A CA U M N P C A H I IS GN SU E L
Crowd pleaser Scholarship helps theater students like actress Ciara McMillian launch their careers
Why I give ...
“I give to VCU because I know firsthand how lifechanging a scholarship can be. My contributions help students to attend VCU, and that it is an investment worth making. VCU helped me discover myself and my path, and I give to ensure that other students have this same opportunity. Go Rams!” Ashley Allen (B.A.’09/H&S) Black & Gold Loyalty Society member with eight consecutive years of giving
To learn more about the Black & Gold Loyalty Society, visit support.vcu.edu/loyalty.
VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., addresses guests at the launch of the Make It Real Campaign for VCU. See photos, Page 16.
Features 4
Setting the stage
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Valuable lessons
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Joining forces
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Practice makes perfect
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Start of something good
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Three recipients of a theater scholarship discuss the boost it has given them in their burgeoning careers. The Emswiller Symposium promotes ways for health care professionals to collaborate and improve patient care.
Pushing the agenda
Students lead a campaign to replace some of the most worn-out chairs in the James Branch Cabell Library.
A fellowship in the School of Education provides research support for faculty and mentoring experience for a student. The student-athlete experience at VCU has improved, thanks to the new Basketball Development Center. The Massey Pilot Research Grant Program provides startup dollars to investigate promising new cancer treatments.
On the cover Ciara McMillian (B.A.‘16/A), a recipient of the Richard and William Newdick Scholarship in the VCU Department of Theatre 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; Brelyn Powell, blpowell@vcu.edu, (804) 828-3797 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. © 2016, Virginia Commonwealth University, an equal opportunity, affirmative action university campaign.vcu.edu support.vcu.edu • 1
Welcome to this special campaign-launch issue of Impact magazine Last month, Virginia Commonwealth University publicly launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history. The Make It Real Campaign for VCU, which runs until June 30, 2020, reaches all areas of the university, raising funds that support students, alumni, faculty and staff, patients, caregivers, researchers, schools, libraries, centers and institutes, athletics and the community. A universitywide campaign goal of $750 million was announced by President Michael Rao, Ph.D., at an exciting event Sept. 22 at the James Branch Cabell Library, generously sponsored by the MCV Foundation and the VCU Foundation. (For photos, see Page 16.) This public phase of the campaign follows what was, in effect, a “soft opening” that began July 1, 2012. (To find out how much has been raised so far, as well as some other important facts and figures, see Page 33.)
Why a campaign, and why now? Today, private philanthropy is the university’s only source of funding that has the potential to increase. Tuition, appropriately, supports VCU’s teaching mission. Research and state funding decline year after year. Gifts from alumni, friends and others enable VCU to achieve its dreams, our students to challenge the norm and our faculty, researchers and caregivers to excel. A comprehensive campaign is a strategic initiative designed to strengthen the university as a whole by engaging all areas of campus. It creates a sense of urgency and gives alumni and friends the opportunity to make a public statement of their support by participating.
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The Make It Real Campaign for VCU fuels growth in the following three major areas
People
Innovations
Environments
Attract, support and retain the finest students and faculty through scholarships, professorships and endowed chairs. Provide students with purposeful, hands-on learning and living experiences and faculty with support for startup research ideas.
Create new interdisciplinary partnerships and centers of excellence to offer students and faculty the right environments for meaningful research and learning experiences that will expand the university’s ability to solve complex local and global challenges through inquiry and discovery.
Provide world-class facilities, equipment and materials to expand the university’s research capacity. Increase the impact and sustainability of VCU’s community partnerships and its resources in education, health and workforce development.
With stories about how VCU’s Basketball Development Center is helping both players and the university become more competitive, a scholarship that enables theater students to pursue their passions, a health care symposium that prepares students for a future of interprofessional collaboration and much more, this special issue of VCU’s magazine for donors and friends celebrates the impact that funds raised by this campaign have already made in these three areas. We hope it will inspire you. To learn more about the Make It Real Campaign for VCU, visit campaign.vcu.edu.
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SETTING THE STAGE A generous scholarship from a beloved TheatreVCU leader has helped many students with the first act of their careers BY EMMA COATES
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n 2012, when former VCU Department of Theatre Chair Richard Newdick was too ill to attend a department reunion, past students and faculty colleagues put together a video to let him know how much he was missed. A heartfelt 10-minute tribute, it featured retired theatre professor Gary Hopper summing up why Newdick was so beloved by all those who knew him: “Your talent, your humor, your teaching ability and your love for TheatreVCU . . . .” Newdick died in 2015 after spending 30 years as a teacher of acting, directing, theater administration and dramatic literature at Virginia Commonwealth University. “He was so student-centered. He was just amazing,” says current Interim Chair Ron Keller. “He would spend hours poring over registration records to make sure students were taking the right classes and getting what they needed in order to graduate. And he was absolutely loved. Loved by the students, the faculty [and] the alumni.” In addition to giving so much as a faculty member, Newdick was a committed donor to the department. Much of his generosity supported the Richard and William Newdick Scholarship, which he established with a $10,000 gift in 2009. He continued to contribute to the fund even beyond his death, making a significant planned gift. “Because they have such intensive work on the productions and in their classes, our students really don’t have enough time to have an outside job,” Keller says, explaining why scholarships are so critical to theater students. “It’s not uncommon for them to have a 40-hour week on a production. And when we get into tech rehearsals and are putting the shows together to open, it may be even more than that.” Awarded to meritorious undergraduate students in the theater program who have exhibited outstanding engagement and commitment to theater, the Richard and William Newdick Scholarship has helped nine students since its inception. Three recipients of the award spoke to us in July about their burgeoning success. >>
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P EOP LE Theatre graduate Curt Miller (B.A.’16/A)
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Willa Piro (B.A.’16/A)
Curt Miller (B.A.’16/A)
“The dream is to be a Broadway designer or to design in top theaters around the U.S. and hopefully abroad as well,” says 21-year-old costume design graduate Willa Piro. “I’ve got a little leg up, so I think that’s not too far-fetched.” Piro’s first leg up came in the form of the Richard and William Newdick Scholarship, which she received in her junior year at VCU. “It was extremely helpful for paying rent and being able to go to theater conferences and also coming to New York to see shows,” she says. After her junior year, it helped finance an internship in New York City, where she interned, like fellow alumnus Curt Miller (B.A.’16/A), at famed arts organization The Public Theater. This summer, she’s back – but this time, she’s working full time, filling in for the assistant costume shop manager on the Shakespeare in the Park production of “Troilus and Willa Piro in The Public Cressida.” Theater costume shop After that, she will take a position for the rest of the summer as a stitcher in the costume shop for the organization’s Public Works event, a huge community performance involving children and adults from all five New York boroughs. “It’s really exciting, but a lot of work, to be able to costume about 200 people,” she says. This fall, Piro hopes to leverage the connections she has made within Public Theater and around the city to find a permanent assistant costume designer job. “Design is where I want to be,” she says. “And New York is where I want to continue to work on my career.”
