As our ambitious Quest for Distinction strategic plan continues to define everything we do at VCU, we have enjoyed a year of remarkable accomplishments from students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.

We invite you to explore this online annual report to learn how, all across the university, we broke records, set standards and achieved real successes that matter.

Our Brandcenter students were named the “most innovative” in the nation while our faculty raised VCU’s research profile into the top 100 nationally. Our medical center and numerous academic programs across the university earned unprecedented national rankings. We reached new heights in innovation and entrepreneurship, moving up to take our place as the nation’s premier urban, public research university.

Our greatest success was about more than growing bigger or breaking records. It was about making a real difference for real people. The world watched as an interdisciplinary team at the VCU Medical Center forever changed the lives of Maria and Teresa Tapia, conjoined twins from the Dominican Republic who are now happy, healthy and independent.

More students than ever — almost 7,500 — earned a VCU degree and became job creators and leaders in their fields. Our pipeline programs showed more young Virginians that a college education and the life they dream of is within their reach.

VCU Massey Cancer Center received earnest support from the General Assembly, an investment that will lead to breakthroughs in the war on cancer. The stunning James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center, which is the result of one of the most generous gifts in our history, will soon revolutionize how physicians are educated and serve as the centerpiece of record infrastructure development at VCU. First Lady Michelle Obama chose our university to launch a program that will make a lasting difference for injured veterans.

It was a great year for so many reasons. But what is most exciting is that this is only the beginning. We have hired outstanding new faculty members and enrolled incredible students all across the university, adding to the rich and diverse talent already in place at VCU and joining in our quest to be the nation’s premier urban, public research university.