Virginia Commonwealth University



Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968. It has over 32,000 students and is classified as having very high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

VCU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the VCU Rams. They are members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

History
Though officially created with the merger of the Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) and Medical College of Virginia (MCV) in 1968, VCU's history stretches back to 1838 when the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College opened in Richmond. In 1854, the Richmond Department of Medicine broke away from Hampden-Sydney College and became an independent institution known as the Medical College of Virginia. Richmond Professional Institute traces its roots back to 1917, when it began as the Richmond School of Social Work. VCU claims 1838 as its founding date on its official seal and on promotional materials.



In 1838, the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College opened in Richmond. In 1844, it moved into its first permanent home, the Egyptian Building. In 1854, the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College received an independent charter from the Virginia General Assembly and became the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). A few years later in 1860, MCV conveyed all its property to the Commonwealth of Virginia and becomes a state institution in exchange for $30,000.

In 1893, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, later University College of Medicine, was established by Hunter Holmes McGuire just three blocks away from MCV. In 1912, McGuire Hall opened as the new home of the University College of Medicine. The following year, MCV and UCM merged through the efforts of George Ben Johnston and Stuart McGuire. MCV acquired the Memorial Hospital as a result of the merger. In 1917, the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health was established, and in 1925, it became the Richmond division of the College of William and Mary. In 1939, this division became the Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary" (RPI). In 1947, the MCV Foundation was incorporated, and in 1962 RPI separated from William and Mary to become an independent state institution. Then in 1968, state legislation (Wayne Commission Report) merged MCV and RPI to become Virginia Commonwealth University. At the time, MCV retained the right to use its name.

By 2006, VCU grew to become the most populated university in Virginia and the state's first to have 30,000 students. In May 2008, a controversy ensued after an anonymous email led to an investigation that discovered VCU awarded an undergraduate degree to former Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe (currently serving as Police Chief in Charlotte, North Carolina) improperly after he enrolled to receive just 6 credits from the University, with the bulk of his credits taken through the online University of Phoenix and the FBI Academy. VCU officials announced they had taken personnel actions in response to the improper degree but did not indicate what actions were taken or who was held responsible. In the wake of the internal investigation, five high-ranking administrative officials resigned, some vocally in protest of the investigation itself due to threats made against the tenure status of one professor if she did not cooperate and other high-pressure tactics. The University submitted a report about the improperly awarded degree and the subsequent investigation to its accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which at its annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Dec. 8-9, concluded that VCU "had taken adequate steps to ensure that this was indeed a one-time phenomenon."

In 2010, VCU received a $20 million National Institutes of Health grant to join a nationwide consortium of research institutions working to turn laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The Clinical and Translational Science Award made VCU the only academic health center in Virginia to join the prestigious CTSA network. In 2011, The Carnegie Foundation elevated Virginia Commonwealth University to “Very High Research Activity," with other 255 million in sponsored research.

VCU 2020
VCU currently is the fastest growing University in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and has developed an expansion plan known as "VCU 2020." The plan includes concepts for about $1 billion in new academic, medical, recreation, student housing and parking facilities on VCU's Monroe Park and MCV Campuses. Among its major goals is the creation of a collegiate community promoting student engagement and the campus environment.

Campuses
VCU has two main campuses in Richmond (Monroe Park and Medical College of Virginia), a branch campus in Education City, Qatar and various regional facilities: the Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences, the VCU Medical Center at Stony Point, the School of Medicine Inova Campus, the School of Pharmacy Inova Campus and the School of Social Work - Northern Virginia.

Monroe Park Campus
Home to most of VCU's general education facilities, the Monroe Park Campus is located at the eastern end of the Fan district, a historic neighborhood built adjacent to downtown Richmond in the late 19th century. The Monroe Park Campus begins at Monroe Park on North Belvidere Street and continues west to Harrison Street. Most buildings are located on or between West Main Street and West Broad Street. Originally home to the Richmond Professional Institute and then the Academic Campus of VCU in 1968, the Monroe Park Campus took on its current name in June 2004. This campus blends the old and new; encompassing over 40 buildings built before 1900. Monroe Park Campus includes
 * Stuart C. Siegel Center - Home of the VCU Rams basketball and volleyball teams
 * VCU School of the Arts
 * Snead Hall/ Engineering East Hall - A 260000 sqft, state of the art building for the School of Business, the School of Engineering, and the da Vinci Center
 * Cary Street Gym - A 158000 sqft gym that opened in January 2010
 * The Ginter House at 901 West Franklin Street, the main administrative building on the Monroe Park Campus. It is named for cigarette magnate Major Lewis Ginter (1824–1897), for developing Richmond's Ginter Park neighborhood and commissioning the Jefferson Hotel.
 * The Pollak Building, is named after Theresa Pollak, who founded the School of the Arts at VCU when it was the Richmond Professional Institute. Pollak was one of Virginia's more famous artists and who is often credited with bringing modern art to Richmond.

