T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S O F V I R G I N I A C O M M O N W E A LT H U N I V E R S I T Y
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Spring 2012
When it
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meeting the
demands of
faculty life,
there are
NO
EASY
ANSWERS
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CIRCA
Fashion sense: 2011
Kristin Caskey, associate professor and interim
assistant chair of fashion design and merchandising, and fashion design major Mariah Harrison shape a dress that will allow
conjoined twins Maria and Teresa Tapia to move freely before their separation
surgery, which doctors completed Nov. 8, 2011, at the Children’s Hospital
of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University. See article on Page 3.
Contents
[ F E AT U R E S ]
8
12
16
22
>
Real-world lessons
>
What does it really mean to be faculty?
>
Playing favorites
>
The growing gift
Virginia Commonwealth University and its students
benefit from faculty members’ wealth of professional
experience.
Two programs take aim at ensuring VCU builds
and maintains a more engaged academy.
Alumni recall professors who provided them
with laughter, inspiration and fond memories.
A dentistry lectureship, begun by two alumni
to honor a former teacher, now supports young
faculty members.
[ D E PA R T M E N T S ]
3
5
18
20
21
24
28
35
36
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University news
>
Presidential view
>
The big picture
>
Face to face
>
My college town
>
Alumni connections
>
Class notes
>
Then and now
>
Datebook
Noteworthy news and research at VCU.
The Center for Teaching Excellence provides faculty
members with tools for using technology.
Richmond city buses take the Our time. Right now.
campaign to the streets.
Samy El-Shall, Ph.D., talks about his career in
chemistry and the active role of students in research.
Commitment to service, fitness keeps VCU professor
active both on campus and around the city.
The latest news from the alumni association.
Updates from alumni, faculty, staff and friends.
The School of the Arts evolves from a single art class
to the nation’s top public graduate arts program.
Upcoming university and alumni events.
2 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Spring 2012 | 1
A university on the move
“The medieval university looked backwards; it
professed to be a storehouse of old knowledge. The
modern university looks forward, and is a factory of
new knowledge.”
I believe this quote from Thomas Huxley captures
the essence of your alma mater and resonates well
with the faculty theme for this issue of Shafer Court
Connections.
Your alumni leadership, and those of you who have
been closely following the exciting things going on at
Virginia Commonwealth University, are well aware your
university is always looking forward and is internationally recognized as a factory of new knowledge across its
many academic disciplines.
The articles in this wonderful issue highlight the
people and programs that are keeping the essential
inspiration and perspiration of the historic First Four
to Final Four run last year going. The entire university
embraces the “Our Time. Right Now.” message, and
it is our combined efforts that prove we are, indeed,
a university on the move. Don’t miss the great picture of the bus wrap inspired by these sentiments on
Page 18.
While you are looking over the articles and class notes, be sure to read President Rao’s thoughts
on Page 5 regarding tools for 21st-century education. His commitment to ensuring a student-centered
university that fully engages students in their learning process and seeks to capitalize on research participation opportunities for all students is clearly demonstrated in the remarkable 22-year tenure of Samy
El-Shall, Ph.D., who’s profiled on Page 20.
Thanks to the generous and active support of dues-paying members like you, we have the most association members ever! Your dues resource a variety of student, alumni and campus initiatives designed
to serve alumni and your university.
It is VCU alumni who are helping us celebrate the heritage, support the present and invest in the
future of your alma mater, and we need you now more than ever if we are going to achieve the lofty
goals of the university’s new strategic plan, Quest for Distinction.
Thank you for being an active alumni constituent at your alma mater!
Yours for VCU,
Gordon McDougall
Associate vice president, University Alumni Relations
SConnec
a er our
ons
VCU
Spring 2012 • Volume 18, Number 2
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org
Associate Vice President,
University Alumni Relations
Gordon A. McDougall
Photo illustration for the article
“What does it really mean to be faculty”
on Page 12.
Twins undergo successful separation
Executive Director,
VCU Alumni Association
Diane Stout-Brown (B.S.W. ’80/SW)
Senior Director of Development
and Alumni Communications
Melanie Irvin (B.S. ’96/MC)
Editorial
Kristen Caldwell (B.S. ’94/MC)
Design
Nathan Hanger (B.S. ’01/MC)
Photography
Linda George
Production
Bill Buckman (B.S. ’95/MC)
Contributors
Editorial: Andy Bates, Teri Dunnivant,
Erin Egan, Nicole Koussa (B.S. ’10/MC),
Nan Johnson,Tom Myrick (M.A. ’05/H&S;
M.S. ’07/E), Mike Porter, Katherine Schutt,
Justin Stewart, Drew Vass (B.A. ’02/H&S)
Design: Claire Harding, Matthew Phillips
(M.F.A. ’87/A), Jason Smith (M.F.A. ’98/A),
Gabriel Vernon
Photography: Kevin Casey, Allen Jones
(B.F.A. ’82/A; M.F.A. ’92/A), Tom Kojcsich,
Bryan Martin
Shafer Court Connections is published
semiannually by the VCU Office of Alumni
Relations and VCU Creative Services for
Virginia Commonwealth University’s alumni,
faculty, staff and friends. Opinions expressed
in this magazine do not necessarily represent
those of the university or magazine staff.
Send address changes to the Office of Alumni
Relations, Virginia Commonwealth University,
924 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box 843044,
Richmond, VA 23284-3044; telephone
(804) 828-2586; vcu-alum@vcu.edu
or www.vcu-mcvalumni.org.
Letters to the editor should be sent to Shafer
Court Connections, Virginia Commonwealth
University, 827 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box
842041, Richmond, VA 23284-2041, or
email shafercourt@vcu.edu. Please include
your name, address and a daytime phone
number; anonymous letters will not be
published. Letters may be edited for clarity
or space.
On the cover
Virginia Commonwealth University
news and research. For the latest
updates, visit the VCU News
Center at www.news.vcu.edu.
Contributions of articles, photos and
artwork are welcome, however, Shafer Court
Connections accepts no responsibility for
unsolicited items.
VCU officially welcomes its fifth president, Michael Rao, Ph.D.,
with a formal ceremony at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
VCU inaugurates President Michael Rao
On Oct. 14, 2011, in front of a packed Siegel Center audience that included Virginia
Gov. Bob McDonnell, federal Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, faculty, staff, students,
alumni and visitors, VCU Rector Thomas G. Snead Jr. (B.S. ’76/B) and Beverly J. Warren,
Ed.D., Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs, presented the presidential
medallion to Michael Rao, Ph.D., installing Rao as VCU’s fifth president.
While the inauguration made Rao’s presidential appointment official, his two years
on campus have already left an indelible impression at VCU, sparking what McDonnell
could describe only as infectious enthusiasm.
In addressing the crowd, Rao demonstrated that spirit in responding to Duncan’s
challenge to build on VCU’s status as one of the nation’s leading urban research universities. “We will find the answers our state, our nation and the world so desperately
need,” Rao said at the ceremony. “It won’t be about lofty abstractions. It will be about
the immediate and intense needs of people.”
Already, Rao has made his mark in those areas, launching in 2011 the university’s new
strategic plan, Quest for Distinction, which emphasizes academic excellence, research
that enhances quality of life and contributions to the economic and cultural vitality
of the community. Similarly, Rao has guided VCU and the VCU Health System to top
designations by the Carnegie Foundation and U.S. News & World Report.
But, he said, the work to be done in distinguishing VCU among its few peers is only
just beginning. With a foothold in VCU’s rich history as inspiration, Rao pointed to the
future with a simple declaration — “We will be exceptional.”
In November, a team of VCU pediatric surgeons successfully completed the separation of
19-month-old conjoined twins Maria and Teresa
Tapia of the Dominican Republic — the first
surgery of its kind at the Children’s Hospital of
Richmond at VCU.
Partnering with the World Pediatric Project,
David Lanning, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Surgery and CHoR’s
surgeon-in-chief, led the volunteer efforts of
more than 45 physicians and pediatric specialists.
But what started as a medical case quickly turned
into a community rally that extended far beyond
the hospital walls.
Fashion design and merchandising students
designed custom dresses for the twins to wear
while they awaited surgery. Morgan Yacoe, a
senior in the Department of Sculpture, spearheaded an effort to create a plaster casting
mold of the twins’ bodies to assist surgeons’
preparation for the surgery and cosmetic care
required after separation. And Audrey Kane, an
occupational therapist at VCU and a certified
car-seat technician, designed a car seat large
enough to comfortably accommodate both Maria
and Teresa.
On Nov. 7, doctors embarked on a 20-hour
series of procedures to divide the twins’ liver
and other shared organs before reconstructing
their abdominal walls. After six weeks of intense
physical therapy and recovery, the girls returned
home to the Dominican Republic in December.
Formerly conjoined toddlers Maria and Teresa
Tapia lead healthy, separate lives after a surgical
separation at CHoR.
© 2012, Virginia Commonwealth University
an equal opportunity, affirmative action university 111122-14
2 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Spring 2012 | 3
[UNIVERSITY
NEWS
]
[PRESIDENTIAL
VCU jumps in NSF research rankings
VCU welcomes first lady Michelle Obama during a
visit announcing the commitment of the country’s
top medical schools to “Joining Forces.”
Michelle Obama visits VCU campus
First lady Michelle Obama visited VCU on
Jan. 11 to announce an initiative of the country’s
top medical colleges and universities to create a
new generation of doctors, medical schools and
research facilities to ensure that service members
receive the medical care they deserve.
The VCU School of Medicine was among 101
members of the Association of American Medical
Colleges that signed a pledge to support Joining
Forces, a comprehensive national initiative to
mobilize all sectors of society to give service members and their families opportunities and support,
specifically in the areas of post-traumatic stress
disorder and traumatic brain injury.
The White House selected VCU to host the
announcement because it is a national leader in
TBI research and a strong partner with the Hunter
Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center.
VCU creates virtual training school
Technology used by the military to train soldiers
on a virtual battlefield is being adapted by the School
of Education to prepare America’s next generation
of school leaders more effectively and at less cost.
Using a five-year, $5.2 million grant from
the U.S. Department of Education, researchers with “Project ALL” (Authentic Learning
for Leaders) are developing the world’s first
computer simulator that puts prospective
administrators in the challenging role of leading a virtual middle school and then assesses their
performance with those real-world situations.
Web-enabled simulations have saved as much as
85 percent on training budgets because they can
be used anywhere and at any time. VCU already
is using the simulator as a teaching, learning and
assessment tool in its Master of Teaching, postmaster’s certificate and Ph.D. in Educational
Leadership programs.
4 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
In March, the National Science Foundation
published its data on academic research and
development expenditures at U.S. universities and colleges for fiscal year 2010, and VCU
jumped significantly in both federal and total
expenditures.
The university’s federal expenditures increased
almost 50 percent compared to fiscal year 2009;
VCU now ranks No. 79, up from No. 102 in fiscal
year 2009. For total expenditures, the university
jumped 31 percent, moving up nine places to No.
98. VCU now stands as a Top 100 institution in
both prestigious NSF rankings.
“This is a major achievement for my faculty
colleagues,” VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.,
says. “It is a wonderful testimony to our national
competitiveness and our determination to elevate VCU as a premier urban, public research
university.”
Lobs & Lessons scores high honor
VCU’s Lobs & Lessons, a tennis and life skills
program for children, was recognized in January
by the United States Tennis Association as one of
the association’s three National Junior Tennis
and Learning chapters of the year. The recognition is given to chapters and programs at three
different budget levels to reward organizations
that accomplish a great deal with a lean budget.
Tina Carter, director of the Mary and Frances
Youth Center and overseer of the program, says
the recognition showcases the unique partnership
between VCU and the community. “We hope
this award will provide us with the opportunity
to further expand programming, cultivate new
donors and supporters and promote the work of
the Mary and Frances Youth Center,” Carter says.
Interior design program earns honor
The Department of Interior Design was
ranked among the 10 best undergraduate programs in the country for the second consecutive
year, according to the journal Design Futures
Council. The program tied for No. 10 among
the November/December issue’s “2012 America’s
Best Architecture and Design Schools.” The
department — accredited by the Council for
Interior Design Accreditation — is one of the
oldest programs of its kind in the U.S.
Business programs rank nationally
Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the School
of Business part-time M.B.A. program No. 51
in the U.S., marking the first time that VCU has
VIEW
]
Faculty awards
Sonya Clark, professor and chair,
Department of Craft and Material Studies
Clark was named a 2011 USA Fellow and
awarded a $50,000 unrestricted grant from
United States Artist, a national nonprofit
organization. It selects 50 outstanding artists from around the country to receive the
grant each year.
21st-century_education_tools:
Faculty enhance learning by
exploring new technologies.
#teachingtechnologiesatvcu
Kenneth Kahn, Ph.D., professor
of marketing and director,
VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation
Kahn ranked ninth among the World’s Top
Innovation Management Scholars in the
March 2012 Issue of the Journal of Product
Innovation Management. VCU also was
ranked No. 46 in the World’s Top Innovation
Management Universities.
Shiv N. Khanna, Ph.D., Commonwealth
professor, Department of Physics
Khanna was named a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science
for his research on the physics of atomic
clusters, dedication to teaching science
and service to his institution. He was recognized for his “pioneering contributions
to theoretical understanding of electronic
and magnetic properties of clusters and
developments on superatoms as third
dimension to the periodic table,” according to the AAAS.
Pamela G. Taylor, Ph.D., associate
professor, Department of Art Education
Taylor was named the 2012 Ziegfeld Award
recipient sponsored by the United States
Society for Education through Art — an
award given annually to just one American
and one international art educator who have
forged new directions in art education and
have made an outstanding internationally
recognized contribution to art education
through exceptional records of achievement
in scholarly writing, research, professional
service and community service.
been included in the national ranking, which is
based on separate measures of student satisfaction,
academic quality and post-M.B.A. outcomes.
VCU ranked No. 7 in the nation for average
salary increase, valued at a sterling 41.6 percent.
In addition, VCU ranked 12th for post-M.B.A.
outcomes, determined by the percentage of student survey respondents who say their part-time
M.B.A. program was “completely” responsible
for them being able to achieve their career goals.
By Michael Rao, Ph.D., President, VCU and VCU Health System
E
ntering a classroom has too long been
akin to boarding an airplane, where
we ask students to sit down, look straight
ahead and turn off all electronic devices. At
Virginia Commonwealth University, however, we intend to change that.
As an institution of innovation, we stand
ready to embrace perhaps the greatest educational asset since the printing press — and
I don’t consider it an exaggeration to think
of technology in such grandiose terms.
Our students come to us each day more
engaged, more absorbed and more committed to technology in their daily lives. They’re
plugged into the world in ways unimaginable
a generation ago. But what does that mean
for how we regard the practice of teaching
and learning?
At VCU’s Center for Teaching Excellence,
engaging that dialog remains paramount,
and its leaders and staff have embraced
their role in helping VCU’s faculty navigate
new technologies through workshops, consultations, and ongoing research and dialog.
As with any learning tool or teaching technique, however, we must first ask how using
certain technologies will enhance learning
objectives, improve student outcomes and
streamline our effectiveness as educators.
So often, we may become enamored with
a new device or program, only to find that
it does not best fit our goals. Yet, we feel
the need (and, sometimes, the expectation)
to use it simply because it is there.
We have a responsibility to test the waters
in this way, but our greater charge rests
in marrying our teaching philosophies with
the tools that best serve our students and
convey material. This is where the CTE is so
critically important, as its staff is constantly
in the process of performing that work.
Our teachers often find that when they
visit the CTE for help in exploring technologies, the center has already waded
through a deep pool of options and stands
ready to guide faculty in the proper use
of whatever platform best fits their needs.
In this way, we begin to undercut the common misconception that our students are
more adroit users of technology than we are
as educators, which, while understandable,
chips away at our confidence to integrate
technology into our learning environments.
If we expect students to mature as citizens
and learners while at VCU, then we also must
develop ways to model how to use technology
— which our students might lean on primarily for entertainment and social purposes
— for intellectual pursuits as well. We can use
Twitter and Facebook to engage even more
channels of discussion around a short story,
for example. We can ask our students to create
and maintain their own blogs, which promotes
ownership of their ideas and allows them to
hone their writing skills for a public audience.
We can use clickers, tablets and smartphones
to enhance collaboration, even in a 100-seat
lecture course, by allowing students to use
these devices to upload information, share
answers to questions and debate the merits
of their responses.
The prospects truly do seem limitless, but
we must not let that vastness overwhelm us
into considering the challenge of exploration
daunting. Technology will never substitute for
an inspired lecture, but it can complement it
by enhancing the material and encouraging
students to embrace knowledge long after
they leave their seats.
With the prospect of interconnection
that technology brings, the classroom is no
longer just the space in which we meet
three hours a week. Rather, the classroom
is all around us, and with the help of the
CTE and the dedication and innovation
of our faculty, we’re excited to engage that
ever-expanding environment.
