Office of the Provost

Dear VCU students, faculty and staff, Welcome to the 2026-27 academic year!  To those of you who have just arrived back on campus or are joining us for the first time: welcome — we are so glad you are here. To those who have worked and taken classes over the summer: thank you for your continued […]

The recipients of this year’s National/International Recognition Awards (NIRA) and Pedagogical Excellence and Innovation Awards (PEIA) exemplify possibility in action. They push the boundaries of their disciplines, forge collaboration and catalyze new ways of thinking and learning.

The convening, organized under the VCU Convergence mental health theme, produced a working list of projects on professional development, youth clinical services and community partnerships. What do you do with a problem that changes shape every time you try to solve it?The VCU Convergence Mental Health group, with the help of the VCU da Vinci […]

What if the experience you already have could count toward a degree? The job that taught you to manage a budget or lead a team. The volunteer work or professional training that helped you build real skills. Until recently, those valuable opportunities wouldn’t count towards a college degree. VCU’s new Office of Prior Learning is […]

VCU’s Shift Labs bring students, faculty and community partners into the same room to test bold ideas and build practical solutions. Supported by the Office of Innovation and Strategic Design, the Shift Education Lab is where that work meets the K-12 classroom. We talked with director Brandin Conrath, Ph.D., about what it means to “shift” […]

Original reporting by Konrad Solberg with VCU News A new online graduate certificate from VCU is giving working professionals a way to build AI skills without needing a technical background. The 12-credit Graduate Certificate in Applied Artificial Intelligence launches this fall, with applications due Aug. 7. Rather than teaching students to build AI systems, the […]

The two sides of campus change: Threat or opportunity? In higher education, change is inevitable. Whether it be a new institutional strategy, the shifting of academic technologies or ever-evolving student expectations, tides of change can frequently lead to a natural feeling of discomfort. But hidden behind the challenges of change is a very real opportunity. […]

Strengthening community through partnership As we move into the summer months, I want to thank our faculty for the thoughtful feedback during the recent open comment period. Your input is vital to meaningful policy development, ensuring our work reflects the realities of academic life and the principles of shared governance. We further acknowledge the need […]

Four VCU students and recent alums earned 2026 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, receiving multi‑year funding to advance STEM research. Their selection highlights VCU’s growing national research prominence and strong institutional support for student scholarship.

Nearly seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a number projected to nearly double by 2050. At Virginia Commonwealth University, researchers are adamant that the path forward is led through collaboration. As part of VCU Convergence, an interdisciplinary team of neurodegeneration experts is advancing full-cycle brain health research, from bench science to community-based clinical […]