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VCU will celebrate approximately 5,200 new graduates with a universitywide virtual commencement on Saturday. (University Marketing photo illustration)

VCU to celebrate spring commencement on Saturday

May 12, 2021

Members of the Class of 2021 will be honored at virtual and in-person events.

Left, Savannah-Zhané Jolley. Top right: Jolley and her mother, Louise. Bottom right: Jolley's celebrates getting an "A" on a research paper. (Images courtesy of Savannah-Zhané Jolley)

Class of 2021: A mysterious illness couldn’t derail Savannah-Zhané Jolley’s journey to a VCU degree

May 7, 2021

Headaches and memory loss nearly derailed her final years of school. But thanks to her mother, the Department of Political Science and her own perseverance, Jolley will graduate this month.

Alexia Brown hopes to use her education to launch a career that will allow her to make a far-reaching impact on as many people as possible. “There’s so much work to do,” Brown said. “I have to do my part to leave this world a better place.” (Kevin Morley, University Marketing)

Class of 2021: Alexia Brown is on a mission to learn – and make the world a better place

May 6, 2021

“I want something that’s going to make me want to get up in the morning, no matter how exhausted I am, with an energy that says, ‘I gotta go. I gotta go do my work.’ … There’s so much work to do.”

Fantasy Lozada, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, received an NSF CAREER award to investigate how African American youth develop emotion regulatory flexibility, which can protect against racism. (Kevin Morley, University Marketing)

VCU professor to explore ‘emotional code switching’ among African American youth

May 5, 2021

Psychology professor Fantasy Lozada received an NSF CAREER award to study emotion regulatory flexibility among African American youth, which helps them to protect against racism.

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.

Clarence Thomas taught college for 42 years; 30 at VCU. He will retire at the end of the spring semester. (Tom Kojcsich, University Marketing)

Trailblazing Robertson School professor Clarence Thomas to retire at end of semester

April 30, 2021

Thomas, who taught mass communications at VCU for 30 years, was the first Black faculty member to receive tenure at the university in his field.

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.

Interviewing patients as part of her research has been particularly rewarding for Nayab Mughal, who wants to use her career to provide support to patients during some of their toughest moments. (Kevin Morley, University Marketing)

Real research: Future nurse finds rewards in research’s potential to better understand others

April 27, 2021

Nayab Mughal has been involved in three studies, giving her the chance to learn how the pandemic has affected the experiences of both pregnant and hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients.

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.

A new study led by VCU researchers finds that students who have been exposed to interpersonal trauma prior to college consume more alcohol than those without interpersonal trauma exposure. But romantic relationships mitigate these effects of trauma on a student’s drinking behavior. (Getty Images)

Romantic relationships mitigate effects of trauma on alcohol use among college students

April 22, 2021

A new study led by VCU researchers shows students exposed to interpersonal trauma prior to college are more likely to engage in risky alcohol use — but effects can be mitigated through romantic relationships.