VCU news

Catherine W. Howard, Ph.D., Vice Provost, Division of Community Engagement
Howard participated in the Richmond region’s first “Walking in Their Shoes” event on April 23 as part of “Affordable Housing Awareness Week.”

Howard and 17 other community leaders spent the day learning about the challenges faced by homeless people, including finding transportation, food and shelter. Each participant brought $5 and one form of identification and spent the day in public places where homeless people gather. They recorded their thoughts and experiences in a notepad.

Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch article here.

“Walking in Their Shoes” was sponsored by Homeward, a planning and coordinating organization for homeless services in greater Richmond. Homeward estimates 1,150 men, women and children are homeless in the Richmond area on any given day.

As vice provost for the Division of Community Engagement, Howard oversees the Office of Community Solutions and the Office of Continuing Studies, Summer Studies and Special Programs. She established VCU’s service-learning program and has co-chaired the Carver VCU Partnership since its inception in 1996. She co-chairs the Council for Community Engagement.

William J. Korzun, Ph.D., School of Allied Health Professions
Korzun, associate professor of Clinical Lab Sciences in the School of Allied Health Professions, was recognized as the 2009 Educator of the Year by the Virginia Society for Clinical Laboratory Science at its annual meeting. The Virginia Society for Clinical Laboratory Science is constituent society of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. Korzun graduated from VCU with a doctoral degree in clinical chemistry from the Department of Pathology in 1988. He joined the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at VCU as an associate professor in 2002.

Leticia Flores, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and director of the VCU Center for Psychological Services and Development
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services Virginia Wounded Warrior Program awarded a $65,728 grant to VCU’s Center for Psychological Services and Development. 

The grant will support a large array of services for veterans affected by stress-related injuries, ranging from case management and psychological services to day programs and employment services. Education of the veteran, the family, the staff and the community is also a large part of the process. 

The grant was awarded in April 2009 and will support efforts through June 2011. For more information, visit http://www.dvs.virginia.gov/woundedwarrior/.

Anne Wright, professor, VCU Department of Biology and coordinator, VCU Life Sciences Outreach Education

Wright has received the 2009 Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions for Natural Science Education from the Virginia Museum of Natural History Foundation. The medal is a statewide award given to a Virginia educator who has made significant contributions to natural history, environmental science or science education at any academic level. It captures the spirit of our nation's third president, an early student of natural science and natural science education. It is given to individuals who have consistently made outstanding contributions to natural history, environmental and science education in either the formal or nonformal sectors, exemplify the best educational practices and stand as models worthy of emulation by others.

Sarah Kye Price, Ph.D., assistant professor, School of Social Work
Price was recently elected president of the Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance (PLIDA) for a two-year term. PLIDA is a nationwide collective community of more than 350 parents and health care professionals who work to ensure that all families experiencing perinatal loss and infant death receive comprehensive and compassionate care from diagnosis through the reproductive years. 

PLIDA organizes the National Perinatal Bereavement Conference, which is held around the country every other year. 

Price’s research interests include reproductive and perinatal loss, women's mental health during and around the time of pregnancy, and social and cultural responses to reproductive loss and bereavement. Her research has been published in several journals, including “Social Work,” “Maternal and Child Health Journal” and “Death Studies.” 

The following VCU School of Medicine faculty members received recent honors:

Robert Balster, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, is the 2009 Nathan B. Eddy Award recipient from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence.

Michael Edmond, M.D., chair, Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine, was appointed an Internal Medicine III Eminent Scholar.

Kenneth Ellenbogen, M.D., professor of cardiology and director of the cardiac electrophysiology lab, will receive the Simon Dack Award for excellence in the critical evaluations of manuscripts for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology for both the excellence and the number/timeliness of reviews and for highest evaluations in terms of critical thinking and constructive comments.

John D. Grizzard, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiology and director of noninvasive cardiovascular imaging, was appointed to the Charles L. Baird Jr., M.D., Professorship in Cardiovascular Imaging.

Michael Hagan, M.D., Ph.D., a VCU Massey Cancer Center physician-scientist specializing in radiation oncology, was appointed by the Veterans Administration to serve as its National Director of Radiation Oncology Services to help standardize and improve patient care in the VA national network.

Jeffrey Kreutzer, Ph.D., director of neuropsychology and rehabilitation psychology in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was appointed to the Rosa Schwarz Cifu Professorship.

Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine, received the Rector's Medal from the University of Chile for excellence in research in the field of reproductive health, contributions to biomedical research in Chile and research at the University of Chile.

Christopher Wise, M.D., professor of internal medicine, was appointed the Taliaferro-Scott Eminent Scholar.

Korzun received the 2009 Virginia Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Educator of the Year Award at the VSCLS Annual Meeting on March 16.

Korzun joined VCU in 2002. As departmental director of research, Korzun chaired CLS’s Graduate Research Standards Committee. His current research includes a funded project for the evaluation of homogeneous methods for measuring HDL and LDL cholesterol and measurement of cortisol and amylase in saliva samples. In 2003, Korzun was awarded a VCU Center for Teaching Excellence Grant to incorporate digital video and audio clips in his lectures. To facilitate his research endeavors, he was the recipient of the School of Allied Health Professions A.D. Williams Scholar Award in 2005.