Updates
Leah Carmichael (B.S.'19/H&S) started a new job at the Houston Forensic Science Center.
John Jones (B.A.'74/H&S) retired from the Virginia Department of Social Services as a regional director. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the National Rifle Association and Stony Point Reformed Presbyterian Church in North Chesterfield, Va. His wife is Angela Jones (B.F.A.'76/A; M.A.'81/H&S).
Ronald Tillett* (B.S.'79/H&S) was appointed to the Virginia Governor's Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates in December 2018.
Matthew Wall (B.S.'05/H&S; M.U.R.P.'08/GPA) is executive director at the Western States Seismic Policy Council in Sacramento, Ca.
Randolph Watkins* (B.A.'71/H&S) is retired from the Chesterfield County (Va.) Police Department, the National Park Service and the United States Army.
* Life member of VCU Alumni
Births
Jonathan Barton (B.A.'12/H&S; M.F.A.'19/H&S) and his wife, Mollie, welcomed their third child, Samuel Isaac Barton, on July 15, 2019.
Alumni and faculty books
Flashes into inner life
Colleen Kearney Rich
“Things You Won’t Tell Your Therapist: Stories” collects Rich’s (B.S.’85/MC) flash fiction, very short stories that nonetheless tackle large subjects. The title story and many others concern the secrets of the inner life, the explanations that are difficult or impossible to give to others for our actions. Many of the stories were originally published in online journals known for their flash fiction, such as Smokelong Quarterly and wigleaf.
Poems and stories
Christine Sloan Stoddard
Stoddard (B.A.’12/H&S; Cert.’12/DVC) collects a new set of short stories and poems in “Desert Fox by the Sea,” the winner of a fiction competition held by Four Chambers Press. Speaking through the voices of varied female characters, Stoddard tells “tales of modern tragedy,” addressing in the process many common issues of modern life.
Cartoons and the Constitution
Michael A. Ventrella and Darrin Bell
Criminal defense attorney Ventrella (B.A.’81/H&S) teams up with Pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist Bell in “How to Argue the Constitution with a Conservative: A Liberal’s Humorous Guide to Demystifying the Laws of our Nation.” This humorous, satirical look at the U.S. Constitution attempts to combat common misinterpretations and misunderstandings and includes cover art and more than 40 illustrations.