MCV Campus
The Medical College of Virginia Campus is home to the VCU Medical Center. This includes the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Allied Health, Nursing, a recently established School of Public Health, and the MCV Hospitals, which is the major component of the VCU Health System. The Campus is also home to the Massey Cancer Center (an NCI-designated Cancer Center). The MCV Campus is an integral part of Richmond in the old Court End district. The neighborhood is located adjacent to the city's business and financial district near the state capitol. MCV campus includes Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry.

VCUQatar
VCUQatar (VCUQ) is VCU School of the Arts' branch campus located in Education City, Qatar. VCUQ was established  in 1998 and was the first university to open its doors in Education City. VCUQ provides students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design or Painting and Printmaking and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Design Studies. In addition to smart classrooms, the VCUQ campus is primarily composed of studios and workspaces for its art programs, an international gallery and a library. The campus also contains things needed for daily student life such as a café, prayer rooms, a student lounge, and a central hall which can be used for a variety of events. Through its programs, VCUQatar's mission is to "develop the individual capacity to lead innovations in the creative and cultural professions in Qatar and the region."

Libraries
The VCU Libraries is the third largest research library in Virginia. The libraries hold more than 2.1 million print volumes, 51,000 journals, 308,000 electronic books, 3.26 million microforms, and 76,000 audiovisual pieces. Collection strengths include the arts, behavioral sciences, business, chemistry, clinical medicine, education, health and life sciences, public affairs, and social work. The VCU Libraries hosts two million visitors each year.

The James Branch Cabell Library supports the Monroe Park Campus. It houses one of the largest book art collections in the Southeast and the fifth largest graphic novel and comic book collections in the United States. The library has collections that include rare and specialized collections that serve as repositories for the papers of numerous Virginia writers, artists, and social activists. Areas of particular note are the Archives of the New Dominion, a collection of historical materials from Virginia's under-documented communities, and the archives of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award.

The Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences on the MCV Campus has the largest medical collection in the state, with extensive journal collections dating back to the nineteenth century. Special collections maintain the papers of health care practitioners and the history of health care in Virginia. Its Medical Artifacts Collection has over 6,000 instruments and equipment related to the history of health care in Virginia over the last 150 years.

The VCU Libraries offers electronic access to some of its unique collections, including papers, images, and sound files relating to civil rights, Richmond architecture, civil war medicine, comic-book and cartooning arts, medical artifacts, and the history of VCU. The VCU Libraries is a repository for federal and state publications and maps.

Housing


VCU's current residential hall capacity is 4,829 students but will be increasing by 456 students after the new West Grace (South) Dorm is finished in 2012. Because of the prominent location within the city of Richmond, many upperclassmen students live in student apartments located around the campus, specifically in The Fan, Oregon Hill, or the Carver neighborhood.

Safety at VCU
VCU's police force is one of the top five largest campus police forces in the country. The police force consists of 82 sworn officers and over 200 security personnel. It also includes an accredited training academy.

VCU also provides a free Security Escort service to students and faculty to assist them in reaching their destination and have stationed 326 Emergency Reporting Telephone Systems in various areas throughout campus.

In every VCU dormitory there are Residence Hall Security Officers that enforce VCU residence hall policies and help watch over the safety of the residents by ensuring every guest brought into the dorm has to sign in and present a valid ID. Dorm security works 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Dining
Undergraduate students living in a university residence hall (not students living in university apartments), are required to choose a residential dining plan. VCU Dining Services offers block plans at 200-, 250- and 300- meal levels with additional Dining Dollars added. Block plans allow a specific number of meals to be used over an entire semester. All unused block meal swipes and dining credits are forfeited at the end of each semester. These unlimited-serving meals are served in the Shafer Court Dining Center and the Larrick Dining Center. A wide variety of foods are offered for every type of diet, including vegetarian options, vegan foods, and low-fat foods. Fruits and vegetables are fresh daily. Dining Dollars allow students the opportunity to purchase tax-free meals at any VCU retail restaurant. Commuter students and students living off campus have the option of purchasing a nonresidential dining plan.