“I’m in Central Park right now,” Curt Miller says. “My commute takes me through Central Park every morning, so that’s cool.” Miller, who graduated in May from VCU’s School of the Arts, received the Richard and William Newdick Scholarship in his senior year. Not only did it help him with the cost of living while he was in school, but it’s also still helping him get by while he’s living in New York, he says. He is in New York City as an audio intern at The Public Theater. He has been working mostly at its Shakespeare in the Park venue, first on a production of “The Taming of the Shrew” and now in technical rehearsals for “Troilus and Cressida.” “They do cool productions here,” he says. “They blow the designs out of proportion and really bring some cool things into it.” Proportion is one of the biggest culture shocks New York has given him so far. “Technical theater here is a much bigger business than in regional theaters, and I’m not used to working with so many other audio people,” he says. “A lot of the skills here are specific to New York theater, so right off the bat it’s a learning experience. It’s teaching me so much that they just don’t really get to teach in school.” Life, and work, in the city looks set to continue after his summer internship. Though it’s too soon to talk much about it, he says he’s excited Curt Miller at work in that a permanent job is Central Park, New York “in the works.”
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Richard Newdick’s gifts
Ciara McMillian (B.A.’16/A)
$197,195
In the summer before she officially graduates, Ciara McMillian is getting her last three credits via an internship with the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. GIVEN DURING HIS LIFETIME “The festival focuses on new works,” the 22-year-old says. “I’m understudying the main female roles for ‘Penmanship’ IN PLANNED GIFTS by Christina Anderson and ‘The Wedding Gift’ by Chisa Hutchinson, and I am in the ensemble for ‘The Wedding FROM THE ESTATE OF NEWDICK’S BROTHER, Gift.’ I’m working with some of WILLIAM, AFTER RICHARD’S PASSING the top artists in our nation.” It’s a long way from Jackson, Ciara McMillian in ”The Wedding Gift“ Mississippi, where McMillian grew up and where she TOTAL AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP describes the education system as “failing the kids.” After exploring her love for FUNDING THEATREVCU WOULD HAVE WITHOUT NEWDICK’S CONTRIBUTIONS theater at boarding school, she says, the only way she could expand on what she’d learned was by attending college in another state. McMillian chose VCU, but being from out of state, her tuition costs were even higher. So when she received the Richard and William Newdick Scholarship in her senior year, it “helped so much.” AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING Taking Solo Performance, for which she wrote and performed her own piece, THEATREVCU HAS WITH HIS CONTRIBUTIONS during her senior year was a particular turning point. “It taught me how to not be afraid to give my point of view as an artist,” she says. “To get past the fear and believe in myself.” McMillian’s education, fueled by private Many alumni, friends, faculty and staff make estate and planned gifts to support the philanthropy, helped her continue to dream big, university in their wills, revocable trusts and retirement plans, and others make gifts by and now she wants to help others do the same. using charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts. “In my later life, I would like to start my own school of theater, so that I can introduce people These gifts make a great difference. If you want to make a big impact in an area that is important like me, who come from places where there to you, consider making a planned or estate gift. aren’t a lot of opportunities, to things that other To learn more, contact Doug McCartney, J.D., executive director of gift planning, at (804) 828people may have said they could not do.”
$495,984
Photo Seth Freeman/CATF 2016
$216,638
$220,000
$1,065,166
How to make a planned gift
Planned giving
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Background photo Jay Paul
5563 or dwmccartney@vcu.edu.
Joining forces Health care symposium improves patient care by encouraging interprofessional collaboration By Brelyn Powell
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Photo Allen Jones, University Marketing
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ollaborating across health disciplines is routine for Lyubov Slashcheva, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’16/D), as she cares for adults in the University of Iowa School of Dentistry’s special needs clinic and nearby nursing facilities. In fact, she depends on her interactions with clinicians from other fields to help her provide patients with the care they need. “I am not hesitant to reach out across disciplines and experience levels to meet the needs of my patients,” she says. “I work with people from a variety of disciplines both by necessity and opportunity. We all play a role in providing our patients with the best care.” Knowing that her knowledge of oral health alone is not enough to address her patients’ full scope of needs, Slashcheva, a fellow in geriatric and special needs dentistry and a resident in public health dentistry at UI, has sought opportunities to work with her peers from other health professions throughout her dental career so far.
