text: FOR ALUMNI OF THE ACADEMIC CAMPUS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITV CONNECTIONS 'uifmrnSf^aad-/^ search affect public life from US[ YOUR CONNECTIONS TO YOUR CREDIT The VCUAA offers its alumni a VISA card which carries the VCU mark — and a high value. Your Alumni Association benefits with every purchase you make. For informa- tion or sign-up, call (800) 359-3862. ) YOUR HEALTH VCUAA offers its alumni a comprehensive package of group plans that can help with short-term emergencies or long- term needs. Gradmed short-term (60-180 days) can fill the gap between graduation and employee benefits or be the safety net during emergency loss of protection. Term Life is offered for nine months fi-ee to new graduates and as a paid policy to all alumni. For information or sign-up for short-term, term life or major medical plans, call (800) 922-1245. UNIVERSITY VIEWS Warm a wall in your home or office with a Parks Duffy watercolor print of historical sites on both campuses. S25 unsigned, $50 signed. Add $2.50 for shipping, or pick up at VCU Alumni House, 310 North Shafer Street in Richmond. ^^^ ts^ 1A fltiTiifci^A K ffi '"p^fri . ^^fe Wp 'iT^^^^mm m ..'^..-HvAl ^6^^&p .1 •" . - '_""". 1 , " _.. .' ^ _ CIRCLE OF ACHIEVEMENT Lose your class ring, or never got one when you were on campus? It's not too late to celebrate your achievements and connections at VCU. Rings come in five styles for women and four styles for men in lOK, 14K or 18K yellow or white gold. Prices from S195-$233 for women's rings and from $240-$489 for men's. Installment payment available. For a color brochure with complete ordering information, call (800) 424-1492. CALLING CARD On the road again? Phone home (or anywhere) conveniently and economically through the VCUAA long distance calling program. For information or sign-up, call (800) SERVICE. PERFECT TIMING Remember your times at RPI and VCU. Watches by Seiko feature the university seal in 14k gold and a calfskin strap or gold-toned bracelet. A great gift. Men's or Women's with leather strap $207.50 each; Men's or Women's bracelet $272.50 each, including shipping. Payment plan available. To order, call (804) 523-0124. WARM MEMORIES Snuggle up under this coverlet with drawings of historic buildings from both campuses. Offered only through VCUAA. Proceeds directly benefit the Alumni Association Scholarship Endowment. Corporate orders are welcome. Cream and black, 50" X 67", $50 each, includes Virginia sales tax. VCU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Alumni Assoc i ii t io n Officers Kcnnc'lh Magill '55BS/B '69MS/E President Chiirc Collins '84MPA/H&S Presidem-Elect © IJ\J 'J^J ^ C T J D J\J lames Rothrock '78MS/AH(RC) Secretary BethAyers'91MS/E Treasurer Peggy Adams '87BGS/NTS Past Presuieiti C li .1 i r s of S c li o 1 A 1 11 111 n i Boards Edward Canada Jr. '81BS/H&S •84MSW School of Social Work Beverly Glover '87BGS/NTS •92MS/H&S Notitraditioiitil SttuUcs Program William Ginther '69BS '74MS/B Sciiooi ofBiisiticss Stephanie Holt '74BS/E School of EduQitioii Board of Directors Tcivt Expmng '99 lack Amos '68BFA Frederick facka '92MS/B Elly Burden Gill '79BS '91MEd/E |.SouthallStone'71BS/B Linda Vines '82MSW/SW Term Expiring '9S Kathleen Barrett '71BS '73MS/B Sharon Br)-ant '83MEd '95PhD/E Donald Dodson '64BS/B Richard Uatherman '79BGS/NTS '82MEd '87PhD/E Term Expirmg '97 HughKeogh'81MS/MC Milton Kustcrer '67BS/H&S Marsha Shider '74BS '79M A/B Ed Slipek '74BFA BniceTvf)-man'74BS/MC A/nriiM Anicrtaw Alunini Cntiflr.'i Marilyn Campbell '81 BS/MC I ( I .\\ !'TCiidatl's Appjtit:cc> lohn Cook Sherron Deems '7:81 A 'I.UIFA Richard Nelson '(.5BS/B loan Rexinger '86BGS/NTS /Olliifi. The cinncc nnd choreography tiepartmenl express is on the fast trax, full steam ahead. 8 % Behind the balloons and the bunting, VCU alumni keep a civil society running. 10 Carnpaigniirg on the cyberstinnp — depth or drek? Mass Comm's Dabney Professor has the story. 14 When the public wants to know, it turns to VCU's Center for Public Policy. 15 '^ A hard look at "the opaque issues, " leads Doug Wilder's students to push for chattge. 19 1 UA\Ti Not at VCU, says our resident faculty expert. 21 DEPARTMENTS POBOX843044 2 CAMPUSCURRENTS 3 A L U M N E T 23 POSTGRAD 25 POSTGRAD 28 COVER ILLUSTRATION B"! ANDRE LUCERO 'SSBFA VOL. 3, NO. 1 FALL 1996 Staff Mary EBen Mercer editor BenCuiiut/cr art director Dxve .McComuck campus currents Keasia Mackfin dassnotes Bin He drreaon^alummacuvibts Shafer Court Omneaiom is a magaziiie for ahjmni and 6iends of the Academic Campus of \lrginia CoinroonvsTaiih Uni%^ersat>- in Riciimood. vet' is a public, mtan iiiii\^eTsit>' viith an enrofl- ment of 21.000 smdons on the .Academic and Medical CoO^ of \'irginia Campuses. The magazine is published two or three times a >iear b>' VO," .Alumni .Aai%TOes. CopyTig^tei996by Viijinia CbmmoaMeahfa Uni\'eisiT\\ Vfl) X o As an alumnus of the criminal justice program at VCU, I was interested in your story on "COPS." Possibly other alumni would be interested in a book I have written about my own expe- riences as a special agent with the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms. It's called Piercing the Shields of Justice: Inside the AFT, pub- lished early this year by Bninswick. William Burgess '75BS/H&S Since our last issue, the criminal justice department has announced a new dual master's degree in criminal justice and divinity. VCU Associate Professor Mary Clement is coordinator for the program, a collaboration atnong VCU, Virginia Union University, and Union Tlieological Seminary. Tlie department also has a new chair. Dr. JayAlbanese, who directed the graduate program in criminal justice administration atNiagra University. — Ed. I just saw in the alumni magazine the story about Maurice Bonds, whom I never had as a teacher but always thought was really neat. I'd really Like to know who is still around VCU — Dick Carlyon, PrisciUa Hynson, Sal Federico? I really want to visit the campus sometime but never have made it down. Such precious, wild, wonderful memories I have. I have a bed & breakfast here called The Pink House (Monet) and all is weU. Barbara Murphy Beach '71BFA Great Barrington, MA Dick Carlyon and Priscilla Hynson took early retirement in VCU's restructuring. Carlyon recently received a Virginia Museum grant to work on a video piece. Sal Taking the measure of a school. But who was motorized in 1965? {See page 32.) Federico '66BFA left in the early '70s for New York City, where he still lives. — Ed. I was sad to learn in the magazine of Mo Bond's passing. He was such an inspiration to all of us, per- sonally and professionally. One of the most vital teachers I ever had. I hope in his heart he realized the profound influence he had on his students, his faculty and indeed, the entire School of Art. His contribution to me, personally, was enormous. Whenever I was at the lectern I hoped to emulate his dynamism, his scholarship and his humanism. I am enclosing a small contribution to the scholar- ship fund in his honor. As for me, I am working part time and have just enrolled in a life dravring class. A reality check. There are no instructors Uke we had at OF RPI. Brenda MacBaisey '58BFA '59MFA/A Carlsbad, CA 92008 We are very appreciative of the story in the magazine about Maurice Bonds. The whole family would like a copy. Thank you. Josie Bonds Send letters to Shafer Court Connections P.O. Box 843044, Richmond, VA 23284-3044. Email: vcu-alum@>vcu.edu. Make an Impression. Buy a Brick! As Virginia Commonwealth Universit\''s showcase for events, recre- ation, and athletics, the Stuart C. Siege! Center will provide a new, unique venue for the university and the community. It plays a major role in "A Strategic Plan for the Future of Viiginia Commonwealth University." The Siegel Center is the cornerstone of the plan's initia- tives to focus on the quality of student life and VCU's interaction with the community. One of the most important sources of funding for the Siegel Center is private giving. Those who recognize the importance of the Siegel Center to VCU and the entire community will play the pivotal role in its success. You can join them — and make your own impression on the Siegel Center — hy purchasing a gift brick through the Stuart C. Siegel Center Brick Program. Brick pavers and cast stone insets will he offered for sale to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. These bricks will be laid in the main entry Arena Plaza of the Siegel Center. For more information call (804) 828-4000. The Stuart C. Siegel Center Brick Program SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS BUILDING BLOCK Big and bigger. Not yet built, VCU's School of Engineering is already expanding. Dr. r.ugcnc Trani announced in March that the school will ultimately have tour buildings and take up an entire block from Main to Gary and from Belvidere to Pine streets. Construction begins this fall on a 113,00 square-foot, four-story anchor building to face Main Street. Work will aLso begin soon on the "clean room" laboratory for micro- electronics research, which the state had pledged $1 1 million to build as an incentive for Motorola, Inc. to bring its $3 billion plant to the Richmond area. Both buildings are to be finished by spring 1998. Engineering's first class entered this fall, with 100 students in the Class of 2000. The expansion doubles the cost of the school from $20 million to $40 million, but — looking ahead to graduate programs — will triple the space. Funding from private sources for the new school has crossed the $19 million mark. Recent gifts include $500,000 from Philip Morris and $400,000 from Ukrop's. Several nearby counties as well as corporate and private donors have contributed to the school. Dr. Gerald Miller will chair Biomedical Engineering. He was previously chair of the Bioengineering Program at the Texas A&M College of Engineering, the largest program in the country. He has developed the world's only heart disc pump and directed the Center for Human Systems Engineering at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. Dr. Gary Wnek will head the chemical engineering program. His research focuses on the medical apphcations of polymers, and has been chair of the chemical engineering program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. While the School of Engineering does not yet have a building, it does have a virtual home on the Internet. Visit VGU Engineering Home Pages at http://www.vcu.edu/egrweb/ PLAN B— FOR BETTER The expansion of the Engineering School means major rethinking of plans for a new Fine Arts building which was to have shared the block. That plan would have ren- ovated and expanded a warehouse at Belvidere and Main. Since the warehouse is on the site of the Engineering School, it had to be demolished. An all-new Fine Arts building, to open in 1999, will be on the north side of Broad Street at Hancock Street, part of VCU's "Broad Street Corridor" which includes the Siegel Convocation Center and a 1,100-space parking deck. Provost Grace Harris comments, "This new site will allow us to design a facilit)' specif- ically tailored to these programs. Our faculty and students will find studio space that frees them from current physical restrictions on their teaching and artwork." VGU is gathering facult)' and student input for the new building. The VGU School of Engineering Foundation agreed to buy the site and warehouse at Belvidere, to reimburse VGU for costs so far on the arts center, and to buy and prepare the new site for the center. Until their new home is ready, classes and studios in painting and printmaking, crafts, and sculpture are relocated to the Biggs building north of Broad Street at Marshall and Goshen Streets. The sculpture building at Broad and Shafer Streets will come down to make way for the new parking deck. "BEST BUY" VGU undergrads are getting a rise out of attending the university this year, though a modest one. Students saw costs rise just one percent when the Board of Visitors increased mandatory- charges for the 1996-97 school year by only $41 — the smallest hike in years. The small increases are due mainly to the additional $200 million the General Assembly allocated for higher education spending in 1996-98 compared with the current budget. VGU will receive 13 percent more funding over these two years. \'GU's in- state, undergraduate tuition of $4,071 for the ne.xt academic year ranks as the lowest among Virginia's sLx research universi- ties, a fact that prompted \'CU president Eugene Trani to rate the school a "best buy." ON BOARD Governor .Allen appointed four new members to \'GU"s Board of Visitors in lune, three of them alumni. Ted L. Smith '75BS/B is a General Assembly lobbyist and president of the Independent Insurance .Agents of \irginia. Robert Rigsby '75MS '77Post- Cert '81MBA/B is senior \ice president of finance and con- troller at Virginia Power. W. Ba.xter Perkinson '70DDS is a Richmond dentist who has also taught at VCU's School of Dentistn'. .Allen's fourth appointee is M. Boyd Marcus Ir., a political consultant to .Allen's '93 campaign. HIGH RATINGS When U.S. A'eivj c- WurUi hepon published its national rankings of top U.S. graduate schook, several VCU programs were recognized once again. The School of Pharmacy tied for tenth; the Master's degree in Physical Therapy tied at eighth; the master's degree in Health .■Vdministration tied at ninth; and the MFA program in the School of the .-Vrts tied at 25th. MCVH AUTHORITY Both houses of the state legisla- ture voted this spring to set up the .Medical College of Virginia Hospitals Authorit>- 1 .MCVRA). The 16-member authority- board includes President Eugene Irani, the dean of the School of .Medicine, Board of N'isitors members and gubernatorial and legislative appointees. The authoriti.' came into existence luh" 1, 1996 and has a year to complete implementation. MCVTIA will take over all obligations and administration of the hospitals, yet keep intact the .\IC\H relationship with the health sciences di\ision of VCU. .\IC\Ti will continue to serx-e indigent patients, teach medical students and keep its base in downtown Richmond. Employees of the hospitals will be state employees until a sunset date of 2001. B>- July 1. 1997. MCMLA will put its own grievance procedure in place, and the authorit)' will develop its own benefits and comf>ensation sched- ules. Employees will continue to have access to the Vii^ia Retirement Svstem. m I F .\ L L 19 9 6 > S c c m 2 H j0 HONORING OUR OWN VCU's Convocation 1996 on September 1 1 honors four out- standing faculty. Dr. Alvin Zfass, professor of the School of Medicine, is VCU's Distinguished Teacher. Zfass has been "a charismatic teacher" at VCU for 30 years, has trained more than 150 fellows and designed the core medical cur- riculum in his field of gastroen- terology. Students praise not only his endoscopy skills ("second to none") but his tact with patients and students. Dr. Billy Martin, professor of pharmacology and toxicology, is the 1996 Distinguished Scholar. Martin is one of the world's leading drug abuse researchers, especially into the cellular mecha- nism of the active agent in mari- juana. His research, consistently funded by the NIH, has resulted in more than 200 papers and 30 book chapters; and he has been a peer reviewer for the National Institute for Drug Abuse research as well as speaking and writing internationally. Dr. William Haver, professor of mathematical sciences, has won the Distinguished Service Award. As chair of mathematical sciences for 13 years. Haver established the department as a leader in Virginia in improving math education K- 12 and at the university level. As a Program Officer at the National Science Foundation, he was a leader in the national Calculus Reform movement and brought it back to VCU. Phil Meggs '64BFA, professor of communication arts and graphic design won the Award of Excellence. His nine books on graphic design are used in class- rooms and studios in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Professionals as well as students rely on his critical concepts and guidance. He has received six grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. "Do not resist the power of the written word, the power of language to transform and heal and bring inner harmony." Former Middle East hostage and peace activist Terry Waite speaking to the 4,622 graduates at VCU's 1996 Commencement. "Forty-year-olds are having children, 80-year-olds are " remarrying and scandahzing their middle- age g children. The whole shape of the life cycle has been ? fundamentally altered." d Gail Sheehy, author of Passages and New Passages, at ; a lunch to benefit research on breast cancer at the ^ Massey Cancer Center, The Valentine's Day lunch " raised $46,000 ^ "All healdi care is local. The AMA has to come back to the grass roots." Dr. Percy Wooten '57MD, presi- dent elect of the American Medical Association, is known for patient advocacy. Wooten has five years' experience on the AMA's Board of Trustees and serves on VCU's Board of Vistors. With nearly 300.000 physician members, the AMA IS medicine's strongest orga- nized voice. ^■■K ^^nip^:,^. J; ..^ "Mistakes are made often — serious mistakes. The average life of a White House staffer is about 18 months. Working for the President is a lot like looking directly into the sun." Jeffrey Birnbaum (above right). Senior Correspondent in Washington, DC for Time magazine. Honors Assembly Lecturer cospon- sored by Phi Kappa Phi in April. "Hssss!" World renowned Iron Master and sculptor Barry Bailey (second from left) even built the furnace at a Cast Iron Pour Workshop in April that drew students from North Carolina and Maryland. SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS "The ALA must build bridges to various groups, including our constituencies, governments, the private sector, organizations sup- porting common goals, and other nations — information is global and ignores borders." Barbara Ford, executive director of VCU Libraries, is president elect of the American Library Association (ALA), Ford has been active nation- ally and internationally in library issues like information literacy, international cooperation and virtual libraries- The ALA's 58,000 members represent all types of libranes — public, school, academic, state, and special. "He's right in front of us! We can nail him right now!" Charlie Sheen escapes through the MCV "Tunnel" between parking deck and hospital. Scenes from The Shadow/ Conspiracy were filmed on both campuses in June 1 995. The film emerges from deep cover in October. PHOTO BY BOB MARSHAK, © CINERSl PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT. INC AND CINERGI PRODUCTIIONS N V . INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED VCU OLYMPIANS Aitiong the 1 0.OOO plus runners who carried the Olympic torch towards Atlanta this summer was Kelly Brown Mclntyre '90BFA. Kelly ran her mile in Philadelphia, her home town. She is currently based in Atlanta and worked on the Olympic committee there with alumna Kristen Horton '92BS/MC. Freddie Fuller '93BS/H&S, studying for a double degree in city planning and transportation engineering at Georgia Tech, got some hands-on learning as motorpool manager of the Olympic Village. Howard Derkay '85BS/MC, at Advantage International, a world- wide event marketing company, worked on Olympics sponsorship plans for IBM and UPS. ("I don't have tickets!" he wrote this summer.) School of the Arts faculty were also part of the U.S. Olympic "team." Sculptor Elizabeth King was among eight artists chosen from 1,500+ sub- missions to the Olympic cultural committee for "Out of Bounds: New Work by Eight Southeast Artists." Art historian Robert Hobbs curated two exhibitions highlighting the work of more than 40 contemporary African American artists— "Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art of the South" and "Thornton Dial: Remembering the Road." AT THE GALLERY The original arts center plan included space for the Anderson Gallery, bursting at the seams in its building off Shafer Court. With eight to ten major curated shows per year and more than 2,000 permanent works in the collection, VCU's gallery is one of the largest contemporar)' art museums in the state. Steven High '90MB A, who had been director of VCU's Anderson Gallery for eight years, went west this summer to head the Nevada Museum of Art. "I was pretty involved in the plans for the old facilit)'," High said, adding that developing a new plan is best left to someone with "fresh ideas and energy." Tom DeShmidt, acting dean this summer for the School of the Arts, says that because the gallery needs a new director and new space, "we're in a positive position to serve all our constituencies, even to decide what those constituencies are." VCU has invited ,\llan Shestak, deputy direaor of the National Galler\' in D.C. and Patrick iMurphy, director of the Institute for Contemporar)' Art at University of Pennsylvania to visit \'CU in September and suggest possible directions for the gallen.-. DeSchmidt adds, "The Anderson Caller)' ad\isor\- committee will certainly be involved in our discussions." For the time being, the galler)' will stay put. ILLUSTRIOUS Three VCU scniori in iltuMrs' won the third highevt sum ir. grant awards in the 1996 cx>.. tion and Student Scholarship Competition spons'jred by th« national S^jcicty of Illustrators. Jayson Ayers '96BFA won SXjOf). Jin Chung '96BFA won S750 and Via Nuon '96BFA won an honor- able mention. Their department, communication arts and design, won a matching grant of S2J50. "These are the best of the best," says their teacher, Kathleen Franck Quarterman. Of 5pOO entries this year, only 123 pieces were accepted for exhibition in New York, and only 43 won awards. For the past 15 years, the exhibition has included students from VCU's illustration program in the Communication Arts and Design Department What better way to celebrate than an international exhibit of alumni work? This simimer. Professor Robert Megank orga- nized 50 pieces by 20 anisis to go to Austraha and Peru in .August and September. "These are real, pubUshed solutions to real world problems," he emphasizes. "There are examples of editorial work for newspapers and magazines, posters on poUtical and social issues, work for cultural organiza- tions, advertising, book covers." These successful alumni span nearly 20 years of \'CU iDusna- tion, from Mel Odom '72BFA to TvlerDarden'%BF.\. Student Body Building. Friends of VCU. including major donor and Board of\lsitors rector Stuart SiegeL celebrated groundbreak- ing for the Siegel Center, the university's S29 million convocation and recreation facility, on .\pril 23. President Eugene P. Trani said earlier, "I belie\e this is one oftlie most important buildings for the student body of : Virginia Commonwealth Uni\trsity that wiU ^ e\'er be built.'" 2 m € u ft. s F .