Admissions
In 2010, VCU had an acceptance rate of 66% with 14,086 freshmen applications. The average GPA for the incoming class in the fall of 2010 was 3.53. The average SAT score for the incoming class in the fall of 2010 was 1115. Freshman retention rate is 83.2%.

Schools and departments

 * College of Humanities & Sciences
 * School of Mass Communications
 * School of World Studies
 * L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
 * School of Allied Health Professions
 * School of the Arts
 * School of Business
 * School of Dentistry
 * School of Education
 * School of Engineering
 * School of Medicine
 * School of Nursing
 * School of Pharmacy
 * School of Social Work
 * VCU Life Sciences

Programs
VCU offers Baccalaureate, Master's and Doctoral degrees, as well as Professional and Certificate courses.

Over 40 of VCU's programs are unique to Virginia, such as the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness major in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, as well as the Real Estate and Urban Land Development degree in VCU's School of Business. The university also offers a wide range of study options with more than 170 certificate, undergraduate, graduate, professional and doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences and humanities in fifteen different schools of discipline.

In addition to its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as its honors program, VCU now hosts the Illustration Academy.

The university's medical campus provides students with several opportunities for postgraduate study at VCU. This has led to the development of "guaranteed admission programs", where under select incoming undergraduates are guaranteed a spot in a variety of professional schools so long as a high academic standard is maintained throughout their undergraduate studies. Schools with such a program include medicine, physical therapy, dentistry, pharmacy and others.

An accelerated program in the School of Education offers a combined undergraduate, teaching certificate and master's degree in five years. In addition, VCU added in 2011 an urban teaching program, Richmond Teacher Residency, leading to a Master of Teaching (M.T.) degree. This clinical residency is a partnership between VCU, The Center for Teacher Leadership at the VCU School of Education and Richmond City Public Schools.

VCU also has international agreements with 14 universities in 11 countries. These include China (Fudan University, Beijing Foreign Studies University), Australia (Curtin University of Technology), Israel (Hadassah Medical Center), United Kingdom (University of the West of England, Harris Manchester College, Oxford), India (Indian Institute of Technology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research), Italy (University of Messina), Spain (University of Córdoba), South Africa (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Brazil (University of São Paulo), Mexico (University of Guadalajara), and Russia (St. Petersburg State University).

VCU da Vinci Center
VCU schools of the Arts, Business, and Engineering have collaborated to create the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation in Product Design and Development. Student teams from these schools take on a product development or design challenge posed by one of the Center's industry partners. Such cross-disciplinary educational opportunities prepare students for management roles in the global, technology-driven workplace of the 21st century.

Rankings
According to the 2011 US News & Report, VCU is classified as a Tier 1 University with an overall National University rank of #167 and a rank of #90 among public universities in the United States.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities conducted in 2005 by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranks VCU in the top 100 universities in North & Latin America and one of the top 200 universities in the world.



Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) is ranked the #1 public university school of arts and design in the country (#4 among public & private institutions) by U.S. News & World Report (2009). VCUarts is the only public university arts and design school in the country to ever be ranked this high in overall ranking. The VCU Brandcenter, the School of Mass Communication's graduate program in advertising, has also been ranked 1st in the nation by Creativity Magazine and as one of the top 60 design schools in the world by BusinessWeek.

VCU's Masters of Science in Health Administration program was ranked second by Modern Healthcare. The University's Health System earned national Magnet nursing designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and has twice been named one of the Solucient Top 100 Hospitals in the U.S. by Solucient Corporation. In research the school has been ranked as a top American university by Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance and a top 100 university by the National Science Foundation. VCU Engineering, started in 1996 has seen tremendous growth and completely new facilities. William F. Goodwin, Chairman of the VCU School of Engineering Foundation Board of Trustees, has set an ambitious objective for the engineering program. He's aiming for "25 in 25"- a top 25 engineering-school rank within 25 years. The School of Business ranks in the top five percent of business schools worldwide due to its AACSB International-accredited status. The VCU SportsCenter is a graduate program offering a Master's Degree in Sports Leadership. David Maraghy co-founded and served as Executive Director of the program until 2002. It is currently directed by Nathan Tomasini. One of the program's elite events is known as Villa 7 which began as a forum where athletic directors could share ideas and meet with the country's elite assistant basketball coaches.

