News Highlights
CHS Commemorates ‘America at 250’ With Yearlong Programming
The College of Humanities and Sciences is marking the nation’s 250th anniversary with the America at 250 series, a yearlong initiative exploring the past, present, and future of American democracy. Rooted in VCU’s interdisciplinary course U.S. Democracy United/Divided, the series examines topics ranging from Virginia’s founding-era influence to modern voting rights, social media’s impact on democracy, and the global reach of domestic policy. Beginning in January, the series hosted monthly events, including “A Conversation With Carly Fiorina,” the former presidential candidate and national honorary chair for the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission, and “Continuity and Change: Navigating the New Virginia Voter” with John C. Fortier, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. A highlight of the summer programming was “The Legacy of 1776,” a four-part webinar series led by VCU’s Department of History, featuring lectures on topics including the faith of the nation’s founders, liberty amid slavery, and the revolutionary spirit behind the Declaration of Independence. The series brought together students, faculty, and community members in a spirit of open dialogue at a time of deep national division. “The different sides are not really talking to each other, and so we’re really hoping to open that conversation here,” said Marcus Messner, Ph.D., executive associate dean for strategic initiatives and academic affairs and co-organizer of the series. Programming continues this fall with lectures, panel discussions, and a film screening. All events are free and open to the public.
New Digital Badge Brings Richmond’s Living History to Students
Through a new partnership with the Valentine Museum, students can now earn a microcredential digital badge by exploring Richmond’s history firsthand. To earn the Richmond History Foundational Badge, students must participate in one of several select Valentine programs, including a public historical walking tour, a guided tour of the Wickham House — the early 19th-century home on the museum’s property — or attendance at an event in the Valentine’s Controversy/History series, which explores the history behind contemporary issues such as public transit and the city’s infrastructure. The partnership reflects the College of Humanities and Sciences’ commitment to experiential learning and to deepening students’ engagement with the history and culture of the Richmond community right outside their doors.
Navigating the AI-Transformed Classroom
The College of Humanities and Sciences hosted two daylong AI teaching summits in the 2025-26 academic year. The most recent summit, held in April, drew nearly 200 faculty and staff and featured a keynote by C. Edward Watson, Ph.D., vice president for digital innovation at AAC&U, who addressed academic integrity and practical strategies for teaching in an AI-driven environment. The summit also included a student panel, faculty roundtables, and workshops on topics such as crafting generative AI syllabus policies and understanding AI’s impact on student research.
“From survey data we’ve collected over the past year and up to this event, we’re seeing a steady increase in how comfortable faculty feel using AI tools in their teaching and a clear shift toward leaning into conversations about AI rather than stepping away from them,” said Joshua J. Smith, Ph.D., special assistant to the dean for innovative learning and AI initiatives. “While valid concerns remain present in faculty feedback, there is also growing agreement compared to last year that AI will play an important role in students’ learning and future careers and that it has a meaningful place in our curriculum.”
Building on the success of the spring summit, the College of Humanities and Sciences is already looking ahead to an AI Research Summit planned for this fall, which will again be geared toward faculty and staff. As the conversation around AI in higher education continues to evolve, these back-to-back summits reflect CHS’s commitment to equipping its academic community with the tools, strategies, and dialogue needed to navigate an increasingly AI-integrated future.
Lead editor of Blackbird, Trey Burnart Hall
Blackbird Literary Journal Team Launches Multidimensional Podcast
More than two decades after VCU’s Department of English launched Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts as a pioneering force in online literary publishing, the journal is breaking new ground with the debut of the Blackbird Literary Podcast. The podcast blends performative readings, original musical compositions, and in-depth interviews in a new way — the brainchild of MFA student and lead editor Trey Burnart Hall and faculty editor Jessica Hendry Nelson. “What we wanted to do was something that centers different voices and different sounds and doesn’t just add another interview podcast that no one needs,” Hall said.
Produced entirely by graduate students in the MFA in Creative Writing program alongside interns from the Department of Kinetic Imaging and VCU School of the Arts, the podcast reflects Blackbird’s longstanding commitment to student-centered, collaborative work. Episodes feature writers published in the journal as well as authors from the Creative Writing program’s Visiting Writers series, weaving together the contemporary and the archival. Learn more at blackbird.vcu.edu.
