginia Commonwealth University.

Since that historic moment 50 years ago, the team at what is now the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center has completed more than 590 heart transplants, including the first heart-lung transplant in Virginia and the first total artificial heart transplant on the East Coast. Now the second-oldest heart transplantation program in the U.S., the center is named for Stanley and Dorothy (B.A.’74/H&S) Pauley, whose major gifts through the Pauley Family Foundation have supported pioneering work and groundbreaking research in the field.

“It’s an amazing thing we do here,” says Daniel Tang, M.D. (H.S.’06/M), the Richard R. Lower, MD Professor in Cardiovascular Surgery in the VCU School of Medicine and director of heart transplantation, heart-lung transplantation and mechanical circulatory support for VCU Health.

“It may not be uncommon anymore, but it is hardly routine. The very notion that we are taking a heart that was someone else’s and giving it to a patient so that they may have life is truly amazing. It is very emotional and never gets old.”

Spring 2018

11

transplant was a competitive one.

“It was similar to the race to get a man on the moon,” says Keyur Shah, M.D., section chief of heart failure at Pauley. “Anytime you accomplished anything to get you closer to your goal, you were on the cover of Time magazine.”

The breakthrough was one of the most significant in the field of medicine in the 20th century, with the late MCV surgeon Richard Lower, M.D., leading the way. He and Norman Shumway, M.D., began extensive research in California in the late 1950s and later successfully completed the first heart transplant in an animal model.

Their work grabbed media attention, as well as the eye of renowned transplant surgeon David Hume, M.D., chief of surgery at MCV at that time. In 1965, Lower accepted Hume's invitation to join him in Richmond to lead the cardiac surgery program.

As the team inched closer to their ultimate goal, Christiaan Barnard, M.D., a young South African surgeon, visited Richmond for three months to observe their work. He became obsessed with becoming the first surgeon to perform a human heart transplant.

A few weeks after Barnard returned to South Africa, Lower and Hume nearly performed the first transplant but decided against it because the donor and recipient blood types did not match.

That opened the door for Barnard, who found a donor for a patient under his care. On Dec. 3, 1967, Barnard successfully performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant. Lower performed his first in May 1968. In all, he took part in 393 heart transplants before he retired in 1989.

“Lower was cautious, as he should have been,” says Professor Emeritus Michael Hess, M.D., who worked with Lower for 10 years and started VCU’s heart failure program. “He did groundbreaking work that led to incredible growth in the field.”

12

VCU Alumni

Photo Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), VCU University Marketing

Photo VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives

THE RACE TO PERFORM THE FIRST human-to-human heart

Daniel Tang, M.D., (left) and Keyur Shah, M.D., with a modern heart-lung bypass machine; Richard Lower, M.D. (above left), and Richard Cleveland, M.D., with its predecessor, the Pemco heart pump

SOON AFTER HESS BECAME MEDICAL DIRECTOR of cardiac

transplantation in 1979, the VCU team was well on its way to performing more than 50 heart transplants a year.

“We were demystifying cardiac transplantation,” says Hess, who retired in 2011. “People back then thought we were crazy as hell. Or, they thought it was a piece of cake. Today, it is standard heart patient care.”

But when Lower retired, the program took a hit. Several other surgeons and physicians also left, and three other transplant programs opened in Virginia. The number of heart transplants completed at VCU plummeted to fewer than 10 annually.

“When I interviewed for a job here in 1999, they had done only one transplant that year,” says Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., Stuart McGuire Chair of the Department of Surgery in the VCU School of Medicine.

“But we were able to rebuild it. I am most proud of the team we have assembled here.”

Over the past 15 years, the number of heart failure and transplantation cardiologists on the VCU staff has grown from two to six, while the number of surgeons has doubled to four.

Today, the Pauley Heart Center averages 25 transplants a year, including several multi-organ transplants.

“This has been a second coming,” Shah says. “Our staff takes a lot of pride in that, and our patients can see the passion we have in serving our community.”

Each year, thousands of patients turn to the center for inpatient and outpatient care, ranging from noninvasive cardiology procedures to heart transplantation. Pauley’s transplant and heart failure experts speak at national conferences, lead clinical trials, take part in funded research and have published hundreds of abstracts and manuscripts.

The center has become known worldwide for its groundbreaking work, and Pauley leads the way in device-based treatments for advanced heart failure. In 2006, Kasirajan led the team that completed the first total artificial heart implant on the East Coast.

Since then, VCU has performed more than 100 artificial heart transplants, and its program is the third largest in the country. Pauley also implants about 40 ventricular assist devices a year. A VAD is a mechanical pump that helps the heart push blood to the body. Artificial hearts and VADs can allow a heart transplant candidate to safely survive until a donor heart becomes available.

“This work has become mainstream,” Kasirajan says. “It’s incredible how far we’ve come.”

“

IT WAS SIMILAR TO THE RACE TO GET A MAN ON THE MOON. ANYTIME YOU ACCOMPLISHED ANYTHING TO GET YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL, YOU WERE ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE." KEYUR SHAH, M.D. Section chief of heart failure at Pauley Heart Center

Spring 2018

13

DID YOU KNOW?

The prime window to successfully use a donor heart is four to six hours after death. That time frame is not always plausible because of distance to the recipient, and sometimes the heart goes unused. But ♥ VCU’s heart transplant program was established in 1968, new ways to expand protection times is being studied, including a pump making it the longest-running transplant program on the system that would keep the heart viable until it arrives at its destination.

East Coast and the second oldest in the U.S. Another area of study by Mo Quader, M.D., assistant professor of surgery in the VCU School of Medicine, is exploring ways to recover a ♥ VCU celebrated the first long-distance heart transplant heart from a person who has suffered a cardiac death. Currently, donor in the world in 1977 when Szabolcs Szentpetery, M.D. hearts are used only if the person suffers brain death because blood (H.S.’75/M), made the 600-mile flight from Richmond to continues to flow to the heart. In a cardiac death, blood ceases to flow Indianapolis to bring back a donor heart. and the heart sustains cellular damage. But research is uncovering ways ♥ In 1981, VCU physician Michael Hess, M.D., created the to protect the donor heart from cellular damage, making it viable for International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation. transplantation.

In addition, the ongoing study of modifying genetic signatures ♥ The first heart-lung transplant in Virginia took place at could one day open the door to cross-species heart transplantation.

MCV Hospitals in 1986.

“It’s very exciting to think what the future can bring,” Tang says. ♥ In 1994, the first left ventricular assist Tang, who performed Jeni Simonitis’ surgery in device was implanted at VCU. December, says while the procedure is becoming more com♥ The first total artificial heart, and the mon, he will never get used to the miracle it is. third in the country, was implanted on “When you call the patient and tell them we have found the East Coast at VCU in 2006. a donor heart for them, they jump for joy,” he says. “Even though they know it is a daunting surgery, they look for♥ The VCU Heart Center was renamed ward to it.”

VCU Health Pauley Heart Center in 2006 Simonitis can remember the fear she felt as a young to recognize a $5 million gift from the girl, clutching her stuffed tiger, Stripes, in her hospital bed. and Jeni Simonitis Pauley Family Foundation.

Born with a heart defect, a transplant was her only option.

Stripes in 1992 “As they were wheeling me to surgery, I got scared and ♥ The Pauley Heart Center has 14 endowed wanted to back out,” she says. “But I knew I had to do it. professorships and chairs.

A few months later, I was back on the playground with my friends. I ♥ Since 1972, the American Heart Association has funded 138 got my life back.”

VCU researchers with $12.8 million.

For more than 20 years, her donor heart served her well. The average life expectancy of a donor heart is 12 years, with some lasting three decades. When Simonitis began experiencing chest pains three years ago, she hoped it was heartburn. It turned out to be a form of chronic rejection.

FOR SOME, IT MIGHT SOUND LIKE SCIENCE FICTION. For In August 2017, Simonitis was placed back on the transplant list. others, research in the areas of stem cell and gene therapy, genetic coding Four months later, she got the call that a donor heart had been found. and xenotransplantation offers a promising future.

She and her husband, Jason, grabbed her bag, already packed with clothes “People looked at what Lower was doing 50 years ago and thought and Stripes, and drove to the MCV Campus. A few hours later, she was those guys were absolute cowboys because they were doing something in surgery. This time around, her hospital stay was two weeks instead of that was so unusual,” says VCU surgeon Tang, who performs about half three. She missed nine weeks of work. of the heart transplants at Pauley. “Their work evolved into what we are “It’s amazing how much more advanced they are now,” Simonitis doing today. People may think that the days of the cowboy are over. I says. “Technology is better, the medications are better and the surgeons, would argue it is not.”

I think, are more skilled. The team is right there with you through it all.

Stem cell therapy, now in the trial stage, is showing great promise I trusted them every step of the way.” in repairing tissue damaged by heart attacks. If successful, this would As she did after her first surgery, Simonitis will send a letter to the save patients who otherwise need a heart transplant. donor family, offering her gratitude.

Another national study underway is for the Carmat heart, which has “Words can’t possibly express how thankful I am,” she says. “I know been called the world’s first self-regulating, total artificial heart. It uses my heart came at a cost. It means someone else’s family suffered great embedded sensors to regulate the rate of blood flow to a patient based tragedy. I never lose sight of that. Every year on the anniversary of my on his or her individual needs. surgery, I celebrate that family. They gave me the greatest gift possible.

Tang is also excited about research that could lead to an increase in They gave me life.” donor hearts. Currently, about 2,500 heart transplants are performed in the U.S. each year. But about 4,000 people nationwide are waiting.

– Janet Showalter (B.S.’87/MC) is a contributing “The need is great,” Tang says. “We need to do all we can to meet it.” writer for the alumni magazine.

14

VCU Alumni

At VCU, making an impact is what we do. But we can’t do it alone. That’s why we launched the Make It Real Campaign for VCU. How will you help us support people, fund innovations and enhance environments?

Make your impact at campaign.vcu.edu.

an equal opportunity/affirmative action university

“My scholarships gave me the peace of mind to focus my energy on studying, participating in school activities and being the best well-rounded student I can be. My app, Shiri, could make sure that farmers in my native Africa never have to face another food crisis again.” – Tatenda Ndambakuwa (B.S.’18/H&S)

s n o s a Re e v o l to VCU It’s impossible to give props to everything that’s amazing about Virginia Commonwealth University but, hey, we had to draw the line somewhere. So here are our top 50 (in no particular order). See something missing from the list? Let us know using #50thingsVCU.

16

VCU Alumni

1 NO.

INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE At VCU, differences are not just tolerated, they are celebrated. VCU’s 31,000 students come from 102 different countries, and about half of the student body comes from underrepresented populations. People of all backgrounds, beliefs and abilities are drawn to campus because they want to broaden their horizons by living and learning with those who are different from them. This value extends into the classroom, too. With more than 200 academic programs, there’s a course of study for every unique interest.

2 NO.

Occupying nearly 500 wooded acres along the James River in Charles City County, Virginia, VCU’s Rice Rivers Center is a field station devoted to environmental research, preservation and education. The center’s facilities allow students and researchers to engage in an array of initiatives to improve river ecosystems, including conservation efforts to rehabilitate and preserve the habitats of endangered species such as bald eagles and Atlantic sturgeon.

4 NO.

3

NO.

WHITE COAT CEREMONY The white coat is more than a uniform to health care professionals — it is a symbol of honor, dedication and compassion. Senior faculty members present students with their first white coats during this sacred tradition, initiating them as colleagues and partners in patient care.

Photos No. 2-3 Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), VCU University Marketing

LIVING LABORATORY

FOOD ON THE FLY FOR STUDENTS ON THE RUN Midday hunger can put a real strain on a student’s momentum, but when hunger strikes, VCU students can simply step outside to choose from a variety of options at their feet. Food carts and trucks are a lunchtime fixture across campus. Brightly colored vendors appear every weekday about 11 a.m., ready to serve students looking to grab a quick bite on the go.

Spring 2018

17

5

NO.

8 MILLION-PLUS SERVICE HOURS

With more than a decade of impact under its belt, VCU’s Division of Community Engagement allows more than 10,000 students each year to get involved and help make Richmond, and the world, a better place through community service and servicelearning opportunities. Since 2006-07, students have contributed more than 8 million hours of service.

At a rate of 1 million-plus hours annually, which equals about $32 million in volunteer work! VCU also expanded student service-learning opportunities from 40 in 2008 to 251 in 2017, giving thousands of students the chance to connect with the community as part of their regular classes. That commitment to engaging the world around us led VCU to be listed on the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for eight consecutive years.

6

NO.

7

NO.

18

OPEN 24 HOURS Students arrive on campus at 8 a.m. during spring break, ready to embark on the 24-hour creative sprint that is CreateAthon. Adrenaline fuels the process, but pop-up yoga classes, massages and dance parties provide opportunities for rejuvenation as students work through the night to fulfill the marketing needs of local nonprofits. Since 2005, CreateAthon@VCU has provided 113 local nonprofits with pro bono services valued at more than $1.9 million.

TENNIS BUBBLE FOR WINTER PLAY When temperatures drop, the tennis bubble goes up. At VCU, the sight of the bubble over the Thalhimer Tennis Center is a sure sign of winter. The temporary, air-supported structure keeps VCU’s men’s and women’s tennis teams warm, dry and match-ready year-round.

VCU Alumni

8

NO.

WE LIVE AND LEARN Students at large universities often initially struggle to find friends or activities that they truly relate to. Luckily, VCU combats this problem through its living-learning communities — specialized residential environments designed to integrate on-campus living with a focused academic experience. Each community has a unique focus: community engagement, global involvement, leadership, entrepreneurship and honors academics. The communities offer faculty support, workshops, experiential learning opportunities and more. Integrating on-campus living with a focused academic experience promotes engagement among students who might not have found the perfect fit otherwise.

9

NO.

CELEBRATING UNITY & CULTURAL DIFFERENCES The Intercultural Festival, an official university tradition since 2003, brings together student and community organizations to celebrate diverse cultures on the VCU campus and throughout the city. Coordinated by students, the annual event is as entertaining as it is educational, drawing thousands of attendees each spring to enjoy traditional foods, performances and demonstrations from a variety of cultures around the world.

10 NO.

A FIRM FOUNDATION

Photo No. 5 Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing; photos No. 8, 9, 12 Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing; photo No. 10 Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries; photo No. 13 Jennifer Watson, University Marketing

In 1917, a group of community leaders founded the first social work program in the South. Initially, coursework at the Richmond School of Social Economy focused on social work and nursing, but as the program grew, the curriculum expanded. It later changed its name to the Richmond Professional Institute before merging with the Medical College of Virginia in 1968 to form VCU.

12 NO.

SAVING LIVES WITH TOP-FLIGHT CARE

VCU Health is renowned as a leader in medical treatment, research and education. Its academic medical center, VCU Medical Center, is one of the most distinguished in the nation, providing hands-on learning opportunities for students studying in VCU's top programs in dentistry, nursing, medicine, pharmacy and allied health professions. The medical center offers care in nearly 200 specialty areas, including multidisciplinary centers for cardiology, neurosurgery and transplantation. As the longest-standing, statedesignated Level I trauma center in Virginia, as well as the sole adult, pediatric and burn trauma center in the region, the hospital treats more than 4,000 patients each year. VCU Massey Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated center in the Richmond region and one of just two in Virginia leading and shaping efforts in cancer research. VCU Health clinicians and researchers aren’t just dedicated to improving the lives of patients today, they’re focused on saving the lives of those who will need their care in the future by investing in cutting-edge research and the development of innovative clinical trials.

11 NO.

BUDGET BITES

Whether it’s a go-to spot for a slice of pizza on the way home from class or the best place for brunch after a late night, college towns are known for their hidden culinary gems.

Richmond is no exception. Before big-name, fast-casual restaurants popped up throughout campus, students depended on locally owned establishments such as Piccola’s, Twisters, Vito's and MoJo’s to satisfy their cravings without breaking the bank. Many spots have since closed their doors, but some of the original favorites remain open and are still known for keeping students well-fed on a budget.

13 NO.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

In the heart of the Richmond neighborhood known as The Fan, Franklin Street cuts through VCU’s Monroe Park Campus. Several notable VCU offices are housed inside the picturesque, historic buildings along this street, including the Office of the President and Office of Admissions.

