Where there’s
Life...
The game-changing campaign moving Massey into the future
give ... WhyWhyI Igive... “I am very grateful for all that VCU has done for me
“It has been a privilege over the years. The university has enabled me to fulfill to have access to VCU’s many of my professional and personal life goals. As innovative programs, a student, I faculty was inspired a faculty member in the amazing andbystaff and Department of History. Fivenurtures years after its graduating VCU, environment that students. anI increased alum, I am I started makingAs gifts. my support as I was soandproud of the opportunities able eventually created two scholarship funds, one are continuously being inthat the College of Humanities and Sciences and one in developed to support the Athletics. Providing opportunities for today’s diverse needs of the student students is important to me, and with population. Giving back to the decreasing state funding, the university is one way to they need sow a seed to ensure theus. I enjoy staying involved and making an next generation of learners annual contribution is can benefit from the VCU experience.” just one way I do it.” Sheryl Garland (M.H.A.’88/AHP) William H. "Bill" Mattox
Vice President, Health Policy and Community (B.A.’80/H&S) Relations, VCU Health System; Director, VCU Office Inaugural Black & Gold of Health Innovation Loyalty Society Member with 25+ consecutive years of giving history
“Aspen, Vol. 1, No. 3” is one of 4,000 pieces in VCU’s Book Art Collection. See article, Page 14 Photo VCU University Relations
Features & learn 2 Listen Delivering the second annual Lee Memorial Lecture holds
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Back to nature
special meaning for one School of Medicine alumnus.
An overnight lodge boosts the Rice Rivers Center’s standing as a beacon of environmental research.
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Out of the dark
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Duty of care
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The facts of Life
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Helping hand
Every picture tells a story
On the cover Steven Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., one of 29 new lead physician-scientists whose appointments were a result of Massey Cancer Center’s Research for Life Campaign. Photo VCU University Relations
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Theatre VCU faculty, staff and friends establish a scholarshipto honor the life of a department professor’s son. Massey Cancer Center’s Research for Life campaign closed in June, exceeding its fundraising target. VCU Libraries’ Book Art Collection features works by university artists with national reputations.
A pharmacist pays tribute to the leadership of his former professor and mentor. A scholarship in the name of a beloved School of Dentistry staff member supports kind and compassionate students.
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Marti K.S. Heil • Development and Alumni Relations Communications Melanie Irvin Seiler (B.S.‘96/H&S), miseiler@vcu.edu, (804) 828-3975 Mitchell Moore (B.S.’07/MC; M.S.’08/E), mooreml3@vcu.edu, (804) 827-3617 • Emma Coates, ekcoates@vcu.edu, (804) 828-2694 • Nan Johnson, nljohnson@vcu.edu Impact is published quarterly by the Virginia Commonwealth University Office of Development and Alumni Relations. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the editorial staff or the university. © 2015, Virginia Commonwealth University, an equal opportunity, affirmative action university support.vcu.edu • 1
LISTEN & LEARN Lectureship maintains legendary surgeon’s dedication to education
Photos Chris Ijams
By Nan Johnson
F
or Robert J. Feezor, M.D. (M.D.’99/M), presenting at the second annual H.M. “Hyung Mo” Lee Memorial Lecture at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in March was more than an opportunity to visit campus again. In 1964, Feezor’s late father, Bill, was the 40th kidney transplant patient of H.M. Lee, M.D. (H.S.’63/M), and David Hume, M.D., at the Medical College of Virginia. “I remember when I was contacted about [giving] the lecture,” Feezor says. “It made me take pause. I got way more emotional about it than I usually do.” Bill Feezor worked as a hospital administrator on the MCV Campus from 1967 to 1976. He’d been told he’d never live a full life or have children, but two of the world’s most talented transplant specialists changed that.
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“They gave Dad his life,” Feezor says. “Without Hume and Lee, I wouldn’t be here. I thought it would be neat to be a visiting professor at VCU, but with such a strong emotional connection to my family, the lecture experience was spectacular.” The associate professor of surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville spoke to a full-house crowd of surgeons, faculty, friends and donors about vascular techniques and trends. Lee, for whom the memorial lecture was named, was known around the world as a pioneer in organ transplantation. He was also known around VCU as a gifted educator, admired mentor and skilled clinician. Before his death in 2013, he had a long career, not only in
THE HUME- LEE EFFEC T: A T IMEL I NE
Richmond but also in Korea, where he was born and educated and began his practice as a surgeon. After coming to the United States in 1953 to study thoracic surgery, he became part of MCV’s groundbreaking transplant program – one of only four in the country. He and his mentor, David Hume, M.D., under whom he completed his residency, helped establish an organ-sharing program. That effort grew into what is now the Richmond, Virginia-based United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit organization that manages the nation’s organ transplant system. Upon Lee’s death, his widow, Kyung Lee, M.D. (H.S.’57/M), a former pediatrician, and the couple’s two children, Margaret Mikyung Lee and Bennett Lee, M.D. (M.D.’94/M), asked for memorial gifts to be made to the MCV Foundation. The resulting outpouring of appreciation now amounts to a fund totaling more than $120,000. It led to the creation of the Lee Memorial Lecture in 2014. “I was amazed at the donations,” Kyung Lee says. “So many people loved H.M.” Held in the spring, the lecture focuses on topics alternating between vascular surgery and transplant surgery. The Lee family says it hopes to honor the rich history of the MCV Campus and to enhance its legacy of providing leading-edge surgical excellence and innovation. The lecture’s endowed funds enable the School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery to bring in national experts to speak at grand rounds and to spend time with residents and fellows in the two specialties. “Dr. Lee was responsible for the education of a generation of surgeons and advancing the field of solid organ transplantation. He was always seeking new opportunities to learn and expand his knowledge in medicine,” says Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery and professor and chair, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He is also director of heart and heart-lung transplantation at VCU Pauley Heart Center. “The Lee family has shared his aspirations for high-quality surgical education through this endowed lecture that will benefit all in perpetuity.” To learn more about the School of Medicine, contact Tom Holland, associate dean for development, at (804) 828-4800 or tehollan@vcu.edu.
1957 David M. Hume, M.D., performs the first identical-twin kidney transplant at Medical College of Virginia. 1962 Under Hume’s guidance, the kidney transplant program officially begins, and MCV Hospitals’ Clinical Transplant Center, the first of its kind in the United States, opens. That August, Virginia’s first living related-donor kidney transplant is performed. In October, the first cadaver kidney transplant, now called “deceased donor,” takes place.
David M. Hume, M.D.
