Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University

File:VCU Emblem.svg Virginia Commonwealth University Emblem
Type	Public university
Established	1838
Endowment	US $329.2 million
President	Eugene P. Trani
Provost	Stephen D. Gottfredson
Academic staff	2,813
Students	31,907
Undergraduates	22,159
Postgraduates	9,748
Location	Richmond , Virginia , USA
Campus	Urban, Monroe Park Campus - 88.2 acres (35.7 ha), MCV Campus - 52.4 acres (21.2 ha).
Colors	Black and Gold
Nickname	Rams
Mascot	Rodney the Ram Rodney the Ram
Website	www.vcu.edu
Logo is a trademark of Virginia Commonwealth University; All enrollment figures are as of Fall 2007

Virginia Commonwealth University, or VCU, is a large public American research university with its main campuses located in downtown Richmond, Virginia. Particularly recognized for its nationally ranked art, social work, health administration, and medical degree programs, VCU is the largest university in Virginia with almost 32,000 students enrolled in the fall semester of 2007. It is one of four Virginia universities rated RU/H: Research Universities (high research activity) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Formed by a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968, VCU has a medical school that is home to the nation's oldest organ transplant program. VCU is host to the annual VCU French Film Festival, the largest French film festival in the United States.

History

Though officially created with the merger of the Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) and Medical College of Virginia (MCV) in 1968, VCU's history stretches back to 1838, when MCV first opened its doors as the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. VCU recognizes the earlier date on its official seal and on promotional materials. RPI traces its roots back to 1917, when it began as the Richmond School of Social Work.

Timeline

• 1838 - The Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College opens in Richmond
• 1844 - The Medical Department moves into its first permanent home, the Egyptian Building
• 1854 - The Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College receives an independent charter from the Virginia General Assembly and becomes the Medical College of Virginia (MCV)
• 1860 - In return for a $30,000 appropriation MCV conveys all its property to the Commonwealth of Virginia and becomes a state institution
• 1893 - College of Physicians and Surgeons, later University College of Medicine, was established by Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire just three blocks away from MCV
• 1912 - McGuire Hall opens as the new home of the University College of Medicine
• 1913 - MCV and UCM merged through the efforts of Dr. George Ben Johnston and Dr. Stuart McGuire. MCV acquired the Memorial Hospital as a result of the merger
• 1917 - Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health established
• 1925 - Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health becomes the Richmond division of the College of William and Mary
• 1939 - Richmond division of William and Mary becomes the "Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary" (RPI)
• 1947 - MCV Foundation is incorporated.
• 1962 - RPI separates from William and Mary to become an independent state institution.
• 1968 - The first heart transplant at the Medical College of Virginia is performed by Dr. Richard R. Lower. This was only the 9th such operation performed in the United States, and the 16th in the world.
• 1968 - State legislation merges MCV and RPI to become Virginia Commonwealth University. MCV retains the right to use its name.
• 2000 - VCU Health System authority is established.
• 2001 - Spring- Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Science opened. It includes a 70 acre lake, pine and hardwood forests. In the Summer the Eugene P. and Lois E. Trani Center for Life Science was opened. It features an extensive greenhouse, 18 laboratories for research in genetics to systems biology, and is home to the Bioinformatics program.
• 2004 - The name VCU Medical Center is adopted to refer to MCV Hospitals and VCU's medical schools, and the VCU Academic Campus is renamed the VCU Monroe Park Campus.
• 2006 - VCU grew to become the most populated university in Virginia and the state's first to have 30,000 students

• 2008 - VCU celebrated 40th anniversary

File:Egyptianbuildingfront.jpg

The Egyptian Building, built in 1845, is one of the University's oldest buildings.

Expansion

More recently the university has focused on what it calls life sciences as an avenue of future expansion, with the 2001 opening of the Lois E. and Eugene P. Trani Life Sciences Building. Construction has begun on a Monroe Park Campus Extension, which will include the second phase of the School of Engineering building and a new home for the School of Business. There will also be a new dormitory facility along with retail development.

