11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pups on the Plaza will be taking place at the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center, 1201 E. Marshall St. Pups on the Plaza is a therapy dog event in which a rotating cast of Dogs on Call therapy dogs will be on site, ready to meet and greet passersby. Show your support for Dogs on Call teams by purchasing a $5 lunch (hot dog, chips and a drink) or a Dogs on Call T-shirt for $10. In the event of rain, everything will move indoors to the McGlothlin lobby.

For more information, contact Center for Human-Animal Interaction at CHAI@VCUHealth.org or (804) 628-2532 or visit https://chai.vcu.edu/.

12:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Join VCU's Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in welcoming Ambassador Sékou Berthé and Griot Cheick Hamala Diabaté. OMSA will be catering West African cuisine with live West African music and performances, short presentations and an opportunity to interact with French faculty and representatives of the Global Education Office. The event will be at SHIFT Retail Lab, 1235 W. Broad St. RSVP at the following URL.

For more information, contact Amala Thomas at thomasac4@vcu.edu or visit https://cglink.me/2dV/r1929664.

12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

VCU's Department of Graphic Design will host the GDES faculty research presentations in the theater of the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. Research will be presented Pecha Kucha style — 20 images, 20 seconds per image. Each faculty will have six minutes, 40 seconds to talk about their work and ongoing design research interests. All are welcome to this free event.

For more information, contact David Shields at dwshields@vcu.edu.

3 p.m.

The Honors College will host virtual interest sessions throughout the semester for current VCU students interested in applying. Attendance at an interest session is required to be considered for admission. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Will Gilbert at gilbertws@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/WjFuToF12nCzbD4D6.

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Interested in being a TEDx Speaker? Come to the TEDxVCU Speaker Interest Meeting to in the Board Room of the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., to learn more about giving a TEDx talk and how to apply. A Zoom option will be available at https://vcu.zoom.us/j/86955743809.

For more information, contact TEDxVCU at tedx@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.campusgroups.com/tedxvcu/home/.

5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

A mixer for Latine faculty, staff and students at VCU will be held in the Richmond Salons, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. Come for the community and stay for the elote, wings, chips, churros, agua fresca and more catered by E-Loteria. The event will be hosted by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, YouFirst, Latinx Student Association and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science. RSVP at the following URL.

For more information, contact Beck Oh at ohrn@vcu.edu or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1P2-7e2FWGfMpHcRVih4jpRJdq3Ed1P_vHWg-TwzRhvI/edit.

7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

VCU Medical Journal Club will host a pre-health panel via Zoom for students interested in professional health careers. VCU School of Medicine students will be joining to answer questions about the medical school application process and provide tips. The Zoom link is https://vcu.zoom.us/j/81299756416

For more information, contact VCU Medical Journal Club at mjc.vcu@gmail.com or visit https://vcu.campusgroups.com/mjc/home/.

Friday, Sep. 22, 2023 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Come to the Compass to have your blood pressure measured by the Cardio-Renal Physiology Lab. Information will be available on how a healthy lifestyle can benefit blood pressure.

For more information, contact Natalie Bohmke at bohmkenj@vcu.edu.

Friday, Sep. 22, 2023 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Join the Arab Student Union and Lebanese Student Association for a picnic in Monroe Park. All are invited.

For more information, contact Yara Andary at contact.lsa.vcu@gmail.com.

Friday, Sep. 22, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

CULTURE and VCU's Office of Multicultural Student Affairs will host a night of painting historical and contemporary Latine figures such as Frida Kahlo, Pedro Pascal and Jenna Ortega. The event will be led by artist Diego Sanchez, a native of Bogotá, Colombia who currently teaches at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The event will be in Richmond Salons III-IV, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. RSVP at the following URL.

For more information, contact Maddie Pham at phammi@vcu.edu or visit https://cglink.me/2dV/r1929348.

Sunday, Sep. 24, 2023 at noon

The VCU Men's Rugby Club will take on Old Dominion University at Powhatan Sports Complex, 5115 Hampton Blvd.

For more information, contact Eric Wiggins at wigginsej@vcu.edu.

Monday, Sep. 25, 2023 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Feeling homesick is super common, and making friends in college can help. Join first-gen students and You First peer mentors in Room 1100, Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Ave., for a casual gathering.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Bambacus at bambacuses@vcu.edu or (804) 827-3927.

Tuesday, Sep. 26, 2023 at 5 p.m.

The VCU Writing Center will meet in Room 205, James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. The Writing Club provides a welcoming space for students to join a community of peers who enjoy writing and want to enhance their confidence in their own writing process. The club will offer generative writing exercises and opportunities to share work and collaborate on personal projects.

For more information, contact Trey Burnart Hall at hallbr@vcu.edu or visit https://writing.vcu.edu/calendar/.

Wednesday, Sep. 27, 2023 from 11 a.m. to noon

Join VCU HR and VCU alum Deborah Porter for this timely back-to-school topic for working parents. The discussion will include setting boundaries, not comparing, and autonomy for children. Register for the Zoom link in Talent@VCU or at https://bit.ly/3QR2bqT

For more information, contact Cindi Phares at cphares@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1521 or visit https://ramstrong.vcu.edu/.