To learn more about VCU’s Center for
Teaching Excellence, visit www.vcu.edu/cte.
Spring 2012 | 5
The World...
Research report
2013 Travel Destinations
Students cross disciplines to fulfill 7-year-old boy’s wish
Aaron Nalle had a wish: to ride a bike just like his big brothers.
However, Nalle, 7, was born with arthrogryposis, a congenital, nonprogressive condition that severely limits movements of joints, including
the knees, hips, ankles, elbows, wrists and hands.
J. Cortney Bradford, Ph.D. (M.S. ’06/En; Ph.D. ’11/AHP), then a Ph.D.
student in the rehabilitation and movement science program at VCU,
took it upon herself to find a recumbent bicycle that might be modified
to fit Nalle’s unique needs. After first-round modifications, Bradford
knew more changes were needed, including a pedal-braking system as
Nalle was unable to use hand brakes because of limited grip function.
VCU faculty and students decided to get involved.
Aaron Nalle rides his
Peter Pidcoe, PT, DPT, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department
modified bike designed
of Physical Therapy, found Nalle’s bike project unique because it
and built by VCU physical
was the first service-learning project that would help cross-train
therapy and biomedical
biomedical engineering and physical therapy students. The students
engineering students.
completed a comprehensive evaluation, listing further modifications
needed to the bike, and met each week during most of the fall semester to brainstorm
and then implement solutions. Once finished, they put together a case report describing
the project. After several months, the bike was ready to go back to Nalle, who was off
riding within minutes, pedaling, breaking and steering all in a very short time.
Unique material, bandage may save lives of soldiers in combat
What started as a nonwoven fiber mat composed of tiny fibers measuring just a few
nanometers in diameter has been translated into a unique material that can stop massive
bleeding in a short period of time — possibly one day saving the lives of severely wounded
soldiers on the frontlines of combat.
By “spinning” the right mix of engineering, biology, medicine and life sciences together,
Gary L. Bowlin, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering and
director of the Tissue Engineering Laboratory at VCU, and David G. Simpson, associate
professor of anatomy in the School of Medicine, created a hemostatic bandage composed
of resorbable materials that rapidly stop massive bleeding by the induction of a clot.
The material used to create the bandage, described by Simpson as being “like cotton
candy with coagulation properties rolled into it,” grew out of their research on electrospinning, a process that comes from electrostatic spraying, which has been described
in scientific literature as far back as 100 years.
Biologists edge closer to understanding sound production in fish
VCU biologists and an international team of researchers studying sound production in
perchlike fishes discovered a link between two unrelated lineages of fishes, taking researchers
a step closer to understanding the evolution of one of the fastest muscles in vertebrates —
a challenge because the slow movement of a swimbladder doesn’t generate sound.
The study, funded by the National Science Council of Taiwan and the F.R.S.-FNRS in
Belgium, found that the pearl-perch uses a hybrid system with characteristics of slow and
fast systems, suggesting an intermediate condition in the evolution of superfast sonic
muscles that drive swimbladder vibration directly.
VCU professor Michael Fine, Ph.D., and his colleagues found a group of fishes that produce
sound by using slow muscles to pull the swimbladder, which then snaps back, like a rubber
band, to produce sound. In this case, the pearl-perch’s hybrid system uses a slow system
but actually pulls the swimbladder forward with a fast muscle. The fish has a tendon that
gets stretched and causes the bladder to snap back, producing the loud part of the sound.
6 | VCU Shafer
Shafer Court
CourtConnections
Connections
brought to you by the VCU Alumni Association.
Brandcenter students, winners of the international
Innovation Challenge, join the competition’s other
finalists in ringing the Jan. 27, 2012, closing bell at
the New York Stock Exchange.
Brandcenter team wins top prize
A team of VCU Brandcenter students captured
the top prize, and a $20,000 cash prize, in the
Innovation Challenge, an international competition that pits the world’s brightest graduate
school student teams against one another to find
creative technology solutions for businesses. The
VCU team, which developed a cloud-based smart
platform solution for small businesses, had earlier
secured its spot representing the AT&T division
by beating out 60 teams from around the world.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to
encourage new, innovative technology solutions
and thrive on the creativity provided by graduate
students,” says Sam Zellner, AT&T’s executive director of innovation. “The VCU team’s
innovative approach to simplifying adoption of
cloud computing for small businesses has a lot
of potential, and we’re thrilled to have been a
collaborator in their winning submission.”
Governor hosts international event
In an event that crossed cultures and continents,
the VCU School of Business and Christ University
in Bangalore, India, hosted a virtual visit with
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell that focused on
economic and educational partnerships between
India and Virginia. The arrangement allowed for
speakers in both locations to participate in the
discussion and for audiences at each university
to observe their counterparts 9,000 miles away.
The event highlighted the collaboration that
has grown between VCU and Christ University,
notably the new dual-degree program that enables
a collection of Christ’s business students to study
extensively at both Christ and VCU, earning an
M.B.A. from Christ and an M.S. in Business
(with a global marketing management or finance
concentration) from VCU.
McDonnell called the dual-degree program
“a great method of economic and cultural
exchange that puts the best and brightest minds
in classrooms in both Richmond and Bangalore.”
2013 Trips
Jan. 25-Feb. 2
Galapagos Islands, with optional Lima, Peru, Machu Picchu
Feb. 2-21
Asian Wonders (Singapore, Bangkok, Saigon, Hanoi, Hong Kong)
Feb. 12-22
Caribbean Discovery (Miami, Tortola, St. John’s, Bridgetown,
St. Lucia, St. Barts)
Tahiti and French Polynesia
Feb. 21-March 3
Splendors Down Under (Auckland to Sydney)
Feb. 24-March 14
River Life: Waterways of Holland
April 22-30
April 27-May 5
Italian Inspiration (Rome, Sorrento, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Venice)
May 17-26
Civil War and Southern Culture
(paddlewheel tour from Memphis to New Orleans)
Prague ACA
Villages and Vineyards of Italy
(Castiglione del Lago, Lucca, Pollenza)
Provence Lifestyle Explorations
June 22-July 21
Baltic Treasures (Copenhagen, Berlin,
July 21-Aug. 1
St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm)
Scotland ACA Stirling, including Military Tattoo
July 31-Aug. 8
Taste of Europe (London, Bourdeaux, Bilbao,
Aug. 26-Sept. 6
Oporto, Lisbon, Seville, Barcelona)
China and the Yangtze River (Beijing, Xi’an, Chongquin, Shanghai)
Sept. 10-23
Paris to Provence
Sept. 16-24
Grand Journey: Around the World
Oct. 5-30
Greek Isles Odyssey (Istanbul to Athens)
Oct. 17-25
May 27-June 4
June 11-21
Look for travel details and discount information on the website.
For more information, call (804) 828-2586 or visit www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/travel.
REAL-WORLD
Presenting as an art
LESSONS
Peter Coughter talks with students at his weekly
interview-skills session.
“The entire
faculty here
VCU faculty members bring a wealth
of professional experience to campus
is speaking to
By Erin Egan
these students
T
he halls of Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus buildings
resonate with spirited discussions between talented, innovative
and dedicated faculty members and their students. Often, these
instructors arrive at VCU fresh from successful careers in the public
and private sector, bringing real-world experience and a teaching
philosophy that provide students with a practical perspective.
8 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Ed Grier, dean of the VCU School
of Business, regularly engages
with students, faculty, staff and
community members.
of experience.”
Leading by example
Varying the Viewpoint
While traveling across the country promoting
the VCU School of Business, Dean Ed Grier
often gets asked about his prior employment
experience. The answer, “I worked for a Disney
company,” he says, usually leaves the questioner intrigued and wanting to know more.
As a top-level executive with the Walt
Disney Co., a $38 billion member of the
Fortune 500, Grier’s work took him from the
U.S. to Paris to Tokyo. His numerous leadership roles provided him with expertise in
operations, brand management, finance and
planning, marketing, public relations, and
administration, which serves him well in his
new role as dean.
“All of those skills you learn along the
way from a leadership standpoint, a process
standpoint or a strategy standpoint are applicable although you’re in a different business,”
Grier says. “Each position prepared me for
the next.”
from a point
After 20 years as a founding partner of the advertising and public relations agency Siddall, Matus
& Coughter, Peter Coughter felt at home standing in front of clients pitching countless concepts.
The success of those performances ultimately produced many award-winning campaigns.
“We did some really terrific advertising work,” he says, “but none of that would have happened
if we hadn’t been able to sell our ideas.”
Coughter, author of “The Art of the Pitch” and a firm believer in the importance of presentation, started his own company, Coughter & Co., in 1995, which concentrates on teaching
presentation and communications skills to professionals in advertising, insurance, finance, real
estate, higher education and law. In 1997, while still working with private clients, Coughter
brought his talents to the faculty of the VCU Brandcenter (then known as the VCU Adcenter).
“I discovered that what I really liked doing more than anything else was teaching people how
to realize their potential, how to get better at a few things that I knew something about,” he says.
In addition to teaching two classes, Presentation Skills and Consumer Culture, Coughter
meets with students at 9 a.m. Fridays to help them polish their interview skills. The weekly session draws more than 50 students who sit at the front of the room while the others in the room
pepper them with questions. Coughter says that watching the students transform over the course
of a semester remains the greatest reward.
“It’s not because I’m some kind of a wizard,” he says. “It’s just that if people work at certain
things and believe in them, they can really make a difference.”
Coughter says he and his colleagues at the Brandcenter share similar teaching styles that draw
on their extensive, collective employment histories to prepare students for the future.
“The entire faculty here is speaking to these students from a point of experience,” he says.
“We live in a real world with people who have hopes, dreams, aspirations, ambitions and heartache. And we need to touch people in a way that resonates with them. We need to be authentic.
We need to be real.”
The idea of switching from the private
sector to higher education arose while Grier
and his family lived in Japan. He and his wife
had begun the college search process with
their sons.
“I knew about the power of education, but it was so acute in Asia,” he says.
“I thought, ‘If I was going to do something
different, where did I think I could make
a difference?’”
Since arriving at VCU in 2010, the transition from CEO to dean has been challenging,
rewarding and not without surprises, Grier
says. Giving his first graduation address for
the School of Business, he recalls the overwhelming emotion of the moment.
“It was just a powerful way of seeing student
success,” he says of the ceremony. “It doesn’t
happen on its own without the great professors that we have. Everyone has a role to play
and without that it wouldn’t work.”
“Each position
prepared me
for the next.”
Always eager to tout the school’s success and
future goals, Grier enthusiastically highlights
one unique aspect of the curriculum. Several
business classes are team taught by a professor with traditional academic credentials and
a professor with professional experience. The
combination of theoretical and real-world
teaching, Grier says, brings a varied thought
process into the classroom.
“The students see both sides of the perspective: a strong dose of theory and a strong
part of the practice piece,” Grier says. “It
challenges our students to think about different ways of learning and diverse ways of
finding solutions.”
Shannon Dowling (right) shows students the
Student Services Center, which she helped design.
Occasionally during studio class, Shannon Dowling, an adjunct professor in the nationally ranked VCU Department of Interior Design, leads her students across campus to look
at the Student Services Center in Grace E. Harris Hall. Dowling, who works for BCWH
Architecture when she’s not teaching at VCU, helped design the one-stop enrollment
services space.
Other projects she’s worked on include VCU’s Master Site Plan and a master plan
for Richmond’s Main Street Station.
“It gives me some credibility and some connection to the community,” she says of her local
architectural projects. “It’s good for students to see that you’re working.”
As an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, Dowling says she had the opposite experience. Most
of her professors didn’t work outside of the classroom. “It kind of felt like I was learning the
same thing that the person 10 years before me had learned,” she says.
Dowling says teaching at the university level, which was her goal after she received her master’s
degree, helps her keep current in the industry. “You have to make sure you’re far enough ahead
of your students by leading and keeping up with industry trends,” she says. “But it’s also nice
to give back the way other professors gave to me.”
Her students routinely report on evaluations that they can approach Dowling and talk to her
easily. She says her communication with students resembles more of a dialogue than a typical
professor-student dynamic.
“A lot of that comes from working and interacting with clients and colleagues in the workplace,” she says. “I have relationships with people of all ages and being able to have that flexibility
helps with being able to interact with students in the class.”
Spring 2012 | 9
“A practice
instructor
Training with actual cases
“My own philosophy about teaching social
work practice knowledge and application
is that it’s impossible to teach currently and
competently if one isn’t actually practicing with clients and client systems,” says
E. Delores Dungee-Anderson, Ph.D.
(M.S.W. ‘76/SW), associate professor and
director of the M.S.W. program in the VCU
School of Social Work. “Because theories
and practice applications and interventions
change, and new treatment modalities and
interventions change as new research provides more evidence for intervention success,
a practice instructor who hasn’t seen a client
for an extended period of time may be significantly challenged in the classroom.”
Dungee-Anderson, who teaches clinical classes to VCU students, also sees clients
through Oxbridge Counseling Services, a private practice she founded with two colleagues
in 1985. Her area of expertise involves adult
survivors of childhood trauma.
In the class Trauma and Social Work Practice:
Theory, Assessment and Intervention, students
perform impromptu role-playing in groups.
When they reach an impasse, DungeeAnderson often interjects with examples from
her practice and demonstrates possible theorybased interventions and/or practice strategies
to resolve certain dilemmas.
“I really love working with students,” she
says. “I love working collegially, planning
things and looking at the big picture.”
She also provides training for M.S.W.
graduates in preparation for clinical licensure for the National Association of Social
Workers – Virginia Chapter. As one of the
more popular instructors, students often ask
for Dungee-Anderson specifically and wait
until she is available to teach the course.
“Students seem to appreciate my teaching style and they comment that I am able
to explain things very clearly,” she says.
Since the VCU School of Social Work’s
M.S.W. degree is a practice-focused degree,
Dungee-Anderson says that while students
must understand theoretical perspectives and
10 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
interventions, they also must be prepared
to apply related theory-based interventions
to effectively assist clients and client systems.
And when they leave her classroom, she makes
certain that her students have been exposed
to practice knowledge content and related
applications and are competently trained for
practice in the field.
Dungee-Anderson uses the analogy
of a surgeon who learns only by watching
another doctor perform an operation but
doesn’t have the opportunity to perform
the practice of surgery. “The question
is, would you choose that surgeon?” she says.
who hasn’t seen
a client for an
extended period
of time may be
significantly
challenged in
the classroom.”
William Muth, Ph.D., (center) encourages students
and fellow educators to maintain a close connection
to the field.
Remaining engaged in the field
E. Delores Dungee-Anderson, Ph.D., (left)
leads students in a role-play exercise.
As an associate professor in the VCU School
of Education, William Muth, Ph.D., often
brings up his past life as a reading teacher
in various prisons and, more recently, as the
education administrator for the U.S. Federal
Bureau of Prisons. Sometimes to the chagrin
of his students, he jokes.
“When I start yammering on about my
prison experience,” he says, “I think some
of my students think, ‘Oh, no, not another
prison anecdote.’”
Muth says that he mentions these examples
to show that many parallels exist between the
problems future K-12 teachers will face and
those he encountered while working in prisons.
“Issues that we deal with in K-12 education, issues of power, issues of giving
students a voice, are very much the same as
in prisons,” he says. “They’re amplified and
more extreme, but I think it helps to create
good clarity in terms of why power matters
and how empowering students works.”
Two stories that often pop up in classes
involve young men Muth refers to as Big E
and P.D. The duo proved to be extremely
challenging — and ultimately rewarding —
students for Muth, who devised individual
methods to teach them to read.
“I use them as examples of when we think we
have the one perfect answer, and the fact is, we
don’t,” he says. “Every student comes in with
a completely different set of needs and strengths,
and we have to be able to adapt to them.”
The author of more than 25 papers, book
chapters and reviews, Muth has also presented extensively for service and professional
organizations statewide, nationally and internationally. As one who revels in reading about
new theories and putting them into practice,
Muth also believes professors of education
must remain engaged in the work being done
in their students’ future classrooms.
“In a professional discipline like education, it’s absolutely essential,” he says. “As
faculty, we need to find every excuse we can
to stay close to the ground and in the field
as much as possible. We also have to stay vigorously engaged in our theoretical work. We
need to bring those skills to help teachers
maintain their integrity and to help advocate
for change.”
Erin Egan is a contributing writer
for Shafer Court Connections.
Spring 2012 | 11
Congratulations. You’ve slogged through years of graduate
study, your bookshelves sag under the sheer weight of
accumulated expertise and in an economic climate that
has forced universities across the country to enact
hiring freezes, or even eliminate faculty positions altogether, you’ve somehow managed to land a teaching gig.
So, now what?
The truth is, you don’t quite know.
For perhaps the first time in your life, you feel unprepared and overwhelmed, and the more you try to justify
to yourself that you belong, that you can mold young
minds, that you can publish and contribute to the health
of the academy that has accepted you into its ranks, the
more you fear that you’re incapable of these things, that
you’re an imposter.
