Alum and Donor News

Moira Neve, a VCU graduate student in English, said their current research project has helped them develop a more complicated understanding of time and history. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Moira Neve studies visions of a queer utopia as described in an early 20th-century journal

Oct. 9, 2024

Neve said, 'I love the feeling of being in my own niche corner of this larger literary tradition, sifting through the archives only to arrive at new surprises every day.'

Melanie Kay-Wyatt, Ed.D., superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools, is among this year’s honorees of the VCU Alumni 10 Under 10 Awards. (Contributed photo)

Nationally recognized school superintendent among VCU Alumni 10 Under 10 Award recipients

Sept. 27, 2024

Distinguished graduates from throughout the university, including School of Education graduate Melanie Kay-Wyatt, will be recognized at a private ceremony Oct. 19.

Harper Reed (center) participated in the Summer Community Public Health program in Botswana this summer. (Contributed photo)

To prepare for graduate studies in public health, Harper Reed seized a study abroad opportunity

Sept. 27, 2024

The recent VCU graduate spent the summer exploring public health in Botswana.

VCU alum Anna Carter digitally scans the last Genuine Smithfield Ham during a trip to the Isle of Wight County Museum. (Photo provided by Bernard Means)

Nothing ham-handed about this project: VCU helps digitally preserve the last Genuine Smithfield Ham

Sept. 17, 2024

Bernard Means of the Virtual Curation Laboratory and his summer field school students hit the road to scan a serious – and slippery – hunk of Virginia history.

Brad Bakken working with patient on a treadmill at pauley heart center

After being diagnosed with a heart condition, KHS alum discovered how he can help others heal

Aug. 14, 2024

Brad Bakken now works as a clinical exercise physiologist at VCU Health Pauley Heart Center.

VCU alum Shawn Meredith serves as grants manager and district coordinator in constituent services for U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger. (Contributed photo)

After a bold introduction, Shawn Meredith found his niche in U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s office

Aug. 14, 2024

The 2016 graduate from the Robertson School is a go-to guy in constituent affairs.

Karl Rhodes, author of the novel “Peggy’s War,” is a 1983 graduate of VCU, where he majored in mass communications with a news-editorial concentration. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Meet-a-Ram: Alum Karl Rhodes tells the gripping story of a relative’s role in the underground railroad

June 24, 2024

The former journalist’s novel, 'Peggy’s War,' is a deeply researched account of Peggy Rhodes, who concealed Southerners who refused to fight for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

VCU alum Aisha Kamara meets with the governor of Huambo Province in Angola, who is sharing her thanks to the U.S. Department of State and the American people for clearing landmines in the province 10 years previously. (Contributed photo)

Study abroad inspired VCU alums to pursue global careers

May 31, 2024

Now far from campus, Calvin Watson and Aisha Kamara built on their academic experiences to embrace international opportunities.

VCU alum Avanti Yamamoto pivoted from a promising medical career to teach in the public school system, first in the city of Richmond and then in Hanover. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU alum Avanti Yamamoto, who pivoted from medicine to math, is Virginia’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

May 30, 2024

The 2012 graduate credits professor Craig Larson for pointing her toward her public education career in the Richmond area.

Since 2006, more than 90 VCU students and alumni have received Fulbright awards, including five this year. (File photo)

Five recent VCU graduates receive Fulbright awards for the 2024-25 academic year

May 20, 2024

In earning one the country’s top academic honors, they push VCU’s total to near 100 since establishment of its National Scholarship Office.