Wednesday, Sep. 27, 2023 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Cinema and television have long been the most wide-reaching forms of storytelling in our society. Yet beyond the productions of the movie and TV industry, artists have experimented with moving images in alternative ways. Often these methods are personal, informal, poetic or skeptical. This class at VCU's Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center, 601 W. Broad St.. looks at how and why film, video and animation are so much part of contemporary art. RSVP at the following URL.

For more information, contact Natalie Hale at halene@vcu.edu or visit https://icavcu.org/events/making-sense-of-contemporary-art-moving-images/.

Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023 from noon to 3 p.m.

Are you exploring majors or considering adding a minor? Or just wanting to learn more about the major you are in? Come check out the annual Majors Fair, hosted by the Discovery Advising team. This is your opportunity to connect with all of the majors VCU has to offer as well as various campus resources! Majors Fair will be held in the Commonwealth Ballroom, located on the second floor of the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Gregory Miller at millerg6@vcu.edu.

Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023 from noon to 2 p.m.

The School of Medicine's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is partnering with related groups to host a health sciences interprofessional pride mixer. Open to all students, faculty and staff, the mixer will provide opportunities for participants to embrace community to increase LGBTQIA+ visibility in the health sciences. This event will be held at the Main Hospital, 1250 E. Marshall St., Room 1-422. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Ashli Phillips at ashli.phillips@vcuhealth.org or visit https://vcuhealth.libcal.com/event/11229212.

Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Are you curious, inventive and driven to create? Want to work for the world's biggest brands? The No. 1 graduate program in the country for advertising and branding is right here at VCU. Join us for a virtual informational session. Register at https://connect.business.vcu.edu/register/VirtualInfoSessionSept2023?utm_source=TelegRam

For more information, contact Emma Barone at brandcenter@vcu.edu or visit http://brandcenter.vcu.edu.

Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023 at 7 p.m.

Ornithologist and wildlife ecology professor at Clemson University J. Drew Lanham, Ph.D., will deliver VCU Libraries’ 2023 Social Justice Lecture. Lanham writes and speaks about the implicit and overt racism people of color often face when engaging with their natural surroundings. He bridges the arts and sciences to create a new model of conservation and care for nature that includes space for diverse perspectives. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Ryan Pander at rbpander@vcu.edu or visit https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/events/2023-2024/2023-social-justice-lecture-.html.

Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023 from 7:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

A log-rolling clinic is open to VCU students and RecWell members looking to improve their balance, compete against friends and complete a medium-intensity workout in a unique fashion. Beginners are welcome. The clinic will be held at the Cary Street Aquatic Center, 121 S. Linden St. Registration closes at the time of the clinic. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Mat Scott at aquatics@vcu.edu or visit https://recwell.vcu.edu/play/aquatics/log-rolling/.

Friday, Sep. 29, 2023 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

All are invited to the VCU Humphrey Fellowship Program Home Country Presentations in the SGA Alumni Boardroom, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. Friday sessions about the current cohort of Humphrey Fellows will also be held on Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 from 11:45-1:15 p.m. During these presentations, each Fellow will provide a 20-minute home country overview, professional role and interests in public health. An interactive Q&A session will follow.

For more information, contact Heather Ashton at ashtonhr@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZRf3ZOgmQA-jG2xfOLegDQ#/registration.

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

VCUarts Theater will present a supernatural thriller based on the award-winning book and film. Oskar is a bullied, lonely teenage boy living in 1980s rural Virginia. A series of sinister killings rocks his small community. Eli, the young girl who has just moved in next door, doesn’t go to school and never leaves the apartment by day. Sensing in each other a kindred spirit, the two become devoted friends. What Oskar doesn’t know is that Eli has been a teenager for a very long time. Performances will be Thursday, Oct. 5 through Sunday, Oct. 8 at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave.

For more information, contact VCU Theatre Box Office at theatretix@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1514 or visit http://vcutheatre.showclix.com.

VCU’s Journal for Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship, Auctus, is currently accepting student submissions to its STEM, Social Sciences, Creative, Humanities, and News and Noteworthy sections. Submit your work if you are interested in being published. Students can also join Auctus as reviewers to gain experience reviewing work in their field. Questions: Visit https://linktr.ee/auctusvcu

For more information, contact VCU Auctus at auctus@vcu.edu or visit http://auctus.vcu.edu.

Are you a college/university student who has ever experienced housing instability while enrolled in classes (e.g., eviction, termination of room and board package, having trouble paying rent, overcrowding, moving often, or spending the bulk of household income on housing)? In this study, you will be asked to participate in a survey about your experience. For more information, contact Chelsie Dunn, Ph.D., at the following email address or telephone number.

For more information, contact Sianna Westley at westleysa@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1892 or visit https://vcupsych.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bC86dhZzC0mT16m.

The VCU Wellbeing Lab invites you to participate in a research study on two stress reduction programs for undergraduate students. VCU investigators seek to understand how two online stress reduction programs affect students’ mood and stress-related behavior. Compensation is available. Sign up before Monday, Oct. 2.

For more information, contact Polina Beloborodova at vcu.stress.reduction@gmail.com or visit https://beloborodp.wixsite.com/stressreduction.