1970s Following Hume’s death in 1973, H.M. Lee, M.D., becomes chief of transplantation and vascular surgery at VCU and remains in the position until 1994. In 1977, the first long-distance transport, from Indianapolis to VCU, of a deceased-donor heart results in a successful transplant and defines “national organ sharing.” 1984 As president of the American Society of H.M. Lee, M.D. Transplant Surgeons, Lee pushes the National Organ Transplant Act into federal law and establishes rigorous ethical standards for transplant candidate listing and transplant surgeons’ minimum qualifications. 1993 The world’s first cryopreserved human liver cell transplantation is performed at VCU in a patient with liver failure and is successful in sustaining life as a bridge to whole organ transplantation. VCU becomes a world leader in liver cell transplantation. This is also the year that the pancreas transplant program begins at VCU. 2002 The transplant center is re-designated and named the Hume-Lee Transplant Center by the VCU Health System Board. The National Institutes of Health selects the Hume-Lee Transplant Center to participate in the first multicenter liver transplant study to track living donor outcomes, which continues today. Results are used to set future standards for transplantation. 2009 The Hume-Lee Cell Transplant Facility becomes the first lab in the country to receive FDA approval for a groundbreaking procedure called hepatocyte transplantation, which uses healthy liver cells to restore liver function, under the direction of Robert A. Fisher, M.D., the previous holder of the H.M. Lee Professorship. Archive photos courtesy of VCU Tompkins-McCaw Library, Special Collections and Archives
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“IT’S A REALITY I HOPE NO ONE HAS TO GO THROUGH – LOSING A CHILD TO SUCH SENSELESS VIOLENCE.” – Toni-Leslie James, director of costume design and associate professor at VCU’s Department of Theatre and the mother of Jett Higham (pictured)
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OUT OF THE DARK Tragedy leads to celebration of life at Theatre VCU BY NAN JOHNSON
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n just a 10-minute walk covering no more than three blocks in the Richmond, Virginia, neighborhood of Jackson Ward in July 2013, 18-year-old Jett Higham was gone − fatally shot during what police called a “robbery gone bad,” according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “It’s a reality I hope no one has to go through – losing a child to such senseless violence,” says Higham’s mother, Toni-Leslie James, director of costume design and associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Theatre in the School of the Arts. “Jett was such an amazing, vibrant, beautiful kid,” James says. “We just have to continue on. I can understand how this type of tragedy can totally destroy a family. It’s been our mission to keep our family intact and to try to love and learn and laugh and continue on.” Struggling with the enormity of the crime and looking for a way to support James in its aftermath, faculty, staff and friends at Theatre VCU immediately rallied to create the Jett Higham Costume Design/Technology Scholarship as a way to celebrate his life and to help talented students. Bonnie McCoy, assistant professor and administrative director at Theatre VCU, was among many of James’ VCU colleagues who contributed to the scholarship. She was James’ assistant and associate designer in the years before their arrival at VCU. “Toni and I worked together in New York when Jett was a baby,” McCoy says. “I knew him his entire life. He was an
amazing, bright, charming, sweet young man. “People wanted to do something special for her. This was a way to help. It was a joint effort because there’s so much love for Toni.” The Jett Higham Scholarship is available to an undergraduate majoring in costume design/technology so that James can see its direct impact on her students. Based on financial need as well as a portfolio of work, the scholarship will be awarded for the first time in 2016. “In Toni’s situation, how do you turn such a tragedy into some semblance of positivity?” asks Joseph H. Seipel, dean of the VCU School of the Arts. “Her knowing that this scholarship will help students and young people who are struggling to find their way in the world is a way to honor her son. It’s a very poignant statement.” Many faculty, Seipel says, give gifts that are very important. When faculty give back to VCU, it’s because they know how much that means to the students, he says. “Jett’s mission is over. Now it’s time to figure out what our continuing mission is on this Earth,” James says. “I’ve dedicated myself to my students, to see the beauty of nature and theater and costume design, and to do the best that I can to make VCU one of the best theater departments in the country. That’s my mission, and I’m thoroughly dedicated to it. We are so appreciative that Jett’s spirit is still around us and is still alive.”
To learn more about Theatre VCU in the School of the Arts, contact Julia Carr, executive director of development, at carrj@vcu.edu or (804) 827-4676.
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THE FACTS OF
LIFE
Massey Cancer Center’s Research for Life campaign exceeds its fundraising goal BY EMMA COATES
“Research is the best hope for saving and improving lives of cancer patients. Massey has a solid foundation, but we need to broaden and deepen our research operation,” said Gordon Ginder, M.D., director of Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and Lipman Chair in Oncology, at the kickoff of the public phase of its Research for Life campaign in 2013. Research for Life, which officially started July 1, 2007, and finished June 30, 2015, raised $108,167,127, having exceeded its goal of $100 million in December 2014. “The philanthropy of our community and region has been truly phenomenal,” says Becky Massey, who co-chaired the campaign with retired Richmond banker C.T. Hill. “We are extremely grateful to all the individuals, corporations and foundations who contributed enormously to ensuring success for this campaign.”
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The School of Medicine’s McGlothlin Medical Education Building, where Research for Life funds established the Massey Research Pavilion Photo David Hale
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PEOPLE, PLACES AND PROGRAMS
At the outset of the Research for Life Campaign, Massey identified “people, places and programs” as its three priorities for fundraising. These areas would facilitate the swift progression of research, improving Massey’s ability to extend and save the lives of people affected by cancer. “The ‘people’ part was about the retention and recruitment of excellent physicians and scientists,” Massey says. “The goal was to recruit up to 35 new, accomplished researchers and faculty members.” These additions, along with the cancer center’s existing team, would be charged with maximizing its capacity to pursue groundbreaking scientific concepts, lead translational research and implement clinical trials. “The ‘program’ part was to expand the depth of Massey’s basic science, translational science and prevention and control research programs,” Massey says. It aimed to increase resources for the cancer center’s core research programs, to increase by 50 percent the number of phase 1 and 2 clinical trials and to encourage new interdisciplinary collaborations, among other goals. Finally, “places” set its sights on funding 27,000 additional square feet of space, including the Massey Research Pavilion: two floors of dedicated research facilities in the new VCU School of Medicine’s McGlothlin Medical Education Building that would bring together physicians, clinical investigators and researchers – specialists spanning multiple disciplines – all under one roof, to foster collaboration like never before.
CHECKING THE BOXES
You could say the recruitment of Steven Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., one of the 29 new lead physician-scientists brought on so far to meet Massey’s “people” goal, checked all three of these campaign boxes. Grossman was hired in 2011, partly with funds raised by Research for Life, as chair of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care in the VCU School of Medicine and VCU Massey Cancer Center. He later added the role of deputy director of the cancer center. In turn, he went on to recruit a cadre of fellow physician-scientists, clinical educators and clinicians, drawing on the same private dollars. “[Research for Life] contributed to things like my endowed chair [the Dianne Nunnally Hoppes Endowed Chair in Cancer Research] and laboratory support for my research,” Grossman
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says. “And then, many of the positions I was given to hire into – national and international experts in cancer care – are also supported by the campaign, including several endowed chairs.” But people need places to work. “Before McGlothlin, we were spread everywhere, between laboratories, our clinical research and clinical endeavors,” Grossman says. The Research for Life-funded Massey Research Pavilion, spanning floors 11 and 12 of the McGlothlin building, now serves as the hub for clinical research; clinical trial administration; and hematology, oncology and palliative care. “McGlothlin has allowed me to consolidate a lot of key people all in one place to increase collaboration,” he says. “Our clinical investigators who are putting together protocols or running trials can interact directly with all the folks they need to without having to make a phone call or walk across the street. [This] not only speeds the pace of research but also allows new types of collaboration that weren’t possible before.”