Franklin Street is a reminder of the humble beginnings of what has become a sprawling, urban campus.

Spring 2018

19

14

THE PULL OF POSSIBILITIES

Want to learn the science behind craft beer or teach yoga to preschoolers? The options are endless at VCU. With 200-plus degree programs and a multitude of living-learning opportunities, 150plus community partnerships and 468 student organizations, there’s something for everyone.

15 NO.

#

1

AT THE TOP OF OUR CLASS

16 NO.

U.S. News and World Report ranks VCU’s sculpture and nurse anesthesia programs No. 1 nationally. And that’s not where our bragging rights stop. VCU boasts graduate programs in the top 50 nationally in 19 fields. VCU is consistently recognized as one of the top public universities for both fine arts and research. The university’s dominance in arts and sciences provides students with access to stellar opportunities, both in and out of the classroom.

A CULINARY LANDMARK

Some might remember The Village Cafe when it sat across the street from the current location, at the corner of Grace and Harrison streets, but the restaurant has remained a campus culinary landmark since opening in 1956.

Whether it’s breakfast for dinner or an early morning milkshake, The Village has you covered.

17 NO.

Photo No. 17 Scott K. Brown; photo No. 19 Kevin Casey, University Marketing; photo No. 21 Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing

NO.

FROM FIRST FOUR TO FINAL FOUR

Widely regarded as one of the best Cinderella runs of all time, the VCU men’s basketball team’s journey to our first Final Four during the 2010-11 season under former head coach Shaka Smart was one for the history books. The Rams are still the only Division I basketball team to make it from the First Four to the Final Four in NCAA tournament history.

Though the Rams were ultimately defeated by Butler University, VCU was forever solidified as a team that will unexpectedly bust your March Madness bracket year after year.

18 NO.

A PERFECT PAIRING EAST OF CAMPUS

In 2008, the university finished the first phase of the 11-acre Monroe Park Campus Addition to the east of campus and opened one new building with collocated space for business and engineering students. Snead Hall, which houses the School of Business, features a variety of study spaces and classrooms as well as a fully functioning capital markets and trading room. The College of Engineering’s second building, East Hall, shares space with Snead and is home to the da Vinci Center. The addition also brought the establishment of the VCU Brandcenter and the completion of the Cary and Belvidere residence hall. Thanks to the Chili’s restaurant attached to the hall, students and fans alike gained a new space to watch the Rams play basketball.

20

VCU Alumni

19 NO.

VCU’S BUILDINGS ARE TATTED, TOO! Throughout the VCU campus and the area beyond, vibrant murals can be found on almost every city block. Crafted by artists from around the world, the massive paintings give a lively touch to Richmond’s unique aesthetic.

Situated in one of the top 10 “most inspiring art cities in America,” according to departures.com, VCU is home to some of the most distinctive street art in the U.S.

20 NO.

21 NO.

MEDIA FOR ALL INTERESTS

RACING FOR RESEARCH

VCU is home to a number of award-winning student media programs that provide real-life, hands-on practical training while allowing students to deliver news, information and entertainment to the campus community.

If you have a passion for journalism, there’s The Commonwealth Times newspaper, the WVCW radio station or VCU Insight, the undergraduate broadcast news program shown on Richmond’s local PBS affiliate, WVCW-TV. Students looking to share their creative talent can submit art to Poictesme or Ink magazine. No matter the medium, VCU’s Student Media Center provides a public forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Every spring, the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k brings together 25,000-plus participants, and double that number in spectators, to the fourth-largest 10k in the country and the biggest block party in the city of Richmond. Under the leadership of Gordon Ginder, M.D. — who celebrates his 20th year as Massey Cancer Center’s director in 2018 — Massey was selected in 2006 as the official charitable partner by race organizer Sports Backers. Massey is among the top 4 percent of cancer centers in the U.S. and is one of two in Virginia designated by the National Cancer Institute to lead and shape America's cancer research efforts. To date, the 10k has raised more than $5 million through the Massey Challenge, which lets participants honor those who have battled cancer, fund cures for the disease and unite the Richmond community around a common goal. Funds raised by the 10k also help support Kids Run RVA to promote physical activity to youth in the Richmond region.

Spring 2018

21

22 NO.

THE CREATIVE GENE RUNS IN THE RAMILY

VCU Rams always find innovative and creative ways to interact with the world around them. With alumni and students who’ve done everything from creating Super Bowl commercials to having their art displayed on buildings and galleries around the world, it’s safe to say that creativity is at the heart of everything we do at VCU.

23

24 NO.

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

At the core of the Rams in Recovery program is a commitment to creating a supportive and confidential community for those who want to recover from addictive behavior. Part of the Wellness Resource Center and founded in 2013, Rams in Recovery hosts a variety of programs to help students succeed in their recovery and academics. The group’s three-wheeled Free Hot Coffee Bike can be found around campus several times a month. Serving Lamplighter Coffee’s special Recovery Roast and a variety of teas, drivers create a pour-over cup of coffee, which takes six to seven minutes. You might stop for the coffee, but you stay for the conversation.

25 NO.

22

VCU Alumni

‘YOU DON’T WANNA GO TO WAR ...’

Since opening its doors in spring 1999, the Stuart C. Siegel Center has hosted everyone from the Harlem Globetrotters to President Barack Obama, but when basketball season starts, you can really feel the electricity in the air. “The Stu,” as students call it, has a reputation as one of the toughest courts to play in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and every home game since January 2011 has been sold out. The Rowdy Rams student section even received the Naismith Student Section of the Year Award for the 2012-13 season. It’s true, you don’t want to go to war with the Rams — especially on our turf.

SIGNATURE ART SPACE VCU’s Anderson Gallery served as the leading contemporary art venue in the Southeast for more than 80 years, collecting more than 31,000 pieces from around the world. In 2016, it was reborn as “The Anderson,” a dedicated student exhibit space.

26 NO.

Photo No. 24 Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing; photo No. 26 Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing; photo No. 27 Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries

NO.

ART MEETS SCIENCE

The past few years have seen a host of interdisciplinary programs spring up at the university, particularly between the schools of the Arts and Medicine.

In 2014, while still a student, alumna Morgan Yacoe (B.F.A.’11/A) (pictured far right) worked with a team at the VCU Medical Center to build a sculpture of a set of conjoined twins’ bodies so surgeons could determine how to care for them cosmetically post-separation. Yacoe went on to teach figurative sculpting to plastic surgery residents. More recently, Aaron Anderson, associate chair in the Department of Theatre, created the Standardized Patient Program, which provides training in communication and clinical empathy to health care professionals through theatrical training.

27 NO.

SANDWICHES SERVED WITH A SIDE OF SKULLS

A staple of the diets of students and faculty alike at the Medical College of Virginia in the 1960s, Skull and Bones Restaurant served as an unofficial campus social hub for years. William Harry Shaia, M.D. (M.D.’45/M), opened the restaurant in 1924, naming it after the campus newspaper. Familyowned and -operated, Skull and Bones served homemade soups and sandwiches for 75 years before closing in 1999 to make way for the Gateway Building.

28 NO.

COMMUNITY BEYOND CAMPUS BORDERS

The Carver-VCU Partnership, established in 1996, is one of the university’s first visual demonstrations of its commitment to the community outside campus borders. The agreement between then-President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., and Barbara Abernathy, president of the Carver Area Civic Improvement League, created a community center, put VCU student teachers in Carver Elementary School and sponsored an annual health and housing fair.

The university also worked with residents to document Carver’s history and extended VCU Police patrols into the area. The partnership’s legacy has led to increased collaborations with other nearby neighborhoods and enriched environments for all.

Spring 2018

23

NOTABLE FIRSTS: SOCIAL WORK, TRANSPLANTS From saving lives to securing our nation, VCU has celebrated numerous firsts. The first organ transplants in Virginia were performed at the Medical College of Virginia, now VCU Medical Center, beginning in 1957 with a kidney procedure. VCU can claim the first LEED Platinum building in Virginia, the first school of social work in the South, the first American campus in Qatar and the first major research university to offer a B.S. in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. And we’re not finished.

30 NO.

HAPPY 20TH, VCU QATAR VCU’s sister campus in Doha, 7,000 miles from Richmond, is a vibrant international school of art and design that is involved with the emerging design industries in Qatar. Not only do VCUarts students study and graduate there, but other undergraduate and graduate students participate in the Qatar Leadership Exchange, which helps establish an ongoing collaborative and cultural exchange. In its 20th year, VCU Qatar boasts 620 alumni representing 33 nationalities.

32 31 NO.

NO.

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST

FIERCE BUT LOVEABLE

He has his own Twitter account, children’s book and set of emojis, and he moves pretty well for a sheep in his 50s. Rodney the Ram’s impact on VCU students is enduring. The venerable mascot prowls the basketball sidelines, pops up at campus events and even appeared on NBC’s “Today” show.

Who can resist a high five, a hug or a selfie with the famous No. 00?

24

VCU Alumni

It’s the heart of VCU’s bustling Monroe Park Campus, the gathering place for people watching, protesting and performing. Shafer Court, the pedestrian spine of VCU’s academic campus, crosses the compass rose, which was designed as a navigational and social axis in 1998. Over time, renovations to buildings surrounding the compass, including Hibbs Hall and James Branch Cabell Library, have created a bona fide hangout spot.

Photos No. 30, 33, 35 Lindy Rodman, University Marketing; photo No. 31 Scott K. Brown; photo No. 36 Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries

29 NO.

33

NO.

MEDICAL HISTORY

The Egyptian Building is tucked away in the thicket of buildings around VCU Medical Center, its 1846 façade looking oddly out of place. But the focal point of the health sciences campus actually was first on the scene as the original home of the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College, later the Medical College of Virginia. The state landmark is considered one of the nation’s best examples of the Egyptian Revival architectural style.

34

35

NO.

NO.

CAMPUS AS AN ARTIST’S CANVAS

Diversity characterizes the objets d’art on VCU grounds. There’s the 14-foot-tall bronze ram horns sculpture in the Commons Plaza that provides a perfect backdrop for a selfie. “Truth and Beauty” outside Hibbs Hall is an homage to a classroom while “Tableith” next to Ginter House honors the legacy of Richmond Professional Institute, a predecessor to VCU. “Soft,” an aluminum sculpture outside Grace E. Harris Hall, and “Accelerator,” located in the McGlothlin Medical Education Center, are complex yet simple. Next time you’re on campus, be sure to look around for these notable works of art.

37

NO.

THE PEOPLE YOU MEET College friends, professors and campus characters give us lifelong memories to cherish. Your “Ramily” will stay with you forever — unless you delete them from your social media accounts.

36

NO.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SCHOOL OF NURSING

Sadie Heath Cabaniss, founder of the VCU School of Nursing, laid the foundation for professional nursing in Virginia in 1893.

The school has evolved from offering a diploma to offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. A happy 125th to the angels of healing.

IT’S A ROCKY CLIMB IN CARY STREET GYM

Trad climbing, anchor building and belaying. If you’ve never heard of these terms, chances are you didn’t attempt to scale the 35-foottall climbing wall in the Cary Street Gym. The wall features a freestanding section and an 18-foot bouldering section. Needless to say, climbing requires special equipment and supervision. So that you can say you learned something about rock climbing, “belaying” is the technique of securing climbers using ropes, harnesses and climbing friction devices that snag them in the event of a fall.

Spring 2018

25

38

NO.

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH VCU

Having the state’s largest river flowing past your campus is a tremendous selling point for an urban university. The James is a vital asset that provides VCU students with recreational opportunities, a place to escape the classroom and soak up some sun while studying on large river rocks and, most importantly, a living environment for researching shoreline plants and aquatic life. The VCU Rice Rivers Center, situated on the James southeast of Richmond in Charles City County, Virginia, was established as a laboratory devoted to environmental research, teaching and public service.

Its Walter L. Rice Education Building houses lecture rooms and laboratories, a conference room and administrative offices. The facility helps VCU create a big splash in river ecosystem science.

39

NO.

THE BEST PEP BAND IN ALL THE LAND From Broad Street to Broadway, The Peppas have represented VCU in sassy, brassy fashion, gaining a reputation as one of the NCAA’s best pep bands. Their repertoire isn’t the usual “Louie, Louie.”

Beginning with VCU's Final Four run in 2011, they gained fame on “Today” blasting Toto’s “Africa” and Trombone Shorty’s “Hurricane.” Opposing fans, celebrities and TV announcers rave about them. But only VCU can claim them.

26

VCU Alumni

40 NO.

GINTER WALL WAS RPI HOTSPOT The brownstone wall around Ginter House at 901 W. Franklin St. served as the epicenter of student activity at Richmond Professional Institute, a predecessor to VCU. The home was built in 1888-92 for Maj. Lewis Ginter. In 1930, RPI purchased the home and used it for offices, classrooms and the library, but as the school grew, the house became exclusively an administrative building, earning its nickname, the “Ad” building. The wall was built at the same time as the house and quickly became a gathering place for students. In 2017, for the 100th anniversary of the founding of RPI, the iconic wall came to life inside the University Student Commons.

VCU Alumni’s RPI Alumni Council, composed of RPI alumni from the 1950s and 1960s, spearheaded the RPI History Wall, raising funds for the project and working with VCU Libraries and University Student Commons and Activities to construct the exhibit. Today, Ginter House contains the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

It’s a jewel among the many historic houses along West Franklin Street in what has been described as VCU’s “open-air architectural museum.”

41 NO.

Photo No. 38 Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing; photo No. 41 VCU School of Medicine; photo No. 44 Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing

VCU LIBRARIES: MORE THAN JUST BOOKS Fans whir above sofas and the drone of campus noise drifts through screened windows on the porch of James Branch Cabell Library’s third floor. Students read by floor-to-ceiling glass walls, sipping coffee. The library is awash in light, stimulating architecture and equipped not only with vital resources for research but also quiet areas for solitary study and collaborative spaces for group projects. Cabell’s Workshop, on the lower level, features multimedia resources and services, including a video studio, loanable media equipment, video/audio editing and graphic design stations, a video game lounge, 3D printers, a laser cutter, sewing machines and more. In its Special Collections and Archives, Cabell houses rare books and periodicals, manuscripts and a comic arts collection. The stalwart on the medical campus, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, houses manuscripts, medical and dental artifacts, and rare books and periodicals.

IMPROVING LIVES IN UNDERSERVED AREAS

They’re experiential learning opportunities students will never forget. The School of Medicine’s HOMBRE program sends a small group of students each year to work alongside VCU faculty to provide medical services and health education to underserved rural populations in Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

The School of Dentistry sends students overseas through the Jamaica Project and to underserved areas of Virginia through MOM, the Missions of Mercy projects. Nursing Students Without Borders at VCU travels annually to the Highlands region of Guatemala, where students and faculty provide health outreach to villagers.

42

43

While VCU has basketball, lacrosse, volleyball and even Quidditch teams, outside of a handful of intramural clubs in its early days, the university has never had an intercollegiate football team. Most fans wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s already enough Ram pride in our sports teams to go around without football.

Greek life is a way of life for many students. The university supports 40 fraternities and sororities that offer opportunities for leadership, scholarship, friendship and civic engagement. Among the most exciting campus traditions are step shows organized by AfricanAmerican sororities and fraternities and made popular in the late 1980s.

NO.

OUR ‘UNDEFEATED’ FOOTBALL TEAM

NO.

THE BIG RUSH OF GREEK LIFE

44 NO.

Spring 2018

27

FREE CONCERT FRIDAYS

From the 1960s to the late 1990s, crowds flocked to Shafer Court for cheap beer and loud music at the free, weekly Friday night concerts. Organized by a student committee, concerts at Shafer Court and other campus venues brought hundreds of local and nationally known performers to campus, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Shafer Court stage was demolished in 2002 to prepare for the construction of Shafer Court Dining Center, but a historic marker commemorating it still reminds students to rock on.

47 NO.

LOVE LETTERS

A photo with the large, black-and-gold V-C-U letters outside the Shafer Court Dining Center is a must on any campus bucket list. Hard to miss, the letters have been a focal point in Shafer Court since their 2004 installation.

