VCU news

By Eric Peters

Often in life, barriers – palpable or invisible – are what lead to self-doubt.  Breaking through these barriers was the theme on March 22 at VCU’s Larrick Student Center when more than 80 students, faculty and staff gathered for the 21^st annual Women in Science, Dentistry and Medicine (WISDM) Leadership Conference.

“This conference addresses a need for diversity in the workplace,” said Aimee Grover, M.D., president, WISDM Faculty Organization. “Although this is a women’s organization, we support and promote the advancement and development of men and women in the VCU community.”

Sponsored by the VCU School of Medicine, the VCU School of Dentistry, the VCU Health System and the McGuire VA Medical Center, the event featured discussions about how – and by whom – barriers are created, workshops on leadership and women’s transformation of the workplace and an interactive panel discussion with some of the top women leaders in the VCU community.

A highlight of the conference each year is the presentation of the WISDM Professional Achievement Award, which recognizes women from the VCU School of Medicine and the VCU School of Dentistry who have served as strong role models and mentors for the professional development of women faculty, and who consistently demonstrated excellence professionally, scholarly or in leadership and teaching roles.

The VCU School of Medicine 2013 awardee was Suzanne Barbour, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and director of the research core in the VCU Center on Health Disparities.

As Grover announced the award, she said Barbour “certainly qualifies as a ‘triple threat’ faculty member for her outstanding talent and accomplishments in teaching, service and research.”

Barbour emphasized the importance of mentors in her acceptance speech.

“None of us would be here without mentors, so I charge all of you with becoming a mentor,” she said. “Mentors come in all sizes, shapes and colors, they don’t have to be women, and they’re around us all the time.”

The VCU School of Dentistry 2013 awardee was Bhavna Shroff, D.D.S., professor and postgraduate program director, who Grover called “a model for character, compassion and integrity.”

Shroff, who was out of town and could not attend the conference, was appointed as the first woman secretary of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists, her specialty’s most distinguished group of clinical and scientific professionals. She also has mentored many female residents, modeling a successful path forward in a traditionally male-dominated specialty.

David Sarrett, D.M.D., dean of the VCU School of Dentistry and associate vice president for health sciences at VCU, and Ellen Byrne, D.D.S., Ph.D., senior associate dean and professor of endodontics at the VCU School of Dentistry, accepted the award on Shroff's behalf.

As Barbour and Shroff continue to excel and mentor, they – along with many others in attendance at the conference – lead directly and by example, ensuring that each new generation of scholars and practitioners is able to break through those invisible barriers more easily than the last.

 

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