I N N O VAT I O N S Lyubov Slashcheva pictured in 2015, when still a student at VCU
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Fourth-year nursing, medical and pharmacy students during a simulation exercise for the Interprofessional Critical Care Simulation course
This fall, she joined the Iowa Leadership Education in Neuro developmental and Related Disabilities Project, an interdisciplinary leadership training program for graduate students committed to providing culturally competent, family-centered health care and related services for children with special health care needs and their families. Slashcheva credits interprofessional experiences she had as a student in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry with emboldening her to collaborate across disciplines. Each year during her time at VCU, Slashcheva a ttended the Jew-
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ell and Carl Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium, contributing to the event by serving on the planning committee and participating in student panel discussions. Through a series of panels, breakout sessions and keynote speakers, attendees of the Emswiller Symposium learn how collaboration among health care professionals can improve the health of communities and enhance the patient experience. Health care educators, practitioners and students from throughout the region gather at this annual event to share how their institutions are preparing the future workforce to meet this challenge.
students. What sets VCU’s efforts apart is that these exercises are requirements for all nursing and medical students. “With the current emphasis on quality in health care, we all recognize that major improvements can only come from wellcoordinated teams of health care practitioners,” says VCU School of Pharmacy Dean Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D. “VCU has to lead the way in interprofessional education and practice.” To learn more about the Jewell and Carl Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium, contact Ellen Carfagno, director of development, at (804) 8283016 or emcarfagno@vcu.edu.
Photo VCU Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care
Photo VCU Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care
The Emswiller Symposium was endowed in 2012 with a gift from Jewell Emswiller to commemorate the accomplishments of her late husband, Carl (B.S.’62/P), a former VCU clinical faculty member and pioneer in collaborative pharmacy practice. “Carl believed that patients receive the best care when there is a collaborative effort among their health care providers,” Emswiller says. “He would be humbled that professionals and students come from all over [the region] to attend a symposium in his name and learn how they can work together toward the same goal he strived for in his own career: to do everything in his capacity to provide patients with the best possible care.” Throughout his 30-year pharmacy career, Carl Emswiller consistently sought to increase opportunities for others in his profession to have a more profound impact on patient health outcomes. In 2009, an interdisciplinary committee of representatives from each health care discipline at VCU had just been formed to explore how they could work together to provide patients with optimal care. When Carl Emswiller passed away that same year, Jewell Emswiller and Victor Yanchick, Ph.D., then-dean of the School of Pharmacy, began to work with that committee to create the Emswiller Symposium in his memory. Each year at the symposium, VCU students and professors share how collaborative educational programs on the MCV Campus teach students to join forces and employ one another’s different skill sets to fully serve the needs of a patient. At the 2013 and 2015 symposia, VCU School of Nursing clinical assistant professor Tanya Huff, RN, CCRN, CCNS, CNE, gave presentations on one of the ways VCU health sciences students develop such an understanding through course-required, simulation-based exercises. Her presentations showcased how interprofessional teams of VCU nursing, medical and pharmacy students work together through a series of realistic simulations to provide care for a patient experiencing a medical crisis. The teams must collaborate across professions to make a diagnosis and provide care that will produce the best patient outcome. Huff, who co-directs the course with Christopher Hogan, M.D., FACEP (M.S.’10/M), an associate professor in the VCU School of Medicine, says very few institutions offer similar courses, and those that do offer them to limited numbers of
Jewell and Carl Emswiller
2017 Symposium The fifth annual Carl and Jewell Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium takes place Saturday, Feb. 4, at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico, Virginia. Registration is open through the morning of the event. To learn more, visit go.vcu.edu/ipeconference.
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ENVI RONMENTS
PUSHING THE AGENDA Students take the issue of VCU Libraries’ worn-out seating into their own hands B Y B R E LY N P O W E L L
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his year, more than 2 million students, faculty and community members will visit the James Branch Cabell Library in the heart of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park Campus. Thousands more use the MCV Campus study spaces at Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences. With that amount of traffic, wear and tear of the library’s furniture is constant. The Cabell Library Undergraduate Advisory Committee aims to answer one aspect of that problem with the Misfit Chairs Project. VCU’s first student-run, student-centric, web-based crowdfunding effort aims to raise $10,000 to replace 52 worn-down chairs in the James Branch Cabell Library with new, ergonomic task chairs. The undergraduate committee, which advises library leadership on student priorities and needs, has playfully
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designed the project to resemble the process of adopting a pet – the pet, in this case, any one of Cabell’s tired “misfit chairs.” Those who support the cause with a gift of $25 or more are invited to take a photo with their “adopted” misfit chair to share on social media. Earlier this year, Cabell underwent a renovation that included five floors of new or updated spaces and 1,500 new seats for students. State funding did not fully cover renovation of all spaces or replace furnishings in older sections of the building, so some chairs purchased as long ago as the 1970s remain in use. CLUAC members Taylor Calicchia and Mack Edmondson noticed that the students sitting in the older chairs often looked tired and unfocused. They recognized an opportunity for students to get involved and pitched the Misfit Chairs Project to CLUAC.
“We hope that engaging students in getting new chairs will help everyone feel welcome,” says Edmondson, a fourthyear criminal justice student. “Comfort is critical to help students study efficiently for extended periods of time.” Few services or places on campus are more vital to students than are the libraries. “The library really does serve every unit and discipline,” says Antonia Vassar (B.A.’05/A), director of annual giving and donor relations for VCU Libraries. “Even a small gift to the Misfit Chairs Project will impact every student on campus, and the fact that students themselves wanted to have a hand in improving [the library] shows how much it means to them.” Although the Misfit Chairs Project emphasizes student involvement, anyone can participate. “The VCU community extends beyond campus and is full of people who feel connected to the university and want to support its students,” says Calicchia, a fourth-year biology student. “I would feel so encouraged knowing that [nonstudent donors] wanted to support a cause that is so important to my peers and me.” Stephanie Holt (B.S.’74/E), president of the Friends of VCU Libraries Advisory Board, sees Misfit Chairs as the ultimate opportunity to support students. “What better way is there to show support for VCU students than by supporting a cause that was their own initiative?” she says. Gifts made to support the Misfit Chairs Project count toward VCU Libraries’ Seat-a-Student Fund and are eligible to be matched as part of the $1 million challenge grant extended to VCU Libraries by the Cabell Foundation. The challenge grant calls on VCU Libraries to raise $1 million in gifts and pledges by June 30, 2017. When that goal is reached, the foundation will commit $1 million. To learn more about VCU Libraries, contact Kelly Gotschalk (B.F.A.’90/A; M.A.’97/A), director of development and major gifts, at (804) 827-1163 or kjgotschalk@vcu.edu. To learn more about the Misfit Chairs Project, visit go.vcu.edu/misfitchairs.
