Massey’s Golden Anniversary

By Paul Brockwell Jr. and Annie Harris

In 2024, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center celebrates 50 years of fueling innovation in cancer research and building community partnerships through excellent patient- and community-centered care.

Founded in 1974, Massey was among the earliest cancer centers in the U.S. to be designated by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health and the nation’s preeminent authority in cancer research. In 2023, Massey received designation as the nation’s 54th Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest level of distinction bestowed by the NCI, reflecting its exceptional scientific leadership, depth of research, community outreach, and cancer research training and education. Today, Massey is recognized as the first in a new generation of NCI-designated cancer centers where community needs lie at the heart of everything that is accomplished.

From its earliest days, Massey attracted nationally and internationally known researchers and clinicians who have moved cancer research and patient care forward. Along the way, philanthropic support has played a critical role in ensuring the center’s success and advancing its mission for innovative research, community outreach and patient care.

“When I arrived at Massey, it was clear to me that the only way we could move forward and grow the center and become an even greater center of excellence was through the generosity of philanthropy,” said Gordon Ginder, M.D., who directed Massey from 1997 to 2019. “We wouldn’t be having a discussion today about a comprehensive cancer center if it were not for the passionate generosity of our community and philanthropists who really fed our mission and allowed us to accomplish what we could over the last 50 years.”

Massey’s founding director, Walter Lawrence Jr., M.D., a surgeon and former president of the American Cancer Society, was part of a small group that began discussions about developing a cancer center in 1974, and he led Massey to its first NCI designation one year later in 1975, placing it among the country’s elite cancer research institutions. Dr. Lawrence was also an early champion for social justice and health equity, a legacy that continues today through initiatives designed to build community trust and train the next generation of cancer specialists.

Directors I. David Goldman, M.D., and Dr. Ginder guided Massey on a trajectory of steady growth, designed to build its scientific base while sharpening its dedication to translational research. Since 2019, under the direction of Robert A. Winn, M.D., Massey has expanded its national and global reach, becoming a model for excellence and equity in cancer research and a leader in the global fight against cancer.

“For 50 years, Massey has been at the forefront of what is now a growing movement toward community engagement in cancer care and research; we embrace our community members as equal experts and research partners,” said Dr. Winn, Massey director and Lipman Chair in Oncology. “My predecessors, including and especially Massey’s founding director, Dr. Lawrence, as well as many clinicians and researchers who came before me, set Massey on the path to national prominence we are walking now. I have enjoyed revisiting memories of Massey’s history and impact on our community this year.”