3 p.m.

This online Writing Center workshop is a guide to finding, reading, evaluating and incorporating academic sources into your work. Register for the Zoom link at the following URL.

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

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

The Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center, 601 W. Broad St., in partnership with VCUarts and the VCU Humanities Research Center, will host artist Federico Cuatlacuatl, who will discuss how his practice is informed and shaped by his lived experiences as part of a community from Cholula, Mexico. “Migrant Nahua futurisms” is the conceptual framework for his ongoing project highlighting the Nahua community’s forced self-displacement and the problematization of indigeneity in its diasporas. RSVP at the following URL.

For more information, contact Ellie Musgrave at musgraveec@vcu.edu or visit https://icavcu.org/events/federico-cuatlacuatl/.

6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

STEM In Art will host origami engineering, its third event of the semester. Learn about the history behind origami and how to put it into practice. All materials and snacks will be free. The event will be in the SGA Senate Chambers, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Mohammed Abdulhadi at abdulhadim@vcu.edu.

7 p.m.

Are you interested in making an impact on the greater Richmond community? Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to join Rams Aging and Engaging for their first meeting of the semester. Learn about volunteer opportunities for engaging with low-income elderly communities in the city, enjoy snacks and join a like-minded community of students. The session will be at 701 W. Grace St., Honors College Multipurpose Room (1303).

For more information, contact Rhea Chatterjee at chatterjeer2@vcu.edu.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

VCU's Division of Community Engagement in the Office of the Provost invites faculty to join a dedicated writing group for community-engaged scholarship. Whether you are working on a manuscript, grant or other scholarly output, this group offers fellowship, accountability and shared time to focus. Come write alongside colleagues and start your fall semester with the support you need. Starts today, Thursday, Oct. 2 and will be held every Friday after. The Zoom link is https://vcu.zoom.us/j/86507914411 Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Challen Wellington at wellingtonc@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/dKNsb9AYcVqS7kMa8.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 from noon to 1 p.m.

The Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research will present a lunch research seminar via Zoom. Nicholas Johnson, M.D., associate professor, Neurology, and Maria Teves, Ph.D., assistant professor, OB/GYN, will discuss industry and foundation funding and strategies to be competitive for these types of funding. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Pamela Dillon, Pharm.D., research liaison, at pmdillon@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.zoom.us/meeting/register/7BN7BgrSQTCgcd_77ncr3g.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 at 12:30 p.m.

Join the Department of Graphic Design to welcome visiting artist Ryan Kuo for the Objects + Methods lecture series. Kuo is an artist and writer in New York City. He makes diagrammatic and conceptual systems that are process-based and often invoke a person or people arguing. This is not to state an argument about a thing, but to be caught in a state of argument. The event will be in the theater of the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Luiza Dale at oliveiramal@vcu.edu or visit https://objectsandmethods.net.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hindu Students United will host a volleyball mixer at Monroe Park. Competitive and noncompetitive games will be available. The winning team will score a box of doughnuts. All skill levels are welcome.

For more information, contact Diya Patel at pateldd5@vcu.edu.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Attend Medical Journal Club’s Research Panel to hear from Joel Schlosburg, Ph.D., (Pharmacology and Toxicology) and Gregory Buck, Ph.D., (Microbiology and Immunology) as they share their research, career journeys and insights — including Schlosburg’s experience in Ph.D. admissions. This is an opportunity for students interested in obtaining a Ph.D. and learning about potential opportunities for involvement in research at VCU. The session wil be in the Academic Learning Commons (MCALC), Room 3100, 1000 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Medical Journal Club at mjc.vcu@gmail.com.

Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Members of the VCU Humphrey Fellowship Program will offer 2025–26 Home Country Presentations in Hibbs Hall, 900 Park Ave., Room 303. Fellows will discuss their home countries, professional experiences and goals for the year. A session will also be held Friday, Oct. 10. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Heather Ashton at ashtonhr@vcu.edu or visit https://humphrey.vcu.edu/events/.

Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 at noon

Interested in studying abroad? Nichole Dorton and John Fife, Ph.D., are leading a group to southern Bahia, Brazil, this spring break to learn about Education in a Cultural Context. Register for this virtual informational session at https://forms.gle/sKp1ABoLjSRHZFMk8

For more information, contact Nichole Dorton at nldorton@vcu.edu or (804) 827-4309 or visit https://vcu.studioabroad.com/_portal/tds-program-brochure?programid=11747.

Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Do you want to speak or perform at a TEDxVCU event? Attend the next speaker informational session to learn more about what it is like to be on stage. Faculty, staff students and members of the community are welcome to attend. The event will be in the SGA Senate Chambers, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Justin Raibolt at tedx@vcu.edu.

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

PennyAppeal at VCU will host a Pack-A-Bag: Body Hygiene event in the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., Virginia Rooms A-B. Fifty care kits with essential hygiene items will be prepared for members of the local homeless community. Follow the organization on Instagram (@pennyappealatvcu) or RamsConnect.

For more information, contact PennyAppeal at VCU at officialpennyappealatvcu@gmail.com.

Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

VCU's School of Social Work will present "Advancing Global Social Development: Youth, Gender and Community-Engaged Research Across Contexts” in the Academic Learning Commons (MCALC), Room 3100, 1000 Floyd Ave. Presenter Gina Chowa, Ph.D., is the Johnson-Howard-Adair Distinguished Professor and associate dean for global engagement at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work. Lunch will be provided. Chowa will discuss innovative approaches to youth employability and economic security, with a particular focus on longitudinal studies in South Africa and Ghana. RSVP by Monday, Oct. 6 at https://vcussw.info/Chowa

For more information, contact Denise Burnette at jdburnette@vcu.edu or visit https://socialwork.vcu.edu/about/international-social-work-initiative/.

