VCU news

By Kristen Caldwell
Office of Development and Alumni Relations

Virginia Commonwealth University will honor 17 of its most accomplished alumni at the 2019 Alumni Stars ceremony. The biennial event, hosted by the VCU Office of Alumni Relations, celebrates alumni from across the university’s academic units for their extraordinary personal and professional achievements. 

Honorees are selected through faculty recommendations and alumni committees from across the university. Recipients will be honored Nov. 7 at the Dewey Gottwald Center at the Science Museum of Virginia. 

This year’s Alumni Stars are:

Randy Adams, D.D.S., School of Dentistry. Pediatric dentist and community advocate. 

Jeffrey Blount, Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. Award-winning TV producer and author.

Julia and Nicholas Cain, College of Engineering. Craft brewing entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

Ricardo Capilla, School of Business. Multilingual executive and CEO of Airbus Mexico. 

Rosalyn Dance, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Politician and community advocate.

Rodney F. Ganey, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences. Philanthropist and renowned sociologist and statistician. 

Charles Larry Horne, School of the Arts. Renowned interior designer.

Lauren Kern, VCU Life Sciences. Award-winning biology teacher.

Ali Khan, M.D., VCU Honors College. Health care delivery innovator.

Jeanine Harper Maruca, School of Social Work. Renowned children’s advocate.

Nancy McFarlane, School of Pharmacy. Politician and community advocate.

Cindy Munro, Ph.D., School of Nursing. Nationally recognized researcher.

Thomas Porter, M.D., School of Medicine. Innovative cardiology researcher.

Rodney Robinson, School of Education. Educator and National Teacher of the Year. 

DaNika Neblett Robinson, Ed.D., School of World Studies. Novelist and CFO of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Fred Sammons, College of Health Professions. Inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist.