At our 4th Annual Convocation event, “Reflecting on our Journey, Advancing our Purpose,” the School of Pharmacy community gathered to hear from keynote speaker Arturo Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., with insights from his new role as VCU’s provost and executive vice president and lessons from his life and career at the intersection of medicine and academia, the crossroads of patient care and education.

Saavedra called upon the school’s newest Pharm.D., graduate and undergraduate students to think about "the problem that you can't stand" and become a part of solving it.

“When I was a medical student very much your age, we didn't have a cure for HIV,” said Saavedra, whose specialty is dermatopathology. “People came into the clinic, often a dermatology clinic, with a changing mole: ‘Is this melanoma?’ ‘It's not. It's Kaposi sarcoma. You have AIDS, and we have nothing to offer.’ Nothing. There was nothing. I mean, people came to your clinic, and you did not give them follow-up appointments. And in a short life – I'm not that old – in a short life, we have found antiretroviral treatments. We have now systems in which serodiscordant couples can have children who are HIV-negative, and we have made a disease that had no treatment more manageable, more like a chronic disease like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. That’s in a short time.

“When I was in medical school, 30% of people with CML, chronic myeloid leukemia, died. We treat that at home with a tablet.

“So, in a lifetime, if you understand the depth of that incredible impact, now think today: What will be different in 20 years based on the job you do, the research you perform, the students you teach, and more importantly, the students we all raise to solve those problems in the future? In 20 years, think: ‘What will no longer be a problem?’ That's an incredible motivator.”

In considering the landscape of higher education, Saavedra spoke about what sets VCU apart. For example, the university’s close collaboration with employers – including partnerships underway from VCU School of Pharmacy – is changing the game in terms of workforce development.

“Do you remember the time where the greatest painter was the greatest astronomer and the greatest sculpturist was the best scientist?” Saavedra asked the audience of more than 100 students, trainees, faculty and staff. “Why have we defined intelligence and achievement as narrow but deep slices of knowledge? When did that become the only reward for achievement? How do we think about that and reintroduce it in the newest wave of our history.

“We are just seeing a whole new way by which employers think about education. Yes, there's conceptual knowledge. There's practical application, and guess what? There's a quiet observation and thought.”

In discussing what advice he has for the audience as they begin the new school year, Saavedra spoke about the unique nature of VCU students, trainees, faculty and staff as problem-solvers.

“Think about what happens when you do endeavor to think differently or to find a solution to a problem just by twisting things around a little bit. Whether it is in the sciences or the humanities, the impact that you have on those who come behind you is enormous. Remember the HIV story, the CML story. Every paper that you write may not end up with a Nobel Prize, but someone may pick it up and then make another connection, and it's that chain of life that, through research, improves The Human Condition. I am here to tell you because I have seen it.”

And he added a charge for the members of the audience as they headed into the new year.

“I mean this with all sincerity and with great emotion: Don't be afraid to change a life. Because you will. And whether it is a quiet student that needs help, or it is a patient that benefits from your research, or just another person that benefits from you saying hi and acting kindly, you will impact lives. And if each of us does that once? Maybe we change the world. And that is not a dream. That's a task.”

Before handing out seven faculty and staff awards and celebrating three new faculty promotions, K.C. Ogbonna, Pharm.D., M.S.H.A., dean and Archie O. McCalley Chair at VCU School of Pharmacy, reflected on the remarkable momentum we’ve experienced in 2025-26.

“Our theme today – ‘Reflecting on our Journey, Advancing our Purpose’ – reflects exactly where we stand as a school. This has been a year of remarkable momentum,” Ogbonna said. “We should take pride in how far we've come, but we can also be equally energized by what lies ahead. We have an outstanding crew, a phenomenal team with a shared sense of purpose and tremendous zeal to think about what comes next, but also to do those things that can be challenging. So, I want to say thank you and share immense gratitude to this community for not just the last year but making the last four and a half years of my deanship incredibly fulfilling. You all make a difference each day, and I am thankful to this community.”

Faculty and staff awards and recognition

Not pictured: Benjamin Van Tassell, Pharm.D., wins the Bertha Rolfe Teacher of the Year Award.

 

Faculty promotions

Not pictured: Jiong Li, Ph.D., is promoted to associate professor with tenure

Photos by Nancy Parker/Cabay Photo