Celebrating Dr. Kenneth Blaylock's 60 Years of Service

Below please find a warm tribute by Dr. Laurence DiNardo celebrating the long and distinguished career of W. Kenneth Blaylock, M.D., FAAD, who is retiring at the end of this month after 60 years of service!

From MCV student, to faculty, to department chair, academic leader and mentor to generations of students and residents, Dr. Blaylock has been, in the words of Dr. DiNardo, an “institution at this institution.” Please join me in wishing him the best. 

With gratitude,
Arturo P. Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean, VCU School of Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System

After 60 years of service to the VCU Health System and the School of Medicine, Dr. Kenneth Blaylock will be retiring on June 30^th this year. Dr. Blaylock’s accomplishments and contributions have been integral to the creation of the Department of Dermatology and to the growth of our institution.

A 1958 graduate of the Medical College of Virginia, Dr. Blaylock spent four years at Duke University after graduation, achieving board eligibility in both internal medicine and dermatology. He spent two years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, D.C., as a senior investigator in dermatology, studying delayed hypersensitivity, atopic dermatitis and mycosis fungoides. An expert clinician and researcher in these areas, Dr. Blaylock was recruited back to MCV as faculty in 1964, becoming the first individual to be recruited as a fulltime faculty member for dermatology.

 Dr. Blaylock served as associate chair of the Division of Dermatology before being appointed chair in 1966. From 1966 to 1990, he built a multifaceted division and led the effort that enabled dermatology to become an independent department in 1973. Dr. Blaylock was also program director from the start of the residency training program until 1990.

In 1990, Dr. Blaylock transitioned to the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond, where he served as chief of dermatology until 2005, and he has continued as a professor emeritus in dermatology at VCU since his transition. He has remained active on the VCU campus, especially providing expert care to mycosis fungoides patients and participating in resident training. Dr. Blaylock’s other notable VCU School of Medicine appointments included associate dean of admissions, associate dean of graduate medical education, acting associate executive dean and associate dean for clinical affairs and the first president of MCV Associated Physicians.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Blaylock on his long and distinguished career and his many contributions to the VCU Health System and School of Medicine.

 Thank you,

Laurence DiNardo, M.D.
Interim Chair, Department of Dermatology