Provost’s Monthly Academic Report (Nov. 2025)
Message from the Provost on Promotion and Tenure Policy Revisions
Dear Colleagues,
Change in policy is ultimately about people: how your work is seen, rewarded, and sustained across careers and generations. Thank you to everyone who engaged in task forces, open forums, and the Open Comment Periods over the last 2½ years. Hundreds of thoughtful comments from you, the faculty, shaped the revisions for improving our Promotion and Tenure and Promotion Policies. Your collaborative engagement has strengthened and clarified these policies, and I am grateful for your respectful approach to sharing your concerns.
Our Promotion and Tenure policies date to 2013. VCU has grown since then — our national and international impact has expanded, and the expectations of reviewers, funders, and peer institutions have evolved. These updates align how we describe and evaluate teaching, scholarship and service with R1 practices so your accomplishments are understood and valued beyond our campuses, which benefits individual careers and strengthens our departments.
The revisions make three Important, positive changes. First, they elevate scholarship in promotion and tenure to be commensurate with your many contributions to research that improve the quality of human life. Second, they recognize and honor the value of our Term faculty , providing pathways for promotion based on the area of primary effort, be it teaching, scholarship or service that includes clinical education. Third, the revised policies increase clarity and consistency in how we evaluate the excellence we see in every corner of our university. This process encouraged faculty voice, and your input prompted meaningful edits. The result is a set of policies that better reflect where VCU is today and where we aim to be tomorrow: a university that values the powerful impact of faculty in doing work that deeply matters – changing lives through excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.
We will continue to share next steps in the process and provide opportunities for conversation in the weeks ahead. We will listen, learn and engage in thoughtful dialogue regarding how we best support our faculty and how we address opportunities for improvement based on the COACHE results.
Thank you for the time, expertise, and care you brought to this work and for everything you do for VCU, our students, and the communities we serve.
With appreciation,
Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
P.S. – Here’s a video I recently recorded to explain why these policy changes are needed and how they will benefit our college community.
Celebrating VCU Faculty
- Lana Sargent, Ph.D., RN, FNP-C, GNP-BC, School of Nursing — associate dean for practice and community engagement and associate professor and faculty co-lead of the Enterprise Convergence Lab for Health Outcomes — selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), a prestigious honor recognizing sustained leadership and significant contributions to nursing, health policy, and patient care innovation. This fellowship highlights Dr. Sargent’s impact on nursing scholarship and her role advancing evidence-based practice and health outcomes.
- R. Andrew Chesnut, Ph.D., Professor, School of World Studies and Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies — named co-editor-in-chief of the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions, where he will also author the entry on folk saints; the updated volume will include more than 400 entries and is slated for publication in fall 2027
- Clint McCown, Professor Emeritus of English and Creative Writing — retired in 2024 after more than 45 years of teaching and mentoring; acclaimed author of four novels, five poetry collections, a short-story collection, a craft book on fiction, and a forthcoming essay collection, McCown’s work has earned multiple awards including the American Fiction Prize (twice), the S. Mariella Gable Prize, the Midwest Book Award, NEA support, and notable essay citations in Best American Essays; he plans to spend retirement working on a new novel that explores generational post-traumatic stress.
- Community-Engaged Research Scholars Collaborative cohort — Five VCU faculty have been selected for the 2025–26 CERSC cohort to deepen their community-engaged research practice through monthly seminars, peer consultation, and partnership-building: Anthony M. Starke Jr., MPA, PhD; John Jones, PhD; Radhika Barua, PhD; Laura Battaglia, AIA, LEED AP, IDEC; and Shu‑Fang Shih, PhD, MSc, MBA.
Initiative Updates
- COACHE steering committee progress — The COACHE faculty steering committee has met twice and is now drafting targeted recommendations to address the opportunities identified in the COACHE report. Regular updates will be posted on the COACHE website, shared on the provost’s blog, and reported at monthly Faculty Senate meetings.
- Promotion and P&T policy feedback and next steps — The open comment period closed Oct. 3 with strong engagement: 183 comments on the Promotion (Term) draft and 135 comments on the P&T (tenure-eligible) draft. Feedback has been coded and collated for revision; updated policy drafts will be presented to Faculty Senate and University Council at their next meetings.
- Fall Census 2 snapshot and dashboards update — Fall Census 2 occurred last week; this October snapshot freezes institutional data used for federal reporting across enrollment, course, admissions, and human resources. IRDS will refresh its dashboards, including the public Data Digest, over the next two weeks—watch for updated retention, graduation, and college-level trends. If a data point prompts a deeper question, submit a data request to IRDS through their online form.
- Meet VCU’s Class of 2029.
- Chris Gough named Executive Director of the Rice Rivers Center — VCU ecologist Chris Gough has been appointed the new executive director of the Rice Rivers Center, bringing expertise in ecology and watershed science to lead the center’s research, education, and community engagement efforts.
- Division of Student Affairs 2024–25 annual highlights — The Division’s annual report details major student-success investments and outcomes, including a new 55-foot Cary Street Gym climbing wall, a $150,000 Anthem grant for Rams in Recovery, RLH’s emergency response to the January water crisis, the Commons’ nap pods and relaxation corner, launch of the AIMS accommodations system in SAEO, a new civic engagement plan and hosting the National IMPACT Conference, national recognition as a Most Promising Place to Work, and broad reach metrics (22K+ unique students served and 155K+ student interactions)—see the full report for program-level stats and infographics.
Upcoming Faculty Learning Opportunities
- Less Clicks, More Teaching: Using AI as Your TA | October 28 | 1:00–2:00pm | Virtual, via Zoom | Register here
- Monthly Session for Faculty – Building Your CV | November 3 | 10:00-11:15am | Virtual, via Zoom | Register Here
- Monthly Forum for Department Chairs – Navigating Uncertainty: Supporting Faculty Through Academic Transitions and Challenges | November 12 | 10:00-11:00am | Virtual, via Zoom | Register Here
- Conversations About Inclusion Series – Accessible by Design: A Title II Primer | November 19 | 9:30-10:45am | Virtual, via Zoom | Register Here
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Categories Academic Affairs, Faculty Affairs, Monthly Academic Update