The only consolation is that you’re not alone in these
pangs of inadequacy, and while no level of preparation
can fully inoculate you against the nervousness of that
first class, the frustration you feel at the sound of crickets
to your well-thought-out discussion prompts or the sting
of having a paper or grant proposal passed over, the
12 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
question for Virginia Commonwealth University
becomes twofold: How can it successfully train its graduates to enter the professoriate? And how can it help its
own faculty to better engage their students, their disciplines and their communities?
For Sherry Sandkam, Ph.D., associate dean of the
VCU Graduate School and director of VCU’s Preparing
Future Faculty Program, answering those questions starts
with understanding that mastery of a field of study alone
does not always prepare a student to become an effective
member of a faculty. So, to combat this and to enhance
academic training, the PFF Program works with graduate faculty and graduate programs to expose students to
the range of responsibilities that a future faculty member
will have.
“Just as we have an obligation to prepare the next generation of scholars by teaching them their disciplines, we
also have an obligation to prepare the next generation of
professors,” Sandkam says, “especially in light of the
changes taking place in higher education, in the ways we
teach and the ways students learn.” »
Spring 2012 | 13
This is the central concern of the PFF Program.
Initiated in 2000, the program enrolls an average of more than 50 graduate and postdoctoral
students each semester in courses that range
from an introduction to the teaching profession and how to effectively use technology in the
classroom to how to conduct research responsibly. Students can elect to take one or two
courses only, but for those who enroll in the
entire sequence, the course work lays the foundation for a capstone mentorship with a VCU
faculty member that allows students to experience firsthand the demands and schedule
expected of them as well as create a comprehensive electronic teaching portfolio
housing things such as lessons, lectures, evaluations, assessments, teaching and research
philosophies and sample syllabi.
While the mentorship experience and curriculum naturally produce a bevy of practical
skills in terms of classroom management, lesson
planning and learning theory, not to mention
the development of a sound approach to teaching and scholarship, the core of the program
exists, Sandkam says, to instill a better understanding of the many hats a faculty member
must wear.
Effective teaching, after all, stands as just one
of the three pillars of academic life. Faculty
members are also expected to publish regularly, to contribute research in their fields and
to provide service to their professions, their
departments and the university (which can
take a number of forms, such as working on
curriculum development committees and
serving on promotion and tenure panels and
faculty senates, as well as discipline-specific
professional organizations).
But, as Maike Philipsen, Ph.D., professor in
the School of Education, suggests, the changing
landscape of higher education has brought the
importance of these three pillars of scholarship,
teaching and service into an even sharper focus.
Philipsen, who serves on the PFF Program’s
advisory board, teaches two classes in the
sequence and has worked as a mentor for students in the program, says that increased
demand for a college education, shifts in
student populations, the growing presence of
competing online and for-profit institutions
and declining state and federal funding sources
have served to highlight the intricacy of the faculty’s role in a university, as well as the sometimes
precarious balance a faculty member must strike.
Enrollment at VCU, for example, has
grown by almost 6,000 in the past 10 years.
Because of that rise, Philipsen suggests,
14 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
faculty are being tasked with teaching
more students and responding to a
greater diversity of learners, including first-generation college students,
nontraditional learners (such as single parents who may be enrolled part
time or may hold full-time jobs),
students who speak English as a
second language and those with
disabilities.
Similarly, because college has
become an increasing precondition
for employment, universities and
faculty members must be able to
demonstrate that the education they
provide has a direct, cost-effective correlation to helping students navigate
the job market once they leave — in
short, they must increasingly demonstrate the practicality of not only the disciplines
they teach but also the skills they instill.
And, while students demand the most bang
for their buck, the bucks needed to produce
that bang — both public and private — have
dwindled. VCU lost $41 million in state support for Virginia students this fiscal year alone,
which can put added pressure on faculty members to become more entrepreneurial and
compete for sponsored research dollars and
grant funding to help offset those capital
losses. Increasing tuition might help bridge
that funding gap as well, but raising student
costs then puts more emphasis on the faculty
member as both teacher and service provider, as students are bound to ask, “I’m
paying more, but am I getting more?”
Jeffrey Nugent, who co-directs the VCU Center
for Teaching Excellence, suggests that these factors, while certainly pressing administratively,
are most keenly felt by the professoriate.
“Faculty members coming into the game have
higher expectations across the board,” says
Nugent, who also serves on the advisory board
of the PFF Program and teaches a course in the
sequence aimed at effectively using technology
in the classroom. “You’re expected to be excellent researchers and scholars at a time when
there are significantly diminished funding
sources. You’re expected to be excellent teachers when there’s a greater demand among
students for a high-quality learning experience.
You’re expected to position yourself as part of a
larger community here within the university
and your professional community and make
meaningful contributions to both. And, all the
while, you have to try to strike some kind of balance between what’s work and what’s life.”
For Kelly Lockeman, a Ph.D. student in the
School of Education who recently completed the
PFF Program, maintaining that balance and
managing those expectations is especially difficult for teachers starting out, even if they think
they have a handle on things.
“When I started the PFF Program, I was skeptical about what I would get out of it,” Lockeman
says. “I’d worked in a higher-education setting
before, sometimes directly with faculty, and I
really felt like I had a good sense of what being a
faculty member entailed. But there are certain
things you simply can’t learn unless you experience them, and this program really allows for
that experience.”
As she works on her dissertation, which she
expects to finish in August, Lockeman also
teaches a section of the Research Methods in
Education course through the School of
Education. She says she worries about how she
would have handled those responsibilities
without the foundation of knowledge and
experience she built through the PFF Program.
“Even though my field is education, and I
know about active learning and techniques for
engaging students, the program gave me so many
practical strategies for ways to teach more effectively and manage a classroom — from specific
activities you can use to promote certain types of
learning, to strategies for engaging formative
feedback,” Lockeman says.
While these practical skills should give a student such as Lockeman a leg up in terms of
finding a meaningful and fulfilling faculty position once she graduates, Philipsen and Sandkam
concede that not every student who leaves VCU,
and certainly not every young professional seeking to enter the faculty ranks nationwide, will
have had that luxury.
This dynamic makes initiatives such as VCU’s
Center for Teaching Excellence, established in
2001, vital to keeping VCU’s own incoming faculty engaged, confident and supported in their
efforts to find themselves as teachers, scholars and service-providers.
In fact, the CTE helps VCU’s newest academy
members work through many of the same issues
the PFF Program helps graduate students tackle
through its own mentorship program, which
pairs junior faculty members with established
faculty members for their first year on the job.
Similarly, workshops and consultations provided by the CTE help new faculty develop
diverse and effective lesson plans and meaningful assessments to track student learning
outcomes, create teaching portfolios to reflect
on strategies and track progress both inside and
outside the classroom and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the demands of faculty
life at VCU.
Underneath those programs for new faculty,
however, rests the understanding that established faculty members aren’t immune to
similar challenges.
For senior faculty members, time spent on the job
allows them to identify their service areas, hone
their research interests and techniques, develop
professional relationships and practice their
teaching craft. They’ve polished their lectures, the
bindings of their favorite course texts have loosened with love and wear and standing in front of a
class feels as natural as looking in a mirror.
But what happens when those lectures stop
getting through to students? What happens
when they scan a classroom minutes before the
start time, and their students are plugged into
laptops, smartphones and tablets? What happens when what they’ve always done simply stops
working as well as it used to?
“Teaching is an intensely personal process,”
Nugent says, “and sometimes that’s because
you’re trying to constantly figure out how to do
something you’re not quite sure how to do
because it’s always new and different.”
The drive of the CTE, then, turns to tapping
into the expertise of VCU’s faculty to enhance
their knowledge base of teaching and learning
strategies and allow room for growth.
“If faculty are nothing else, they’re scholars, which means they’re expert learners, and
we want to put that expertise to work and let
them explore new ideas, techniques and
technologies,” says CTE Co-director Zachary
Goodell, Ph.D.
“The whole idea is to open up a universitywide conversation about teaching and learning,”
Nugent adds.
The CTE helps open that dialog through
regular events including its brown-bag lunches
and workshops designed to address a range of
specific topics, such as inspiring collaboration
in the classroom or improving the effectiveness
of lectures or assessment tools. Similarly, the
CTE works to establish several faculty learning
communities, where a group of six to eight professors meet regularly throughout the year to
discuss and study a particular topic, teaching
method or technology.
Sometimes the center’s role can be as simple
as a consultation, where Goodell might observe
a class and work with a faculty member on strategies that will allow students to better meet
established learning goals and course objectives. Or faculty members might come to the
center for guidance with a specific problem
they’re facing.
Still, as the science behind student learning
becomes more complex, Goodell says it’s up to
faculty members to position themselves on the
front line of developing and practicing novel
strategies that seek to enhance the learning and
teaching experience, and this is where the center’s small grant program, the first program
established by the CTE, comes into play. With
seed money, teachers can devote a bit more time
and energy into ensuring the world-class educational experience VCU promises its students.
But whether they’re being undertaken by a
faculty member during her first year on the job,
10 years into her tenure or two years shy of
retirement, whether aimed at incorporating
social media and Internet blogs into a literature
course, teaching the use of digital clickers for
student feedback in a chemistry class or developing collaborative learning strategies for any
classroom, all of these efforts serve to flex VCU’s
faculty muscles at a time when students, administrators and policymakers are expecting more
strength, definition and tone.
That’s not always easy, Goodell concedes,
especially when entrenched faculty can be wary
of deviating from what has worked so well for
them in the past, new faculty can still be a bit raw
and overwhelmed by the complexities of the job
and the demands on faculty to contribute scholarly work and research is greater than ever.
Nevertheless, when Goodell lists the attributes he sees as essential to good teaching
(fairness, humility, courage and a willingness to
open the mind to new ideas and experiences in
the face of uncertainty) those aren’t just the
traits of an effective classroom leader, they’re
the qualities of a pioneering researcher and
invested community member as well. And, as
VCU tasks itself with solidifying its reputation as
a premier urban, public research university
committed to advancing knowledge and student
success, they’re the characteristics an institution
positively cannot do without.
Andy Bates is a contributing writer for
Shafer Court Connections.
By the numbers
Since 2002, VCU’s student population has increased almost by 6,000. In that time, the
university has added 389 full-time instructional faculty members to its ranks, marking a
19 percent increase, and that number figures to grow even further. As VCU President
Michael Rao, Ph.D., leads the university on its Quest for Distinction, he has placed faculty
recruitment at the heart of keeping the university on the cutting edge of research, scholarship and educational experience.
Such an influx of faculty members, however, places a greater emphasis on making sure
they’re equipped to lead VCU into the future, and that begins with initiatives such as the
Preparing Future Faculty Program and the Center for Teaching Excellence.
Full-time faculty
Student population
2002
1,643
26,009
2011
2,032
31,899
Spring 2012 | 15
playing
FAV O R I T E S
Ask any alumni if they had a favorite professor, and you will likely tap into a treasure-trove
of memories. There might be accounts of a faculty member who helped them through
tough times, one who made a personal mark on their lives or a consummate teacher who
was responsible for sparking a lifelong interest. The impact that these outstanding teachers
make on students’ lives helps to form the types of stories that are shared around dinner tables
and at alumni gatherings for a lifetime.
– John W. Jordan III (B.S. ’49/H&S)
“My favorites were Carol Rasnic in the
Wilder School, for business law, and
Thelma Biddle, for history. They both
always had a story to tell that made the
class interesting and the subject matter
easy to digest. Dr. Rasnic swam laps
every day at the Jewish Community
Center, had the funniest country accent
and was funny as all get out. Dr. Biddle
was passionate about history and gave
us the realization of how one vote can
make a difference.”
Alumni share
memories of their
best-loved professors
Carol Rasnic
Thelma Biddle
“Dr. Kent G. Bailey taught the first psychology class I took at RPI. That class sparked
my interest in psychology and ultimately
led to a highly gratifying career.”
–M
ary Jane Sale (B.S. ’67/H&S;
M.S. ’70/H&S; Ph.D. ’77/H&S)
“I admired Howard Davis’ scholarly
approach to law. My success in his course
and my admiration for him were significant reasons why I became a lawyer.”
– Thomas Monahan (B.S. ’56/H&S)
– Sandy Reynolds (B.S. ’85/B)
“Martin Schwartz [School of Social Work]
said, ‘When you think you know it all
is when you need to go back to school.’
That’s very profound.”
– Ron Culberson (M.S.W. ’86/SW)
“Otti Y. Windmuller was a creative, generous teacher who cared for all her students
and wanted us to have the best education
possible. This made a big impression on
me while in her classes.”
– Barbara C. Polen (B.F.A.’62/A)
“I remember we’d go to Hibbs on break from studio classes with Richard
N. Carlyon. We’d grab a Coke and rush back to class to listen to him talk
just about anything. He was so interesting and exciting.”
– Susie Van Pool (B.F.A. ’64/A)
Elizabeth Canfield, Ph.D. (left), assistant professor in the
Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies,
with former student Melissa Jacobs (B.S. ’06/H&S)
16 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
– Melissa Jacobs (B.S. ’06/H&S)
“I think it was in 1962, when I had a wife
and three children, and was going to
school while working full time, that I ran
out of money. I went to Henry H. Hibbs Jr.
[director of RPI from 1917 to 1959],
with my problem. He gave me $100 to
tide me over. Tuition was $150 per
semester back then.”
– Sam Forrest (B.S. ’63/H&S)
“Dr. Ruth Douglas See taught political
theory during the late 1960s and early
1970s, when RPI was transitioning
into VCU. More than simply teaching
a subject, Dr. See was renowned for
encouraging her students to think critically and speak intelligently.”
–F
rederick B. Wayne (B.A. ’70/H&S;
M.S. ’86/AHP)
“Theresa Pollak was my guiding light
and greatest critic in my graduate
studies in the RPI School of Arts.”
–A
shlin W. Smith (B.F.A. ’55/A;
M.F.A. ’60/A)
“Lois Washer was a wonderful adviser and had a great
influence on many of the
students who passed through
her door.”
— B. Forace Hill (B.S. ’60/H&S;
M.S. ’70/AHP)
Lois Washer
“Lori Thomas [School of Social Work],
for the passion and time that she put
into every single student. It wasn’t
unusual to submit a 20-page paper and
then to get a 10-page response from
her. She was that invested in us. Getting
a paper back was just as much of a learning experience as writing the paper.”
–R
achel Kopelovich (B.I.S. ’04/H&S;
M.S.W. ’08/SW)
Richard N. Carlyon
“My favorite professors were Elizabeth Canfield
[Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s
Studies], who always made class a lot of fun, and
Dr. [Thomas] Donohue for mass communications.”
“Dr. Alice Davis asked questions that
made us go deep for answers. Her legacy lives on.”
“Officer Harry Boyd, who recently retired
from the Henrico Police Department.
I had him for several criminal justice
classes in the mid-1990s, and he was
just a fantastic teacher with a lot of realworld experience. On top of that, he was
a genuinely nice guy who was always
willing to help. Thank you, Harry!”
– Omar S. Hassan (B.S. ’98/B)
SHARE YOUR MEMORIES
If stories of favorite professors
and campus memories cause
you to reminisce, share your
thoughts. Visit the VCU Alumni
Association’s Facebook page
and post your fondest memories:
www.facebook.com/vcualumni.
Spring 2012 | 17
THE
PICTURE
OUR TIME. RIGHT NOW. > What started as a rallying cry for an athletic
performance of historical proportion now serves as a roving reminder
for all those who work, live and play in the capital city. Tucked among
a cast of buttons covering a GRTC Transit System bus, the motto
prompts Richmonders to seize each opportunity for all of its worth.
The vibrant display reflects Virginia Commonwealth University’s
diverse and spirited personality as an urban, public university leading
the way in research, creativity and academics.
18 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Spring 2012 | 19
[ FAC E
t o FAC E
Taking an
active role
]
[MY
Catalyzing progress:
Do you involve undergraduates in all steps
of the research process? Yes, it’s one of
the most important features of my lab.
When I started here, the first members of
my research group were two undergraduate
students. One is now a professor of medicine in North Carolina, and the other is a
research scientist at Brookhaven National
20 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
]
VCU professor’s love of service, physical education
benefits university, community
By Tom Myrick
PROFESSOR ENGAGES STUDENTS
IN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
The 22-year tenure of Samy El-Shall, Ph.D., at Virginia Commonwealth University has been recognized with
numerous awards (most recently, the university’s Distinguished Scholarship Award in 2011) and millions in funding for
his diverse research projects. Throughout his innovative and internationally recognized career, El-Shall has held fast
to a chief priority — molding and mentoring his undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Chemistry.
“Students are a very important part of my lab, performing research and publishing papers,” he says. “Without them,
there’s no way that we could have accomplished what we have.”
