VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

Virginia Commonwealth University dedicated historic markers on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses during ceremonies this week as part of the university’s 40th anniversary celebration.

VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., and Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin, vice president for VCU Health Sciences, presided over a ceremony on the MCV Campus on Wednesday for the unveiling of markers that commemorate the history of the St. Philip School of Nursing and the birthplace of cardiac transplantation.

And on Friday, Trani unveiled the Monroe Park Campus’ first two markers at a university-wide celebration that included music, memories, anniversary T-shirts and the presentation of the 40 Acts of Caring. The Monroe Park campus markers commemorate Founders Hall and the former Shafer Court Stage, which for decades stood at the heart of the university.

“Today we begin what I hope will be a project that will continue over years to come — the creation of bronze medallion markers which highlight important pieces of our history on both of our campuses,” Trani said at the MCV Campus event.

During the era of racial segregation, the Medical College of Virginia established the St. Philip School of Nursing for African-American women. It operated from 1920 until September 1962, when the last of its 688 graduates received their nursing diplomas. Five years earlier, in 1957, the MCV School of Nursing admitted its first African-American student.

“Today the St. Philip School of Nursing has taken its place in the MCV Campus history,” said alumna Arlethia Rogers, R.N. “I doubt any of us can express what this occasion really and truly means to us. You have made us an integral part of the MCV Campus. You have made us this day very, very proud.”

The cardiac transplantation marker honors the pioneering basic, clinical and translational research that laid the foundation for successful cardiac transplantation. Dr. Richard Lower performed the first heart transplant in Virginia on May 25, 1968, on the MCV Campus. Modern-day research in transplantation medicine continues to flourish at the VCU Medical Center, as does organ transplantation at the VCU Hume-Lee Transplant Center and cardiac transplantation at the VCU Pauley Heart Center.

One marker on the Monroe Park Campus sits outside Founders Hall, which was built in the 1880s as a private residence. The mansion was purchased in 1925 and served as the first permanent home for the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health, now VCU. During its history, Founders Hall functioned as a cafeteria, administrative offices, an infirmary, classrooms and a dormitory.

And Shafer Court, which also has a marker, has been the main thoroughfare of the Monroe Park Campus since 1930. The brick stage that stood there from 1960 to 2002 was the focal point of Shafer Court and served as a venue for art shows, lectures, protests, community gatherings and weekly rock concerts featuring local and national performers. Among the best known rock bands that played there were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose music helped define an era.

Trani said he hoped the four markers were the first of many that will be placed through the years.

“As I anticipate walking around the MCV and Monroe Park campuses as a VCU professor, I look forward to seeing other markers to highlight our luminaries,” said Trani, who is retiring as president next year but will remain at VCU as University Distinguished Professor.