50 Years of Massey Timeline

MENU

6:30

cocktails

FIRST COURSE lobster & avocado salad

8:00

dinner

PM

HONORED GUESTS

EVENING PM

we are proud to welcome

Honoring our past Becky Massey Advisory Board Chair

Suleika Jaouad

Celebrating our present Michael Rao, Ph.D. VCU President

and her husband Grammy Award-winning musician

Jon Batiste

Sometimes it is in our darkest moments that we find the light.

– Suleika Jaouad

Envisioning our future Robert A. Winn, M.D. Director and Lipman Chair in Oncology

PM

jaouad & 9:00 suleika jon batiste A story of light and hope

PM

10:00 dessert & coffee live music

Provided by Elan Artists

11:00 event concludes PM

Photograph by Jasmine Clarke

Bon Appétit

program

best-selling writer, Emmy Awardwinning journalist and cancer survivor

Suleika Jaouad’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, shares her transformative journey toward healing following a leukemia diagnosis in her 20s. Jon Batiste is a five-time Grammy Award-winning musician and composer whose vibrant musical heritage captivates audiences worldwide. In the 2024 documentary, “American Symphony,” the couple chronicles a year of extremes that includes a marriage ceremony, five Grammy wins and a recurrence of Suleika’s cancer. Together, Jon and Suleika inspire others with their shared experiences of triumph, hope and perseverance – and a belief in the power of light to uplift.

Cheers to fifty years

Fifty years and counting

frisée, affilla cress, cucumber ribbons, fennel frond, dill, black caviar, charred shallots, radishes, avocado purée, mango purée, beet jelly

SECOND COURSE thyme roasted beef tenderloin pressed leek, raclette ravioli, roasted heirloom carrots, café de paris butter, madeira truffle jus, pea purée

STROLLING DESSERT coffee & confections

cookie dough bonbons, salted caramel butter bars, petit fours, chocolate raspberry verrine, key lime pie, rocky road squares

5O

YEARS

1974–2024

Since its earliest days, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center – formerly known as MCV/VCU Cancer Center and VCU Massey Cancer Center – has been at the forefront of cancer research, fueling innovation and a legacy for patient and community-centered care that extends far beyond central Virginia.

Dive into the cancer center’s rich, impactful history on these pages – and you can learn more at masseycancercenter.org/50years

1974

VCU Board of Visitors votes to establish a formal cancer center on the MCV campus and names Walter Lawrence Jr., M.D., its founding director.

1975

The center receives its initial designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), establishing it as a leader in the national fight against cancer.

1988

Massey establishes the first bone marrow transplant unit in Virginia.

1990s

Massey participates in landmark national clinical trials including in prostate and breast cancer prevention and receives its first NCI Minority-Based Community Clinical Oncology Program grant, fueling its leadership in equity outreach.

1997 1989

The Cancer Rehabilitation Program launches under Susan Mellette, M.D., and goes on to become a national model for holistic care.

1983

The Rural Cancer Outreach Program is the first of its kind to deliver expertise and a continuity of care to rural cancer patients.

The center is renamed VCU Massey Cancer Center in recognition of William E. Massey Sr. and the Massey family. A building dedicated to cancer research and treatment opens on the MCV campus.

1988

I. David Goldman, M.D. is appointed Massey director.

2019

Gordon D. Ginder, M.D., is appointed Massey director and builds the center’s scientific base and support through philanthropy.

Robert A. Winn, M.D. is appointed director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at Massey.

2020

2021

2022

Massey becomes the first cancer center in the region to offer MRI-guided radiation therapy to target solid hard-to-treat tumors.

2006 1989

The Massey Club annual leadership giving society is founded.

Massey is awarded National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, the NCI’s highest level of distinction.

Facts & Faith Fridays launches.

VCU Health Adult Outpatient Pavilion opens, providing a light and hope-filled space for cancer outpatient services.

Massey’s Goodwin Research Laboratory opens, adding critical laboratory space.

The building is funded through generous donors and the Campaign for Massey, with leadership support from William H. “Bill” and Alice Goodwin.

2023

2023

Massey on the Move vans are deployed in urban and rural communities, providing cancer education to at-risk populations.

2024

Massey celebrates fifty years of research, innovation and impact.

2023

The Healing Space opens, offering a place of respite for patients and families.