Those accomplishments include the publication of almost 200 research papers and the acquisition of more than
$8 million in funding from groups such as the National Science Foundation, NASA and local Richmond companies. He
also receives philanthropic support — unrestricted funds for research — from small organizations and scientific centers
around the world. El-Shall’s experimentation focuses on the fundamentals of how new materials are formed. His work is
performed with real-world applications in mind, evidenced by his holding of seven patents and four provisional patents.
Shafer Court Connections caught up with El-Shall to discuss his VCU career and his group’s current research.
How did your VCU career begin? First,
I earned my Ph.D. from Georgetown and
completed my postdoctoral at UCLA. Then
I started here in the fall of 1989. I built my
lab and everything just went from there.
I’m a physical chemist working on clusters,
nanomaterials and also environmental issues
like acid rain and the formation of polluted
compounds in the environment. We’ve been
very successful at combining research and
education here and including students as
active participants. The research component
at VCU has increased tremendously in the
past 15 to 20 years. That’s the major change
that I’ve seen. The research, particularly in
chemistry, became very significant and now
competes with the best schools in the country.
COLLEGE TOWN
Laboratory. I usually have at least one undergraduate working side by side with each
graduate student in my group, and a lot of
our papers include undergraduate students
as co-authors. Parallel to that is the graduate
program. I’m really proud of its students.
Many are now professors in schools around
the world or are researching in national labs
and major industries.
How is VCU setting the standard in the field
of chemistry? VCU has come a very long way
in chemistry. The department is diverse and
is as well-known for its research as it is for
educating graduate students. Our students
end up with very good careers. It’s not just
the quantity of the research at VCU; the
quality of the research is quite high.
What role do companies in Richmond
have with the research you’re doing? One
good thing about VCU is that we have very
strong interactions with local companies.
My first grant at VCU was through Philip
Morris, before I got National Science
Foundation or NASA grants. We still have a
strong relationship with Philip Morris that
has lasted over many years. Afton Chemical
has become another partner.
What research are you working on currently?
We are working with nanoparticles and a
new material known as graphene. That’s an
all-carbon material that is one single layer of
graphite. It’s the highest conducting material to ever exist in the universe, and it has
many applications in energy conversion. We
are also working on catalysis. Basically, that
means converting gases such as hydrogen
and carbon monoxide into liquid hydrocarbons, synthetic forms which can then
be used as fuels for transportation vehicles.
We are also developing new catalysts for
the efficient synthesis of complex organics
used for the manufacture of drugs in the
pharmaceutical industry. VCU is expanding
its nanoscience research program, and the
chemistry department is hiring new faculty
in nanoscience, too. It’s an exciting time.
Interview conducted by Justin Stewart, a contributing
writer for Shafer Court Connections.
Robert Davis, Ph.D.,
hits the trails at
Richmond’s Byrd
Park for a late
afternoon run.
For Robert Davis, Ph.D., professor in Virginia Commonwealth University’s
School of Education’s Department of Health and Human Performance,
service and leadership to the university and the community just seem to
come naturally.
“After I received tenure in 1979-80, I found myself being tapped for
numerous promotion and tenure committees, and in most cases, I was then
asked to serve as chair,” Davis says with a laugh. “It was great to find that
I had an ability to lead, especially in sensitive areas.”
Among a list of more than 80 committees and organizations, Davis points
out a few experiences as particularly rewarding, including his work with
VCU’s Academic Regulations Appeals Committee.
“ARAC was very gratifying because you got to see closure on things,” Davis
says of his 14 years with the committee, which considers appeals by students looking for waivers of academic regulations. “A lot of times in higher education, these
committees can just sort of go on and on. But in ARAC, you actually saw results.”
Davis has also served as the executive director for the VCU chapter of the Phi
Kappa Phi academic honor society since 1991. A past president of the chapter as
well, Davis, among other duties, helps generate funds for scholarships, one of which
is named in his honor: the Robert G. Davis Service Scholarship.
“In this day and age, with the economic situation the way it is, it’s extremely satisfying to see deserving students get these scholarships,” Davis says. “The recipients are
just overwhelmed and grateful.”
Davis’ service, however, extends beyond campus. An avid runner and former physical education teacher, he founded the Running for Life program at Richmond’s Mary
Munford Elementary School. The program integrates a physical fitness component into
classroom lessons. Students navigate their way through a map, designed by Davis, with
themes relevant to the curricula, by running laps around the school’s quarter-mile track.
Previous journeys taken by Running for Life participants include treks through the historical sites of Virginia, around the wonders of the world and on a voyage re-creating the
Lewis and Clark expedition.
“I tell you what, I’ve even learned things from it,” Davis says of Running for Life. “The school
likes it because history, especially the history of Virginia, is so much a part of the SOLs.
The kids love it too — they come outside and ask, ‘Can we run laps?’ They just love to run.”
It’s a feeling to which Davis can relate. While he might not be able to compete at the
level he used to (“Age is starting to catch up with me, but in my 40s, I was running below
a 5:30 pace and won a couple races outright,” he says modestly), Davis remains an active
figure in the Richmond running community. A founding member of the Richmond Road
Runners Club, Davis also serves as race director for the annual Frostbite 15K — an event
whose earnings support VCU Phi Kappa Phi scholarships.
For his efforts, Davis was awarded VCU’s Distinguished Service Award in September 2011.
“I’ve been fortunate to have bosses who allowed me to take part in my service activities,”
Davis says. “I think that, in general, education is a service-oriented field, and I just really
enjoy serving.”
Tom Myrick (M.A. ’05/H&S; M.S. ’07/E) is a contributing writer
for Shafer Court Connections.
Spring 2012 | 21
A dentistry lectureship,
established by two alumni to
The growing gift
honor their former teacher,
expands to support young faculty
by Nan Johnson
F
or James C. Burns, D.D.S., Ph.D.
(D.D.S. ’72/D; Ph.D. ’80/M) and
John A. Svirsky, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’73/D;
M.Ed. ’79/E), James H. Revere Jr.,
D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’65/D) personified the
meaning of “teacher.”
Revere has been a part of the School of
Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University
for more than 40 years. His temporary teaching job lasted 35 years, during which time
he also served as admissions dean, clinic
dean and interim dean. Revere now serves
as director of planned giving in the school’s
development office.
“Stimulating students who may be going
into academic dentistry is a hard task,” Burns
says. “Dr. Revere was one of those outstanding teachers who motivated us to think about
a career in academic dentistry.”
Burns and Svirsky, both faculty members in
the school’s Department of Oral Pathology,
thought for years about finding ways to train
and retain excellent faculty members.
“Teachers would leave after three or four
years. We wanted to stop the revolving door,”
Burns says.
The two also wanted to find a meaningful
way to honor Revere, their former teacher,
who over the years also became their friend.
To help stem the tide of the school’s exiting
faculty members and to enhance the student
experience through consistent, quality academic leadership, Burns and Svirsky pooled
their resources and established the Dr. James
H. Revere Jr. Lectureship Fund in 2010.
Their initial $100,000 gift started a tremendous wave of alumni financial support.
Today, more than $500,000 has been contributed to the fund.
This outpouring of appreciation for
Revere and his 40-year career at VCU has
allowed the lectureship to grow into the
Revere Professorship for Faculty Excellence.
22 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
The additional funding allows the Revere
Professorship to provide continuing-education opportunities for full- and part-time
faculty through lectures, workshops and
presentations by noted experts in the field
of dentistry, as well as financial support and
recognition for young faculty members.
“The Revere Professorship for Faculty
Excellence is targeted to junior faculty,”
says David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., dean of the
School of Dentistry and associate vice president for VCU Health Sciences. “It’s a faculty
endowment that fits perfectly with the goals
of honoring Dr. Revere’s contributions and
supporting and recognizing young faculty.”
The Revere Professorship benefits students
through the recruitment and retention of
promising new faculty members, which is a
challenge in today’s world, Sarrett says.
“So many dental students won’t entertain
a teaching position right out of school,” he
says. “This may give us the ability to help support those faculty members as they develop
their academic careers.”
The Revere Professorship recognizes faculty
who set a high standard and, in turn, encourage others to do the same, the dean says.
Through a competitive nomination process,
he explains, three faculty members with fewer
than five years teaching experience will receive
an annual financial award for four years.
“The awards will be used to educate and
develop young faculty,” Burns says. “We want to
look at their ability to do dentistry and to look
at their teaching skills, then send them off for
additional training such as a master’s degree in
education, for example. We hope to motivate
a lifelong commitment in bright young dental educators to stay here at VCU. We want to
honor Dr. Revere and, hopefully, ‘create’ others like him. We’d really like to clone him!”
Both Burns and Svirsky are thankful that
they are able to give back to the school that
John A. Svirsky,
D.D.S., and James
C. Burns, D.D.S.,
Ph.D. (opposite
page), recognize
their teacher
and friend James
H. Revere Jr.,
D.D.S. (left), with
a lectureship and
professorship.
helped shaped their careers and to recognize
Revere, whom they consider a master teacher.
“He’s always been someone who does the
right thing and makes the right decisions,”
Svirsky says. “He always tries to make VCU a
better place, and he’s the kind of person you
wish for in an administration. That’s what
Jim and I are trying to do with this endowment — help make VCU a better place and
that fits right in with President Rao’s Quest
for Distinction initiative for the university.”
Revere, who retired from teaching and
administration in 2004, says he is amazed
and humbled by the success of the fund created in his name.
“I have great affection for the strong and
lasting friendships I have made over the
years, and one of the benefits of being in
education is to watch young men and women
develop into caring professionals,” he says.
“That my colleagues and fellow alumni are
thoughtful contributors to VCU says a lot
about the quality of education they received
here, and their support helps make the program stronger.”
To learn more about the School of Dentistry and the
Revere Professorship, contact Gloria Callihan, associate dean for development, at (804) 828-8101 or
gfgreinercal@vcu.edu.
Nan Johnson is a contributing writer for
Shafer Court Connections.
Spring 2012 | 23
Connections
Alumni
[ALUMNI
News, highlights and event photos from the
Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association
and its constituent organizations.
Alumni rally for the Rams
Board presidents receive game ball at Alumni Night
More than 60 gather for VCU, Georgia State match-up
About 100 people attended a pregame event Nov. 30, 2011, in the
School of the Arts’ Fine Arts Building as part of VCU Alumni Night at
the Siegel Center. The event preceded a men’s basketball game at which
VCU and MCV Alumni Associations’ board presidents Ken Thomas (B.S.
’91/B) and Paula Saxby (M.S. ’85/N; Ph.D. ’92/N), respectively, were presented with the game ball during halftime.
Before the VCU vs. Georgia State basketball game in Atlanta, a pregame social was held at McCormick and Schmick’s, located near the
CNN Center. VCU alumna Jessica Nelson (B.A. ’08/A) helped to coordinate the event, which attracted more than 60 alumni and guests.
Gordon McDougall, associate vice president for alumni relations, and
VCU director of athletics Norwood Teague made remarks, while Mike
Ellis, associate athletic director for administration and VCU Rams Radio
broadcast member, shared his “Keys to the Game.” The evening ended
with a one-point win for the Rams over Georgia State.
Nelson is hard at work organizing the Atlanta Alumni Chapter. If
you are interested in additional information, she can be contacted at
vcuramsatl@gmail.com.
DMV GOLD alumni group pumps up pregame activities
Since its formation this past November, the DMV GOLD (Graduates
of the Last Decade) alumni group has been busy planning various activities for young alumni in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern
Virginia area. The group met monthly and organized a variety of events
in conjunction with VCU basketball games this season. Before the
Valentine’s Day game against George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,
DMV GOLD organized a pregame social at Buffalo Wing University for
area alumni and Rams fans who participated in the bus trip arranged by
VCU Athletics. Nearly 100 alumni, guests and Rams fans attended the
social before watching the Rams lose to George Mason 62-61 on a lastsecond, three-point shot at the buzzer.
For more information on DMV GOLD or to get involved, send a message to Keisha Easley (B.S. ’05/H&S) at easleykr@gmail.com or Daniel
Nourn (B.S. ’09/B) at daniel.nourn@gmail.com.
24 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
©2012 Scott K. Brown Photography, Inc.
Photo Marsha Polier Grossman
Athletic director Norwood Teague (right) presents Ken Thomas and Paula Saxby,
Ph.D., with the game ball at the VCU and South Florida match-up.
]
Alumni associations fund devices for student safety
VCU community engages in General Assembly 2012
VCU students can add another level of protection to their personal
safety, thanks to an innovative idea funded by the VCU and MCV
Alumni Associations. VCU Police Department Sgt. Jonathan Siok
proposed the use of a small device by Onyx Knight Enterprises that
can be clipped on a belt or backpack. In the event of an emergency,
students can activate a 130-decibel alert and pulsating lights by simply
pulling a pin. This past January, the alumni associations purchased
more than 1,000 of the devices to be distributed by VCU Police.
“I believe this device will deter the [would-be criminal] and make
them run, versus staying and confronting the victim,” VCU Police
Chief John Venuti says.
Leaders of both associations presented the devices to police during
a Jan. 17 event. VCU Police plan to offer them to individuals who are
concerned about their personal safety, and they will raffle off devices
during safety presentations.
Over the course of the Virginia General
Assembly’s 2012 regular session, the
state’s 140 lawmakers tackled, among
other legislative matters, Gov. Bob
McDonnell’s $85 billion, two-year
budget. Under the direction of
the VCU Office of Government
Relations, VCU faculty, staff and
alumni remained engaged in the
60-day legislative process, forming
valuable connections with lawmakers.
Before the session, at the VCU Alumni Association board of directors meeting Saturday, Feb. 4, Mark Rubin, executive director of
the VCU Office of Government Relations, discussed the governor’s
budget and other legislative proposals impacting higher education
and health care. Rubin also discussed the university and health system’s legislative priorities for the current session. Friendships with
legislators play a vital role for the university, and the VCU Alumni
Association is proud to have eight VCU graduates serving as members in the House of Delegates, including one of its newest members,
Delegate M. Keith Hodges (B.S. ’89/P). Elected in 2011, Hodges
represents House District 98 and currently serves in the seat vacated
by retiring Delegate Harvey Morgan (B.S. ’55/P). A licensed pharmacist in Virginia, Hodges is president and owner of Gloucester
Pharmacy in Gloucester and served as an assistant clinical professor
in the VCU School of Pharmacy.
The association recognizes the following legislators for their continued leadership: Delegate Rosalyn Dance (M.P.A. ’94/H&S),
Delegate S. Christopher Jones (B.S. ’82/P), Delegate R. Steven
Landes (B.S. ’83/H&S), Delegate Jackson Miller (B.S. ’90/H&S),
Delegate John O’Bannon (M.D. ’73/M), Delegate Delores
McQuinn (attended classes in the School of Social Work) and
Delegate Roslyn Tyler (attended transitional D.P.T. classes).
VCU leaders, fans travel to
Portland for NCAA tourney
Following up on last year’s Final
Four run the VCU men’s basketball
team received an automatic bid in
the 2012 NCAA tournament. The
12th-seeded Rams were sent to
Portland, Ore., to take on the fifthseeded Wichita State Shockers at
the Rose Garden Arena. The Rams
once again made their presence
known by pulling off the 62-59 upset
of the Shockers.
Both the athletic department
and the alumni association used
the tournament as an opportunity
to visit alumni and friends in the
The Rams celebrate their 62-59 win
greater Portland area. At Deschutes
over Wichita State in the first round
Brewery, fans were treated to a live of the NCAA tournament.
broadcast of “Hardly Workin’” with
Greg Burton on ESPN 950. Prior to each game, fans met at the Spirit of
’77, decked out in black and gold for pregame socials.
VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., was also in attendance and used
the time in Portland to meet a few alumni and update them on their alma
mater. Although the Rams eventually fell to the fourth-seeded Indiana
Hoosiers, 63-61, the time spent in Portland was well worth the crosscountry trip.
CONNECTIONS
MCV Alumni Association President Paula Saxby, Ph.D. (left); VCU Alumni
Association President-elect and Staunton Police Chief Jim Williams; VCU Alumni
Association President Ken Thomas; VCU Police Chief John Venuti and VCU
Police Sgt. Jonathan Siok hold personal-safety devices that were donated by the
alumni associations.
Planned ‘wall of honor’ pays tribute to RPI heritage
Part of the VCU Alumni Association, the RPI Alumni Council is a
diverse and growing group of Richmond Professional Institute graduates dedicated to ensuring RPI’s rich heritage as VCU’s predecessor is
remembered and recognized.
The group’s first project, the “Tableith” sculpture, stands proudly
on a lighted plaza next to the RPI “Ad” Building (now Ginter House).
Now the council is working on a second, even more ambitious project:
a wall display of RPI’s heritage in the University Student Commons.
Joe Lowenthal (B.F.A. ’55/A) chairs the council committee charged
with bringing the project to fruition. “This is an exciting undertaking.
