VCU Profile: Thomas Rosenthal, Rector of the Board of Visitors

Chair of Jewish Family Services. Chair of the Valentine Richmond Historic Center. General campaign chair for the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond. Board member for the VCU Health System. And the list goes on, board after board, organization after organization. You'd never guess it from the looks of his resume but Thomas Rosenthal harbors passions outside of community involvement-about 25 years worth of playing golf included.

Rosenthal, the rector of the Board of Visitors (the most powerful body at VCU), loves golf because "Nobody's throwing the ball at you. [It's just] me competing against me...when something goes wrong, I can only blame myself. I'm not a bad golfer. My handicap's around an 8; [the quality of my game] depends on how many other things I'm thinking about."

Another one of his thrills derives from the fact that he can tell a lot about people when he golfs with them because it's a "personal and physical activity." In the four hours it usually takes him to play a social game, he claims he can gauge aspects of his opponent's demeanor, such as their natural competitiveness and level of anxiousness or self-consciousness.

"If people cheat at golf," Rosenthal begins, "they're only cheating themselves. After all, it's just you and the golf ball." With that sort of knack for judging someone, perhaps he should play golf with each and every one of the university president candidates.

As the rector of the VCU Board of Visitors since 2007, Rosenthal appointed every single member of the VCU Presidential Search committee. The committee will help the Board of Visitors select the university's next president after current university president, Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., retires on June 30, 2009. The Presidential Search Committee consists of members from across the university: two upper-class students, six members of the Board of Visitors, five faculty members, two staff members, one alumnus and one VCU Foundation member.

Rosenthal is already familiar with President Trani's golfing habits because he regularly plays with him to "talk about university business." Rosenthal also plays with other members of the VCU community: the golf team, and the athletic director Norwood T. Teague among others.

"A lot of VCU alumni play golf," Rosenthal says.

John Rollins, Rosenthal's favorite celebrity golfer, is actually a VCU graduate. Rosenthal follows his games on television and would one day like to meet Rollins. Generally speaking, though, Rosenthal only occasionally watches golf on TV because he doesn't own cable. "TV's not my thing," he explains.

Rosenthal became a part of the VCU community himself when he was appointed to the VCU Health School of Pharmacy Board in the mid-80s. Professional, Rosenthal is the CEO of MedOutcomes, Inc., a company that provides higher education opportunities for pharmacists. He graduated from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business here he studied entrepreneurial management and competed in target shooting. Rosenthal did not, however, play on the U. Penn golf team but rather learned the game, which he calls a "later in life hobby," at age 30.

Rosenthal's golf games extend outside of Richmond, as well. Although he learned to play at Richmond's Jefferson Lakeside Club, he plays at his vacation home in South Carolina, too. Some of his favorite golfing locations include southern California and, more locally, the Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Va.

What is Rosenthal's biggest advice for anyone trying to learn golf or improve their game? He embraces the old mantra: "Practice. You can't just go out and learn to play it." He recommends seeking out a golf professional for one-on-one lessons.

His wife Wendy, a former assistant professor at the VCU School of Pharmacy, disregards Rosenthal's "practice rule." When she plays golf with Rosenthal, she stops playing after nine holes while her husband plays 18 every time.

"I just love being with Tom, outdoors," Wendy explains.

Rosenthal says that his wife, Wendy, "loves it when I play golf because she views it as hubby daycare---those are five hours she doesn't have to put up with me!"

When asked what quality of Rosenthal's personality emerges when he plays golf, Wendy says golf brings out her husband's competitive side. "When he gets on the golf course, he takes his game seriously but at the same time I appreciate that he's not throwing golf clubs."

Instead, Rosenthal just likes to prove to himself how good he can be.