Dr. William R. Brody, president emeritus of Johns Hopkins University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, will serve as Randolph-Macon College’s 2023 Commencement speaker. 

“I’m thrilled and honored to welcome Dr. Brody back to our campus to serve as our Commencement speaker,” RMC President Robert Lindgren said. “His life and career—as a doctor, an educator, a leader, and an entrepreneur—has been truly inspiring and I look forward to hearing his message to our graduates that will surely encourage them to lead lives of purpose and meaning.”

RMC will award Dr. Brody an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the Commencement ceremony. The College will also confer an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on Elizabeth B. Lacy, the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Dr. William R. Brody

Dr. Brody has forged a remarkable career in both medicine and academia as a professor, researcher, entrepreneur, and leader. He has led two of the world’s leading research institutions, serving as president of the Johns Hopkins University from 1996-2009, then president of the Salk Institute from 2009-2016.

Dr. Brody earned both a B.S. and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before earning an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He continued his postgraduate training as a resident in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Stanford, a clinical associate in the surgery branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and a resident in the radiology department at the University of California, San Francisco.

Between 1977 and 1986, Dr. Brody held several appointments at the Stanford University School of Medicine, including professor of radiology and electrical engineering, director of the Advanced Imaging Techniques Laboratory, and Director of Research Laboratories, Division of Diagnostic Radiology.

His ingenuity and expertise in the field of radiology led him to co-found five medical device companies, including the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device manufacturer Resonex, for which he served as President and CEO.

In 1987, Dr. Brody moved to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as the Martin Donner Professor and Director of the Department of Radiology and taught radiology, electrical and computer engineering, and biomedical engineering. He also served as the radiologist-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. After a two-year stint as the provost overseeing the health sciences and hospitals at the University of Minnesota, he was named president of Johns Hopkins University in 1996.

A renowned scientist, Dr. Brody has published over 100 articles in U.S. medical journals. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American College of Radiology, the American College of Cardiology, the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the American Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He is a sought-after thought leader, serving on corporate and non-profit boards including IBM, T. Rowe Price Mutual Funds, the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and the Science Board of the Food and Drug Administration.

In addition to his professional and scholarly pursuits, Dr. Brody is a licensed pilot, a concert pianist, and is conversant in Mandarin.

Elizabeth B. Lacy

Lacy is a trailblazer in the legal field in the Commonwealth of Virginia, holding the distinction of being the first female Deputy Attorney General in the state, the first female judge on the State Corporation Commission, and the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Lacy graduated from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana with a B.A. in history in 1966 before earning her J.D. from the University of Texas Law School in 1969. She later received a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia in 1992.

She started her legal career as a staff attorney for the Texas Legislative Council before holding several positions in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. From 1982-85, Lacy served as the Deputy Attorney General in Virginia, working within the Judicial Affairs Division. There, she supervised antitrust and consumer litigation, civil litigation, opinions and regulations, and claims sections.

Virginia Governor Charles S. Robb appointed Lacy to the State Corporation Commission in 1985, an independent state agency that has regulatory jurisdiction of state-chartered financial institutions, public utilities, railroads, motor carriers, insurance, securities, and corporations. She was the first woman to serve on the Commission and held that post for almost four years.

In 1988, Governor Gerald L. Baliles appointed Lacy to the Supreme Court of Virginia, with the General Assembly electing her to twelve-year terms in 1989 and again in 2001. As a justice, Lacy earned a reputation for her no-nonsense approach. She advised lawyers to submit their briefs in English, not legalese, and wrote hundreds of opinions on a variety of subjects. She retired from the court in August 2007 to take status as a Senior Justice, a role in which she served until 2019.

Lacy has been recognized by the American Bar Association as a Woman Trailblazer and by the Library of Virginia as a 2008 Virginia Women in History honoree.

RMC’s Commencement ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 28 at 10 a.m. at the Frank E. Brown Fountain Plaza. Tickets are not required for the event.