Monday, Oct. 13, 2025 from 10 a.m. to noon

Both classes run from 10 a.m. to noon and are free. The course designed to teach community members how to render aid to themselves and others during a bleeding emergency. The Oct. 13 course will be at Hibbs Hall, 900 Park Ave., Room 216. The Oct. 15 course will be in Oliver Hall, 1015 W. Main St., Education Wing, Room 2124. Registration is free and can be completed by selecting the course on the CTCCE Training Calendar. Register at the following URL with course codes needed. Oct. 13 course code is Rams1. The Oct. 15 course code is Rams2.

For more information, contact Matthew Majid at majidm@vcu.edu or visit https://reg.abcsignup.com/view/cal4a.aspx?ek=&ref=&aa=0&sid1=0&sid2=0&as=82&wp=443&tz=0&ms=0&nav=0&cc=0&cat1=0&cat2=0&cat3=0&aid=CTCCE&rf=&pn=0.

Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 at 3 p.m.

Registration is open for the ninth annual John and Rosa Cifu Lecture in Brain Injury Rehabilitaion and Sheltering Arms Institute fourth annual Research Symposium. The event will be offered virtually and at Sheltering Arms Institute, 2000 Wilkes Ridge Drive. Sponsors include VCU Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: TBI Endowment fund, VCU Center for Rehabilitation and Science Engineering (CERSE) and Sheltering Arms Institute. The featured speaker will be Anne McDonnell, executive director for the Brain Injury Association of Virginia from 2006-2023. A poster presentation and reception will follow the lecture. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Carolyn Frey at carolyn.frey@vcuhealth.org or (804) 229-9143 or visit https://shelteringarmsinstitute.com/research-symposium/.

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 from 10 a.m. to noon

VCU's Division of Community Engagement in the Office of the Provost invites faculty to Advancing Scholarship Through Community Engagement, an in-person workshop at the Scott House, Rooms 202 and 204, 909 W. Franklin St. Lunch will be provided. Learn from VCU faculty who have transformed their community engagement into scholarship and take part in small group discussions to explore strategies for your own work. Register at https://forms.gle/kMLFxdTqoLv8R1Tm9

For more information, contact Challen Wellington at wellingtonc@vcu.edu or visit https://community.vcu.edu/training/.

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025 from noon to 5 p.m.

The 2025 History and Health Symposium, "Improving Access to Childbearing Health Care: Histories, Solutions and Strategies," will be held at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. This symposium will explore how access to childbearing care and resources is related to improving health outcomes and addressing health disparities. The symposium wil be co-hosted by the Office of Health Initiatives and the Humanities Research Center.

For more information, contact Logan Vetrovec at ohiconnect@vcu.edu or visit https://healthinitiatives.vcu.edu/history-and-health-program/annual-symposium/.

Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

VCU's Division of Community Engagement in the Office of Provost invites students, faculty, staff and community members to the 2025 Connect Conference, where community voices, scholarship and innovation come together to build connections. Participants will learn skills and principles of community engagement, see partnerships in action and engage in design activities to support future collaborations that meet community needs. The session will be held in the University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballroom, 907 Floyd Ave. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Shari Garmise at garmiseso@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/z3TfbFwBu6HRDqJE6.

VCU RecWell offers children’s swim lessons for ages 6 months to 6 years, taught by certified Water Safety Instructors under the American Red Cross program. The lessons focus on fundamental swimming and water safety skills, with support tailored to each child's comfort and ability. Session 2 will be on Saturdays from Oct. 4-25. Register by Oct. 3 at the following URL.

For more information, contact Mat Scott at aquatics@vcu.edu or visit https://portal.recwell.vcu.edu/program?classificationId=805d477a-53f7-4a08-8d31-2c0fb96d6ee0.

Nov. 20 is National Rural Health Day. VCU will host two events (virtual and in-person) to celebrate and acknowledge the rural health programming led by VCU and VCU Health faculty, staff and students. If you are engaged in any research, teaching, service or programming related to rural health, the university's Division of Community Health asks you to share your contributions at the following URL.

For more information, contact Challen Wellington at wellingtonc@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/oD2zkNzxHMZTQehg9.

The Global Education Office now offers two intercultural agility workshops. Join a pre-scheduled Faculty and Staff Global Zone Training session to explore best practices for working with international students or ask GEO to come to your next department meeting to provide the training to your whole team. GEO encourages students to take Student Specific Global Zone Training, which focuses on intercultural communication skills with the goal of fostering an interculturally thoughtful VCU community. This student training is geared for UNIV courses, student organizations, student employees and more. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Kelly Richard at richardkj@vcu.edu or visit https://global.vcu.edu/students/faculty/globalzone/.

This study is inviting individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 who identify as LGBTQ. We are also inviting individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 who identify as cis-gender heterosexual for the control group.

For more information, contact Karen Gorgey at healthyheart@vcu.edu.

One-time survey to assess health behaviors and performance among adults enrolled in an upcoming endurance race. See the survey at the following URL.

For more information, contact Alexandra Lempke at alexandra.lempke@vcuhealth.org or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=EE4CW7XX7F7YPW4H.

This study is inviting individuals between the ages of 20 and 24 with poor sleep quality. The purpose of this research study is to examine the effect of aerobic and resistance exercise on cardiovascular responses and vascular inflammation. This study will be conducted at 500 Academic Centre on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus. Principal Investigator: Lee Franco, Ph.D., Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences.

For more information, contact Garrett Oehlert at healthyheart@vcu.edu.