Student organizations
VCU has numerous student organizations, including the Black Awakening Choir which won first place in the 2005 Baptist Student Union National Choir Competition in Atlanta, Georgia. Also, 2007 is the first year that STRUT has become an official organization at VCU. STRUT is an annual fashion show that has grown into a week long celebration on campus. In addition, VCU boasts a well-established net of ethnic and cultural organizations such as the African Student Union (ASU), Afghani Student Association (ASA), Ethiopian students Union (ESU),Latino Student Association, Queer Action and the Vietnamese Student Association, among many others. Similarly, VCU offers a variety of religious organizations, such as Aletheia Campus Organization, Muslim Students' Association, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Catholic Campus Ministry, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship house, BSU, Hillel @ VCU, Sikh Student Association and Lotus Buddhist Group. VCU also offers many different special interest organizations such as the (S.H.H.O.) Student Hip-Hop Organization, which allows students to network with VCU's thriving hip-hop community and to utilize hip-hop as a tool for creating unity within this vibrant culture on campus. Also offered at VCU is Blk Ice Ent.,the only Hip Hop Dance Group currently performing at VCU (Ebony Quest was the original). The group of young dancers perform at a variety of VCU functions and work along side many of the most prestigious organizations on campus. Blk Ice dancers also work with youth in the community teaching Hip Hop technique and choreography.

There are two student government associations at VCU, one for each campus. According to the Monroe Park Campus SGA Web site, it "serves as the unifying voice for all students to members of Virginia Commonwealth University administration, faculty, staff, and the Board of Visitors as well as to the City of Richmond." It is the stated goal of the SGA "to represent the concerns and interests of all students to the various groups that have an influence on student life", and it "oversees more than 200 student organizations."

VCU is also home to the largest French Film Festival in the United States. Founded in 1993, the total participation in 2008 has grown to more than 21,000 entries for the 25 films.

Student media

 * The Commonwealth Times - VCU's independent newspaper
 * Ink Magazine-a VCU student run magazine; discussing campus news, contemporary issues, art, fashion, and culture
 * Rams Review - VCU's student-run sports media outlet
 * WVCW - VCU's Radio Station
 * Amendment and Poictesme - VCU's Literary Journals

"Rowdy Rams"
VCU's student basketball fans are known as the Rowdy Rams. The Rowdies have enjoyed one of the best home court winning percentages in men's basketball partially due to their loud and intimidating presence. Students can also donate 25 dollars to the Rowdy Rams Organization to receive early admission to all Men's basketball games and discounts at the local restaurants. This initiative helps fund other VCU Ram's sports while establishing a relationship between the devout student fans and the VCU basketball team.

Greek system
Virginia Commonwealth University hosts 35 international fraternities and sororities across four governing councils with almost 1200 students. VCU's fraternity and sorority community has grown particularly rapidly in the last few years. Plans for a Greek row on Grace Street in the VCU 2020 Masterplan is just one of the many steps VCU is taking to create a stronger fraternity and sorority experience.

List of VCU's Fraternity and Sorority Chapters

Athletics
Having competed at the NCAA Division I level for little more than 30 years, Virginia Commonwealth University has built a rather notable list of athletic accomplishments. Priding itself on sponsorship of a broad-based program of intercollegiate athletics, VCU has won in excess of 30 conference championships, participated in numerous NCAA post-season championship events, and fostered an impressive number of All-Americans---both academic and athletic. VCU currently sponsors sixteen varsity teams in NCAA Division I play through the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Rivals include Old Dominion University, University of Richmond ("Black and Blue Classic"), and George Mason University.

VCU Rams Basketball (men's)


VCU men's basketball is the most popular sport on campus. VCU is well known for their run to the Final Four in the 2011 NCAA tournament. The team has won a total of 7 conference championships with the most recent coming in 2009. The VCU Rams currently play at the Stuart C. Siegel Center where they hold the 11th highest Home Court winning percentage in Division I basketball with a winning percentage of .8462

The Rams are currently coached by Shaka Smart.

In the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, VCU qualified as an at-large bid, having to play in the newly formatted tournament's "First Four" against USC. The decision to allow VCU to participate in the tournament was widely criticized among pundits and the media. VCU defeated USC 59-46 in the "First Four" play-in game. VCU then went on to upset Georgetown University 74-56 in the round of 64. The 11th-seeded VCU Rams then upset 3rd-seeded Purdue University 94-76 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. In the sweet sixteen, VCU defeated 10th-seeded Florida State University 72-71 on a last second bucket in overtime to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history. VCU beat the #1 seeded University of Kansas in the Southwest Regional final by a score of 71-61. It was the Rams' first trip to the Final Four. Against Butler University in the Final 4, VCU lost 70-62. The 2010–11 VCU Rams men's basketball team finished 6th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at the end of the season. This was the highest ranking in VCU's history and the highest ranking of any team from the CAA.