48 NO.

HEALING HOUNDS

The Center for Human-Animal Interaction’s Dogs On Call program weaves its way into the hearts of patients and staff at VCU Health.

Alongside their human handlers, these therapy dogs visit patients offering a tail wag and warm fur to stroke during difficult times. Whether entertaining a pediatric patient with a trick or sitting calmly with a cardiac patient anxiously awaiting lab results, these dogs find a way to bring comfort and care. The Dogs On Call volunteers can all attest to the heartwarming nature of seeing someone feel more at home when a therapy dog is beside them.

28

VCU Alumni

46 NO.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

No matter when you attended VCU, if you lived on campus, you remember your first residence hall. While new and modern halls have sprung up, some of the university’s original dorms are still around. Johnson Hall dates to 1915 when it opened as a high-priced apartment building. VCU’s first residence hall, Rhoads, was initially used as a women’s dormitory when it opened in 1968. Bear, Warner, Rudd and McRae halls, collectively known as the “MCV Campus Low-Rises,” were built in 1959 and housed students for 57 years before being demolished in 2016 to make way for the College of Health Professions building. The original Gladding Residence Center opened in 1979 and housed students for nearly 40 years. This fall, a revitalized GRC opens at the same spot.

Photo No. 45 Special Collections and Archives, VCU Libraries; photos No. 47, 48 Lindy Rodman, University Marketing; photo No. 49 Allen Jones (B.F.A.‘82/A; M.F.A.‘92/A), University Marketing; photo No. 50 courtesy VCUarts

45 NO.

49 NO.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

Every student dreams of their graduation day, and Commencement is when that dream finally comes true for thousands of students each year.

After years of hard work, graduates don caps and robes to reflect on their accomplishments and to receive their hard-earned degrees. Although this ceremony might seem like the journey’s end, it’s not — it’s the beginning of a new journey, as graduates transition from being students to joining a community of nearly 200,000 VCU alumni.

50

NO.

TAKING CARE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

In 2008, VCU signed the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment, intending to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions on campus by 2050. Since then, the university has taken countless steps to reduce its environmental footprint. One example is VCU’s focus on constructing and renovating to a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver standards.

LEED-certified buildings (VCU has 14!) are resource-efficient, high-performing, healthy and cost-effective. VCU also reinforces its commitment to sustainability through green-thinking initiatives around campus. University-run gardens educate students and community members alike on how to grow and prepare healthy food. VCU additionally features vertical gardens on the Office of Sustainability’s exterior. The “green walls” not only make for eye-catching adornments but also increase the building’s energy efficiency and trap carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles on its adjacent streets. The best way to limit CO2 emissions, however, is to avoid them altogether. RamBikes offers free bike servicing, bike rentals and do-it-yourself workshops to promote emission-free transportation around campus.

Spring 2018

29

ALUMNIPROFILE

A L OV E S T O R Y

A L U M N A ' S I C O N I C V I R G I N I A H E A R T L O G O B E AT S O N 5 0 Y E A R S L AT E R

BY JULIE YOUNG

L

ove was in the air as the 1960s drew to a close. “Love Story” was a New York Times best-seller, a movie adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” won the hearts of teens and love mixed with music and mud at Woodstock.

In 1968, the creative advertising team at Richmond, Virginia-based Martin & Woltz, forerunner of the powerhouse Martin Agency, brainstormed a new campaign for the Virginia State Travel Service. In their offices and by the rooftop pool at downtown Richmond’s Franklin Towers, the group crafted a slogan that agency co-founder David Martin worried was too racy for a staunchly conservative state: “Virginia is for Lovers.”

But tourism officials loved the multiple entendre and its myriad marketing angles — Virginia is for history lovers, mountain lovers, beach lovers and just plain lovers. The Old Dominion suddenly seemed youthful and edgy.

The task of illustrating the new pitch line fell to Richmond Professional Institute arts school graduate Libby Meggs (B.F.A.’65/A).

Libby Meggs “Libby was the first employee hired after we opened Martin & Woltz,” says co-founder George Woltz (B.F.A.’59/A), now retired and living in Naples, Florida. “She came fresh out of VCU [then RPI] with an amazing portfolio of artwork and an equally amazing feel for communication art. We were very fortunate.”

Meggs’ inspiration was a fencing uniform she had seen featuring a heart on the swordsman’s chest. “I said, ‘We have to have a black background with the red heart and the slogan,’ and that really caught on,” she says. The iconic logo was emblazoned on shirts, cups and bumper stickers. “It was truly a collaborative effort,” says the soft-spoken Meggs.

Advertising Age called “Virginia is for Lovers” one of the most successful ad campaigns of the past 50 years, and Forbes named it one of the top 10 tourism marketing campaigns ever. In 2009, “lovers” won a place on the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame alongside titans such as the Budweiser Clydesdales.

RPI IS FOR LOVERS

The woman who would become synonymous with Virginia’s enduring brand identity met the love of her life on her first day at RPI in 1961. Libby Phillips and Philip Meggs (B.F.A.’64/A; M.F.A.’71/A), fellow South Carolinians,

30

VCU Alumni

connected in art class when she couldn’t figure out how to sharpen a flat carpenter’s pencil. Philip whittled it to a point with a razor blade and romance blossomed. They married between her junior and senior years.

Philip joined the VCU faculty in 1968, the same year Libby enticed Norman Rockwell to come to Virginia for Martin & Woltz’s Colonial Williamsburg account. She wandered the restored area with the renowned illustrator as he sketched buildings for a newspaper campaign.

Meggs left the agency to freelance in 1971 and become a stay-at-home mom to Andrew and Elizabeth. She resumed freelancing when the children were in school. In the early 2000s, Meggs wrote and illustrated a children’s book, “Go Home! The True Story of James the Cat,” a tender, powerful tale based on a stray who showed up at the Meggs’ home. It won the national ASPCA Henry Bergh Award for humanitarian children’s literature.

Philip and Libby Meggs had just moved to a new home in Midlothian, Virginia, and were collaborating on a graphic design business when Philip died of leukemia in 2002. In 2003, she established the Philip B. Meggs Memorial Scholarship Fund in the VCU School of the Arts.

LOVE AND ‘LOVERS’ ENDURE

The longevity and financial impact of the “Virginia is for Lovers” campaign have been historic — and Virginia loves history. In 2013, the Department of Motor Vehicles added “Virginia is for Lovers” to the standard-issue state license plates.

The venerable slogan’s latest iteration is LOVEworks, artfully designed letters spelling “love” words situated on more than 100 sites around the state. “The LOVEwork sculptures give travelers an authentic sense of place as they showcase beautiful destinations across the commonwealth,” says Rita McClenny, president and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corp., formerly Virginia State Travel Service.

“When you create a campaign, you just hope it will accomplish your goal and your client’s goal in as effective, creative and appealing way as possible,” Meggs says. “I was 25 years old when our work began on ‘Virginia is for Lovers,’ and when you’re that young, you don’t tend to think that the work you’re doing might be perpetuated until you’re 74.

“I’m thrilled that the lovers’ campaign is alive and well and respected!

I love having the slogan and my heart on my license plate. I love finding T-shirts and mugs featuring our original typeface and heart, and I purchase them as gifts. It was fun in 1968, and it’s still fun.”

– Julie Young is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

ALUMNIPROFILE

Spring 2018

31

ALUMNISUPPORT Alumnus Craig Corrieri and Charlotte Duke, recipient of the scholarship funded in honor of Will Sheffey (inset) Photo Terry Brown Photograhy

Honored Memorial scholarship eases the financial burden for School of Business student

By Sarah Lockwood

C

raig Corrieri (B.S.’92/B) met Will Sheffey (B.S.’90/B) in the early ’90s at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“Will and I just immediately clicked,” Corrieri says. “I struggled [financially], and Will and I struggled together. We were in need together, and we developed this bond. We’d go through the couches for loose change in between fraternity parties, that kind of thing.”

Now, in recognition of this bond, one School of Business junior — and many more students to come — shouldn’t have to scavenge for couch coins.

Charlotte Duke is the first recipient of the Will Sheffey Kappa Sigma Memorial Scholarship. Shortly after receiving the scholarship in fall 2017, Duke, a business management major from Fairfax, Virginia, met Corrieri at the VCU School of Business Endowment Day and learned the story behind the scholarship.

Sheffey and Corrieri bonded as brothers of VCU’s chapter of Kappa Sigma, then as roommates after graduation, then as husbands and fathers. Sheffey and his wife settled in Overland Park, Kansas, and Corrieri built his life in Richmond, Virginia, but the friends still managed to visit often. When Sheffey was diagnosed with brain cancer and his health began to decline, Corrieri and friends would visit to help fix things up around his house.

“Will made you a better person,” Corrieri says with tears in his eyes. Sheffey passed away in 2010. “He was a rock. He was one of those guys who you could always go to. Everybody loved him.”

That’s why Corrieri was proud to see the endowment established through generous donations from Sheffey’s friends and fraternity brothers.

“I honestly have never been so honored to have received anything in my life,” Duke says. “I am still in shock that I am the first recipient of a scholarship that memorializes someone so important to so many people.”

32

VCU Alumni

To date, more than $30,000 has been raised for the scholarship. Recipients are selected from a pool of meritorious School of Business upperclassmen.

With more students like Duke in mind, the Kappa Sigma Alumni Association at VCU will call on brothers to pledge and hold fundraisers to help reach an aggressive goal: to raise $100,000 for the scholarship in five years.

“This scholarship means a lot to me not only because of the financial help it has provided me with but also because of the people it has connected me to,” Duke says.

Corrieri says thinking about Duke and future students who will benefit from the scholarship is motivating. “Engaging with students who are motivated, are excelling in school, you know, you want to buy into it. It’s infectious,” he says.

While Duke is still forming her dreams, she knows that she, too, is passionate about giving back. Perhaps she’ll start a nonprofit or a company to help people, animals or the environment, she muses.

“If we can keep kids motivated and show them that somebody cares, then God knows what they can achieve,” Corrieri says. “There’s not limitations. I think Will would want that, to give these kids the resources to do what they want.”

To learn more about scholarships in the School of Business, contact Shannon K. Duvall, chief development officer, at (804) 828-1035 or skduvall@vcu.edu.

– Sarah Lockwood is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

brought to you by VCU Alumni

THEWORLD

Take an adventure with your fellow Rams!

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 and view additional trips online at vcualumni.org/travel.

2018 -19 TRIPS

le with Travel in sty d luggage.

VCU-theme at Order online o cs.c m/vcu faithfulfanati promo code and use the receive “gorams” to mni a special alu discount.

SEPT. 5-14, 2018 ������������������Symphony on the Blue Danube (custom-designed, music-themed journey) SEPT. 8-16, 2018 ������������������Spain-Basque Country (cultural excursions and lectures) SEPT. 16-24, 2018 ����������������Wines of the Pacific Northwest (cruise from Portland, Oregon, to Clarkston, Washington) SEPT. 30-OCT. 11, 2018 ��������Wonders of Peru (featuring an Amazon cruise) OCT. 13-24, 2018 �����������������Glorious Greece (luxury cruise touring Grecian islands) JAN. 21-31, 2019 ������������������Sparkling South Pacific (cruise highlighting laid-back island life) FEB. 12-20, 2019 ������������������Wonders of the Galapagos Islands (a nature lover’s dream journey) MARCH 20-31, 2019 �������������Tanzania During the Great Migration (land and air excursion) APRIL 7-15, 2019 ������������������Southern Grandeur-North America (history and hospitality on a riverboat cruise) APRIL 13-27, 2019 ����������������Japan Cruise (a full-circle journey of the island nation) MAY 6-18, 2019 �������������������Gems of Seine and Normandy-France (from romantic Paris to the coast) JUNE 7-17, 2019 �������������������The Great Journey Through Europe (river, rail, lake and mountain travel) JUNE 21-JULY 1, 2019 �����������Arctic Expedition Under the Midnight Sun (featuring a seven-night cruise) JUNE 26-JULY 5, 2019 ����������Gaelic Glory (an immersion in history and tradition) JULY 1-9, 2019 ���������������������Edinburgh: Art, Culture and People (highlighting Scotland’s rich heritage) JULY 24-AUG. 2, 2019 ����������Majestic Great Lakes (a North American sailing journey) AUG. 10-18, 2019 �����������������Normandy ~ Honfleur (highlighting the 75th Anniversary of D-Day) AUG. 21-29, 2019 �����������������Swiss Alps (seven nights in Thun, Switzerland) SEPT. 1-12, 2019 ������������������Inspiring Italy (Italian coastline cruise)

LEGACYFAMILY Basima (left), Mohammad and Ayesha Zafar

LEGACY IN THE MAKING Engineering college the perfect fit for three (maybe four) siblings

BY JANET SHOWALTER

34

VCU Alumni

LEGACYFAMILY

A

Photo Jud Froelich

yesha Zafar felt lost when she arrived on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park Campus six years ago.

“It was a little overwhelming,” says the Northern Virginia native. “My first impression of the city was that it seemed incredibly big. People would talk about The Fan or the Museum District, and I had no idea what they were saying.”

As a freshman studying computer science in the College of Engineering, Zafar gradually learned her way around town, eased into her new classes and slowly made friends.

If only she had had a guide.

“It would have been helpful to have had an older brother or sister there,” she says. “That would have made the transition easier.”

Today, Ayesha (B.S.’16/En), a senior product researcher for WillowTree Inc. in Charlottesville, Virginia, finds herself in that exact role, providing the guidance and support she once longed for to two younger siblings. Mohammad, a senior, and Basima, a sophomore, are following in her footsteps by majoring in computer science.

“It’s pretty neat because we learn from each other,” Mohammad says. “Ayesha is always giving us advice and guiding us.”

She’s helped them fill out registration forms, apply for internships, prepare for interviews and select classes. She’s given them intel on favorite professors and student organizations as well as the best restaurants around downtown.

“We have always been close, but I think this has brought us even closer,” Basima says.

Ayesha visits campus from nearby Charlottesville monthly and the three spend weekends at the movies, going to Belle Isle, eating at their favorite restaurant — Philly Steak & Gyros — or just hanging out around campus.

“This wasn’t intentional,” Mohammad says. “We didn’t all try to end up at the same college together. It just happened.”

They might have their computer science teacher at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, to thank.

Larry Baker, they say, made computer science fun.

“Computer science was always the class I most looked forward to,” Ayesha says. “We were building something every day. By my junior year, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

Baker isn’t surprised her siblings followed suit.

“They all were great students here at Gar-Field, and they all had a drive to learn everything they could about computer science,” he says. “They knew if they did well, they could have good careers in the field. They took that and ran with it.”

Ayesha considered several colleges but was most impressed with VCU and its College of Engineering.

“I looked at some really big schools but wanted to go someplace smaller,” she says. “I wanted to be friends with everyone in my class. I wanted the professors to know my name.”

Her senior design classes, she says, had about 70 students — the perfect size for lasting friendships.

“Some of my friends have gone on to careers at Google, Facebook and Boeing,” Ayesha says. “I'm so proud to be a VCU grad and don't hesitate to tell others as well.”

At WillowTree, Ayesha is part of a team developing apps for Fortune 500 companies. Her goal is to make apps more accessible for people with disabilities, including the blind.

“VCU paved the way for a great future,” she says. “I’m so excited my siblings are here.”

Her youngest sibling, Osman, is a sophomore in high school and is considering VCU as well.

“I hope he does come here,” Ayesha says. “It’s becoming a family tradition.”

When Ayesha was a freshman, her younger siblings and parents visited often. They quickly fell in love with both the city and the school.

“When it was my turn to decide on a college, I figured since my sister went to VCU, I might as well apply there, too,” Mohammad says. “It was far enough away from home that I had my space but close enough that it’s easy to visit.”

Basima also knew without a doubt that VCU was the perfect fit for her.

“I never felt pressure to go here just because they did,” she says. “But by visiting Ayesha and Mohammad so often, it felt like home before I even enrolled.”

While the quality of the engineering school was a major reason the Zafar siblings chose VCU, campus diversity was another huge factor.

“There are lots of opportunities to learn here and not just in the classroom,” Mohammad says. “You learn by being around others from different cultures and backgrounds.”

