VCU news

Virginia Commonwealth University would not be the major public research institution it is today without the leadership and vision of its third president, Edmund F. Ackell.

President Emeritus Ackell died at his home in California on Friday. The VCU community extends sympathy to his wife, Judith Fox, and the Ackell family.

We honor a great man, who embodied the vision of VCU as one university. President Ackell was what he did – an expert in health care and education who valued the arts and sciences and worked tirelessly to integrate what are now the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses.

Dr. Ackell served as president from 1978 until 1990, leading a transformational era for VCU. We hold his memory dear — not only in the student residence named in his honor — but more importantly, in building on his legacy of VCU as a top, urban research university dedicated to student success.

I invite you to read more about this extraordinary leader and the work he accomplished after his presidency — amid serious health challenges — in Saturday’s edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch.

This article was originally published on President’s Posts, the blog of VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.