Three VCU School of Nursing faculty members were awarded the VCU Medallion for Endowed Faculty Honors at an investiture ceremony this month. The ceremony was held during the annual Cabaniss Society Reception/Dinner at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Endowed professors who were recognized include Mary Jo Grap, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, Nursing Alumni Endowed Professor; Nancy L. McCain, D.S.N., R.N., FAAN, Nursing Alumni Endowed Professor; and Debra E. Lyon, Ph.D., R.N., FNP-BC, FNAP, FAAN, the Inaugural Collins-Teefey Distinguished Professor.

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The VCU Rice Center has received a grant from Altria to fund an innovative program to provide an educational experience for park visitors and local school systems that is focused on the ecology of the James River. The initial project will focus on four aspects of the river: 1) the geology of the river, especially as it relates to water quality and river ecology; 2) anadromous fish migration in the river; 3) bioassessment of the river's water quality using fish and insects; and 4) the many rock pools in the river and their associated biological communities. Signage relating to these four focal areas will be developed and installed at strategic points within the park. Self-guided exploratory activities will be downloadable to smart phones via an interactive map app at park kiosks.

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A rousing performance by students from Theatre VCU had the capacity crowd on its feet and dancing in the aisles at the Oct. 13 Inaugural Gala celebrating VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.

More than 350 friends packed the Commonwealth Club ballroom to honor Dr. Rao on the eve of his official inauguration as the university's fifth president.

The gala raised $142,650 in gifts and pledges for the Opportunity VCU scholarship campaign.

"In these tough economic times, scholarships are extremely important to support, attract and retain the country's brightest and most deserving student-scholars," said Thomas G. Snead Jr. (B.S.'76), rector of the Board of Visitors and chairman of the executive inaugural committee. "Because of you, our students will have access to more scholarship dollars in the years ahead."

School of Nursing Dean Nancy Langston shared her congratulations on behalf of the faculty, and Honors College student and Presidential Scholarship recipient Kunal Kapoor thanked the community for supporting scholarships in honor of Dr. Rao.

"From a student perspective, it is humbling to see your investment in VCU, but even more importantly, in the future of students and the future of our world," Kapoor said. " The value of the scholarship trasncends its materialistic value, and in turn really does come to define a life. It has opened me up to the vast number of opportunities here at VCU. I cannot begin to imagine the vastness the ripple effect of your donations to Opportunity VCU will have - affecting hundreds of future students who come with diverse backgrounds and life-stories deserving of a chance to follow through with their passions."

Dr. Rao echoed his gratitude and stressed that importance of the new strategic plan, Quest for Distinction, in the future successes of VCU.

The evening concluded with a special presentation by former rector and current member of the Board of Visitors Dr. W. Baxter Perkinson Jr. (D.D.S.'70). Perkinson painted an original watercolor, "Turning Leaves at 910," for Dr. Rao to commemorate his Inauguration. He also donated hand signed and numbered prints to everyone in attendance.

Virginia Commonwealth University has received two grants totaling $1.75 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative of the Semiconductor Research Corporation to create energy-efficient computing devices with even more processing power packed in a chip - potentially cutting out the need for battery-run computer circuits in the future.

The team, led by researchers at the VCU School of Engineering, is working with colleagues from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of California at Riverside to translate its theoretical work into a computing device that could one day be used by millions.

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The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) today jointly announced the largest-ever cash gifts to both organizations totaling $115 million. The record gifts will help acquire additional works of art and support medical research. Thirteen additional charitable organizations will receive the remaining $10 million.

The trusts, created in the 1950s by Arthur Graham and Margaret Branch Glasgow, terminated earlier this summer with the death of their son-in-law, Ambrose Congreve, 104, in London. VMFA, VCU and the other charities will receive the gifts according to percentages set forth in the trusts of Mr. and Mrs. Glasgow. These will be the largest cash gifts to both VMFA and VCU. Nearly $70 million will go to VMFA to create a restricted art purchase endowment and to support its recent expansion, and approximately $45 million will go to VCU to support the cure and prevention of cancer and other degenerative diseases.

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Virginia Commonwealth University announced plans today for the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA), a state-of-the-art facility designed by renowned architect Steven Holl that will serve as a new gateway to the university and bring the most important, cutting-edge contemporary art exhibits in the world to campus and the city of Richmond.

Located at the corner of Broad and Belvidere, near one of the most-traveled entrances to the city, the ICA will be a signature building for the School of the Arts and VCU, representing the best in international contemporary architecture and art, and a valuable community resource for Richmond. The ICA, which is expected to be about 32,000-square-feet, will feature approximately 8,000-square-feet of gallery space, an outdoor installation space, a 210-seat auditorium with tiered seating, classrooms, a gift shop, a café with a catering kitchen and an entry hall suitable for exhibitions, installations and social events. It will provide a practical and dramatic space for the VCU School of the Arts, which has the top-ranked public graduate arts program in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report.

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