Mohammad lives two blocks from his younger sister’s residence hall, and he often stops by with groceries. “We hang out all the time,” he says.

After graduating, Mohammad hopes to work in project management. Basima has visions of designing roller coasters for Disney.

“We have so much to look forward to,” Basima says.

“I’m excited for the future.”

– Janet Showalter (B.S.’87/MC) is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

Spring 2018

35

Photo Jud Froelich

ALUMNICONNECTIONS

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

VCU Alumni’s 10 Under 10 recipients LeQuan M. Hylton, Ph.D. (front left), Christine Haines Greenberg, Ashley Hawkins, Christina Dick, Lauren Caldas, Pharm. D., BCAP, Isaac Rodriguez, Ph.D., William Haugh (back left), Stanley R. Rayfield and Ryan C. Rinn. Not pictured: Gai A. Nyok.

Do you know a recent VCU graduate who’s changing the world?

Nominate them for a 10 Under 10 award at vcualumni.org/Events /10-Under-10/

VCU celebrates its top 10 graduates of the last decade VCU Alumni recognized 10 graduates of the last decade in November 2017 at the third annual 10 Under 10 awards.

The awards celebrate alumni who have earned their first VCU degree within the past 10 years and who have enjoyed remarkable professional success, made important contributions to their community and/or loyally supported the university. The following alumni were recognized at the private ceremony. Read more about their achievements at vcualumni.org/Events/10-Under-10.

Lauren Caldas, Pharm.D., BCACP (Pharm.D.’11/P)

LeQuan M. Hylton, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’16/GPA)

Community-focused pharmacist who, as pharmacy manager for Kroger, helped open the grocery store’s first marketplace on the East Coast

A logistics management specialist for the Department of Defense and co-owner of a Richmond company that provides high-quality, affordable housing

Christina Dick (B.S.’10/MC)

Gai A. Nyok (B.A.’10/H&S; B.S.’10/H&S)

Founder of marketing consultancy TFB Agency and developer of social media strategies for national brands such as Kraft, Walmart and GEICO

One of Sudan’s “Lost Boys,” who today serves as a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State

Christine Haines Greenberg (B.A.’09/H&S)

Stanley R. Rayfield (B.F.A.’09/A)

Entrepreneur who owns two Richmond, Virginia-based businesses, Wood Grain & Lace Events and Urban Set Bride, and helps empower other selfemployed women

Award-winning artist whose work has been displayed at the Smithsonian, the Pentagon and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

William Haugh (M.H.A.’08/HP) An industry-recognized health care leader and CEO of Georgetown Community Hospital, in Georgetown, Kentucky

Executive director of Storefront for Community Design, a nonprofit providing community outreach and innovative programs to revitalize Richmond’s Highland Park neighborhood

Ashley Hawkins (B.F.A.’07/A; Cert.’13/GPA; M.P.A.’13/GPA)

Isaac Rodriguez, Ph.D. (M.S.’10/En; Ph.D.’13/En)

Owner of Studio Two Three, Richmond’s only public printmaking studio providing professional artists with the tools to take their careers to the next level

Co-founder of SweetBio, a Tennessee-based startup bringing a breakthrough medical invention to market

36

VCU Alumni

Ryan C. Rinn (Cert.’11/GPA; M.P.A.’12/GPA)

ALUMNICONNECTIONS

Alumni Month features ICA preview

Photo Jud Froelich

More than 300 alumni came to campus April 18 for a special sneak peak of the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, days before it opened to the public. Alumni mingled in the ICA forum, enjoying drinks, hors d’oeuvres and a short program before exploring the institute’s inaugural exhibit, “Declaration.”

The ICA preview was one of many events offered throughout VCU Alumni Month in April.

“Alumni Month provides opportunities for our thousands of alumni to reconnect and engage with one another and with their alma mater,” says Jim Williams (B.S.’84/GPA; M.S.’96/GPA), immediate past president of VCU Alumni. “This year’s celebration was especially notable as VCU Alumni has adopted an all-inclusive membership model and now welcomes all graduates, regardless of dues or gifts.”

The monthlong celebration featured a variety of activities, events and programs planned especially for alumni, including a free trial membership to the campus gyms, the Diversity and Inclusion Networking Reception and the VCU Alumni and Community Bike Ride followed by the VCU Recreational Sports Family Fun Fest.

Alumnae view “The Mending Project” by artist Lee Mingwei, part of the inaugural “Declaration” exhibit at the ICA.

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT: GREEK ALUMNI NETWORK

Greek Alumni Network members take in a VCU baseball game with children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond.

Fraternities and sororities rarely gain notoriety for being academically oriented, service-minded or career-focused.

Kevin Taylor (B.F.A.’88/A), director of business development at a creative design and marketing communications firm in Northern Virginia, wants to change that.

Taylor, a member of Kappa Sigma, chartered VCU Alumni’s Greek Alumni Network to enhance the undergraduate and post-collegiate lives of members of VCU’s 40 fraternities and sororities. The network fosters mentoring relationships between Greek alumni and current fraternity/ sorority members and showcases Greek life after graduation.

The network held its first event during the A-10 men’s basketball tournament in March in Washington, D.C. Employee engagement specialist Amy Riccardi spoke to network members about connecting with millennials.

“This is about reaching back and helping fraternity and sorority members who are undergraduates go out into the working world right as opposed to it being a strictly social thing or reunion,” Taylor says.

The group recently treated children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond to a VCU baseball game.

Taylor envisions the network growing and hosting larger social and charity events, and he invites alumni to get involved.

Connect today at vcualumni.org.

VCU Alumni Life members enter a new chapter VCU Alumni has recognized the special contribution Life members have made by welcoming them into the new, exclusive Life Member Society. The VCU Alumni Life Member Society honors the commitment and loyalty of the alumni organization’s trailblazing Life members. Members of this group receive special courtesies, including print issues of the alumni and donor magazines, discounts at Barnes & Noble @ VCU and early notification about events. View the full list of courtesies online at vcualumni.org/Organizations/Life-Member-Society.

Spring 2018

37

ALUMNICONNECTIONS

Reunion Weekend 2018 recap • April 20-22 Alumni came back to campus this spring to celebrate at the African-American Alumni Council, MCV Campus and Richmond Professional Institute reunions. The fun-filled weekend included campus tours, school visits and more than a few parties.

SAVE THE DATE

Reunion

2019

Phone 1 Skip Rowland Photography; photo 2 Jud Froelich; photo 3 Jesse Peters; photo 4 Michael Hahn, Studio 64 Photography Inc.; photo 5 School of Pharmacy

1

April 5-7

MCV Campus Reunion

2

3

4

5

1 Members of the School of Medicine Class of 2003 have fun catching up. 2 Alumni from the School of Dentistry enjoy Friday’s kickoff reception. 3 St. Philip alumnae return to campus for the School of Nursing Reunion.

4 The College of Health Professions’ Class of 1968 celebrate their 50-year reunion. 5 Alumni from the School of Pharmacy Class of 1968 mark their 50-year reunion.

38

VCU Alumni

More than 1,300 alumni and guests returned to campus to connect, celebrate and reflect.

This year’s Reunion Weekend celebrated alumni from graduating classes ending in 3 or 8 as well as grand alumni and dental hygiene alumni. Along with campuswide events such as the VCU Libraries’ Then and Now tour, a tour of the Children’s Pavilion at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and the MCVAA President’s Reception, individual schools filled out the weekend with activities for their respective alumni.

View more photos: MCVAA events and events and class parties for the College of Health Professions and the schools of Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy mcvaareunion2018.shutterfly.com School of Medicine class parties and events skippix.com/collection/som-reunion-2018

ALUMNICONNECTIONS

RPI Reunion Richmond Professional Institute alumni returned to campus for the RPI Reunion. Attendees enjoyed a special preview of the Institute for Contemporary Art on Friday before it opened to the public. On Saturday, alumni gathered for the annual Reunion dinner where members of the Class of 1968 were honored with their 50-year pins. It was a special recognition as the 50-year class was the last graduating class of RPI before it merged with the Medical College of Virginia to become VCU.

7

View more photos: facebook.com/RPIAlumniCouncilVCU

AAAC Reunion In addition to celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Theta Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and the Phi Delta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., alumni attending VCU Alumni’s African-American Alumni Council Reunion enjoyed a variety of activities throughout the weekend, including a lecture and reception with VCU alumnus Ronald J. Peters, Ph.D. (B.S.’91/HP; M.S.’93/HP), the Old School/New School Block Party and the return of the Reunion Weekend Dance.

6

8

6 RPI Alumni Council Chair Joseph “Joe” Lowenthal (B.F.A.’55/A) welcomes the Class of 1968 to Reunion. 7 RPI alumnae browse through memorabilia. 8 Alumni catch up before the annual RPI Reunion Dinner. 9 Alumnus Ronald Peters, Ph.D., gives a lecture on eugenics. 10 Alumni make connections at the annual Diversity and Inclusion Networking Reception. 11 Alumni and students network at the AAAC Mentoring Circle Mocktail Party. 12 Alumni capture Reunion memories.

View more photos: facebook.com/VCUAlumniAAAC

10

11

Photos 6-12 Jud Froelich

9

12

Spring 2018

39

CLASSNOTES UPDATES

1950s Marjorie Craig, MS, RN, PHN (Dipl.’56/N), is president of Help Kenyan Children Survive and Thrive Inc., a Pine Grove, Calif.-based nonprofit that works with schools and community organizations in Kenya.

The organization’s 13th annual health and hygiene education mission trip to Mombasa, Kenya, served more than 125 students, teachers and parents and included a health literacy class for mothers and the development of a farm-classroom experience where students work with a local farmer to cultivate food for their families and school.

1960s Janet Blevins (B.S.’63/HP) lost her husband in 2009.

She had bilateral shoulder and knee replacements and is improving with the help of physical therapy.

Walker Campbell, M.D. (M.D.’63/M), has moved to Raleigh, N.C., to be closer to family. He practiced OB/ GYN for nine years in the U.S. Navy and for 25 years in Goldsboro, N.C. L Sam Forrest (B.S.’63/H&S) is a furniture designer, trans-Atlantic solo sailor and globe-trotter who has visited 37 countries. He worked in China as a senior design consultant for Gold Mantis Construction and as a professor of debating and argumentative writing at Guangdong University Foreign Language. Today, he makes his one-of-a-kind furniture designs from his Richmond, Va., studio. L Juneus Kendall, M.D. (M.D.’69/M), has written several books that are available on Amazon, including “The Ferryman,” a novel set in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution; “Wattsville,” a novel about a family doctor in a small West Virginia coal-mining village during the time when the miner’s union took over medical care and the effects that had on primary care; “Hawks Nest,” a novel about crony capitalism in 1930 when Union Carbide was caught burying workers in clandestine graves to cover unhealthy practices in their tunneling activities in Gauley Bridge, W.Va.; “Up On The Ridge, Vol. 1,” a chronicle of growing up in the 1930s in a lowermiddle-class family in a poor area; and “Up On The Ridge, Vol., 2,” a chronicle of a poor, unsophisticated and uneducated male’s immersion in the unexpected differences in the big world outside the ring of mountains of his youth. L Harold “Hal” Kushner, M.D. (M.D.’66/M), appeared in the Ken Burns’ documentary “The Vietnam War,” where he spoke publicly for the first time about his experiences in 1967 as a prisoner of war during his first tour of duty in Vietnam.

40

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.

John Orrock (B.S.’67/B) retired in 2007 from First Health Services. He moved in 2017 to Brandermill Woods Retirement Community in Midlothian, Va. L Randy Powell (B.S.’68/MC) and his band held a Christmas concert at the Boys Home of Virginia in December 2017.

Maurice J. Robinson (B.S.’65/B) has written numerous books, including “Ponte Vedra Beach: A History,” “Hidden History of Ponte Vedra” and “Life After Death Threatened: How Prayer Brought Back My Life.”

1970s Stephen Althouse (M.F.A.’76/A) is a sculptor and photographer. He called Miami home for 30 years, where he worked as an artist as well as distinguished professor of fine arts at Barry University, and he regularly taught courses and lectured on his art in France, England, Spain, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. He has since left academia and now lives in central Pennsylvania.

John F. Butterworth IV, M.D. (M.D.’79/M), chair of the Department of Anesthesiology in the VCU School of Medicine, has been named chair of the International Anesthesia Research Society’s board of trustees. The 12,000-member society funds more than $1 million in anesthesia research each year and publishes the monthly journal Anesthesia & Analgesia. Butterworth’s research focuses on outcomes and drug responses in patients having cardiovascular surgery as well as on studying pharmacology and toxicity of local anesthetic drugs.

Rejena Carreras (B.F.A.’70/A; M.A.E.’80/A) celebrated the 50th anniversary of her Richmond, Va., business, Carreras Jewelers, and was honored in March 2017 as one of Style Weekly’s Women in the Arts.

Joseph Cortina (B.F.A.’76/A), founding partner and creative director of Cortina Productions in Washington, D.C., was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in March 2018. Since its inception in 1999, Cortina Productions has used film and interactive media to create award-winning interactive multimedia for museums including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Newseum and several presidential libraries.

Katherine Delk-Calkins (B.S.’70/N) retired in 2013.

She and her husband travel. She also volunteers at the Kansas City VA Medical Center and at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., where she re-creates history as a WWI Red Cross Army Reserve nurse.

Travers Edwards Jr., M.D. (M.S.’72/M; M.D.’75/M; H.S.’78/M), retired in 2015 from active family practice in Newport News, Va., after 37 years of caring for community residents.

Nancy Engstrom (B.S.’73/P) retired in September 2017 as a pharmacist. Both of her children were married in 2017. Her son, who serves in the military and is stationed in Korea, was married in May, and her daughter, who lives in Alaska, got married in September.

Robert Grey (B.S.’73/B) is senior counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, formerly Hunton & Williams. The firm established the Hunton & Williams ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship in his honor. The scholarship program provides 20 incoming law students with $15,000 in financial assistance over their three years in law school. Grey serves as president of the American Bar Association’s Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Mary Gustafson-Small (B.F.A.’72/A; M.F.A.’81/A) is a theater director, scene painter, designer, muralist, published poet and photographer. Her films have aired on PBS, and her furniture designs have been sold by L.L. Bean and Acton Lane. She has re-created ancient Egyptian painting techniques for 200-foot murals using semiprecious stones and minerals for a Washington, D.C., lodge and was honored by the Egyptian government for her work. Her works also have been shown at Kitchen NY, Virginia museums, Exploratorium in San Francisco and at universities across the globe. She is a lecturer for Rose Croix University International. She also has been photographing the sunrise every morning for about seven years, amassing more than 100,000 images.

Anne Jack (B.S.’77/N; M.S.’88/N) retired in 2013 after 42 years working in nursing positions in a variety of settings in Richmond, Va., and Toronto.

Brent Lerch (B.S.’77/B; M.B.A.’78/B) is married to fellow alumna Janice Lerch (M.S.W.’77/SW), a social worker at the Atlanta VA Medical Center.

George Levicki, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’73/D), has been appointed to the Dean’s Council on Advancement for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, Va. The committee of volunteers works to advance the stature of the school by providing guidance, assistance, advocacy and philanthropic investment.

John Lubicky, M.D. (H.S.’79/M), is in full-time academic practice at West Virginia United Health System as chief of pediatric orthopaedics and has two partners. He returned to VCU’s MCV Campus several years ago as a visiting professor.

Edith Mitchell, M.D. (M.D.’74/M), a leading researcher, medical oncologist and proponent of combined modality treatment, was selected as the 2017 Honorary Member of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the highest honor ASTRO awards to distinguished cancer researchers and leaders in disciplines outside of radiation oncology, radiobiology or radiation physics. Mitchell is a clinical professor of medicine and medical oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson

L Member of the Life Member Society

CLASSNOTES

University in Philadelphia. She also serves as the associate director for diversity programs and director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities for the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

Carolyn Norton (B.F.A.’78/A) is completing work for her M.F.A. in printmaking with a minor in photography from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. She holds an M.A. in printmaking from SFA. Her lifelong career as a designer and illustrator contributes to her 10 years of university-level teaching in the areas of graphic design, illustration, foundations and printmaking.

We want your news!