When it’s done, it will be seen by thousands of students every day, and
no one will ever forget that we were here,” he says. “But it’s going to be
costly, and we need all the help we can get. I hope all RPI graduates will
want to be a part of this.”
For more information about the display, please contact Diane Stout-Brown at (804)
828-7020 or dstout@vcu.edu.
Give students an edge.
Become an alumni mentor.
The alumni associations have partnered with EdgeOnCollege,
an online tool connecting Virginia Commonwealth University
students and graduates with alumni who can provide career
advice, job-search strategies and other tips.
Become a mentor and share your professional experience
and invest in the success of future VCU alumni.
Get started now!
To become a mentor, sign up online:
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/engage/mentorshipprogram.html
Spring 2012 | 25
[ALUMNI
CONNECTIONS
]
[ALUMNI
CONNECTIONS
]
2011 Alumni Stars shine bright at October awards ceremony honoring their professional achievements
VCU honors its most accomplished graduates through the Alumni Stars awards program.
Sponsored since 1989 by the VCU and MCV
Alumni Associations, the program recognizes
individuals who have made significant contributions in the areas of humanitarian and
professional achievement.
This past October, the university celebrated
11 new Alumni Stars at an awards ceremony.
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SCIENCES
Edmond P. Bowden, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’82/H&S),
professor in the Department of Chemistry
at North Carolina State University
SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH
PROFESSIONS
Panelpha “Penny” L. Kyler, Sc.D. (B.S.
’72/AHP), U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Health Resources and Services
Administration
SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Tara Donovan (M.F.A. ’99/A), renowned
sculptor and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Tadataka “Tachi” Yamada, M.D. (H.S. ’74/M),
former president of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation Global Health Program and current executive vice president and member of the
board of directors for Takeda Pharmaceutical
Co. Ltd.
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Glenn A. Davis (B.S. ’86/B), president and
CEO of BranCore Technologies
SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY
Ronald L. Tankersley, D.D.S. (D.D.S. ’68/D;
H.S. ’71/D), oral and maxillofacial surgeon,
VCU adjunct professor and former president
of the American Dental Association
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Dale C. Kalkofen, Ed.D. (M.A.E. ’76/A),
former school principal and superintendent,
and current vice president of district services
for New American Schools
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Debra E. Lyon, Ph.D. (B.S. ’84/N; M.S.
’93/N; Cert. ’96/N; Ph.D. ’97/N), CollinsTeefy Distinguished Professor and chair of
the VCU School of Nursing’s Department
of Family and Community Health Nursing
•Research on millions of companies
•Research on hundreds of industries
•Job postings
SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
Jonathan C. Roberts (B.S. ’79/P), executive vice
president and COO for the pharmacy benefit
management unit of CVS Caremark
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Jason T. Roe (B.S. ’00/E),
president of ERNI Electronics
All of the tools you need to get your career on track
One simple location
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
Paul D. McWhinney (B.S. ’74/SW; M.S.W.
’79/SW), deputy commissioner for programs,
Virginia Department of Social Services
•Creation of professional resumes
and cover letters
•Preparation for the interview and beyond
•Networking and social media
•Self-evaluation
CareerBeam is a benefit available to all active dues-paying members
of the VCU and MCV Alumni Associations.
Learn more at www.vcu-mcvalumni.org.
V
i
r
g
i
n
i
a
C
o
m
m
o
n
w
e
a
l
t
h
U
n
i
v
e
r
s
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Membership in the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni
Association allows you to connect with other alumni, engage
in activities to support the university and serve your community.
Your membership is critical to our ability to continue communication with you and to fund programs that benefit alumni like
you and the VCU students following in your footsteps.
Photo Jay Paul
Membership includes exclusive benefits:
• Online Journals access
• CareerBeam
• Shafer Court Connections magazine
• License plate frame
Photo Jay Paul
The 2011 Alumni Stars include (from left) Robert Roe
(accepting on behalf of his son, Jason), Penny Kyler,
Tachi Yamada, Dale Kalkofen, Debra Lyon, Glenn Davis,
Tara Donovan, Edmond Bowden, Jonathan Roberts,
Paul McWhinney and Ronald Tankersley.
26 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Past and present Alumni Stars gather on the stage.
From left to right: Greg Enas, Sheryl Baldwin, Bruce
McWhinney, Donna Dalton, Becky Perdue, Chris
Colenda, Jo Lynne DeMary, Peggy Adams, Bevill Dean,
Claire Collins, Jodi McWilliams, Katharine Webb, Reese
Harris, Colleen Jackson-Cook, Anne Adams, Cindy
Garris, Jim Revere, Stephanie Holt, Tom Robbins, Don
Beville, Bill Vigilone, A. Carole Pratt, Roger Wood, Dick
Leatherman, Jeffrey Levin, Stephanie Ferguson, Tommy
Thompson, Bill Ginther and John Beckner.
CelebrateVCU
Plus money saving discounts:
• Save 10 percent at Barnes & Noble @ VCU
• Save $5 per ticket for men’s basketball games (limit two per game)
• Save $95 on a VCU Recreational Sports membership
• Save 10 percent on Kaplan Test Prep courses
• Save up to 25 percent off car rental and hotels
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org
The following businesses support the VCU and MCV Alumni Associations as Business members.
– Kaplan Test Prep
– The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
– Nationwide Insurance
– nTelos Wireless
– The Right Move Real Estate Inc.
Visit the alumni website for more details about these Business members. www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/businessmembers
Spring 2012 | 27
Updates
1950s
Bob Hawkins (B.M. ’57/A) is retired and living in North
Carolina, where he continues to play solo recitals
and chamber music on flute, clarinet and recorder.
Hawkins led a successful jazz combo in Lexington,
Va., and has performed recorder recitals throughout
the Eastern U.S., including an alumni recital at VCU
in 1981.
1960s
Charles Larry Horne* (B.F.A. ’69/A) was inducted into
the 2010 American Society of Interior Designers
College of Fellows. Horne is credited with contributing
greatly to the body of knowledge in historical preservation. He was inducted into the Washington Design
Center Hall of Fame in 2005 and received the
Interior Design Medalist Award for outstanding
alumni from VCU.
1970s
Carol Wright Benton (B.M.E. ’72/A; M.M. ’85/A) is an
assistant professor of music education at Armstrong
Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga. After serving
as a choral director for several Virginia public schools,
Benton earned her D.M.A. in music education from
Shenandoah University. She cites Sonia Vlahcevic,
professor in the VCU Department of Music, as one
of her inspirations.
James O’Brien, Ph.D. (M.S. ’70/H&S), was reappointed
by Gov. Bob McDonnell to a second five-year term
on the board of trustees for the Science Museum of
Virginia. O’Brien, who previously served as an adjunct
faculty member at VCU, is a professor of psychology at
Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va., where
he has taught since 1972. He was elected a Fellow of the
Virginia Academy of Science in 1997.
Les Owen (B.M.E. ’79/A; M.M. ’86/A), and his son and
former VCU Department of Music student, Steve,
were featured in the Oct. 3, 2011, edition of the
Richmond Times-Dispatch, in the article
“A Dream of a Treehouse.”
Fred Salzinger (M.S. ’79/B) was appointed director of
health planning, policy and finance for the University
of Nebraska Medical Center’s Business and Finance
Send information about your professional and personal
accomplishments to shafercourt@vcu.edu. Or, mail your news
to Shafer Court Connections, Virginia Commonwealth University,
924 W. Franklin St., P.O. Box 843044, Richmond, VA 23284-3044.
office in Omaha, Neb. Previously, Salzinger was
associate vice president for health science at Creighton
University, also in Omaha, and served as chief financial
officer for the VCU School of Medicine’s faculty practice plan for seven years.
Dulcie Straughan, Ph.D. (B.S. ’73/H&S; M.S. ’78/H&S),
was named interim dean of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and
Mass Communications, where she has been a faculty
member since 1990.
1980s
Anthony Del Donna (B.M. ’88/A) was promoted to
associate professor of music with tenure at Georgetown
University. Del Donna spent the summer of 2011
conducting research in Milan.
James Genus (B.M. ’87/A), drummer, and Clarence
Penn (B.M. ’91/A), bassist, performed on “Who Knows
Where the Time Goes,” the latest CD by vocalist
Rondi Charleston.
Bryan L. Wade, Ph.D. (B.M. ’86/A; M.M. ’88/A), is a
conductor, musical director, instructor, vocal coach,
singer and pianist. He also is an accompanist and
vocal coach for several Broadway productions and
national tours.
Jenny Wiley (M.S. ’88/H&S; Ph.D. ’91/H&S) was named
a senior fellow for RTI International, a research
institute that provides technical expertise to governments and businesses in areas ranging from health
and pharmaceuticals to economics and social policy.
Wiley has more than 20 years of academic and
research experience, including 15 years as a
professor in the VCU Department of Psychology.
1990s
Lilly Aycud (B.M. ’95/A) lives and works in Los Angeles
where she teaches elementary school music, volunteers
with the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and performs
on a freelance basis. Aycud accompanies artists such
as Matt Nathanson, Slash, George Lopez, Julian
Casablancas, Lenka and Ceci Bastida.
Geoff Bambini (B.G.S. ’93/H&S) is president of
Homeland Contracting Corp., a commercial
and government general contractor based in
Chesapeake, Va. He previously served as the
company’s vice president.
What’s new?
Send us your news — promotion, relocation, wedding, baby or other
good news — and we’ll share it in Shafer Court Connections and online.
Drop us a line at shafercourt@vcu.edu or update your information at:
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/classnotes
Can’t wait to see what’s happening with your fellow alumni?
You can also view archived and expanded class notes at
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/classnotes.
28 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Philip P. Bohi (B.A. ’94/H&S) joined McGlinchey Stafford
PLLC on the firm’s national consumer financial services team in its Albany, N.Y., office. In his new role,
Bohi focuses on matters involving compliance with
state and federal laws and regulations. He previously
served as associate general counsel at Fannie Mae in
Washington, D.C., as an associate at Lotstein Buckman
LLP, also in D.C., and was director of operations for
iComply Inc.
Teresita Fernandez (M.F.A. ’92/A) was appointed
by President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S.
Commission of Fine Arts, a federal panel that advises
the president, Congress and governmental agencies on
national matters of design and aesthetics. Fernandez,
who lives and works in New York, is a 2005 MacArthur
Foundation Fellow and an award-winning visual artist
who is perhaps best known for her prominent public
sculptures and unconventional use of materials.
Gerard Justin Ferrari (M.F.A. ’99/A) received a 2011
McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists.
The $25,000 fellowship award for Minnesota
artists supports outstanding individual, midcareer
ceramic artists.
Alvester Garnett (B.M. ’93/A) was cited in the March
2011 edition of Down Beat magazine. In one of
the publication’s “blindfold tests,” vocalist Roberta
Gambarini correctly identified the track containing
Garnett’s work.
Jeff Hulett (M.A. ’94/B) was promoted to the position
of managing director at KPMG LLP, an audit, tax and
advisory firm that serves as the U.S. member of KPMG
International Cooperative. Hulett works as advisory
managing director in the firm’s mortgage
and consumer lending group.
Jonathan Kolm (B.M. ’99/A; M.M. ’00/A) is an assistant
professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
The VCU Women’s Choir participated in a concert
of Kolm’s original compositions in Alexandria, Va.
Susan Myers (B.F.A. ’93/A) held the exhibit “More or
Less” at the Center for the Arts’ Holtzman Gallery
at Towson University. Myers is a visual artist and
metalsmith who lives and works in Philadelphia. Her
artwork has appeared in dozens of prominent galleries
throughout the U.S.
Janie Lewis Rhoads (B.A. ’98/H&S) was elected to serve
on the board of directors of the Smithfield-Preston
Foundation, which advances the interpretative and
programming activities of Smithfield Plantation in
Blacksburg, Va., built by Revolutionary War patriot
Col. William Preston and his wife, Susanna Smith
Preston, in 1774. Rhoads, who is an attorney with
MercerTrigiani law firm in Alexandria, Va., is an
eighth-generation direct descendant of the
Preston family.
Joianne Smith, Ph.D. (M.S. ’93/H&S; Ph.D. ’96/H&S), vice
president of student affairs for Oakton Community
College in Des Plaines, Ill., was honored with the
2011 National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators Region IV East Community College
Professional Award. The award, which honors an individual who demonstrates leadership and commitment
to NASPA, was presented at the association’s regional
conference in Evanston, Ill. Smith joined the Oakton
staff in 2002 as dean of students and was promoted to
her current position in 2005.
Kerry Smith* (B.M. ’93/A) wrote the theme song for Fox’s
hit series “Raising Hope.”
John Wynn (B.M. ’93/A; M.M. ’95/A), and his father, Jack
(B.M.E. ’60/A; M.Ed. ’76/E), spoke with Bill Bevins about
their shared love for music in the August-September
2011 issue of Boomer magazine, a monthly publication
in Richmond, Va.
2000s
Larri Branch (B.S. ’01/H&S), a jazz pianist, was featured
in an article in the Dec. 21 edition of Style Weekly, a
weekly paper in Richmond, Va. The publication cites
Branch’s songs as “funky, propulsive” and “hookladen,” and it compares his philosophy to bands
such as the Last Crusaders, who drifted between
jazz and pop.
Charli Brissey (B.F.A. ’08/A), along with several fellow VCU dance alumni, presented “Whiskey and
Elephants” at the Grace Street Theater, which featured
the Richmond premier of “Weight,” a video-dance she
created, as well as “A’Darwin,” a new duet she choreographed. Brissey serves as box office manager
for the VCU Department of Music and maintains
an active schedule as a choreographer and dancer,
as well as a film editor, incorporating video into live
performance. She serves as a guest performer in both
Philadelphia and New York and performed at the
Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival.
Jay Calabro (B.M. ’09/A) was mentioned in the July
20, 2011, edition of Style Weekly. The publication
reported on Calabro’s collaborations with the indie
rock trio Silversmiths, whose debut CD was released
Aug. 14, 2011, at The Camel in Richmond, Va.
Scott Clark (B.M. ’04/A) appeared on National Public
Radio’s online jazz site “A Blog Supreme” as part
of an interview covering the life of a jazz musician.
David S. Corderman Jr. (B.A. ’06/A) recently completed
12 weeks of basic training at the Marine Corps recruit
depot in Parris Island, S.C. In addition to physical conditioning, Corderman underwent field and
classroom training for first aid, uniform regulations,
combat water survival, marksmanship, hand-to-hand
combat and assorted weapons. Training ended with a
54-hour session known as “The Crucible,” followed
by a ceremony in which recruits were presented with
the Marine Corps Emblem.
Derrick Englert (B.M. ’05/A) was recognized by Style
Weekly in the publication’s Dec. 14 edition. Englert
founded Winter Sol-Stache, which the article
describes as a celebration of “the glory of facial
hair and beer,” while raising money for prostatecancer research.
Veronica Ferencz, D.O. (B.S. ’04/H&S), received a
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Philadelphia
College of Osteopathic Medicine. Ferencz is in medical training for general surgery at St. John’s Episcopal
Hospital in Far Rockaway, N.Y.
Chris Grandpre (M.B.A. ’00/B), chairman and CEO
of Outdoor Living Brands, in Richmond, Va., parent company of Mosquito Squad, announced that
the Mosquito Squad franchise was ranked 646 by
Inc. Magazine among 5,000 of the fastest-growing
companies, placing the company in the top 13 percent
of those listed on the magazine’s annual list. Mosquito
Squad also was listed as the 13th fastest-growing franchise concept among 100 on Inc.’s list. Grandpre
is a VCU School of Business Alumni Society
board member.
Kristina M. Hash, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’01/SW), received the
Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education
Outstanding Faculty Award. The national award,
granted by The New York Academy of Medicine’s
Social Work Leadership Institute and the Council
for Social Work Education, honors her exceptional
leadership in the field of aging.
Christine Desantis Hoffman (B.M. ’01/A) was named
2011 Teacher of the Year for Beaverdam Elementary
School in Hanover County, Va.
Erin Hollerbach (B.A. ’07/H&S; M.S.W. ’11/SW) joined
Youth Villages as a multisystemic therapy counselor
NOTES
]
Obama taps VCU senior for campaign
Virginia Commonwealth University
senior Sai Iyer joined President Obama’s
re-election campaign as a national co-chair,
becoming the only student representative on the list of governors, longtime
Obama friends and Hollywood celebrities
announced in February. The 35 national
co-chairs will advise the campaign on key
issues and will help to mobilize voters.
Iyer enjoys a four-year connection to
Obama’s campaign and presidency, having first served as an organizing fellow for
the Obama for America campaign in 2008
and then as an intern in the White House
Office of Management and Administration
last fall.
