Hydration Heroes: How clinical expertise and research rigor are transforming student health
When a Virginia school district needed to turn a hydration policy into real-world habits, they partnered with VCU Wright Center lead Melanie Bean, Ph.D.. This wasn't a top-down approach; a Community Advisory Board of parents and teachers steered the research toward vital goals like dental health and healthy weight. Students even took the creative lead, designing "Water Hero" mascots to make hydration the "cool" choice.
Moving Beyond the Checklist: A New Roadmap for Evaluating the Heart of Team Science
Dr. Debbie DiazGranados, Director of Evaluation and Team Science at VCU’s Wright Center published a new article tackling the puzzle of evaluating teams, whos work depends on "soft" competencies, such as communication, leadership, and collaborative problem-solving, and which are notoriously difficult to measure. Her article, co-authored with colleagues at two other institutions, appeared in the American Journal of Evaluation (December 2025).