Send us your news — promotion, relocation, wedding, baby or other good tidings — 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 at vcualumni.org/classnotes.

Stan Orchowsky, Ph.D. (M.S.’78/H&S; Cert.’80/ HP; Ph.D.’82/H&S), started Cambiare Consulting, a consulting company in Richmond, Va., specializing in program evaluation and outcomes measurement. L

Tracey Dunn (B.S.’82/E) was appointed in November 2017 by former Virginia Gov. Terrence R. McAuliffe to serve on the Virginia Board of Medicine’s Advisory Board of Physician Assistants.

V. Nelson Vaughan III (M.S.’70/B) retired from Citibank in New York City after a 42-year career with the company and as mayor of the Borough of Chatham, N.J. He lives in Ashland, Va., where he volunteers for various nonprofits. He has two sons and four grandchildren.

Pamela K. El (B.S.’83/MC) was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in March 2018 for her industry leadership and expertise in brand management, marketing strategy, creative development, media and sponsorships. El is executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the NBA, where she oversees global marketing operations, directing brand development, overall marketing and advertising for the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League.

Larry Verbit (B.F.A.’73/A) was named a Southern California Super Lawyer for the second year in a row

by Thomson Reuters. Verbit represents TV and film production companies and serves on the board of New Musicals Inc. and on the executive committee of the Entertainment Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

David Walrond (B.S.’78/MC) sold his business, Home Oil & Gas Co., in Hot Springs, Va., and has retired. He now lives near Roanoke, Va. L William Waring, M.D. (M.D.’71/M), retired April 30, 2017. L Marvin Zelkowitz, M.D. (M.D.’70/M), continues an active, full-time practice in Flossmore, Ill., and teaches at Olympia Fields Hospital. He also serves as an adjunct associate professor of neurology at Midwestern University. As part of his clinical activities, he is actively involved in clinical trials for the treatment of neurological diseases such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. He and his wife, Kathleen, enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle, which includes hiking, biking and skiing.

James Zook (M.U.R.P.’75/GPA) retired in 2010 as director of planning and zoning from Fairfax County, Va. Before working in Fairfax, he worked as a planner with Chesterfield County, Va., for 11 years. He works occasionally as an expert witness on land condemnation, tax and zoning disputes. L

1980s Judith DeJarnette, M.D. (M.D.’83/M), received a Master of Science in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Management in December 2016 from Thomas Jefferson University School of Population Health. L

L Member of the Life Member Society

and the Virginia Occupational Therapy Association’s Award of Merit Educator for practice, leadership and vision for the profession. She co-authored in 2016 the second edition of “Collaborating for student success: A guide for school-based occupational therapy.”

Thomas J. Smith, M.D., FACP, FASCO, FAAHPM (H.S.’87/M), was named in 2018 as one of the top visionaries in hospice and palliative medicine by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The program recognizes individuals who have been critical in building and shaping the field over the past 30 years.

Randy Glasscock (B.A.’87/H&S) received the Moving Mountains Award at the 2017 Provo Pride Festival for his work in founding an organization assisting with suicide prevention and residential and job placement for LGBTQ youth in the central Utah area. L

Mary Studevant (B.S.’84/B) was inducted into the Defense Logistics Agency Hall of Fame for her 30-year career at DLA Aviation, where she worked initially as a secretary and retired as deputy director for support services. L

Nelly (Grossman) Kupper (B.F.A.’87/A), professor of French and Russian at Northern Michigan University, published “Gaze, Memory, and Gender in Narrative from Ancient to Modern,” which examines the concept of gaze in the context of narrative fiction.

Jesse Vaughan (B.S.’80/MC) was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in March 2018. The Emmy award-winning director and producer is creative director of the Advance Creative Service Group at Virginia State University. His most recent feature film, “The Last Punch,” chronicles Muhammad Ali’s last fight.

Cecelia Pettis (M.S.W.’84/SW) started an online site, lovemydogclothes.com, offering dog apparel and information about dogs as pets, service dogs, pet care and feeding.

Sandy Reynolds (B.S.’85/B) was one of eight women selected by the Metro Richmond YWCA to receive its 2017 Outstanding Women Awards.

Reynolds, senior legal administrative coordinator at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, formerly Hunton & Williams, and manager of the firm’s Church Hill [Va.] Pro Bono Legal Clinic, was recognized for connecting thousands of low-income individuals with legal assistance and empowering at-risk youth as a mentor and tutor.

Jayne Shepherd (M.S.’81/HP) retired in late 2016 from the Department of Occupational Therapy in the VCU College of Health Professions as associate professor, assistant chair and director of fieldwork after 30 years of teaching. The department renamed an alumni award The Jayne T. Shepherd Making a Difference Alumni Award in her honor. In 2016, she received the college's Excellence in Service Award

Judith Vido (B.S.’85/H&S; M.S.W.’89/SW) published her autobiography, “So You Had a Dull Life Too: Dirt Woman and Other Men I’ve Known.” The book chronicles the first half of her life and the errors she made as well as her accomplishments.

Gerry Vincent (B.S.’88/GPA; M.U.R.P.’92/GPA) was appointed in July 2017 as town manager for Huntersville, N.C.

1990s Sean Bates (M.S.’95/HP; M.P.H.’97/M) was appointed assistant provost for faculty affairs at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Melissa “Missy” Berent (B.F.A.’90/A; M.F.A.’94/A) was the first woman to be honored with the “Behind the Scenes” Award at the 2018 Beaufort International Film Festival in Beaufort, S.C., for her more than 20 years working in the film and TV industries.

Spring 2018

41

CLASSNOTES

Kim Dobson (B.S.’90/HP), a nurse at VCU Health, earned her M.S.N.-FNP from Old Dominion University and plans to continue to the D.N.P. program at ODU. David Gallagher (B.S.’97/B) was named to the 2018 Class of Influential Leaders by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The annual honor celebrates the positive impact business school graduates make in communities around the globe.

Gallagher was recognized for his commitment to VCU and for the founding of the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, which supports depression awareness and research.

She said yes!

With help from VCU Libraries’ Cabell screen, proposal became a really big ask

H

is stomach was in knots, and he stumbled over the words he had so carefully rehearsed. But at 2:50 p.m. April 21, with an assist from James Branch Cabell Library’s 400-square-foot digital screen, Osman Malik (B.S.’15/B) pulled off a surprise proposal to his longtime girlfriend, Faria Ahmed (B.S.’15/H&S), on the Virginia Commonwealth University Compass.

The big ask incorporated more than 50 covertly invited friends and relatives, professional and amateur photographers, a shiny new ring — and the screen flashing their photo and the text, “Will you …”

She will, sometime in 2019.

VCU holds special memories for the couple. They met in 2011 during Welcome Week and have been together since. The proposal had to happen on the Monroe Park Campus, Malik says.

“What better place than the place that started it all?” says Malik, a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Tysons Corner, Virginia, where his fiancée works for MicroStrategy.

It took eight months for Malik to hatch his plan, which involved accomplices from both families, their circle of friends and Sue Robinson, VCU Libraries’ communications and public relations director. VCU Libraries, which made a one-time exception to its guidelines and allowed him to use the Cabell screen, vowed it would stray from academics and art images into romance just this once.

Malik knew it would be easy to lure Ahmed to Richmond without arousing suspicion. What’s more romantic than a springtime visit to campus? The couple left Northern Virginia at 8:30 a.m. that Saturday. Once in Richmond, they hit their favorite restaurant, Thai Top Ten, but Malik could only force down a couple bites.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Ahmed asked.

“Probably like a stomachache or something,” he replied.

He checked his phone repeatedly for texts from his “logistics team” at the library. After lunch, Malik suggested they sit outside the dining center, not far from where they decided to be an official couple Jan. 26, 2012. He got the text that the screen was ready and they walked across the Compass toward the library.

Ahmed looked up quizzically at the photo of herself and Malik on the big screen. “And then I just started professing my love to her,” he says.

Friends and family members emerged from hiding places as Malik knelt on the Compass. A favorite Indian song played from his brother’s boom box. Ahmed said yes, tears flowed, hugs ensued and cameras clicked.

“It was really special,” she says.

“Looking back now, I can see subtle signs,” she says of the surprise. “My friend was really adamant about me getting my nails done and a lot of my friends were asking what I was going to wear.”

What inspired Malik's over-the-top gesture? “I want to spend the rest of my life with the person who has not only helped me grow but the individual who drives me to become the best version of myself,” he says.

– Julie Young is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

42

VCU Alumni

Photo Jay Paul (B.G.S.‘85/H&S)

By Julie Young

Lance Grenevicki, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’93/D), is chief of staff at Melbourne Regional Medical Center in Florida. L Andrew Grigsby (B.G.S.’92/H&S) has been named business development manager for Secure Futures Solar and executive director of the Virginia Renewable Energy Alliance.

Erika Forsack (B.F.A.’94/A) is a social media strategist for VCU University Relations.

Mary E. Hodges (B.F.A.’94/A) directed the production of “Serious Adverse Effects” at the National Black Theatre in New York City in March 2018. The afro-futuristic sci-fi play follows a scientist on the cusp of a cure for a mysterious disease.

The Rev. Evelyn Jez, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’99/GPA), retired from the Office of Consumer Affairs in 2009.

Robert Lowerre, Ph.D. (M.T.’95/E; Cert.’02/E; Ph.D.’10/E), has been appointed director of the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, Va. John “Jack” Morana, D.H.A. (M.S.H.A.’97/HP), received his Doctor of Health Administration degree in March 2014 from the University of Phoenix. His dissertation was “Building Professional Relationships Between Physicians and Practice Administrators: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study.” L Deborah Raines, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’90/N), a nursing professor at the University of Buffalo, was part of the team honored with the 2017 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Exemplary Academic-Practice Partnership Award. The highly competitive award, which recognizes universities and health organizations for innovative programs that prepare nursing students for their careers, is presented to three partnerships each year. The UB School of Nursing and Catholic Health System’s Sisters of Charity Hospital were honored for the maternal-newborn clinical experience and the academic-practice partnership that Raines created.

Sterling Ransone, M.D. (M.D.’92/M; H.S.’95/M), was elected to the board of directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He and his wife, Karen Ransone, M.D. (M.S.’88/M; M.D.’92/M; H.S.’95/M), live in Cobbs Creek, Va., and practice together at Riverside Fishing Bay Family Practice in Middlesex County.

L Member of the Life Member Society

CLASSNOTES

Bradley Shelton (B.S.’99/GPA; M.U.R.P.’04/GPA) joined the Richmond, Va., office of Michael Baker International as director of planning.

Patrick Stover, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’90/M), was chosen to lead Texas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as vice chancellor and dean for agriculture and life sciences.

Dan Vick, M.D., D.H.A. (M.D.’94/M), received a doctorate in health administration from Central Michigan University in July 2017. Vick and his family relocated in 2017 from New York to Indiana where he assumed the role of vice president of medical affairs for St. Vincent Evansville, a 475-bed hospital, and St. Vincent Warrick, a 25-bed critical access hospital. L

2000s Sallie Amos (B.F.A.’08/A) works as an interior designer for a major health care system in central Virginia. She has a daughter, Abigail Carroll Ferrell, who was born March 10, 2014.

Eartha Dunston (M.S.W.’02/SW) is author of “The Hair Adventures of Princess Lindsey Sidney,” 2016 winner of the Black Pearls Literary Excellence Book of the Year Award.

Oscar Holmes IV, Ph.D. (B.S.’02/H&S), was appointed Jan. 1, 2017, as director of access and outreach for business education at the Rutgers School of Business-Camden. He is also an assistant professor of management at the school. L Brian Kelley, M.D., Ph.D. (M.D.’08/M; Ph.D.’08/M), is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. After completing his neurosurgery residency at Yale University, he completed fellowships in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and in pediatric orthopaedic spine surgery at Columbia University Medical Center.

Darlene Pantaleo (B.S.’03/H&S; M.S.’06/GPA) works at the Disability Law Center of Virginia.

Scott Sell, Ph.D. (B.S.’03/En; M.S.’06/En; Ph.D.’09/ En), has received tenure and was promoted to associate professor in biomedical engineering at Saint Louis University. L

Jacob Devol (B.M.’16/A) is the choral director at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, Va., where he conducts six choirs, including two competitive show choirs and a select treble chamber ensemble. As a teacher, he writes that he believes that his students are capable of achieving more than they could expect of themselves and enjoys being a part of their lives.

Devonne Harris (B.M.’11/A) released his solo debut album, “Hazy Moods,” on the Los Angeles-based Stones Throw Records label in the summer of 2017.

Austin Hobson (B.S.’14/B; B.S.’14/B; Cert.’17/En) joined CoStar as an associate software developer in January 2018. Hobson previously worked for Markel Corp. in Glen Allen, Va., before returning to VCU for a post-baccalaureate certificate in computer science.

Dania Jalees (B.F.A.’15/A) received a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University College London, Qatar.

Emily Kieber (B.F.A.’16/A) has joined Cartoon Network as a social media designer and producer.

James Landefeld (B.A.’11/A) works for the Architect of the Capitol, a legislative branch agency responsible for the facilities and grounds of Congress and the Supreme Court as well as physical security projects.

He welcomed his second child, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Whitney Landefeld, on June 14, 2017.

Hannah Piracha (B.A.’16/H&S) began in July 2017 a full-time music educator position at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Va. Jamie Pucci (M.T.’13/E) received the 2017 Norman E. Wallis Award for Excellence for achieving the highest score on the National Board of Examiners in Optometry Part I Basic Science Examination, topping more than 2,000 students throughout the country.

Rachna Raisinghani, M.D. (H.S.’13/M), began a new position in June 2017 with the Sheppard Pratt Health System in Towson, Md. Maxwell Sirkin, M.D. (M.D.’12/M), general surgery resident at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, has earned the rank of major in the U.S. Army.

2010s

Leanne VanDerveer (M.A.’14/GPA) joined the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Region VII, in November 2016 as an all-hazards planner. She reports that her new position not only allows her to use her M.A. in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness from VCU, but it also has ultimately set her on the career path she has been seeking. She writes: “I am forever thankful for the HSEP program, the countless professors who offered me much advice and mentorship and for the entire VCU support system!”

Amelia Bussell (M.S.’16/H&S) is a forensic scientist at the Vancouver Crime Lab with the Washington State Patrol. She previously worked as a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Beverly Vandevender (B.A.’11/H&S) joined Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va., after graduation as part-time assistant to the dean, where she learned educational assessment skills and helped

Desi Wyatt (M.B.A.’00/B) has been promoted to region manager, private wealth management, at SunTrust Investment Services Inc. In his new role, he is responsible for wealth brokerage services for Maryland and Washington, D.C.

L Member of the Life Member Society

lead the seminary through a successful self-study for continuing accreditation. In 2017, she was promoted to a full-time position as assistant to the Office of the President, while continuing work as assistant to the dean.

Sara Yaseen (B.A.’17/H&S) started a new position at For Our Future Action Fund as a Virginia field organizer. Her role primarily consists of canvasing neighborhoods throughout the commonwealth to increase voter turnout in elections.

Marriages Geoffrey Cooper (M.S.’14/MC) was married Sept. 1, 2017. L Jennifer (McLane) Drake (B.S.’07/N; M.S.’08/N) married Michael Drake on Sept. 16, 2017.

Holly Livermon (B.S.’07/B; M.S.’17/B) married Jason Livermon on June 25, 2016.

Lyndsay (Durham) Moore (B.S.’09/H&S; M.Ed.’11/E) married Geoff Moore in July 2017. She works for the Department of Forensic Science at VCU. Her husband works for the USDA. The two reside in Albemarle County, Va. L Jessica A. Zielonis (M.P.A.’12/GPA) and Austin W. McCrerey (M.P.A.’10/GPA; Cert.’10/GPA) married May 5, 2018, in Lancaster, Pa.

Births Chris Abplanalp (B.S.'16/N) and his wife, Mary Beth, welcomed son Andrew Lewis on June 6, 2017.

Valerie Byrnside-Casey, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’06/D), welcomed son Brodie Michael Casey on July 10, 2017.

