VCU Accelerates Community Impact: $5K Grants, New CERSC Cohort, and Reading Buddies Launch
VCU’s Division of Community Engagement is helping faculty turn research into real community benefit through practical partnerships and small, strategic investments.
Headline
Community-Engaged Data Dissemination Grants — new awards up to $5,000 to help faculty translate research into accessible, community-facing products; applications due Jan 15, 2026.
Why it matters
These efforts shorten the path from scholarship to impact by funding translation, building faculty capacity for community work, and creating sustained, trust-based partnerships that benefit students and neighbors.
Get involved
Apply for a Data Dissemination Grant, join the Community Engaged Writing Group or Collaboratory drop-ins, or sign up to volunteer for Reading Buddies.
Quick wins
- Five faculty were named to the Community-Engaged Research Scholars Collaborative cohort to deepen partnership practice: Anthony Starke Jr., John Jones, Radhika Barua, Laura Battaglia, and Shu‑Fang Shih.
- Reading Buddies launched with Richmond Public Schools with in-person and virtual training this fall.
- Mary & Frances Youth Center expanded after-school programs and hosted its first youth Pickleball Tournament.
- VCU Health Hub at 25th added a Program Coordinator, started a Community Ambassador recruitment, launched a Medical‑Legal Partnership series, and convened interdisciplinary faculty for collaborative projects.