October Happenings
Here are some of the most important dates and events to be aware of this month:
Oct. 17: Broad Street Mile
This annual VCU event combines a street festival with a 5K run and several 1-mile fun runs while serving as a fundraising opportunity for local community organizations. Last year’s event raised more than $26,000. Tables are set up to raise awareness about the various charities involved and the event features live music. For the first time ever, the 5k run will actually wind through the VCU campus and VCU’s new basketball coach, Will Wade, and the Rowdy Rams will be part of the event! This event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information.
Oct. 17: Advance Your Research
These drop-in workshops are open to parents in addition to graduate students and advanced researchers. The workshops are designed to help make your research process better, faster and smarter. Topics include research poster design, science/arts collaboration, authors’ rights, networking and research tips and tricks. Free, but please register. Click here to register and for more information.
Oct. 19-23: Spring Semester Academic Advising
Your student should be meeting with an advisor during this week to discuss spring courses and prepare for course registration.
Oct. 22, 2015-Jan. 31, 2016: Unmasked: A Visual Dissection — reception: Oct. 22
Nickolai Walko, a graduate of the VCU School of the Arts, has developed a unique and eye-catching form of image-making that hybridizes classical drawing and pop art. After placing a layer of black masking tape on a brightly colored panel or wall, covering the surface from edge to edge, he draws elaborate designs, often anatomical, directly on the tape and then, using an X-Acto blade, meticulously cuts out sections of the tape to create a strong-contrast image. Given his anatomical subjects, Walko likens his process to a medical operation. At this show at Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, he showcases his anatomical creations, some of which have been inspired by materials from the library collection. Click here for more information.
Oct. 23-25: VCU Family Weekend
A variety of events will be taking place for VCU students and their families. Come and enjoy a picnic, take in a soccer game or a VCU School of the Arts event, or enjoy watching students perform in the annual Rams Got Talent Show. We hope to see you there! Most events are free, but you must RSVP to attend. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Oct. 26: Advance Class Registration Begins
Honors students may start signing up for spring classes. All other students will register for spring courses between October 28 and November 30 depending on earned number of credits. To see when your student may register for spring classes based on earned credit hours, click here.
Oct. 30: Last Day to Withdraw with a “W”
This is the last day students may withdraw from a course and have a “W” on their transcripts. Students who withdraw from classes after this date will receive an actual grade (i.e. A, B, C, D, F) for the course.
Oct. 30-Nov. 15: Theatre VCU Presents The Rocky Horror Show
Come explore your inner transvestite! The cult classic musical, The Rocky Horror Show, is an evening of fun, dance, lust and love hosted by everyone’s favorite transvestite scientist, Frank-N-Furter. Enjoy the Time Warp party! Admission is $10.00 for VCU students and $25.00 for the general public. Click here for more information.
Nov. 3: Sanger Series Lecture: “Intellectual Property and the Academy: An Overview of Patent, Data and Copy RIGHTS”
Why do universities make significant distinctions among ownership of data, inventions and scholarly works? What are researchers and scholars giving away when they sign with publishers? What perils are inherent in consulting NDAs, CDAs and other industry agreements? What work belongs to faculty, and what belongs to students? University writers grapple with such questions on a daily basis, but there seem seldom to be simple, clear answers. Join us as University Counsel Madelyn Wessel navigates the complex and much-contested issue of intellectual property. Lunch will be served at the event. Free and open to the public, but please register. Click here to register and for more information.
Boris Fishman, winner of the 2015 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for A Replacement Life, reads from his book and is then joined by his agent for a discussion of the evolution of the book from original idea to first draft to published work. The event will be followed by a public reception and book sale and signing. Free and open to the public, but please register. Click here to register and for more information.
If you and/or your student is a fan of the arts, make sure to regularly check the School of the Arts event calendar found here for events coming up across all of their departments. Several theatrical performances already have tickets on sale. This calendar will share music and dance performances, as well as art exhibitions.