CLUAC member Mack Edmondson takes a Cabell Library seat for a spin to raise awareness of the Misfit Chairs Project at the VCU Broad Street Mile in September. Photo Allen Jones, University Marketing
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VCUarts friends and alumni at Steinway in March
VCUarts launches bid to become an ‘All-Steinway School‘
To learn more about the School of the Arts, contact Julia Carr, executive director of development, at (804) 828-4676 or carrj@vcu.edu. To learn more about the fundraising campaign, visit support.vcu.edu/steinway.
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To learn more about the School of Dentistry, contact Barbara Payton (B.S.’83/MC), director of development for major gifts and reunion giving, at (804) 827-1537 or bpayton@vcu.edu.
Social work event emphasizes importance of philanthropy Some of the most significant donors to the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work were recognized April 21 at the third annual Dean’s Circle Celebration. Current M.S.W. student and scholarship recipient Elizabeth Marconi (B.S.’12/B) spoke about her personal road to the school and how the Social Work Administration, Planning and Policy Practice Scholarship helped her Elizabeth Marconi achieve her educational goals. Scholarship donor Katharine McCardell Webb (M.S.W.’73/SW) ended the evening by outlining the school’s philanthropic priorities for the next four years. The School of Social Work Dean’s Circle is a recognition giving society for donors who make significant contributions to the school annually. These funds support philanthropic initiatives including student success and scholarships.
Photo Cynthia Newmark
VCUarts kicked off a $2.5 million fundraising campaign this September to replace its fleet of pianos with new Steinway & Sons models and gain the distinction of becoming an “All-Steinway School.” “We want to offer our students the best tools possible to help them hone their talent,” Department of Music Chair Darryl Harper says, adding that the pianos will help VCUarts continue to attract top students and faculty to its music department. From Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House, 97 percent of the pianos on concert stages around the world are made by Steinway & Sons. Widely considered the world’s best pianos, the handmade instruments are renowned for their exceptional range and tone and the care that goes into making each one – as a group of VCUarts alumni and friends witnessed on a visit to the Steinway factory in Queens, New York, in March. The music department currently has 59 pianos; only three are in good-to-excellent condition. On average, the department’s pianos are eight years older than the typical 25-year lifespan of a university piano. The campaign aims to replace 56 pianos. “To be designated an All-Steinway School recognizes our commitment to provide music students with the best possible keyboard instruments to support their musical training,” Interim Dean James Frazier says. “It is on these instruments that they will prepare for their professional lives as musicians and teachers and go on to enlighten and enrich our world.”
With two $7,500 gifts, recent dentistry graduate Jasmine Elmore, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’13/D), has created two scholarships. The Dr. Jasmine R. Elmore Scholarship and the Dr. Lawrence Masters Scholarship, named for Larry Masters, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’73/D), a mentor of Elmore’s who retired from the school this year, were inspired by her deep appreciation for the scholarships she received while a student. Both will be presented this fall. Elmore’s generosity is remarkable given that she graduated only three years ago. The average School of Dentistry graduate owes more than $180,000 upon graduation, and Elmore has student loan payments of $3,000 a month. Elmore talked about the importance of giving back during an address at the Senior Toast dinner in April.
Photo Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing
Young dentist becomes donor
Faculty and students demonstrate sterile compounding.
School of Pharmacy opens innovative compounding center Descriptions such as “trendsetting,” “innovative,” “rare” and “paving the way” punctuated remarks made during the June 10 open house and ribbon cutting for the VCU School of Pharmacy’s new Center for Compounding Practice & Research. Speakers and special guests included VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.; CCPR Director Barbara Exum, Pharm.D. (B.S.’82/P; Pharm.D.’86/P), and Assistant Director Quamrun Masuda, Ph.D.; Virginia Del. Kirk Cox; and compounding pharmacist S. Chris Jones (B.S.’82/P), who also is a Virginia delegate. Dean Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., welcomed attendees and thanked former Dean Victor A. Yanchick, Ph.D., for having initiated the project during his tenure at the school. DiPiro noted that the CCPR is one of only a handful of universitybased sterile compounding facilities in the country. “Completion of the center puts us at the forefront of schools of pharmacy nationwide in terms of compounding training,” he said. “It will propel the university to become a regional and national training center for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, industry personnel and pharmaceutical regulators.” Among the center’s special components is a donor wall that
recognizes the generosity, vision and leadership of alumni and friends, organizations, businesses and institutions that made the center possible. Compounding refers to the act of combining, mixing or altering ingredients to create medications specific to an individual patient's needs. Sterile compounding facilities must adhere to strict safety and quality standards to produce, for example, medications that will be injected or infused. Compounding has come nearly full circle. Originally used to fill the majority of prescriptions, it was relegated to specialization status with the advent of drug manufacturing in the mid-20th century. Now it’s a necessity for many who depend upon personalized, or precision, medication for optimal health care. “At the center of everything we do is the patient,” Exum said. “We have a unique opportunity with this state-of-the-art sterile facility.” Rao expressed appreciation for the significantly expanding roles of pharmacists. “I am proud of all of you,” he said, “for filling the gaps in the health care continuum.” To learn more about the School of Pharmacy, contact Ellen Carfagno, director of development, at (804) 828-3016 or emcarfagno@vcu.edu. campaign.vcu.edu support.vcu.edu • 15
Campaign launch in pictures More than 300 of Virginia Commonwealth University’s closest friends and donors gathered Sept. 22 for the public launch of the Make It Real Campaign for VCU. University pep band the Peppas offered a spirited welcome to the newly renovated James Branch Cabell Library, where an early evening reception was followed by a program featuring VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.; scholarship recipient Alfred Vann II; and faculty member, donor and campaign volunteer Lisa Ellis, M.D. (M.D.'01/M). Guests then had an exclusive first look at a special campaign video before the financial goal of $750 million was revealed. After the program, a selection of food from countries with which VCU has a special relationship was served while guests mingled and enjoyed a light show from master’s student Russell White.
