Dr. Randall Edwards receives Colgan Award WINNER

from Prince William Chamber Extra Edition 2023

WINNER

Dr. Randall Edwards, who was instrumental in spearheading George Mason University’s expansion into Prince William County, received the Charles J. Colgan Vision ary Award from the Prince William Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 23.

The award is named in memory of the longtime state Senator from the region who passed away in January 2017 and recognizes individuals for their service to the business community. It was present ed during the chamber’s annual awards dinner at the Heritage Hunt Golf & Country Club.

Edwards worked in a variety of roles in Virginia’s community college system before joining George Mason as executive vice president for administration in the 1990s. During his 17-year tenure at GMU, Edwards led a period of significant program and facility growth that was characterized by over $150 million in construction, and the establishment of major new campuses in the Prince William/Manassas and Arlington areas.

He also led GMU’s efforts to create the Potomac River Environmental Research and Education Center on Belmont Bay in the Woodbridge area of Prince William.

Today, GMU’s Manassas campus, which opened in 1997, houses many of the university’s science and technology programs, and is currently being expanded to include new classroom space. The campus also includes the Freedom Aquatics Center and the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

Edwards holds three engineering degrees from Virginia Tech – a bachelor of science in civil engineering (1964), a master’s of science in sanitary engineering (1965) and a doctorate in civil engineering (1970).

He began his career in the Virginia Community College System, where he played a major role in educating emerging engineering students. He worked as a professor, department chair, dean, provost and president at Wytheville, Germanna, J. Sargeant Reynolds and New River community colleges. In recognition of his contributions, Edwards has a building named in his honor at New River Valley Community College in Dublin, where he led growth from a one-building facility with 2,300 students and a $3 million budget to a three-building campus with 3,400 students and a $9 million budget over a span of 12 years.

Edwards was a scholarship football player at Virginia Tech who was also elected to the honor societies Chi Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi and Phi Beta Kappa. He has held leadership positions with hospital boards, chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs and churches throughout the state.

Since his retirement from GMU, Edwards has actively supported the success and growth of the Science and Technology Campus as a member of the Campus Advisory Board and the Executive Board for the Hylton Performing Arts Center. In fact, he was a key player in helping to draft the second tripartite agreement establishing the Hylton Center. These unique partnership agreements between GMU and the city, county and state to create the Freedom Center and develop the Hylton Performing Arts Center have served as a model for other institutions, bringing much-needed services to the local community and region. Dr. Edwards met his wife, Anna, at Virginia Tech and they were married for 56 years until she passed away in January 2022. He has three children and multiple grandchildren.

Other Nominee

DR. CAROL SHAPIRO

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center

Dr. Carol Shapiro, a board-certified plastic surgeon and medical director of the Sentara Wound Healing Center at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge, has helped to shape the Prince William County medical community for over 50 years.

She is a graduate of Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia in 1965 (now Drexel University Medical School) and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from George Mason University.

Upon completion of her training in General and Plastic Surgery at Georgetown University, Shapiro established her private practice in plastic surgery with offices in Woodbridge and Manassas. After decades in private practice, Shapiro transitioned her expertise to the outpatient Wound Healing Center at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, where she continues to provide patient consultations and treatment. In her role as the center’s medical director, she championed the introduction of hyperbaric oxygen therapy services in eastern Prince William.

Shapiro has worked at what was then Potomac Hospital since it opened in November 1972 and was the first woman on the hospital’s staff.

Shapiro has served in countless medical staff leadership roles, including being the first woman president of the medical staff of the former Potomac Hospital and Prince William Hospital. She continues to serve as chair of the Medical Affairs Committee at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center.

She also has held leadership roles with the Prince William Medical Society, the Medical Society of Virginia and the American Medical Association, for which she served as chair of the Virginia state

Previous Colgan Award recipients

2016: Rex Parr

2017: Carlos Castro

2018: J. Manley Garber

2019: Kathleen Seefeldt

2020: Martin Nohe

2021: David Brickley

2022: Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II

The Nomination

Following is an excerpt of the nomination for Dr. Randall Edwards to receive the Charles J. Colgan Visionary Award:

“Dr. Randall Edwards has been a community innovator for years. His unique talent is to build champions from a variety of communities around a major vision. Randall spoke to the business community years ago about [how the] upcoming Mason campus would become the heart of Prince William County/Manassas. Today we all benefit from this project.

“Randall has shown innovative leadership with his early vision to establish the Mason SciTech campus in Prince William County. He shepherded the Mason campus plans and complex financial requirements through numerous arenas at the city, county and state levels.

“The project was a decade-plus of challenging work, of which he never tired, and kept the vision moving forward on the appropriate agendas. Randall’s unique talent is to build champions from a variety of communities around a major vision.

“Randall lives by all of Senator Colgan’s Top Ten List of Rules for Success. Good examples are #3) He approached every challenge with a smile, #1&2) never quit, and #4) always be worth more than you are being paid. Randall’s work gave long lasting value to Prince William. Long after he left his paid position with the university, he volunteered and supported the continued growth of the SciTech campus and Prince William community overall.”

delegation from 2007 to 2016.

Shapiro continues to serve on the board of trustees of the Potomac Health Foundation, which provides grant funding to support health initiatives in the Greater Prince William community. She also was integral in establishing the gang tattoo removal clinic in Prince William, donating her time and expertise in support of individuals seeking to leave gang life behind them.