[{"id":1575,"date":"2026-09-24T11:20:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/?p=1575"},"modified":"2026-09-24T11:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:32:18","slug":"office-of-the-provost-prospectus-newsletter-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/2026\/09\/24\/office-of-the-provost-prospectus-newsletter-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Office of the Provost Prospectus Newsletter (September 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Convergence for the common good<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is something uniquely powerful about a university: artists and engineers, scientists and philosophers, physicians and economists working just a few streets apart. Each brings different ways of seeing the world and imagining what comes next. VCU Convergence is about creating more opportunities for those perspectives to come together, ask new questions and turn shared curiosity into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its heart, VCU Convergence is also about taking on the \u201cwicked problems\u201d that resist easy answers. Challenges like mental health, neurodegeneration and the responsible use of AI are interconnected and constantly evolving; progress in one area can reveal new challenges in another. No single discipline can address that complexity alone. Convergence brings together different forms of expertise \u2014 including community members \u2014 to better understand these problems, adapt as they change and build solutions that reflect the full complexity of the world around us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve recently awarded 15 planning grants<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>connecting 70 faculty members across disciplines. And we are just getting started. Our new VCU Convergence website highlights the work underway, the people making it possible and new opportunities to get involved as we continue building what comes next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Gutierrez, Ph.D., LPC, CSAC<\/strong>
<\/strong>Assistant Vice Provost, Office for University Convergence Initiatives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore the new VCU Convergence website<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research and impacts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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VIDEO: Life Design at VCU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU\u2019s Life Design program encourages students to explore their interests, experiment and learn along the way. In this video, undergraduate Emma Miskelly shares her journey of discovering how to turn her love of music into action as an artist. It\u2019s a great example of how curiosity, trial and error and deep dives can lead somewhere meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch>><\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VCU Strategic Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU has introduced Uncommon Future, its new strategic plan through 2032, centered on graduating “Uncommon Heroes” by revolutionizing the student experience and igniting discovery. President Michael Rao is calling on the community to help shape the plan by sharing bold ideas and identifying barriers to its goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VCU honors seven with 2026 Distinguished Faculty Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven faculty members were recognized for excellence in teaching, scholarship and service at this year’s Distinguished Faculty Awards<\/strong>, one of the university’s highest honors for its educators and researchers.

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VCU Convergence awards nearly 70 faculty members $150,000 in seed grants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 transdisciplinary faculty teams received seed funding for projects that bring different perspectives together to tackle complex \u2018wicked problems\u2019 that no single discipline can solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Faculty Fellows Program brings together educators and administrators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its ninth year, the Office of the Provost’s Faculty Fellows Program<\/strong> has produced more than 35 fellows, giving faculty part-time administrative experience alongside their teaching load and a direct line into university-wide initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VCUarts Dean Carmenita Higginbotham to step down<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carmenita Higginbotham, Ph.D<\/strong>., will step down as dean of the School of the Arts at the end of the academic year, capping a tenure that saw VCUarts rise to No. 2 nationally and secure funding for the CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation. Executive Vice President and Provost Arturo Saavedra said Higginbotham “has established transformative initiatives that will positively impact this university for many years to come.” A national search for her successor will launch this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Weeks of Welcome 2026: Early Assessment Highlights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Student Affairs<\/strong> shares early data and highlights from this year’s Weeks of Welcome, offering a first look at how the fall kickoff programming landed with students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nearly 50 VCU faculty honored for their research and teaching<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 50 faculty members were recognized through the NIRA and PEIA<\/strong> awards, celebrating research impact and teaching excellence across the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VCU’s Daniel Gutierrez receives $3 million grant to train mental health professionals worldwide on spiritually competent care<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gutierrez will use the funding to train mental health professionals worldwide in spiritually competent care, expanding a research focus he has built over the years at VCU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VCU Global Education Offices partners with the Universidad Esp\u00edritu Santo (UEES), Ecuador<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The two universities are working on a \u201c2+2\u201d agreement with the VCU School of Business<\/strong>, which will allow students to study for two years at UEES, and then two years at VCU for their bachelor’s program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New Saxbys Cafe Blends Lattes with Learning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU’s new Saxbys cafe in Snead Hall is more than a coffee stop. Located in the School of Business, the student-run location gives students hands-on experience managing a cafe from the ground up, hiring their own team and building real-world business skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Open Science Framework to end Open Data repository service<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

VCU Libraries <\/strong>flags an upcoming change: the Open Science Framework is discontinuing its Open Data repository service. Researchers using OSF for data storage should take note.