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Photos 1-8, 10, 12-13 Allen Jones, University Marketing
1 President Rao reveals the campaign goal. 2 The Peppas welcome guests to the James Branch Cabell Library. 3 President Emeritus Eugene P. Trani (H.L.D.’09), Steve Markel and Lois Trani 4 Alfred Vann II 5 Susan (B.S.’87/B) and Mike Gracik 6 President Rao addresses guests. 7 C. Kenneth Wright (H.L.D.’11) and Inger Rice 8 The Peppas entertain guests. 9 The VCU Jazz Student Combo plays for guests in the library’s Lecture Hall. 10 Lisa Ellis, M.D. (M.D.’01/M) 11 I. Jane Dowrick (B.A.’74/H&S; M.Ed.’92/E) and Michael D. Whitlow (B.S.’74/H&S) 12 John Doswell, D.D.S. (D.D.S.’79/D), Jon Hill (B.S.’85/B; M.B.A.’99/B; M.S.’12/B), Vickie Snead (B.S.’76/B) and Tom Snead (B.S.’76/B; H.L.D.’12) 13 Guests watch the campaign video.
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P EOP LE
Valuable lessons Fellowship gives student research opportunity and helps faculty gauge program impact B Y B R E LY N P O W E L L
Joan Rhodes (left), Sharon Zumbrunn and Savanna Love in Florence, Italy, in 2016
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ach spring, Sharon Zumbrunn, Ph.D., and Joan Rhodes, Ph.D., associate professors in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education, lead a two-week study-abroad trip to Italy. There, VCU graduate students teach English to elementary school pupils and study how teaching methods used in Italian schools can be employed to meet the needs of learners in the United States and beyond. “We visit Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Waldorf-Steiner-inspired schools,” Zumbrunn explains. “Many of those approaches originated in Italy, so seeing them practiced there is a unique experience.” Hoping to take a deeper look into the impact of their study-abroad program, Zumbrunn and Rhodes applied to the School of Education’s Faculty Excellence Fund to create an international teaching fellowship. Established by an anonymous donor, the fund aims to support faculty in research or professional projects. Two awards ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 are given each year from the fund at the discretion of the school’s Advancement Council, which comprises alumni and donors. The professors received $4,980, which supported educational psychology doctoral student Savanna Love to join them as a coteacher and research assistant on the trip this past March. Love helped Zumbrunn and Rhodes by interviewing the VCU students and reviewing their blogs and journals to gauge the effectiveness of the study-abroad program. She collected data on how experiential learning abroad deepens students’ understanding of the course material – all while gaining valuable experience in graduatelevel instruction teaching alongside Zumbrunn and Rhodes. Although Love’s role as a researcher began with the fellowship, she has continued to work with Zumbrunn and Rhodes in analyzing the
data. The results of the ongoing research are not yet finalized, but Zumbrunn and Rhodes are certain their findings will help them develop their program to provide the best possible student experience. “It’s very common for faculty to have a lot of ideas that could improve their programs,” Zumbrunn says. “It’s not as common that resources are available to support efforts to research those ideas.” Love, who is on track to graduate in 2017, says that becoming a mentor to the students was crucial to her growth as an educator. “Teaching at the graduate level is new to me,” says Love, a former high school teacher. “Taking on that role as a leader really pushed me forward in learning to be an effective instructor.” Zumbrunn adds that as Love’s academic adviser for a number of years, working with her as a co-teacher was rewarding. “Seeing her take on that role and come into her own was so fulfilling,” she says. “The School of Education Faculty Excellence Fund is a great example of how the generosity of others supports opportunities for faculty innovation,” says the school’s dean, Andrew P. Daire, Ph.D. “Impactful teaching, learning and research for students and faculty are central to the aims of the VCU School of Education.” To learn more about the School of Education, contact Ed Kardos, senior director of development, at (804) 8284692 or egkardos@vcu.edu.
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ICA Director Lisa Freiman (left) and President Michael Rao, Ph.D. (center), with donors (from left) Marcia and Harry Thalhimer, Deb Valentine, Pat Kelly, Karen Hansen and Ted Elmore Photo Olivia Walthall (B.A.'16/A)
President Rao joins donors for a sneak peek of the ICA on hard hat tour Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, Ph.D., joined Director Lisa Freiman and donors in June for a hard hat tour of the emerging Institute for Contemporary Art at The Markel Center on the corner of Broad and Belvidere streets in Richmond, Virginia. Scheduled to open in 2017, the ICA will be an incubator for cross-disciplinary studies at VCU, using contemporary art as a way to explore a multitude of disciplines from neuroscience to social science. Designed by world-renowned architect Stephen Holl, the ICA will become a cultural linchpin of the city, showcasing a changing roster of 20 • Impact
exhibitions, performances, films and special programs. Construction on the project, which is nearing its $37 million fundraising goal, progressed throughout the summer, dramatically changing the busiest intersection in Richmond and creating a new gateway to the university. 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. Online extra: Watch the construction cameras and learn more at ica.vcu.edu.