VCU Rams Basketball (women's)
Former WNBA player and Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer Beth Cunningham coaches the VCU Rams women's team.

The VCU Rams Women's team enjoyed the most successful season in their history in the 2008-2009 season. The team finished the season with a mark of 26-7 overall and a 15-3 conference record. Notably the team was a perfect 16-0 at home. After finishing second in their conference the team headed to their first ever NCAA tournament game as the 10th seed, where the #7 seeded Rutgers eliminated them 57-51 on their home court. In the 2009-2010 season Cunningham led the Rams to the NIT Sweet Sixteen where they were eliminated by the Syracuse.

Other VCU athletic teams
VCU Men's tennis is one of the school's most successful programs. The team is coached by Paul Kostin who is one of five Division I coaches to reach the 900-victory mark. The Men's tennis team holds 12 CAA Championships, 17 NCAA tournament appearances, and 17 years of finishing in the top 25 rankings in the country. In 2000, VCU men's tennis had its most successful season, finishing runner up to Stanford in the NCAA Finals Championship match. The team finished with a #9 ranking in the country.

Under leadership from Paul Kostin, VCU's women's tennis team has 2 CAA championships, 9 NCAA appearances, and 6 years in the top 25. In 2006 the women's team enjoyed their most successful season by making it to the NCAA sweet sixteen and an overall ranking of 12 in the country.

VCU Baseball has won a total of 3 CAA Championships and has been to a total of 8 NCAA Regionals. VCU Baseball's head coach is Paul Keyes, and games are played at The Diamond (Richmond, Virginia).

Other intercollegiate sports include Men and Women's Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Men and Women's Soccer (played at Sports Backers Stadium), Men and Women's Track and Field, and Volleyball.

Club teams
VCU also has many student run club teams. These sports not sponsored by the university include coed & allgirl cheerleading, baseball, softball, men's and women's rugby union, ice hockey, ultimate, men's and women's lacrosse, and cycling. Previous club sports have also included rowing, wrestling, and tennis. As of Spring 2011 VCU now has a Club Football team.

Football
The previous university president, Eugene P. Trani, has been quoted as saying that he will not allow football to come to VCU under his watch due to the extra incurred cost. However, with Trani's retirement VCU officials are revisiting the possibility of starting a football program, with a renewed interest due to a new President in Michael Rao.

Student body
Seventy-seven percent of first-year students live in college housing, while 22% of all undergraduates live in college housing.

The student body consists of 59% female students and 41% male students. Out-of-state students have increased to 14% as of the fall of 2008, with 86% of students from Virginia. Demographically, the student body is 56% white, 17% African American, 10% Asian, 5% Hispanic, 4% International, <1% Native American, 12% Unknown.

Faculty
Faculty members include analytical chemist Dr. John B. Fenn, who in 2002 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to the field of mass spectrometry, and Religious Studies professor Amina Wadud, who caused controversy in 2005 by leading an Islamic prayer service of men and women.

In the medical field, VCU has had four professors elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' Institute of Medicine, most recently Steven Woolf in 2001. Historically, notable faculty members include Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard, M.D., for whom Brown-Séquard syndrome is named. Hunter McGuire, M.D., was the Confederate surgeon for General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson before he founded the "University College of Medicine", which later merged with Medical College of Virginia where he became the Chairman of Surgery. The Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center is named in his honor.

Jennifer Johnson's (Professor of Sociology) work at the Department of Defense in the area of Social Network Analysis won her the 2006 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award, which is the highest-ranking civilian service award given by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dr. Johnson was also awarded the 2004 Analyst of the Quarter by the Joint Warfare Analysis Center for her work on the Social Network Analysis Methodology Team. Also Gevork Minaskanian, cofounder of Aderis Pharmaceuticals, developers of Rotigotine, a dopamine agonist for treatment of Parkinson's disease, teaches at VCU.

The VCU Counseling Psychology Graduate Program was ranked 3rd in the nation in the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index in 2007. The VCU Public Administration program in the L. Douglas Wilder School for Government and Public Affairs was ranked 9th in the nation by the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index in 2007.