VCU has developed a strategic plan for the future dubbed "VCU 2020." Among its major goals is the creation of a collegiate community promoting student engagement and the campus environment. On the Monroe Park Campus, in addition to the expansion east of Belvidere St, this long range plan includes the renovation and expansion of Cabell Library, dubbed the "Information Commons", academic expansions along Linden St. and on the Harris Hall lawn, parking facilities near Grace and Belvidere, Greek housing along W. Grace St, improvements to Monroe Park, and numerous other projects. The Medical Campus can expect a new School of Allied Health Professions, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, VCUHS Bed Tower, and other projects.

The university has expanded rapidly in recent years, with construction focused mainly along the Broad Street corridor. The school is approximately 70 percent off-campus resident and 30 percent on-campus resident, with new residence hall Brandt Hall having opened in August 2005. RAMZ Hall opened in mid-January 2005, seven months behind schedule after a fire destroyed most of the still-under-construction building in March 2004. The Shafer Court Dining Center and Phase III construction and renovation of the University Student Commons were completed in 2004. A complete renovation of the Hibbs Building, the oldest of the major academic buildings and former dining hall, was completed in Fall 2006. The Ackell Residence Center (formerly known as West Broad Street Student Apartments) was opened in 2001 across the street from the West Broad Parking Deck, e2 (pronounced "e-squared") Bookstore and VCU Welcome Center that were completed in 1998. As of 2008, the e2 book store has become a Barnes & Noble outlet. 1998 also saw the opening of a new School of the Arts Building, also on Broad Street.

West Grace Street Student Housing is home to the University Honors Program and honors housing with single one-person rooms. Formerly the Capital Medical Center, the university purchased and converted the building in 1998. The building was once also home VCU OccuHealth Alliance, part of the VCU Health System.

Part of the $228 million East Monroe park expansion is the newly dedicated Snead Hall, Located on Belvedere (Route 1) and Main St. Snead Hall is a 145,000-square-foot (13,500 m²) facility which will house all the School of Business and Phase II of the School of Engineering. The building opened January 14, 2008 and facilitates classes and offices since the Spring 2008 Semester and beyond. Snead Hall has its own dedicated parking (located on Jefferson St.), student commons, café, and career center. The former School of Business building was rededicated as Grace E. Harris Hall and will serve the Spring 2008 Semester as a general academics building.

Campuses and grounds

VCU has two main campuses in Richmond: the Monroe Park Campus and the Medical College of Virginia Campus. VCUarts also has a branch campus in Education City, Qatar. Informally, the campuses are known respectively as the "academic campus," "medical campus," and "VCUQatar".

Monroe Park Campus

Many VCU buildings are named after influential people in the school's history or in Richmond history.

• The Pollak Building, is named after Theresa Pollak, who founded the School of the Arts at VCU when it was the Richmond Professional Institute. Pollak was one of Virginia's more famous artists and who is often credited with bringing modern art to Richmond.
• The Ginter House at 901 West Franklin Street, the main administrative building on the Monroe Park Campus. It is named for cigarette magnate Major Lewis Ginter (1824-1897), one of Virginia’s wealthiest men who was responsible for developing Richmond’s Ginter Park neighborhood and commissioning the Jefferson Hotel.
• The "Scott House" at 909 W. Franklin St was originally built for Frederic and Elisabeth Scott by the Richmond architectural firm of Noland & Baskervill (1907-11), reflecting the grandeur of early 20th century Richmond.

The Grace Street Theater located on Grace St was once and adult movie theater.

The boundaries of the Fan.

Home to most of VCU's general education facilities, the Monroe Park Campus is located at the eastern end of the Fan district, a historic neighborhood built adjacent to downtown Richmond in the early 20th century. The Monroe Park Campus begins at Monroe Park on North Belvidere Street and continues west to Harrison Street. Most buildings are located on or between West Main Street and West Broad Street. Originally home to the Richmond Professional Institute and then the Academic Campus of VCU in 1968, the Monroe Park Campus took on its current name in June 2004. This campus blends the old and new; while it encompasses over 40 buildings older than 1900, new and renovated buildings abound. VCU is currently expanding this campus eastward into Richmond's Monroe Ward.

The Fine Arts Building.

