Wright Center leadership and distinguished chairs honored at Investiture Dinner
By Anne Dreyfuss
VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research
Virginia Commonwealth University honored more than 50 faculty members who have recently been awarded endowed professorship and chair positions at the VCU Investiture Dinner, which was held on Sept. 27 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va.
“It is an honor to see this remarkable group of colleagues recognized for their work to advance our missions of education, patient care and discovery,” said VCU School of Medicine Dean Peter F. Buckley, M.D., who presided over the ceremony with VCU School of Business Dean Ed Grier.
In addition to recognizing the recipients of endowed professorships and chairs, the event honors the donors whose generous contributions to the university made the positions possible. Donors sat among the faculty recipients at the event, where faculty members were formally invested and presented with medallions.
“We wouldn’t be able to provide such outstanding recognition of our faculty’s work without the support of our donors,” Buckley said. “An endowed professorship or chair serves as a lasting tribute to the donor who established it. Their generosity will be felt on the MCV Campus — and in the lives of students and patients — for years to come.”
In 2017, the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Foundation established six distinguished chairs totaling $12 million. Wright Center Director Frederick G. Moeller, M.D., was named the inaugural C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Clinical and Translational Research. Other Wright Center distinguished chairs include the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Clinical and Translational Research: Population Health and Health Equity, which was awarded to Wright Center Community-engaged Research Co-director Steven Woolf, M.D., and the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Clinical and Translational Research: Neurology, which was awarded to VCU Department of Neurology Chair A. Gordon Smith, M.D.
“It is a great honor to be selected to hold a chair that bears the names of C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright,” Moeller said, adding that Wright and his late wife, Dianne, have been two of the most generous donors in support of clinical research at VCU. “I personally owe a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Wright, as does the Center that bears his name.”
In addition to Moeller, Smith and Woolf, Wright Center leadership honored at the Investiture include Stephen Kates, M.D., co-investigator of the Hub Capacity Core, John Kuemmerle, M.D., translational endeavors project lead, and Arun Sanyal, M.D., KL2 director.
“The experiences of our faculty members translate directly to the experiences of our students,” VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. said. “We aim to transform lives, and we can’t do so without making the types of investments you are helping us make, supporting the intellectual power of our faculty. You are creating such an important foundation for this institution, and I can’t thank you enough.”
Categories Funding, Health Equity