\ L I 19 9 6 > S c c 9 m 2 H ROLL CALL Paul Timmreck, previously Virginia's secretary of finance, is VCU's new vice president of finance and administration. Timmreck will direct planning, university operations and construction budgets, accounting and purchasing at VCU. President Eugene P. Irani comments on Timmreck's solid record, "guiding the state through revenue shortfalls without raising taxes in the early '90s, all the while preser\ang the state's AAA bond rating." Timmreck served under Virginia's three previous governors as well. He replaces Donald Brughman who retired in June after 18 years at VCU. Dr. David Hiley, dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, is VCU's new Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, the unanimous choice of the screening committee reviewing internal candidates. Hiley was dean of Humanities and Sciences for four years and had been interim vice provost since December, 1995. Dr. Susan Kennedy, associate dean of H&S, will be interim dean during the next academic year while a search committee looks for a permanent dean. VCU's Board of Visitors named Dr. Victor Yanchick the new dean of the School of Pharmacy. Yanchick had been dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center since 1985 and a scientific reviewer for the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the American Pharmaceutical Association for more than ten years. The new dean of the School of the Arts will be Dr. Richard Toscan, previ- ously dean of fine and performing arts at Portland State University in Oregon and dean of the School of Theater at the University of Southern California. Toscan is a playwright and an outstanding scholar in twenti- eth-century theater arts and history, writing journal articles and texts. Toscan foUows Murry DePillars, who left VCU last year for Chicago State University. After 14 years as dean of pharmacy, Dr. John Ruggiero retired on June 30. Ruggiero, now dean emeritus, helped develop the new Doctor of Pharmacy program, launched in August 1995. Dr. Thomas Barker, Dean of the School of Allied Health Professionals, also retired June 30. Dr. Cecil Drain, Chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia, is interim dean. "I don't have any commitments as yet," Barker said. "But I'm sure something will come along. It always does." WENT TO THE DAIMCE! On March 4, the VCU Rams beat the Seahawks of UNC-Wilmington 46- 43 and won the right to represent the Colonial Athletic Association in a bid for the NCAA championship. It was an explosive victory, taking the Rams to "the dance" for the first time in eleven years. Euphoric VCU fans mobbed the floor and held Coach Sonny Smith aloft to cut down the net. "Dick Sanders (Rams' Athletic Director) hired me to do this," Smith told the Richmond Times-Dispatch after the game, "and it took a hell of a long time to get it done." VCU also hosted six teams for the first and second rounds of the East Region NCAA on March 15 and 17. On March 14, VCU played a close game with the Mississippi State team who had beaten undefeated University of Kentucky to come to the NCAA. Defense was better than offense for both teams, with a final score of 58-50, game to Mississippi — but we were there! FAMILY VALUES whether the gulf is geographic or emotional, many Americans feel distant from their extended families. How do we fill the gap? Family-by-Choke, co-written by VCU faculty psychologist Dr. Kent Bailey and Richmond writer Susan Ahern, "explores deep friendships that have evolved into family-like relationships." In neighborhoods, workplaces, reli- gious communities and in cyber- PUZZLES AND POLICY A team of VCU scientists has provided what many AIDS researchers consider the final piece in a puzzle to understanding the process of how HIV infects the body. In the October 26, 1995 issue o( Nature, the team described how the AIDS virus undermines a critical function of the immune system that occurs in secondary lymphoid tissue like the lymph nodes, spleen and tonsHs. Dr. Gregory Burton (left, seated), assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, explains that the VCU findings wiU allow researchers to focus on the site where a devastating process of HIV infection occurs — and ultimately, devise better vaccination and treatment procedures. "This piece of information makes a lot of others fit," says Dr. Lewis Schrager, an AIDS researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Lisa Kaplowitz ( right), director of the HIV/ AIDS Center on the MCV Campus, has been shaping AIDS policy in research, treatment and education, at VCU and in Virginia since the early 1980s. Her compassionate and comprehensive knowledge have led to a Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship in Washmgton. She joins colleagues from Duke, Harvard, Yale and Tulane in Washington where they will have access to the Congress and the President during 1996-97. RWJ Fellows will attack not only AIDS but broad public-health issues. "What we've learned from AIDS can be applied to health policy and care delivery for chronic diseases and underserved pop- ulations," Kaplowitz emphasizes. space, people are building their ovm "families." Bailey's work in human behavior and the evolution of society is well known. His "Psychological Kinship Model," has been published in various professional scholarly journals, and he has written a book called Human Pakopsychology. REBOUND David Glass '86BGS/NTS, former VCU Women's assistant basket- ball coach, was named April 9 as Peggy Sells' successor and head coach of the lady Rams. Ahead of him lies the task of rebuilding a team said to be fragmented under Sells' authoritarian rule in a "tense, hostile environment." Several players were considering transferring out of VCU. "It's going to take some time to before they're willing to totally trust me," said Glass, although he's confident the team will move on. WOMEN'S HEALTH New national trials have been funded by the National Cancer Institute to determine whether pre-operative chemotherapy not only increases the survival rate of breast cancer patients, but also reduces the extent of surgery required. VCU's MCV Hospitals SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS is a site for these trials, and Dr. Harry Bear, chair of surgical oncology, is the national chair of the study which includes 200 sites in the United States and Canada and more than 2,000 women. "Eventually," Bear says, "what we want to see is that almost no one with breast cancer will need a mastectomy, regardless of the initial size of her tumor." K-8 SCIENCE The need is multiplying for ele- mentary and middle school teachers with expanded mathe- matics and science training. VCU has a long record of collaborative innovations in math-science teaching, statewide and farther. Recognizing that, the National Science Foundation has recently awarded a $5 million grant to the Virginia Urban Corridor Teacher Preparation Collaborative centered at VCU. The five-year project is designed to improve all aspects of K-8 teacher preparation and renew science and mathemat- ics courses taken by non-science students. "We're looking for new and exciting ways of introducing future educators to math and science," says Dr. Reuben Farley, VCU mathematician and princi- pal investigator for the grant. "We want to generate enthusiasm that can be transferred to students in their early school years." SCHIZOPHRENIC GENES An eight-year, multimillion dollar study of schizophrenia has paid off: A team of researchers from VCU and Ireland have discovered conclusive evidence confirming the location of a specific gene which contributes to the risk of schizophrenia in people who carry it. Grants from the National Institute of Mental Health sup- ported VCU researchers probing the genetic basis for one of the most debilitating of all psychiatric disorders. The role of heredity in schizophrenia has long been under evaluation. But until now, scientists had not been able to confirm the genetic link, which has held back eftbrts to clone specific genes for laboratory research to develop improved therapies. "We've turned on a light in a very dark room," said Dr. Kenneth Kcndlcr, professor of psychiatry and psychiatric genetics who reported the findings. "COULDN'T ASK FOR BETTER " I hate to leave. You couldn't ask lor a better life and career," s.ivs Dr. Richard Hardy '62MS/ AH(RC)ofhis 28 years at VCU — most of them spent as dean of the School of Rehabilitation Counseling or later as chairman of the department. Hardy, 57, retired luly 1. "About five years ago," he says, "Art School Dean Murry DePillars took a straw poll of deans and chairmen. As nearly as he could find out, I had been at VCU the longest." Under Hardy's direction, the department developed many courses in rehabilitation and served a flourishing evening college and a weekend program for working professionals. "In 1972, we offered the first addic- tion courses in the country." From the first state grant of $1 10,000, the department has brought $6.5 million to the uni- versity over the last 20 years. Their work has become even more effective recently because of collaboration with other universi- t)' experts at the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies. The Center's director, pharmacologist Dr. Robert Balster, says, "Obviously, Dr. Hardy's leadership in support of ADR is very important." Hardy and his faculn- pub- lished the first and other major textbooks in the field, and have consulted around the world. "I've consulted in South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Peru — and in both Iraq and Iran. It's been a great experi- ence." Today, Hardy is concerned that "substance abuse wiU get even worse. Many drugs, like meta-amphetamines can he made at home. More drugs are pouring into the country from Latin America and elsewhere. And there's a lot of societal discontent and distress," he says. "Everybody needs to have a 'castle on the hill.'" FOLLOWING THE CALL Dr. Thelma Sara Biddle, a retired assrstant profe^vir of hUtory at VCU died May 29 at a Richmond nursing home. Dr. Biddle joined the tuff of RPI thirty years ago in 1966. After her retirement in 1986 she continued to teach courses as an adjunct professor at VCU. "God called me to be a teacher," Biddle remembered in 1986. "And I followed the call." That was back in middle schorjl. Her teaching career took her to Thomas Dale and Mcadowbrook High SchooU before deliver- ing her to VCU. "Long before values became a code word, Dr. Biddle was instilling them in her students through her teaching and her life," says Dr. William Blake Ir., her former department chair at VCU. "She was a model of hard work, and personal and public integrity." MAKING HISTORY \irginius Dabney, whose name rings familiar to more than a few journalists and readers, died December 28, 1 995. The retired Richmond Times- Dispatch editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author made a national reputa- tion for himself as far back as 1932 with the publica- tion of his first book. Liberalism in the South. In 1968, a year before he retired from the Times-Dispatch, Dabney was named the first rector of the Board of Visitors of VCU which was formed by the merger of .VIC\' and Richmond Professional Institute. His retirement, at age 67, allowed him to return to his studies as a his- torian and led to more books that bolstered his reputation as an eloquent southern writer — including a history of VCU. In 1986 Dabney was inducted to VCU's Mass Communications Hall of Fame. In 1992, Richmond Newspapers Inc. and Media General Inc. endowed the Dabnes' Distinguished Professorship in journalism. (See page 14 for an interview with 1996 Dabney Professor, Carl Crothers '79BS/MC.) THE AFTERLIFE Poet, writer and teacher Larrv' Levis died on May 9 of a heart attack at 49. Levis joined the English Department faculty in 1992 and direaed the MFA program in Creative Writing fi-om 1993-95. Levis became well known in the literary world as his achievements mounted, and he was a valued colleague and mentor at VCU. His book.The Afterlife, won the Lamont Poetry Prize from the .American .\cademy of Poets, and he received fellowships from the National Endowment for the .\rts and the Guggenheim Foundation. Even more than most poets, Levis looked at death. In Afterlife., he imagined his own. My friends stop laughing, they listen to the ivind in a room in Fresno, to the Hind of this page, which is theirs. which is blank . . . I will not have written these words, I ivill be that silence slipping around the bend in the river. . . Friends, family and students will hold a memorial ser^^ce in earlv November. • II s FALL 1996 The department f d a n c e and choreography and its once and future chairs are Chris Bumside '69BFA the artist is well known for his "movement monologues," stories told in words, cloaked in the language of dance. Chris Burnside the administrator has demonstrated that in any arena, he is a versatile and com- manding performer. On a damp, mildewed afternoon, Burnside sits in his defiantly colorful office discussing what the past five years have meant to him and to the depart- ment. Boxes and papers are everywhere. In spite of the unsettled state of affairs, Burnside exudes a relaxed control that he probably exercises Uke a set of muscles. The discipline and focus essential to the artist have served Bumside well as chairman. "Organizing, prioritizing, and communicating" were already in his repertoire. "As an administrator I had to expand them." Outside his studio, Burnside had to adjust to constant inter- ruptions. "Administration is an incredi- bly fractured process. From the time you come m until the time you leave, you're multi-tasking. I had to expand the left side of my brain. For a long time, I felt I had a growth there," he laughs. Bumside has been with the depart- ment for 11 of its 15 years and is under- standably proud of what has been achieved in its short lifespan. During his five years as chairman, the department acquired a briUiant new performance space and significant grant awards. Faculty and students earned a national reputation for excellence, winning grants and awards at the American College Dance Festival and elsewhere. How? "When I took this position, I concentrated on honest, strong commu- nication within the department and building a sense of community. If I was able to get a lot done it was because people allowed me to lead." "What makes us unique," he continues, "is that we offer a BFA in both dance and choreography. Not many places do. There are few arenas in which a choreographer can experiment and explore for eight semesters." In a place like New York, it's sink or swim, he says. "There is no opportunity to fail. But it is very important for an artist to take risks." In addition to teaching dance history and choreography, "we train technically proficient dancers, " Burnside notes. "The technical level of training is higher than it has ever been — and dancers have the freedom to develop an individual style." In his student days, "it was 'monkey see, monkey do."' After years of performing in makeshift or borrowed spaces, the department has the new Grace Street Theater, custom-designed for dancers — with ampleinput fi-om Bumside. Having performed on body-torturing stages himself, he askedfor and got a "sprung" — or resilient — stage that wfll prevent injuries. "Most theaters itj our country are designed for ftieatrical or musical companies — not dancers.'' These stages built on wooden beams or concrete bases can be brutal on a dancer's bones and muscles. The newly renovated theater is hospitable to the viewer as well. Its raked seating puts per- formers in full view of the audience. Also under Burnside, the department received more than $650,000 in commitments. The » SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS nn\/' 7 largest is a multi-year grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, which funds artists-in-resi- dence and scholarships. Leading dance companies — Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Bella Lewitzky, and Doug Varone — have performed in Richmond as a result. In addition to performances, guest artists offer master classes for VCU dance students during residencies that range from several days to many months. After 33 students rehearsed with the Martha Graham company (whose manager is Clint White '93BS/H&S), Burnside was elated. "They walked away with the experience of performing in a work by one of the genius artists of the century." | Locally, Burnside has formed a close relationship for VCU v/ith the Richmond Ballet and personally cdibrdinated a benefit of the area's best performers to support AIDS' research. ; Teacher/choreographer/dancer I Martha Curtis, on the dance faculty since 1989, assumed the chair when Burnside returned to teaching. NKt an easy act to | foUow. "We begged Chns to continue into the sunset, but he insisted on leaving," says Curtis, w ho accepted a one-year appointment. Curtis and her husband, Wdeo artist ( Bruce BerryhiU, are \ ideo \ isionaries. Her course in xddeo-choroographN' 'attracts students inconimunication arts and design, sculpture, mass commimica- tion, theater, business and psycholog)' as well as dance. "Television is a medium in which dance is under-represented," she maintains. When she did a video broad- cast nationally on PBS, Curtis heard from many people who said they'd never seen a dance performance. Curtis's new video dance work, "On the Trax," pre- miered at the American Dance Festival in June. It will be screened at Grace Street Theater September 27 and on Richmond public television this year. Three alumni dance in the piece, which is based on the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico. Burnside, a confessed "computer skep- tic" believes his successor's computer and video interest will be a strong asset. "Chris has created a community of respect and discipline and good commu- nication," says Curtis. "I feel deeply chal- lenged to continue the things he has started." She wiU emphasize Carpenter Foundation concerts and residencies, national student recruitment, and effec- tive use of the Grace Street Theater. And Curtis feels strongly that her primary responsibilityis to the students, "to make this the best BFA program possible." Burnside is looking forward to his new role. "When I leave my desk here and return to teaching, I'll hear the new, emerging voices of you^ artists, and share in their excitemeiit at saying what is unique to tkem. I'm messed to feel a part of their flocess." i "It's a con^ant juggSig act to keep aMve both an |dministr^ve job and a physical art fcffm,'' he r^iects. "I want to get back to th| studio \\pile I still ha\e the legs. The ftrough-lifce identin- 1 ha\e in my life as aS artist is feaker.' I hope I will ne\'er stop making. JENNIE KNAPP HAS AN MFA IN THEATER FROM VCU AND CURRENTLY WORKS AT THE HISTORIC RICHMOND FOUNDATION. PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM KOJCSICH. Dance 1996-97 at Grace Street Theater "On the Trax" Screening Septmeber 27, 8 pm Shane O'hara October 19, 8 pm Fall Student Informal November 4, 7 pm Korean Mash Dance November 11, 7 pin pin Fall Senior Projects November 22-25. 8 pm Student-Faculty Dance Concert February 20-25 Paul Taylor Dance Company March 25, 8 pm, [C(k>enter Center] ingS f Spring Senior Projects April p-20. 8 pith Spring Student Informal \piU 27, 7 pm F .1 I L 10 9 6 - Il BY BEN CLEARY 'TTBA/HSS This summer and fall, political campaign hoopla is taking the spotlight and spitting out the news bites. In the meantime, services are still delivered, policy is still being shaped. That takes long-term dedication and applied intelligence. VCU alumni in public policy and admin- istration are in the news and behind the xrtinga multi-level influence on |ve live. A law student takes the fhat-be in his own political party to pme Court with a case that changes ■ure of a state's political conven- 'edicated lobbyist works with the •s who set America s foreign policy, re fast-lane innovators — literally fido graduate has put in place an 'ay toll taker that brings to mind UPC scanners at the local supermarket. At the other end of the spectrum, a Richmonder sets policies on aging that will be in place when the baby boomers retire. And finally, we talk with a PhD candidate who will take American methods home to solve problems in Saudi Arabia. li sira, iiEi Fortis Morse '9iM/H&S "I'm a lifelong Republican," says Fortis Morse. "I campaigned for Ronald Reagan when I was in the tMrd grade. I got married in the Republican House in Ripon, Wisconsin, where the party was founded." The past chairman of the Lawn Graduate Republicans at the University of Virginia is an unlikely candidate to have taken the Republican Party of Vii-ginia to the Supreme Court. Morse had only $30 in his checking account when he went to register for the 1994 Virginia Republican convention that nominated Oliver North for Senate. Party officials refused to vraive the $45 registration fee. Morse, a law student at the time, borrowed the money to attend the con- vention from a friend He later brought suit on behalf of himself and two class- mates who said the fee deterred them from attending the convention. The three characterized the $45 as an illegal poll tax and said that the practice of charging a fee should have been submit- ted to the Justice Department for review under the Voting Rights Act. In Morse vs. Republican Party of Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor on March 27, 1996. In Morse's opinion, "It's a big win for the Republican Party. Now it's going to be a stronger, bigger, better party because more people can participate." Morse considers his background essen- tial to understanding the motivation behind the suit He's from Pearisburg, a SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 10 small town in mountainous GOes County, which borders West Virginia. "I feel very shaped by the mountains and the mountain people," he says. "1 think we have a reputation for being indepen- dent thinkers and not persons who blindly follow a policy. "The term is 'Mountain/Valley Republicans,' those people who under- stood what it was to be a minority party when the Byrd Democrats dominated politics in Virginia for so long. We ended many of the nefarious practices that kept people from voting. It's interesting that I would be involved in a poU tax struggle after college. Republicans in the sixties successfully sued the State of Virginia over the state poll tax." Morse's speech reflects his political science major as well as the history he minored in at VCU. He confesses to having been slightly intimidated when he started law school at UVA. "But once I got over the initial shock of being in classes with folks from Harvard and Yale, and folks that had just done so much, I found that I was very well prepared by my years at VCU." Morse took a year ofi^ from law school to get married. He is currendy living in Madison, Wisconsin while his wife finishes medical school. Morse, whose first name, "Fortis," means "strength" in Latin, is fervent in simiming up the experience of going before the Supreme Court. "It's been very humbling for me as a law student to see the tradition and the power that exudes from that building and that august body. I^awyers are noted for becoming cynical. There's much in the law that can make you cynical. This suit and the success I had as an individual, politically powerless plaintiff — to find excellent legal representation and to change an illegal practice — has gone a long way toward restoring my faith and maintaining my faith that our justice system works well." Fran Katz '86BA/H&S On the telephone, Fran Katz sounds driven and intense. It's exacdy what you'd expect from a 32-year-old Washington womderkind, the Deputy Political Director of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee — AIPAC — "the political voice of the American Jewish community." Except that it's after 10 p.m. on Friday night. She kept the same schedule at VCU. "I worked all through college — I didn't go to bars at night, and I went to the library on the weekends. I was there when it opened at 9 a.m. on Saturday and at 11 on Sunday morning." Katz had to cram seven day's studying into the weekend because of full-time work with Virginia's Democratic party. VCU's Bob Holsworth steered her toward the job. "When I went to college I wanted to study political science and eventually come to Washington. I asked Bob how can I get involved and find out if I like it? He said go down to the state capitol and start volunteering. My Jewish heritage and my intuition said go to the Democratic party. I started volun- teering and loved it. Then they started paying me." In 1984, as a sophomore, she was the liaison between Edy Harrison's Senate race and the state party. "I worked with all the state party chairs. Nobody ever knew I was in school or how old I was. I did amazing things that people my age shouldn't ha\'e done — and I wouldn't have done them if Bob didn't say, 'Go, see if you like it.'" 11 Her senior year was marked by her father's terminal illness. "I was going home on weekends to take care of him. He died in January of '86. 1 was 21 years old. His death had an enormous imp)act. I think it gave me an iimer strength that allowed me to do a lot of the things I have done since I've been in Washington. It's fimny, because he hated the fact that I was going to go into politics. He wanted me to study business so I could be suc- cessfijl and send my kids to college and do all the things he hadn't done for us. He thought I was going to be poor all my Ufe. I proved him wTong." Katz returned home to Norfolk after graduation. "I needed to help my mother and had zero money." She quickly foimd work — in politics. "I worked on Chven Pickett's congressional race, kno\\ing that if he won I would come with him to ^Vashington, \vbidi is, in tact, exactly what hapf>ened." At 23, Katz was too yoimg to be Pickett's Chief of Staff; but "I wanted to do more. I telt like I ^\~asn"t growing." Her next job was \sith Les .\spin. "T w^as his political f>erson. I ne\'er learned more in my life. He was an amazing man and an amazing teacher. I was thrust into staff meetings with people twice my age. It was a lite-altering experience." She started at .\IP.\C four years ago. "We're single issue," saw Katz. "\Ve onh- focus on Israel. One of our main fiinc- tions is educating and reaching out to F .\ I L 19 9 6 new members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Everything we do is based on a personal relationship. The morning after the '94 election we were the only organization in the country that could say we knew every single new member of Congress. And we've spent the last two years building those relationships." She declines comment on the recent Israeli election — ^AIPAC didn't take a position — ^but emphasizes an ongoing concern with the peace process. "We're an American organization. We're focused on what is in America's best interest for Israel." She mentions main- taining Israel's foreign aid and combat- ing Iranian terrorism. "And, obviously, we need to continue to strengthen the strategic relationship between the two countries." She doesn't foresee leaving AIPAC. "I really believe that I make change. I do things that change the world that we live in — and, I think, make it a better place. That's all I ever wanted to do when I was growing up." Harold Worrall '92DPA/H&S "The significance of the public steward- ship and the public trust," says Harold Worrall, summing up lessons learned from his doctoral studies at VCU. "Sometimes, regardless of your job state- ment, and regardless of the political pres- sures, you just have to be willing to say, in a very professional and diplomatic way, that you're not going to do some- thing. It's very hard to do when your job is on the line. "During the eighties I was asked to sign a contrart, for x dollars a gallon, for a substance for which I couldn't deter- mine the cost. I was pretty much ordered to do it and still refused. I did not lose my job over it and the person above me finally ended up signing — even though legally he couldn't, he did. They pur- chased the produrt and it turned out to be extraordinarily substandard." "You must have really felt vindicat- ed." "Actually not — I wish they hadn't done it. I v^sh they hadn't done it because it cost the public some money." Worrall is Executive Dirertor of the Orlando-Orange County (Florida) Expressway Authority. According to his resume, "The Authority collects approxi- mately $80 million in revenue annually with projections of $100 million within three years. The expressway system includes 81 centerline miles of four-lane controlled access highway." Their next project is the "Western Beltway," which will be 27 miles long and cost around $500 million. Ninety-two percent of the traffic is commuters, a figure that's surprising in an area famous for Disney and Universal. One fourth of the tolls are collected electronically. "The EPASS system is a cash card approach to toll collection," says Worrall. Underground antennas at the toll plazas pick up radio signals from transponders mounted underneath vehicles. "We deduct the toll from the driver's credit card. Right now, we have some 65,000 transponders out. We're distributing about 750 a week." Worrall has headed the Expressway Authority since May, 1992. Before that he was the Assistant Secretary of Finance and Administration for the Florida Department of Transportation. He has held similar positions in Utah and Virginia. His voice radiates satisfaction when he talks about his move from Florida's DOT to the Expressway Authority. "I liken it to the move from a battleship to a PT boat." Florida's DOT has a $3 bUlion dollar budget. "I had 2500 people reporting to me. You spend all your time on the bureaucracy rather than in accomplishing things." Thirty-two people report to Worrall at the Expressway Authority. "We can change directions and get things done." He cites the example of a recent initiative involving women and minorities. "In our view, the old percentage program doesn't work. It does not create local women and minority business enter- prise. What it does is get you a certain amount of the money spent on women and minorities — and not necessarily local. Also, it does not create businesses because they are typically subcontractors to a prime. "We wanted businesses that were prime contractors. So we set about putting together a program called "Business Development." We hired a person in to run that with the thought in mind that we're not after percentages — we're after the creation of local women's and minority business enterprises. Well, we contracted out all of our maintenance work — which was one of things we decided to do and just did. By a strictly low bid process we got over 38 percent local women and minority business enterprise. "That's the kind of thing we do here and I'm just delighted with it." Thelma Bland '88MS/AH(G) Thekna Bland, Commissioner of the Virginia Department for the Aging, finds the roots of her profession in her rural childhood. "I grew up on a farm in Prince George County," she says. "My family was always involved in caring for loved ones." Her family took care of her grandparents, a disabled cousin and uncle. "There was even a step-grandfa- ther my mother cared for. I think all that had an impact on me. My grandparents represented a real positive role model for us. There were a lot of opportunities for us to share between the generations. I've always seen aging as something very positive and I've always found it reward- ing to work with people of different ages." SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 12 As a nine-year-old, she prepared and served meals for her bedridden grand- mother. "We all pitched in. She died at home, which is what she wanted to do." Her family's contrasting experience with her step-grandfather opened her eyes to a common caregiving dilemma. "His con- dition was more severe than my grand- mother's. It became too much of a strain on the family to keep him at home. My mother was really good at understanding where the line was." The family made the decision to put him in a nursing home. "It made me realize that a range of long term care services have to be in place." Today, Bland is still concerned with the same issues. Statewide, her depart- ment works with 22 Area Agencies on Aging. "We deliver 26 services, the majority of which are long term care services designed to keep people at home. In many of the cases our services mean that a caregiver will continue to be able to hold down a job." The services include home-delivered meals and adult day care. "In some cases individuals are able to remain home instead of having to go into some type of institution. But what I'm describing is only a part of a long term care structure. Everybody can't stay home. We also have programs that help family members select nursing homes." Bland's job has a built-in growth factor. "In 1990 there were 909,906 Virginians age 60 and older. By 2010 that number will increase to 1.3 mOlion." The following year — 20 11 — is when the baby boomers start retiring. "Policies and pro- cedures have to be in place for our state's aging population," she says again. "In addition to working on policy issues, during any given day we are also looking at ways to better deliver our services. I also get a lot of opportunities to meet directly with older people them- selves and their families. I really enjoy the mix of working on policy issues, delivering services, and hearing people say what they need directly. I try to keep them in mind as we make policy deci- sions here." A y Abdulkarim Al-Nahas Abdulkarim Al-Nahas has come a long way. And not just from his home in Saudi Arabia. His dissertation on ethical dilemmas in policy analysis will be the end product of a five-year process. "I started VCU in 1991." He sounds weary, looking back. "I was 26 and I think I was the youngest in the program." The older students were mosdy in their 40s, and had first-hand experience in public policy. "There was a gap between me and the people I studied with. In class, even if I was familiar with the reading material, I had some difficul- ty. Especially the first year was very diffi- cult." Even after his course work and his comprehensive exam, "instead of feeHng comfortable I got a different type of pressure. 