VCU president, Police Chief to serve on Stoney transition team

Two members of the VCU administration will assist in guiding mayor-elect Levar Stoney as he transitions into office.

President Michael Rao and Police Chief John Venuti are both members of the 41-person transition team Stoney announced Nov. 23.

Other members of the team include state delegates, university presidents, county supervisors, business leaders and local professionals.

“On the campaign, Levar committed to bringing the public, private and nonprofit sectors together to get things done,” said Stoney spokesman Matt Corridoni in an email. “You’re already seeing that happen based on the individuals he has selected to join this committee, with the different sectors they represent and their breadth and depth of experience.”

According to Thad Williamson, an associate professor at the University of Richmond and the director of the transition committee, the 41-person team is broken down into three subcommittees to help advise Stoney in different areas.

Williamson said the full transition team met once last weekend and will likely meet once more next month. He said most of the work will be done within the subcommittees.

One subcommittee will focus on how Stoney will both organize his office and prepare to take on the job of being mayor of Richmond, Williamson said.

Another subcommittee will determine how various campaign promises Stoney made can be translated into an “actionable plan” within the first 100 days and up to the first 18 months of being in office; the third will review all the agencies of city government to determine how they can be improved, according to Williamson.

Rao became the fifth president of VCU and the VCU Health System in 2009. MCV is the largest employer in the Richmond area with approximately 20,000 employees, and the sixth largest in Virginia.

Prior to coming to VCU, Rao president of Mission College, chancellor of Montana State University-Northern and president of Central Michigan University.

Venuti has been chief of the VCU Police Department since February 2010. VCU PD is one of the largest university police departments in the country with more than 200 security personnel and an accredited training academy.

The transition team is also comprised of both Democratic and Republican state lawmakers, including Del. Christopher K. Peace (R – Hanover) and Del. Delores L. McQuinn (D – Richmond).

Another team member is Richmond Councilman and Stoney’s former opponent for mayor Jon Baliles (1st District, West End). Baliles dropped his mayoral bid in late October and announced he was endorsing Stoney earlier this month.

“My endorsement of Levar Stoney for mayor comes down to my belief that he best represents the next generation of leadership for our city that will work collaboratively with others to make the best decisions,” Baliles said in a statement.

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Maura Mazurowski
Maura is a senior pursuing degrees in cinema and mass communications. This is her second year at the CT; prior to joining transferring to VCU, Maura was the news editor for two years at Virginia Tech’s student newspaper, the Collegiate Times. Maura has been published in USA TODAY, Elite Daily and other online publications. Her ideal job would involve combining investigative journalism and film. If all else fails, hopefully The Onion will be hiring.
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