Giving news

• Ron and Nancy McFarlane of Raleigh, N.C. – both of whom earned a B.S. degree at VCU School of Pharmacy in 1980 –  donated $250,000 in December to an endowed professorship in pharmacy practice. The McFarlanes also established two scholarships in 2007: the Nancy L. and Ronald H. McFarlane Scholarship in honor of their connections to the university and the Phi Delta Chi Scholarship in memory of Daniel A. Herbert (B.S.’66/P).
• Rusty Maney (B.S.’87/P) of Richmond presented School of Pharmacy Dean Victor A. Yanchick a check for $10,000 in December. The check goes toward the Walgreen Company Endowed Scholarship, the most recent recipients of which are Solomon Ogunware (Pharm.D.’08) and Peter Wills, a fourth-year Pharm.D. student. Maney is Richmond district pharmacy supervisor for Walgreens.
• The Department of Nurse Anesthesia in the School of Allied Health Professions has established the Herbert T. Watson Endowed Professorship. Watson, a pioneer in anesthesia education, is a former chairman of the department and was named emeritus professor in 2006. The Herbert T. Watson Professorship will help recruit and honor outstanding scholars. To make a gift, contact Jessica Gurganus, senior director of development for the school, at 804-828-3269 or jfgurganus@vcu.edu.

• The Robins Foundation donated $75,000 to support the Edulead program in the School of Education. Edulead is a partnership between the University of Richmond's Center for Leadership in Education and Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for School Improvement that strives to improve K-12 school leadership, instruction and student achievement in greater Richmond. This grant will support a weeklong Institute for Leaders in Transition, which will target novice principals novice and experienced school leaders who are assigned to high-need, hard-to-staff schools within the Richmond-area school divisions. 

• The School of Social Work received $40,000 to supplement the Anne R. Fischer Scholarship via a bequest from Fischer’s estate. Fischer (M.S.W.’44) died in April at the age of 105. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and arrived in the United States with her family in 1934 as a refugee from Nazi Germany. In keeping with her lifelong commitment to empowering humanity, she soon volunteered to help others in the Jewish community adjust to life in her new country. From 1940 to 1942, Mrs. Fischer was a refugee resettlement volunteer, and in 1942, when the director of the Richmond Jewish Community Center entered the armed forces, Mrs. Fischer became the acting director. At the age of 40, she entered Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University), and earned a Master of Social Work, launching a career in which she not only served this country but also took seven trips to Germany in the '50s and '60s to train German welfare workers in American social work methods. The scholarship is awarded to a master of social work student with a clear interest in clinical or casework, especially with families and children.

• The USTA Tennis and Education Foundation made a $25,000 grant to the Lobs & Lessons program, which provides elementary-age children from disadvantaged neighborhoods with life-skills development and an introduction to the sport of tennis. This grant will be matched dollar-for-dollar by longtime program supporters Elizabeth and Michael Fraizer.
• The Dominion Foundation gave $25,000 to establish the L. Douglas Wilder Lectureship Series. The inaugural lecture was given in December by comedian and actor Bill Cosby. The Wilder Lecture Series will bring to campus renown figures from all facets of government and public affairs and will provide curricular enrichment for our students, as well as an opportunity for community participation.
• The Radio Advertising Bureau has pledged $250,000 to expand the radio-advertising curriculum at Virginia Commonwealth University's Brandcenter. The new curriculum will be part of a series of workshops with top agencies in major markets.

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