'When am I going to finish? I want to finish!'" He may be in a hurry, but Al-Nahas did not choose questions with eas\' answers for his dissertation. "WTiat do you do if your supenisor asks you to fab- ricate an analysis so he or she can defend their position? WTiat if your supervisor is interested in a bad polio.'? What if you think a poHq' is good, but \'our anal\'sis doesn't support it?" "This is a theoretical thesis," Al-Nahas emphasizes. But he will be interviewing polic)' analv'sts in the field to talk about these questions from their own experi- ence. One Lnter\iew echoes a stor)' Harold Worrall shares in this article. .Al- Nahas sa)-s, "The person I spoke to was hesitant, until I told him this is all theo- retical — no details. He told me about a time a supervisor asked him to change 13 the figures in an analysis." The analyst refused to do it, and the supervisor sug- gested that he should find a job some- where else. "He was serious about it," says Al-Nahas. "He told me he was cleaning out his desk. Ultimately, the analyst did not lose his job, and his boss found someone else who would do it" Three of his classmates wiio also came fi"om Saudi Arabia have earned their degrees and gone home, to teach at Ryadh's Institute for Public Administration. The most important poliq' issue in Saudi Arabia, sa>-s Karim, is "economic. High unemployment is our biggest problem. Polic>' anah-sts have to find more jobs for f>eople." One friend has left the Institute and now works more directiy in the economy for a bank in Ryadh. "We have to deal with p)olitics in Saudi Arabia in a different way, of course," he comments, "because it's a monarchy. Ever\thing we study here is focused on democrac}'. Evervthing is within the democratic sv^stem. But the techniques, models, and learning here can be applied an)"where." "It's been stressftil, but I've grown up a lot," he sail's. "It's not just memorizing the books and taking the exams," he sav-s. "It's interaction with people and learning from their exi>eriences." The older students who %\"ere once intimidating are now trusted mentors and friends. "Some of them are ven,' wise," he continues. "It gives tou a difio'- ent perspective. Dealing with these people makes you learn about life." BEN CLEARV IS A WRITES AND "E - : -E= WHO LIVES IN ■,E:--'. CSVILLE. VIRGINIA. ALL 1996 iff DAVID B£NSON "SIBS ■94MS/I Webpages, Netsites and various online newspapers and magazines are material- izing as political viewpoints in the cyberether. What effect do they have on the election process? We asked an expert, Carl Crothers '79 BS/MC, this year's Virginius Dabney Distinguished Professor in the School of Mass Communications. Crothers was deputy managing editor for electronic publish- ing at the Tampa Tribune, where he direrted its first electronic news service, Tampa Bay Online. Crothers is now managing editor of theWinston-Salem Journal in North Carolina, but News and the Net contin- ues to be a major theme. He was on campus in April to share his experience with students in a course in Online Media Issues. Online news can be a boon to the elertion process, Crothers says. "The biggest problem created by the media is the chararter fights diat overshadow the issues. The media focus too intensely on the horse race, getting carried away with minor details." Internet research can be a link back to the issues. "Many local, state and national government records are stored on databases accessible via the Internet. The Net is a great tool that allows jour- nalists to research candidates' back- grounds, including police records, bank- ruptcies and other publicly available information. "I find in this country that only a minority of voters research candidates," he comments. Online newspapers that link voters to other Websites for more information, and Websites that give them easy access to candidates can reconnert them to the process. "Some papers are uncomfortable with taking readers out of their papers to the Web for that extra data," Crothers says. But he thinks readers will value more the papers that do connect them with other sites. Online consimiers realize they can "customize the news," he says. Media used to control the flow of information, but technology is shifting that control to die consumer in terms of when and how news is received, and in how much depth I i and breadth. So, what's out there now? Voters can view screens of informa- I = tion at sites like CBS Campaign '96 (http.7/www.cbsnews.com/campaign96). which offers current news and poll results on Bob Dole and Bill Clinton. Information on levels of funding, candi- dates' stands on issues and scheduled stops on the campaign trail are on site as well. Other links like Election 101 in die CBS site give readers basic information about the process — how delegates are selected and how campaigns are financed. Crothers adds, "ITie Internet is a two- edged sword for candidates. The Net is a way to present their complete story, issues and speeches, but diere are many out there who create sites critical to the candidate — and a voter can access it all. So, yes a candidate can deliver a message directly to potentially millions of voters, but he can't control what else the user will see. "Bob Dole is a good example. At the official' Bob Dole Website, you can find everything die candidate wants you to know about him. His biography, his stands on issues, his congressional record. But there are at least 12 other "Bob Dole" sites, created for a variety of purposes, mosdy not helpfiil to the can- didate. There are humorous sites, parodies, even a site that claims Dole uses foreign writing pens. "The Net's best political use now is probably as a way for elected officials to get immediate feedback and ideas from constituents. I suspect the President is briefed daily on relevant email to the White House Home Page." Ultimately, Crothers feels, newspa- pers should carry into cyberspace the ideals that have distinguished diem in the analog world. For example, "Linking to other sources must be done with caution. Newspapers must verify that government and other objective databas- es are used instead of data sources pro- viding veiled pro or con viewpoints." As readers become "users" they will still be attrarted by traditional sources of credi- bility. At this stage, says Crothers, tradition- al media are still the best place to look for objective information. "I think die Net has die potential to make politics more relevant and personal to people, but it has a ways to go." DAVID BENSON IS ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS. A 1- I li C (1 U R T C O \ .\ t C ■ 14 BY JIM JOHNS '93BS/MC Working alone produces predictable results. Growth can be steady, but the aivironment may dess than stimulating. Throw together some folks with similar goals and different specialties, f their output grows in new, unexpected ways. The business world calls it synergy. At the '■ii'Vrsity, it's known as aoss disciplinary research. ke Center for Public Policy (CPP) is a dynamo of synergy for students andfaadty on both uses. Its research, service and instruction reach from Richmond to Riyadh. (Seepages r "Citizens," alumni in national and international public policy.) PP is cross disciplinary by design. VCU's Strategic Plan for restructuring combined ograms and created some new ones to make up the Center. Only two years old now, is finding partners eager to use its faculty and research facilities. thusiasm is contagious," says CPP director, Dr. Robert Holsworth. "Grant and 'work have increased tremendously The collegial and cooperative spirit thefaadty terdisciplinary studies has mushroomed. And Dr. Trani and Dr. Grace Harris, the have been extraordinarily supportive. We expected to be successfid, but I think we %en pleasantly surprised how quickly the CPP has taken off!' Iniajor coup is recruiting former Governor L Douglas Mlder as Distinguished Professor %iblic Policy (interview, page 19). Wilder teaches an undergnuiuate policy class and guest lectures to students in other departments. "He really makes a significant contribution," says an enthusiastic Holsworth. This winter the CPP will sponsor the L Douglas WUder Symposium on Race and American Society. The first symposium's focus. Health Care and Medicine, is another example of the cross disciplinary emphasis of the CPP. "This is a real signed of how quickly we've come so far," says Holsworth. It doesn't hurt, of course, that network television news and public radio turn to Holsworth himself for analysis of Virginia politics when the rest of the world wants to know. Like the Oliver North-Coleman-Robb race two years ago. Virginia is in the public eye and has the public ear again this summer and fall for both the Warner (John)-Wamer (Mark) Senate race and the presidential election. Holsworth's commentary is backed up by data from the Commonwealth Poll run by Dr. Scott Keeter (sidebar; page 17). 15 F A I I 19 9 6 The big news for students at the CPP is the new PhD in Public Poliq' and Administration. Areas of concentration are urban policy, health policy, state and local government and manage- ment — all traditional strengths of VCU as an urban university. And they capitalize on expertise from both campuses. Dr. Ralph Hambrick guided the transition from the Doctor of Public Administration to the expanded PhD. Placing the new program in the Center wiU bring students in touch with leading faculty from across the university. Working closely with their mentors, students can tap into original data sources for their dissertations and co-author research for publication. The first class started this fall, and Hambrick expects 15-18 students per class. Graduates from the current DPA generally head in a couple of directions. "It's about a 50-50 spUt between government and academics," Hambrick says. "For instance, some alumni are on Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, and there are faculty members at the University of Arizona and East Carolina University from VCU — even several at the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We already have a good flow of alumni to those positions. With the shift I expect the split to continue with some more public policy-oriented roles, policy research and think tanks in university settings." The director of the new PhD program is VCU historian Dr. Mel Urovsky, who won universi- ty's faculty Award for Excellence in 1995. And the Center's educational support reaches farther. This winter, the General Assembly committed funds for two programs in the Center's Office of Public Policy Training, which is taking over functions Governor Allen had cut from Virginia's state personnel ofSce. "We are very excited that the state has asked the Center to do this," says Office director Karen Washabau. The Virginia Executive Institute at the Office will provide orientation, leadership skills and personal development for heads of state agencies, often gubernatorial appointees. They will learn how to formulate and implement effective public policy, how to use the processes of Virginia government, and how to deal with the media and other aspects of their jobs. The Center's Commonwealth Management Institute provides lead- ership training for middle managers in state government. New managers learn how to motivate employees and to assess their own leadership talents and weaknesses. Alumni from both programs return to support new trainees and to keep their own skills and information sharp. In fact, the CPP's service and research touch the citizens of Richmond and Virginia every day — and provide national models for commimity-campus partnerships. Recentiy CPP director Holsworth worked with 250 community leaders to help the city win a planning grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to plan better ways to deliver health and safety services to Richmond's children. Holsworth talks about VCU's contribution. "Dr. Jack Lanier, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and myself were part of the steering com- mittee that put together this $400,000 grant to show how we will address the health and safety of children. Now Richmond is in the running to receive a huge infusion of fionds." Of eight cities that received planning grants, five wiU be chosen for addi- tional funding. "The opportunity and reward for me have really been much greater than my individual contribution. The CPP is really proud to be a part of that initiative; it brought all differ- ent kinds of people together." In any line of work there is a tendency to be isolated by specialties. At VCU there is also the geographic gap between the east and west campuses. Lanier's department on the health sciences campus, which has the only graduate level public health program in the state, regularly collaborates with the CPP. "For us, working wdth the CPP and the Survey Research Lab is an opportunity to do research, to gather information about at risk populations. We can measure the attitudes and expectations of these populations," Lanier says. "The CPP is an invaluable resource for our faculty and students." American populations are moving, the urban context is changing, and only cities on the move will keep up. The Virginia Center for Urban Development helps Virginia cities and suburbs take control and impose a positive direction on inevitable change. In collaborations between university, com- munity and government, the Center's analysis and applied research will help bring dynamic economic and social life back to cities. Since the Center was created by the General Assembly in 1992, its projects have included staffing Governor WUder's Advisory Commission on Revitalizing Urban Areas; an analysis of riverboat gaming; and a study of the potential impact of regional metropolitan government, conducted with VCU's Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The Center has coordinated faculty who provided business training to the resident founders of Household Market, a Richmond project to develop small businesses in inner-city neighborhoods. Among other projects this simimer, the Center wdU analyze the SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 16 \9^ -^>. C31JA' /a A^^ffif^n^^^hp n for Virginia Commonwealth Uniwersit V^^ Mission and Goals Statement ♦ Virginia Coininon-wealth University is a punlic, itrban, researcn university, sup- ported Dv tne Cominonwealtn or Virginia to serve the people or tne Cominonwealtn and tlie nation. Tne Universi- ty provides a rertile and stiTniilating environment tor learning, teacning, researcn, creative expression, and pnolic service. Essential to tlie lire oi tne University is a faculty actively engag'ed in scliolarsnip and creative exploration— actiN-ities tnat increase knowledg'e and understanding oi tne world, and inspire and enricn teacning'. 't* The Univer- sity is dedicated to educating nill- and part-time students ol all ag'es and diverse backgrounds in an atmosphere of rree inquirj' and scholarship, so they may realize their Kdl potential as intormed, productive citizens with a lifelong commitment to learning and service. •!• the University serves the local, state, national, and international commu- nities through its scholarly activities, its diverse educational programs, and its puhlic service activities. As an insti- tution or higher learning in a metropolitan center that is also the capital of tlie Common-wealth, tlie University enjoys unique resources that enrich its programs and offer special opportunities for contriljutmg' its intellectual and creative expertise in the development of innovative approaches to meet tlie changing needs of our society. Greetings to Alumni and Friends Virginia Common- wealth University has worked dynamically with the force of change throughout its history. VCU's students gain a competitive edge as they study in innovative programs, many of which have become national leaders. They learn from models of excellence — faculty and graduates who are internationally recog- nized as leading experts. Change is a perpetual resource for the benefit of our students, patients, alumni and community partners. Now the 21st centu- ry presents unprece- dented challenges. "A Strategic Plan for the Future of Virginia Commonwealth Uni- versity" has realigned VCU's strengths to prepare students as leaders who will seize the opportunities change creates. They will work in diverse and interdependent envi- ronments. They will take interdisciplinary approaches to solving problems. They need training at a leading- edge institution with the best faculty, pro- grams, technology and facilities to compete in a dramatically different work force. VCU students need more scholarship opportunities to gain access to a promising future. New computing and communications technologies are vital; these must work with modern facilities for closer student-to-stu- dent and student-to- faculty relationships in teaching as well as research. Student life and the sense of com- munity are reinforce- ments for learning that will influence gradu- ates' participation in communities through- out the world. Compet- itive continuing education programs must accommodate the unique needs of stu- dents with jobs and families. Such programs help working profes- sionals adjust or change their careers, as well as serve older students in our communities. VCU's world-class scientific and medical research has advanced treatment not only for patients in Virginia, but for people around the globe. We have a responsibility to con- tinue serving with this same high quality. And we must continue lead- ing the way with a first- class infrastructure in molecular sciences, providing invaluable contributions to our knowledge of biotech- nology. Our campaign to close the century, "Part- ners for Progress," will fuel VCU's bold jour- ney ahead. The cam- paign goal will be announced at the Octo- ber kick-off Specific needs and goals for each school, program and division will allow them to continue serv- ing with the depend- able excellence for which they are known. A fresh perspective is so important. As you grasp the panoramic view of VCU's partner- ships, you see individu- als adding their dynam- ic energies to that of the University. Each person's contributions increase the value of the whole. This publi- cation gives a bird's-eye view of VCU, showing only a few of the many partnerships that have come to help so many people, starting with the students, faculty and alumni of this Uni- versity. You or someone you know may well be among them. VCU is a partner to whom many turn for answers — for career questions or community problems, and every- thing from life-enhanc- ing to life-threatening situations. We urge you to add your own force to the future, as an active partner with VCU today Sincerely, Eugene P. Trani President Virginia Commonwealth University /iJ'tU-i^yX Richard T. Robertson, '67 BS/MC President Warner Brothers Domestic Television Distribution Chairman, "Partners for Progress" IV If I < .1 1 rv I I n u II- I he i^onls <>i Viij^iiiia ( onmioiiweallli I iiivi-r-iiv _ ^ Vcy provide iinuer^rauii.Tle euiicalioii llial intliicle.s a nroaci i\i\(\ rij^Kroiij! (cxiiicLilion in humanities, ana cxplorets llie iucati ana value;) of iHiinaiiKind; It's a Ciiridiis Wurld Our craving for knowledge is basic to life. Mysteries, riddles, and puzzles grab our inter- est. Every solution recharges us to seek more. Curiosity is a vital fuel; we can even lose the will to live without it. This enduring part of our nature has powered adventures outward to chart seas and explore the galaxies. We venture beyond inner boundaries, mapping genetic ter- rain, or discovering biochemical wonders. The arts, sciences, and humanities guide us through human nature's complexities. Whatev- er avenue we take — philosophy or psychology, literature or history — we're pursuing a better understanding of ourselves. X<Ai!0'J^€MM/t'//i.' ///' Teaching facult)' in the College of Humanities & Sciences include award-winning authors, leaders in scientific research, and profes- sionals working in their respective fields. ( 1 ) The undergraduate pro- gram in the School of Social Work combines a liberal arts foundation with an integrated class and field work curricu- lum designed to offer students the opportuni- ty to acquire a substan- tial base in social work practice. (2) Practical experience is the hallmark of the School of Education. It is also part of the Holmes Group, 90 insti- tutions in the country that have the most pres- tigious teacher prepara- tion programs. (3) The School of Business is cited for the devotion and excellence of its fac- ulty and for the fine bal- ance of its professional and liberal arts curricu- la. It offers undergradu- ate, certificate, masters, doctorate and executi\e education courses. (4) 4 i Home to one of the nation's largest profes- sional arts programs, the School of the Arts provides nine visual arts and three performing arts departments. Stu- dents, alumni and facul- ty have received national and interna- tional recognition - from Oscars and Clios to national jazz championships, foreign government contracts and exchange agree- ments. (5) VCU's Academic Cam- pus culturally enlivens Richmond's residential Fan District, Vk^here cob- blestone and brick flank the avenues historic buildings. (6) The Honors Program includes some of VCU's brightest and most tal- ented students repre- senting virtually every discipline within the University. Many take their talents into the community while at VCU, volunteering or working in area businesses and organi- zations. (7) VCU, a member of the NCAA Division I and the Colonial Athletic Association, fields 15 intercollegiate sports with more than 250 stu- dent athletes donning the Ram black and gold each year. VCU's stu- dent-athletes are com- mitted to excellence both on the field and in the classroom. (8) Id (.