Medical school gift makes its mark on the future

After more than 30 years away, Dr. John F. Butterworth IV (M.D. ’79) returned to his Richmond, Va., roots in 2011, just in time to be a part of history in the making through a gift to the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s new state-of-the-art medical education center. 

Butterworth, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology in the School of Medicine, and his faculty colleagues patiently wait as the countdown to completion continues so that the next era in medical training at VCU can begin.

Construction on the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center is transforming the site of the former A.D. Williams Clinic at the corner of 12th and Marshall streets into a $158.6 million, 200,000-square-foot, 12-story facility set to open this spring. 

Designed as a hub for active, team-based learning (required by the school’s new curriculum), the building’s space encourages small-group studies and includes expanded areas for cancer research, clinical-skills training and simulation labs for a growing student body and lifelong learners from the school’s alumni body.

As a result of his gift, Butterworth’s name will appear on the donor wall in the lobby of the building, which is funded by the state of Virginia, VCU Health System and university funds, and private gifts.

“What makes the new medical education building unique is that it offers so many locations for smaller group interaction, teaching and learning,” Butterworth said. “For students in the first two years, there typically isn’t much opportunity for interaction to synthesize information and to learn how to use that information. So many medical schools lack the appropriate architecture for those interactions and that’s what this building is all about — fostering interactions opposed to random rooms with chairs.”  

Dr. Jerome F. Strauss III, dean of the School of Medicine, is especially grateful when faculty colleagues, “who already do so much,” give to the campaign.

“Their experiences and perspectives are already shaping the training that we will provide our students and trainees in our new medical education center,” he said. “I expect the generosity of Dr. Butterworth and other faculty to the medical school’s campaign will be an inspiration to their fellow faculty members and also to our alumni. And in that way, the impact of their gift reaches far beyond its financial assistance.”

Butterworth’s family history runs deep at the VCU School of Medicine. His late father, Dr. John F. Butterworth III (M.D. ’52; H.S. ’57), completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at MCV in 1957 and his great-uncle, Jack H. Baskerville, served the MCV Foundation board of trustees in a variety of roles during the 1970s.

“I’m glad to be in a position to help the school. If we want it to be a great university, and I want my school to be a part of that, then philanthropy is essential.”

To learn more about the School of Medicine’s new medical education center, contact Tom Holland, associate dean for development, at (804) 828-4800 or teholland@vcu.edu.