CHS Launches Middle & High School Summer Day Camp
The College of Humanities and Sciences launched its inaugural summer camp program in June 2026, giving middle and high school students the chance to work alongside VCU professors, get hands-on experience with university-level labs, and collaborate with peers who shared their curiosity. Nearly 175 students took part in the daylong camps. The camps spanned the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences and included:
- Print the Past in 3D: Virginia’s Digital Heritage Adventure
- Young Leaders Sociology Camp: Understanding People, Community, and Change
- The AI Imagination Lab: Media, Creativity, and Digital Literacy Skills
- Human Machine Lab: The World of Exercise Science and Physiological Research
- Monkey Business: The Science of Our Primate Cousins
- Beaker Breakers: Hands-On Chemistry at VCU
- Philosophy Camp: Justice
- Gabriel Summer Scholars Institute: Genealogy, Geography, Environment
“We designed these camps with our broader community in mind — to give curious young people a real, immersive glimpse into college life at VCU and the incredible range of disciplines we offer here in the College of Humanities and Sciences,” said Amy Rector, associate dean of faculty affairs and director of the summer camp program. “Our undergraduate counselors are just as central to the experience; stepping into a mentorship role gives them meaningful leadership opportunities while creating genuine connections between our campus and the communities we serve.”
CHS hopes to expand offerings for summer 2027. Learn more at go.vcu.edu/summercamps.
The 2025-26 cohort of the Humphrey Fellows Program
Twenty Years of Global Impact: The VCU Humphrey Fellowship Program Concludes
In 1978, the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program was established in honor of the late senator and vice president’s lifelong dedication to public service and international cooperation. VCU joined this storied tradition in 2006, when it was awarded a contract through the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State to host fellows under the substance abuse prevention and treatment focal area. Over the next two decades, the program was renewed three times — in 2011, 2016, and 2021 — and guided by three dedicated faculty coordinators: Robert Balster, Ph.D.; Randy Koch, Ph.D.; and Wendy Kliewer, Ph.D., all from the Department of Psychology. Together, they helped shape a program that brought 190 accomplished mid-career professionals from 80 countries to Richmond, immersing them in the behavioral, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of public health, as well as science-based approaches to prevention, treatment, and policy.
Throughout its 20-year run, the VCU Humphrey Fellowship offered fellows an extraordinarily rich professional experience. Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), fellows traveled to NIH headquarters, attended the annual NIDA International Forum to present their work, and participated in an extensive network of field visits — from local organizations like the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority and Henrico County Drug Court to national institutions such as the CDC in Atlanta and the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda. Each year, fellows also attended the Global Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., a weeklong gathering featuring State Department speakers, Humphrey alumni, diplomatic receptions, and networking opportunities that connected VCU’s cohort to the broader fellowship community across the United States.
As the program concludes in 2026, its legacy is measured not only in numbers but also in the lasting bonds and transformations that took place along the way. Kliewer, the program’s final coordinator, captured this spirit best: “Directing the VCU Humphrey Fellowship has been a highlight of my career. I am grateful to the fellows I have known over the years for teaching me about sacrifice and resilience, courage and confidence.” For Kliewer, it was the small, human moments that defined the fellowship most — fellows experiencing snow for the first time, learning to ride a bicycle, celebrating birthdays, and growing in ways that transcended any curriculum. “It has been a joy to be a small part of fellows’ journeys and to see them blossom during their Humphrey year and beyond,” she reflected. “Knowing them gives me hope for our world.”
New Faces, New Roles
Chris Gough, Ph.D., professor in the School of Life Sciences and Sustainability, was named executive director of Rice Rivers Center in October. Gough, an ecologist who studies how forests and wetlands absorb and release greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, brings decades of research experience at field stations across the country to his new role. He is committed to integrating research and technology into climate change mitigation and biodiversity monitoring and management.
Corey Moore was named associate dean for enrollment and student success in January. Moore previously served as the assistant dean of students for advising and student success in the University of Kentucky’s College of Nursing. He has spent 20 years working in higher education and brings a deep understanding of cross-collaboration and relationship building, student advocacy, and the creation of inclusive environments.
Brian G. Smith, Ph.D., was appointed director of the Robertson School of Communication and began his term on July 1, 2026. Smith joins VCU from the University of Mississippi, where he served as professor and chair of the integrated marketing communications program. His research focuses on public relations management and social media, with a particular focus on how people use social media for social advocacy.