TEAM WORK
Grossman’s hematology, oncology and palliative care team set up shop on the 11th floor. The 12th floor of McGlothlin is home to a significant portion of Massey’s clinical research enterprise – the programs Grossman was charged with helping to build when he added the title of Massey deputy director to his résumé. Here, clinical researchers collaborate with other clinical investigators and laboratory researchers from the center’s various scientific programs to develop and oversee clinical trials. As an example, Grossman cites a project his team is currently working on. A collaborative group from different cancer center departments, as well as the department of medicinal chemistry in the School of Pharmacy, designed new chemicals that can fit into a particular protein and “turn it off,” thereby killing cancer cells. Grossman is understandably excited: Should the chemicals be developed into drugs, they could be effective across a range of cancers. “[The protein is] found in unusually large amounts especially in ovarian, breast, colon and prostate cancer,” he says. “We’re moving ahead with making a whole new generation of even better chemicals that could become drugs.” In this program, as with many others, Research for Life funding is of crucial importance.
“Some of this research is not yet funded by grants because it’s early,” Grossman says, “and some of the money provided to me is so-called ‘startup money’ through the campaign. It is critical to launching this project and getting it off the ground.”
‘LIFE’ GOES ON
After such a successful campaign, what’s next for the cancer center? “The whole Research for Life Campaign has had a huge benefit to our community and our state,” Becky Massey says. “We are bringing brilliance, academic achievements and national acclaim here. Other [National Cancer Institute] centers around the country are calling and asking to partner in our clinical trials.” This collaboration makes new treatments even more accessible to patients across Virginia and the country. And, though Research for Life was a success, the need for people, places and programs still exists. “It’s critically important that we continue what we’ve begun,” Massey says, listing clinical trials, pilot projects and education as perennial needs for funding. Another goal the cancer center has its sights set on is the title of NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center. Becoming a comprehensive cancer center – an honor held by fewer than 3 percent of the country’s cancer centers, none of which are in Virginia – would give Massey even more funding and opportunities to participate in clinical trials and collaborations. Research for Life’s concentration on “people, places and programs” was designed to put all of the elements in place for Massey to achieve that lofty goal, which supporters like Becky Massey believe is more attainable than ever. Despite the growing acclaim statewide and even across the country that Research for Life has brought Massey, the best thing about the campaign, Grossman says, is that it was all about the community pulling together for the good of one another. “Massey is funded by Richmond, by the community, by Virginia. These are the people who are patients, friends of our patients, family. It means a lot that the research I’m doing, which hopefully will get back to these people, is funded at least in part from their donations. It makes me think how thankful I am for the generous philanthropy we get from the community. It impacts me directly every day.”
FAST FACTS Total funds • $108,167,127 raised during the eight-year campaign Recruitments • 69 new physicians and researchers with a focus on cancer Physical space • 27,000 square feet of space in the McGlothlin Medical Education Building to house 170 researchers in an open, collaborative environment Outreach • Eight clinical research affiliates throughout the commonwealth of Virginia Endowments • 20 endowed positions created or elevated Clinical trials • 30 phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials initiated by Massey investigators
Steven Grossman, M.D., Ph.D. Photo VCU University Relations
To learn more about giving to VCU Massey Cancer Center, contact Cindy Zilch, chief development officer, at (804) 828-1452.
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Photos Chris Ijams
Top: Monica (left) and Michael Rao join Founders’ Society members Claudia and John Svirsky (D.D.S.’73/D; M.Ed.’79/E) Left: MCV Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Gail Johnson (B.S.’68/N) with her husband, Earl Johnson (left), and Judith Koziol and her husband, Isaac Koziol (M.D.’69/M)
Warm reception for loyal friends at Tredegar Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, Ph.D., welcomed more than 300 of VCU’s most generous and loyal friends for the VCU President’s Reception this summer. The evening event took place under a tent at Historic Tredegar, with views of the nearby James River. Amid twinkling lights and white hydrangea, a student jazz quartet accompanied VCU Department of Dance students and members of Poets of the Floor, a student organization dedicated to learning urban dance styles and cultures, in a variety of dance. Guests mingled with student scientists from the Rice Rivers Center; Wilder Fellows and Urban Studies students from the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs; an art director, communication strategist and copywriter from the Brandcenter; a biomedical engineer, who shared her invention of a shirt that detects low insulin levels in diabetics; and Students Today Alumni Tomorrow student members. President Rao thanked donors for their generous and transformational giving. “We would not be here without you,” he said, highlighting gifts in support of faculty, student scholarships, cancer research, new facilities and academic and athletic programs.
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History fan’s fund broadens research possibilities for students Frank Robert “Bob” Schilling Jr. (B.A.’73/H&S) had a lifelong love of history and books. Those two passions motivated him to make provision in his will to establish a fund that would benefit the students and faculty of the Department of History in the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Humanities and Sciences. As a young man, Schilling came to Richmond and VCU in the late 1960s to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in History. Following graduation, he settled in his hometown of Staunton, Virginia, as a teacher and librarian for the public school system. He was particularly interested in Woodrow Wilson and volunteered with the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum. Like his favorite presidential figure, he amassed an extensive personal library, including texts on histories of the United States and the South. Schilling’s gift to VCU to establish the Schilling Fund totaled almost $200,000, providing unrestricted funds to the Department of History. “The fund fills an important need. It will permit faculty and students greater flexibility in selecting research projects that might require access to resources or travel outside of the Richmond area,” says Department Chair John Kneebone, Ph.D. “The fund is broadening the scope of our department’s teaching and research.” The Schilling Fund encourages the same passion and pursuit of knowledge in the department that Schilling enjoyed as an undergraduate student and history lover. Friend Douglas Hawpe says, “I think Bob would be happy to know that his legacy will live on in the VCU Department of History, making a profound impact on the students and faculty.” To learn more about the College of Humanities and Sciences, contact Bethanie Constant, senior director of development and alumni relations, at (804) 828-4543 or constantb@vcu.edu.
