One hundred years of neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University (1919–2019)

The Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019. It was founded by C. C. Coleman, who directed the US Army School of Brain Surgery during World War I and was one of the original members of the Society of Neurological Surgeons. Coleman began a residency program that was among the first four such programs in the United States and that produced such prominent graduates as Frank Mayfield, Gayle Crutchfield, and John Meredith. Neurosurgery at VCU later became a division under the medical school’s surgery department. Division chairs included William Collins and Donald Becker. It was during the Becker years that VCU became a leading National Institutes of Health–funded neurotrauma research center. Harold Young oversaw the transition from division to department and expanded the practice base of the program. In 2015, Alex Valadka assumed leadership and established international collaborations for research and education. In its first 100 years, VCU Neurosurgery has distinguished itself as an innovator in clinical research and an incubator of compassionate and service-oriented physicians.

Gallery of Chairs: A Word or Two from Some Education Division Chairs

Adapted from the SLA Conference Slide Presentation by Maya Kucij [...]

Vertical Transmission

Constitutional reform was on the agenda again at the Annual General Meeting in Canberra, as it will be for the next several AGMs I think, as there is clear recognition from the membership that the Society is facing change. The roles of the Divisional chairs and State chairs and the nature of the general meeting were discussed in the light of overall structure. The Council is the principal decision-making body but because the Council only meets twice-yearly, interactions inside the Executive form the operational and strategic engine of ASM. The current Executive includes the incumbent President, with either the incoming (President-Elect) or outgoing (Immediate Past President), the Vice-President Scientific Affairs, Vice-President Corporate Affairs and Vice-President Communications. The Chair roles have long been tasked with national leadership but without a role in Executive they have been preoccupied almost exclusively with the national meeting and speak only at the National Scientific Advisory Committee, which has an enormous operational role managing the bulk of the scientific awards and meetings. The recent move of the Division Chairs into Council as invitees over the last year or two has worked well and the increased involvement of State Chairs similarly. We will be now ratifying these arrangements by seeking formal endorsement at an extraordinary general meeting of the membership to bring the Constitution into line with these arrangements.