Challenge grant supporting clinical trials at Massey meets its match A challenge grant of $1 million from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation has been completed, leveraging an additional $2.02 million in support of Massey Cancer Center’s new Research Pavilion. The challenge grant inspired Massey Advisory Board leadership support and new gifts to Massey, offering donors the opportunity to name Research Pavilion areas such as private offices and conference rooms. As the top donor, with a total fundraising impact of $1 million thanks to the challenge, East West Communities Foundation named the 12th floor. Members of the East West Communities Foundation, Ferguson Enterprises and Perkinson The Massey Research Pavilion provides cancer researchers Homes celebrate the dedication of the 12th floor of the Massey Research Pavilion. with 26,000 square feet of space to pursue innovative and collaborative clinical trial work to impact the way that cancer is prevented, detected and treated. Encompassing the 11th and 12th floors of the McGlothlin Medical Education Center, it serves as an active hub for clinical research, clinical trial administration, hematology, oncology and palliative care. To learn more about VCU Massey Cancer Center, contact Cindy Zilch, chief development officer, at (804) 828-1452 or czilch@vcu.edu.
Photo Michael Hahn Photography
Harper’s Hope Golf Tournament and auction benefits ALS research, care The second annual Harper’s Hope Golf Tournament to benefit the Harper’s Hope Fund for ALS at the MCV Foundation was held in May at the Country Club of Virginia Tuckahoe Creek Course. More than $40,000 was raised for the VCU ALS clinic, which provides research and care for patients and their families in Virginia. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The Harper’s Hope Fund was established two years ago by the late Vic Harper and his family, with the goal of making a difference in ALS research and care. The Harper family sought to improve the clinical program to make Anne Harper with Dick Fisher, longtime friend of the late resources more accessible to patients, to educate the medical and general public Vic Harper, and Landon Harper, Anne and Vic’s son about the disease and to seek a cure. “Harper’s Hope continues to provide valuable resources and support to our clinical, research and educational missions surrounding ALS care,” says Scott Vota, D.O., VCU associate professor and interim chair of neurology and residency program director. “Over the last year, research continues to progress toward improving the lives of patients afflicted with this devastating disease. The efforts of the Harper family and the Harper’s Hope Fund continue to get us closer to a cure.” campaign.vcu.edu support.vcu.edu • 21
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ENVI RONMENTS
practice
makes perfect The new Basketball Development Center has transformed not only the player experience but also the future of the university’s game ARTICLE BY BRELYN POWELL • PHOTOS BY SKIP ROWLAND
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hen Virginia Commonwealth University opened the 62,000-square-foot Basketball Development Center in October 2015, it was a game-changer for the men’s and women’s basketball teams in every way, providing a state-of-the-art space for everything from morning practices and weightlifting sessions to afternoon naps and team meals. “It’s a place for these athletes to not only work on their craft but to bond as a team,” says Daniel Ludwin, who was introduced to VCU basketball in 2009 by his friend David Boardman (B.S.’91/B). After just one game, Ludwin declared himself a “rabid Ram fan.” Ludwin and Boardman both made pledges to support the construction of the practice facility. With private donors like them funding $14.5 million of the building’s approximately $25 million cost, the Basketball Development Center was the largest private fundraising project in VCU Athletics history. “We pride ourselves at VCU in developing student-athletes into the best versions of themselves, and our supporters make that possible,” says Ed McLaughlin, associate vice president and director of athletics. “This facility is one of the top five in the country.” Keira Robinson, a senior mass communications major and point guard on the VCU women’s basketball team, says the convenience of the facility has made it easier for her to manage her long and rigorously scheduled days as a student-athlete. Here, she gives us a player’s-eye view of the new facility’s accommodations. >>
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Robinson’s day begins with an early morning practice with her teammates on a court that is exclusively theirs – the new facility houses separate but identical courts and locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams. “Both teams have access to the same quality of practice space,” says Beth O’Boyle, head coach of the women’s basketball team. “We want our women and men to have the same experience.” VCU basketball players shared practice space in the Franklin Street Gym with several other VCU sports teams until the new facility opened last year. Now the athletes have 24-hour access to their own gym, which enables them to work on their game whenever and as often as possible.
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The practice courts are equipped with five cameras to record practices and workouts. Each court has an adjoining film room for coaches and athletes to review practice footage and to assess their performance as individuals and as a team. O’Boyle sees the facility’s technology and equipment as tools for recruiting top athletes to VCU. “We didn’t have anything like this before,” she says. “When potential recruits see this facility, they know it will allow them to train, grow and be competitive against some of the best teams in the country."
Robinson continues her training in the strength and conditioning area with Buddy Donnelly (B.S.’14/ H&S), director of sports performance for women’s basketball. Donnelly works with the players to build the strength necessary to improve their skill. “We have access to some of the best equipment, and it shows on the court,” Robinson says. “Whenever I want, I can come in here and do what it takes to get stronger and faster.” campaign.vcu.edu support.vcu.edu • 25
After a morning of training, Robinson heads to the facility’s dining hall, which offers the men’s and women’s basketball teams buffet-style meals. As she enjoys breakfast with her teammates, she explains that the new practice facility does more than just support the teams’ athletic development. Coaches’ offices and several quiet spaces enable the studentathletes to meet with their academic advisers and stay caught up on schoolwork. A lounge area featuring televisions, gaming systems and an air hockey table gives the players a place to unwind and socialize. This area includes several large, plush bean bag chairs – Robinson’s favorite place to sit.
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Online extra Watch women’s basketball player Keira Robinson’s tour of the Basketball Development Center at support.vcu.edu/practice.
