Cover Story
Gift of a lifetime
Doctor’s $104 million VCU donation aids liver research
For Dr. Todd Stravitz, February was an opportune time to make the largest gift in the history of Virginia Commonwealth University — a $104 million donation to support liver research. The retired medical director of VCU Health’s Hume-Lee Transplant Center, Stravitz is an heir to the Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. fortune. His mother, Barbara
Opinion
Interesting times
Published
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes, according to an apt but apocryphal quote frequently misattributed to Mark Twain. We’re certainly seeing that dynamic writ large in the 2020s, though events don’t seem content with reviving just one era. A deadly pandemic has taken millions of lives across the globe. Inflation and mortgage rates
From This Issue
Home improvement
U.Va. aims to tackle area affordable housing
Published
Affordable housing isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the University of Virginia. But it’s top of mind for U.Va. officials who have pledged to support the development of 1,000 to 1,500 affordable housing units in Charlottesville and Albemarle County over the next decade. To jump-start the effort, U.Va. is
Running on empty
Health care professionals struggle with stress, burnout
Published
First, doctors say they’re sorry for calling. Dr. Allison Cotton, a psychiatrist in Reno, Nevada, co-founded the national Physician Support Line in March 2020 to provide peer mental health support to physicians. She says their impulse to apologize shows the need for the service. “They’re apologizing for using a resource which is literally created for
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Back to work
Charlottesville bucks lagging office space trend
Published
Although the nation’s commercial real estate market is still lagging for the most part, that isn’t the case in Charlottesville, where fresh new multiuse projects have perked up interest in workspaces. The nationwide vacancy rate for office space in the first quarter of 2022 was a rather dreary 15.7%, according to Yardi Matrix, a commercial
E&H course demystifies blockchain for businesses
Published
Business professionals will join Emory & Henry College students this summer for a course that will suggest how blockchain technology can help entrepreneurs, ultimately aiding development in Southwest Virginia. A collaboration between E&H’s School of Business, InvestSWVA and William & Mary’s Global Research Institute, the course will demystify the fundamentals of a technology with far-reaching
‘The world is behind them’
Virginia companies aid Ukraine relief efforts
Published
In late March, Stanislas Vilgrain drove in a convoy of eight trucks from France to Ukraine for 26 hours through a snowstorm, keeping an ear to the radio for news of Russian attacks, The convoy’s mission: to deliver 400,000 meals to Ukrainians from Vilgrain’s Sterling-based business, Cuisine Solutions. The French-born chairman of a company that
Ad agency spotlights historic editor, businessman
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The life of 19th century Richmond Planet newspaper editor John Mitchell Jr. — who fearlessly railed against lynching and segregation — will be showcased in a documentary debuting at the 11th annual Richmond International Film Festival on June 10. Mitchell became editor of the Richmond Planet at 21, two years after the paper’s founding in
Top Five stories, June 2022
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The top trending major business stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from April 15 to May 14 were led by news of the merger of Roanoke-based Woods Rogers PLC and Norfolk-based Vandeventer Black LLP. 1 | Woods Rogers, Vandeventer Black law firms to merge July 1 Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black will be the state’s fifth-largest firm, with a
Hershey plant unionization effort continues
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Despite a resounding defeat, organizers are still fighting to unionize The Hershey Co. plant in Stuarts Draft. In late March, about 79% of the plant’s workers voted against unionizing at Hershey, the largest employer in Augusta County with nearly 1,500 workers. But while that battle might be over, the war is not, according to officials
Boeing will move global HQ to Arlington
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The Boeing Co., the world’s third-largest defense contractor, is moving its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, the company announced May 5. With more than 141,500 employees worldwide and operations in more than 65 countries, the aerospace and defense company will be the largest defense contractor headquartered in Virginia. Boeing already employs 400 people at its
The gift givers
Personal passions, ideals turn into major donations
Published
While 2020 represented a significant year for philanthropic shifts toward social and racial justice causes, 2021 and early 2022 have seen a return to traditional giving, with many of Virginia’s largest donations benefiting universities, medical research and the arts. Donations to Virginia institutions — topped by a $104 million gift in February from Dr.