MCV Society goes to Maymont More than 100 MCV Society members and guests gathered for a reception this spring at the Maymont Nature & Visitor Center. Brian Thomas, interim president of the MCV Foundation, welcomed the guests to this annual event and thanked them for their support. He reported that the MCV Society had inducted 12 new members since the same event last year, bringing the total membership to 342. During the event, Norman Burns, Maymont Foundation executive director, gave an overview of the history of Maymont. Following the reception, guests were invited to tour the Nature Center.
MCV Society member Sharon Larkins-Pederson (left) with MCV Foundation trustee Kathy Bobbitt, D.Ed.
To learn more about the MCV Society, contact Brian Thomas, interim president of the MCV Foundation, at (804) 828-0067 or bsthomas@vcu.edu.
Photo Chris Ijams
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Retired teacher gives back to Humanities and Sciences students Rosalind Battle Jennings (B.S.’80/H&S) recalls her experience at Virginia Commonwealth University in such detail, you might think she just stepped off the Monroe Park Campus as a new graduate. She has fond memories of living on the 18th floor of Rhoads Hall, the close community of students and the camaraderie of her Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters. Jennings’ time in the Department of Biology was the first step toward a long and impactful career as a science educator. “I am so thankful and grateful for my VCU education,” she says, “which allowed me to retire after 32 years successfully teaching earth science in the Chesapeake Public School System.” Jennings recently demonstrated that gratitude with a $10,000 planned gift to support College of Humanities and Sciences scholarships. “I will always give back to VCU because it gave so much to me and enabled me to transform students’ lives by being a dedicated educator,” she says. “I have designated VCU as one of my beneficiaries in order to help students actualize their dreams and their potential.” To learn more about the College of Humanities and Sciences, contact Bethanie Constant, senior director of development and alumni relations, at (804) 828-4543 or constantb@vcu.edu.
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Cabell Foundation grant supports the VCU Rice Rivers Center’s campaign The VCU Rice Rivers Center has received a $1 million matching grant commitment from the Cabell Foundation. Also known as a “challenge grant,” its aim is to inspire the community to action in raising an equivalent amount to build the Research Laboratory Building at the center, which will comprise laboratories, a library, offices and other facilities. The building will enable the center to attract top researchers to the laboratories to conduct all of their research and analysis on-site. Planned laboratories will support focal areas of research, including water quality, fish conservation, wetlands restoration and environmental technology.
Founded in 1957, the Cabell Foundation was established as a private, nonoperating foundation to support the permanent needs of charitable organizations throughout Virginia, with particular emphasis on agencies in the metro Richmond area. Since its inception, the Cabell Foundation has awarded permanent gifts and challenge grants to a diverse mix of nonprofit institutions. The match runs until the end of December. To learn more about the Rice Rivers Center, contact Catherine Dahl, director of development and special projects for VCU Life Sciences, at (804) 827-7372 or ccdahl@vcu.edu.
Community support for the ICA The Institute for Contemporary Art is nearing its capital campaign goal, thanks in part to arts community support and a tenacious pair of 9-year-olds. After a presentation ICA Director Lisa Freiman made to her daughter Tess’ very engaged and inquisitive class of 125 fifth-graders at Nuckols Farm Elementary School, Tess decided to work with friend Aly Betz and make art to sell to benefit the ICA. They raised $30, which earned them a place as founding donors on the ICA website, plus the distinction of being its youngest supporters. The ICA was also pleased to receive a gift from a member of the nonprofit arts community. “As someone who cares about the arts community, I know the ICA is an important institution to support,” says Trey Hartt, the resource development manager at Richmond arts nonprofit Art180. “It’s a space that I hope will be a cross section of artists dedicated to expanding the definitions and boundaries of art, pushing our understanding of the role art plays in a contemporary society – and that’s certainly worth supporting.” Thanks to all the many community gifts to the ICA, the capital campaign has nearly reached its $35 million goal. An endowment campaign will be the next phase for this noncollecting arts institution under construction on the Monroe Park Campus. To learn more about the ICA, contact Carol Anne Baker Lajoie (B.S.’99/H&S), director of development, at (804) 828-2777 or bakerca@vcu.edu.
Tess Coleman (left) and her friend Aly Betz with the 2-D and 3-D art they created and sold to benefit the ICA.
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Every picture tells a story Alumni, faculty and donors provide backbone of significant book art holdings
received in-kind donations of books and other rare materials valued at more than $205,000. “Artists’ books are works of art that borrow from or refer to the form of the book. They have some sort of a sequence – often focusing on the development of an idea or message or narrative,” says Yuki Hibben, who oversees the Book Art Collection as curator of books and art and assistant head of Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library. VCU’s Book Art Collection contains more than 4,000 pieces and is one of the largest collections in the country. Each year, hundreds of students access the collection to gain inspiration for assignments and projects. Leila Prasertwaitaya (B.A.’08/A; M.A.’14/A), library specialist for the arts, teaches most of the department’s 60 book art classes each year. And, unlike many collections of artists’ books around the country, VCU Libraries allows people to experience the books hands-on. “These books offer a sense of discovery,” Hibben says. “They provide intimate experiences, in terms of the viewer looking at the artwork. It’s not like standing in a gallery, looking at a painting or sculpture with multiple people.”
Special collections at university libraries nationwide help define the spirit of those institutions. Signature collections often tie in to a sense of place. Film and TV scripts are at home at UCLA. Tulane holds a great jazz collection. The Book Art Collection is one of VCU Libraries’ collections of distinction. It reflects both VCU’s top-tier arts programs and VCU’s place in the commonwealth’s creative capital. The collection also echoes the professional stature of faculty and alumni. Works by VCU artists with national reputations are acquired for the collection, which is built partly through private philanthropy. In fiscal year 2015, VCU Libraries
“Dai Food,” 2013 by Colette Fu (B.G.S.’99/H&S)
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“Dai Food” is a pop-up book from Fu’s “We Are Tiger Dragon People” project, which provides an interactive, 3-D glimpse into the lives of ethnic minorities living in China’s Yunnan Province. Fu received a degree in photography from VCU in 1999 and traveled to China as part of a Fulbright Research Fellowship. She created “Dai Food” with photographs she took of exotic Chinese food.
“Memory Loss” by Scott McCarney (B.F.A.’76/A) New York: Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1988
“Diderot/Doubleday/Deconstruction. Volume IV,” 1995 by Scott McCarney (B.F.A.’76/A)
“Memory Loss” was inspired by a traumatic brain injury suffered by the artist’s brother in 1986. The accordion structure combines fractured images and texts drawn from medical literature about head injury with personal photographs and correspondence.
McCarney created this artist’s book by carving a 20th-century Doubleday encyclopedia to reveal images of workers representing the book trades from Diderot’s 18th-century L’Encyclopédie.
