Alum and Donor News

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.

Ana Edwards, who earned her master's degree in history from VCU in 2020, is the first recipient of the Department of History's Graduate Alumni Achievement Award. (Thomas Kojcsich, University Marketing)

Ana Edwards is preserving Black history — and sharing it with others

Feb. 23, 2021

The VCU alumna and chair of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, will receive the VCU history department’s highest honor for graduate alumni March 18.

“More representative teams just perform better … ,” Elizabeth Paul, chief strategy officer at the Martin Agency, said at a VCU virtual event on how women are changing the advertising industry. “I want our workforce to reflect our audience because I know we’ll tell better, more representative stories.” (Getty Images)

Women are changing the advertising industry, and it’s leading to better, more authentic ads

Feb. 5, 2021

As another Super Bowl comes and goes, a VCU Robertson School panel says improving gender diversity in advertising is leading to better storytelling and more opportunities for underrepresented voices.