•vp.iiKl Inc Ixniiiclaric^ of l<i)(jwlcU(^c' and iiii(leret<inuJiit^ lliron -'li ii -i .irrli expression in tne sciences, arts, lininaiiities, uiul lli lu.l.i riliip. .mil • Seeking Order and Excitement Learning is basic to our survival as well as to improving our lives: The structural guidance we seek through science helps us to make and adapt to change. In 1995-96, 832 students enroUed in programs offered by the School of Allied Health Professions. More than 72 percent of allied health students are studying at the graduate level. ( 1 ) The new Pharm.D pro- gram, in the School of Pharmacy, offers gradu- ates who wish to spe- cialize the opportunity to take advantage of fellowships, residencies, and postgraduate programs. (2) VCU's Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus is the vibrant health sciences complex adjacent to the cit)''s business, governmental, and financial districts. It has been a vital partner in helping Virginians to meet their health care needs for over ISOyears. In 1995, MCV Hos- pitals cared for more than 31,000 inpatients and had more than 110,000 emergencN' room visits. More than 390,000 outpatients also visited MC\TI clinics. The 3,000 students on the MCV Campus con- tribute $6.9 million annually in local spending. (3) The School of Medicine received a record 5,298 applications for 1995-96 and conducted more than 900 on-site inter- \iews of prospective students. Medical facul- U' attracted more than S57.2 million in spon- sored program funding last year, representing 68 percent of all sponsored awards to \'CU. (4) In its first year, the School of Dentistn's Mobile Oral Health Clinic pro%'ided dental ser%ices to more than 3,200 indigent and uninsured, traveling 5,000 miles to 21 Mrgjnia localities. (5) Graduates of the School of Nursing's \\ eekend Graduate Nurse Practi- tioner program pro^'ide primary- care to rural and underserved p>opu- lations throughout Mrginia. (6) To support, tlirou^K its conunitnient to public exniLitions, pertormances, and. other cultural activities, tKe imaginative power or the lioeral, visual, ana pel-forming' arts to express tne protlenis ana aspirations ol liumanity ana to enricli tJie lives or incliviauals; Learning is tne Journey Over the millennia, those with experience, knowledge, and vision have guided others. Together we've sought answers to our endless questions. . . Where does this illness come from?. . . Behavioral genetics research marks the road to well- ness with scientific facts. The painstaking work helps remove superstitious stigma from schizo- phrenia by charting chromosomal differences that may cause the brain to hallucinate voices or feelings of fear — and this research makes psychiatry a more exact science. (1) How can we lessen this pain and suffering?. . . With a round-the- clock team of caregivers at the MCV Hospitals, a Level One Trauma Center. As ambulance and helicopter crews deliver the patients, beepers summon internists, surgeons, nurses, social workers and chaplains to MCVH's emergency room — the 16th busiest, and the second largest, m the nation. Some 1 10,000 ER patients each year — of all ages, all incomes — are victims of crises that range from heart attacks or sexual violence, to auto and firearm accidents; MCV Campus medical experts deliver whatever the situation demands. Patients get the best, as do graduates of the Department of Emergency Medicine, who are fully prepared to provide excellent critical care at a moment's notice. (2) ^ k - __' Y M /''* Ji^ - j|gjj2Li JpLl^j^^ BE..1 ^H^HP'^H ^hH ■mm When will these markets favor our product?. ..Electronic learning and research tools at VCU put the world on a fiber-optic string. Through interactive communica- tions at the School of Business, distance-learning lets students gain "first-mover advantage" as new international markets open. From the Pacific Coast, through the Rocky Mountains, and across the Atlantic Ocean, they connect electronically with others at uni- versities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland. No jet lag for them — and no rush-hour frenzy for metropol- itan MBA students working at sur- rounding counties' businesses. Courses arc piped in to their office buildings. (3) Which art best expresses my joy and sadness?. ..The possibilities are vast because the community has one of the nation's top 25 graduate arts schools in its midst. The School of the Arts' dance and choreography department perfor- mances excite audiences in the refurbished Grace Street Theater... the music department offers its highly respected VCU Jazz Orches- tra, numerous orchestral, guitar. operatic and choral performances. Close interactions with Rich- mond's cultural venues include the Richmond Symphony, the Virginia Museum of Une Arts, the Richmond Ballet, and theatre groups. Students learn from internationally respected visiting artists who come to campus, many of them VCU graduates. (4) And its Community School for the Performing Arts nurtures talented young beginners in drama and music, as well as prodigies such as 14-year-old violinist Sonya Chung, who performed on campus with the Richmond Philharmonic. (5; Tit develop iiuiovative prog'rams for continuing education that establisli permanent intellectual connections Between tke University ana its constituents, ennance proressional competence, and promote dialogue on public issues; Discovering Opportunities and Cnallenges Our incredible success at solving 20th-century problems has led us to exciting 21st-century opportunities and challenges. We live longer, communicate faster, change our careers and homes more frequently than ever before. As our numbers grow and our cultures com- bine, the world seems a smaller place, one where limited resources must serve continuing needs. The caU is to do more with less — less time, as well as money. With innovation and resource- fulness as hallmarks of the VCU tradition, this flexible strength allows timely response to arising societal problems and issues. /^■H:| '^i^'ftKliiiatBicaiis ^r-. EEE0 . The Ad Center ( 1 ) and the 21st Century News Center (2) in VCU s School of Mass Com- munications are geared to fully prepare students for the lightning-fast media world's changes. The school's advisory board members — including Spencer Christian of ABC News, Jeffrey Birnbaum of Time Magazine and William E. Ahearn of AP News, New York — are among the many human assets working to make VCU the nation's premier place to study communica- tions. Ad agency leaders for NIKE, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, Sony and Sprint sit on the Ad Center's advisory board. while students learn from a distinguished faculty whose talents have attracted all the awards the industry has to bestow. The News Center's mission is to train journalism stu- dents and retrain career journalists from all over the world in its advanced technological environment. The latest advances in science and medicine can seem overwhelming, with their rapid changes and com- plex new terms. For major health and job decisions, keeping current can mean a world of difference. VCU's public programs let us all keep learning, whatever our ages or fields in life may be. VCU's Non-Traditional Studies program offers flexibility to returning stu- dents and undergraduates. All ages of the public fill each nine-week Mini- Med School program at the Science Museum of Virginia. (3) Whether broaching cancer or genetic engineering, MCV Campus experts known for their latest research in medical and scientific journals put the skids on jargon to speak in plain English. The hot concept fol- lowed its catalyst, Dr. Bruce Fuchs, assistant professor of pharmacol- ogy and toxicology, while he was "on loan" to the NIH for two years to get similar pub- lic programs running elsewhere in the coun- try. And VCU's Mini- Engineering School used the same boiler- plate when the pursuit of an engineering career in Central Virginia was merely a gleam in the community's eye. Health services, busi- ness services, and social services are e.xpected to account for almost one of every two jobs added to the economy dur- ing the 1994-2005 period. Of the 10 fastest growing industries, nine belong to one of these three industry groups. Bureau of Labor Statistics I About 90 percent of VCU's MBA graduates find jobs within two months after gaining their degrees. \'CU is the area's major source of skilled professionals for a variety of reasons. With all of the Rich- mond-based Fortune 500 represented on the School of Business ad\i- sory boards, companies get the best work force because they partner with educators to devel- op the training and expertise their employ- ees need. Through approximately 150 paid co-ops and internships each vear, students gain valuable experience at priwite companies as well as goverrmient agencies. (4) Some of VCU's Student Intern Partnerships AJfa-Laval Allied Signal A.MF AT&T CSX Ojrpcjration Cadmiu Communicaliom Catholic Charilio Central Fidelity Bank Century 21 Circuit City City of Richmond Combined Technologies Commonwealth of Virginia Crestar Bank Ernst & Young Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond First Health Services G. £. Lighting Health Communications Services Innsbrook Group I.e. Pennev- James River Corporation Kellogg Corporation KPMG Peat .\larwick Kraft Foods Lawyers Title Markel NationsBank The Restaurant Company Reynolds .Metals Richfood Richmond Public Schook S & K Famous Brands Science Museiun ofNIrginia Scott and StringfeUow Signet Bank Small Business Development Som' Records Southern States Cooperative, Inc SRO Evients Steinbrenner Photography This End L'p Travellers Insurance Trigon BlueCross BlueShield Ukrop's United Parcel Service l.".S. Defense General Supph' Center U.S. Department of lustice U.S. Geological SurMe>- X'iiginia Farm Bureau N'iiginia Housing -Authorit)' \"iiginia Pow«r Migjnia Division of Tourism \lrginia Lotterv" Walmart Wheat First Butcher Singer \\"hitehall-Robiiis 9 lo otfer diverse opportunities for individuals to Jbenerit from higner education tlirougn a varietj' of avenues to include tlexiDie sclieduling' for part-time undergraduate and g'raduate students, open admission for nonde^ree-seeking' students witli appropriate preparation... Bold Journeys Forwara With more jobs requiring graduate degrees, international influences now a part of daily life, and several careers — not just one — filling up one's lifetime, access and affordability become essential. Communications tech- nology transcends a multitude of barriers. Telemedicine pro- grams allow caregivers to extend their reach, while telecourses give students the flexibility to choose when, where, and how to fit learning into their busy lives. Telecourses let gerontology profession- als in rural Virginia keep current with advances initiated by researchers on VCU's MCV Cam- pus and the Virginia Center on Aging, in addition to the late- afternoon and evening classes that also help those juggling their nurs- ing jobs and research as they piusue continuing coursework.(l) 10 Scotiand's Glasgow School of Arts is the hub for two months of summer study at archi- tect Charles Rennie Mcintosh's unique building. (2) Initiated by the English depart- ment through its suc- cessful creative writing and literature programs, interdisciplinary collab- orations include the archaeology and visual arts departments. (3) VCU business students and faculty are atop Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist temple (750A.D.)inYogakarta. The Indonesian archi- pelago has been a Pacific Rim key to trade since spices lured empire buUders. (4) : ::cinjamLiiLM Reality is an endless source of inspiration — and that helps make the dreams possible. Students acquire more than skills and knowledge; they gain the confidence they'll need to suc- ceed. Their experiential learning through VCU gives them the competitive edge to do it. Undergraduate and graduate students witness historic transformations around the world that will influence a new century's business practices and cultural perspectives. IT" V ^min VCU's Center for Inter- national Programs and the Women's Studies Program led a contin- gent to the World Con- ference on Women in Beijing (Summer 1995). (5) Along the Rhine, a major trade arten,' for centuries, VCU business students grasp how the global economy must absorb EU restructuring and EFTA trade policies. (6) Scaffolding laces its wav around the Reichstag amid a reunified Ger- many's construction boom. (7) Students from \'CU meet with agencv" heads privatizing business in the former East Germany, and \s"ith ke\' pla\'ers in Switzerland, at Basel Universit>-"s European Institutes. (8) 11 To promote interdisciplinary studies within the University to bring new perspectives lo hear on complex problems; Cnarting tne Cou rse "A Strategic Plan for the Future of Virginia Commonwealth University" has set coordinates that will allow VCU to continue to take the educational helm. Among them are interdisci- plinary University Centers, and programs in collaboration with other universities, each forming strong partnerships to tackle tough problems. After the strategic plan's initiatives are achieved by 1999, another will refine this vision in 2000. The Massey Cancer Center has taken the team approach to tackle cancer for more than 20 years. The Jessie Ball duPont Fund bestowed MCC with its first "Making a Difference Award" for its rural out- reach programs that deliver the best treat- ment available national- ly to locations closer to patients' homes. (1) VCU's HIV/ AIDS Center draws on MCV Campus strengths in research, patient care and education, connecting these with community programs. (2) The Center on Drug and Alcohol Studies (3) joins forces of depart- ments from both cam- puses, as do both the Center for Public Policy (4) and the Center for Environmental Studies. (5) With the urban environment available as a laboratory for teaching and research, the centers' comprehen- sive approach offers professionals training and degrees, while serv- ing urgent public needs. 12 To offer auvanceu tlc^rcc progfraniij lor worUin^ profc^iBifjnalii, i$cIccIl-u jiroijr.irn^ in diver«v locale*, auinission ff)r ^raaiiatfs witli ap|)rf>prialc afsociate aej^recH of artn or science*, and support pro((ra>n« K)r specially atlinitteil !:tii(ient!i; Today's youth will be tomorrow's leaders — if they get the right start . . . Inner-city youngsters learn promises are for keeping, with the help of students from VCU, the University of Rich- mond, Virginia Union University and J. Sargeant Refolds Community College. The college students tutor and act as mentors to Carver Elementary students. If Carver's kids meet college require- ments when the time comes to seek that sheepskin, they're guar- anteed a college educa- tion, along with financial assistance, in a very special partnership called the Carver Promise. VCU students learn more than teach- ing; they discover the joy of caring involve- ment. (6) ... if they continue to get the support and guidance they need . . . Project BEST, a School of Education undertak- ing, matches VCU stu- dents as mentors for Richmond middle school students. A mutually reinforcing method of retention, more middle schoolers progress toward better grades, while more Uni- versity students stay with their o\sti programs. Mentorship is a key factor in Tech High's mission to help increase women's ranks in the science professions. The program is a part- nership \vith X'irginia Power. (7) ...and have challenges that keep them ener- gized and on-course. Faculty' and students stimulate each other in advanced modules and courses through the Honors Program, where enrollment swelled to 1,000 from 300 in five )ears. If they meet requirements as under- graduates, \'CU Honors students are guaranteed acceptance into the Medical CoUege. (S) Ad\anced placement studies in collaboration with \'CU are available to high school students attending the Gover- nor's School for Gov- ernment and Interna- tional Studies. VCU facult)- teach advanced courses at this public school for high achiev- ers, housed at Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond. (9) In a special summer program on the MCN' Campus, Governor's School for Medicine students participate in lab research and obsen'e medical procedures. Medical taculr.- volun- teer as mentors for the six weeks teenagers sample life as third- year medical students. One of six Governors Schools fimded by the state's Department of Education, the program began on the MC\" Campus through the efforts of 1992 School of Medicine alumnus Dr. Sterlina Ransone, Jr. 13 To provide an optimal environment tor educatmg' and training nealth care protessionals, tor conducting' researcn to improve ueaitli care and delivery, and lor meetuig' tne needs or patients and tlie community in a eomprenensive nealtn care setting'; Leadersni pas bervice Tnen: VCU has been responsive to people's endur- ing needs since its 1838 founding, when the Medical College of Virginia began. Until MCV opened its doors, many Virginians had to earn their medical degrees out-of-state, often in Pennsylvania or New York. MCV evolved as the medical department of Hamp- den-Sydney College, became independent by 1854, and was state-affiliated by 1860. Almost immediately, MCV-trained doctors and their students were incorporating real- world experience into their education, as war exacted its changes on the states. low: Civil War casualties came to Richmond, where 76,000 soldiers were treated at the Chimborazo Hospital. Organized and run by Dr. James McCaw, an MCV professor of chemistry, it gained the distinction as the largest military hospital to have yet existed. ( 1 ) Landmark legislation in 1996 established the MCV Hospitals Authority, which allows the hospitals greater competitive ability as a health care provider in our rapidly changing health sys- tem. The Best Hospitals in America ranked MCVH in 1995 among the top 1 percent of North American hospitals. (2) 14 The Medical Sciences Building and the Ambu- latory Care Center were designed with changing methods in health care teaching, research and delivery in mind. Restructuring programs allows the University to efficiendy and effective- ly address priorities that include more outpatient services and increasing interdisciplinary approaches. Medical students benefit from studying at Virginia's most comprehensive health sciences center, with nationally and internationally acclaimed programs offered from the state's capital. More than 200 primary care physicians help train medical students — first- and second-year students are in doctors' offices each week, adding the clinical aspect to their academic training. (3) 5960 f^ ^ HANOVER PHYSICAL ] THERAPY M0/ [ 1 in Patients can conven- iently access the same expert care from MCV Campus professionals who offer their services in surrounding counties at satellite facilities such as those at Hanover Physical Therapy, (4) Community Memorial Health Center, (5) and Stony Point. (6) Whether the need is for an organ transplant, or for diagnosis and treat- ment of the most chal- lenging health problems, more turn to \'CU for their health needs as the leading urban research institution in the Com- monwealth. (7) Virginians have had a dependable ally ever since, and take pride in the many advances initiated at MCV and MCV Hospitals, named Richmonder of the Year in 1996 by the city's Style Weekly. loday the MCV Campus of VCU continues to be a vital health care partner as its innovations spread to benefit nearby communities and — through its alumni, faculty, researchers and programs— as it extends its nationally respected health care services to others throughout the world. \'CU President Eugene P. Irani ( left I and for- mer Governor L. Dou- glas Wilder (to Trani's left), who teaches at \'CU's public polic)' program, met \sith Vice President Gore ( right) in South .-Vfrica, when VCU helped negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding for the South .Alrican Health Care Initiative. .\ con- sortiiun of U.S. and South African academic medical institutions will work with the U.S. Department of Health to support South Africa's eftbrt to recon- cile a legac)" of inade- quate health care for its citizens. (8) 15 Tfj use tKf urban environment as a laboratory for studying and developing' new approaclies to problems pertaining to tlie public and private sectors; Solid Foundations for Future Change Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) started as the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health in 1917. Its curriculum encom- passed more of the humanities and sciences. By 1925 it had developed into the Richmond division of the Gjllege of William and Mary; and from 1939 until its 1962 independence, it was known as the Richmond Professional Institute of that college. N o^w: Tk en: Although social work was a new concept at the turn of the century, social worker, Dr. Henry Hibbs, saw it would be a 20th-century stan- dard — and VCU's Acad- emic Campus began with that vision. The country would need more of these and other skilled professionals as war and peace changed life again. ( 1 ) As the new century got underway. World War 1 became a reality for America. Trained workers from the Rich- mond School of Social Work, RPI's precursor, helped fill the void that opened as doctors and nurses left Virginia to assist with the overseas war effort. (2) ', 1 1»* ; miiiiiisiyr tS m Through endowed funding as the Samuel S. Wurtzel Chair in Social Work, Dr. David Stoesz came to the Uni- versity with expertise on social welfare policy and welfare reform. (3) The School of Social Work's faculty consistently rank in the nation's top five for scholarly productivi- ty. Its students have access to state and fed- eral policy makers as the nation's social programs undergo radical change. Social work students learn directly from their fields' professionals through hundreds of field placements in agencies throughout Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Their weekly collective service contributions to these agencies add up to nearly 6,000 hours, while field instructors donate this professional supervisionary time to the school. 16 Virginia's General Assembly created Vir- ginia Commonwealth University by join- ing the strengths of MCV and RPI in 1 968. In less than a quarter of a century, the dynamics of these two campuses com- bined to place VCU at the forefront of urban universities. As one of only 87 Carnegie One institutions, it is among the nation's most significant research and comprehensive universities; of the three institutions within the Commonwealth to have gained this distinction (with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Virginia), VCU is the sole urban university. Tk en: Life Mag azme ^A Mm ' IT J* w^ mT^m M S^^^HT^ ^'^K^^ji ^^3 Life Magazine captured the essence of RPI in 1 946 -VCU's artistic legacy, which still flavors the Fan District. (4) The School of Engineer- ing, (5) undertaken in partnership with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, attracted employment and busi- ness opportunities to Virginia before the foundation was laid. Motorola decided to invest at least $3 billion in a new computer chip factory in Goochland County, and soon there- after created WTiite Oak We constantly face changes, and whenever we have succeeded as individuals, institutions, or as a culture, a key ingredient has been adaptability. As the world's structure and economy spin into new transfor- mations, VCU's central location lets it continue leading the way. Technology and science offer amazing 21 st century discoveries. The arts and sciences through- out both campuses give the \'CL' community and the surrounding metropolitan region access to lim- itless world-class opportunities, world-wide, right in the state's capital. Semiconductor in Hen- rico County, in partner- ship with Siemens AG. The promise of 5,000 new high-tech jobs by the turn of the century, with residual business spawning another 5,000 jobs, added silicons fresh sparkle to life along the James. The Stuart C. Siegel Center, (6) \'CU's new convocation and recre- ation center, and the Fine Arts Center (7) open a northern gate- way between the cit\' and the Academic Cam- pus, where imagination crosses the bridge to take on a tangible and inngorated form. 17 To Jevelop and sustam a taciilty of tlie liig'uest queuity Ijy providing .in environment conducive to tneir acxiiev- in^ and m.iintainin^ national and international stature and ny continuing to attract totli recognized scholars and outstanding individuals witn a nign potential lor scliolarly acnievement and excellence in teacning; Leadersnip is Inclusive VCU's inclusive approach means students learn more than theory. They discover the real lives, needs, and problems of people. The cos- mopolitan advantages include a diverse and plentiful population, so VCU's graduates are ready for the real world. The knowledge and learning habits they gain along- side VCU's experts continue to energize, heal, protect and improve more real lives in more astounding ways every day. The best teachers let their own hunger for learning show through to their students. Educa- tion's captivating spirit is a torch to pass on to others, because learning never ends, as this morn- ing's theory can be demonstrated during this afternoon's practice in the heart of the Commonwealth. (1) ■ The growing need for improved math and sci- ence learning looks to teaching for answers. A 1996 National Science Foundation grant of $5 million funds a five-year 311 project designed to improve all aspects of K-8 teacher preparation, as well as renew math and science courses for non-science students. (2) The VCU-led Virginia Urban Corridor Teacher Preparation Collabora- tive includes communi- ty colleges — Germanna, J. Sargeant Reynolds, and Tidewater — as well as Longwood College, Mary Washington Col- lege, Norfolk State Uni- versity, and Central Virginia's regional schools' Mathematics and Science Centers. (3) 18 Being inclusive also means there are no ivory towers at VCU. The faculty live in the real world, just like their students, and they chose teaching as a way to make it better. They enjoy teaching, and want to teach their students well. VCU's profes- sors, for example, had a tenure-review policy in place long before other institu- tions thought to consider it. They have devoted their lives to learning and teach- ing in areas they value as important and, to serve well, they must stay abreast of the latest changes in their fields as well as bring new dimensions of knowledge into the world's grasp. The psychology depart- ment is just one exam- ple of how faculty provide more than classroom instruction — undergraduates have access to vibrant, pro- fessionally active profes- sors, whose considerable sponsored and unspon- sored research and service offer students outstanding educational opportunities. The department's nationally recognized "Going for the Goal" program quickly spread to Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Atlanta, where high school students help middle school students to develop key life skills to overcome problems. When they view life as a series of problems to solve, they can see how learning never stops for anyone. (4) Associate Vice President for the Health Sciences Division, Dr. Louis Harris (left), is a distin- guished researcher and professor in the phar- macology and toxicolo- g\' department. He initiated a program that encourages minorities to pursue careers in scien- tific research. Dr. Harris is pictured \«th VCU/ MC\' \K-e President Dr. William De\vey. (5) Before the final decade \vas half fin- ished, annual external research funding was $87.2 million — ^placing \'CU among the nation's top 79 research universities. (6) 19 Leadersnip is Involved Students learn something more from VCU's faculty: involvement. They demonstrate it in the greater community every day. Faculty offer their expertise through a wide range of public courses and programs. The educational focus includes offering advanced medical care at no- or low- cost to the indigent public, as well as free preventive programs, such as mammography screenings and nutritional counseling, to help curb serious illness and greater cost. ( 1 ) VCU faculty serve the community through elderhostel courses, lectures and seminars, while those talented in music, dance or theatre give benefit performances for others in need. All this is in addition to faculty being available outside of class hours as their VCU students' advisors, or even just to share thoughts during a walk between buildings. (2) 't^ 20 i^fcj ManyofVCU's initiatives pave a two-way street, which was part of the General Assembly's vision in forming the University in 1968. VCU's Community Service Associates Pro- gram links faculty with projects from neigh- borhood and civic associations — with high schoolers volunteering through the YMCA to give Broad Street a face lift (3) — as well as with government (4) and professional organiza- tions. Faculty experts provide professional counseling and techni- cal assistance that might otherwise be unafford- able, while they return to their classrooms and research with current information from these projects. These have included statewide zon- ing criteria and needs; public housing commu- nit\' health workshops; assessing Virginia's nar- cotics problems; or developing marketing strategies for profes- sional arts organiza- tions. (5) Dr. Lisa Kaplowitz, through a Robert \Voods lohnson Health Fellowship administered by the National Acade- my of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, brings her HFWMDS expertise to Capitol Hill otfices and The ^\■hite House. (6) 21 To mobilize its creative energies and its expertise to meet tlie needs of society and individuals in its unique role as Virginia's major urban university; Leadersnip as Pa rtnersnip The best leaders, rather than setting them- selves apart from the people, demonstrate partnership instead — that they're in it with everyone else. VCU's carpe diem spirit starts pitching right in. The idea is to seize the future for our students today. "■'.,, *•^ , Biotechnology's 25 percent annual growth rate is lead- ing the industry toward an anticipat- ed $125 billion by the time the world's calendars flip to 2000.