“Memories of Fruit” by Lois Morrison (M.F.A.’65) Flying Fish Press, 1988
“Multiple Voices, Multiple Histories: Reimagining the Civil War” Bowe House Press, 2009
Morrison’s artists’ books are held by distinguished collections such as Tate Modern, London; The CooperHewitt Museum, New York; and The Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, among others. In “Memories of Fruit,” Morrison recounts stories and recipes related to fruit from throughout her life.
This is a collaborative project among Richmond poets and graphic designers at VCU’s Bowe House Press. The book, developed for the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, looks at the voices, stories and experiences that have not always been addressed in traditional conversations about our shared past.
Aspen, Vol. 1, No. 3. The Pop Art Issue, 1966 Designed by Andy Warhol and Davis Dalton Aspen was a serialized magazine that ran sporadically between 1965 and 1971. This particular issue has art by Lou Reed and was designed in part by Andy Warhol. Aspen was donated by former faculty member Davi Det Hompson (1939-1996), who was one of three pioneers who started VCU’s Book Art Collection in 1979.
“2013,” 2012 by Justin James Reed Horses Think Press Reed, a professor in VCU’s Department of Photography and Film in the School of the Arts, created “2013” with experimental ultraviolet “firefly” ink that reveals a sequence of imagery when illuminated by a UV flashlight.
To learn more about the VCU Libraries Book Art Collection and the Special Collections and Archives Endowment, contact Yuki Hibben at (804) 828-8837 or yhibben@vcu.edu or Kelly Gotschalk (B.F.A.’90/A; M.A.’97/A), director of development and major gifts for VCU Libraries, at (804) 827-1163 or kjgotschalk@vcu.edu.
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“The Rice Rivers Center helped build my scientific career. Having it as a resource to study is crucial. It’s been very important to me as a researcher but also as a student and a teacher. We’re so disconnected from our environment, and the center allows us to reconnect and take back the natural environment.” – JOSEPH MORINA (B.S.’13/H&S), MASTER’S STUDENT FOCUSING ON WETLANDS RESEARCH
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PHILANTHROPIST’S LATEST GIFT ENABLES MORE STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS TO EXPERIENCE AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT ALONG THE JAMES RIVER BY NAN JOHNSON
Photo VCU University Relations
A
t the widest point along the James River, between Shirley and Berkeley plantations, just off historic Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia, sit the quiet remains of what was once a YMCA boys’ camp, built around a 70-acre lake. Though the camp and the lake are now gone, the area is still a hub of activity, thanks to the VCU Rice Rivers Center located at the nearby river’s edge. It’s a pastoral setting, where bald eagles nest and Atlantic sturgeon, once nearly extinct, are making a dramatic comeback, with help from the center’s research programs to rehabilitate and preserve their habitat. For 15 years, Inger Rice has pursued her dream of preserving this environment along the James River as well as the river itself. Through gifts totaling $5.5 million, she singlehandedly blazed a trail to create the environmental research and education center just 30 minutes from VCU. Today, the center is known worldwide among conservationists and large-river eco-scientists.
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The Rice Rivers Center has demonstrated itself as a leader in environmental sustainability and a place where dreams come true. It is home to Virginia’s first LEED platinum-certified building, meaning it holds the highest national certification level for environmentally sustainable buildings. It is also the site of one of the East Coast’s most significant wetlands restoration projects. From her gift in 2000 of the 342 acres used to create the Rice Rivers Center to her most recent gift in April − $2.3 million to support the construction of an overnight lodge for visiting researchers and the construction of a Research Laboratory Building – Rice has put her dream in fast-forward mode to see these projects finished in her lifetime. “I’d like to see their completion while I’m alive. I’m here now, so I can check on things and give advice,” she says with a laugh. “I thought if I changed my will a little bit, then I’d be able to see it now, and that would be wonderful.” The plan is for the lodge to be operational by 2017.
“Inger Rice has changed the face of environmental research and education at VCU and beyond. She long ago recognized the need for students to have hands-on experiences in the natural world.” – LEONARD SMOCK, PH.D., DIRECTOR OF THE VCU RICE RIVERS CENTER
Rice views her contribution toward the Research Laboratory Building, $500,000 of her $2.3 million gift, as a way to show corporations and other individuals what they can do to support the cause, which she says is critically important. “We need to pay attention to water issues now, so that we can prepare for the future,” she says. “You see the trouble in California − there isn’t enough water – we better pay attention to it now. Right here [in Richmond] we have the James, so let’s preserve and honor it as long as we can.” Rice and her late husband, Walter L. Rice, shared a love of the water. They often spent time along the James with their two children at the site of the old boys’ camp. 18 • Impact
“I’ve always loved the beautiful views of oceans, rivers and lakes,” Rice says. Not only has Rice paved the way to see her own dream come true, but she’s also helped make it possible for others to realize dreams of their own. For Rick Ward (B.S.’11/H&S; M.S.’14/H&S), it’s a dream of returning to school and changing careers. For master’s student Joseph Morina (B.S.’13/H&S), it’s an opportunity to serve as a steward of the environment. Neither would be possible without the Rice Rivers Center’s academic programming and hands-on access to the laboratory of nature. Ward, a first-year Ph.D. student, returned to school after 19 years in the workforce. With a master’s in biology, he’s collecting data to help in the long-term wetlands restoration project as part of his doctoral studies. “Mrs. Rice’s generosity has given me a second chance at life – cliché, I know – but this is a leap of faith for me to go back to school and learn a new trade,” Ward says. “It’s hard to support yourself and put yourself through school, and I’m passionate about learning and uncovering new knowledge for the scientific community that, hopefully, will help us restore the environments we need to survive. My dream of having a doctorate degree is possible because of her vision.” Morina’s experience at the Rice Rivers Center has been just as lifechanging. “The Rice Rivers Center helped build my scientific career. Having it as a resource to study is crucial,” he says. “It’s been very important to me as a researcher but also as a student and a teacher. We’re so disconnected from our environment, and the center allows us to reconnect and take back the natural environment. On a personal level, I view myself as a steward of the environment. I view it as ‘my land,’ and I take care of it. Though no one should own the wilderness, the center gives me the opportunity to fulfill that dream − to watch over it. It’s something special that I’m allowed that opportunity.” Leonard Smock, Ph.D., director of the VCU Rice Rivers Center, says Rice has changed the face of environmental research and education at VCU and beyond. “She long ago recognized the need for students to have hands-on experiences in the natural world,” he says, “to become connected with nature, to better understand the complexity of the world around us, and to be trained in the many areas of environmental science
Photo Richard Chenoweth
Artist’s rendering of the lodge
so that they could make informed decisions about matters that affect our daily lives.” Smock notes that her most recent gifts further improve the ability of scientists, students and lifelong learners to become immersed in the many facets of environmental science. “Because of Mrs. Rice’s generosity, the Rice Rivers Center has developed into a vibrant location of environmental research, education and community engagement,” he says, “and a location that brings together the environmental community, from environmental managers and regulators to the many stakeholders
and interest groups throughout the commonwealth.” With Rice’s full funding of the overnight lodge, Smock and his colleagues can focus on fundraising to complete the Research Laboratory Building. The laboratory will help VCU attract scientists devoted to preserving rivers at home and abroad. For more information about the Research Laboratory Building, turn to Page 13. To learn more about the Rice Rivers Center, contact Catherine Dahl, director of development and special projects for VCU Life Sciences, at (804) 827-7372 or ccdahl@vcu.edu.