Iyer says the campaign experience was
rewarding and taught him about the value
of working hard together to reach a common goal. “It was also a reaffirmation of my
commitment to public service,” he adds. While pursuing degrees in internaSai Iyer stands ready to serve President Obama’s
tional studies, religious studies and mass
2012 re-election campaign.
communications, Iyer served as president
of the history department’s Alexandrian
Society student organization and was active in student government, the Green Unity
for VCU student environmental group, the VCU Arabic Club and the Amber Circle
Leadership Society. Off campus, he mentored for the Carver Promise program and
volunteered at Maymont Estate.
“I think my experience at VCU has been critical to my success,” Iyer says. “It has been
significant in orienting my trajectory toward caring about public service.”
In addition to his duties with the Obama re-election campaign, Iyer is poised to take
the next important step in his life of public service.
After graduation, he’s moving to Detroit to help teach English as part of Teach for
America, a national teacher corps of recent college graduates who commit two years
to teach and to help create change in under-resourced urban and rural public schools.
Photo Mike Porter
Class notes
[CLASS
for children with emotional, behavioral and mental
health issues and their families throughout the
Washington, D.C., area.
Darius Jones (B.M. ’03/A) joined pianist Matthew Shipp
on his new CD, “Cosmic Lieder.” In its July 2011 edition, Down Beat magazine said the saxophonist “speaks
through his alto in an original and unforced language,
conversing easily with Shipp in a dialog of equals.”
Charles M. Kelley (B.A. ’08/H&S) accepted a position as a digital media specialist for McGuireWoods
Consulting. In his new role, he provides campaign
organization and management to McGuireWoods’
grassroots and issue-management practice while
expanding its digital, Web and social media services.
Leilani Mork (B.M. ’01/A; M.M. ’04/A) is the vocal coach
and music director for the VCU Theatre Senior
Showcase and the pianist and assistant director for
the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir. Mork is
an active performer in the Richmond, Va., area in
both classical repertoire and musical theater.
Adrián Sandí (B.M. ’06/A) is a new assistant professor
of clarinet at Wichita State University. He performs
with a faculty woodwind quintet and as the principal
clarinetist of the Wichita Symphony. Sandí won
Eastman School of Music’s award for outstanding
teaching by a graduate assistant.
Robbie Sinclair (B.M. ’02/A), a drummer, released the
album “Lazer Cake.” Sinclair plays keyboard and sings
on the project, along with guitarist and keyboardist
Colin Killalea, guitarist Colin McEnearney (B.M.
’01/A) and bassist Jordan Brooks.
Ryan Stitcher (B.M. ’05/A) was named 2011 Teacher
of the Year by the Winchester, Va., city school system.
Scott Stovall (B.S. ’01/B) is a new member of the
Science Museum of Virginia Foundation board.
Stovall is an attorney with CowanGates PC, where
he focuses on tax and estate planning, probate and
estate administration and nonprofit organizations.
He is part of the adjunct faculty at the University of
Richmond and the T.C. Williams School of Law and
was awarded the Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Star
in 2010.
Samson Trinh (B.M. ’06/A), and his group, the Upper
East Side Big Band, received a 2011 Theresa Pollak
Prize for Excellence in the Arts award from
Richmond Magazine.
Spring 2012 | 29
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]
[CLASS
Faculty and alumni books
David Barrish (M.P.A. ’04/H&S) published his first academic textbook, The Menu: Development, Strategy, and
Application. The 312-page text is designed to encourage those who create menus for the restaurant, food and
beverage markets to avoid prescriptive approaches in favor of more creative processes rooted in best practices.
Barrish is a certified hotel administrator dedicated to hospitality management and higher education.
R. Andrew Chesnut, Ph.D., the Bishop Walter Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies at VCU, released “Devoted to
Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint” through Oxford University Press in New York. The 240-page book
covers the modern-day cult of Santa Muerte, a widely popularized religious figure in Mexico. “It would have been
easy to write ‘Devoted to Death’ as a freak show or a horror exposé,” says Philip Jenkins, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Humanities in the Department of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University. “But
Chesnut instead shows why we must locate the phenomenon on the spectrum of known religious expressions.”
Diana Woodcock (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.F.A. ’04/H&S), assistant professor of English, VCUQatar, published her fourth
book and her first full-length collection of poetry, “Swaying on the Elephant’s Shoulders,” through Little
Red Tree Publishing. The collection expresses a threefold concern for human rights, refugees and ecology.
Woodcock won first place in the Vernice Quebodeaux Pathways poetry contest in 2010 and received numerous
awards for her previous works, including first, second and third prizes from Artists Embassy International and
an International Publication Award from Atlanta Review in 2009.
Antonia Vassar (B.A. ’05/A) works with The Listening
Room, a Richmond, Va.-based series dedicated
to providing a quiet environment for listening
and performances.
2010s
Reginald Chapman (B.M. ’11/A), a trombonist, is pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Illinois.
Patrick D. Collier (B.S. ’11/B) completed 12 weeks of basic
training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris
Island, S.C. In addition to a physical conditioning
program, Collier spent numerous hours in classroom
and field assignments, including first aid, uniform
regulations, combat water survival, marksmanship,
hand-to-hand combat and assorted weapons training.
Training ended with a 54-hour, team evolution process labeled “The Crucible,” followed by a ceremony in
which recruits received their Marine Corps emblems.
Lucas Fritz (B.M. ’11/A) is playing trumpet for a soul band
and a brass band in Fredericksburg, Va., and wrote a
number of musical arrangements for a brass quartet at
St. Edward Catholic Church in Richmond, Va., where
he serves as assistant director of music. In addition
to his work at St. Edward, he performed the Vivaldi
Concert for Two Trumpets and Organ, as well as a
two-trumpet unaccompanied piece by Richard Proulx;
worked with Spacebomb Records in anticipation of its
recording session with Nashville, Tenn.-based songwriter Natalie Prass; assists Songwire Studios with its
string arranging and score and part preparation; and
plays with The Blue Tips.
Scott Lints* (M.S. ’10/B) is the new director of operations for Seltek Inc. in Richmond, Va. Lints supervises
Seltek’s team of computer technicians who provide onsite and remote support and is part of the company’s
information technology, e-discovery and computer
forensics services staff.
30 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Jacob Mertz* (B.M. ’11/A) accepted a position as a music
teacher at Belview Elementary School in Montgomery
County, Va.
Paul Willson (B.M. ’11/A) released his band, Old
Soul’s, first album, “Sounds Before The Silence.”
The band is composed of Willson on guitar and
vocals, alto saxophonist David Hood, tenor saxophonist Marcus Tenney (B.M. ’11/A), keyboardist
Devonne Harris (B.M. ’11/A), bassist Evan Sarver
and drummer Matt Coyle.
Faculty and Staff
Curt Blankenship, concert hall and facilities manager
for the VCU Department of Music, was named VCU
Pride Ambassador for 2011. The award was given by
the VCU Staff Senate in recognition of Blankenship’s
service to VCU, as well as his excellence and dedication
in the workplace.
Fred Dole, professor of double bass, Susanna Klein,
assistant professor of music, Jason McComb, cello
instructor, and Shawn Welk, oboe instructor, all are
part of the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, which was
named WCVE Public Radio’s first Chamber Ensemble
in Residence.
Victor Dvoskin, instructor of bass, released
“Acceptance,” a new CD he recorded with the group
Trio Vera.
Antonio Garcia, associate professor of music and
director of jazz studies, hosted an interview with
acclaimed jazz trombonist Ilja Reijngoud. The interview was published in the International Trombone
Association Journal. The September edition of
JazzEd magazine also included one of Garcia’s
articles, “Two Chords, Many Possibilities,” and he
was interviewed for “Bonanza: Insights and Wisdom
from Professional Jazz Trombonists,” a book by Julie
Gendrich, Ph.D.
David Greenagel, a member of the VCU School
of the Arts Committee on Graduate Studies, was
invited to present a best-practice poster session at
the Symposium of the Society for Music Teacher
Education at The University of North Carolina at
Greensboro.
John Guthmiller, Ph.D., longtime chair of the VCU
Department of Music and past interim associate dean
for student and program development, relocated to
Doha, Qatar, where he serves as associate dean of
academic affairs for VCUQatar.
Bryan Hooten, professor of jazz and music theory,
released his debut solo trombone album, “Richmond
Love Call,” Oct. 19, 2011.
Susanna Klein (B.M. ’93/A), professor of violin,
performed Dec. 11, 2011, with Atlantic Chamber
Ensemble in “House Specials.” The event benefited
the Williams Syndrome Music Camp.
Tony Martucci, professor of drums, held a CD release
party July 11, 2011, at Blues Alley in Washington,
D.C. Martucci’s new album, “Life in Hand,” features
pianist Marc Copland, trumpeter John D’earth and
bassist Tom Baldwin.
Peter Martin, professor of percussion, traveled to
Queens College of North Carolina and Furman
University for concerts and master classes. Martin also
completed a weeklong residency at Dickinson College
in Pennsylvania and received a VCU School of the Arts
Dean’s Faculty Research Grant award. The award goes
toward a recording of music by the French composer
Phillipe Manoury to be released on the MODE record
label in 2012-13.
Daniel Myssyk, VCU Symphony conductor, conducted
Ensemble Appassionata in a series of six youth concerts held in Montreal. The event drew the attendance
of 1,300 young people.
Doug Richards, professor of jazz, traveled to Izmir,
Turkey, where his composition for voice, string
septet, tenor saxophone and percussion, “Ike Keklik,”
was performed. The trip results from an ongoing
exchange with Yasar University.
Rex Richardson, associate professor, trumpet, was
awarded a Theresa Pollak Prize for Excellence in the
Arts award, in the category of instrumentalist, by
Richmond Magazine. Richardson also performed in
the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, held
in South Korea August 2011, and currently is an artist
in residence at the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester, England.
Charles West, D.M.A., professor of music, served on
the faculty of the Clarinet and Saxophone Society of
Victoria’s conference in Melbourne, Australia, and
performed concerts in Moulin d’Ande, France, with
pianist Alexander Paley. West also received the VCU
School of the Arts Award of Excellence. He gave a
master class at California State University, Northridge,
and played with the Alexander Paley Festival in
Richmond, Va.
Diana Woodcock (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.F.A. ’04/H&S), assistant
professor of English, received the 2011 Distinguished
Achievements in Research Award from VCUQatar.
Weddings
2000s
Lauren Giere (B.M. ’07/A) married Ian McKay, July 2,
2011, in Falls Church, Va. The couple lives in
Las Vegas.
Births
2010s
Taylor Barnett (B.M. ’02/A; M.M. ’04/A), and his wife,
Tiffanie Chan, welcomed the birth of their second
daughter on Oct. 4, 2011.
In memoriam
Jeraldine Bell, of Alabaster, Ala., Dec. 20, 2011.
Sally H. Penick, of Henrico, Va., July 10, 2011,
at age 75.
Norman C. Washer (B), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 16,
2011, at age 85.
1940s
Bernice F. Jones (’47/SW), of Roanoke, Va., Aug. 11,
2011, at age 101.
George R. Partin, D.Ed. (B.S. ’49/H&S), of Petersburg,
Va., Jan. 1, 2012, at age 87.
Annette W. Sirmon (’47/SW), of Alexandria, Va., Nov.
7, 2011, at age 91.
Emily R. Smith (B.S. ’46/SW), of Charlottesville, Va.,
Oct. 9, 2011, at age 65.
Sands Smith (B.S. ’49/B), of Aylett, Va., July 5, 2011,
at age 87.
1950s
Robert C. Astrop (’51/B), of Richmond, Va., Oct. 1,
2011, at age 83.
Fern C. Barban (’51/A), of Cape Charles, Va., March 4,
2011, at age 81.
James W. Crummett (B.M.E. ’58/A), of Prince George,
Va., Dec. 6, 2011, at age 83.
Phyllis B. Doyle (B.S. ’58/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
March 18, 2010, at age 103.
Gerald W. Hagmayer (M.S.W. ’53/SW), of Gettysburg,
Pa., Dec. 23, 2011, at age 85.
Reon G. Hillegass Jr. (B.S. ’51/E), of Virginia Beach,
Va., July 7, 2011, at age 85.
Laura Ann Johnson (B.S. ’51), of Marshall, Texas, Aug.
12, 2011, at age 81.
Patrick Joyce (B.S. ’59/H&S), of Wilmington, N.C., May
30, 2011, at age 75.
Annis Trout McCabe (B.F.A. ’54/A), of Bedford, Va.,
Aug. 16, 2011, at age 111.
Robert J. Parr (B.S. ’57/E; M.S. ’68/E), of Virginia Beach,
Va., July 27, 2011, at age 89.
Jack F. Paschall (B.S. ’57/B), of Hanover, Va., Dec. 26,
2011, at age 82.
Barbara M. Steward (B.S. ’52/H&S; Cert. ’52/AHP),
of Guilford, Conn.
Grace A. Straw* (B.S. ’52/AHP; B.S. ’53/H&S), of Silver
Spring, Md., Nov. 25, 2011, at age 80.
Jane L. Turner (M.S. ’55/H&S), of Saint Paul, Minn.,
Dec. 9, 2011, at age 87.
Eugene V. White, Pharm.D.* (B.S. ’50/A), of Berryville,
Va., Dec. 9, 2011, at age 87.
Pauline P. Word (B.S. ’56/E), of Dillwyn, Va., Sept. 4,
2011.
1960s
Verlin W. Atkinson (A.A. ’67/H&S; B.S. ’69/H&S), of
Raleigh, N.C., Nov. 22, 2011, at age 65.
Hilton E. Carter* (B.S. ’63/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Sept. 1, 2011, at age 86.
Margaret T. Core (B.S. ’63/H&S), of Chesterfield, Va.,
Dec. 31, 2011, at age 70.
Zarouhi D. Deloian (’60/H&S), of Richmond, Va., Aug.
22, 2011, at age 89.
Charles F. Duff (B.S. ’61/H&S; M.S. ’65/E), of
Fredericksburg, Va., Aug. 12, 2010, at age 76.
W. Edward Ellis Jr. (B.S. ’68/B), of Richmond, Va., Nov.
15, 2011, at age 66.
Owen W. Fahrney Jr. (B.M.E. ’67/A), of Chesterfield,
Va., Nov. 30, 2011, at age 66.
Eleanor S. Friedenberg (M.S. ’64/H&S), of Richmond,
Va., Dec. 28, 2011, at age 95.
William C. Garter Jr. (B.S. ’68/B), of Richmond, Va.,
Dec. 29, 2011.
Merle S. Hall (B.S. ’65/E; M.Ed. ’77/E), of Kitty Hawk,
N.C., Dec. 16, 2011, at age 74.
George E. Hamilton III (B.S. ’69/H&S), of Marietta, Ga.,
Dec. 17, 2011.
Alvin E. Hampton III (B.S. ’65/B), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 21, 2011.
William J. Ivey III (B.S. ’64/H&S; M.S. ’71/H&S), of Bristol,
Va., Aug. 15, 2011, at age 68.
Doris Myers Korman (M.S. ’68/E), of Mechanicsville,
Va., March 11, 2010, at age 87.
John B. Magee Jr. (B.S. ’65/H&S), of Midlothian, Va.,
Aug. 3, 2011, at age 73.
Thomas A. Pearson (B.S. ’65/B), of Richmond, Va., Jan.
3, 2012, at age 71.
Carl E. Schulz (A.S. ’68/E), of Midlothian, Va., Oct. 18,
2011, at age 63.
David Willis Scott (B.F.A. ’62/A), of Richmond, Va.,
Aug. 21, 2011, at age 77.
Nancy P. Skidmore (B.S. ’67/E; M.Ed. ’73/E), of
Richmond, Va., Dec. 15, 2011.
Clyde M. Thompson (B.F.A. ’62/A), of Glen Allen, Va.,
Aug. 22, 2011, at age 80.
NOTES
]
Basil R. Tripp (B.S. ’69/B), of Glen Allen, Va., Sept. 9,
2011, at age 68.
1970s
Allen R. Bowens (M.Ed. ’74/E), of Richmond, Va., Dec.
5, 2011, at age 88.
Jewel V. Bruce (A.S. ’78/B), of Glen Allen, Va., July 31,
2011, at age 84.
M. Dwight Burgess Jr. (B.S. ’70/B; B.S. ’73/H&S), of Glen
Allen, Va., July 13, 2011, at age 64.
Harry B. Byrd III (B.S. ’78/E), of Penhook, Va., Sept. 28,
2011, at age 58.
Ronald A. Campana (B.S. ’74/B; B.S. ’76/H&S),
of Williamsburg, Va., Sept. 17, 2011, at age 61.
Muriel M. Carriker (B.F.A. ’74/A), of Sequim, Wash.,
Oct. 14, 2011, at age 81.
Diane S. Cathell (M.Ed. ’72/E), of Richmond, Va., Nov.
4, 2011, at age 64.
Mason T. Chalkley (B.S. ’77/H&S; M.S. ’81/H&S),
of Richmond, Va., Dec. 21, 2011, at age 77.
