Dear colleagues,
For the first time since 2019, the MCV Campus was able to celebrate an in-person Reunion Weekend. The School of Medicine had a great turnout with about 320 alumni and guests attending.
Our M.D. graduates – from as recent as 10 years ago and from as long ago as 55 years – had the chance to connect with classmates and also with alumni from other eras. At lunch, one alum commented she was impressed to know that those in attendance included the current president of the American Academy of Family Physicians as well as a retired medical toxicologist who was instrumental in creating the national hotline for poison control centers.
In just a few conversations with Reunion Weekend attendees, you quickly learn about the impact that our graduates have in communities across the nation. We are grateful for their continuing engagement with their alma mater, including through the Reunion Class Giving program. Nine of the classes celebrating Reunion Weekend have chosen to direct their gifts to our scholarship program, and early estimates indicate almost a half million dollars in new gifts and pledges has already been committed for scholarships and other needs in the medical school.
The weekend’s programs gave alumni the chance to learn what medical school is like today. They visited the Center for Human Simulation and Patient Safety for hands-on scenarios and attended a mini-medical school program that provided an update on a host of topics including Anatomy Rounds, a program that is likely unique in the U.S. for its approach to a fundamental piece of the medical school’s curriculum. You can learn more and see a photo gallery from the weekend.
The chance to interact with students and hear about their experiences is always a popular part of Reunion. I’m grateful for the help of our student presenters and our excellent tour guides as well as for those department chairs who came out on Friday evening to help me welcome back our alumni.
Reunion Weekend also was the venue for celebrating the 1838 Scholarship Campaign that raised $27 million for endowed scholarships over seven years. On Saturday afternoon, we had the chance to thank some of those donors in person. We are looking forward to this spring when a donor wall will be installed on the ground floor of the McGlothlin Medical Education Center, paying tribute to the generosity of the campaign’s leadership donors.
Alumni can be stellar advocates and champions. I appreciate the work of our Development and Alumni Relations Office as well as all those who ensured Reunion Weekend continues to be an unsurpassed opportunity for furthering our graduates’ connections to their alma mater.
Respectfully,