(1) Smaller firms have a wealth of ideas, but lack the funds it takes to bring new products to the marketplace. Alliances with the richer source of capital and marketing oudets of larger, established com- panies in the region give them access to the costly development and approval process. ( 1 ) 22 Ideas, Infrastructure, Investment A Capital Venture for I^atent Opportunity Virginia's Biotechnology Research Park has surfaced on the East Coast's biotech corri- dor with the brightness of a nova. Add to that VCU's new School of Engineering, and central Virginia fastens its prime position within the Boston-to-North Carolina biotechnology nexus. (2) Richmond, the fifth Federal Reserve Dis- trict, is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies and leading advertising agen- cies. Public-private partnerships connect investors with innovators, which fosters new business. (3) The Center for Innovative Technology, a private, nonprofit organiza- tion created by Virginia's legislature in 1984, acts as a catalyst. It, too, chose the research park for its location. r J ' •• «» The Biotechnology Research Park was a result of pooled resources that formed a civic part- nership among: • the City of Rich- mond and surround- ing counties • business leaders, with the Retail Mer- chants Association of Greater Richmond taking the lead that 19of thecit)''s largest corporations joined • and the Common- wealth of Virginia, from the General Assembly to the voters themselves, who approved the bonds issue that provided construc- tion funding. A two-hour drive from Washington, D.C.'s fed- eral research and regu- lating agencies, the resc-arch complex is a docking port designed to fit biomedical com- panies' specialized needs. Scientists are mere steps from VCU's top-rated pharmacologN' and toxi- cology researchers on the .MCV Campus and .VICV Hospitals. The Drug Design and Devel- opment Institute, and the Virginia Institute for Psv'chiatric and Behav- ioral Genetics, were among the first facultv- formed organizations to locate in the research park. Consumers benefit sooner from the pharmaceutical advances these partner- ships \'ield.The third- largest German-held company, Boehringer Ingelheim Inc., moved a process research labo- rator\- trom Germanv to Richmond, and BI Chemicals, Inc., thus became one of the park's charter tenants. The first building in the park was tiilh' leased bv 1995. 23 To offer nationally and internationally recognized professional and gfraduate programs leading to doctoral, mas- ter's, and otner terminal and advanced deg'rees in the professions, the sciences, tlie humanities, and the arts; Caring Partnersnips Virginia's sole School of Dentistry (1) and, until 1996, its only School of Pharmacy, are on VCU's Medical Campus. Both have rated repeatedly among the nation's top twelve and ten (respectively) professional graduate programs in U.S. News & World Report surveys. Nearly 70 percent of Virginia's practicing dentists are VCU graduates, and phar- macy alumni (2) make up approximately 60 percent of the state's registered pharmacists. As the U.S. healthcare market continues to shift, pharma- cists will provide more service than product, while rapid advances in drug therapy will increase their collaborative role with physicians. VCU's School of Alhed Health Professions is one of the oldest and best in the nation. Its graduate programs in health administration and physical therapy receive top ratings in annual U.S. News & World Report surveys (respectively ranking tenth and eighth through 1996). Our aging population's rising numbers spur growth in home health care and services. We'll need more graduates of occupational and physical therapy programs — along with geron- tologists, rehabilitation counselors, nurse anes- thetists and radiology technicians. (3) Occupational Therapists 1990 2005 Physical Therapists 1990 2005 Radiologic Therapists 1990 2005 ,000 155,000 149,000 252,000 Graduate students are the launching pads from which tomorrow's inno- vations and teaching will progress. Other redesigns in the medical sciences curricula include the MD/PhD program. Near and far, an abundance of oppor- tunities exist for VCU's graduate students to interact with researchers and business leaders. (4) Bureau of Labor Statistics I992survey i Job Increases through 2005 Health services: 84. 1 % Residential care: 82.7% Bureau cf Labor Statistia We want more quality to fill the extra years that medical advances have given to our life- spans. And we're doing it, with the help of allies ranging from researchers to therapists. Graduate education includes assigning stu- dents to provide direct, supervised care of patients and, for those whose degrees will allow them to teach in their fields, guiding graduate students' professional training as educators. It takes more faculty with postgraduate training to teach these increasing numbers of profes- sionals. Equipment, along with both redesigned and new facilities, will help faculty and stu- dents continue with the same quality of research, teaching and learning that make these programs respected national leaders. '';£S!9te»»^- We need more primary care generalists, particu- larly in rural areas, and the School of Medicine is well on-course in this Generalist Initiative for Virginia. (5) Research is robust: Medical faculty attract nearly 70 percent of sponsored program funding at VCU. The school's Department of Human Genetics works with a full range of collaborative research activities, while external research funding in the biochemistry depart- ment, along with that in the pharmacology and toxicology depart- ment, ranks both fifth nationally for NIH support. (6) As hospital-centered care lessens, nurses will serve more in advanced- care settings, as well as conduct more research to improve patient care and cost efficiency. The School of Nursing, a source for the best of skilled care givers, helps meet rural and under- served areas' need for help by offering more conveniendy scheduled courses, such as its Weekend Graduate Nurse Practitioner Program. (7) Our culture is able to meet more of our popu lations special needs than ever. Only one of many shining examples is the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, based joindy in the School of Medicine and the School of Edu- cation. The center makes a return to work. as \vell as that tirst job, possible for those with disabilities caused by head injuries or mental retardation. (8) The School of the Arts doctoral program in art histors" is the onh" one in the nation to focus on multiculturalism. (9) 25 ,_> r To value ancl promote racial and culttirai diversity in its student body, laculty, administration, and start to enJiance and enrich tne Lfniversity; Partners Wno've Made Remarkable Progress Alumni will be 100,000 strong by the year 2000. The Alumni Stars annual program welcomes home each school's star alumnus/a in recognition of significant achievements. The alumni associations sponsor programs through which alumni also welcome student externs into their work- place, where they show them the ropes of their professions. Many alumni return to campus to teach or offer seminars. Experienced hands, VCU alumni guide student interns through encounters of the real kind. Students get their feet wet alongside successful alumni in Richmond area business- es, arts organizations, city and state agencies — even in palm-studded vistas in California. A Sampling or Our Outstanding Alumni Victor L Goines '91 MM/A Though he earned a teaching degree and taught math in public schools, Victor Goines came to VCU to get his master's degree in music studying the saxophone. Lauded by Dr. David P. Cordle, Chair of the Department of Music, as "one of our most dis- tinguished graduates in the Jazz area," Goines tours as saxophonist in the "Wynton Marsalis Sextet," has his own jazz ensemble and has recorded compact discs. He is garnering world- wide acclaim. 26 ; - Partnership VCU alumni and facul- ty have an invested interest in the economy and quality of life in Virginia-they often join together to promote Richmond and the Commonwealth nation-wide. Pictured above are Gregory Wingfield '75 BS/H&S Packs A Punch . and '76 MURP/H&S, president of the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc; Phyllis Cothran '71 BS/B, president and chief executive officer of Trigon BlueCross BlueShield; VCU sculp- tor Elizabeth King; and VCU's President Eugene P. Trani. Mystery fans around the world are familiar with Patricia Cornwell's crime-solving medical examiner. Dr. Kay Scar- petta. But not many know that the fictional character is based on an actual person-Dr. Mar- cella Fierro is Virginia's Chief Medical Examin- er and chair of VCU's Department of Legal Medicine. Dr. Fierro has served on the MCV Campus faculty for nearly 25 years and, takes comparisons to Scarpetta good- naturedly. "You know, Scarpetta is described as blonde, blue-eyed and weighing 105 pounds. I'm not blonde, I don't have blue eyes, and I haven't weighed 105 pounds since I was 10 years old." Richard N. Carlyon '53 BFA/A '63 MFA/A VCU is fortunate that many alumni return to campus to teach on the faculty. For many years, Carlyon taught in Painting and Printmaking, Communication Arts and Design, and Art History. In 1994, he was named the country's best university art pro- fessor by the College Art Association of America. VCU alumni stay involved v^ith the community and with their alma mater because they learned the value of partner- ship as students. May that circle be unbroken. David Baldacd '8i BA/H & S Political science alumnus David Baldacci became a corporate attorney near The WTiite House by day; by night, he wrote Absolute Power. The thriller sold for $2 mil- lion and rocketed to No. 2 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. Castle- Rock Entertainment secured film rights; Clint Eastwood will star and direct. Pictured with his wife, Michelle, Baldacci is one of three VCU graduates in his famih- (brother Rudy '76 BFA/A, and sister, Sharon 79 BS/MC). Richard T. Robertson '67 BS/MC President, Warner Brothers Domestic Television Distribution Dick Robertson feels "it is truly more blessed to give than to receive." For several years, he and his wife, Marianne, have made it possible for students in the School of Mass Communications to serve as interns for two weeks at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California. He also is chairing the Campaign for X'irginia Commonwealth Uni- versity "Partners for Progress." ^ 1 - ^ ^ Dr. Jean Harris '55 MD/M Dr. Jean Harris' distin- guished career has touched government administrations, corpo- rations, and medical associations, and is characterized by public service, on both the local and national level. .A, Richmond native, she was the first minorirs' to be admitted into the medical program at MCV. VCU's lean L. Harris Scholarship Program honors her contributions to the medical profession, while pro\'iding future medical professionals with the opportunit}' to follow in her footsteps. Dr. French Moore, Jr. '60 DDS/D and Dr. French Moore, Sr. '22 DDS/D Dr. French Moore, Jr. is an active alumnus from an MC\' family. Both his father. Dr. French Moore, Sr., who recent- ly established the Moore Family Endo\\- ment in the School of Dentistry, and his son. Dr. French Moore III, are alumni. Moore Jr. is a former Rector of the Universit)' and current- ly ser\'es on the .\lumni House Development Committee. The Moore family recently named a room in the new MCV .\lumni Conference Center. Dr. Grace E. Harris 60 M/SW VCU's Prcn'ost and \ Ice President for Academic Affairs \CU President Eugene P. Trani has been on record as sai."ing, "Dr. Harris is true to her name-Crace." .\ role model for students, fac- ulty' and staff. Dr. Harris is an example of today's ^^■oman-devoted to her family and firiends, active in the community' in a variet)" of venues including corporate, non-profit and educa- tional leadership |X)si- tions, and a professional par cxceUaice. "Ai\ of us must work together, here at XCV and within higher education as a whole," she sai."S, "*to offer the stability", mean- ing and belonging that come with the investiga- tion and dissemination of kno\\iedge. That is our mission." 27 r 'n> foster a scliolai'ly climate llial int^piifs crealivity, a Iree anJ open exciiange ol: ideas, critical lliinijing, inteJlectiial curiosity, Ireeaom ot expression, and inlellectaal integrity. Wei come ALoard! The VCU Libraries are the vital system through which we communicate our compendium of this knowledge to each other. While the more than one million volumes, papers, journals and various printed publications and archives still offer their riches within the libraries' walls, our technologi- cal appetite wanted more. VCU Libraries, part of the Virtual Library of Virginia project, offers electronic access to this new world of virtually instant information. Soon after VCU had launched into Partner- ship 2000, Multimedia Today* featured an article on this public- private partnership. "While every college faces burgeoning costs and dwindling resources," the article noted, "few have taken up the gauntlet as boldly as has VCU." Partnership 2000 leverages limited Uni- versity resources, allowing VCU to pio- neer the educational technology path that leads us from our cur- rent teaching-centered culture to one that is learning-centered. VCU's focus on deliv- ering information and courses improves ser- vices to students on and off campus, while it expands access to its internationally respected research, professional programs, and healthcare exper- tise. Scientific visual- ization, telemedicine, and virtual surgery are among the offerings available through the MCV Campus and MCV Hospitals. One- stop shopping Student Service Centers are cus- tomer service oriented, from registratioi. i pulling up one's Gi on the screen. File fcdit Uieiu Go Bookmarks Options Directory Ulindoiv : Netscape: Uirginia Commoniuealth Uniuersity Numerous VCU faculty and alumni have published books found in libraries and collections — and widely used as textbooks — nationwide. They are frequently cited as experts in the national media from coast to coast. Their work is often featured in maga- zines — The New Yorker, Health, Fortune, Time, Newsweek — and is published in the world's leading educational, medical, and scientific research journals. ■> =<•■ ^ ^ m Sz B Back Fwvat-ii Home ReV>al bna9e5 OpM Print Fnd Stop Location: [http //vww VCU edu Vhai's Nev? | Vhat's Cool? | Handbook } Net Search [ Net Directory [ Software [ Virginia Commonwealth University Medical CeMtr Faculty I _J«fJ Almwii I Albletlcs Sesamb Aaukmic General Infomatinn I Academic Pro g iams I Medical Ceiner I AdmissiDiis I ReseaichI Attteacs Staienis I PacBlt? I Staff I Alnmni Seaich <4^ a^ we^ 28 Airious to learn more about VCU right now? Access the excitement electronically and visit VCU's programs on the World Wide Web:www.vcu.edu. economic impact of the "Hard Road to Glory" African American Sports Hall of Fame proposed for Richmond. The Survey Research Lab (below) will take the first Metro Poll sponsored by the Center, a survey of attitudes of Richmond Metro residents. The Center's most important collaboration is with the Urban Partnership, an alliance of mayors and city managers from all over the state and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Center director Dr. Michael Pratt coordinated research for the Partnership done by faculty from VCU and other Virginia uni- versities. Pratt finds this tremendously exciting. "Unlike many other studies that have a brief public life and are then put on a book- -mm i*. ^■^ s 1. J p\ W: t Wm ■ ' 4 ^t.< 9 M ,^^ -^ iSS^r n% r 1 1 " ^ i'« ^^M 1 shelf, the Partnership's proposals, supported by former Governor Linwood Holton, became law." The Regional Competitiveness Act, passed by the General Assembly last winter, is funded this year at $3 million, with $5 million more assigned from Governor Allen's Economic Opportunity Fund. It gives counties and cities an incentive to cooperate to build regional solutions to economic and social problems. "Several regions are already planning proposals to create jobs, or to tackle areas like education, water and waste treatment, enwon- ment, housing — some of the areas emphasized for hmding in the act." During the 1997 legislative session, the Partnership will work to increase funding for the Regional Competitiveness Act, and it v«ll promote legislation to fund neighborhood projects. i The Sur\'ey Research Lab is a powerhouse for gathering and analyzing information, working with academic and medical faculty and every imaginable state agency. The lab's clients — mosdy state governments, local governments, the universit)', faculty and nonprofits — have proliferated, and the SRL is nearly self-supporting. "The lab earns the vast majority of its budget from its own revenues," says director Dr. ludv Bradford. "The SRL's current work is close to $3 million a year." The lab's expertise is an asset to researchers throughout the & In election years, the SRL's CormrvonvvwHh Polls measure public ocnrnon statewide, giving the CPP high visibdrty in the New York Times, Washington Post and National Pubfec Radio. "This fall we v/p|i be looking exptcilty at the elections — both for president and for US Senate." says Scott Keeter. poll director The match between challenger Mart Warner and incumbent Senator John Warner could be a little confusing to voters, he says "In Virginia, party affiliation doesn't appear on the ballot " In a Commonwealth PoN released at the end of May, newcomer Mark Warr>er received barely 10 percent supporL Watch for the fall update. Keeter is now chair of pdrtical science and public administration, but he built the SRL from his expenence at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers Universitv "I learned what a good poll was arKl what a bad poll was. And I make sure to do a good or>e.' Some tricks of the polling trade he ptdced up at Rutgers include (xjsmg alternatives to survey participants, predicting turrxHit. building in quality standards, evaluating response rates and measuring success. Even though surveys are billed as quick snapshots of public opinion, developing ques- tions can take several weeks. "This process depends on our own observations of current issues combined with our understarKling of what typically motivates voters." Keeter says "This year we are looking at rivertxiat gambling, environmental issues, racial att>- tudes, and religion and politics " In July, Keeter polled 801 Virginia voters on religion and politics. The surve , asked for preference between two mcoe-- ates — one a deacon in his Baptist chL-:' •- = other a lapsed Metf>odist. The deacc' ceat the non-churchgoer by 46 percen' •: 29 percent. In other questions. reMc " ' ■• 5s more important in the political views of voters who are liberal on taking care of the poor, and to voters who take a conservative stand against atxjrtion. For each issue, 33 percent of voters said religious beliefs were very important to their opinion on these issues. Keeter recently took the long view of American voters in a book he wrote with Columbia University political scientist Michael X. Delli Carpini, What Americans Know atx>u1 Politics and Why It Matters. Tracing survey data since the Gallup Polls of the 1940s. Keeter says they found consistently that "about 25 percent of the population are politi- cally informed and connected to the process." The makeup of that group hasn't changed much, eitne^ Tr.ev still tend to be white, male, older and finandally secure criizens — "people who already have economic and political power." Keeter adds that "the best citizens are better-informed voters — they participate rTX)re. they tend to be more tolerant of people with other opinions than theirs, and they can connect to the party or candklate that best repre- sents their views." The Commonwealth Poll helps citizens and policy professionals understand the issues and choices voters face in electing candidates. 'The lab has been helpful in fostering the healthy democfatic debate you need in a free society. In campaigns for public office, it's helped us understand the forces that motivate voters and factors in polrbcs." Keeter says. —JIM JOHNS 17 TAIL 19 9 6 university and state government, providing professional help setting up grants. "It's very common for us to help faculty to develop a methodology and to collect data and analyze it," says Bradford. "We're working with faculty in almost every academic division — most often with the Schools of Medicine, Allied Health, Social Work and Nursing. We have particular ties with the departments of political science and public admin- istration, preventive medicine and community health, and with MCV's Williamson Institute for Health Smdies," Bradford says. Many SRL projects, she adds, target social issues like HIV and AIDS, substance abuse and chOdren's health. The lab is also helping the city wdth the daunting task of counting its population. Richmond Public Schools contracted the lab to conduct its triennial census, the first time the school system is doing a door-to-door census of Richmond's popula- tion. Gathering information with help fi-om civic and commu- nity leaders, the lab expects to receive completed questionnaires for at least 90 percent of all households in the city. The accuracy of the results is critical, since the Virginia Department of Education bases ftmding decisions on population figures. "We believe the success of the census depends on the involvement of Richmond's residents," says project manager Mert Rives. "We want it to be a community-based effort, so we're hiring interviewers fi'om the neighborhoods they'll be working in, and we're working with civic associations, schools, and churches to get the word out." CMfflSilMB Virginia's diverse population forced the lab to grow in new directions, like working with more languages. The SRL already conducts bilingual poUs in Spanish and English. And the lab is quickly adding staff to conduct surveys in Korean and Vietnamese. At the lab, tangible results are easy to count — number of grants awarded, poUs completed, revenue from contracts. The intangible results of the lab's work are impossible to tally. Scott Keeter comments, "I think the lab has been a tremendous asset to VCU, the state and city of Richmond. We've worked for vir- tually every department in state government. For the university it's been a valuable research resource for faculty and university's own research for surveying alumni and students." (In fact, the SRL surveyed alumni readers to help the VCU Alumni Association plan Shafer Court Connections.) Cruising down the highway or channel surfing from the couch, you have probably seen the work of the Transportation Safety Training Center in action. Bright orange "Wide Load"s are first certified by the TSTC. Toddlers in child safety seats are another sign of TSTC. News addicts in lapan may have caught the TSTC's Jan Cames teaching a prenatal class about child safety seats to parents-to-be, on the Japanese version of CNN. The Japanese find this a foreign concept, but in Richmond, "Hardly a week goes by without someone stopping in for us to check their child's safety seat," says Bob Breitenbach, director of TSTC. Winter couch potatoes might have seen crash team manager Dave McAllister explaining on NBC's Dateline why riding high in those monster pickups is not a mighty good idea. They're unstable, they "mount" smaller cars they collide with, and they roll right over safety features like guardrails. There is a height limit — thanks, in part, to work by TSTC. The TSTC has been providing public safety professionals with training and technical assistance to meet safety goals for 25 years. Making highways safer means working with many groups — training and providing technical support to police officers, educating legislators and the public on safety issues. Most recentiy, staff have spoken to Virgina newspapers and local television about aggressive drivers. TSTC is taking its research on the road. A crash team that evaluates a select number of crashes per year recently moved to the TSTC. This year the team will reconstruct six crashes. "We've developed criteria that qualify crashes for study," Breitenbach explains, and these criteria mirror what's happen- ing nationally." For instance, it's likely the crash team will study a crash where an injury resulted from a deployed air bag. Another issue on this year's list came from the General Assembly this winter — spectator safety in mud dragster races. "Last year there was a crash in Cumberland County where there were spectator fatalities," Breitenbach says. The CPP's units and their leaders seem to have succeeded in producing a vibrant environment for studying public policy. CPP faculty are finding their expertise and research in high demand. "We are addressing issues important to Americans, so our work dovetails with the concerns of people in local and state goverrunent," says Holsworth. "We're glad to contribute when people think our expertise would be valuable." These are knotty problems in education, health care, eco- nomics and race. Combining forces just may create the synergy to move through them and beyond. JIM JOHNS IS A RICHMOND FREELANCE WRITER WHO VOTES. Upcoming collaborations include a conference on "The Future of Medicare" co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, the Center's Institute for Ethics and Public Policy, and the Richmond Bioethia Consortium: October 18, 1- 5pm in the Student Commons. SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 18 BY GLORIA THOMAS '92BA/H&S "Education opens doors to stay open," says former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder. Today Wilder opens doors to students as a Distinguished Professor in VCU's Center for Public Policy. Obviously, Wilder enjoys young people. "They make you think young, they keep you on your toes, and they make your research rele\'ant." But he is concerned about them. He sees an "abysmal approach to the delivery of education in the classroom. We're not doing what needs to be done. Education is secondary today, and it was primar)'." "We need to "teach history, teach the relevance of politics." Kids don't know the definition of poll tax or affirmative action. "The issue isn't how you feel about it — it's Do you know what it is?'" Wilder emphatically maintains that students want to know, but are often "prisoners of a system that still refuses to really articulate society's problems and dilemmas. The\' talk about the tfinges." He confronts students of this media-sat- urated age, rigorously. "You have to disabuse them of it by asking their \iews and knowing the)- are not based on fact, I o but based on schism perpetrated primar- ily through the media. The%' are in a vorte.