Katherine B. Coates (M.Ed. ’77/E), of Richmond, Va.,
June 23, 2011, at age 79.
Hugh T. Cole III (B.A. ’71/H&S), of Lanexa, Va., Nov. 12,
2011, at age 64.
Alumnus’s elevator pitch nets a Grammy
Every aspiring music-industry talent is advised to have an “elevator pitch” rehearsed
and ready. When Michael Congdon (B.M. ’05/A) found himself taking an elevator ride
with award-winning R&B artist Chris Brown, he delivered his message right where it was
designed to work best. Two weeks later, Congdon served as assistant engineer, and then
engineer, on several of Brown’s projects. Their collaboration resulted in
a trip down the Grammys’ red carpet, where Brown’s album “F.A.M.E.”
claimed the R&B Album of the Year
Award at the 54th Grammy Awards
Ceremony. Congdon performed
engineering work on three of the
album’s songs.
“It was the experience I’d been
dreaming of my whole life,” Congdon
says.
Congdon is the founder of
Artesian Entertainment Group LLC,
a company that produces everything
from television series and feature
films to mainstream music. He works
out of In Your Ear, a Richmond, Va.based recording studio. That’s where
he ended up in the elevator with
Brown, after MTV used the facility as
Michael Congdon overlooks the stage at the 54th Grammy
a backdrop for an interview.
Awards Ceremony.
Initially Congdon served as assistant engineer for a mixtape project. Then, while working as lead engineer on a project
with rapper SJR, Brown made an unexpected visit to the studio to record some guestvocalist tracks. As it turns out, the session was an audition.
“[Chris Brown] came out of the vocal booth, had a listen, and said, ‘OK. You got the job,’”
Congdon, who had no idea he was applying for a spot as the lead engineer on Brown’s
next mix tape project, says. Congdon appointed fellow alumnus Dustin Faltz (B.M. ’07/A)
to serve as his assistant. Out of the resulting sessions came three hit singles, two Grammy
nominations and one Grammy award.
Spring 2012 | 31
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NOTES
]
Did you know?
Since 2010, VCU faculty members
have earned six Fulbright awards and
one Fulbright grant for research ranging
from online methods of instruction for
students to the economic impact of endof-life care in the U.S. to strategy and
knowledge management.
The Fulbright Program, America’s
flagship international educational
exchange program, is sponsored by
the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Recipients of Fulbright awards are
selected on the basis of academic or
professional achievement, as well as
demonstrated leadership potential in
their fields.
Marie E. Anzalone, Sc.D., assistant
professor, VCU Department
of Occupational Therapy
Timothy Bajkiewicz, Ph.D., associate professor, VCU School of Mass
Communications
Kevin Beanland, Ph.D., assistant professor, VCU Department of Mathematics
and Applied Mathematics
Paul Bukaveckas, Ph.D., associate
professor, VCU Department of Biology
and the VCU Center for Environmental
Studies
Brian Cassel, Ph.D., senior analyst
in the VCU Massey Cancer Center
Wendy Kliewer, Ph.D., professor,
VCU Department of Psychology
Michael Pitts, D.B.A., associate professor of management in the VCU School
of Business
32 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
[CLASS
George T. Conwell* (M.S. ’75/B), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 6, 2011, at age 84.
Sandra B. Cosby (B.S. ’75/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Aug. 12, 2011, at age 59.
Pamela D. Crouch* (B.S.W. ’77/SW), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 21, 2011, at age 57.
Gary L. Faria (B.S. ’70/B), of Philomath, Ore., Oct. 3,
2011, at age 68.
Fred C. Forberg (M.S. ’74/B), of Baskerville, Va., Dec.
19, 2011, at age 68.
Arthur J. Frizzell* (B.S. ’77/E), of Mineral, Va., Sept. 7,
2011, at age 61.
Michael E. Gochenour (B.F.A. ’75/A), of Deerfield
Beach, Fla., May 30, 2011, at age 59.
Ronald L. Harrell (B.S. ’74/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Aug. 23, 2011, at age 66.
Sylvia Harris (B.F.A. ’75/A), of Brooklyn, N.Y., July 24,
2011, at age 57.
Douglas K. Hobson (B.S. ’70/B), of Kenner, La., July 9,
2011, at age 64.
Brian John Hubbard (M.S.W. ’75/SW), of Newport, R.I.,
July 8, 2011, at age 64.
George T. Hubbs (B.S. ’75/E), of Richmond, Va., June
20, 2011, at age 66.
Jessie V. Izard (M.Ed. ’72/E), of Madison, Miss., Oct. 18,
2011, at age 92.
Lynda D. Jeffries (B.F.A. ’72/A), of Urbanna, Va., Aug.
20, 2011, at age 62.
Robert T. Johnson (B.S. ’70/E), of Chester, Va., Dec.
22, 2011, at age 73.
Donna B. Kenney (B.F.A. ’70/A), of Johnson City,
Tenn., April 15, 2010, at age 61.
Frances W. McClenney (M.Ed. ’77/E), of Richmond,
Va., Nov. 18, 2011, at age 69.
Gerald E. Mitchell (B.F.A. ’76/A), of Fort Walton Beach,
Fla., Dec. 3, 2011.
Charles E. Moore III (B.S. ’73/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Nov. 1, 2011, at age 69.
Patricia A. Pearson (B.S. ’79/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Sept. 20, 2011, at age 65.
William W. Props (B.F.A. ’72/A), of Richmond, Va., Nov.
23, 2011, at age 61.
Barbara J. Richardson (M.Ed. ’78/E), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 6, 2011, at age 64.
Linwood R. Robertson (B.S. ’70/B), of Manakin Sabot,
Va., Dec. 26, 2011, at age 71.
Harriet Rochkind (B.F.A. ’78/A), of Richmond, Va.,
Sept. 18, 2011, at age 83.
James A. Schwartz (B.S. ’74/B; M.B.A. ’75/B), of Grundy
Center, Iowa, Nov. 17, 2011, at age 63.
John T. Shearin II (B.S. ’73/E), of Powhatan, Va., July 6,
2011, at age 60.
John K. Sheranek (M.S. ’76/B), of Richmond, Va., Sept.
11, 2011, at age 68.
Marilou C. Shotwell (A.S. ’71/B; B.S. ’74/B), of McLean,
Va., Aug. 5, 2011, at age 59.
Frances N. Smyth (M.Ed. ’78/E), of Mount Pleasant,
S.C., July 17, 2011, at age 60.
L. Reginald Tucker Jr. (B.S. ’76/B), of Chesterfield, Va.,
Sept. 26, 2011, at age 60.
Cynthia Gail Vaughan (B.S. ’70/SW), of Newport News,
Va., Dec. 18, 2011, at age 65.
Henry R. Ward (B.S. ’74/H&S), of Newllano, La., Dec.
20, 2011, at age 68.
Vivian B. Wells (M.Ed. ’74/E), of Richmond, Va., Dec. 6,
2011, at age 80.
Ryland S. Wiltshire (B.A. ’79/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 4, 2011, at age 59.
1980s
Mark L. Amick (B.S. ’85/B), of Glen Allen, Va., March
22, 2010, at age 47.
Michael D. Amos (B.S. ’81/H&S), of Olney, Md., July 19,
2011, at age 55.
John R. Anderson Jr. (B.S. ’83/B), of Sandston, Va.,
Aug. 3, 2011, at age 60.
Jerry W. Bates (B.F.A. ’82/A), of Richmond, Va., Sept.
9, 2011, at age 63.
Marjorie L. Booker (B.A. ’82/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Dec. 10, 2011, at age 82.
Corinne Stickley Buckalew (B.F.A. ’88/A), of New York,
Dec. 20, 2011, at age 45.
Laura A. Coomer (B.A. ’89/A), of Washington, D.C.,
Oct. 17, 2011, at age 47.
Brian M. Edson (B.S. ’84/H&S), of Greenville, N.C.,
Oct. 4, 2011, at age 56.
Gerald L. Freeman (B.S. ’82/B), of Glen Allen, Va.,
Nov. 17, 2011, at age 70.
Roberta L. Giese (B.S.W. ’81/SW), of Williamsburg, Va.,
Aug. 8, 2011, at age 71.
Barbara B. Guvernator (M.Ed. ’81/E), of Richmond,
Va., Dec. 28, 2011, at age 74.
Sam G. Howard Jr. (B.F.A. ’81/A), of Richmond, Va.,
Aug. 1, 2011, at age 52.
Robert M. McCloskey (B.S. ’84/B), of Richmond, Va.,
July 25, 2011, at age 49.
Timothy M. Molenda (B.S. ’87/B), of Mechanicsville,
Va., Dec. 3, 2011, at age 49.
Mason A. Moore (B.S. ’87/B), of Richmond, Va., Sept.
16, 2011, at age 52.
William M. Mulvihill (Cert. ’84/B), of Richmond, Va.,
Nov. 28, 2011, at age 74.
Evelyn V. Oosterhuis (B.S. ’84/H&S), of Midlothian,
Va., Aug. 16, 2011, at age 48.
Mark E. Patrick (B.A. ’85/H&S; Cert. ’89/B), of Ashland,
Va., July 10, 2011, at age 49.
Martha U. Pritchard (B.F.A. ’86/A), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 2, 2011, at age 91.
Rose Ann S. Putnam (M.Ed. ’82/E), of Richmond, Va.,
Oct. 17, 2011, at age 83.
James A. Racer (B.S. ’81/B), of Berryville, Va., July 13,
2011, at age 53.
Josephine P. Schefer (B.G.S. ’88/H&S; M.S.W. ’91/SW),
of Richmond, Va., July 7, 2011, at age 67.
Griselda R. Taylor (M.Ed. ’84/E), of Charles City, Va.,
Oct. 8, 2011, at age 80.
Helen M. Thurston (B.S. ’81/E; M.Ed. ’86/E), of
Goochland, Va., April 28, 2010, at age 57.
Kenneth D. Walcott (B.S. ’82/H&S), of Ocean Grove,
N.J., Dec. 28, 2011, at age 84.
Erin York Warren (B.S. ’84/B), of Williamsburg, Va.,
Aug. 7, 2011, at age 50.
1990s
W.T. Benson (M.I.S. ’97/H&S), of Huntly, Va., Aug. 30,
2011, at age 58.
Melanie W. Bernier (B.S. ’90/B), of Richmond, Va., July
20, 2011, at age 49.
Lindsay U. Bruce Jr. (B.S. ’96/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Sept. 29, 2011, at age 70.
Robin Lowe Hayes (M.S. ’93/AHP), of Round Hill, Va.,
June 28, 2011, at age 43.
Addison L. Headley (M.S.W. ’94/SW), of Mechanicsville,
Va., April 9, 2010, at age 61.
Bruce C. Jenkins (Cert. ’95/H&S; M.P.A. ’97/H&S),
of Goochland, Va., July 14, 2011, at age 55.
Ronda J. Martz (B.S. ’94/H&S), of Virginia Beach, Va.,
Sept. 9, 2011, at age 39.
Virginia Mathews (M.Ed. ’93/E), of Richmond, Va., Oct.
19, 2011, at age 63.
Carolyn S. Moeller (Cert. ’91/B), of Richmond, Va.,
Aug. 14, 2011, at age 47.
Nancy E. Moir (M.Ed. ’92/E), of Richmond, Va., Aug.
29, 2011, at age 73.
2000s
Juanita L. Anderson* (B.G.S. ’00/H&S), of Richmond,
Va., Sept. 6, 2011, at age 77.
Jennifer L. Cason (B.A. ’07/H&S), of Richmond, Va.,
Sept. 16, 2011, at age 29.
Calena Lowery* (B.F.A. ’02/A), of Glen Allen, Va., Nov.
11, 2011, at age 39.
Barbara A. Newman (M.S.W. ’04/SW), of Saugerties,
N.Y., July 23, 2011, at age 62.
Patrick A. Monolo (B.S. ’09/H&S; B.S. ’09/H&S),
of Beaverdam, Va., Sept. 15, 2011, at age 28.
2010s
Josephine E. Varnier (B.A. ’11/H&S; B.S. ’11/H&S),
of Richmond, Va., Oct. 28, 2011, at age 23.
Faculty and staff
Margaret D. Anderson, of Richmond, Va., Nov. 4,
2011, at age 68. Anderson served in housekeeping.
Hubert C. Barbee, of Midlothian, Va., July 17, 2011,
at age 67.
James C. Biviens, of Richmond, Va., Dec. 25, 2011,
at age 80. Biviens served as a campus police sergeant
in the Department of Public Safety.
Orene J. Brown, Oct. 12, 2011, at age 86. Brown
served on the housekeeping staff.
Thomas Clevenger, D.B.A., Oct. 20, 2011. He was
an associate professor of accounting at Washburn
University and served as an assistant professor in
the VCU School of Business before 1988.
Agnes E. Corazzini, of Midlothian, Va., Nov. 14,
2011, at age 67. She was a retired R.N. from VCU
Medical Center and donated her time to VCU
through volunteer services.
Ben R. Day, of Chelsea, Mass., July 14, 2011, at
age 68. Day, who taught graphic design and visual
communications at VCU, retired in 2005, having
last served as professor of communication arts and
design. During his tenure at the university, he coauthored the textbook “Typographic Design: Form
and Communication,” which continues to be used
internationally by design students.
John J. Driscoll, of Amelia Court House, Va., Nov.
11, 2011, at age 74. Driscoll served as a computer
programmer.
Dorothy B. Giannini, of Richmond, Va., Aug. 2, 2011,
at age 82. Giannini grew up in Charlottesville, Va.,
and first worked for Trailways Bus Co., then later the
University of Virginia as a secretary in the School
of Commerce and the School of Psychology. After
relocating to Richmond, she worked as administrative assistant to the dean of the School of
Community and Public Affairs at VCU.
Robert A. Heinz, Ph.D., former associate dean for
industrial affairs and professor of mechanical engineering, Sept. 28, 2011, at age 68.
Dan Kimbrough, Ph.D., former professor of biology,
Sept. 10, 2011, at age 77. Kimbrough worked as an
educator for 40 years, beginning as a high school
biology teacher, then later serving as a professor of
biology at Birmingham Southern College and VCU.
Kimbrough and his colleagues are responsible for
publishing more than 100 scientific articles and
books.
Daisy Hodges, of Henrico, Va., July 8, 2011, at age 71.
James H. Mayo, of Richmond, Va., Nov. 7, 2011,
at age 88.
Clifford McGhee, of Richmond, Va., July 19, 2011.
Donald W. Myers, D.B.A., of Midlothian, Va., Nov.
14, 2011, at age 77. Myers served as a professor in the
VCU Department of Management.
D. Brickford Rider, of Richmond, Va., Nov. 12, 2011,
at age 76. Rider served as an adjunct faculty member
in VCU’s School of Mass Communications. He
graduated from Michigan State University with
a B.S. in Mass Communications in 1956 and
served in a variety of media-related positions from
1950 until his retirement from Reynolds Metals
Company and Foundation in Richmond, Va., in
1997. In 2001, he was inducted into VCU’s Virginia
Communications Hall of Fame. As director of news
and programming for WRVA Radio in Richmond,
he is credited with implementing the city’s first helicopter traffic report. As assistant to the Richmond
city manager/public relations, he implemented the
plan that earned Richmond its “All American City”
award. Rider received the Silver Anvil Award from
the Public Relations Society of America for planning and publicizing the opening of the Richmond
Coliseum. He was an accredited member of the
Public Relations Society of America and served as
past president of the Richmond Public Relations
Association and the Old Dominion Chapter, Public
Relations Society of America.
Eleanor C. Snellings, Ph.D., of Richmond, Va., Dec.
7, 2011, at age 85. Snellings served as associate professor emerita of economics. She was a faculty member
from 1966 until her retirement in 1992. Snellings
earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her
doctorate from Duke University. She was a North
Carolina native who moved to Richmond, Va., to
work at the Federal Reserve Bank, where she was
an economist in the research department.
Friends of VCU
Raymond L. Cook, of Mechanicsville, Va., Sept. 26,
2011.
Elmon T. Gray, of Richmond, Va., Sept. 27, 2011,
at age 86. Gray was a 2010 Massey Club Fellow.
Susan White Holsworth, of Richmond, Va., Oct. 2,
2011, at age 55. Holsworth was the senior librarian for
Afton Chemical Corp., where she worked for 19 years.
She also served on the Richmond Performing Arts
Committee.
A. Clifton Lilly Jr., Ph.D., of Chesterfield, Va., Aug.
16, 2011.
Daniel M. Rexinger, of Richmond, Va., Dec. 21, 2011,
at age 73. Rexinger is credited as one of the employees
who helped drive Circuit City Stores Inc. to its position as a national top electronics retailer. He joined
the company in 1962 as a salesperson, when it operated under the name Wards TV, then went on to reach
the level of executive vice president.
