Newsroom

New research from Mount Holyoke College and Virginia Commonwealth University finds that people with a history of adverse childhood experiences were more likely to bear a heavier burden during the pandemic’s initial surge. (Getty Images)

What was COVID-19’s impact on mental health, well-being and substance use early in the pandemic?

June 2, 2021

Research shows that those with a history of adverse childhood experiences were more likely to bear a heavier burden during the pandemic’s initial surge.

A VCU Life Sciences doctoral student is working with the Virginia League of Conservation Voters to build a voter education guide ahead of Virginia's June 8 primary, and will continue working with the league this summer to create a nonpartisan voter guide for the November general election (Getty Images)

Putting science on the ballot

June 2, 2021

Doctoral student Kayla Mathes studies forest ecology and is raising awareness of climate change ahead of Virginia's 2021 elections through her work with the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

Mariam Alkazemi’s “Arab Worlds Beyond the Middle East and North Africa,” celebrates the achievements and acknowledges the challenges of new communities built by the Arab diaspora around the world.

New book co-edited by a VCU professor offers a more inclusive understanding of the Arab diaspora

June 1, 2021

Mariam Alkazemi’s “Arab Worlds Beyond the Middle East and North Africa,” celebrates the achievements and acknowledges the challenges of new communities built by the Arab diaspora around the world.

The development of an accurate teacher-report measure would support schools’ efforts to implement evidence-based programs for children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders in elementary schools. (Getty Images)

$2M grant to support programs for elementary school students at risk of social, behavioral, and emotional problems

May 28, 2021

The award, from the Institute of Education Sciences, will fund a four-year project co-led by researchers from VCU and the University of Minnesota.

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.

Joseph Porter taught "tens of thousands of VCU students" in a nearly five-decade career at the university. (Julia Rendleman, University Marketing)

Joseph Porter, a ‘dedicated scientist’ and psychology professor, retires after 46 years

May 19, 2021

He built his first lab at VCU with his own hands and taught thousands of students at the university. And his research broke ground in the understanding of antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs.

M. Thomas Inge, Ph.D., left, with his wife Donaria, then-VCU Libraries Dean John Ulmschneider, and fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator Charles Vess at a reception for Vess at James Branch Cabell Library in 2013. (Joe Mahoney, VCU Libraries)

Thomas Inge, a trailblazer in comics scholarship and former VCU professor, dies at 85

May 19, 2021

Inge’s contributions of comics, art, memorabilia and letters were instrumental in the creation of VCU Libraries’ Comic Arts Collection.

A new book co-edited by a VCU professor explores a variety of journalistic genres that cover the news in ways other than the traditional problem-based narrative. (Getty Images)

How journalism can empower and engage audiences without making them feel depressed

May 18, 2021

A new book co-edited by VCU journalism professor Karen McIntyre Hopkinson explores eight socially-responsible news reporting practices.

A screenshot of a "nature is healing" meme shared on social media.

A new VCU study explores the ‘nature is healing’ memes that dominated social media at the height of the pandemic

May 18, 2021

The jokes have been called the pandemic’s best meme. A study that originated out of a VCU class examines why.

Hog Island, part of the Virginia Coast Reserve site, in 2004 (left) and 2020 (right). It has transitioned from new grass to shrub and has since started to erode, which is altering the island's response to sea-level rise. (Photos courtesy of Julie Zinnert, Ph.D.)

Climate change is contributing to ‘state change’ in diverse ecosystems, including in Virginia

May 18, 2021

A new VCU-led study examines how small changes in an environmental driver are transforming the structure or function of some ecosystems.