from The President

In January, EVMS collaborated with the Urban League of Hampton Roads on its 34th annual breakfast honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As I review the stories in this edition of EVMS Magazine, a quote from Dr. King comes to mind: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Three community leaders we salute within these pages clearly took that question to heart.

EVMS will be forever grateful for the generosity and wisdom of Macon Brock, a beloved and brilliant community leader who passed away in December. Co-founder of the Dollar Tree, Inc., and a nationally honored philanthropist, Mr. Brock and his wife, Joan Brock, helped establish the M. Foscue Brock Institute of Community and Global Health at EVMS, advancing our vision to be the most community-oriented school of medicine and health professions in the nation.

Also in December, Toy Savage Jr., a well-known attorney, former state legislator and key early supporter of EVMS, died at age 96. In the 1960s, Mr. Savage promoted the idea of a medical school in southeastern Virginia despite significant opposition, because he knew what it would mean for the community. He remained committed to our institution for decades as a long-time member of the EVMS Foundation Board of Trustees.

Carrying on their devotion to service is our distinguished alumnus and faculty member, the Hon. Ralph Northam, MD (MD ’84), Virginia’s new governor. EVMS students and residents will miss him on our faculty, and his pediatric neurology care also will be missed in our community. But having a physician with his knowledge, insight and expertise leading Virginia will provide many opportunities important to the health of the patients we serve.

May the lives of these thoughtful leaders inspire each of us to answer “life’s most persistent and urgent question” in our own unique ways.