Stevan Fisher (B.F.A.’80/A) welcomed a grandson May 3, 2017, born to his son Coleman and daughterin-law Amy who live in Takoma Park, Md. Hanh T. Nguyen, M.D. (M.D.’07/M), and his wife, Helen Bui, welcomed son Thai Son Bui Nguyen on Sept. 26, 2017.

DonJanell Walker (B.A.’02/H&S; M.P.A.’07/GPA) and Brandon R. Walker (B.S.’01/B; M.B.A.’04/B) welcomed daughter Blythe Reagan Walker on Dec. 16, 2016.

Faculty and staff Douglas W. Arthur, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology in the School of Medicine and associate director of clinical affairs in the Massey Cancer Center, was named a 2017 Fellow of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Robert L. Balster, Ph.D., Butler Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the School of Medicine and research professor of psychology

Spring 2018

43

CLASSNOTES

and psychiatry in the College of Humanities and Sciences, was awarded the 2018 P.B. Dews Lifetime Achievement Award for Research in Behavioral Pharmacology from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Colin Banas, M.D., chief medical information officer at the VCU Medical Center, was named 2017 Physician Executive Leader of the Year by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems. The award recognizes a physician leader who demonstrates significant leadership in optimizing health engagements and care outcomes through information technology.

Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., Commonwealth Professor in the School of Engineering, received a 2018 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award.

Sonya Clark, a distinguished research fellow in the School of the Arts, was recently promoted to the rank of Commonwealth Professor. Clark served as chair of the Department of Craft and Material Studies from 2006 through 2017 and was awarded a universitywide Distinguished Scholars Award in 2016.

M. Samy El-Shall, Ph.D., Mary Eugenia Kapp Endowed Chair in Chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry in the College of Humanities and Sciences, was promoted to the rank of Commonwealth Professor for developing a high-profile research program at the university over his more than 28 years at VCU. Nicholas Farrell, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Humanities and Sciences, was promoted to the rank of Commonwealth Professor for his internationally recognized, cross-disciplinary work in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology and medical sciences.

Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics in the School of Medicine and director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, was elected to the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional accolade bestowed to those who have demonstrated innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and welfare of society.

Antonio Garcia, director of jazz studies in the Department of Music in the School of the Arts, was appointed to the Brubeck Institute Advisory Board at the University of the Pacific. The institute honors Dave and Iola Brubeck and aims to build on the couple’s lifelong dedication to music, creativity, education and the advancement of social issues.

Jean Giddens, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the Ying Ling Endowed Chair, professor and dean of the School of Nursing, received the National League for Nursing’s

44

VCU Alumni

Adelaide Nutting Award for Outstanding Teaching or Leadership in Nursing Education and was inducted as a Fellow in the NLN Academy of Nursing Education.

The award is presented to a NLN member who contributes as a leader in nursing education, serves as a role model and publishes scholarly works that advance nursing education knowledge.

Eloise S. Hurdle (Dipl.’44/N), of Winston Salem, N.C., Nov. 9, 2017.

Ronaldo Lopez, faculty research associate at the Rice Rivers Center, screened his documentary, “An Oyster’s-Eye View of the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program,” at the annual RVA Environmental Film Festival, taking home the festival’s grand prize of $1,000.

Winifred R. Johnson (Dipl.’44/N), of Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2017.

Safoorah Mughal, undergraduate academic adviser in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, was named one of Virginia Highlands Community College’s 50 Outstanding Alumni.

Gabriel Reich, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the School of Education, co-wrote “Confederate Monuments: Heritage, Racism, Anachronism, and Who Gets to Decide?” The article provides guidance to middle and high school teachers about how to discuss the controversy around Confederate monuments.

Betsy Ripley, interim senior associate dean for faculty affairs in the School of Medicine, has been named a 2017-18 fellow in the Executive Leadership Program for Women in Academic Medicine.

LaNelle C. Jeffrey (B.S.’48/B; Cert.’70/E), of Irvington, Va., Oct. 21, 2017.

Evelyn S. Jernigan (Dipl.’45/N; B.S.’48/N), of Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 18, 2018.

Elizabeth G. Loving (’47/B), of Newport News, Va., Sept. 25, 2017.

Lillian S. Pate (B.S.’47), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 24, 2017.

Frank R. Reynolds, M.D. (H.S.’45/M), of Wilmington, N.C., Aug. 5, 2017.

Marjorie L. Robinson (B.S.’48/HP), of Clive, Iowa, Aug. 20, 2017.

Kenneth A. Schaeffer (’49/HP), of Reading, Pa., March 12, 2018.

Jacob Sear (B.S.’46/P), of Lincolnshire, Ill., Jan. 16, 2018.

Dorothy S. Setliff (B.S.’47/N), of Wylie, Texas, Feb. 10, 2018.

Zelda P. Spinella (B.S.’46/B), of Henrico, Va., Dec. 17, 2017.

Paul A. Stroup, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’45/D), of Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 29, 2017.

IN MEMORIAM

Betty J. Vitsky (Cert.’40/A), of Richmond, Va., March 13, 2018.

1930s

William N. Walker, M.D. (M.D.’47/M), of Fairmont, W.Va., Aug. 27, 2017.

Julia E. Kelly (B.S.’39/N), of Savannah, Ga., Jan.13, 2018.

Doris J. Wartman (Cert.’49/A), of Las Vegas, March 17, 2018.

1940s Louise P. Belfield (B.S.’48/N), of Glen Allen, Va., Sept. 28, 2017.

Rosemarie B. Bittner (Cert.’49/N), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 14, 2017.

Raphael Wolpert, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’47/D), of Tampa, Fla., Jan. 4, 2018.

Elizabeth L. Wright (M.S.W.’48/SW; B.S.’55/HP), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 6, 2018.

David C. Young, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’45/D), of Salisbury, N.C., Nov. 6, 2017.

Jane L. Budwell (B.S.’46/B), of Cobbs Creek, Va., Nov. 6, 2017.

1950s

Martha E. Crumb (B.S.’46/HP), of Roanoke, Va., Nov. 18, 2017.

Betsy J. Allen (B.S.’54/E), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 15, 2017.

Ulysse G. Desportes (B.F.A.’42/A), of Grottoes, Va., Feb. 14, 2018.

William C. Amos, M.D. (M.D.’52/M), of Fairfax, Va., Dec. 2, 2017.

Suzanne G. Fedder (B.A.’49), of Alexandria, Va., Sept. 12, 2017.

Hannah L. Aurbach (B.S.’52/H&S), of Denver, Jan. 9, 2018.

William J. Frohbose, M.D. (M.D.’43/M), of Rocky Mount, N.C., Sept. 24, 2017.

Joan W. Bulloss (Cert.’58), of Mooresville, N.C., Jan. 21, 2018.

Ray S. Greco, M.D. (M.D.’47/M), of Weirton, W.Va., Oct. 16, 2017.

Lawrence A. Bussard (M.S.W.’54/SW), of Springfield, Ill., Oct. 21, 2017.

L Member of the Life Member Society

CLASSNOTES New releases

Alumni and faculty books Locked up

Looking within

Exploring pride

DALE BRUMFIELD

RON SMITH

WALTER TUNSTALL, PH.D.

In “Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History,” Brumfield (B.F.A.’82/A; M.F.A.’15/ H&S) charts the 190-year history of the iconic prison that set the standard for today’s American prison system. Follow the author as he details the saga of an institution that was plagued by racial injustice, eugenics experiments and the presence of children imprisoned among adults.

Smith (M.F.A’85/H&S), Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2012-14, examines themes ranging from love to world travel in his fourth book of poems, “The Humility of the Brutes.” The 92-page, fast-moving work looks at mankind’s past and present through a mystical lens to explore youth, spirituality and mortality.

In “On the Origin of Dignity: Its Creation and Enhancement,” Tunstall (B.S.’77/H&S; M.S.’80/H&S; Ph.D.’85/H&S) presents an original theory about how our sense of dignity as humans comes into being through human interaction. By exploring dignity’s creation within day-to-day, moment-to-moment interpersonal experiences, Tunstall hopes to explain how, when and where self-worth or dignity comes into being.

On growing old

War games RICHARD P. WENZEL, M.D., M.SC.

Eckford (B.S.W.’83/SW; B.S.’85/N; M.S.W.’95/ SW) and co-author Amanda Lambert combine their years of personal and professional experience in geriatric care in “Aging With Care: Your Guide to Managing Caregivers at Home.”

The book offers narratives and interviews with elders, caregivers and innovators in home care to help guide readers in finding the best solutions for their families.

Wenzel, professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Internal Medicine in the VCU School of Medicine, published “Dreams of Troy,” the second title in his Terror Trifecta series. The book follows MI-5 agent Elizabeth Foster as she leads a team of scientific experts across Spain as they try to dismantle a plot to bring down the country’s medical infrastructure with cyber terrorism before it endangers visiting dignitaries, innocent civilians and peace throughout the Mediterranean.

Life and times

Retrospective

JUDITH VIDO

NICHOLAS FRANKEL, PH.D.

Vido (B.S.’85/H&S; M.S.W.’89/SW), who speaks frequently to M.S.W. classes at the VCU School of Social Work about being blind and living with diabetes, published the first volume of her autobiography. In “So You Had a Dull Life Too: Dirt Woman and Other Men I’ve Known,” she chronicles the antics and ups and downs of her teen and early adult years living in Richmond, Virginia, and elsewhere.

In his latest biography of Oscar Wilde, Frankel, professor in the Department of English in the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences, provides a new understanding of the author, poet and playwright. “Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years” looks at Wilde’s final years in poverty and exile after being released from an English prison for the crime of “gross indecency” between men.

LESLIE ECKFORD, RN, LCSW

One man’s trash CLAY BLANCETT

In “Avenue of Champions,” Blancett (B.F.A.’97/A) goes into the mind of a recently divorced single father struggling to maintain his identity while working for the city of Richmond’s solid waste pickup service. To maintain his sense of self, he must come to terms with the costs of his alcoholism, his past and the environment he works in, ultimately discovering the beauty in the world around him.

Calling alumni authors Send us your latest novel, mystery thriller, memoir, poetry collection, nonfiction or other published work!

Past two years only, please. Mail to VCU Alumni magazine, Box 842039, Richmond, VA 23284-2039.

Please note, works will not be returned.

Spring 2018

45

ALUMNIPROFILE

W

Christopher Colenda, M.D.

Contributions to patient care Alumnus’s accomplishments include co-creating the VCU School of Medicine’s geriatric psychiatry program

By Anthony Langley

– Anthony Langley (B.S.’16/MC) is a contributing writer for the alumni magazine.

46

VCU Alumni

Photo courtesy Christopher Colenda, M.D.

hen Christopher Colenda, M.D. (M.D.’77/M), looks back at the past 45 years, he says, “every important thing that’s happened in my adult life ties back to the [School of Medicine].”

Colenda, president and CEO emeritus of the West Virginia University Health System and former chancellor for health sciences at West Virginia University, has had great success in academic medicine but initially started his career in the military, attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. An injury forced a change of plans, and he transferred to Wittenberg University in Ohio to study chemistry. During the fall of his junior year, he traveled to Richmond, Virginia, to interview at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine, meeting with Miles Hench, Ph.D., former dean of admissions, and others.

Citing the school’s innovative curriculum and Richmond’s low humidity and bright, blue October skies, Colenda knew that VCU was where he wanted to pursue medicine. About a month later, he received his acceptance letter in the mail.

He left Wittenberg after his junior year and, in August 1973, started his studies at VCU, entering as part of a diverse class, which included Vietnam veterans re-establishing their careers at home.

Between his first and second years in medical school, he completed a summer research fellowship in the laboratory of Norman Briggs, Ph.D., former chair of the VCU Department of Physiology.

Strolling into the lab on his first day, Colenda caught a glimpse of his future wife mouth-pipetting calcium for an experiment.

“After telling [Kathy] I was assigned to the lab and wanted to meet Dr. Briggs, she raised an eyebrow, just like she does today, and said, ‘Just a minute,’” he says, chuckling. “From the first time I met her, I knew she would always be in charge.”

Colenda’s clinical experiences at VCU Medical Center and the McGuire Veterans Administration Hospital laid the groundwork for his further medical studies. Graduating with his medical degree in 1977, he briefly trained in pathology. He missed patient care, though, so after completing a second internship at the University of Virginia Hospital, he took a position with Richmond’s health department in 1980. There, he provided care for older adults with myriad chronic illnesses, including dementia and late-life depression.

While conducting house calls, he became acutely aware of how the social determinants of health and illness, such as physical environment and social support networks, influenced access to health care services and quality of life. The experience transformed his career aspirations.

After completing public health training at Johns Hopkins and a psychiatry residency at Emory University, he returned to Richmond in 1985 to help create the School of Medicine’s geriatric psychiatry program with Joel Silverman, M.D. (H.S.’73/M), the James Asa Shield professor and chair of the VCU Department of Psychiatry.

“My earliest meetings with Dr. Colenda showed so much creativity, drive and promise of the outstanding contributions he would make to the field and medicine overall,” Silverman says. “The [geriatric psychiatry] service continues to serve the many needs of our senior citizens, and I’m very proud of his accomplishments and of what he started here at VCU.” As director of geriatric psychiatry at VCU, Colenda established programs that featured inpatient, outpatient and consultative services. The programs later expanded to include a joint training program with Piedmont Geriatric Hospital. “[Dr. Silverman] offered me my first academic job and allowed me to compete for my first federal grant,” he says. “The friendships I made during my time in medical school and as a junior faculty member still provide me with a great sense of joy and enrichment.”

Colenda’s career later included stints at Wake Forest University, Michigan State and Texas A&M before he accepted a position in 2009 as WVU’s chancellor for health sciences. He retired from WVU in 2016 as president and CEO of the university’s health system.

Today, Colenda consults for academic health systems and the Association of American Medical Schools and serves in an “of counsel” role to the academic medicine team at executive search firm Witt/Kieffer. In January, he was asked to co-chair the American Board of Medical Specialties’ Independent Commission for Continuing Board Certification: Vision for the Future.

“My hope for students today is that 40 years down the road they can look back and appreciate the gift of education from [VCU],” Colenda says. “I’ve been privileged to study and work at several universities, but VCU and the School of Medicine is my academic home.”

CLASSNOTES

Kay B. Brown (B.S.’58/E; M.Ed.’60/E), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 29, 2017.

Byron W. Marshall (B.S.’55/B), of Henrico, Va., March 21, 2018.

Harold E. Tucker, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’58/D), of Morgantown, W.Va., Nov. 18, 2017.

William G. Conner (B.S.’58/P), of Waynesboro, Va., March 6, 2018.

Fitzhugh Mayo, M.D. (M.D.’55/M), of Winchester, Va., Nov. 11, 2017.

John W. Watson, M.D. (M.D.’ 53/M; H.S.’55/M), of Oxford, N.C., Jan. 27, 2018.

Erving L. Covert (B.M.E.’54/A), of Baton Rouge, La., Nov. 4, 2017.

John M. Miller, M.D. (M.D.’58/M), of Callaway, Va., Dec. 21, 2017.

Stanley L. Wellins, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’59/D), of Fairfield, Calif., Jan. 31, 2018.

William C. Crites (B.S.’58/P), of Amherst, Va., Feb. 2, 2018.

Charles B. McDowell (B.F.A.’52/A), of Roanoke, Va., Feb. 7, 2018.

Nancy E. Witherington (B.S.’59/HP), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 13, 2018.

James C. Denton, M.D. (H.S.’50/M), of Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 21, 2017.

Paul L. Orebaugh (B.S.’52/P), of Timberville, Va., Feb. 11, 2018.

Nancy M. Witt, M.D. (M.D.’55/M), of Waynesboro, Va., Feb. 26, 2018.

Wayland A. Doggett (B.S.’56/B), of Woodbridge, Va., Aug. 19, 2017.

Nancy R. Parker (B.S.’53/B), of Brookneal, Va., Jan. 26, 2018.

Edward D. Woolridge, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’57/D), of Salt Lake City, Feb. 13, 2018.

L. Endruschat (Cert.’51), of Orwell, Ohio, Aug. 26, 2017.

Pershing T. Pressley (B.S.’54/HP), of Indianapolis, Jan. 7, 2018.

Richard C. Fisher, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’53/D), of Springfield, Va., Oct. 2, 2017.

