At the Intersection of Healthcare and Innovation
Pardon our dust, we’re growing!
EVMS has broken ground on a new building at the corner of Brambleton and Colley avenues. Scheduled to open in 2020, this new academic center will be a vital hub for the collaborative work that defines our distinctive approach to medicine, and support the next generation of leadership and growth at EVMS.
Pictured from left to right: Jon, Melanie, Brad, Terri, Kathy (Scott-Waitzer), Eddie, Richard and Leah Waitzer
Thank you, Waitzers
Changing the landscape of our campus and our region’s health Eastern Virginia Medical School is pleased to announce the naming of its newest building slated to open in fall 2020; pleased to announce another family determined to deliver on the promise of a healthier Hampton Roads for the next 50 years.
The Waitzers’ most recent gift will change the landscape of our campus and our region’s health. Waitzer Hall is more than a building. It is a commitment to recruiting the best faculty and students, to conducting innovative research, to delivering outstanding patient care to those who call Hampton Roads home.
The Leah & Richard Waitzer Foundation
Leadership has been the cornerstone of the Waitzers’ lifelong commitment to their community. Married for over 60 years and graduates of the Norfolk Public Schools, they have given their time, talent and treasure to making Hampton Roads a better place.
Images courtesy of EYP/RRMM
Waitzer Hall
Opening Fall 2020
Two-section building:
Three-story podium and 11-story tower
- 138,000 gross square feet
- 89,000 net square feet
- 310 parking spaces
Podium
- Three 170-seat classrooms
- Two 60-seat classrooms
- One 170-seat testing center
- Formal and informal student study spaces with more than 200 seats
- Wellness center
Tower
- Top three floors for education, faculty and academic administration space
- Seven floors for parking
- Ground floor for academic and support space
EVMS Through the Years
EVMS was conceived of as a critical part of the Eastern Virginia Medical Center in the early 1960s as the City of Norfolk was undertaking an urban revitalization.
Congressman Porter Hardy, attorney Harry Mansbach, physician Mason Andrews and businessman Henry Clay Hofheimer were key volunteers who helped lead the effort to raise the funds necessary to establish EVMS. This photo celebrates an early fundraising achievement.
The early physician graduates of the new medical school included corpsmen who had gained experience during the Vietnam war.
EVMS gained worldwide attention in December 1981 with the birth of “test tube” baby Elizabeth Carr. She was the first child born in the United States through the then-new art of in vitro fertilization.
In the 1980s, business and community leaders came together in response to high rates of diabetes in Southeastern Virginia. The result of their effort was the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center, which has provided patient care, patient education and cutting edge research for three decades.
EVMS’ ties to the community run deep. One example is the Medical and Health Specialties Program at Maury High School, a collaboration with EVMS that has encouraged generations of youth to explore their interests in medical and health careers.
Watch the construction of Waitzer Hall
A generation ago, the people in Hampton Roads were extremely generous when they established this medical school in response to a physician shortage. With another physician shortage looming by 2020, we are relying on the community’s generosity once again. Our new building will provide much-needed space for the growing number of physicians and health professionals that we train. Every gift made to EVMS is an investment in the future of healthcare in Hampton Roads. Thank you for supporting EVMS. For more information about how your gift can impact EVMS, please contact EVMS Development at giving@evms.edu or 757.965.8500.