Alum and Donor News

VCU Afghan Student Organization officers: Rida Jamal (left), Sadef Osmanzai (back), Waris Bahrami (right) and Yasameen Anwari (front). (Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing)

Mobilizing to help Afghans in need

Nov. 22, 2021

Responding to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, VCU students and graduates of Afghan descent are raising money, donating supplies, assisting refugees and providing information in a chaotic time.

Derick Waller, left, with then-WABC photographer Gus Alonso, center, and WABC photographer John Sprei. (Courtesy of Derick Waller)

Emmy-winning reporter and alum Derick Waller on Trump, journalism, VCU and life in New York

Nov. 17, 2021

Waller’s journey to WABC-TV — the most watched station in the nation’s largest media market — has been one of big stories and big dreams.

Matt Cricchio’s debut novel, “Security Day,” focuses on the complex relationship between the people of Afghanistan and the U.S. military. (Courtesy of Matt Cricchio)

Grad’s war novel highlights the complicated relationship between the U.S. military and the Afghan people

Nov. 9, 2021

Navy veteran and VCU alum Matt Cricchio served in Afghanistan. His debut novel, “Security Day,” will “change how you think about American conflict overseas.”

Charlotte Wincott holding an award from the Hollywood Women’s International Film Festival. (Courtesy of Charlotte Wincott)

Filmmaker, storyteller, neuroscientist: Charlotte Wincott’s latest project is a reflection of her many skills

Nov. 8, 2021

In “The Issue with Elvis,” the VCU grad’s many talents are on full display, as she weaves together a story about people, science and mental health in a way few others can.

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.