Some of the notable buildings in Monroe park are:

• University Student Commons
• Stuart C. Siegel Center
• Sports Medicine Building
• James Branch Cabell Library
• West Engineering Building - School of Engineering
• T. Edward Temple Building - General Academics, Mass Communications
• Snead Hall - School of Business
• East Engineering - School of Engineering Phase II
• Grace E. Harris Hall - General Academics
• Oliver Hall - School of Education, Physical Sciences
• School of the Arts Building
• Hibbs Hall - College of Humanities & Sciences
• Shafer Court Dining Center
• Pollak Building - VCUarts
• Trani Life Sciences Building

The housing apartments include:

• West Grace Street Student Housing (Honors)
• Ackell Residence Center
• RAMZ Hall
• Brandt Hall
• Rhoads Hall
• Broad & Belvidere Apartments
• Johnson Hall
• Gladding Residence Center (I,II & III)
• Monroe Park Campus II (Opening in Aug 2008)

MCV Campus

The MCV Campus is located in Downtown Richmond at I-95 and Broad Street near the Court End area.

Main article: Medical College of Virginia

The Medical College of Virginia Campus is home to the Health Sciences Division of VCU. This includes the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Allied Health, Nursing, a recently established School of Public Health, and the MCV Hospitals, which is the major component of the VCU Health System. The Campus is also home to the Massey Cancer Center (an NCI-designated Cancer Center). The MCV Campus is an integral part of Richmond, located adjacent to the city’s business and financial district near the state capitol.

Sanger Hall, part of the VCU Medical College of Virginia Campus.

The notable buildings in the MCV campus are:

• Main hospital
• Gateway Building
• Egyptian Building
• Massey Cancer Center
• Sanger Hall
• Lyons Building
• Wood Memorial Building
• Tompkins-McCaw Library
• Hunton Student Center
• Larrick Student Center
• West Hospital
• Medical Science Building

The housing facilities include:

• Cabaniss Hall
• Bear Hall
• McRae Hall
• Warner Hall
• Rudd Hall

James Branch Cabell Library

Libraries

The VCU Libraries is the third largest research library in Virginia. Together the libraries hold more than 1.7 million print volumes, 3 million microforms, 10,200 digital and print serials, access to 10,000 additional digital titles, and more than 30,000 multimedia titles. The Tompkins-McCaw Library has the largest medical collection in the state which provides electronic access to the latest in life sciences information and research. Cabell Library houses one of the largest book art collections in the Southeast and the largest popular culture and comic art collections in the state.

The VCU Libraries is the only patent and trademark depository in Virginia and has particular strengths in medicine, science, engineering and information technology. Both libraries provide hundreds of computer workstations located throughout the buildings as well as off-campus access from residence halls and home to all computerized resources.

The VCU library has 4 floors the first floor is the group study floor which also has books for class purposes, computers and printers you can print out with your student ID and ram bucks. The second floor is also a group study room but with more individual desks it also has books but less than the first floor, third floor is the more quiet room with less group study desks it is mostly for quiet individual studies for yourself. Fourth floor is the absolute quiet study floor with no group study desks and no barely any computers.

Housing

Johnson Hall.

Rhoads, Johnson and Brandt halls are the largest freshman communities on campus. Together they house approximately 1,870 students. These halls are set up for coeducational living with each floor designated for female or male students only. Brandt Hall is the newest residence hall facility on campus and houses 640 students, with floors reserved for freshmen and selected suites reserved for honors students. The West Grace Street Honors Residential College is adjacent to Rhoads and Johnson. It houses male and female freshman honors students in single rooms. The Gladding Residence Center suites offer a more independent living option for freshmen in a community with upper-level students. Cabaniss Hall at the VCU Medical Center is a freshman community especially of interest to students in the life and health sciences.

Upper-class students may choose to live in Ackell Residence Center, GRC Apartments or RAMZ Hall.

Dining

Undergraduate students living in a university residence hall (not students living in university apartments), are required to choose a residential dining plan. VCU Dining Services offers block plans at 200-, 250- and 300- meal levels with additional Dining Dollars added. Block plans allow a specific number of meals to be used over an entire semester. All unused block meal swipes and dining credits are forfeited at the end of each semester. These unlimited-serving meals are served in the Shafer Court Dining Center and the Larrick Dining Center. A wide variety of foods are offered for every type of diet, including vegetarian options, vegan foods, and low-fat foods. Fruits(apple and banana) and vegetables are fresh daily. Dining Dollars allow students the opportunity to purchase tax-free meals at any VCU retail restaurant. Commuter students and students living off campus have the option of purchasing a nonresidential dining plan.

