Alum and Donor News

Iris Harrell, Ann Benson and their band

Paying it forward

Nov. 4, 2021

Through their scholarship, Iris Harrell and Ann Benson help first-generation students reach their capacity.

Biology student Anubhav Thapaliya in Erich Damm's wet lab. (Maggie Nguyen)

From red cell development to cultural preservation, VCU’s Baldacci scholars continue to further their studies

Oct. 25, 2021

The grant program, created by a gift from alum David Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, provides students with funds to pursue experiential learning opportunities.

Rodney A. Harry, former president of VCU Alumni’s African American Alumni Council. (Jud Froelich, Development and Alumni Relations)

In memoriam: Rodney Harry, former president of the VCU African American Alumni Council

Oct. 21, 2021

He was the longest serving president in the organization’s 30-year history, and was instrumental in creating programming to keep Black graduates connected to VCU.

Once fully funded, the Dorothy Fillmore Scholarship — named for a longtime VCU employee and diversity and inclusion champion — will be awarded to full-time, degree-seeking students actively engaged with the LGBTQIA+ community. (Getty Images)

New scholarship will support students and honor a longtime LGBTQIA+ champion

June 23, 2021

The Dorothy Fillmore Scholarship will help VCU students actively engaged with the LGBTQIA+ community who face housing instability, food insecurity, tuition issues or other financial hurdles.

Enjoli and Sesha Joi Moon's work on The JXN Project is unearthing under-told truths about Richmond's Jackson Ward neighborhood and the pivotal role it plays in the evolution of the Black American experience. (Keshia Eugene)

Enjoli and Sesha Joi Moon’s JXN Project is an effort to tell Black Richmond stories ‘truthfully and completely’

June 16, 2021

Their work, which celebrates 150 years of history in Jackson Ward, is capturing the neighborhood's pivotal role in the evolution of the Black American experience.

Dorothy Pauley. (Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing)

In memoriam: Philanthropist and alum Dorothy Pauley. She ‘carried an air of happiness everywhere she went.’

May 24, 2021

The longtime university benefactor was the namesake — along with her husband, Stan — of VCU Health Pauley Heart Center and also helped lay the foundation for the VCU College of Engineering.

Carlos David Jimenez Morales is set to become the first graduate of VCU’s Graduate Certificate in Health Care Innovation program. (Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing)

Class of 2021: Problem solver Carlos David Jimenez Morales wants to make an impact on health care

May 5, 2021

Later this month, he will become the first graduate of VCU’s Graduate Certificate in Health Care Innovation program.

Josly Pierre-Louis is planning a career in research and education with the help of a national fellowship from the Ford Foundation and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. (Allen Jones, University Marketing)

‘It takes a village to succeed’: Student earns national scholarship to finish her Ph.D.

April 30, 2021

Josly Pierre-Louis’ parents immigrated to America from Haiti. Their daughter, a VCU grad, is the rising tide for all boats when it comes to her success in chemistry and health research.

puru and tripti jena on a sunny oceanfront

The Jenas give to honor VCU’s impact on their family

April 26, 2021

Tripti Jena, M.D., and Purusottam “Puru” Jena, Ph.D., credit much of their family’s well-being to the careers and community they found when they joined Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980.

Cast photo from "The Donna Reed Show." Standing: Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen. Seated: Carl Betz and Donna Reed.

What would Donna Reed do?

March 26, 2021

VCU graduate Annie Newton discusses “The Donna Reed Show” and how Reed, a celebrated actress, shaped feminism in the 1950s and 60s.