6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

VCU Recreational Sports presents "Welcome Back Bash" at the Cary Street Gym. The VCU community is invited to bring a friend and join for food, games and prizes while learning what Rec Sports has to offer.

For more information, visit http://recsports.vcu.edu.

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at 7 p.m.

The Humanities Research Center and VCU Libraries presents Brian Daugherity, Department of History, as part of the "Meet VCU's Authors" series in Cabell Library, Room 250. Daugherity will be speaking about his new book, "Keep On Keeping On: The NAACP and the Implementation of Brown v. Board of Education in Virginia." Admission is free and all are welcome.

For more information, visit https://humanitiescenter.vcu.edu/meet-vcus-authors-brian-daugherity/.

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at 7 p.m.

Good Clear Sound holds its first open mic of the semester at The Depot. Poets, singers, dancers, rappers, musicians or those with hidden talents are invited to attend and share their craft.

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Rams in Recovery invites students, faculty and staff in recovery and their allies to celebrate milestones in their recovery in the Wellness Resource Center, Recovery Clubhouse.

For more information, visit http://www.thewell.vcu.edu/recovery-support/.

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 at 11 a.m.

Join President Michael Rao for the State of the University Address in the James Branch Cabell Library, Lecture Hall, Room 303. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. R.S.V.P. by visiting https://goo.gl/k3G0S6. A live webcast of the State of the University Address will be streamed on VCU's home page, www.vcu.edu, and VCU's Facebook page, go.vcu.edu/vcufacebook

For more information, visit https://goo.gl/k3G0S6.

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 from noon to 1 p.m.

The VCU Community Health Education Center hosts a weight loss surgery information session at the center, VCU Medical Center, Gateway Building, Ground Floor. This program will be presented by the VCU Surgical Weight Loss Center. Refreshments will be provided and registration is required. To register, use the contact information below.

For more information, visit http://wp.vcu.edu/chec/2017/01/18/jan-26-weight-loss-surgery/.

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The VCU Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care invites the VCU community to participate in this year's Emswiller Symposium on Saturday, Feb. 4, at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, 1800 Lakeside Ave. An aging and increasingly complex population is challenging the health workforce to deliver optimum care. Preparing the health care workforce to practice collaboratively is necessary to improve health outcomes, decrease cost, enhance the patient experience and increase practitioner well-being. During the symposium, participants will learn about innovations in interprofessional education and practice that seek to meet these goals. To register, visit the website below.

For more information, visit http://www.ipe.vcu.edu/symposium/.

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 from noon to 1:15 p.m.

Human Resources presents "How to Retire with the Virginia Retirement System" for VCU employees in the Larrick Student Center, Jackson Ward Conference Room. This session is open to VCU employees only, not VCU Health System employees.

For more information, visit https://training.vcu.edu/course_detail.asp?ID=15563.

Collaboration Services holds an open forum on Google sponsored by Application Services on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at noon in Sanger Hall, Room B1-020, and on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at noon in the University Student Commons, Alumni Board Room. Audience participation is strongly encouraged, so attendees should bring questions and share experiences with the group. All sessions are lead by a certified Google educator. Any Google products offered by VCU will be discussed. To sign up, visit http://go.vcu.edu/gogoogle

For more information, visit http://apps.vcu.edu/training--help/.

The Division of Student Affairs announces that registration for the Disney Institute's renowned professional development course, "Disney's Approach to Quality Service," is open. The event will be held on Thursday, June 1, in the University Student Commons. The one-day event will help professionals examine how they can differentiate their service to become a provider of choice and understand the processes necessary to develop a culture that consistently delivers exceptional service. Early-bird registration is $400 for VCU attendees and closes on Friday, Feb. 17.

For more information, visit http://students.vcu.edu/disney-institute.

The Division for Inclusive Excellence invites the VCU community to attend the open forum presentations, titled "How Can Communications Help Further Diversity and Inclusive Excellence at VCU?, followed by a question-and-answer session for all four candidates for the diversity and inclusion communications director position. Candidate C will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 1:30 p.m. in Ginter House, Room 221-A. Candidate D will be held on Friday, Jan. 27, at 1:30 p.m. in Ginter House, Room 221-A.

The Institute for Women's Health invites researchers to submit abstracts in any domain of women's health for the 13th annual Women's Health Research Day on Wednesday, April 27. Awards will be given for best posters by junior investigators in basic, clinical and behavioral science. The best overall wins the Elizabeth Fries Young Investigator Award. A Building Interdisciplinary Bridges award will also be given. The online submission deadline is Friday, Feb. 3.

For more information, visit http://www.womenshealth.vcu.edu/research/researchday.html.

VCU Recreational Sports offers varying times and levels of swim lessons for preschoolers, youth, adults and parents and children. Registration for session 1 classes, running Jan. 28 to March 4, ends on Friday, Jan. 27. To browse full course listings and register, visit portal.recsports.vcu.edu

For more information, visit http://www.recsports.vcu.edu/programs/aquatics/.

The Division for Community Engagement invites the VCU community to join in the White House Healthy Campus Challenge. Participants can visit the marketplace at healthcare.gov to shop for and compare health care plans. Most consumers can find a plan for $75 or less per month. Enroll by Thursday, Dec. 15, for coverage starting Jan. 1. Tuesday, Jan. 31, is the last day to enroll for a 2017 health plan.

The Division for Inclusive Excellence invites members of the VCU community to advertise diversity-related events on the Division for Inclusive Excellence website. In support of VCU's commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity, the goal is to highlight the many diversity-related programs and events throughout the university and its surrounding community. Include programs or events in our monthly calendar by using the google form link on the events page at http://www.inclusive.vcu.edu/events. Send associated graphics by emailing pdf flyers to inclusive@vcu.edu and place "Diversity & Inclusion Event Graphic" with the event name in the subject line of the email. To include a program or event in the "Mark your calendar" section of our home page, submit an event to the VCU Events Calendar with a VCU eID and password and use one or more of the following RSS keywords: diversity, inclusion, multicultural. To access the VCU Events Calendar, visit http://events.vcu.edu

For more information, visit http://ww.inclusive.vcu.edu.