The facility’s sports medicine area has a hot tub, a cold tub and a hydrotherapy tub. An adjustable treadmill platform in the hydrotherapy tub lowers players into the water for low-impact cardiovascular training while cameras monitor their movements. “When the season picks up, we don’t always have time to let our bodies rest between games,” Robinson says. “This [equipment] helps us take care of ourselves and prevent injuries.” Unless she is attending class or sleeping in her dorm room, Robinson is in the Basketball Development Center, and she is grateful for those whose contributions made the facility possible. “They show up at games and are always cheering for us,” she says. “They present us with the opportunity to strive for greatness.” To learn more about VCU Athletics, contact Glenn Hofmann, executive associate athletic director, at (804) 828-7398 or gahofmann@vcu.edu.
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Massey Cancer Center researchers David Gewirtz, Ph.D. (left), and M. Imad Damaj, Ph.D.
START OF SOMETHING GOOD Massey’s Pilot Research Grant Program sets the groundwork for the next big discovery
BY BRELYN POWELL
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I N N O VAT I O N S
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fter years of studying chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation, David Gewirtz, Ph.D., a member of Massey Cancer Center’s developmental therapeutics research team, knew that efforts to address the toxicity of the drugs and their painful side effects were sorely needed. In 2013, he recruited his research partner, M. Imad Damaj, Ph.D., a researcher in cancer prevention and control with extensive experience in the uses and effects of nicotine. Together, they decided to test nicotine receptors in the central nervous system as potential agents for the suppression of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a combination of numbness, tingling and burning sensations, as well as discomfort from otherwise routine contact, that is common for cancer patients undergoing treatment. “People in Dr. Damaj’s field have known for years that nicotine can mitigate certain kinds of pain, but the cancer community was unaware of that,” Gewirtz says. “When painful side effects like CIPN appear, clinicians often have to terminate the treatment before it is completed, which can be detrimental to the patient.” Using data produced in Damaj’s laboratory, Gewirtz and Damaj developed a proposal for funding from Massey’s Pilot Research Grant Program to support their efforts. The pilot program provides startup dollars for researchers to gather initial data to support innovative research initiatives. As part of Massey’s commitment to encourage collaboration in cancer research, the pilot program requires any project to involve at least two independent investigators from different research disciplines. This requirement encourages investigators with complementary areas of expertise to come together to explore how their findings will impact the cancer community as a whole. Gewirtz and Damaj’s proposal earned them an award of $50,000 to produce the initial data they needed to apply for a research project grant from the National Institutes of Health. This year, they received a grant of $1.7 million to continue their efforts. “The pilot project grant did more than just fund our preliminary research,” Damaj says. “It allowed us to connect with
many clinicians who treat patients with this side effect every day and work with them to figure out how we could develop our data and translate it into possible treatment trials.” Since 2012, philanthropic and state funds have been the primary sources of funding for Massey’s Pilot Research Grant Program. In that time, $1,783,216 has been awarded to fund 42 projects. That investment has generated more than $16 million in external grant funding for the cancer center. This return on investment makes the program an appealing way for donors like Ted Chandler to direct their support. As a member and former chairman of Massey Cancer Center’s Community Advisory Board, Chandler has witnessed firsthand the center’s dedication to groundbreaking research and is passionate about doing his part to help. He established the Chandler Family Research Fund in 2011 with an initial pledge of $50,000 as part of the Pilot Research Grant Program. “Like almost every family, mine has been impacted by the scourge of cancer,” Chandler says. “Knowing that my gift could catalyze Massey’s next great breakthrough is very important to us. We do a little bit, and the researchers do the rest.” Damaj and Gewirtz are planning to extend their efforts to develop a comprehensive program that addresses other side effects of cancer and cancer treatment, such as joint pain and cognitive dysfunction. They hope their work will lead to the development of methods to treat the dose-limiting side effects of chemotherapy and radiation and improve the quality of life of cancer patients. “It is only because of the generosity of the community that I’m able to direct funds to ensure we are pursuing the most promising and innovative concepts,” says Gordon D. Ginder, M.D., director of Massey Cancer Center and Lipman Chair in Oncology. “It’s an essential part of our mission, and return on this investment will ultimately be measured in patients living longer, healthier lives.” To learn more about VCU Massey Cancer Center, contact Cindy Zilch, chief development officer, at (804) 828-1452 or czilch@vcu.edu.
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Reception celebrates planned giving on the MCV Campus Some of the university’s most generous donors were honored at a reception hosted by the MCV Foundation this past spring. More than 100 guests attended the event at the historic Wilton House Museum to celebrate the support of members of the MCV Society, which recognizes donors who wish to leave a legacy by making a planned gift to benefit the schools, units and programs on the MCV Campus. Margaret Ann Bollmeier, president of the MCV Foundation, thanked guests for their support and reported that the MCV Society had welcomed 15 new members since last year’s event.
Membership in the MCV Society has reached 350; the total impact of planned gifts to the MCV Campus is estimated at more than $110 million. Gifts from donors’ estates provide scholarships for students who cannot otherwise afford a medical education. They help the institutions on the MCV Campus recruit top faculty and fund groundbreaking research and lifesaving patient care. For more information about planned giving and the MCV Society, please contact Brian S. Thomas, vice president and chief development officer of the MCV Foundation, at (804) 828-0067 or brian.thomas@vcuhealth.org.
A challenge grant launched by JHW Foundation aims to build support for Rams in Recovery, VCU’s collegiate recovery program. By matching funds raised dollar for dollar up to $15,000, the challenge grant’s goals are to increase the support for students in addiction recovery through individual mentorship, peer support, career workshops, yoga, outdoor activities and family support. JHW Foundation is named for John Henry Watkins, a student at VCU who died from an accidental overdose in September 2010. It was started by Henry’s best friend, Kevin Meyer; Henry’s stepmother, Roz Watkins, is chair of the board.
