Brophy named recipient of first Nancy and Ronald McFarlane Professorship
From left: Don and Gretchen Brophy, Nancy and Ron McFarlane.
Donald F. Brophy has been named the first Nancy and Ronald McFarlane Professor of Pharmacy at VCU School of Pharmacy. Brophy currently serves as chairman of the school’s Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science and is a professor of pharmacy and medicine. He holds a master’s degree in biostatistics and clinical research from VCU and a doctor of pharmacy degree from North Dakota State University.
Nancy and Ron McFarlane established the professorship in 2008 in recognition of the foundational education they received at the School of Pharmacy. The McFarlanes, both of whom graduated in 1980, established their business, MedProRx Inc., in Raleigh, N.C., in 2002. In addition, Nancy McFarlane currently serves as mayor of Raleigh.
The professorship was approved by the university’s board of visitors in February, and Brophy was officially selected as the first recipient. In May, Brophy met with the McFarlanes to express his gratitude and honor in holding the professorship in their names. The connection between Brophy’s research and the McFarlanes’ business demonstrates great synergy.
The McFarlanes’ specialty infusion pharmacy, MedProRx, focuses on treatment for bleeding, autoimmune neuromuscular and rheumatologic disorders and other chronic conditions. Brophy’s primary research, which he has presented nationally and internationally, is in the areas of thrombosis, hemostasis and blood coagulation disorders in special populations. He directs the School of Pharmacy-based VCU Coagulation Advancement Laboratory, which conducts hemostasis and thrombosis studies with collaborators ranging from the pharmaceutical industry to the U.S. Army.
“We’re excited and happy to help,” said Ron McFarlane. “I appreciate that the school gave me a chance at a career in pharmacy. The dean of admissions at that time, Eugene White, probably took a calculated risk by admitting me in the first place. Nancy and I both appreciate the opportunities the School of Pharmacy afforded us.”
Brophy, he said, is well-respected in the school. “We’re so proud and were so pleased to meet him and his wife, Gretchen [Brophy, who also is on faculty at the school]. Don wrote us a nice note even before we met.”
Professors at the School of Pharmacy are accomplishing much, said McFarlane, in the realm of research as well as the education of future pharmacists. The two are not mutually exclusive, he noted. “It’s all about what research does in the community, how it helps shape the way health care is delivered in the community.”
Using the bench-to-bedside analogy, McFarlane said the bottom line is community practice. “If people ask why I care [about research], I would say that ultimately it is going to help my grandma better manage her blood pressure.”
In addition to the professorship held by Brophy, the McFarlanes previously endowed two scholarships for pharmacy students.
McFarlane said he and his wife look forward to funding more professorships. They also hope to encourage former classmates to consider the school in their planned giving. “Everyone can make an impact by giving back,” he said.
Outright gifts to the annual fund support current needs such as student scholarships, while planned gifts such as bequests or insurance policies can secure the future of the school.
“As state funding for higher education continues to decline, we as alumni can ensure that today’s pharmacy students are receiving the same high quality experience that we did as students,” said McFarlane.
Professorships and chairmanships can honor or memorialize faculty, family or friends, noted Dean Victor Yanchick. Among the areas that might be of interest to potential supporters, he said, are community pharmacy practice, geriatrics, infectious disease, cancer, pediatrics and pharmacogenetics.
Given the widening scope of pharmacy practice, the school now has teaching and research faculty involved in each of these areas, many of whom have been hired during Brophy’s four-year tenure as department chairman.
Brophy, who originally joined the faculty in 1996, speaks highly of the McFarlanes, both professionally and personally. “They have done extraordinarily well,” he said, “and they are very nice and awfully warm.
“I am very much honored by the professorship.”
If you would like to include the School of Pharmacy in your planned giving, please contact Brian Thomas at the MCV Foundation: (804) 828-0067 or bsthomas@vcu.edu. If you would like to make a donation now, contact Ellen Leverich Carfagno at the School of Pharmacy: (804) 828-3017 or emcarfagno@vcu.edu.
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