What inspires us? A blank canvas.
To us, this canvas represents the opportunity to dream big. It gives us hope and unites us to make those dreams real. From sparking conversation through contemporary art, to using our ingenuity to design futuristic pods, to innovating medicines for all, we are inspired to fill our canvas with experiences that improve lives, save lives and give life more meaning. Our collection of work reflects, with simplicity and truth, the extraordinary talents of our community. This is what we create together. This is the Virginia Commonwealth University annual report for 2018.
Thank you for your continued support.
Michael Rao, Ph.D.
President, VCU and VCU Health System
Our newest, most iconic landmark doubles as a work of art and cultural resource for Richmond. The Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center opened in spring 2018 with its first exhibition, “Declaration,” and sparked conversation. The opening attracted more than 7,000 community members to experience how art can be a forum for open dialogue, collaboration and the exchange of perspectives.
We are the only Virginia university to receive the $21.5 million clinical and translational science award from the National Institutes of Health. With it comes our membership to a national consortium of more than 50 research hubs funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Our C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research will lead efforts to partner across the commonwealth to cultivate and train the interdisciplinary translational science workforce, integrate special and underserved populations in this research, improve quality and efficiency, engage in informatics, and promote community-engaged research.
We have committed to addressing the national opioid health crisis through research, treatment and education efforts. In 2018, the School of Medicine received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for its addiction fellowship, which focuses on addiction medicine and includes emphasis on prevention and pain. This accreditation came ahead of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s visit to VCU, where he presented a grand rounds on pain killer prescription practices and pain management.
Hyperloop at VCU — a team of about 35 students from engineering, the arts, business, government and humanities and sciences — was one of 20 teams to advance to the final round of the international competition that challenges university teams to design and build the best transport pod for Hyperloop, a high-speed ground transport concept being advanced by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
The VCU Massey Cancer Center is the first in Virginia to offer an FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy. This new type of immunotherapy, called adoptive cell therapy, genetically modifies a patient’s T-cells so they will attack cancer cells. CAR T-cell therapy has proven very effective at treating advanced blood cancers in both children and adults, allowing many patients to avoid a bone marrow transplant.
Together with Greater Richmond Transportation Company, we are piloting a $1.2 million ridership program to give our students and employees, including VCU Health team members, unlimited access to Richmond’s bus service — and greater access and alternative means to explore and connect to more areas of the city.
We are among 33 colleges and universities selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to participate in its 2018 Inclusive Excellence initiative, which aims to help schools find ways to engage more students in science — especially those from underrepresented groups, such as minorities, first-generation students, and working adults with families. More than 7,000 students — the majority of which will be transfer students — and 75 faculty members from VCU and John Tyler and Reynolds community colleges will benefit from the $1 million grant over five years.
A $96 million residential life project transformed a three-story dormitory into the 12-story, 360,000-square-foot Gladding Residence Center, now home to 1,524 first-year students.
The School of Allied Health Professions is now the College of Health Professions, and the School of Engineering is now the College of Engineering. The new names reflect the expanding breadth and level of academic programming, as well as each college’s increase in research, faculty and student enrollment.
In a seven-year span guided by our strategic plan, we increased the overall four-year graduation rate from 34 percent to 44.4 percent, and the six-year graduation rate from 57 percent to 67.4 percent. These increases were the highest among major public research institutions in Virginia, and our students from underrepresented groups experienced the most dramatic increase in graduation rates.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the College of Engineering a $25 million grant to establish the Medicines for All Institute and to help increase access -- through pharmaceutical engineering -- to lifesaving medications for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases around the world.
We broke ground on a $93 million, 133,000-square-foot research building that will significantly expand the College of Engineering’s laboratory capacity and will serve as a hub for students and faculty to advance research and economic development efforts. The facility’s design emphasizes makerspaces, collaborative research and flexible gathering areas.