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Call for applications: Faculty Learning Community “Reimagining the Classroom with Service-Learning”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU Libraries <\/strong>flags an upcoming change: the Open Science Framework is discontinuing its Open Data repository service. Researchers using OSF for data storage should take note.

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How VCU and the community work together to bring about positive change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community engagement is core to VCU’s mission. This story spotlights the Division of Community Engagement’s<\/strong> Health Hub<\/strong> and Mary and Frances Youth Center<\/strong>, along with partnerships across Richmond and Petersburg that earned VCU a 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Join VCU LINK<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

VCU LINK<\/strong> connects faculty, staff and students with campus resources, opportunities and services in one central hub. Faculty and staff can help grow this resource in two ways: encourage your students to create a VCU Link profile and connect with alumni in their field of interest, and consider joining the platform yourself as a mentor for students navigating their career paths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more>><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Events<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026 Associate Professor Conference<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/a>Friday, September 18, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Education Course (Re)Design Workshop & Expo\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>
Friday, October 9, 2026 | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Conflict Resolution Day 2026<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/a>Thursday, October 15, | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transformative Learning Week: Host a Program or Event<\/strong><\/a>
October 26\u201330, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Convergence for the common good There is something uniquely powerful about a university: artists and engineers, scientists and philosophers, physicians and economists working just a few streets apart. Each brings different ways of seeing the world and imagining what comes next. VCU Convergence is about creating more opportunities for those perspectives to come together, ask […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1874,"featured_media":1460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[373],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1575"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1619,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575\/revisions\/1619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":1562,"date":"2026-09-16T14:41:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T18:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/?p=1562"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:58:36","slug":"vcu-space-camp-2026-vcu-brandcenter-students-pitch-patent-refresh-to-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/2026\/09\/16\/vcu-space-camp-2026-vcu-brandcenter-students-pitch-patent-refresh-to-nasa\/","title":{"rendered":"VCU Space Camp 2026: VCU Brandcenter students pitch patent refresh to NASA with the da Vinci Center"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The da Vinci Center for Innovation<\/strong><\/a> and the VCU Brandcenter<\/strong><\/a> kicked off the fall semester with a first-of-its-kind collaboration with NASA Langley Research Center’s Tech Transfer Program<\/strong><\/a>. In a single day, teams of students were handed real NASA-patented technologies and asked to imagine what these inventions could become right here on Earth. The result was a fast and high-pressure creative sprint that asked aspiring art-directors, strategists and copywriters to work side by side, translate complex NASA hardware into ideas everyday consumers could use and then pitch those ideas to NASA representatives in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop was the product of months of coordination between the da Vinci Center and NASA Langley, and organizers said the payoff was watching students from very different disciplines find common ground fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m so grateful for the collaboration across VCU and with NASA that made this experience possible,” said <\/strong>Lloyd Young<\/strong><\/a>, executive director of the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation<\/strong><\/a>. “Bringing people together to give students opportunities to work on real-world challenges, collaborate across disciplines and have some fun along the way is what this work is all about.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess Collins<\/strong>,<\/a> director of curriculum and instruction and strategy chair at the VCU Brandcenter, said the design jam was intentionally built around ambiguity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We wanted students to know what it’s like to get handed something totally new and have to figure out the human side of it, no roadmap, no context, just dig in,” Collins said. “But honestly, that’s most of what creative problem-solving really is out in the world: staring at something unfamiliar and finding the human angle anyway. And to do this with NASA technology? That’s so interesting and different and fun. What could be a better first project for our students?”
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The technologies on the table ranged widely and were organized into three groups. Multiple student teams were assigned to each group, tasked with dreaming up different solutions for the same technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One group focused on a flexible radiation-shielding material. Another was built around a tiny optical sensor originally designed to monitor fluid quality in the International Space Station’s wastewater system. The third focused on a non-conductive composite joint connector engineered to hold modular structures together on the Martian surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In each case, students were told to set aside the original space application entirely and imagine something new for it on Earth. Four teams were awarded prizes for their ingenuity and pitching skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Launching into grad school<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For these new students, the workshop landed during their very first week of graduate school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A bit of a fever dream,” said Anika Gorham<\/strong>, a first-year strategy student on Team Daedalus. “I kept looking over at them sitting in the audience, thinking they were professors or other school-affiliated personnel. Then my brain would recalibrate and say, oh wait no, no that’s NASA. You’re presenting to NASA right now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gorham’s team leaned into open brainstorming before narrowing their focus, starting with a simple prompt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We immediately started brainstorming some pretty out there stuff with our NASA technology, just to get the creative juices flowing,” Gorham said. “We then went around, in a circle, sharing answers to the question ‘What breaks often?’ After some time and dialogue, we landed on our idea and went with it. We were able to all lean into each other’s focuses, and it was a great blend of strategy and creativity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teammate Brad Weddington<\/strong>, a first-year copywriter, said the win was made even sweeter by his lifelong love of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Honestly, it couldn’t have been a better start! I am obsessed with Space and all things related!” Weddington said. “I was a bit surprised and so very honored when our group was selected. I called my mom immediately after and was like, ‘Mom! We won NASA!’ even though it was just a mock pitch.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team-based collaboration <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Daedalus worked with a NASA-patented bolt, and their pitch came together once the group agreed to aim it at everyday consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“One of our members mentioned they were into rock climbing and felt it could apply, and after that, it just clicked,” Weddington said. “We decided to really hone in on the scientific capabilities when designing our product, as we felt they were the selling point.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience also reshaped how Weddington thinks about presenting ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sometimes less is more,” he said. “I was personally worried that our presentation was lacking in detail and information compared to others. So when it was so well received, it forced me to reevaluate my assumptions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Across the room, Team Mother Knows was working through its own version of the same challenge. Bettye Tish<\/strong>, a first-year copywriting student, said the format pushed her out of her comfort zone from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The idea of being ‘thrown to the wolves’ was daunting at first, but everyone was so encouraging and supportive,” Tish said. “It was an invigorating way to kick off these 60 weeks at Brandcenter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tish said her team spent nearly the entire session refining its pitch before time ran out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our team’s idea came to life with lots of brainstorming. We talked until the last hour of working in order to get our concept as strong as possible first,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pressure of a hard deadline also taught her something she plans to carry through the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This experience taught me that there are two types of projects: ‘perfect’ and ‘done,'” Tish said. “The pursuit of the first makes the latter impossible. Get something as good as you can be, then let it go.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tish’s teammate Sam Amparan,<\/strong> a first-year strategy student, the workshop was the perfect, if nerve-wracking, close to orientation week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was surreal and stressful in the most exciting way,” Amparan said. “I felt equally proud and nervous to do a cool activity to end week one. Hearing from incredible professionals and my classmates made it feel like I was where I belong.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovating to save the world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Mother Knows reframed its early ideas around a single guiding question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We started off brainstorming random ideas and then reframed a couple by asking, ‘How can we use this to save the world?'” Amparan said. “We started looking at who could be affected and how our idea can help.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amparan said stepping up to present alongside her team proved she could handle more pressure than she expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The experience taught me that I handle pressure a lot better than I imagined,” she said. “I thought I would be too nervous to help my team, or even to present in front of a crowd with amazing people. Turns out it was just the push and reassurance I needed to start my Brandcenter journey.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The da Vinci Center for Innovation and the VCU Brandcenter kicked off the fall semester with a first-of-its-kind collaboration with NASA Langley Research Center’s Tech Transfer Program. In a single day, teams of students were handed real NASA-patented technologies and asked to imagine what these inventions could become right here on Earth. The result was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2240,"featured_media":1571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[408],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-office-of-innovation-and-strategic-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2240"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1562"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1573,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562\/revisions\/1573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":1546,"date":"2026-09-09T14:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/?p=1546"},"modified":"2026-09-09T12:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T16:23:43","slug":"join-us-in-shaping-our-uncommon-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/2026\/09\/09\/join-us-in-shaping-our-uncommon-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Join us in shaping our Uncommon Future!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dear VCU community,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCU is driven by a singular purpose: to help Uncommon Heroes<\/em> build a better future for all. To accomplish this, we need your help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Rao has charged us to develop our next strategic plan, and we are calling upon every member of our community to help shape the path toward an Uncommon Future<\/em> at VCU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a modern public research university, innovation is part of who we are. Here, success is not measured by where you begin, but by how far you go, what you discover and who you become. Our mission is to make life better\u2026 not just for some of us, but for all of us. We do that by graduating and inspiring Uncommon Heroes<\/em> who create, discover, lead and serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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