External Affairs leaders appointed to new positions
As of July 1, 2021, Connie McKenzie, MSW, CFRE, formerly Senior Associate Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations, will become Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations. Vincent Rhodes, PhD, APR, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications, has been promoted to Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
"Since their arrival at EVMS more than a decade ago, Connie and Vincent have had a noteworthy impact on the institution," says Richard V. Homan, MD, President and Provost of EVMS and Dean of the School of Medicine. "They have consistently provided exceptional service to the school, and their efforts have contributed to our growth and enhanced our reputation locally and nationally."
Ms. McKenzie guides a department of development and alumni relations professionals who build relationships with individuals, foundations and corporations capable of gifts to EVMS. The alumni team help EVMS alumni maintain important connections and facilitate alumni-student interaction for enriching the educational experience.
The Development Department is currently engaged in a six-year capital campaign, "Deliver on the Promise." Ms. McKenzie and her team manage this successful capital campaign, which is projected to raise almost twice the original goal of $35 million to an increase in $75 million committed to EVMS.
The successful work by the Development Department on the prior campaign resulted in EVMS receiving the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Hampton Roads’ 2013 National Philanthropy Day Award for Outstanding Non-profit in Fundraising and Connie was subsequently awarded the AFP–HR’s Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award in 2014. In that same year, Ms. McKenzie received EVMS’ highest honor, the Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Ms. McKenzie holds a bachelor's in psychology from Radford University, a master's in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). She is a graduate of the CIVIC Leadership Institute Program as well as Lead Hampton Roads and Ignite Chesapeake, leadership programs of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. She is a Past-President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals–Hampton Roads and Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach. In 2007, she was recognized by Inside Business as a Top Forty under 40 honoree. She currently serves as a board member for the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic Foundation.
Dr. Rhodes oversees public and media relations, executive communications, content marketing, crisis communications, creative services and digital media. Dr. Rhodes also teaches Strategic Communications in the School of Health Professions' Doctor of Health Sciences and Master in Healthcare Delivery Science programs.
Dr. Rhodes has been a freelance graphic designer and feature writer since 1992. His work has been recognized with a variety of awards from PR News, Vital Speeches of the Day, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Public Relations Society of America, PRSA Hampton Roads, the National School Public Relations Association, the Florida Magazine Association and others.
He has received two PRSA Awards of Excellence (Silver Anvil finalist) and multiple AAMC Group on Institutional Advancement (GIA) Awards for Excellence. In 2019, Dr. Rhodes earned the PRSA Hampton Roads P. Lee Starkey PR Professional of the Year Pinnacle Award. In 2020, he and his team won the AAMC GIA Best in Show. In addition, Dr. Rhodes is the AAMC GIA Vice Chair for Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs, serves on the AAMC GIA national steering committee and previously served for multiple years on the PRSA Hampton Roads Board of Directors.
Dr. Rhodes earned a bachelor's in communication with a minor in biology from James Madison University, along with a master's in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and a doctorate in New Media and Professional Writing from ODU. He holds the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) designation from PRSA.