Academics

Programs

VCU offers Baccalaureate, Master's and Doctoral degrees, as well as Professional and Certificate courses.

Over 40 of VCU's programs are unique to Virginia, such as the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness major in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, as well as the Real Estate and Urban Land Development degree in VCU's School of Business. The university also offers a wide range of study options with more than 170 certificate, undergraduate, graduate, professional and doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences and humanities in fifteen different schools of discipline.

In addition to its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as its honors program, VCU now hosts the Illustration Academy.

The university's medical campus provides students with several opportunities for postgraduate study at VCU. This has led to the development of "guaranteed admission programs," whereunder select incoming undergraduates are guaranteed a spot in a variety of professional schools so long as a high academic standard is maintained throughout their undergraduate studies. Schools with such a program include medicine, physical therapy, dentistry, pharmacy and others.

An accelerated program in the School of Education offers a combined undergraduate, teaching certificate and master's degree in five years.

Rankings

VCU holds a number of national rankings, US News & World Report graduate rankings include:

1st - Sculpture 1st - Nurse Anesthesia 4th - Fiber Arts 4th - Fine Arts 4th - Graphic Design 4th - Health Services Administration 5th - Glass 8th - Painting and Drawing 9th - Multimedia/Visual Communications 12th - Ceramics 13th - Dentistry 13th - Occupational Therapy 13th - Rehabilitation Counseling 14th - Social Work

17th - Printmaking 18th - Community Health 18th - Women's Health 21st - Pharmacy 25th - Physical Therapy 39th - Secondary education 40th - Education 47th - Nursing 50th - Creative Writing 57th - Clinical Psychology 57th - Public Affairs 67th - Medical School (Research) Top 50 - Teacher Preparation

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) is ranked the #1 public university school of arts and design in the country (#4 among public & private institutions) by U.S. News & World Report (2009). VCUarts is the only public university arts and design school in the country to ever be ranked this high in overall ranking.

VCUarts Department of Interior Design graduate program is ranked as the #4 Interior Design graduate program in the south (regional schools) and #6 (national/ regional schools) by DesignIntelligence 2008 America's Best Architecture & Design Schools. The undergraduate program is ranked #5 (regional schools). VCUarts Department of Interior Design has been ranked as one of the top five programs in the country by Interior Design Magazine (1996).

The VCU Brandcenter, the School of Mass Communication’s graduate program in advertising, has also been ranked 1^st in the nation by Creativity Magazine and as one of the top 60 design schools in the world by BusinessWeek.

VCU’s Masters of Health Administration program was ranked second by Modern Healthcare. The University's Health System earned national Magnet nursing designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and has twice been named one of the Solucient Top 100 Hospitals in the U.S. by Solucient Corporation. In research the school has been ranked as a top American university by Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance and a top 100 university by the National Science Foundation. Campusdirt.com lists the University as one of the 10 most diverse student bodies in America.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities conducted in 2005 by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranks VCU in the top 100 universities in North & Latin America and one of the top 200 universities in the world.

The VCU Counseling Psychology Graduate Program was ranked 3^rd in the nation in the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index in 2007.

The VCU Public Administration program in the L. Douglas Wilder School for Government and Public Affairs was ranked 9th in the nation by the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index in 2007.

Faculty

Notable faculty members include analytical chemist Dr. John B. Fenn, who in 2002 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to the field of mass spectrometry, and Religious Studies professor Amina Wadud, who caused controversy in 2005 by leading an Islamic prayer service of men and women.

In the medical field, VCU has had four professors elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' Institute of Medicine, most recently Dr. Steven Woolf in 2001. Historically, notable faculty members include Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard, M.D., for whom Brown-Séquard syndrome is named. Hunter McGuire, M.D., was the Confederate surgeon for General Thomas J. Jackson before he founded the "University College of Medicine", which later merged with Medical College of Virginia where he became the Chairman of Surgery. The Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center is named in his honor.

Dr. Jennifer Johnson's (Professor of Sociology) work at the Department of Defense in the area of Social Network Analysis won her the 2006 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award, which is the highest-ranking civilian service award given by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dr. Johnson was also awarded the 2004 Analyst of the Quarter by the Joint Warfare Analysis Center for her work on the Social Network Analysis Methodology Team.