\, bombarded with nonsense on a i :; dailv basis." In contrast, "the classroom is an oasis, not suited to conformity. It is supposed to be a place where you have free ideas and free expression." Wilder challenges students to go beyond the obvious and analyze the more "opaque" issues. "I got a lot of that through law school training (from law professors) who would inter- rupt when you were arguing a ca.se in moot court saying we know the brief — go outside the brief.'" "I'm optimistic about the young people we have today," though their role models in every realm are few. They are resilient, he says. Wilder tells students he wants them to be angry and to push for change. "The only thing constant is constant change," and around the ^obe student involvement has been an impetus for change. He wants them to leave the university' "more committed." Growing up in Richmond, Wilder knew the relentless constraint of segrega- tion. He couldn't sit down on the street- car. He was not allowed to tr)' on a suit because of "store policy." After graduating from X'irginia Union Universit)' in chemistry, \N'ilder served in Korea and earned a Bronze Star. He worked briefly as a chemist for the State Department of Health. From that point, all his career moves turned onto a\'enues stretching toward social justice. The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision "sealed it for me in terms of the need for lawyers to be artic- ulating." Massive resistance laws kept him out of U\'A's law school, and in tact the state of \'irginia paid his tuition at Ho\\'ard Universit%'s law school in Washington. Wilder did not see politics in his future — "I didn't like it — I thought it was beneath me." Howe\er, when he saw minorities failing to seize opjxjrtuni- ties, he entered politics in 1969, becoming the first Afiican-.\merican state senator in \'irginia since Reconstruction. Despite his monumental stature in a number of realms — the nation's first .\irican-.\merican elected governor, a former senator and presidential candi- date, and a nationalh." known speaker and radio talk show host — ^WUder main- tains a casual rapp>ort with all kinds of people. Callers to his s\Tidicited show (which reaches 38 states) and people he 19 FALL 1996 "To be an effective state chief executive, you [must he ahle to] initiate policy and to reject some things presented by the General Assembly. . . You should be able to work with different factions to develop a social policy agenda, especially in health, economics, and the well being of the people you serve." Former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder spoke to medical students and master's candidates in public health administration about health policy and politics, in March. greets on the street are just as likely to call him "Doug" as they are "Governor" or Mr. Wilder. "I like it," he says. "You can't hide behind titles." Wilder has apparently stopped running, although he hasn't slowed down. What does he miss most about the political fray? Wilder briskly replies: "I don't miss anything." The problem with so many people who stay in politics too long is that they don't know when to go. I've never considered politics a life. A lot of people make the mistake of looking upon it as a Ufe and a livelihood. I never depended on politics." Disturbing trends have led him to laimch a major new imdertaking, from VCU's Center for Public Policy (page 15). Over three years, the Wilder Symposia on Race and American Society will focus on Health Policy and Medical Care, on Political Representation, and on Education. VCU uniquely qualifies as host, he says, because we're an urban university, located in a state capital and close to the nation's capital. These symposia are not all talk. Each of them will include a concrete call to action. "We can set a paradigm for what needs to take place around this nation." Wilder admits that many Americans once rejected intolerance. But today "the stereotypical view is reasserting itself through a somewhat retrenched, myopic, imscientific conclusion which says: 'We tried these approaches for equality, we tried approaches for making good on the civil rights of others, that's far enough — we've gone as far as we can go.'" His greatest concern is the impact this has on yoimg people, "because they don't know what took place 30 years ago." The symposia will present an accurate history of the effects of racism and "start a community, state, and national dialogue" that will continue beyond the 20th century. Wilder has too often seen such dialogue halted with: "'What did you bring that up for? Things are going pretty well.'" Wilder vows to ask "both sides" the questions that aren't being asked "to lead to a discussion of race. In the absence of open and fuU discussion the problem won't be approached. So if you can't approach a problem you can't solve a problem. If you can't cut the crust you never can get to the pie." Throughout the symposia he plans "to call things as they are and see them as they are, and to require accountability of all sides." Ultimately, he believes, the only solution to racism is the individual approach. "The group thing is never going to happen. It's contrary to human experience. The problem has been that the education of the individual has not taken place." Like the philosopher king, this profes- sor governor is convinced that honest discussion and an exhortation to practi- cal action will make things happen. "If this doesn't result in changes being made, you're better off going to the beach." Wilder isn't planning to spend much time watching the waves. "You don't retire from [working for social justice]. It becomes part of your existence." POLITICAL SCIENCE GRADUATE GLORIA THOMAS IS A WRITER AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATE WITH THE VIRGINIA CENTER FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT, PART OF VCU'S CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 20 BY NICK SHARP The RPI Honor Council from the 1959 Cobblestone: Shirley Stephenson, president; Dean Margaret Johnson, advisor; James Gouldin, Beverly Basnight, Bob Buchanan, Linda Menard, Frank DuPriest, Judy Waldorf, William Parker. Seated: Tom DeWitt, David Richards, Jean Grogg, William Ayers. Leafing through RPI yearbooks fi-om the '40s and '50s, you will often find a photo of the Honor Council, five or six rather solemn young men and women robed for justice. MCV students have had an honor system since 1895. These homogenous groups present a sharp contrast to a representative group of diverse 1996 students. Plenty of people would argue that an Honor System is obsolete in the sprawling, diverse, decadent '90s. This is an approach that works best in a small, homogenous institution, the argument goes, like Mary Washington or Hampden-Sydney. Students at large public — or even large private — universities are too many, too different and too scat- tered to share a value system. And the skeptics seem to have cause. A steady stream of academic scandals appears in the news. On March 31, 1996, the Wcishington Post ran a major commentary about dishonesty at the U. S. Naval Academy. James Barry, a Viemam era naval officer and seven-year veteran of the facult)' at Annapolis, charged that at the naval academy "wonderful young people become immersed in an ethically corrupting system — one so powerful that, by the start of their second year, most of them are confirmed cynics who routinely \iolate regulations." If that's what's happening at the prestigious (also small and tight-knit) U. S. Naval Academy, then how bad are things at large public institutions? How bad is it at VCU? There's no doubt that some cheating occurs here. The question is how much. In 1994-95, for instance, the number of reported cheating cases rose to more than 50, a substantial jump fi-om previous years. Some students and some facult)' belie\'e there's much more, from cop\'ing tests to do\sTLloading papers from the Internet — none of it provable. In fact, I believe that cheating at \'CU is realh- a very small problem. I am absolutely cominced that the vast majorit)' of our students are genuineh' honest and decent people. The\- know what cheating is, and they think it is wTong. The\- know that their families — Mom and Dad in some cases, the husband or \sife and children in others— are making sacrifices to help them get an education. Many of them are working their own way through and shouldering a hea\y debt They know the differ- ence bet\veen going to school to learn and going to school to get a grade. They want an education, not just some marks on a piece of paper. My opinions grow fi-om experience. From 1992 through 1994, 1 was honor code coordinator for the College of Humanities and Sciences. I was activeh- in\'ol\'ed with 50 cases invohing charges of honor code violations and worked vsith 65 students (more than 50 charged \sith cheating and almost a dozen who were bringing charges against others! and 28 facult}-. During that time I developed some strong feelings about the honor s\-stem at \'CV and about academic integrit\- among the students here. \'CU's current honor sv^stem dates irom the earh' 1990's. Until tiien, the MC\' campus had an old fashioned "lionor code," and the academic campus had a relatively minimal "Academic Integrity- PoUa." A number of p>eople felt that \'CU needed a more positive and more unified approach. 21 F .\ I L 19^6 By the fall of 1991, a new system was in place, worked out by a university task force of students, administrators, and faculty from both campuses. The new policy left procedural differences between the MCV and academic campuses, but it pulled them together within a single policy and a unified philosophy. The whole university had a clear and consistent set of terms and definitions. The simple "Honor Pledge" for both campuses states: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received aid on this assigmnent." The policy defined six common-sense violations: cheating, plagiarism, facilitating academic dishon- esty (i.e., helping someone cheat), abuse of academic materials (i.e., destroying or hiding mate- rials that others might need), stealing and lying. And it established a broad, flexible system of punish- ments for violators. The new policy established a system of faculty "Honor Code Coordinators" in each school and college. These professors promote awareness of the honor code, advise students and faculty about the honor system, keep records of charges, and serve as judges for some alleged honor violations. Honor Councils on each campus are made up of equal numbers of students and faculty, and they hear cases where either students or faculty wish to appeal an honor code coordinator's decision or where the penalty for a violation might be suspen- sion or expulsion, punishments that Honor Code coordinators may not give. I became the College's honor code coordinator in the Spring of 1992. During the next two years, I listened to many concerned faculty members and distraught students, and I came to three conclusions about VCU's honor system. First, most students at VCU never even seriously consider cheating on their assignments. Second, when VCU students decide to cheat, they almost always do it reluctantly and shamefully, not systematically or calculatingly. And third, when VCU students cheat, they usually do it badly. I was often puzzled by the foolish ways that VCU students chose to cheat. In one case a student actually typed out several pages from the required readings in the textbook and turned them in as a research paper. In several cases, students opened textbooks or notes and tried to read from them during proctored examinations. And there were other, similarly egregious cases. "Why?" I asked them. Invariably, the answers were the same. Facing an assignment or test they could not handle, the students had hit the panic button and done something stupid. When those rare situations arise, they don't plan it out or think it through. Cheating is something VCU students do at the last minute, as an act of desperation. They do it impulsively, blindly, because they suddenly panic and can't think of anything else to do. In fact, I concluded that most VCU students never even think about cheating. Of the more than 50 students who were charged with violations during my two years as coordinator, 1 1 were clearly not guilty. And another was exonerated because the evidence was ambiguous, leaving a "reasonable doubt." At least 30 of the remaining students were gen- uinely penitent and ashamed of themselves. Considering the number of students, faculty and classes in the College of Humanities and Sciences, fewer than 10 cases of serious cheating in two years doesn't seem like a very large number. In fact, it seems to me that we see a pretty small number of cheating incidents for a university the size of VCU. Our honor system has problems, undoubtedly, and it surely needs the sort of periodic revisions that all administrative policies need from time to time. And indeed a review of the system in 1994-95 produced several recommendations for change and improvement in the policy. But I don't believe that we need to worry about cheating, dishonesty, or a serious deterioration in the student body's standards of academic integrity, not here at VCU. Perhaps at the naval academy an "ethically corrupting system" has infected their small, tightiy knit smdent body. But at VCU, I think, basic standards of self-respect, decency, and personal academic integrity remain strong. DR NICK SHARP IS A MEMBER OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY WHO HAS BEEN AT VCU FOR 25 YEARS. Integrity Report In the years since 1992, when records begin, the numbers of honor system charges have slowly and steadily increased. Since 1992, William Duvall, Dean of Student Affairs for the academic campus, and Robert Clifton, Dean of Student Affairs for the MCV campus, have prepared annual reports on the honor system. Their reports show a 64 percent increase in the number of honor violations charged between 1992-93 and 1994-95. This could, of course be a higher reporting factor resulting from a more usable system. * 1 994-95: 55 charges: 51 on the academic campus and four on the MCV campus. Five students found not guilty. The other 50 students received punishments ranging from a grade of "F" in the class and honor probation to expulsion from the university. 1993-94: 37 charges: 29 on the academic campus and eight on the MCV campus. Seven students found not guilty. The other 30 students received punish- ments ranging from grades of "F" on assignments to sus- pension from the university. 1 992-93: 35 charges: 30 on the academic campus and five on the MCV campus. Seven students found not guilty. The other 28 students received punish- ments ranging from honor probation to expulsion. •From 18,000 students, including most of VCU's undergraduates, on the academic campus: 3,300 students at MCV. *Memberofthe VCU Alumni Association 1 930s Ann Cotrell Free '32-34, jour- nalist and environmentalist, was inducted into VCU's Virginia Mass Communications Hall of Fame in April. 1 940s "Pat Royal Perkinson '46BS '56MS/H&S is ciiairperson and organizer of the volunteer Middlesex Heritage Tour Committee. 1 950s Louis Michaux '59BS/MC wrote a novel, The Healing Journey, to be published by Carlton Press in New York City. Ed Peeples '57BS/E retired in 1995 after 32 years in VCU's Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, but he hasn't slowed down. Ed and his wife, Karen, went to Vietnam in January and February and adopted a baby girl, Camille Thi Peeples. Routledge Press has published four of Ed's autobiographical essays in a book called Race Traitor. 1 960s Roy Amason '68BS/B is vice president of Home Builders Association of Virginia. Roy is also president of Roy B. Amason Properties. Charles Arnold, William Gilfoyle, W.H. Goodwyn HI and *H. Binford Harrell— all '62BFA had a joint exhibit of their artwork in "Four Guys From RPl Reunited" at the gallery of the Wakefield Foundation, Inc in September, 1995. William Beville '65BS/SW was recognized nationally for the second year as Top Sales Performer in 1995 by Simon & Shuster's Higher Education Division. *Judith Bomholdt '64BS/B won the 1995-96 award for adjunct faculty excellence at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA. Judith is an instructor in the Business Division. Anne Chaffins '68BS/SW is executive director of the Mental Heahh Association of Martinsville/Henr)' Count)', VA. Donald Clatterbough '69BS '75MED/E teaches physical edu- cation at Stonewall Middle School in Mechanicsville, VA. Abram Clymen '67BS/B is president of the Harrisonburg Rotary Club. Abram is the owner and CEO of Chesa Ltd. He also owns six Centerpoint Bookstores in Virginia and West Virginia, a dry cleaners/shoe repair shop, and several Dairy Queens at Harrisonburg, VA. W. Roy Grizzard '6885 '72MED/E was appointed com- missioner of the Department for the Visually Handicapped by Virginia Governor George Allen. Roy,who is legally blind, brings 28 years' experience in Henrico County Schools to the job. Gerald Hagen Jr. '69BS/B is now chairman of Terry, Slosch, Hagen, Dacey & Atwood. Dorothea Handy '65 BFA teaches in Chesterfield County's program for deaf and hard of hearing students at Salem Church Middle School. Edward Kerns '67BFA received the James P. Crawford Award for excellent teaching from Lafayette College in Easton, PA. 'M. Kenneth Magill '65BS/B '69MS/E, VCU's 1995 School of Education Alumni Star, is division chief for administration in the Virginia Department of Education. He is president of the VCUAA and a member of the School of Education Alumni Association Board. Cynthia Vassar Matthews '69BFA was named forms manager for the State of North Carolina Department of Justice, Administration of Courts Division. Cynthia and her husband Scott live in Raleigh. *Randy Powell '68BS/MC is doing promotions for sports and fitness organizations, after working in marketing for Holly Farms for 17 years. Randy has also done some casting for moxies ONTHEWAIERFRONI VCU African American Alumni of DC. sponsored a Reunion Reception on May 31 at tfie Fox Trappe Town Club on Washington's waterfront. The event brought 120 alumni together and raised more than S500 toward a scholarship for an African American student from DC. Credit to alumni Chris Eure '84BS/H&S Rumae Foddrell '82BS/B Crystal Simpkins '93 BFA/ A, Jackie Tunstall-Bynum '83 BS/H&S Steve Bolden '85 BS/B, Todd Pilot '85 BS/H&S Larry Powell '85 BS/MC and Kenneth White '94BS/B who sparked the party. The group also organized a bus trip to Atlantic City in July. Missed the summer fun? Join them this fall. For information, call Kenneth White at (703) 780-9580 or Chris Eure at (301) 926-6596. The African American Alumni Council elected new officers in June — Marilyn Campbell '81 BS/MC president, Todd Pilot vice pres- ident, Regina Harris '82BS/B secretarv, Kenneth White treasurer. Michelle McQueen '83BS/B president elect. in Florida. He and his wi; - and daughter Jennifer live in Wilktsbfjro, NC. John Purndi Jr. •64MSW '78MPAyH&S received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Chapter rjf the National Association of SfKJal Workeri for his "extraordinary contributions to human service programs" thai reach out to at-risk populations and Tor exemplifv'ing the social work values" that recognize "the dignity of all people." John tias been executive director for the Friends Association For Children in Richmond. •Mike Rozos '66BS/E is \ice president of marketing and sales for Recreational Design and WTiat do you think. Sis? Organizers Ste\e Bolden and Larry PovreQ and Larry's sister Tara Powell '93BS/MC arc happy w be herc- Dcfuiitdy. a fine parr.. Gaiin Latney '86BS/H(i-S. Kenneth Mtite and Derrick Artis 'S5BS/Ti&S .ixTtV. 3 ^ Time for a reif::i.'"L Derrick Webb ^5BFA. guest Sheldon Gihscn. and party-^'er Rumae FodJreiL 23 F .\ I I I ■« 9 6 SW[[IH[ARTS DANCE Did you meet the eyes of your significant otfier across a crowded classroom at RPI or VCU? Did your fieart skip a beat when you met your future half at Chelf's or the Village? If so, we'd like to hear your story for a Valentine note in our next issue. Tell us how you met and what's going on in your lives now. Send your story to Shafer Court Connections. P.O. Box 843044, Richmond, VA 23284-3044 or email to firstname.lastname@example.com. VCU WANTS yOU! AND YOURS Wanted! VCU Alumni to share their VCU experiences with prospec- tive students and to help the Admissions Office recruit them. Here's how you can help. • Volunteer to represent VCU at a college fair in your hometown. Contact Diane Stout-Brown at (804) VCU-ALUM (828-2586); email to email@example.com. • Send Admissions the names and addresses of interested high school students. Contact Delores Taylor, Associate Director of Admissions; P.O. Box 842526; 821 West Franklin Street; Richmond, VA 23284-2526. Call (804) 828-1 190; fax; (804) 828-1899. Or call our 800 number: (800) 841-3638. Email to vcuinfo@ues1 .vcu.edu. Construction, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale. Francis Volante '62BS '74MS/E has retired after 25 years as Recreation Director at the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Francis is volunteering at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg and lives in King George, VA. 1 970s Marie Bennett 70BS '75MED/E is director of educa- tion and institutional develop- ment for the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology in Arlington, VA. Thomas Bond '71BFA was director of graphics and systems for the Richmond Times- Dispatch. He has been promoted to art director. Thomas's illustra- tion and design work has won awards from the Society of Newspaper Design and Virginia Press Association. Karen Bruning '70BS/B was among fifty Kennedy Space Center employees who were honored recendy for their exem- plary work at the nation's space- port. Karen is a senior program analyst at NASA. Larry Chavis'75BS/B was elected mayor of Richmond in May by his fellow city council members. Phil Chapman '76BFA is a potter and lives in Fredericksburg, VA. Bernard Chirico '75BS '77MS '81PhD/H&S, formerly director of psychological services at Mary Washington College, has been named vice president for student affairs. Patricia Green Cotman '74MSW former director of public relations at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh, has been promoted to assistant to the pres- ident for community relations. Richard Crowder '74BA/H&S has been named senior vice presi- dent of Wheat First Butcher Singer, Inc. Richard is senior marketing project manager for the firm. Elizabeth Davis '76BS/E received a 1995 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. Elizabeth teaches at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, VA. ♦George Davis '71BS/B is chief financial officer and vice president of finance at Augusta Medical Center in Fisherville, VA. Karen Davis '76BS/MC has written a breed-specific pet care book, titled Somali Cats, A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, published in July by Barron's. Karen is working on two more books on cats. She's a senior writer for Trigon health insurance in Roanoke, VA. LaVerne Hughes Davis '75MED retired after 33 years in Richmond Public Schools. LaVerne is devoting more time to the music ministry at Fifth Baptist Church and continues to serve as a foster parent. *Robb Deigh '77BS/MC has joined Ryan'*McGinn, Inc. a top public and government relations firm in DC, as senior vice presi- dent. He had been the director of corporate information of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Pam SampseU Feibish '75BS/MC was named business editor of the Richmond Times- Dispatch. Pam had been associate editor of "Flair," the Times- Dispatch feature section, since 1992. William FiGart'73BS/E is president and owner of B.E.S.T. Insurance Agency, Inc, with loca- tions in Vinton, Salem, and Christiansburg, VA. ♦Thomas Folke Jr. '76BGS/ H&S chairs the science depart- ment at Dinwiddle County Public Schools. He teaches high school science class and coaches cross country track and is "an avid canoeist." Tom and his wife Kimberly live in Chesterfield, VA. Barbara Grimm Fomoff '79BS/AH'90MSWisnowa clinical social worker in private practice with Pierrs Family Services