Welcome to the College of Humanities and Sciences 2019-20 annual report. I realize I am a new face for many of you, because I recently joined the college as dean on July 1, 2020. I’m excited to begin my tenure at such an innovative, diverse and passionate institution.

And I invite you to learn more about me, my background and my vision for the College. I’d like to take a moment to thank Don Young, Ph.D., interim dean, for his leadership over the past year. He has set us on a solid path, and I am grateful for his help during my transition.

When I accepted the position earlier this year, the world was just learning about COVID-19. Classes were still in-person, there was no mention of social distancing and not many people owned face masks. As you know, everything changed quickly in March. VCU and the College worked hard to ensure that our students finished the semester strong—albeit online. The ingenuity and resilience of our faculty, staff, advisers and students astounded me.

I am also proud of the College’s commitment to research. Even with the global pandemic, the College finished the year with more than $20 million in awarded grant dollars. That represents a 14% increase from the prior year! Truly remarkable.

While interviewing for the deanship, I had the opportunity to meet with many people from the College community. I learned about the cutting-edge research being conducted in our labs, the inventive teaching happening in our classrooms and the experiential learning opportunities undertaken by our students. My College colleagues are doing amazing work, and I look forward to building strong relationships with them in the coming year.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without donor support. Your generosity provides our College with the resources it needs to continue to support our community, whether that is through teaching, research, outreach or student success. Thank you!

Warmly,

Jennifer Malat, Ph.D.
Dean, VCU College of Humanities and Sciences