Schools and departments

Grace E. Harris Hall, Monroe Park campus.

• College of Humanities & Sciences
  • School of Mass Communications
  • School of World Studies
  • L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
• School of Allied Health Professions
• School of the Arts
• School of Business
• School of Dentistry
• School of Education
• School of Engineering
• School of Medicine
• School of Nursing
• School of Pharmacy
• School of Social Work

Athletics

Main article: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams

VCU currently sponsors fourteen varsity teams in NCAA Division I play through the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). These teams include basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, golf, field hockey, track and field, and cross country. VCU's mascot is Rodney the Ram, and the teams as well as students are called VCU Rams.

VCU also has many student run club teams. These sports not sponsored by the university include baseball, men's and women's rugby union, ice hockey, ultimate ,men's and women's lacrosse, and cycling. Previous club sports have also included rowing, wrestling, and tennis. VCU does not support a football team. The current university president, Eugene P. Trani, has been quoted as saying that he will not allow football to come to VCU under his watch due to the extra incurred cost. VCU does not currently have a stadium that would be suitable for hosting football-related events.

Facilities

The interior of the Alltel Pavilion, within the Siegel Center, home court of the VCU basketball team.

• The Diamond
  • Baseball
• Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center
  • Basketball
  • Volleyball
  • Cheerleading
• Sports Backers Stadium
  • Soccer
  • Track and Field
• Cary Street Field
  • Field Hockey
• Thalhimer Tennis Center
• Leigh Street Field
  • Men's and Women's Rugby

Organizations

VCU has numerous student organizations, including the Black Awakening Choir which won first place in the 2005 Baptist Student Union National Choir Competition in Atlanta, GA. Also, 2007 is the first year that STRUT has become an official organization at VCU. STRUT is an annual fashion show that has grown into a week long celebration on campus. In addition, VCU boasts a well-established net of ethnic and cultural organizations such as the African Student Union (ASU), Ethiopian students Union (ESU),Latino Student Association, Queer Action and the Vietnamese Student Association, among many others. Similarly, VCU offers a variety of religious organizations, such as Aletheia Campus Organization, Muslim Student Association, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Catholic Campus Ministry, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship house, BSU, Hillel @ VCU, and Lotus Buddhist Group. VCU also has one of the most active student, pep-club organizations in the Rowdy Rams. VCU also offers many different special interest organizations such as the (S.H.H.O.) Student Hip-Hop Organization, which allows students to network with VCU’s thriving hip-hop community and to utilize hip-hop as a tool for creating unity within this vibrant culture on campus.

VCU's Greek system has grown particularly rapidly in the last few years, with expansions within the Interfraternity Council and among multicultural organizations. Alpha Kappa Lambda, Delta Chi, Delta Phi Omega, Theta Chi, Pi Lambda Phi, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Beta Rho, Delta Phi Omega, Lambda Upsilon Lambda, Kappa Phi Gamma, Sigma Lambda Upsilon and alpha Kappa Delta Phi have all chartered on campus since 2007.

Student government associations

There are two student government associations at VCU, one for each campus. According to the Monroe Park Campus SGA Web site, it "serves as the unifying voice for all students to members of Virginia Commonwealth University administration, faculty, staff, and the Board of Visitors as well as to the City of Richmond." It is the stated goal of the SGA "to represent the concerns and interests of all students to the various groups that have an influence on student life," and it "oversees more than 200 student organizations."

Student media

VCU's media organizations fall under the jurisdiction of the VCU Student Media Commission. Organizations include news journals The Commonwealth Times and The Vine, radio station WVCW, and literary journals Amendment and Poictesme.

Controversy

Research contract with Phillip Morris USA

VCU has had a long-standing relationship with Phillip Morris, yet an article in the New York Times brought to light the restrictive nature of a contract it signed in 2006.

Improperly awarded bachelor's degree

In May 2008, an anonymous email led to an investigation that discovered VCU awarded an undergraduate degree to former Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe inproperly after he enrolled to receive just 6 credits from the University, with the bulk of his credits taken through the online University of Phoenix and the FBI Academy.