in Fairfax, VA. Barbara and her family live in Springfield, VA. Lynda Furr '79MED is assis- tant coordinator for emergency services for Chesterfield, VA. *Milbourne "Clay" GaUion '70BS/B was named merchandise manager of Moore's Lumber and Building Supplies in Roanoke, VA. "^Susan Goodwin '76BFA is director of knitwear manufactur- ing in the Donna Buchman Division of Liz Claiborne, Inc. Joyce EUdn Gopper '77BS/E married Harris Gopper on January 28, 1995. Joyce received her MBA from Long Island University in 1993. The couple lives in Spring Valley, NY. ♦Paul Grasewicz '76MURP/H&S is the county planner for Powhatan, VA. His wife Linda Buchanan Grasewicz '76MURP/H&S works in planning and research for Saint Joseph's Villa in Henrico County, VA. ♦Mitchel Haralson Jr. '74MS/H&S presented his paper "Survival Factors for Black Students on Predominately White Campuses," at the conference of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Higher Education in March in Atlanta. ♦Samuel Hudson '74BFA is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in American Education (1996-97) for his contributions to teaching and art. He is also listed in the 51st edition of Who's Who in America. Samuel and his wife Sara Magers '71BFA live in Lombard, IL. Barbara Ingram '75BS/E, executive pastor of the Metropolitan African-American Church, has been elected presi- dent of the Baptist Ministries Conference of Richmond and Vicinity. She is the Conference's first woman president. Robert Kenney '78BS/H&S '81DDS received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation MEDal for his superior work at the National Naval Dental Center in Bethesda, MD. Katherine Lawson '75BS '87MPA/H8tS is executive director for Big Brothers & Big Sisters Services Inc. in Richmond. ♦Katherine Lipscomb '76BS/E has enjoyed 20 years as a substitute teacher for K-3 students. It's like going to a differ- ent country everyday," she says, especially on the days she teaches SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 24 BY MARTA SCHWORM WELDON In high school in Richmond, Jonathan Romeo (Ro-mayo) was already a professional musician, writing songs and playing guitar with rock bands with names Hke RetroSpect and Trivia. Today, he finds himself perform- ing in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and hears his commissioned works premiered by ballet companies and symphony orchestras. Choosing classical composition was "scary," he admits — especially since his musical hero is Beethoven. But now he's a full-time composer, even sharing a program with Beethoven in February. (Still scary, but "a thrill.") At 21, a year of drama, music and art in London at the Royal College of Music "transformed my artistic side." Back in Virginia, as a lames Madison University undergraduate, a piece he wrote for the dance depart- ment won a competition and went on to the American Dance Festival. "One thing led to another," and since then more than 40 works for dance as well as many orchestral pieces have premiered from Richmond to Rome to Berlin. Music Department Chair David Cordle has called Romeo "one of the best students we have had." For lonathan, "VCU people were a huge part of my performing and composing career. I was exposed to such a wide circle of musicians. In Richmond you could hear everything from facult)' composer Dika Newlin, an atonal composer who was a student ot Schonberg's [and later a rock musician/composer], to the Ululating Mummies. I met all kinds of instrumentalists." In Virginia, grants from the state Commission on the Arts and others supported performances by his chamber group, the Lyric Ensemble, and gave Romeo the space to compose. A New Forms grant followed from the NEA and Rockefeller Foundation. Romeo found faculty composer Allan Blank's guidance especially fruitful. "Allan's incredible, he's very intuitive. Fie has an ear for under- standing my process and helping me evolve my o\vn stv'le and tastes." Under Blank's mentorship, Romeo's String Quartet No. 2 by the Shanghai Quartet in 1992 and the Richmond Sympho;, . ,-.. formed Kuins, his first orchestral piece, in 1994, It's appropriate thai Romeo takes over direction of the New Knsembic and bcgi: composition this fall after Blank's retirement. Others were impressed with Romeo. In 1990 he sent scores ar to Keith Ferrone, co-founder of the Florence Dance Theater, and .Sc-v. York choreographer William Soleau, Both were impressed enough to a.j for new pieces. Soleau described Romeo's mu^ic aj, "captivating, powerful, and beautifully danceable." In 1992, the Florence company danced Trasparenze in Rome and Washington. Tandem Spaces pre- miered in 1995 with the Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony. "I love working with dance," he says. "It's an exciting way of looking at the problem of composition. There are always boundaries set, which a good, because when you're looking at a blank piece of paper, it's really daunting. The process of composition is making something out of nothing. Like sculpture, you have a big block of stone that you start whit- tling away. It's the same with notes." His career took another leap forward in 1992, when a chance meeting with patrons of Richmond's arts community "rocked my world." Their influence, he says, is the "spiritual force" that has brought material support for full-time composing. In 1997, the Richmond Symphony wiB premiere his Symphony No. 1 for it's fortieth anniversar)- celebration on February 8 and 10. Romeo's First, the Symphony's fortieth, and Beethoven's Seventh. "We chose Jonathan Romeo's work because he is a high profile figure in the Richmond arts community," sa^ the Symphony's Music Director, George Manahan. Jonathan adds, "I feel I have been working towards the s\'mphony my whole career. It's the most challenging form." Skill and connections are essential, but there's another reason for Romeo's success. People like his music. He's not contemptuous of melody. He can approach feehng and sentiment without sentimentality. Manahan concurs. "His music is appealing and attractive to audiences." Romeo points to eclectic roots in his rock and roll upbringing, with ethnic and all kinds of different classical music influences. M \'CL', he played with a jazz fusion group called Method of Reason. Perhaps this musical generosity is a key to his appeal. "My style is tonaL I use a lot of chordal and quintal harmonies. It's very melodic with memorable themes that I think the general public can relate to." Richmond music critic lohn McKay described Ruins as 'a hauntingly beautiful creation of combined styles and tonalities that ultimately appeal to even the most conser^^ative listener's innate sense of timelessness and beaut\\" Romeo's music has never simply followed form without feeling. His favorite song from his rock and roll era is "Try It .Again," a song he wrote about his granchnodier. "I was thinking about her long life, and all that she had done those SO rears, tr>ing to make the right choices. I wondered if there was an\thing she'd like to do over." He was 16. His grandmother came to the premiere, at Hard Times on Car>- Street. Clearly, Romeo is technically accomphshed and knowledgeable, with an understanding of many different st)'les. But there's more than tech- nique. The sensiti\in' he had as a teenager has stayed with him, and so ha\e his audiences. Speaking about his \'CU da)-s with .\llan Blank. Romeo made a telling comment about both of them. "He let me follow my heart." MARTA WELDON IS ON THE ADJUNCT FACULTY OF VCU'S COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS- A CLAR- INETIST WITH THE RICHMOND S"iMPl-'C\^ AND THE RICHMOND WOODWIND QUINTET. SHE HAS TURNED TO FREELANCE WRITING FOR A STEADIER SOURCE OF INCOME. < K 25 F.ALL 1996 yOUCANGONOM[ AGAIN There's no place like home, and now you can visit whenever you like at VCU/MCVAA's home pages. Check into what's hap- pening on campus, trade news and updates with classmates and your alumni association , Our address on cyberstreet is http//www. vcu.edu/alumni. THE SHADOW VCUAA needs alumni volun- teers who will help their student "shadows" learn about the working world. Sponsor a student through the Alumni Extern Program, either Januan/ 2-1 or at spring break, March 10-14. Invite a student to work with you or "shadow" you at your job. Students who want to explore a career during a holiday break sign up for the program, and VCUAA matches them up with alumni in their fields. Students receive no academic credit or financial award for par- ticipating. The purpose is solely to learn from alumni who have made the transition from campus to workplace. Interested? Contact Diane Stout-Brown at (804) VCU- ALUM or email: vcu-alum ©vcu.edu. or check the box at the bottom of "What's New?" Do you love listening to VCU Rams games but can't always get them on radio or tv in your area? Now you can get live play by play by phone. Just dial 1- 800-846-4700 and enter 1131 for your team code. Listen as long as you like for as little as 20 cents a minute on your credit card, including long distance charges. Call 1-800-225-5321 to ask about a "season ticket," and save 60 percent and get a free speaker phone. Don't miss another game. English as a foreign language. Katherine lives in Chester, VA, in an old schoolhouse, "Miss Minor's Academy," which her parents renovated. She v/ould like to hear from fellow alumni. Scott McCamey '76BFA was a guest of the "4th Studio of Imaging Technology" in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he exhibited book work, conducted workshops and lectured at a network of edu- cational and cuhural institutions. Paul Mushala '75MS '78PhD/H&S has founded Mushala House publications and published a self-help, thought- for-the-day book with some unique features that make it easier to use effectively. Paul teaches at the University of Tennessee at Memphis Medical School and works as a clinical psychologist in chemical depen- dency and crisis intervention. His publishing company is also in Memphis, where he lives. Roger Neathawk '78MS/B '61BS/P is chairman and CEO of Marketing Strategies, Inc. (MSI). The company was awarded a Silver Pyramid at the Promotional Products Association Interna- tional 1995 Winter Show for excellence in execution of a promotional campaign. The award recognized MSI's 10-year anniversary celebration, designed like a 10-year-old child's birthday party. *ShirleyNeitch'73BS/H&S '77MD was promoted to profes- sor at the School of Medicine of Marshall University in Huntington, WV. Alpha Nichols '77MED retired from Richmond Public Schools in luly 1992 after 16 years as a teacher and 15 years as an ele- mentary school guidance coun- selor. Winnie Hart Pitts '73 BS/B works for Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation as senior public rela- tions and advertising assistant. Winnie received the company's Outstanding Achievement Award for 1995. Jane Preston '75BS/E is director of the newly created Menninger Center for Telepsychiatry, the first in the country. She is also acting clinical director of the International Consortium on Telepsychiatry and president of the American Telemedicine Committee of the American Psychiatric Association. She is an associate professor at Baylor CoUege of Medicine and has been an examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. •Waltena Pride '76BS '83MED/E is a sixth-grade LD teacher at Albert Hill Middle School in Richmond. Wahena is also director of patient education for the Lupus Foundation of America-Central Virginia Chapter. *Laurel Quarberg '75BFA is owner and president of The New Leaf in Norfolk, VA. Laurel won a 1995-96 Virginia Commission For the Arts Individual Grant and a 1996 Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation NEA Individual Fellowship. Alvin RiddeU '73BS/MC is a locomotive engineer for Amtrak and a freelance writer and pho- tographer for Passenger Train lournal and Vintage Rails. He lives in Mechanicsville, VA. Sandra Trott Riddell '75BS '79MED/E has been a teacher and librarian with Henrico County Public Schools for 19 years. Continental Cablevision of Virginia named Sandra 1995 Educator of The Year for her use of cable programming in the classroom and its integration with the Virginia Pen (E-Mail) tech- nology. ■^Ted Robinson '76BS/H&S graduated with an MBA from the University of Delaware in January. Ted is a management representative for Delmarva Power and Light Company. Steve Segal '72BFA is the animator behind several scenes in the hit movie Toy Star)'. Some of Steve's other works are Futuropolis, and Brave Little Toaster. *HaroldSeUJr.'71BS/Bis principal analyst project leader for RVSM Project with Arinc, Inc. in Annapohs, MD. Harold retired from the Air Force in June 1991. He is now married to Sandi Tangorra SeO, and they live in Arnold, MD. John Stewart '70BS '73MED/E is the superintendent of Education Youth Services- district 210, and a court expert in juvenile corrections in Montgomery, AL. John is also adjunct professor at Faulkner University, vice chair for the Alabama Center for Law and Civic Education, and state evaluator for superintendents of education. *Keith Strohecker '74BS/B started his own Certified Public Accounting firm in June 1995. *Bessie Taliaferro '74MED is the mentor coordinator for Arthur Ashe's Virginia Heroes Inc. Bessie and her husband Ted will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year. Andrew Taylor III '79BS/MC was promoted to metro editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He will also be supervising produc- tion of the weekly PLUS sections. Andrew holds writing and editing awards from the Florida and Virginia Press Associations. Gordon Van Ness '77MED has recently published Striking In: The Early Notebooks of James Dickey, with the University of Missouri Press. Gordon is associ- ate professor of EngUsh at Longwood College in Virginia. He also wrote Outbelieving Existence: The Measured Motion of James Dickey. Patricia Walker '73BS/SW received an MA in counseling psychology in 1991 from I.E. Kennedy University in Orinda, FL. Patricia is working towards getting her California Marriage and Family Counseling License this fall. Robert Wood '70AS/ET '73BS/B was honored as the 1995 Adjuster of the Year by the Virginia State Claims Association. Robert Wooding '76BFA, a certified herbalist, teaches herbal healing arts on his farm, and throughout Virginia. His business is Southern Virginia Herbals in Halifax, VA. SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 26 1 980s »DarlencAcry'86BS/MCis office manager for (Common- wealth (Conlrad (ilass, Inc. in Chester, VA. *H. Todd Allen '85BS/B received his second Navy Achievement Medal for his out- standing performance as adminis- trative assistant in the Navy Dental Corps bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington. Anthony Awkard '83BFA now works at DHS Designs in Annapolis, MD. *Donna Barber '83BS/B married David Perry in |une of 1991. Donna is a senior program analyst at OSF Health Care Systems. Merita Hall Barber '88BS/H&S '93MSW is program director at Tenneyson Center for Children and Families in Denver. Ke^in Beale '88BS/B married Stephanie Worsham on lune 15, 1996. The couple lives in Ashland, VA. Robert Biletch '89MS/B is director of analysis for Opinion Dynamics Corporation. Bob and his wife Liane are expecting their first child this spring. *Laura Maurer Blondino '82BS '89MBA/B married Les Blondino Jr. in January. Laura works with Les in their business, Strategic Home-Based Therapy Associates. They live in Lynchburg, VA. ^Stephen Bobko '88BS/B married Melodie Matthews in March. Stephen is working on his doctorate in fisheries science at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. *Holly Boniface '86BS/E is an international account executive for United Parcel Service in Lynchburg, VA. HoUy has volun- teered with the University of Delaware and Randolph Macon Women's CoUege volleyball teams. *Karen Spencer Bowker '89BS/AH '9 IMS/AH married Thomas Bowker '88BS/AH on June 3, 1995. They live in Chesterfield County, where Thomas is a residential counselor in mental retardation sendees and Karen is a serious mental illness case manager for (Chesterfield County Department of Menial Health/Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. Paula Burke Brockenbough '81BS/E, her husband Allan and son F.amon, are proud to announce the addition of Fmily Aran to their family. Paula is a respiratory therapist at MCV Hospitals. Valerie Cason '88BS/B works at the Old Dominion University Webb Center. She and her sisters collaborated to offer a class called "The Total Women," a special tribute to the memory of their mother. *Karen Carr '83BS/E '86MS '90PhD/H8(S is program manager at Henrico Mental Health Hospital, has a private practice, and consults with mission boards on trauma, grief and loss. Loren Cherensky '85BFA was the grand prize winner in the "Caress Before You Dress" lingerie design competition. Loren 's winning design was a champagne satin slip dress. Carolyn Kipps Chuck '81BFA married Douglas Chuck in September 1995. Carolyn is a marketing communications spe- cialist at CADMUS Journal Services, in Richmond. Jon Cobbs '83BS/MC is a market manager for Kentucky Fried Chicken in DC. Victoria Cobbs-Echols '86BS/B is team leader in custom accounts underwriting at CNA Insurance Companies in Brea, CA. Victoria and her husband Jonathan live in Perris, CA. David •95PhD/H&S and Eileen Judge Cohen '88MED recendy adopted a little girl from China named Bifeng. Keith Collins '80BS/E married Tammy Noblin on December 9,1995. Keith is athletic director for Prince George County Recreation Department. The couple lives in Prince George, VA. *Nancy Cuffia '86BS/B was promoted last October to treasur- er at Virginia State University. Dennis Danvers '89MFA/A has had his novel Wildenwss picked up b)' Red Rooster Productions in Great Britain. They began production in March for a fall release in Great Britain on the ITV network. Laura DeMarco '87BFA is merchandise coordinator for Liz Claiborne, Inc. Laura is engaged to Scott Alan Hunt. The couple will live in Arlington, VA. Vonita Foster Dandridge '88PhD/E, library director at Virginia Union University in Richmond, has been appointed to the Hanover County School Board. Janice Gailes '85BM/A '96BS/P holds VCU degrees in classical oboe and flute — and pharmacy. She and her husband, jazz pianist Skip Gailes, live in Richmond with their sons, Arthur and Louis. ^Joseph Goss '86MBA joined SAP America where he has nationwide campus public rela- tions and recruiting responsibili- ties. He lives in Somen'ille, MA. *Ronnie Greene '86BS/MC won the 1995 Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal with two other Miami Herald reporters for "Crime and No Punishment," an eight-part series on South Florida's criminal justice system. ^Kathleen Grzegorek '82BA/H8cS has opened her own law firm in Los Angeles, specializ- ing in immigration and nationali- ty law. BUI Harris '86\L\Ed/A earned his PhD in art education from Ohio State University in March 1996. Brian 'SOBS/HStS and his wife Kathryn Grabinsky Har\'ey ■89BFA own World of Mirth, which has moved off-campus from Grace Street to Caritown in Richmond. The store sells house- hold items, toys and collectibles from the '40s, '50s and "60s. Laura Quine Heinle '88BS/MC married Thomas Heinle on September 23, 1995. The couple lives in Fairfex, \'A. Jamie Heuron '89BS/E is head tennis pro at Robious Sports and Fitness Center in Richmond. Linda Hodges '88MSW was named assistant clinical coordina- tor for the Peninsulas Critical Incident Team. Linda works for VCU Doer Robert Rigsby '75MS '77PostCert'91MBAyB Doing; Became Executive Vice President with Virginia Power on January I, capping hi* IS-ytat cuter with llie utility. Rigtby headt Vttion 2000, the company's sUategic planning effort, which is preparir>g a game plan for Virginia Power's post deregulation success. Rigsby W.1 named to the VCU Board of Visitors this summer. His strong ties with the S»iiool oi Business led to his award as the School's Alumnus of the Year for 1995. Rigsby has sened on the School's alumni board, and he has been active on the Business Cound] and as a Graduate Mentor. He fre- quently supports the School's Thalhimer E\ecutive-In- Residence/Scholar-ln-Resideoce programs by organizing and holding the meetings at Virginia Power. Rigsby is a loyal son of both his alma maters, and also sits on the board for the Unrversity of Richmond. He is as committed off campus, saving on the boards of the Richmond Symphony and the Xlrginia Foundation of Independent GjUeges. ^BMe: *As an alumnus, i want to see the university continue to grow and improve the quality of its programs. This wiU benefit all alimuii as die vahie of their degrees appreciate. In addition, V(^' is ijor Ibrce in the Richmond unity and will be a key pby^er ittiacting new business and ing the area's quality of life. I « VCU's hiture is bright and i It to continue to be a part of iL' 27 > Charlotte Fischer 7 IBS/B BV ANITA NAVARRO 'SIBS/MC Charlotte Fischer has been an avid retailer most of her Ufe. When she played store with her mother as a little girl, mom would have to play dead in order to end the game. The game became real when she used to help out in the family's florist shop. Eventually, the little girl who played store became the youngest woman to run a New York Stock Exchange company — Claire's Boutiques, a national jewelry and accessory chain. During her five-year tenure at Claire's, she built the company from 300 to 1,100 stores. Sales increased from $74 million to $257 million. Fischer is not your typical CEO. She has never worn a pin-stripe suit in her hfe, advice she went against when she first entered the corporate world. "I've never tried to be man in a man's world. 1 had to be me. I enjoy being a woman," she says. She is also probably one of the more height-challenged executive officers in the corporate world. But so what? The dynamism, energy and activity packed into this woman's 61 inches is evident in the first five minutes you speak vrith her. Fischer has a penchant for making her dreams reality. "I like to dream dreams and then build a company. The most challenging aspect of being a CEO is change. Change is the hardest thing for people to face. As a visionary you're already ahead. Then your challenge is to bring the organization along with you," she explains. Fischer is building a company now at Paul Harris Stores Inc., where she has been acting on her vision as Chairman of the Board, President and CEO since January, 1995. Under her leadership, Paul Harris, a specialty retailer of private-label women's casual wear, has moved from a lackluster performance in 1995 to a record net income of $138,000 during the first quarter of 1996. While Paul Harris is thriving, Fischer notes, "This has been a terrible year for retailing in America. The market is over-stored, and companies are not keeping pace with the American consumer." Fischer observes that clothes are just not at the top of people's shopping list anymore, and women have changed the way they dress, taking a more casual approach. There are no longer separate clothes for careers, church, dress, and casual. Many pieces overlap in the way women structure their wardrobe. "Paul Harris's casual sportswear niche is a good one. We have a good foundation — we want to have hundreds of stores and to be one of the greats of the future with our own national brand. Our goal is to be a moderately priced Ann Taylor. We think there is a great opportunity for those retailers who stay ahead of the trends," she says. One of the trends is neighborhood retailing in suburban areas. "Paul Harris has and wiU keep stores in regional malls. We are also putting new stores in strip malls in order to expand the breadth of convenience we can offer our customer. There is a new way of shopping for the American woman now," she says. "The consumer of the 1990s faces overactivity in her life; she is time-harassed. Now she can stop by quickly on her way home from work and not have to make a special trip to a mall to shop Paul Harris. In addition to expanding store locations, we are thinking about the Web." Things have definitely changed since Fischer's college days. She reminisces, "Of course when I was in coUege 1 liked to shop downtown at Thalhimers and Miller & Rhoads and at WiUow Lawn. You would always have lunch at Bill's Barbecue on Broad Street when you went out there. Those were the days where you still wore a hat and gloves to go shopping and your dates escorted you back to your dorm where your dorm mother was waiting." Things changed radically while Fischer was attending VCU. "We went from being required to wear dresses on campus to wearing bell bottoms. And RPI became VCU." Fischer says she enjoyed her education at VCU. "I chose VCU specifically for its retailing program. The retail- ing degree had an executive training program where you were linked with a key retailer. 1 have always enjoyed the fashion side of business, but I realized that I enjoy growing and running a business, and VCU gave me a great foundation. The professors made the classes exciting; that made VCU a good choice." Women are often more aware of the choices they must make to find balance in their lives, and Fischer is more than satisfied with hers. Away from the office, her life is filled with volunteer work on several boards, including the Boy Scouts and Girls Inc., gardening and her two Maltese dogs, Humphrey and Bogart. "I am a lucky woman," she says. "I have lived in New York, Chicago and now Indianapolis. I love to travel, and I travel a great deal with my career. I have had an exciting life! I have a wonderful marriage, with an understanding husband, Stan. I do what I love, and that makes it all easier." ANITA NAVARRO HAS RECENTLY WORKED ON PUBLICATIONS FOR VCU ENROLLMENT SERVICES. AND SHE SHOPS AT PAUL HARRIS ON HER WAY HOME Middle Peninsula / Northern Neck Counseling Center as a licensed clinical social worker ■^Linda Holsinger '86BS /MC is now director of public relations for The Packett Group. Angela Hopkins '89BS '91MURP/H&S was promoted to the director of planning for Surry County. Morgan Joe Jr. '85BS/H&S received a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College of Kansas City, MO. Elizabeth Johnson '80BA/H8cS has become a certi- fied skin care and image consul- tant with BeautiControl Cosmetics. Antonis Katsiyannis '86MED is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, in special education/communica- tion disorders. Michael KeUer '89MFA/A had two poems, "Snapper" and "The Choice," published in the Southern Review. Ronzo Lee '83BS/H8cS is now a licensed and ordained minister. Ronzo is the evangelist and teacher on the weekly radio broadcast, "Moments In The Word." He is also founder and leader of the "We Believe" ministry at MCVH. Elizabeth Payne Lowe '82MS/H8{S was named director of the joint CUnch Valley College and University of Virginia contin- uing education programming. Elizabeth and her family live in Abingdon, VA. Renee Mason '89BS/H8tS joined the active medical staff at Johnston Memorial Hospital. Renee and her husband Brian have a private practice at the Abingdon Foot and Ankle Clinic in Abingdon, VA. Rebecca Parker McCormack '84MBA/B was correspondent research analyst for Wheat First Butcher Singer Inc.'s investment strategy department. Rebecca has been promoted to senior vice president of the firm. *Laura Bland McFadden '85BS/MC is a staff writer at The Danville Register & Bee. Laura covers state government. SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 28 Congress, environmental issues and health care issues. She won two Virginia I'res.s Association writing awards in Icbruary. Kenneth McLawhon '87BA/H&S is town manager of South Boston, VA. He is working on a master's degree at Old Dominion University. 