Interview with President Michael Rao, President of Virginia Commonwealth University

In this week’s episode of Weekly Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Doug Lederman announced that Virginia Commonwealth University has joined the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) as a new member. Bridget explained, “The University Innovation Alliance is a collection of institutions who are scaling innovation to eliminate their equity gaps and actually improve outcomes and produce more high-quality graduates across the country.”

Michael Rao, the President of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and VCU Health, a research and teaching institution and comprehensive healthcare system, was this week’s guest. A few of the main topics discussed were the partnership between UIA and VCU, collaborative endeavors, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted VCU’s role in the community.

Doug began off the conversation by asking, “What attracted VCU to UIA?” and “What does your institution gain from this partnership?”

President Rao said, “We have a lot in common. We are motivated to make a difference. We are geared to research that matters to people.” He shared that he likes having regular contact with colleagues to learn from each other.

Bridget added that “VCU shares UIA’s values.” She said, the UIA president is willing to talk about the hard stuff. President Rao continued to answer Doug’s question by sharing that when he started as President of VCU the graduation rate was under 50% in terms of their 6-year graduation rate and now the graduation rate is around 70%.

He feels there is more that can be done to reach diverse populations. He thinks colleagues can learn from each other -- and what works and doesn’t work for different groups of people. “What we as presidents expect to gain from each other is sharing positive energy about what’s possible.”

Bridget asked President Rao to share examples of collaborative endeavors he has experienced. He shared that when he was on the NCAA board, he discovered, “it was worth every second I put into it because I got so much back.” He found chatting with other presidents in between board meetings about similar issues they were both dealing with and asked, “What do you think?”

He also said that when he was chair of the statewide council of presidents, along with the president of the University of Virginia, they were connecting two to three times a week via phone and eventually via video during COVID-19. It helped to not be a “lonely island.”

“Putting people in the right place” is critical for a president, said President Rao. Strategies are shaped by conversations with other presidents.

Bridget asked President Rao to expand about why it is helpful for presidents to team up. He shared an example, “One of my big jobs was to start a new medical school at the other institution from which I had come. I teamed up with a president who had started a new medical school. He was literally just a year or two ahead of me. I went and visited him and his team, and I came back with a very clear plan.”

Doug asked, “How has VCU’s role in the community shifted during the pandemic?”

President Rao responded, “a lot of the changes are focused on more inclusively engaging with people who have not been a part of what has been going on.” He shared an example of how they switched their freshman convocation from an indoor event to an outdoor event with more than 4,000 people there.

Several students expressed appreciation for not canceling the in-person event and not being in front of a screen. There were also many students who asked, “Can you get more stuff online for us? We really like that option.” He shared with the freshmen, “There is more information out there than there has ever been, but also more agenda’s than there have ever been. You’ve got to develop your own sense and your own gut of what you believe in. What are your values? Decide whether what you are hearing matches that.”