April 24, 2017

Personnel Announcement

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To the VCU and VCU Health communities,

Vice President for Research and Innovation Francis Macrina has informed me of his desire to transition during the next year from the vice presidency position to the School of Dentistry where he holds the Edward Myers Chair in Dentistry. In returning to the School, Dr. Macrina aims to reengage his faculty role contributing to teaching, research, and service. In particular he is looking forward to expanding his teaching and scholarship in research ethics, a field where he has established an international reputation. 

Dr. Macrina is in his 43rd year of service at VCU. Over the course of his career he has chaired two basic science departments, directed two research institutes and served as vice president on two occasions. This month he will have served as Vice President for Research and Innovation for 12 consecutive years. Dr. Macrina has led the Office of Research and Innovation through transformative change over this time. Organizational changes have included the formation of offices that deal with postdoctoral services, research infrastructure, research development services, undergraduate research opportunities, research integrity and ethics, and innovation economy. The Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research was formed under the Office of Research and Innovation and its director reports to the vice president.   

Sponsored research awards on Dr. Macrina’s watch grew from $205 million in 2005 to $271 million in 2016. Reflecting this outstanding faculty-driven research enterprise, VCU has been ranked for the past five consecutive years by the National Science Foundation as a top 100 research university based on federal research expenditures.  

A national search for Dr. Macrina’s successor will begin shortly with the aim of having a new Vice President for Research and Innovation on board sometime in the 2017-18 academic year. Dr. Macrina will continue in the position until the new vice president is on board.

I look forward to working with Dr. Macrina during this transition and ask you to join me in thanking him for his many contributions as a senior administrator and for his continuing service to VCU.

Sincerely,
 
Michael Rao, Ph.D.
President, VCU and VCU Health System