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of DUTY
CARE Pharmacist honors former dean with named scholarship BY EMMA COATES
“Taking care of people” is what Patrick Fuchs describes as his forte in his career as a pharmacist. An assistant pharmacy manager at a Kroger grocery store in Angleton, Texas, Fuchs says he learned the personal touch from his father, who ran the local drugstore that the supermarket giant eventually bought. “It was a typical down-home pharmacy,” Fuchs says of his father’s business. “When people came in, if they wanted advice, they got advice, and if they needed a kind word, compassion – those are things that my dad taught me.” 20 • Impact
But his calling wasn’t always so obvious. In his first year as a pharmacy school student at the University of Texas, Fuchs ran into difficulty. “There were some courses I couldn’t pass,” he says. His grade point average dropped. “I had to dismiss Patrick,” says Victor Yanchick, then-associate dean for student services at the University of Texas, who would go on to become dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. Nevertheless, Yanchick sensed the young student’s potential. He coached Fuchs through his doubts about his future and made a call to a peer at the University of Oklahoma, where Fuchs was accepted to continue his studies. The next year, a bond that was forged in Texas had the opportunity to grow stronger. “I became dean at OU, and I signed his diploma. So I am his second father, basically,” Yanchick says with a laugh. “I was very pleased that I had been able to get him into a pharmacy program. He’s a great pharmacist, as I always knew he would be.” Now, in honor of Yanchick’s retirement last year from VCU, Fuchs has paid tribute to the support he received as a student by creating the Victor A. Yanchick Kappa Psi Leadership Scholarship. To be awarded for the first time in spring 2016, the endowed scholarship will provide tuition assistance each year to a member of the Kappa Psi fraternity who has demonstrated leadership and professionalism and who has made significant contributions to the school. “I have been so fortunate in my life, and I know where it came from – God and Dr. Yanchick,” Fuchs says. “I couldn’t have done it without [him].” As both men were members of Kappa Psi and cemented their relationship within the fraternity, it seemed only fitting to create a fund that benefits a fellow brother, he says. “It’s a bond, Kappa Psi,” Fuchs says. “It had high ideals, morals and camaraderie.” Current VCU student and Kappa Psi Theta Chapter President Kyle Mullins, who should earn his Pharm.D. in 2017, echoes that idea. “We’re one of the only all-male chapters left,” he says, “and what makes us different is the closeness you get from that.” Mullins says the Yanchick scholarship will alleviate some of the pressure on the recipient, adding that the selection committee could have a tough time choosing a recipient. “We really have the leaders of the school … in our chapter. We’ve got the presidents of the Class of 2016, 2017 and 2018, the current student executive committee president of the school,”
he says. “I think there are a lot of people who would be very deserving of that scholarship.” Current School of Pharmacy Dean Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., says the scholarship will be awarded based on both merit and need, noting that student debt is one of the biggest problems faced in professional schools. “Students with a lot of debt often limit their job opportunities after graduation so that they can pay off the debt,” he says. “Reducing debt through scholarships will allow students to make better decisions about their careers.” DiPiro’s predecessor agrees and adds that he hopes it will cause a ripple effect. “I think what it will … show is that it’s very important for students to consider philanthropy as part of their requirement for continuing as a pharmacist,” says Yanchick, now the senior director of VCU’s Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care. “I hope it provides some financial help, but I think more importantly, it will demonstrate that it’s important for graduates to consider giving back to the school in whatever way they can.” As for Fuchs, it has given him another way to fulfill his goal of taking care of people. “I just hope that it makes their college experience a little bit better,” he says of the students chosen to receive the scholarship, “and they’ll be able to, in turn, show the leadership that I was shown in Kappa Psi, and be able to help other students.” To learn more about the School of Pharmacy, contact Ellen Carfagno, director of development, at (804) 828-3016 or emcarfagno@vcu.edu.
WHAT IS K APPA PSI? Kappa Psi was founded in 1879 and is the oldest and largest pharmaceutical fraternity. Formed with the mission of community involvement through professional activities, it also strives to foster scholarships and mutually benefits all its members through industry, sobriety, fellowship and high ideals. The Theta Chapter of Kappa Psi was installed at the Medical College of Virginia on July 30, 1921. Today, at VCU, it is one of only three all-male chapters in its province. For more information, visit www.kappapsi.org.
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Helping hand Through scholarship, dental alumni honor staff member BY NAN JOHNSON
F
er,” Hazel Luton Mark Beltrami and his “surrogate moth
22 • Impact
rom throwing pool parties and frying chicken to helping navigate licensure exams and offering professional advice, Hazel Luton would do just about anything for the dentistry students at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Hazel was like a surrogate mother to me,” Mark Beltrami (D.D.S.’95/D) says. “She took students under her wing. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to help us.” As the School of Dentistry Class of 1995’s Reunion approached, along with Luton’s milestone anniversary of 40 years with the School of Dentistry, Beltrami set the pace for his classmates and colleagues with a $10,000 lead gift to establish the Hazel Luton Scholarship. Luton is the first staff member at the school to be honored with the creation of a scholarship. Now surpassing $45,000 in gifts and pledges, the scholarship will be awarded for the first time in fall 2017 to a rising second-year student who embodies Luton’s compassion for people.