About Rams in Recovery Rams in Recovery was founded in 2013, when two local addictions professionals approached VCU faculty member Linda Hancock. A small “project team” was formed with substantial support from the JHW Foundation, and a student group soon emerged with a handful of successful graduates in the first two years. In 2015, VCU committed to support collegiate recovery by hiring a program coordinator and creating a “recovery clubhouse” on campus. The program graduated 10 more students in spring 2016.
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Roz and Henry’s father, John, fought to help their beloved son Henry free himself from addiction. After his death, the couple, with their daughter Lee Lee, have transformed their tragedy into hope and opportunity for young people and their families as they struggle with addiction. JHW Foundation has become Rams in Recovery’s biggest supporter, giving more than $50,000 since the program was founded in 2013. The college environment can be a hostile one for students in recovery, but Rams in Recovery aims to ensure that at VCU, students never have to choose between their education and their recovery. “I’m particularly drawn to our work with college recovery communities, especially at VCU, because college can be such a difficult place to maintain recovery,” Roz Watkins says. “We are excited because of the success we have seen from students involved in these groups.” To learn more about making gifts to support Rams in Recovery and other student programming, contact Chad Krouse, senior director of development, regional giving, at (804) 828-2346 or cmkrouse@vcu.edu. To learn more about the program, visit recovery.vcu.edu or email recovery@vcu.edu. Online extra: To hear program participants discuss what Rams in Recovery means to them, visit support.vcu.edu/recovery.
Photo Hillary Kuhn
Challenge grant boosts university’s addiction recovery program
Record turnout toasts engineering school’s 20th at Dean’s Society event About 700 attendees gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the School of Engineering during the Dean’s Society’s spring event at VCU’s Stuart C. Siegel Center. Held on the eve of the school’s annual Capstone Design Expo, the event honored two decades of excellence in engineering education and showcased promising innovations created by the next generation of engineers. This year’s Dean’s Society event attracted three times as many attendees as usual, many of them Richmond VIPs participating in what former Gov. George Allen called a “birthday celebration” for the school. Commending the evolution of the School of Engineering, Allen called it “this sapling that we planted 20 years ago” and said the fruit
it was now bearing was the students and their “great projects.” VCU President Emeritus Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., who led VCU’s establishment of the School of Engineering, recalled some of his early conversations about strategy with leaders of other top engineering programs. “It’s just amazing what we have now,” he said. Dean’s Society members seemed to share Trani’s sentiment as they previewed the prototypes on display for the next day’s annual judged Capstone Expo, the culmination of every graduating senior’s education. A project sponsored by Tredegar Corporation to increase the durability of elastic laminate products and a 3-D-printed microwave hypothermia applicator for breast cancer chemothermotherapy were among the 81 designs on display. campaign.vcu.edu support.vcu.edu • 31
Athletics fans flock to fundraisers The Ram Athletic Fund hosted two of its most anticipated annual events, the Tommy J. West Drive Auction and the Golf Tournament, May 5-6. The events, fundraisers for VCU Athletics, were held, respectively, at the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center and the Country Club of Virginia’s Tuckahoe Creek Course, both in Richmond, Virginia. The auction saw VCU supporters bid on one-of-a-kind items of memorabilia as well as “experiences” that included a trip to the Masters Tournament and a chance to travel with the VCU men’s basketball team. Despite rainy conditions, foursomes flocked to CCV for the golf tournament and enjoyed a little friendly competition to benefit VCU student-athletes and a chance to rub elbows with men’s basketball coach Will Wade. Wade, who played for his high school’s golf team, waited at the 10th tee, where he took a swing for each group upon their arrival.
Development team welcomes new members Nathan G. Bick Major gifts officer School of Medicine (804) 828-4900 ngbick@vcu.edu
Margaret Ann Bollmeier President MCV Foundation (804) 828-2392 margaretann.bollmeier@vcuhealth.org
Samantha A. DiBiase Development assistant Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine (804) 628-3878 samantha.dibiase@vcuhealth.org
Michael B. Dowdy Chief development officer School of Engineering (804) 828-1475 mdowdy@vcu.edu
Lauren A. Kern Administrative assistant Life Sciences (804) 828-7357 kernla2@vcu.edu
Men's basketball coach Will Wade (center) with a team led by donor Gary Watkins (second from right)
Namuun Khurelchuluun Development aide School of Dentistry (804) 828-9245 khurelchuluun@vcu.edu
Photos VCU Athletics
Margaret J. Tinsley (M.F.A.’92/H&S) Communications specialist Honors College (804) 827-1715 tinsleymj@vcu.edu Ilene McFadden at the auction
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By the numbers The Make It Real Campaign for VCU is already more than halfway toward its goal of $750 million. Here’s a snapshot of what we have achieved together since its quiet launch July 1, 2012.
$442.5M Total raised during campaign
50,995
Number of campaign donors
21
New endowed chairs and professorships
23,580 Number of alumni donors to the campaign
154
New endowed scholarships
To learn more about the Make It Real Campaign for VCU, visit campaign.vcu.edu. Figures as of Sept. 30, 2016
Virginia Commonwealth University Development and Alumni Relations P.O. Box 843042 Richmond, Virginia 23284-3042
“My interest in health care started 12 years ago during undergrad, when I volunteered as an EMT at the local rescue squad. By the time I realized my true passion for health care, it was too late to switch majors. Financial limitations prevented me from changing careers until now. Thanks to generous support from the Theresa A. Thomas R.N. Scholarship, I am able to realize the dream of becoming a nurse. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity.” − Chris Abplanalp Accelerated Nursing student, Class of 2016
Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Richmond, Virginia Permit No. 869