Cornelia R. Proctor (B.F.A.’52/A), of New Market, Va., Jan. 8, 2018.

Lewis N. Fox, M.D. (M.D.’54/M), of Beckley, W.Va., Feb. 11, 2018.

John M. Quarles, M.D. (M.D.’57/M), of Seaford, Va., Jan. 1, 2018.

Albert A. Fratrick, M.D. (M.D.’58/M), of Estero, Fla., Aug. 3, 2017.

Connie D. Reinhardt (B.S.’54/HP), of Henrico, Va., Oct. 25, 2017.

Michael C. Beachley, M.D. (H.S.’68/M; H.S.’70/M), of Bakerstown, Pa., Jan. 13, 2018.

Horace B. Free (’59/SW), of Charleston, S.C., Sept.

9, 2017.

Charles N. Richards, M.D. (M.D.’50/M), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 10, 2017.

Joseph S. Bear (’69/En), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 6, 2018.

Christine K. Friedrich (B.S.’53/H&S; Cert.’53/HP), of New Bern, N.C., Dec. 14, 2017.

Jesse D. Robertson, M.D. (M.D.’58/M), of Bridgewater, Va., March 8, 2018.

Robert D. Blankenship, M.D. (M.D.’65/M), of Granite City, Ill., Oct. 14, 2017.

Frank J. Gerwin (B.S.’51/B), of Glen Allen, Va., Jan. 19, 2018.

Carol T. Russell (B.S.’56/MC), of Cary, N.C., Sept. 17, 2017.

Dale H. Bruce, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’60/D), of Stuarts Draft, Va., Aug. 7, 2017.

Edgar C. Goldston, M.D. (M.D.’54/M; H.S.’55/M), of Rochester, Minn., Aug. 24, 2017.

Joyce A. Sample (B.S.’55/N), of Hampton, Va., Nov. 18, 2017.

Diane L. Cauthen (B.S.’62/E), of Virginia Beach, Va., March 1, 2018.

Harriet L. Grant (B.S.’53/N), of Winston Salem, N.C., Oct. 7, 2017.

Samuel E. Saunders, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’54/D), of Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 26, 2017.

Charles D. Cox, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’67/D), of Spartanburg, S.C., Oct. 10, 2017.

Francis A. Hare (M.S.W.’57/SW), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 31, 2017.

Mary A. Schmidt (B.S.’54/E), of Haddonfield, N.J., Oct. 26, 2017.

Jacqueline H. Darr (B.F.A.’66/A), of Richmond, Va., March 16, 2018.

Charles B. Howard (B.S.’56/B), of Charles City, Va., Dec. 17, 2017.

Mary W. Sorum (B.S.’54/N), of Asheville, N.C., Jan. 1, 2018.

Herbert P. Dillon (B.F.A.’67/A), of Mount Pleasant, S.C., Jan. 26, 2018.

William B. Howerton, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’57/D), of Pinehurst, N.C., Feb. 13, 2018.

William F. Sowers, M.D. (M.D.’57/M; H.S.’58/M), of Staunton, Va., Oct. 12, 2017.

William R. Draper (M.H.A.’60/HP), of Henrico, Va., Sept. 18, 2017.

Don D. Hyatt, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’54/D), of Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 11, 2018.

Charles G. Spivey, M.D. (M.D.’51/M; H.S.’53/M), of Helotes, Texas, Aug. 24, 2017.

E.W. Elliott (B.S.’63/P), of Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 30, 2017.

George B. Irons, M.D. (M.D.’58/M; H.S.’63/M), of Fountain Hills, Ariz., Oct. 20, 2017.

Betty A. Stanton (B.F.A.’59/A), of South Dennis, Mass., Dec. 3, 2017.

Irvin J. Farmer (B.S.’69/B), of Occoquan, Va., March 8, 2018. L

Robert C. Kluge, M.D. (M.D.’54/M), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 7, 2017.

Margaret S. Stebbins (B.S.’57/H&S), of Richmond, Va., March 5, 2018.

Herman R. Finney, M.D. (M.D.’61/M), of Augusta, Ga., Jan. 14, 2018.

Harry L. Kraus, M.D. (M.D.’55/M), of Harrisonburg, Va., Sept. 1, 2017.

Luke M. Stephens (B.S.’55/P), of Woodbridge, Va., Jan. 7, 2018.

Robert M. Friend (B.S.’63/P), of Salem, Va., Dec. 9, 2017.

Antony C. Livingstone, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’59/D), of South Miami, Fla., March 23, 2018.

Ruth L. Sweet (B.S.’54/N), of Lewisburg, W.Va., Jan. 13, 2018.

Gerald A. Grossman (B.S.’62/P), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 22, 2018.

Mary B. Loonsk (Cert.’51/HP), of Rockville, Md., Aug. 12, 2017.

Douglas M. Thomas (B.S.’50/P), of Petersburg, Va., Dec. 2, 2017.

John F. Hacker, M.D. (H.S.’63/M), of Roanoke, Va., Oct. 18, 2017.

James L. Lynde, M.D. (M.D.’57/M; H.S.’58/M), of Lynchburg, Va., Nov. 1, 2017.

Charles J. Townsend, M.D. (M.D.’53/M), of Springfield, Ohio, Dec. 22, 2017.

Alvin F. Harris (B.S.’69/B), of North Chesterfield, Va., Feb. 27, 2018.

L Member of the Life Member Society

1960s William E. Avant, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’60/D), of Summerville, S.C., Oct. 28, 2017.

Thomas D. Barnett (B.S.’67/MC), of Georgetown, Del., Jan. 9, 2018.

Spring 2018

47

CLASSNOTES

Edward M. Navis (B.S.’64/H&S; M.S.’66/HP), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 19, 2017.

John M. Brett, M.D. (M.D.’76/M), of Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 1, 2017.

Eugene M. Newman, M.D. (M.D.’60/M; H.S.’64/M), of Hampton, Va., Nov. 8, 2017.

Patrick R. Bruyere (B.S.’78/B), of Arlington, Va., Dec. 28, 2017.

Carlton W. Nunnally (B.M.’61/A; M.S.’69/A), of Highland Springs, Va., Jan. 22, 2018.

Frances E. Caffrey (B.S.’72/E; M.Ed.’80/E), of North Chesterfield, Va., Dec. 4, 2017.

Crispin W. Paul, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’66/D), of Atlanta, Aug. 7, 2017.

Alexa G. Case (B.F.A.’72/A), of Greensboro, N.C., Sept. 15, 2017. L

Edwin P. Pernell (B.S.’64/B), of South Hill, Va., Jan. 30, 2018.

Kathleen G. Catlin (M.S.W.’79/SW), of Seattle, Jan. 23, 2018.

Frances K. Plitt (B.S.’62/N), of Clemmons, N.C., Feb. 4, 2018.

Aubrey M. Colgin (B.S.’70/B), of Midlothian, Va., Dec. 14, 2017.

Roney S. Rogers (B.S.’68/P), of Virginia Beach, Va., Dec. 18, 2017.

John R. Denton (B.F.A.’73/A), of Waynesboro, Va., Aug. 23, 2017.

James W. Scott (B.S.’60/P), of North Chesterfield, Va., March 8, 2018.

Virginia R. Diggs (M.Ed.’75/E), of Lawrenceville, Va., Oct. 27, 2017.

W.G. Harris, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’65/D), of Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 11, 2018.

Stanley W. Sheftall, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’65/D), of Greenville, S.C., Feb. 25, 2018. L

Margaret R. Dungee (M.Ed.’72/E), of Fairfax Station, Va., Jan. 16, 2018.

Lynda A. Haywood (B.S.’62/N), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 25, 2017.

Steven P. Stavrou (A.S.’69/En), of Houston, Sept.

5, 2017.

Theresa J. Duprey (B.S.’75/H&S), of Hampstead, N.H., Aug. 21, 2017.

Robert T. Jones (’67/A), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 25, 2017.

Wayne T. Steele (B.S.’69/MC), of Winston-Salem, N.C., Dec. 11, 2017.

William G. Jordan, M.D. (M.D.’62/M), of Waite Park, Minn., Feb. 8, 2018.

James A. Taylor, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’61/D), of Ormond Beach, Fla., Sept. 30, 2017.

Edith Y. Keys (B.F.A.’64/A), of Tavares, Fla., Dec. 20, 2017.

John R. Taylor (B.F.A.’61/A), of Baltimore, Jan. March 2018.

John F. Knapp (B.S.’66/P), of Waynesboro, Va., March 9, 2018.

Nancy C. Weaver (B.S.’61/P), of Princeton, N.J., Oct. 4, 2017.

Leo N. Lampros, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’62/D), of Roanoke, Va., Feb. 12, 2018.

Glenda G. Whitt (B.S.’68/H&S), of Glen Allen, Va., March 18, 2018.

Missing an issue?

Read past editions of the magazine online at vcualumni.org/News/Magazines.

Barbara M. Lawrence (B.S.’61/N), of Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 13, 2017.

Anne M. Layman (B.S.’66/N), of Chester, Va., Sept. 29, 2017.

Bonnie L. Livingstone (B.S.’60/N), of South Miami, Fla., Jan. 21, 2018.

Wallace B. Lutz, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’64/D), of Woodstock, Va., Feb. 2, 2018.

Judith R. Mahon (B.S.’69/E), of Mechanicsville, Va., Feb. 2, 2018.

John S. Markham (M.H.A.’67/HP), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 31, 2018.

Peter L. Wick, M.D. (M.D.’67/M; H.S.’68/M), of Huntsville, Ala., Sept. 12, 2017. L Preston S. Winesett, M.D. (M.D.’68/M), of Rocky Mount, Va., Jan. 1, 2018.

Verl H. Wood (M.H.A.’62/HP), of Tupelo, Miss., Nov. 28, 2017.

Landon M. Wooldridge (B.S.’68/B), of Hayes, Va., Dec. 28, 2017.

Phillip G. Young (M.S.W.’68/SW), of Largo, Fla., Feb. 23, 2018.

Mary B. Easterly (M.Ed.’78/E), of Richmond, Va., March 20, 2018.

Robert W. Ellyson (B.S.’74/MC), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 15, 2018.

Mary M. Ewing (B.S.’71/E), of Henrico, Va., Jan. 13, 2018.

Dorothy P. Evans (M.S.W.’72/SW), of Suffolk, Va., Sept. 7, 2017.

Nancy A. Farley (B.S.’78/H&S; M.A.’80/B), of Montross, Va., March 17, 2018.

Wilton E. Ford (M.B.A.’77/B), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 21, 2017.

Ann P. Freeman (B.S.’77/MC; M.S.’87/MC), of South Hill, Va., Feb. 18, 2018.

Margaret S. Gilbert (M.Ed.’76/E), of Hixson, Tenn., Jan. 10, 2018.

Wayne F. Gray (B.S.’76/HP), of Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 19, 2017.

Karen K. Haff (M.S.W.’79/SW), of Madison, Ala., Nov. 6, 2017.

1970s

Maria H. Hall (B.S.’73/SW), of Salisbury, N.C., Oct. 21, 2017.

Dale H. Martin (B.S.’60/P), of Salisbury, Md., Jan. 8, 2018.

Connie C. Akers (B.S.’73/N), of Athens, Tenn., Sept. 5, 2017.

Barry D. Haulsee (B.F.A.’77/A), of Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 8, 2017.

Janet M. Martin (B.S.’62/H&S; M.S.’67/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 1, 2017.

Christine K. Baer (B.S.’73/H&S), of Fairfax, Va., Dec. 27, 2017.

Jacob Haun, M.D. (M.D.’72/M), of Woodstock, Va., Sept. 22, 2017.

William J. Maxwell, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’61/D), of Irmo, S.C., March 17, 2018.

Douglas L. Bartley, M.D. (M.D.’77/M), of White Post, Va., Feb. 13, 2018.

Rebecca G. Heebner (M.Ed.’75/E), of Raleigh, N.C., Nov. 27, 2017.

John D. McGavic, M.D. (H.S.’66/M; H.S.’70/M), of Louisville, Ky., Jan. 5, 2018.

Richard A. Bonelli (B.S.’75/B), of Amelia Court House, Va., Aug. 9, 2017.

Michael Hogye, Ph.D. (M.S.’73/M; Ph.D.’77/M), of Burke, Va., Jan. 10, 2018.

48

VCU Alumni

L Member of the Life Member Society

CLASSNOTES

Evalyn G. Holliday (B.S.’70/E), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 2, 2017.

Walter J. Robison, M.D. (M.D.’76/M), of Canonsburg, Pa., Sept. 12, 2017.

Timothy H. Hooker, M.D. (M.D.’70/M), of Danville, Va., Dec. 4, 2017.

Patrick J. Savage, M.D. (M.D.’75/M), of Jonesboro, Ark., Nov. 9, 2017.

Harold W. Hoover (M.S.’70/HP), of Eden, N.C., Oct. 12, 2017.

Ruth W. Schloss (M.S.W.’78/SW), of Bluffton, S.C., Nov. 24, 2017.

Peter M. Hubicki (M.B.A.’78/B), of Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 23, 2017.

Mary M. Shelton (B.S.’74/E), of Henrico, Va., Sept. 25, 2017.

John A. Jackson (B.S.’76/B), of Oklahoma City, Jan. 17, 2018.

Kent M. Stevens, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’73/D), of Chester, Va., Sept. 16, 2017.

Irvin C. Johnson (B.S.’76/H&S), of Chesapeake, Va., Nov. 11, 2017.

Alvoston L. Taylor (M.Ed.’77/E), of Midlothian, Va., Nov. 13, 2017.

Jacquetta B. Johnson (B.S.’70/SW), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 29, 2017.

Suzanne M. Thiem (B.S.’73/E; M.S.’84/H&S), of Okemos, Mich., Aug. 4, 2017.

William P. Carter (M.Ed.’88/E), of Fredericksburg, Va., Sept. 13, 2017.

Daniel L. Jones (B.S.’76/B), of Chase City, Va., Nov. 11, 2017.

Rosemary S. Thomasson (M.Ed.’73/E), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 29, 2018.

Mary E. Helton Creighton (B.S.’85/E; M.Ed.’95/E), of Aylett, Va., Dec. 13, 2017.

Robert D. Kardian (B.S.’75/B), of Providence Forge, Va., Feb. 12, 2018.

William E. Thompson (B.S.’79/B), of Midlothian, Va., Dec. 1, 2017.

Wanda L. Davis (B.A.’84/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 11, 2017. L

Peggy H. Kilgo (B.S.’73/E), of Midlothian, Va., Aug. 28, 2017.

Paul H. Vanderhoof (B.S.’72/GPA), of Caldwell, N.J., Aug. 30, 2017.

Judith A. Dietrich-Jones (M.S.W.’89/SW), of Fairfax, Va., Aug. 30, 2017.

John W. Kimman (M.Ed.’76/E), of Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 28, 2017.

Joseph K. Vaughan (M.S.’75/HP), of Tyler, Texas, Feb. 27, 2018.

Arthur G. Dodson (B.A.’87/H&S), of Lynchburg, Va., March 16, 2018.

John W. King, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’78/D), of Midlothian, Va., Dec. 24, 2017.

Thomas L. Watkins (B.S.’74/SW), of Urbanna, Va., Sept. 14, 2017.

Andrea K. Durham (M.S.’86/H&S), of Glen Allen Va., Dec. 9, 2017.

Walter T. Krzyzaniak (B.S.’79/HP), of Charleston, S.C., Dec. 10, 2017.

Ruthanna R. Wilkinson (M.M.E.’71/A), of Hendersonville, N.C., Nov. 19, 2017.

Kenneth C. Edgell (B.S.’80/B; M.S.’85/B), of Fredericksburg, Va., Sept. 11, 2017. L

Michael H. Lake, M.D. (M.D.’73/M), of Phenix City, Ala., Feb. 19, 2018. L

Robert L. Williamson (M.Ed.’76/E), of Alexandria, Va., Feb. 6, 2018.

Karen R. Evans (B.S.’84/B), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 25, 2018.

Barry L. Locke (M.S.W.’70/SW), of Shinnston, W.Va., March 1, 2018.

Sue L. Winstead (B.S.’75/N), of Weems, Va., Jan. 20, 2018.

