2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Intercultural Festival kicks off the semester with its first event, "Lunar New Year," in the University Student Commons, Virginia Rooms. Attendees will enjoy free food, activities and prizes.

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.

7 p.m.

The Activities Programming Board presents Bingo Home Edition and a breakfast burrito bar in the University Student Commons, Richmond Salons. Attendees can take advantage of this opportunity to have fun while winning various household necessities.

8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Nepalese Student Association at VCU holds an interest meeting in the University Student Commons, Virginia Room A. Attendees will learn about the organization and membership will be highlighted.

For more information, visit https://vcu.collegiatelink.net/organization/nepalesestudentassociation.

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute (COBE) invites the VCU community to "Thrive Yoga" in Brandt Residence Hall, Community Room. Mats will be provided.

For more information, visit http://cobe.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.

88 Keys @ VCU holds a social night for musicians, filmmakers and students passionate about music to come together in the University Student Commons, Canal Room. There will be free food, drinks and games. 88 Keys is a music appreciation club that strives to be a place for people to further their musical talents without a music major.

For more information, visit https://vcu.collegiatelink.net/organization/88keys.

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/.

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 at 6 p.m.

The Activities Programming Board offers four different wellness sessions at Common Ground that will help participants achieve New Year resolutions. Each session will be 15 minutes long and will focus on one of the following: mind and body, values and goals, anxiety and boomerang stress. Throughout the evening, there will be giveaways such as a Fitbit with a law of attraction planner, a wellness TEAVANA kit and a Buddha Board, as well as dinner catered by California Pizza Kitchen.

Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

VCU Career Services hosts the Virginia State Police in the University Student Commons, near the Floyd Ave. entrance. Trooper Boone of the Virginia State Police will meet with students interested in career opportunities and can answer questions about the recruitment process, training and the different jobs available.

Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at 4 p.m.

The Division for Inclusive Excellence invites students to attend a 1.5 day student-focused workshop for "Building Inclusive Communities" (BIC) on Friday, Jan. 27, from 4-8:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Grace and Broad Residence Center. Undergraduate and graduate students will learn more about diversity and taking personal responsibility for creating a truly engaged diverse and inclusive campus environment. The workshop model relies on experiential learning with an emphasis on personal sharing, understanding their own and others multiple identities and the difference between intent and impact. Seating is limited and the deadline to register is Tuesday, Jan. 24. Advance registration is required at training.vcu.edu, using the keyword: diversity. If registration is full and you want to be added to the waiting list, email inclusive@vcu.edu

For more information, visit http://www.inclusive.vcu.edu/initiatives/building-inclusive-communities/.

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017 from 11 a.m. to noon

Conference and Scheduling Services holds a workshop for student organizations to learn how to reserve space on campus in the Commons Theater. Attendees will learn what spaces can be reserved, the rules for each space and how to use Virtual EMS to book the space.

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/.

The Monroe Park Campus and MCV Campus Student Government Associations (SGAs) have proposed a merger of the two campuses SGAs in order to have one student government to oversee VCU's two Richmond campuses. For information on the merger, visit the website below. Voting will take place on the merger from Jan. 23-25. Students will be emailed a ballot.

For more information, visit https://students.vcu.edu/about-us/administration/reuban-rodriguez/jsgc/.

The Office of Sustainability challenges students to a New Year resolution for energy conservation. Find a video with quick and easy ways to make your impact on energy usage, on and off campus, at the website below.

For more information, visit http://sustainability.vcu.edu/operations/resource-use/ .

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 Office of Safety and Risk Management offers the following fire safety tips for students living off campus. Know the closest exit from your building and have a second way out, too. Make certain you have a working smoke detector. Test it monthly and change the battery yearly. When cooking, never leave food unattended. Understand that your safety awareness affects everyone that lives in or visits your building, including you.

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

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.