Academic year formally opens with Convocation

By Leila Ugincius

Virginia Commonwealth University honored four distinguished faculty members during the 26th Opening Faculty Address and Convocation ceremony in the Hermes A. Kontos Medical Sciences Building on Tuesday.

An annual event that acknowledges the quality and excellence of the VCU faculty, Convocation also marks the formal opening of the academic year. 

Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., who is retiring as president next year but will remain at VCU as University Distinguished Professor, delivered his final Convocation address.

“Convocation at Virginia Commonwealth University has always been one of the annual events I most look forward to,” Trani said. “I can think of no better way to begin each academic year than by honoring exceptional faculty for their remarkable contributions to fulfilling VCU’s mission of serving the local, state, national and international communities through scholarly activities, diverse educational programs and public service activities.”

Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., vice president for Health Sciences, and Stephen D. Gottfredson, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, presented the awards.

“Today we are here to recognize the vital role of the faculty in VCU’s critical mission,” said Gottfredson. “Without a doubt, our success is also due in large part to the strong vision and clear guidance of our president, Dr. Eugene P. Trani. 

The University Award of Excellence was awarded posthumously to Billy R. Martin, Ph.D. Internationally renowned for his research in understanding addiction and drugs of abuse and how they affect the brain, Martin became chair of the School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in 2000, embracing this new role that illustrated his expertise as a researcher, educator and leader.

Martin, who died June 8, played a prominent role in developing the department’s reputation for landmark research in drugs of abuse. For more than 30 years, his primary focus was researching the effects of marijuana’s principal psychoactive ingredient.

“Billy strove for excellence in everything he did,” said Bill Dewey, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, who accepted the award on Martin’s behalf. Dewey noted that Martin did a myriad of things well, but “one thing he did better than any of them — he knew how to be a friend.”

The University Distinguished Service Award was presented to Mary Ellen Olbrisch, Ph.D. One of the “founding mothers” of clinical health psychology, Olbrisch, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry, entered the burgeoning area early in her career. Immediately after graduate school, she served on the Education and Training Committee for the American Psychological Association’s new Division of Health Psychology, where she was instrumental in developing the curriculum for the training of clinical health psychologists.

Throughout her career and specifically in her 23 years at VCU, Olbrisch has maintained a tradition of service that has carried over to her roles as a clinical health psychology educator and practitioner.

After naming numerous friends and colleagues who have inspired her by their service to others, Olbrisch acknowledged “those who work quietly in the background to make the world a better place.

“We are all sustained in service by people who provide us with encouragement on days we really need it,” she said.

Jeffrey C. South received the University Distinguished Teaching Award. After 11 years at the School of Mass Communications teaching 11 different courses — including three that he helped develop — South still relishes getting in front of a classroom.

An enthusiastic learner as well as teacher, South is known as an evangelist for technology and is a big proponent of incorporating it in the classroom. He believes it is vital for journalists today to be familiar with the state of technology. South also makes time to share his insight with fellow teachers and journalists. He has participated in more than 90 panel discussions and workshops ranging from ethical training sessions to writing for the Web to how to use the Blackboard course management system.

“I usually describe myself as a recovering newspaper reporter,” South said. “VCU sensed things in about me that I didn’t know at the time — like how much I’d enjoy teaching.

“Good teaching takes time. … Good teaching takes collaboration. … Good teaching takes engagement. … Good teaching means taking risks,” he said, respectively thanking his partner, colleagues, students and VCU for providing him with all the things needed to be a good teacher.

The recipient of the University Distinguished Scholarship Award was David C. Wojahn. The celebrated and prolific career of poet and teacher Wojahn spans more than 30 years. Despite juggling the dual roles of writer and educator, Wojahn, the director of VCU’s creative writing program, never struggled to find a balance between the two. The winner of numerous awards and prizes, including being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, Wojahn is well known for his lack of pretension.

Wojahn has taught in seven highly respected graduate-level creative writing programs, including VCU’s, which ranks 50th in the nation according to U.S. News &World Report and has earned a reputation as a dedicated teacher and mentor.

“This is indeed a great honor, Wojahn said. “Every day when I come onto campus, I feel I have the best of both worlds — wonderful colleagues, students and a job I love. It’s made my writing different — and better.”

“The four faculty members we honor today … not only have served this institution’s students, their professions, the community and the greater society, but they also serve as inspiring reminders of how each and every one of us can make vital contributions to this great institution on a daily basis,” Trani said.