Dorothy C. Gill (M.S.’83/HP), of Reston, Va., Feb. 11, 2018.

N.R. Martin (B.F.A.’70/A; M.Ed.’86/E), of Roanoke, Va., Dec. 5, 2017.

Gerald L. Witt (B.S.’73/E), of Virginia Beach, Va., Dec. 23, 2017.

William R. Gilleece (B.S.’88/HP), of Halfmoon, N.Y., Oct. 1, 2017.

William J. McClelland (B.S.’74/B), of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Oct. 2, 2017.

Ellis Q. Youngkin (Cert.’78/N), of The Villages, Fla., Jan. 31, 2018.

Claiborne G. Hammond (M.Ed.’80/E), of Foxworth, Miss., March 2, 2018.

1980s Juan A. Astruc, M.D. (H.S.’83/M; H.S.’85/M), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 25, 2017.

Thomas R. Bishop (B.S.’86/B), of Rockville, Va., Nov. 4, 2017.

George L. Byrne (B.S.’83/H&S), of Alexandria, Va., Nov. 6, 2017.

Mindy K. Buckner (M.S.’87/HP), of Alexandria, Va., Jan. 30, 2018.

Lyle F. Cameron (B.S.’82/HP), of Winchester, Va., Nov. 14, 2017.

Timothy R. McCormick (M.H.A.’71/HP), of Fairport, N.Y., Dec. 23, 2017.

Lawrence A. Moates (B.S.’72/H&S), of Mechanicsville, Va., Jan. 18, 2018.

Hubert E. Morris, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’75/D), of Satellite Beach, Fla., Jan. 9, 2018.

John E. Murnane, M.D. (M.D.’79/M), of Virginia Beach, Va., March 1, 2018.

Jon T. Parks (B.F.A.’73/A), of Glen Allen, Va., Aug. 19, 2017.

Ronald L. Parks (B.S.’72/B), of Rock Hill, S.C., Sept. 22, 2017.

Jo K. Redford (B.A.’72/H&S), of Richmond, Va., March 6, 2018.

Get the new mobile app!

Be in the know, on the go. Download the VCU Alumni app to: • • • •

Check out the latest alumni events Access your alumni benefits Connect with chapters and fellow Rams And more!

Available now!

Joseph B. Richter (B.S.’75/B), of Newport Coast, Calif., Dec. 30, 2017.

L Member of the Life Member Society

Spring 2018

49

CLASSNOTES

Bonnie R. Hopkins (B.S.’84/B), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 1, 2017.

Lillian L. McDiffitt (B.G.S.’80/H&S), of Richmond, Va., March 12, 2018.

Mary F. Treta (B.A.’89/H&S), of Henrico, Va., March 18, 2018.

Robert L. Jesse, Ph.D., M.D. (Ph.D.’81/M; M.D.’84/M), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 2, 2017. L

John C. Moyles (B.S.’86/H&S), of Belmont, Mass., March 10, 2018.

John Veneziano (B.S.’84/GPA), of Huntingtown, Md., Feb. 21, 2018.

Horace P. Johnson, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’83/D; Cert.’89/D), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 26, 2017.

Margaret P. Peterson (M.Ed.’84/E), of Johns Island, S.C., Oct. 23, 2017.

Franklin B. Waddell, M.D. (H.S.’80/M), of Stoneham, Mass., Oct. 1, 2017.

Robert H. Jones (B.S.’81/H&S), of Mechanicsville, Va., March 20, 2018.

Colden A. Quick (B.S.W.’87/SW; M.S.W.’89/SW), of Sneads, Fla., Feb. 4, 2018.

Mary F. Williams (M.S.W.’86/SW), of Glade Spring, Va., Jan. 15, 2018.

Renee L. Kizer (B.S.’85/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 9, 2017.

Kevin G. Rodgers, M.D. (M.D.’86/M), of Indianapolis, Nov. 20, 2017.

Merwyn T. Wilson (B.S.’86/B), of Powhatan, Va., Feb. 1, 2018. L

Matthew C. Kline (B.A.’89/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 25, 2017.

Judith E. Roye (B.S.’85/N), of Ashland, Va., Feb. 18, 2018.

Virginia H. Woodruff (B.G.S.’88/H&S), of Louisville, Ky., Jan. 28, 2018.

Gregory W. Kropp (B.S.’82/B), of Colonial Heights, Va., Aug. 21, 2017.

Daniel L. Simpson, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’84/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Nov. 23, 2017.

John C. Young (B.S.’89/HP; M.S.W.’91/SW), of Greencastle, Pa., Aug. 6, 2017.

Judith A. Lewis (B.S.’80/HP), of Schenectady, N.Y., Nov. 27, 2017.

Virginia H. Simpson (M.S.W.’80/SW), of Richmond, Va., Sept. 13, 2017.

Robert T. Linder (B.S.’88/B), of Mechanicsville, Va., Nov. 25, 2017.

Timothy R. Sizemore (B.S.’82/B), of Mechanicsville, Va., Jan. 11, 2018.

Edna G. Loving (M.S.’88/N), of Callao, Va., Dec. 7, 2017.

Mary E. Small, M.D. (B.S.’80/N; M.D.’95/M; H.S.’99/M), of Virginia Beach, Va., Feb. 4, 2018.

Marie M. Barr (B.F.A.’98/A), of Los Angeles, Nov. 12, 2017.

Larry E. Lynch (B.S.’81/B), of Midlothian, Va., Sept. 14, 2017.

Guy K. Smith, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’82/M; ’85/M), of Syracuse, N.Y., Dec. 27, 2017.

Betty C. Billingsley (M.Ed.’91/E), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 18, 2018.

Lori H. Lynch (B.S.’84/B; M.S.’13/B; Cert.’01/B), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 20, 2017.

William E. St. Clair (B.S.’84/B), of Beaverdam, Va., March 16, 2018.

Gary S. Boice (B.S.’95/B), of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., Feb. 28, 2018.

Beth E. Malaby (B.S.’83/B), of Warrenton, Va., Jan. 13, 2018.

Roy C. Sutton, M.D. (M.D.’81/M), of Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 23, 2017.

Jeffrey M. Bond, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’93/D), of Moseley, Va., Jan. 28, 2018.

1990s Ashby B. Allen (B.A.’90/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 31, 2018.

ABBREVIATION KEY Colleges and schools

Degrees

En HP H&S A B D E 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.N.P. Doctor of Nursing Practice D.P.T. Doctor of Physical Therapy Ed.D. Doctor of Education 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 Engineering College of Health Professions College of Humanities and Sciences School of the Arts School of Business School of Dentistry School of Education 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.D.A. 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 Decision Analytics 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

L Member of the Life Member Society

CLASSNOTES

VCU ALUMNI BOARD OF GOVERNORS OFFICERS AND UNIVERSITY ALUMNI LEADERSHIP COUNCIL PRESIDENT Dale C. Kalkofen, Ed.D. (M.A.E.’76/A) PRESIDENT-ELECT Michael D. Whitlow (B.S.’74/MC) IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT James E. Williams (B.S.’84/GPA; M.S.’96/GPA)

Just like you, we stand for something bigger.

The connections you make in college help you move forward with your life. Our connections make us more than just a business, but rather a company that cares.

TREASURER Christopher Markwith (M.B.A.’15/B) OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR Andrew Hobson (B.S.’12/En) AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIR Linda M. Warren (B.S.’75/B) SECRETARY Joshua Hiscock PRESIDENT, MCVAA Ellen Byrne, D.D.S., Ph.D. (B.S.’77/P; D.D.S.’83/D; H.S.’91/D; Ph.D.’91/M) BOARD OF VISITORS REPRESENTATIVE Vacant VCU PRESIDENT Michael Rao, Ph.D. (ex-officio) VCU VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS Jay E. Davenport, CFRE (ex-officio) Gokhan Yucel (M.S.’02/B; M.B.A.’04/B)

AT-LARGE GOVERNORS Aaron R. Gilchrist Jr. (B.S.’03/MC) Lynda Gillespie, Ph.D. (Ph.D.'01/E)

To learn more about our partnership, call 1-888-231-4870 or visit nationwide.com/VCUAlumni

John Kelly (B.S.’87/H&S) Peter K. Kennedy (M.H.A.’10/HP) Kelly Knight (M.S.’08/H&S) Kenneth W. Kolb, Pharm. D. (Pharm.D.’82/P) Adele McClure (B.S.’11/B) Jibran Muhammad (B.A.’06/H&S) Timmy Nguyen (B.S.’11/B) Cathy Saunders (B.S.W.’76/SW; M.S.’82/HP) Paula B. Saxby, Ph.D. (M.S.’85/N; Ph.D.’92/N) Vickie M. Snead (B.S.’76/B) Gabriel A. Walker (B.S.’10/B)

Nationwide Insurance has made a financial contribution to this organization in return for the opportunity to market products and services to its members or customers.

Products underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies. Home Office: Columbus, OH 43215. Subject to underwriting guidelines, review, and approval. Products and discounts not available to all persons in all states. Nationwide and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2017 Nationwide AFC-0287AO (6/17)

Spring 2018

51

CLASSNOTES

Promote your business and support your alumni organization! Advertise your company’s products or services to VCU alumni, fans and friends through our print and digital channels and through program and event sponsorships.

Want to learn more? Contact Booth Greene, director of business development and marketing, at wbgreene@vcu.edu.

Andrea E. Brown (B.S.’93/N), of Boones Mill, Va., Dec. 29, 2017.

Raymond G. Spisak (B.A.’93/H&S), of Valencia, Pa., March 15, 2018.

Beverley C. Chamblin (Cert.’91/HP), of Richmond, Va., Feb. 20, 2018.

Derrick A. Walker (B.F.A.’96/A), of Roanoke, Va., Oct. 5, 2017.

Stephen T. Fallin (B.G.S.’96/H&S), of Manassas, Va., Feb. 26, 2018.

Kimberly A. Wesdock (M.S.’97/HP), of Midlothian, Va., Jan. 17, 2018.

Melinda B. Foreman (M.S.W.’95/SW), of Jacksonville, Fla., Aug. 5, 2017.

Kent R. Wilmer (B.S.’99/H&S), of Poquoson, Va., Aug. 31, 2017.

Mark J. Freeman, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’90/D), of Henrico, Va., Jan. 27, 2018.

Barbara A. Giese (M.Ed.’94/E), of Stafford, Va., Oct. 28, 2017.

2000s Donna L. Arthurs (B.S.’04/N), of Lady Lake, Fla., Dec. 18, 2017.

James E. Gladden (M.S.’90/H&S), of Greenville, S.C., Jan. 22, 2018.

Willard K. Bailey (B.S.’05/H&S), of North Chesterfield, Va., March 11, 2018.

Joan S. Hart (B.F.A.’94/A), of Henrico, Va., Oct. 16, 2017.

Scott C. Cooke (B.F.A.’01/A), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 8, 2017.

Jeremy R. Hauser (B.F.A.’96/A), of Richmond, Va., March 4, 2018.

Travis L. Gathright (Cert.’02/B), of Chester, Va., Jan. 19, 2018.

Roland A. Havis, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’99/H&S), of Petersburg, Va., Oct. 2, 2017.

Christopher W. Gongaware (M.S.’01/B; Cert.’99/B), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 25, 2017.

Ann B. Herring (B.F.A.’95/A), of Sarasota, Fla., Aug. 17, 2017.

Heather A. Greene, Pharm.D. (Pharm.D.’04/P), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 22, 2017. L

Barbara A. Hyde (B.G.S.’90/H&S), of Highland, N.Y., Jan. 8, 2018.

Richard G. Hudepohl (M.S.’01/H&S), of Glen Allen, Va., Jan. 3, 2018. L

Carol F. Kahlson (B.F.A.’91/A), of Richmond, Va., March 14, 2018.

Kenneth H. Moore (B.F.A.’03), of Franklin, Va., Jan. 12, 2018.

Robin H. McBee, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’96/E), of Sewell, N.J., Dec. 23, 2017.

Adam C. Moser (B.A.’05/H&S), of Henrico, Va., Jan. 21, 2018.

Patrick S. McClaning (B.F.A.’92/A), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 25, 2017.

Muralikrishna Mukkamala (M.S.’08/M), of Charleston, W.Va., Sept. 6, 2017.

William A. Person (B.F.A.’92/A), of Hendersonville, Tenn., Jan. 22, 2018.

Lauren M. Reinstein (B.S.’04/MC), of Henrico, Va., Aug. 14, 2017.

Lorna L. Pinckney (B.S.’98/MC), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 5, 2017.

Kevin M. Shimp (B.S.’04/N), of Shacklefords, Va., Feb. 10, 2018. L

James R. Poole (B.F.A.’94/A), of Henrico, Va., Jan. 23, 2018.

Michael H. Smith, M.D. (H.S.’00/M), of Atlanta, Jan. 20, 2018.

Patrick C. Rand (B.F.A.’90/A; B.F.A.’94/A), of Chicago, Dec. 25, 2017.

Douglas L. Squire, D.D.S. (H.S.’05/D), of Longmont, Colo., Aug. 3, 2017.

Sophie J. Rothlisberger (M.S.’90/HP), of Culpeper, Va., Jan. 9, 2018.

Matthew R. Wojtysiak (M.S.’02/MC), of Richmond, Va., Jan. 31, 2018.

52

VCU Alumni

2010s Barbara J. Adams, M.D. (H.S.’15/M), of El Paso, Texas, Feb. 14, 2018.

Ema A. Dragoescu, M.D. (H.S.’05/M; Cert.’15/E), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 14, 2017.

Renzo I. Ramirez German (B.S.’13/B), of Mechanicsville, Va., Dec. 17, 2017.

Danielle F. Johnson (B.S.’13/GPA), of Palmyra, Va., March 20, 2018.

Michael D. Leitl, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’15/M), of Miami, Nov. 27, 2017.

Taylor D. Ostendorf (B.S.’17/MC), of Glen Allen, Va., Jan. 2, 2018.

Jennifer M. Romeika (M.S.’15/M), of Sandston, Va., Sept. 2, 2017.

Scott C. Solomson (B.S.’16/B), of Richmond, Va., Aug. 14, 2017.

Brandon D. Williams (B.S.’12/H&S), of Virginia Beach, Va., Aug. 20, 2017.

Keith J. Williams (B.A.’14/H&S), of Ladson, S.C., Feb. 18, 2018.

Patricia Picard Wingfield (B.A.’11/H&S), of Phoenix, Sept. 23, 2017.

Faculty and staff Jan F. Chlebowski, Ph.D., of North Chesterfield, Va., March 10, 2018. A biochemist and mentor for generations of students, he joined VCU in 1979 and was named associate dean for graduate education in the School of Medicine in 1995. He served as an affiliate faculty member in the departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering. Chlebowski was instrumental in securing National Institutes of Health funding to enhance graduate education opportunities for minority students, and he directed the university’s international educational partnership with the University of the West of England. His research focused on biophysical mechanisms that modulate protein structure and enzyme activity, and he led the Massey Cancer Center Structural Biology Shared Resource core for many years.

Rebecca Tyree (B.M.E.’78/A) of Richmond, Va., May, 24, 2018. She joined the School of the Arts in 2000 after a 25-year career as a public school music educator. She was assistant professor of choral music education and choral ensembles, founded the VCU Women’s Choir and the VCU Vocal Arts Project summer camp. She was also a guest conductor for honor choirs throughout the mid-Atlantic region and was devoted to service-learning through community projects such as SPARC’s Live Art.

L Member of the Life Member Society

Photo from Proscript, Vol. 49, No. 1, courtesy VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives

Get in front of 190,000 alumni!

Check out more university and alumni events at vcualumni.org and events.vcu.edu.

DATEBOOK

Students line up for dinner at Hibbs cafeteria in September 1968.

50 and fabulous This year marks 50 years since the founding of Virginia Commonwealth University, and we’re throwing a birthday party! In 1968, the Virginia General Assembly used the Medical College of Virginia and Richmond Professional Institute as building blocks to create a single state university in Richmond. Join us in September as we celebrate VCU’s big day. More details to come this summer at vcualumni.org.

Spring 2018

53

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Alumni 111 North Fourth Street Box 842039 Richmond, Virginia 23284-2039

Alumni ID number: