News

Karen Kester, Ph.D., favors hands-on, active learning. “I tell my entomology students that my goal is to change how they see the world,” she said. (Allen Jones, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Biology professor, ‘Bug Lab’ director Karen Kester retires after 26 years

Oct. 25, 2023

In scientific knowledge and student development, the insect evolutionary ecologist has made a lasting impression as a researcher, teacher and director of the Bridges to Baccalaureate program.

At the VCU Rice Rivers Center, VCU students and faculty conduct field research that yields impactful discoveries. (Photo by Chris Gough)

It’s Earth Science Week. Explore how VCU’s ‘river campus’ prepares students for careers in earth sciences.

Oct. 9, 2023

Faculty members and a student reflect on their experiences at the VCU Rice Rivers Center and what makes it such a powerful resource for the university and the community.

A new initiative at VCU called the College-to-Career Blueprint program is working to make career-readiness a part of the conversations students and their professors are having as soon as they set foot on campus. (Getty Images)

Career readiness for students is the goal for VCU’s new College-to-Career Blueprint

Oct. 6, 2023

The program, launched this year in collaboration with nine departments in the College of Humanities and Sciences, will make career conversations, experiential learning and internships a more seamless part of students’ experience.

Yas Drawns (left) works with Darius Williams, a peer academic coach. Peer Academic Coaching, which is part of the Campus Learning Center, pairs students trained as academic coaches with freshmen for individual or ongoing sessions. (Tom Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Peer Academic Coaching lets VCU freshmen learn from the wisdom of fellow students

Oct. 5, 2023

Campus Learning Center’s new program targets first-semester connections that promote academic and personal success.

Biomedical engineering student Karah Moore has been a member of the lab of Rebecca Heise, Ph.D., for the past three years, researching cellular activity in diseased lungs. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU awarded $3 million from the NIH to continue research training of students underrepresented in the sciences

Sept. 21, 2023

Two renewed grants, which support undergraduate and graduate students in pursuing biomedical and behavioral research, highlight VCU’s national standing.

VCU welcomed thousands of new students at the start of the academic year, from first-year undergradates to professional students.

Welcome to the Ramily

Sept. 13, 2023

Get to know a few of this year’s roughly 8,000 new students who add to VCU’s diverse and expansive community.

Madison Cruz, a biology major, is working at VCU Health as a patient care technician, helping patients and getting hands-on experience. (Tom Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

With talent ranging from the lab to the stage, VCU senior sees a future in medicine and mental health advocacy

Sept. 5, 2023

Madison Cruz has mixed research, patient care, volunteer work and even the Miss Virginia pageant in her undergraduate experience.

More than 10,000 students will take up to 70 courses each semester in VCU’s new STEM building on Franklin Street, starting this fall. (Photo by Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications.)

Take a video tour of VCU’s new STEM building on Franklin Street

Sept. 1, 2023

The College of Humanities and Sciences’ building dedicated to STEM will serve more than 10,000 students in up to 70 courses each semester.

Back Row: Penelope Sayago (McNair Scholar), Stanley Cheatham (McNair Graduate Assistant), Aceyonna Watkins (McNair Scholar), Ayana Carter (McNair Scholar), Nyla Anderson (McNair Scholar), Saron Bereket (McNair Scholar), Cindy Vigil (McNair Scholar), Jamie Graves (McNair Scholar). Front Row: Juanita Agbenouwope (McNair Scholar), Skye Thurston (McNair Scholar). Front Center: Shay Lumpkin (McNair Program Coordinator). (Photo by Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

First undergraduate McNair Scholars at VCU use summer research program to propel doctoral dreams

Aug. 23, 2023

Recent federal grant promotes graduate studies for underrepresented students, and their interests cover a range of disciplines.

Ellie Bavuso is working to “gamify” a treatment that can help autistic individuals learn effective social behaviors. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Through undergraduate research program, student works to shift paradigm for disability inclusion in virtual reality research

Aug. 15, 2023

Ellie Bavuso, a biology major, is designing and developing a virtual reality game that's custom-made to support individuals with autism.