Photo Lindy Keast Rodman/VCU University Relations
“Hazel is beloved by so many. She is a parental figure as well as a supportive staff member,” says David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., M.S., dean of the VCU School of Dentistry and associate vice president for VCU Health Sciences-Faculty Affairs. “This scholarship is a testament to her many kindnesses. It will benefit generations of students who will receive financial assistance in her name.” The cost of a dental education adds to rising student debt across the country, Sarrett explains. It’s a national problem, though VCU’s dental student debt is below average. “If our average student debt is $190,000, and we only have $250,000 available in scholarship support at the school, we’ve got a long way to go to help improve the situation,” he says. “That’s why the Hazel Luton Scholarship is so important and very much appreciated. The more it grows, the more students can benefit.” In the ’90s, dentistry student Beltrami reaped some of the benefits of Luton’s generosity. He lived a street away from Luton and would give her rides to campus in the snow. Beltrami moved to the Tidewater region of Virginia after graduation, but a job change took him to Petersburg, Virginia. To ease the commute before his eventual move to nearby Chesterfield, Luton gave Beltrami a key to her home, where he would stay a few times a week. “That’s the kind of person she is,” Beltrami says. “My kids thought she was their grandmother for years. When my son found out she wasn’t, he cried.” Pool parties with fried chicken were frequent in those days, when Luton would offer up a cookout as a ruse for a few strong students to come over and move furniture at her home. “I’d grab a couple of buddies, and we’d go over to help,” Beltrami recalls. Today, he still thinks Luton’s fried chicken is the best. Luton, who began her career 50 years ago as a dental assistant in Emporia, Virginia, is now the part-time clinical operations compliance assistant in the School of Dentistry. Over the years, she’s served in many capacities within the
Hazel Luton at the moment Dean Sarrett announced the scholarship in her name, during the School of Dentistry’s Reunion activities in April
school, from adjunct instructor to site coordinator for regional board exams. But in every phase of her career, her students have always come first. “I look back and am so blessed for the opportunities and friendships I have had, and I wouldn’t trade a day for anything,” Luton says. Sarrett made the surprise announcement of the scholarship during Reunion activities in April. “I was totally shocked,” Luton says. “I never dreamed that anything like this would ever happen, let alone that it would come from the students. It was amazing.” Just like her fried chicken. To learn more about the School of Dentistry, contact Gloria F. Callihan, J.D., associate dean of development and alumni affairs, at (804) 828-8101 or gfcallihan@vcu.edu.
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Investors Circle welcomes big business to Richmond That trifecta played a role in the company’s decision to locate its first East Coast outpost in Richmond, Virginia, even though it was not the lowest-cost option. “When we were doing our site selection here, we saw the spreadsheets. But you get a passion for these things, for the difference you can make,” Spitz explained. “That was a big part in the decision.” Tiernan praised Stone’s across-the-board welcome from city council, economic developers, restaurateurs, VCU School of Business Dean Ed Grier and many others. “The brewers around town were also a big factor,” he said. I hope it means we do some crazy collaborations, get together to put on craft events − not Stone events but craft events.” To learn more about the School of Business, contact Katy Beisheim at (804) 827-0075 or kbeisheim@vcu.edu.
Photo Terry Brown Photography
The cool stylings of a VCU Jazz student trio set a relaxed vibe for the School of Business Investors Circle gathering April 29, during which 175 members and guests welcomed representatives from San Diego’s Stone Brewing Co. to Richmond. RVA Trolley tours ran between Historic Tredegar and the future sites of the company’s brewery and riverfront bistro in Historic Fulton. Following hors d’oeuvres and beer tastings, everyone gathered under a tent for the program, “Hopped up on RVA: Stone Brewing Co.’s journey to Richmond and the value of community.” Andrew LeVasseur, VCU Brandcenter professor of experience design, interviewed Stone Chief Operating Officer Pat Tiernan and Chief Financial Officer Craig Spritz. “When you think about Stone, you think about beer, community and experience,” explained Tiernan.
Buford Scott, trustee of the VCU School of Business Foundation (left), with Stone Brewing Co.’s Craig Spitz and Pat Tiernan and School of Business Dean Ed Grier
24 • Impact
Photo Terry Brown Photography
Members of the Class of 1964 and their partners celebrate their gift in the School of Dentistry Class of 1964 Lecture Hall.
Class of 1964 looks to future with gifts and pledges to name classroom At their 50-year reunion in April 2014, the VCU School of Dentistry Class of 1964 banded together to celebrate a half-century of success and friendship and to make a generous class gift. And they enjoyed their reunion so much that they came back for more this year. Over two years, members of the Class of 1964 have contributed $314,931 through gifts and pledges − primarily through planned estate giving, including charitable remainder trusts, bequests, gifts of life insurance and a real estate gift. An anonymous class member offered to match up to $50,000 in gifts from classmates, and it was this generosity that pushed the class over its fundraising goal. At a special ceremony during the 2015 MCV Campus Reunion, David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., M.S., dean of the VCU School of Dentistry, and Marti K.S. Heil, vice president for development and alumni relations, lauded the achievement and commitment of the Class of 1964. “It’s really rare to find people who are interested in volunteering and in service,” Heil said. “It’s even more rare to find volunteers so passionate about supporting their alma mater that they would keep at it for two years.”
The class named the school’s largest classroom in the W. Baxter Perkinson Jr. Building the School of Dentistry Class of 1964 Lecture Hall. “This gift helps us to advance our mission of education, research and service as we improve the oral and general health of the patients we touch,” Sarrett said. “The Class of 1964 will impact generations of students and patients alike.” To learn more about the VCU School of Dentistry, contact Gloria F. Callihan, J.D., associate dean of development and alumni affairs, at (804) 828-8101 or gfcallihan@vcu.edu.
WHAT IS PL ANNED G I V I NG? Planned giving involves gifts made now or after your lifetime that can help you merge your charitable, personal and financial goals. Donors and their families can receive important estate and income tax benefits, or even an annual income. There are a variety of ways to give in this manner. To learn more about planned giving to support VCU, contact Doug McCartney at (804) 828-5563 or dwmccartney@vcu.edu.
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Donor Virginia Arnold with Jeffrey Govert, one of the two students to receive a scholarship in her name
Education students get scholarship boost A record number of School of Education students benefited from the generosity of donors in academic year 2015-2016. A total of 66 scholarships and awards – four more than in any previous year − were celebrated and handed out this spring at the 2015 Scholarship and Awards Ceremony, held in the University Student Commons and attended by students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff. School of Education Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs Diane Simon congratulated the recipients of the awards, who were vetted by strict criteria outlined for each scholarship. “We are thrilled to be able to give generously to our students during this 50th anniversary year [of the school],” Simon said. “It is a sign of our commitment, and that of our alumni and donors, to the success of the next generation of educators.” Virginia Arnold, a former School of Education faculty member often considered an honorary alumna because of her dedication to the school, is sponsoring one of the scholarships. “The most important thing you will ever do is get an education, and I want students from all walks of life to have that opportunity,” Arnold said. “If each of us gave $50 a year, imagine how many students could see their dreams come true. Students need our help today more than ever before, and future teachers are a great investment. If we don’t have teachers, we don’t have schools, and we won’t have a future.”
Alumni host VCU rally in Raleigh More than 50 VCU alumni gathered this spring in the Raleigh, North Carolina, home of nts Ron VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., prese Nancy (B.S.’80/P) and Ron McFarlane (B.S.’80/P) for a cocktail reception featuring VCU you gift. and Nancy McFarlane with a thank President Michael Rao, Ph.D. Rao was joined by Dean Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., dean of the School of Pharmacy, and Marti K.S. Heil, vice president for development and alumni relations. Nancy, who is the mayor of Raleigh, and Ron, who is group president, specialty infusion, for Diplomat Pharmacy, are major supporters of the School of Pharmacy, having established the McFarlane Scholarship in 2007 and the McFarlane Pharmacy Professorship and the Phi Delta Chi Scholarship in 2008. Both are Life members of VCU Alumni. Ron currently serves as a trustee for the MCV Foundation and the Dean’s National Advisory Council for the School of Pharmacy. Several MCV Foundation trustees, including Dr. Harry Young, Charles Crone, Liz Buono, Becky Perdue (B.S.’62/AHP) and Bertha Rolfe (B.S.’47/P), traveled from Richmond, Virginia for the event. 26 • Impact
Photo Elizabeth Galecke Photography
To learn more about the School of Education, contact Ed Kardos, senior director of development, at (804) 828-4692 or egkardos@vcu.edu.
