ERIC KOLENICH
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The building for the Massey Cancer Center sits atop a hill overlooking Interstate 95 in downtown Richmond. From his first-floor office window, Dr. Robert Winn can see the cars whizzing by, Shockoe Bottom and the place where people were sold as slaves 200 years ago.
Last year, Virginia Commonwealth University appointed Winn the director of its cancer center. Among the 71 federally designated cancer centers in the U.S., Winn, 56, is the only director who is Black.
Because he grew up in a modest neighborhood in eastern Buffalo, N.Y., he approaches the role of cancer center director differently. He has a vision of bringing Massey to the Richmond community, especially its most vulnerable, and on this early December day, he explained his vision to Masseyâs junior faculty. He placed his MacBook on a stack of magazines and books, removed his mask and gazed into the camera.