VCU officials announced they had taken personnel actions in response to the improper degree but did not indicate what actions were taken or who was held responsible. In the wake of the internal investigation, five high-ranking administrative officials resigned , some vocally in protest of the investigation itself due to threats made against the tenure status of one professor if she did not cooperate and other high-pressure tactics.

The University submitted a report about the improperly awarded degree and the subsequent investigation to its accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which will decide whether to investigate the matter further and determine whether VCU took appropriate action in response to the improper degree. In the report, VCU admitted to making 37 exceptions to university policy in granting an undergraduate degree to Monroe, who had satisfied only 15 of 28 requirements for his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. Unlike other cases of improperly awarded degrees, VCU did not rescind the degree. Also, the Virginia General Assembly has decided to investigate the University's actions both in improperly awarding the degree and in conducting the investigation.

Notable alumni

Health and medicine

• Hunter "Patch" Adams, M.D. - Founder of the Gesundheit! Institute and subject of the movie Patch Adams.
• Baruj Benacerraf, M.D. - Winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
• Saul Krugman, M.D. - A medical researcher who discovered a vaccine against hepatitis B.]

Media

• Wiley Miller - American cartoonist and author of the comic strip Non Sequitur.
• Tom Robbins - American author, best known for his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976).
• David Baldacci - American author, best known for his novel Absolute Power (1996).
• Stephen Furst - American Actor and Director, best known as "Flounder" in the National Lampoon classic Animal House (1978) as well as TV series St. Elsewhere and Babylon 5.
• Robert Lanham - American author, best known for his book The Hipster Handbook (2003).
• Boris Kodjoe - Austrian-born model (Ford Modeling), actor (Soul Food: The Series, Madea's Family Reunion)
• Debbie Matenopoulos - American TV host, best known for co-hosting ABC's The View, The Daily 10, and TV Guide Channel's The Screening Room.
• Robb Spewak - Producer and radio personality for The Don and Mike Show.
• Zachary Knighton - Actor, starred most recently in The Hitcher.
• Bruce Cunningham - Baltimore sportscaster

Sports

• Sean Marshall - Starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
• Brandon Inge - Third baseman for the Detroit Tigers.
• Gerald Henderson - Played for the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics, and the San Antonio Spurs winning 4 NBA Championships.
• John Rollins - American professional golfer and PGA Pro.
• Cla Meredith - Currently one of the pitchers for the San Diego Padres.
• Gonzalo Segares - Current Defender for the Chicago Fire in MLS
• Dominic Oduro - Current Forward for FC Dallas in MLS

Art

• Sam Beam - Musician, Iron and Wine.
• Philip B. Meggs - historian of design.
• Randy Blythe- Lead Singer for Lamb of God
• Willie Adler- Guitarist for Lamb of God.
• Mark Morton - Lead guitarist of the metal band Lamb of God.
• Chris Adler - Drummer for Lamb of God.
• John Campbell (bassist) - Bassist for Lamb of God.
• Stefan Lessard - Bassist for Dave Matthews Band.
• GWAR - Several founding members of the band.
• Mike Wieringo - Comic book artist for Marvel and DC comics, co-creator of Image Comics series Tellos.
• Jason Butler Harner - Broadway Actor, performed in original production of Coast of Utopia.
• Andrea Detwiler - 2006 Daytime Emmy Winner.
• Donwan Harrell - founder of the New York-based urban clothing company, Akademiks.
• Pamela Armstrong, opera singer

Other

• Grace Harris - Civil rights activist and one of the first three African American faculty members hired by VCU.
• Ron Tillett - Former Treasurer of Virginia, Secretary of Finance for Virginia.
• Nancy C. Everett - CEO of General Motors Asset Management Corp. and its U.S. subsidiaries.
• John C. Neal - CEO of Union Bank and Trust Company
• Dick Robertson - President of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
• Robert Wittman - Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing Virginia's 1st congressional district
• Rodney D. Monroe - Chief of Police formerly of Richmond, Va and currently of Charlotte, NC

International relationships

VCU has international agreements with 8 universities in 7 countries.[1]

• China - Fudan University
• Egypt - Helwan University (pending)
• England - University of West England
• England - Kent Institue of Art and Design
• France - Ceram Business School
• Germany - University of Bremen
• Italy - University of Messina
• Romania - Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu

External links

• vcu.edu Official Web site
• Ram Webcams