'Robert Minteer '84MS/B is vice president of Gyrus Systems, Inc. The company i.s located in Moorefield Office Park in Chesterfield, VA. Gary Mitchell '83BS/E '86 '91MURP/H8tS now works as chief of comprehensive planning with Ronaoke County, VA. *Paul Morales '82BA/H&S and his wife Tammy announce the birth of their daughter Hannah Marie on April 26, 1996. Hannah's older brother Matthew is two. "Elizabeth Morgan '86MFA/A was included on the map of twentieth-century authors last year. Elizabeth is working on a translation of Euripides' Electra. GaU O'Hara 'SSBA/H&S pub- lishes her own magazine, Chkkfactor, and is running an independent record label called Enchante. Holly 0'Nea'86BS/MC married Christopher Rink on January 20,1996. The couple lives in Norfolk. Sheryl Pannell '86Cert/B was promoted to audit manager at Clifton, Gunderson, & Company. Leslie Parrish '89BS/E '95C/B earned her second degree in May 1995. Leslie married Donald Crockett Jr '72DDS in May 1996. Garland "Roy" Peay Jr. '88BS/B and Linda Headley-Peay '94BS/MC celebrated the birth of their son Tyler Headley Peay, born June 8, 1995. Roy is a contract officer at Defense General Supply Center. Linda is a stay-at-home mother. Anne Patera '84BS/B has been appointed to Virginia's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. * Robert Putney '83BGS/C8tIP works for Philip Morris as a senior inventory planner in Machinery Technology Center in Newport News. William Reese '86BS/H&S '94MED is assislant principal at Amelia County High School in Virginia. Darlene Hambright Reily '84BFA is a graphic designer for the Virginia Department of (>)n,servalion and Recreation. 'Randall Saufley'85BS/B married Jennifer Barrett, February 17, 1996. Randall is a CPA and controller for Craigie, Inc. Thomas Schehl '87BS/H8(S received an MS in environmental engineering from Virginia Tech. Julia Shieken '89BA/H&S '89BS/MC and her brother ''William Shieken '92BS/MC started their own artist represen- tative firm called Envoy. They work out of Bethesda, MD and Richmond. Julia will marry in October. ''Kermit Skinner Jr. '88BS/H8cS is town manager of Manteo, NC. Kermit was appointed to a two-year term on the Community and Economic Development Committee of the North Carolina League of Municipalities. Byron Smalley '82BA;H&S has worked as an attorney in the oifice of chief counsel of the IRS for eight years. B)Ton was recently transferred to the IRS's office in San Francisco, CA. Susan Strother '84BS/MC, formerly tourism reporter for The Orlando Sentinel, has been promoted to assistant Orange County editor. Mark Szafranski •87BS/H&S married Karen Rooney on October 28, 1995. Mark owns Metro Sound and Music Company in Richmond, where the couple lives. •Al Thacker '83BS/B has been appointed assistant \ice president - internal audit at La\ners Title Insurance Corporation's head- quarters in Richmond. GregTurpin'88BS/H8tSis assistant commonwealth attorney for Buchanan Count\'. David '88BFA and Kari Vansanford '91BFA celebrated the birth of their daughter Jenna Raine, born May 20,1995. ''Donna Vick'83BS/B '94MED was one of sL\ graduate students who studied with Reg Revans, the "Father of Action I.carning," when he came from England as the Scholar- in Residence for the VCU's Division of Educational Studies. Since then, Donna has participated in presentations about action learning in Italy, England and Boston. Donna has been awarded a three-year scholarship for a doc- torate at the Revans Centre for Action Learning and Research at the University of Salford in England. Janet Warman '82MED was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor at Elon College in NC. ♦James Whelen II r87BS/B works in Baltimore, .VID for Alex Brown and Sons, Inc. lames is vice president of equity trading. *Harry Whitt '80BS '93MS/B was elected treasurer of King William (U)unn, VA. 'Jame« Wiljiamt 'fMBS/H&S is a sergeant in the Police Ucpartmeni , ^ ^ ated from the 183rd iouon of the FBI's .S'ational Academy at Quantico, VA. 1 990s Pamela Moore Armstrong '91 BM/A made her debut as Mimi in Lm Boheme at the Sevt York City Opera. Over the next two years Pamela will sing the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and principal roles in .Mozart's Don Giovanni and Bizet's Carmen in Houston, Paris, and Bordeaux, France. Setli Barber '90BFA is senior project manager for W.L Kieding lH[SUNlN[SONfeAiLINSlR[[I When President Will Flynn '81BFA (third from leni 'o^"ce:: '^'anWin Street Communications in 1986. he set outto create a c-:-e~= : a atmosphere in which VCU alumni could thrive. At their ten-yea' anniversary, the company has certainly found its place in the sun. The alumni roster reads (left to right): Designer Rob Gonzalez 'SeBFA Senior Graphic Designer Frank Gilliam '91BFA 3_s^~e55 '.'5-=je" Rodney Wilt '88BS/B. Traffic/Mea a Wa-age- Midge Whitehead Stanton (3 years at VCU). Senior Graphic Designer Bob Riggs '89BFA. and Account Manager Judy Fleming Malloy '93BS/MC Take a look at Franklin Street des gr a: t-e _ r-=^. c" . -g - 3 s -'irst exhibit in their new building, under construction c" East B-ca:; Sfeet. or the website for Eskimo Pie: www.esv — r ;:ch for their commercials about the ER and 359-WE . .r r.-n Secours- Richmond Health Corporation. Over the next two years, the firm v«II implement its plan for Maymont ~ ? capital campaign. Their own website is www.franklinstree" 29 F A L I 19 9 6 "/ really enjoy learning. " Elizabeth Phillips '96BS/H&S could say that. Her 23-year study of physics — with sidetrips — finally led to graduation, and helped her outlast most of the faculty. Her VCU odyssey began shortly after her marriage to husband Ed, when she started taking classes. As each of her four sons were born, she dropped out, but always returned to the classroom. "I guess, in a way, it was like tennis or bridge for me, " recalls Phillips. "When things got crazy, I'd go study. " Even now, she's not resting on her academic laurels. "I think I'll start studying for the Graduate Record Exam. " WHAT DO 1H[Y HAVE IN COMMON? They are three of our newest alumni, of course. Together. They dress alike, the)' are both Eagle Scouts, they even use the same intricate, color-coded system to chart their studies and their lives. It's not so surprising that Lament '96BS/B and Lawrence Flowers '96BS/H&S have nearly perfect CPAs — Lamont in accounting, Lawrence in biology — and full graduate fellowships to the University of Iowa, where they'll work toward doc- torates in their fields. Where did they get so organized? From their first week on campus, VCU's Office of Academic Support was a second home to the Flowers brothers. "Dr. Quincy Moore, the director, has been very helpful with that transition from high school, " they say. "In college, the work is more intense, it's not just mem- orizing. We had to learn how to understand. " And once they set up their system, the Flowers stayed to organize ex'eryone else. Tlie office celebrated 20 years of helping students like the Flowers in February. Associates, Inc. Seth is married to Merita Hall Barber '90BFA. *Brian Bennett '95BS/H&S is the graduate assistant athletic trainer at the College of William and Mary where he is working on his MED. Brian passed the National Athletic Trainers Association exam in November 1995. *Rodney Berry '95BS/H&S teaches chemistry at Armstrong High School in Richmond. ♦William Beverly '92BS/H&S '94MSW is the Helpline Network director with the Metropolitan Richmond Coalition Against Drugs. Edward Boyce '92BA/H&S received a degree from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond. John Bozicevic '90BS/MC is an advertising account executive for The Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette. •Michelle Charles Brown '95BS/H&S is assistant research specialist at Advanced BioScience Labs in Kensington, MD. Brian Bullock '83BS/P '91 MBA has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and marketing at Pharmacy Gold, Inc. Kathleen Burns '91MSW is a licensed clinical social worker and master addiction counselor at Lake Counseling Associates. *Lisa Burroughs '95BS/H&S works in Virginia's Division of Forensic Science. Kristen Merge Caldwell '94BS/MC married Robert Caldwell |r. on November 11, 1995. Kristen is staff writer for The Progress Index. The couple lives in Richmond. Chad Cameron '94BFA has an illustration business in Atlanta and has done projects for clients like IBM, Worldbook Encyclopedia, the Kennedy Center, Georgia Pacific — and Shafer Court Connections ("COPS" cover. Winter '96). Bonnie Clatterbough '94MED is a mathematics teacher at Hermitage High School in Richmond. Clyde Coats III '92BS/E was selected by the US Field Hockey Association to coach at the 1996 USFHA summer camp and at the 1995-96 AAU lunior Olympics. Susan Coppedge '93BS/B works for Trigon. She is engaged to Linwood Theodore Wells III. Kristina Chapman Craig '92BFA married Michael Craig on February 10, 1996. Kristina is assistant director at Centerville Children's Center. The couple lives in Richmond. Dana Dabney '91BGS/H&S married Elvert Minor in December 1995. Dana is a program support technician at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fisherville, VA. Charles Davis '91 BS/B has been assigned to a remote air base in the Republic of Korea with a follow-on assignment in Europe. Robert Eaves '95BS/H&S is a navy constructionman with Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 74 in Gulfport, MS. Dawn Eckhout '90MED has joined Metro Information Services as a human resources generalist. She is married and has a daughter, Killian. ♦Rose Elliot '95MFA/A has poems in The Charlotte Poetry Review and The Small Pond Magazine of Literature. Cynthia Fariey '90BFA married David Francis King Ir. on April 27, 1996. Cynthia is office manager for Graves Insurance Agency Inc. in Fredericksburg. *Sean Fitzgerald '93BS/MC has joined the staff of Compufer- world Newspaper. "Freddie Fuller '93BS/H&S, motorpool manager of Olympic Village 1996, is engaged to Alitasha Courtney '96BS/B. Ann-Elizabeth Godsey '92MS/AH married William CapeU '90BS/B '94C/Diet on October 14, 1995. Ann is pursuing post-graduate studies at VCU. The couple lives in Richmond. Michael Gross '94BS/MC and his wife Lisa Elmore '94BS/H&S have moved from Richmond to Columbus, GA to help get their hockey franchise, the Cottonmouths, up and skating. Michael is director of marketing for the franchise. *DanielGueriera'92BS/B married L. Maria Robbins '93BFA in May 1996. Daniel is a foreign currency dealer in New York City. Raymond Harrison Jr. '94MSW recently became a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia. Ray provides individual, SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 30 group, and family counseling at Scott County Mental Health Center in Virginia. ♦Charles Hester '91 MS/E is the director of the Pctcrshurg, VA Recreation Department. Steven High '95 MBA was the director of VdJ's Anderson Gallery for eight years. He is leaving VCU to direct the Nevada Museum of Art. LauraHiir91BFAisan interior designer for Arrington Commercial Interiors in Virginia Beach. Stephen Hundley '93BGS/ C&PA '95MED has been com- missioned as a second lieutenant through the Army ROTC program. Yolanda Jackson '91 MED works for VCU as a Student Activities Specialist. Agymah Kamau '92MFA/A expects his first novel, Flickering Shadow, to be published by Coffee House Press in Minneapolis this fall. Lisa Kaplan '93 MED is a guidance counselor at J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County, VA. Her daughter, Rachel Elizabeth, was born on January 4, 1996. Elizabeth KeUy '92BA/H&S married Jeffrey Parker in January 6, 1996. The couple lives in Norfolk, VA. Angela King '95BS/B married Darrin Gillus on April 20, 1996. Angela is a staff accountant at I.oudon Hospital in I.eesburg, VA. Lara Koplin '92BEA paints floor coverings, wall finishes and furniture. She specializes in mo.saic designs. Michael Lanoue Brady '92BA/H&S graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in May 19% as a Master of Divinity. ♦Victoria Levy '90BS/B has joined Rose Architects as the firm's business manager. Dawn Katrina Lewis '95MS/H&S, a doctoral candidate in psychology, was chosen by Ebony magazine as one of the "50 Leaders of Tomorrow" in its November 1995 issue. Dawn was a VCU School of Graduate Studies Fellow and a State Graduate Dean's Fellow. Last spring she received VCU's Black History in the Making award from the Department of Psychology and from Afro- American Studies. She is co-chair of the national organization of American Black Psychologists. Amy Lovekamp and Everett Taylor, both '93BS/H&S, were married in Stuarts Draft, VA on December 16, 1995. Amy received her MA in Counselor Education from Wake Forest University in May '95. Everett is an Intelligence Specialist for the U.S. Navy, sta- tioned on the USS Independence in Yoko Suka, Japan, where the couple lives. ♦Robert Lumley Jr. '95MBA is an income propert)' appraiser for First Union Mortgage Corporation in Richmond. Robert was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honor Society' and Alpha Sigma Gamma International Real Estate Honor Society in April 1995. Sandra McKinnon '93MFA/H&S and her husband Blackwcll Shelley Jr. welcomed baby daughter Madeleine Christina Shelley on December 16, 1995. The family lives in Richmond. ♦James Meisner '93BA/MC married 'Amy Ruth '92BA/H&S on August 26, 1995 in Gloucester, VA. Amy is editor of The Goldfinch, an award-winning children's magazine. She also sold an article to Mademoiselle maga- zine for the June, 1996 issue. Jim is communications coordinator for The Institute of Social and Economic Development. The couple live in Iowa City. ♦Robert Mills '93MBA was promoted to vice president at BB&T. Robert joined the bank in 1995 and is computer operations data center manager in the systems operations department in Wilson. Christopher Morgan '93MURP/H&S is a planner with the.Charleston County Planning Department in Charleston, SC. John Morgan '91MFAyA had an exhibition of drawings and mixed media work at the Hunt Gallery of Mary Baldwin College this past winter. ♦Janet Murphy '95MA/A is cur- rently self-employed as a architec- tural historian. Biljana Obradovic '91MFA/A received her PhD from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in May 1995. Biljana is teaching at Drake Universit)' in Des Moines, Iowa. Caria Sturzenbecher O'Grady '90BS/MC works tor O'Keefe Marketing in Richmond. Gail Patrick '95BS/B is business office manager at Robioas Sports and Fitneu Center, in Richmond, ♦Mdinda Pearwn '95BS/B » engaged to': work.* at the • , Compensation Commmjon. Craig Pommol '94BS^ is a sales reprcsentalivc with Ftrguv^n Enterprises, Inc. in BU<k.sh .rv VA. Sara Press '95BA/H&S married Joseph Ferguson m October 1995. The couple lives in Bridgewater. \'A. Daniel Redmon '93BS/H&S returned from a four-month overseas deployTnent to the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific Ocean aboard the guided missile frigate USS Curts. While in the BR[AKFAST FOR 500 Always start out with a good breakfast. On Commencement morning. May 18. alu- = : --ociation staf from both campuses made sure 500 graduates and their families were readv to *=re : ; . . : ; Ol:' c'-oss- dlsciplinary trio, left to right on left, are Ken IVIagill '63BS/B '69tVlS/E Mike Dishman '74DDS B'c Jack Amos '68BFA Families and friends had a relaxed moment before the formal day began. But proud and haopy smiles were already bursting out all over the room. And who would have f^oug^t s=l.53095 =-:: eccs .-. r_ :: re hilarious? Servers at the ready are Jerri Levandowski '95MSW Gertie Atkinson '87BS/AH Stephanie Holt '74/E, Bob Almond '74BS/B '85MED/E and Cheri Magill '81 MED No speecr^es: we just had fun." someone summed up. 31 F -M I 19 9 6 NEIWORXING— DISKLESS AND PAINL[SS VCU's Career Center introduces the disk-less Web Registration. With this tool, students and alumni can develop a resume and submit it to the Career Center via the World Wide Web. After the Career Center receives your resume and registration, you can view current job listings for experienced alumni and for new graduates directly on the Web — and you will be included in the Career Center's candidate database for referral to employers who have jobs available now. Job seeking alumni from both campuses are eligible for this service. Even though you can still register on disk, many alumni outside of Richmond will find Web access convenient. Web or disk service is $1 5 and in place by September. For more information on IstPlace! Web Registration, contact Susan Walker at swalker@saturn. vcu.edu. The Career Center's web page has information on services and web links to many other job sites. Visit our website at http://wvw\/. vcu.edu/safweb/careers/ucchome.html. Contact VCU's Career Center at the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., Room 130; Richmond, VA 23284-2007. Open M-Th 8am-6pm: F 8am-4;30 pm, or call (804)828-1645. SO. WHERE ARE 1? Did you know there are almost 100,000 alumni? Our graduates are working in every state and in every profession and have expertise in any field you can imagine. Want to find them? Coming in 1997, the comprehensive VCU Alumni Directory. Watch for a questionnaire in your mail in early 1 997. Please send it back to us even if there is no change, so your classmates can find you. The mailing will also include an order form. Only the number of directories ordered will be printed, so if you want a directory, order it then. The directory will be available as a softcover book or a CD ROM, for about $35. Many alumni have asked the VCU and MCV Alumni Associations to sponsor travel opportunities, so we are organizing our first trip for March 1997. This is a good way to enjoy camaraderie with your fellow alumni and learn something new. You will also meet Virginia alumni from James Madison University and the University of Virginia, who will be traveling with us. On our first trip, spend a week exploring Austria's history, art and music. Talk about it with old and new friends over sumptuous food. The tour includes airfare to and from Munich, scenic motorcoach transport between Munich and Salzburg, and seven nights in Salzburg at a five-star hotel with daily breakfast buffets. Design your own adventure, with optional events like a two-hour walking tour of Salzburg, skiing excursions, and day trips to Vienna and the Lake District. All of this for about $1 ,000 a person. Interested? Call, write or email your Alumni Office for more infor- mation. We hope this is only the first of many opportunities for alumni to explore the world together while building stronger ties to their university. Persian Gulf Daniel's ship helped enforce the international embargo against Iraq and participated in a multinational exercise with the lapanese Navy. Sheri Reynolds '92MFA/A published her second novel, The Rapture of Canaan, last fall. She is currently doing readings around the country. Tracye Beard Riddick '94Cert/H&S, formerly the director of marketing for Greater Richmond Transit Company, has opened a new advertising and public relations firm in Mechanicsville, VA called New Ventures Marketing and Public Relations. Stephen Satterwhite '92BS/B and his wife Lisa '93BA/H&S cel- ebrate the birth of their first child, Allison Lee, born September 1, 1995. Lisa is a kindergarten teacher in Henrico County, and Stephen is a financial analyst with Signet Bank. The family lives in Mechanicsville, VA. Michael Scholz '92BFA received his MA in painting from Long Island University/C.W. Post in September 1995, and teaches art. Michael and his family live in Holbrook, Long Island, NY. Renea Seldon '94BS/E and David Burkholder plan a September wedding. Renea works for the city of Ale,\andria. *Lisa Shaver '95BS/H&S married Timothy Collier on February 17, 1996. Lisa is a substi- tute teacher for Charlottesville and Abermarle Counties in VA. Mercedes Sprouse '92BS/MC is an international broadcast jour- nalist for the Voice of America in Washington. Mercedes co-hosts a two-hour live morning news program targeted for East Asia. *Donna Nuckols Power Thrift '90MACC/B married Wade Thrift in September 1995. Donna works for Hamilton Beach/ Proctor-Silex, Inc. ♦Matthew Tessier '93BS/E is the Greek programs alcohol and risk management educator at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Matthew married Cyndra Flynn '94BS/MC on May 25,1996. Cyndra is a graduate intern in student activities and health edu- cation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Amy Tudor '94MFA/A recently won a $3000 Individual Artist Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to complete her book of poems, Tiie Land of Intention. Peter Vemimb '92MED is assistant principal at Brooke Point High School in Stafford County and director of curricu- lum and staff development for the school system. Mundy Viar '93BS/E moved to Oakland, CA last year, where he is director of program devel- opment for the Blue Devils, a non-profit youth organization. MarkWaIdrop'9IBS/MC received his MED from UNC- ChapelHillinl995. Heisan instructional designer with Motorola, RTP, where he is devel- oping multi-media tutorials for semiconductor manufacturing. Jason Winebarger '92BFA recently completed another mural in Blue Point Seafood Restaurant, at Sixth Street Market Place in Richmond. lason's past work includes the mural at El Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant as well as scenic paintings for theater and film. Kimberly Wyatt '93MED is a missionary with the cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She leaves this fall to work with people in Northern Thailand. Lawrence Zicherman '92MPA/H&S is an instructor in the Department of Emergency Services Education at the Universit)' of South Alabama in Mobile. The Way We Were Yes, it's the faculty ofRPI's School of Engineering Technology, where students could get a two-year asso- ciate's degree during the '60s and '70s. VCU's first class in the new School of Engineering entered this fall, also motorized — by Motorola, Inc. Other pubtic-private-universi- ty partnerships are generating even more juice for VCU's newest school. SHAFER COURT CONNECTIONS 32 Key To Abbreviations Alumni arc identified by year degree/school Schools, Colleges, Divisions A Arts AH Allied Health Professions B Business D Dentistry E Education H&S Humanities and Sciences M-BH Medicine MC Mass Communications N Nursing NTS Nontraditional Studies Program/Community and International Programs P Pharmacy SW Social Work Other abbreviations Cert Certificate BGS Bachelor of General Studies BFA, MFA Bachelor, Master of Fine Art HS House Staff MIS Master of Interdisciphnary Studies MPA, DPA Master, Doctor of Public Administration MSW Master of Social Work I/We are enclosing $25 individual membership VCU Alumni Association $40 couple membership VCU Alumni Association $30 individual membership in African American Alumni Council (includes dual membership in VCUAA) $40 couple membership in African American Alumni Council (includes dual membership in VCUAA) Please make checks payable to VCUAA. Shafer Court Connections welcomes updates on marriages, family additions, job changes, relocations, promotions— whatever you think is newsworthy. Help us keep track of you by completing and returnir-g this form. Recent newspaper clippings and photographs are also appreciated. Please mail iz VCU Alumni Activities, 310 North Shafer Street, P, 0. Box 843044, Richmond, Virginia 23284-3044, NAME/DEGREE/CLASS SPOUSE'S FULL NAME/(IF APPLIES! DEGREE/CLASS CHILDREN (INDICATE IF CURRENTLY ATTENDING VCUI PREFERRED MAILING ADDRESS HOME PHONE email: DCHECK HERE IF NEW ADDRESS JOB TITLE EMPLOYER BUSINESS ADDRESS WORK PHONE NEWS Important Note: If this magazine is addressed to an alumnus who no longer lives at the address provided on ttis 3:;-£i= =:e : ; so that we can correct our records. If you know the person's correct address, we would appreciate that information. Also, if a h.s:, are receiving more than one copy of the magazine, we would like to know so that we can avoid duplicate mailings - rHs; :■:. := : both spouses and the wife's name at graduation. LJ I am interested in sponsoring a student extern. Please send an information form. Vl\UUl\ ' mu Austrian Escapade Alumni lour y MCV4-U Mentoring I Program ^ Oclobcr-Movcnibcr i "Partners for Progress" , Campaign Launch (klober 10 i Family Day Academic Campus Talent Night/ Scholarship Drive African American Alumni # Council Oclobei- 26 Children of Alunini I^TT Open house for WtS Prospective Students NovchDbcr,S-9 'A%imni ExtO'n Program Fredericksburg Student/Alumni Reception Match 20— /('///K/zir Hampton Roads Student/ Alumni Reception NOVAStudeitt/ 'Alumni R March:,28i: tmtatm yii'ii/ liijjjiijiir March 29 Reunion' April 18-20 Art Exhibit/ Networking Reception African American Alumni Council Olympic Fever at VCU MJiTimer, aad crowHs gathered at Shaler Coul'i ^Uch the pa.^ng of the torch. Alumna Kell^ Brown McIntYre '90BFA \imei\ carrie^i*'- 1' in her home town, Philadelphia. More Olympians in our news, section, page 5. Mr.V 4-U Mentoring -:* \ Program ^iJ-ebruai-y-April *7(^iAA2^^aUlJ|Sk/L S'rogram Africkn American Alumni Council ,..ni Extern Program Spring Break Odyssey of the M April m-l^ Comnieric Commencement Photo Pxogram Maj'17 PHOTO OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY BY RICHARD PUCHYR Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Alumni Activities 310 North Shafer Street P. 0. Box 843044 Richmond, Virginia 23284-3044 DO NOT FORWARD Address Correction Requested Return Postage Guaranteed Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 869 Richmond, Virginia ::t:*::*;»:*:*:-.i::*::*:-.*::*::*::*::*::*::*::*:-.«:*:ECRLOT :»::*:C-006