The School of Nursing held a celebration June 24 to kick off a fundraising campaign for a new research endowment fund in honor of two retiring distinguished professors. Nancy McCain, Ph.D., and Mary Jo Grap, Ph.D., were recognized for their 20 and 31 years of service, respectively. Both professors were part of a team of pioneers who helped establish the School of Nursing’s biobehavioral research program and make it one of the best among nursing schools nationwide. At the event, Jean Giddens, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing, said, “Nancy and Mary Jo have made a significant impact on our school and the nursing profession through mentoring hundreds of nurse scientists, authoring numerous publications, presenting at many national conferences and conducting groundbreaking research that changed nursing research and bedside From left: Nancy McCain, Jean Giddens and Mary Jo Grap protocols nationwide.” The recipients of numerous nursing awards, both McCain and Grap were among the 120 faculty and alumni named as Visionary Leaders during the School of Nursing’s 120th anniversary in 2013. The McCain-Grap Endowment Fund honors their careers and is an investment in the future of the school’s Center for Biobehavioral Clinical Research.
Photo Lindy Rodman/VCU University Relationss
School of Nursing honors retiring professors
Photo courtesy Jadien R. Jones/CEO Magazine
Steps to scholarships The annual Virginia Commonwealth University Staff Senate’s Marquita Aguilar Scholarship Walk-A-Thon took place April 16. The event raises funds for the Virginia’s Caring University Scholarship, an undergraduate award for juniors and seniors in financial need with a grade point average of 2.7 or better. Participants met on the University Student Commons Plaza of the Monroe Park Campus, where VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., spoke about the importance of scholarships and introduced special guest Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of administration for Virginia. Rodrigues presented Marquita Aguilar, for whom the walkathon is named, with a letter from Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Aguilar, the director of VCU’s Great Place Initiative, established the event and scholarship program. Aguilar thanked donors, volunteers, guests and community sponsors – including WRIC-TV8 News, Virginia Credit Union and Richmond Region Tourism – before Dr. Eric West, assistant professor, VCU Recreational Sports, presented a quick, funfilled warm-up exercise for the participants. After the walk, participants convened in the University Student Commons Ballrooms for lunch and a chance to win prizes. The event raised more than $11,000 for the scholarship; VCU Staff Senate identified eight students to receive between $1,300 and $1,500 for the fall 2015 semester.
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Dean’s event celebrates student talent More than 600 guests, donors and friends of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering visited the Science Museum of Virginia for the school’s signature event for donors, the Dean’s Society spring event. The first night of the two-day Capstone Design Expo, which presents student work to faculty, industry sponsors and general audiences, the spring event is a time to celebrate Dean’s Society members, those who have given $1,000 or more annually, and to expose the donors to the great work happening at the School of Engineering. Showcasing student talent from across all five academic departments, the evening featured a record 77 Capstone Design projects. These projects represent the culmination of every engineering students’ undergraduate education, giving them an opportunity to tackle real-world problems. More than 150 donors and industry representatives attended. Distinguished attendees included local companies, the U.S. Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia Martin Andjaba and major benefactor and former foundation board member Mark A. Sternheimer. Before the event, Sternheimer and members of his family presented a $200,000 gift to establish the Mark A. Sternheimer Sr. Award. The award provides critical funding to entrepreneurial and innovative Capstone Design projects. “We’re here because these students are good,” Sternheimer said. “They have worked hard developing these projects, and they are going to make a difference in the world very soon.” To determine which Senior Design teams receive earlystage funding from the award, the School of Engineering Foundation recruits a group of corporate representatives to judge proof-of-concepts from the teams. The judging committee ranks all concept papers and then invites a select number of student teams to present their project in person to the committee. For example, 20 judges reviewed 18 concept proposals. After final-round presentations, six teams were awarded with Sternheimer funds to secure the necessary equipment and other resources to execute their projects. To learn more about the School of Engineering, contact Scott Rash, vice president for business development, at (804) 828-1475 or rsrash@vcu.edu.
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Development team welcomes new members Kristen Caldwell (B.S.’94/MC) Associate director of development and alumni marketing and communications Office of Development and Alumni Relations (804) 828-3977 kcaldwell2@vcu.edu Emma Coates Assistant director of donor communications and marketing Office of Development and Alumni Relations (804) 828-2694 ekcoates@vcu.edu Douglas McCartney Executive director of gift planning Office of Development and Alumni Relations (804) 828-5563 dwmccartney@vcu.edu Mary Riddick Assistant director of annual giving Office of Development and Alumni Relations (804) 828-0232 riddickm2@vcu.edu Ashley Sheets Director of development L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs (804) 828-6205 asheets@vcu.edu Pamela Stallsmith Director of communications and external relations L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs (804) 828-4582 pstallsmith@vcu.edu Brittany Taylor Development and communications coordinator VCU School of Nursing (804) 828-2993 bstaylor2@vcu.edu
50
students employed, including as many as 19 callers per shift
Behind the lines Virginia Commonwealth University’s Gold Line call center operates six days a week during the fall and spring semesters. Student representatives call VCU alumni to build relationships, to keep alumni informed about VCU and to make the case for annual financial support. Gold Line callers are essential to the VCU mission, to the success of the university and to maintaining and building new relationships with alumni. Here’s a look at what they achieved in fiscal year 2015.
120,581
available numbers to call
29
weeks of calling*
594,113 numbers dialed
2.1
calls resulting in interpersonal contact, per student per hour
4,559
calls resulting in a pledge or credit card gift
$96.96 average pledge
30%
of all annual gifts to VCU brought in through the Gold Line**
* with closures for holidays, winter and spring break and summer ** +/- 2 percentage points
Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Richmond, Virginia Permit No. 869
Virginia Commonwealth University Development and Alumni Relations
Photo VCU University Relations
P.O. Box 842026 Richmond, Virginia 23284-2026
“Receiving the William Russell Garnett Scholarship this year is truly special to me because of all that [retired professor Dr. Garnett] has done for the School of Pharmacy and with the creation of the Pharm.D program. I aspire to be a pharmacy professor one day. His generous scholarship will help me achieve this dream, and his long career will serve as an inspiration.� Dan Nichols
School of Pharmacy student, Class of 2016