David K. Wiecking, of Richmond, Va., July 22, 2011,
at age 78.
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NOTES
]
Alumni association
Officers
President: Kenneth “Ken” A. Thomas (B.S. ’91/B)
President-elect: Col. James E. Williams (B.S.
’84/H&S; M.S. ’96/H&S)
Treasurer: Jon B. Hill (B.S. ’85/B; M.B.A. ’99/B)
Secretary: Carolyn L. Bishop (B.A. ’86/H&S;
M.P.A. ’88/H&S)
Officer-at-large: Thomas H. Beatty (B.A. ’93/H&S)
Immediate past president: Donna M. Dalton
(M.Ed. ’00/E)
At-large directors
Mary H. Allen (B.S. ’80/E)
Joseph E. Becht Jr. (B.S. ’80/B) (presidential
appointment)
David P. Benedict (presidential appointment)
Peter A. Blake (B.A. ’80/H&S; M.S. ’88/MC)
Steven B. Brincefield (M.S. ’74/B)
Elizabeth W. Bryant (B.S. ’83/MC; M.S. ’04/MC)
Leah L.E. Bush, M.D. (M.S. ’80/H&S; M.D. ’84/M)
William L. Davis (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.S. ’79/H&S)
David R. Dennier (B.S. ’75/B)
Aaron R. Gilchrist Jr. (B.S. ’03/MC)
Tobias Guennel (presidential appointment)
Stephanie L. Holt (B.S. ’74/E)
Dale C. Kalkofen, Ph.D. (M.A.E. ’76/A)
Heather E. Millar (M.B.A. ’08/B)
Mary E. Perkinson (B.F.A. ’91/A; B.S. ’03/En)
John S. Philips (M.S. ’78/B)
Edward Robinson Jr. (B.G.S. ’00/H&S; M.S.W. ’03/SW)
John Jay Schwartz (B.S. ’69/B)
June O. Thomas (B.S. ’78/B; M.B.A. ’82/B)
Franklin R. Wallace (B.S. ’87/A; M.P.A. ’08/H&S)
Natalee A. “Lee” Wasiluk (B.F.A. ’86/A)
Constituent organization
directors
Reetika Bhardwaj, Graduate Student Association
Eugene H. Hunt, Ph.D. (B.S. ’59/B; M.S. ’61/B),
RPI Alumni Council
Michael C. Huffman (M.S. ’02/E), School
of Education Alumni Council
Robin Gahan (B.S.W. ’06/SW; M.S.W. ’11/SW),
School of Social Work Alumni Network
Asif Bhavnagri, Student Government Association,
Monroe Park Campus
Jose Alcaine, VCU Staff Senate
Jessica Braum Corbett (B.A. ’03/A), GOLD
Thomas G. Snead Jr. (B.S. ’76/B), VCU Board
of Visitors
Mary Ann Steiner (B.S. ’98/B), VCU Business
Alumni Society
Elizabeth M. Thompson (B.M. ’04/A),
VCU Music Alumni
Faith Wilkerson (B.S. ’03/MC; M.Ed. ’05/E),
African-American Alumni Council
Spring 2012 | 33
]
[THEN
Abbreviation key
New lifetime members
Alumni are identified by degree, year and
college or school. An asterisk (*) identifies
members of the VCU Alumni Association.
Lt. Col. David G. Aholtz
Michael P. Andrews
Phyllis B. Andruszkiewicz
Ebenezer Asafu-Adjaye, Ph.D.
Robert P. Auton
Alice H. Barnett
Donald L. Beach
Mary Wilkins Beasley
David M. Berdish
Steven W. Bernstein
Betsy A. Blair
Carolyn A. Bohling
Jacinta R. Bottoms
Leslie L. Bradshaw III
Alice S. Braswell-Jones
Katherine H. Braun
Robert V. Brett III
B.Y. Brown
Sharon Browning
Elizabeth W. Bryant
Dennis R. Buck
Margaret L. Burner
Anne B. Burnley
Mary Whitt Busbee
Michele Lewane Busch
Robert C. Busch
Frank A. Cantalupo
Roberto R. Casasnovas
James W. Cieslak
Jean A. Clark
Valerie Clem
Jerry L. Collier
Kay C. Creasy
R.D. Creasy Jr.
James A. Cummings
Judith D. Cunningham
Lawrence J. Cunningham
Robert Andrew Dahlberg, Ph.D.
Beatrice C. Dalton
Andrea J. Davis
Nicollette A. Dennis
Joyce Solomon Dillard
Melissa Ann Donithan
Gail E. Donohue
Samantha Leigh Dorsey
Kay D. Drinkwater
Wayne C. Drinkwater
Deborah S. Elliott
Susan F. Elliott
Gregory N. Elms
Suzanne P. Elms
Robert A. Feldman
Christine Flavin
William Y. Fu, M.D.
College and schools
H&S
A
AHP
B
D
E
En
GPA
GS
LS
M
MC
N
P
SW
WS
College of Humanities and Sciences
School of the Arts
School of Allied Health Professions
School of Business
School of Dentistry
School of Education
School of Engineering
L. Douglas Wilder School
of Government and Public Affairs
Graduate School
VCU Life Sciences
School of Medicine
School of Mass Communications
School of Nursing
School of Pharmacy
School of Social Work
School of World Studies
Degrees
A.A., A.S. Associate degree
Cert.Certificate
B.F.A.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
B.G.S.
Bachelor of General Studies
B.I.S.
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies
B.M.
Bachelor of Music
B.M.E. Bachelor of Music Education
B.S.
Bachelor of Science
B.S.W.
Bachelor of Social Work
D.D.S.
Doctor of Dental Surgery
D.N.A.P. Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice
D.P.A.
Doctor of Public Administration
D.P.T.
Doctor of Physical Therapy
M.A.
Master of Arts
M.Acc. Master of Accountancy
M.A.E. Master of Art Education
M.B.A. Master of Business Administration
M.Bin.
Master of Bioinformatics
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
M.Ed.
Master of Education
M.Envs. Master of Environmental Studies
M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts
M.H.A. Master of Health Administration
M.I.S.
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies
M.M.
Master of Music
M.M.E. Master of Music Education
M.P.A. Master of Public Administration
M.P.H. Master of Public Health
M.P.S.
Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences
M.S.
Master of Science
M.S.A.T. Master of Science in Athletic Training
M.S.D.
Master of Science in Dentistry
M.S.H.A. Master of Science in Health
Administration
M.S.N.A. Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia
M.S.O.T. Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
M.S.W. Master of Social Work
M.T.
Master of Teaching
M.Tax.
Master of Taxation
M.U.R.P. Master of Urban and Regional Planning
O.T.D.
Post-professional Occupational
Therapy Doctorate
Pharm.D. Doctor of Pharmacy
Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
34 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Brenda K. Gates
Joanne Giannillo
Daniel R. Gill
Mary Devaney Golden
Patricia Gonet
Melanie M. Goodman
Avery S. Goodwin
Margaret W. Graves
Cerena L. Griffith
Tameshia Vaden Grimes, Ph.D.
Kimberly A. Hahn
Benjamin M. Hamlin
Hattie W. Hamlin
John Wesley Hardin, M.D.
Charlotte F. Harris
Joan H. Havens
Winfred A. Hayes
Fai R. Howard
Melanie S. Irvin
W. Wayne Jackson
Carol H. Jambor-Smith, Ph.D.
Charles W. Jenkins, D.D.S.
Erin H. Jenkins
Dwight E. Johnson
Kevin R. Jones
Lynn Jones
Rebecca J. Jones
William O. Jones
Tracy C. Kennedy
Judy H. Kirby-Perritt
Brittany Louren-Clay Kitchen
Nathan I. Kitchen
Tonya S. Lovelace
Mary Jo Lux
Eileen Lyons
Carol B. Mackey
Elva Mapp
Brian Marks
Lawrence E. Masters, D.D.S
Pamela S. Masters
William H. Mattox
David W. McKay
Patricia D.W. McKay
Ryan R. Merriam
Linda A. Meyerhoffer
Steve Meyerhoffer
Franklin B. Miller
Philip W. Miller
Victoria B. Miller
Jessica Linn Orsborne
Michael D. Payne
Kathy K. Petronchak
Regina Harris Phinizey
Scott L. Phinizey
Stephanie R. Pitts
Christopher R. Pizzullo
Jennifer U. Pool
Thomas E. Pool
Roshella M. Ricker
J. David Rives
Brian R. Roberts
Lester L. Roberts IV
Rachel L. Roberts
G. Randolph Robertson Jr.
Leo H. Ross
Pamela Kiecker Royall, Ph.D.
William A. Royall Jr.
Jackie L. Sapp
John M. Sapp
Thomas Y. Savage
Margaret J. Schaeffer
Robert R. Scott
Kumara S. Sekar, Ph.D.
Vanitha Jagannathan Sekar, Ph.D.
John Carroll Shilan, Pharm.D.
Marilyn L. Spiro, Ph.D.
Ben Stagg
Cory L. Stoner
Betsy B. Swan
Richard C. Tetrault
George W. Thomas Jr.
James S. Thomas
Montie E. Thomas
Patricia Lynn Thomas
Stephanie B. Thomas
Grant J. Tonkin
William I. Tucker II
Christine Varner
V. Nelson Vaughan III
Karen M. Videtic
Mary Lee W. Vinson
Diana F. Voda
Walter D. Voda
JoAnn B. Wade
Michael L. Wade
Peter Walker, Ph.D.
Towana L. Washington
Merwyn Wilson
Linda J. Winn
Edward J. Woodward
Margaret F. Wright
Michael A. Wright
Robert P. Wright
Ruth S. Wright
Joseph S. Yates
Barbara M. Zeiner
Bo Zhao
Peter J. Zucker, Ph.D.
List includes individuals who joined the VCU Alumni Association as lifetime members between
July 1, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012.
and NOW
]
an ever-changing landscape
By Katherine Schutt
The VCU Institute for Contemporary Art represents a new chapter for the top-ranked School of the Arts.
VCU School of the Arts evolves from a single nighttime art class
to the top public graduate fine arts program in the country
When Virginia Commonwealth University
opens the doors to the new Institute for
Contemporary Art, the VCU School of
the Arts will experience a picture-perfect,
full-circle moment. The school’s origins
date to 1928 when Theresa Pollak founded
the School of Art at the then-Richmond
Division of the College of William and Mary,
the forerunner to the Richmond Professional
Institute and, eventually, VCU. One of
Virginia’s most well-known artists and art
educators, Pollak taught for more than 40
years at the School of Art and is credited with
introducing modern art to Richmond.
Fast-forward a half-century, and the ICA,
a $32 million, 32,000-square-foot facility to be erected at the corner of Broad and
Belvidere, is set to bring the most important,
cutting-edge contemporary art exhibits
in the world to the university.
Thus, as the VCU School of the Arts —
the top-ranked public graduate fine arts
school in the U.S., according to U.S. News &
World Report — embarks on its next chapter,
it purposefully maintains its position at the
forefront of contemporary art.
“The ICA is going to be a game changer
for the school and the city,” says Joseph H.
Seipel, who took the helm of the art school
as dean in 2011, having served as a distinguished faculty member for a total of 36
years. “The Institute for Contemporary Art
will be focused on experimentation, study
and new artistic expression. When you see us
written about in magazines, it will be alongside some of the premier contemporary art
museums and institutes in the country.”
The school has come a long way since
Pollak taught her first class of eight full-time
students in a converted horse stable. Today,
the school is composed of 16 programs and
more than 3,000 students, as well as an
additional five programs and 214 students
on its international campus in Qatar, which
opened in 1998.
On top of its No. 1 ranking among public graduate fine arts programs, the school
boasts eight programs ranked by U.S. News
& World Report in the top 10 among U.S.
public programs: sculpture (No. 1), fiber
arts (No. 4), graphic design (No. 5), glass
(No. 5), painting (No. 7), ceramics (No. 9),
metals/jewelry (No. 10) and printmaking
(No. 10). The school’s alumni and faculty
regularly log outstanding achievements,
including recent awards of three MacArthur
“genius” fellowships, six U.S. Department
of Education Jacob Javits Fellowships and
eight Guggenheim Fellowships.
“The awards keep coming,” Seipel says,
“and they’re pretty darn amazing.”
With such impressive accolades to its name,
the school receives a high number of applicants for its graduate programs each year;
about 200 vie for six spots in the sculpture
department, for example.
Theresa Pollak, shown here in 1969, is credited
with founding the VCU arts school and introducing
modern art to Richmond.
“It’s very exciting that the school’s developed this huge reputation,” says Richmond
artist and art educator Diana Detamore
(B.F.A. ’75/A; M.F.A. ’80/A), a graduate
of the painting and printmaking and sculpture programs and former adjunct professor
at VCU. “Of course, it makes my degree look
more valuable, which is nice.”
Seipel credits the school’s evolution to forward-looking and open-minded deans, as well
as a concerted effort by department chairs to
arrange student, alumni and faculty exhibitions in art epicenters such as New York City.
“When I look back at the school when I got
here in 1974, we were a really good art school,”
Seipel says. “We are still a really good art
school. I think what’s changed is we are understanding more and more how good we are, and
we’re making sure other people understand
how good we are.”
Katherine Schutt is a contributing writer
for Shafer Court Connections.
Spring 2012 | 35
Photo Holl & Associates
NOTES
Photo Richmond Times-Dispatch
[CLASS
Datebook
MAY
May 12
Spring Commencement
Richmond Coliseum
(804) 828-1917
May 17
Third annual Secret Garden Party to
benefit VCU Massey Cancer Center
Massey Cancer Center, Becky’s Healing
Garden
(804) 827-0642
May 18
Alumni Associations’ Emeriti and
Current Board Member Reception*
Scott House
(804) 828-7020
May 19
Joint Alumni Boards Colloquium*
Snead Hall
(804) 828-7020
JUNE
June 2
AAAC Meeting*
Robertson Alumni House
(804) 828-8194
JULY
July 11 and 25
International Cafe
University Student Commons,
Richmond Salons I-IV
(804) 828-0808
AUGUST
Aug. 18-26
Welcome Week
Various events/locations
(804) 828-5394
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 6
30th Opening Faculty Address and Convocation
W.E. Singleton Center
for the Performing Arts
(804) 828-6162
Sept. 19
Second Annual B.O.S.S. Fair
Snead Hall
(804) 828-5394
OCTOBER
Oct. 12-14
Family Weekend
Various events/locations
(804) 828-6500
Oct. 13
Fresham Scholars BBQ*
University Student Commons
(804) 828-2568
INTERSECTIONS:
ART AND SCIENCE
Through Sept. 28
Tompkins-McCaw Library
for the Health Sciences
The VCU Department of Communication
Arts is among a few in the nation offering
students an academic focus in scientific
and preparatory medical illustration as part
of its B.F.A. This exhibit showcases student,
faculty and alumni work that combines
the insights of artists with the acuity
of scientists.
Oct. 22-26
Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale
James Branch Cabell Library
(804) 828-1105
NOVEMBER
Nov. 3
Alumni: Service Awards*
Details TBD
(804) 828-7020
Nov. 4
Alumni Association Board of Directors’ Meeting*
Location and details TBD
(804) 828-2586
Aug. 21
Ram Spirit Walk*
Siegel Center to Monroe Park
(804) 828-2586
“Squid Dissection”
by Jessica Foley
*VCUAA event
36 | VCU Shafer Court Connections
Mark your calendars for these Virginia Commonwealth University
and VCU Alumni Association events. For more alumni activities,
go to www.vcu-mcvalumni.org or visit http://events.vcu.edu
for campus happenings.
CIRCA
Fashion sense: 1995
Just weeks into her new role as chair
of the fashion design and merchandising
department within Virginia Commonwealth University’s School
of the Arts, Christina Lindholm stands surrounded by dress forms
that will soon wear the inspired creations of her students. Today, she
serves the school as associate dean for undergraduate studies.
Spring 2012 | 3
Virginia Commonwealth University
Office of Alumni Relations
924 West Franklin Street
P.O. Box 843044
Richmond, Virginia 23284-3044
Alumni ID number:
Are you GOLD?
If you earned your first degree from
Virginia Commonwealth University
in 2002 or later, you qualify for the GOLD
(Graduates of the Last Decade) membership
rate — only $25 for an annual membership.
Take advantage of this great rate to access
valuable membership benefits, including
the Online Journals EBSCOhost database,
CareerBeam online career development tools,
the alumni license plate frame, subscription
to Shafer Court Connections* and lots
of great discounts.
*New graduates receive two complimentary issue
of Shafer Court Connections from the alumni association.
T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S O F V I R G I N I A C O M M O N W E A LT H U N I V E R S I T Y
>
Fall 2011
Science, Meet Art
Virginia Commonwealth University’s
theatre and internal medicine
departments come together to revive
the fading art of doctor-patient rapport.
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Visit the website today to learn more.
www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/GOLD
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