Diversity Drives Excellence: Building community through dance
With their “Hoptown” immersive performance, iCubed professor MK Abadoo uses sistering circles to create intergenerational connections Beautiful art sometimes originates in dark places. For MK Abadoo, VCU dance professor and iCubed scholar in the Racial Equity, Arts and Culture core, the passion project that has consumed much of their time and energy over the past […]
Goode Makes VCU Better
From the MLK vigil to the Men of Color Initiative, Carlton Goode brings a positive attitude to making change If you are new to VCU, some campus traditions – like Weeks of Welcome or the start of basketball season – seem like they must have been around forever. But one tradition – the silent candlelight […]
English professor’s sound studies unearth forgotten musical histories of the African Atlantic
Mary Caton Lingold interprets Atlantic Africans’ musical performances in the 1600-1800s and what they might have meant to the people performing them.
From Two-Spirits to Long Man, Smithers brings contemporary understanding to indigenous heritage
The professor of history works to provide “intellectual multivitamins” to students and readers, inspiring them to do their own research Some of the hottest of hot button issues these days involve environmental stewardship, the recognition of gender fluidity, and what aspects of history are appropriate to be taught in schools. Standing at the intersection of […]
Bryan-Campos isn’t just teaching journalism, she’s cultivating citizens
Capital News Service students leverage technology in a new context When talking about the awareness-building that happens in her classes, professor Alix Bryan-Campos evokes a 2017 Virginia House of Delegates election that ended up in a tie. “I’ve had students who say they didn’t vote, that didn’t think voting was important until they took my […]
Glover’s work on self-determination is not just theoretical but deeply personal
The activist, performer and iCubed scholar studies and celebrates the embodied knowledge of marginalized communities “I really am a shapeshifter,” asserts Julian Kevon Glover, Ph.D. “You never know what I’m going to look like.” She continues, “Today I was listening to Shania Twain’s ‘Man I Feel Like a Woman’ so here I am dressed in […]
VCU GSWS professor works to improve the university that she was never meant to attend
Deflected from her medical school dreams, Liz Canfield dug into activism and abolitionist thought Attending VCU opened countless doors for Liz Canfield, Ph.D., who comes from a working class background and a family history of substance use and incarceration. “I wasn’t meant to go to college,” she said. But she did–multiple times, in fact–and graduated from […]
From the Fashion Runways of Washington DC to the Inclusivity Leadership of South Africa, VCU’s Maurice Gattis is Searching for a Spark in People
Two-Time Fulbright Scholar Says Representation and Mentoring are Keys to Success Dr. Maurice N. Gattis always highlights something positive when he evaluates student work. Gattis, an associate professor in the VCU School of Social Work, and an iCubed Scholar in the Intersections in the Lives of LGBTQIA+ Communities core says his intention isn’t to soothe […]
Latino psychologist and iCubed scholar Oswaldo Moreno is on a mission to work with and for his community
Oswaldo Moreno, Ph.D., wants more than just a seat at the table; he wants to revolutionize the table, and all the systems that were built without minoritized and underrepresented people in mind.
iCubed scholar Rachel Gómez inspires students to feel pride in their history
School of Ed professor followed non-traditional path guided by her ancestors Rachel Gomez, Ph.D., was taking classes in community college when she first learned about colonialism. That eye-opening experience set her on the path she’s still on today. “So much suddenly made sense to me,” said Gomez, now a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the School […]
