11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The VCUQatar Leadership Exchange and the VCU Student Government Association present the annual Qatar Day celebration at the Student Commons Plaza. Free henna, Arabic calligraphy and food will be available.

For more information, contact Tiani Pannell at pannellto@mymail.vcu.edu or visit https://arts.vcu.edu/calendar/event/qatar-day/.

3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Virginia21 at VCU will host a Party at the Polls in the lawn area outside Grace E. Harris Hall, 1015 Floyd Ave. Celebrate casting your ballot!

For more information, contact Adam Lockett at lockettam@vcu.edu.

7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Hernán Diaz, winner of the 2018 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for "In the Distance," reads from his book in Room 303, James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. He will later be joined on a panel featuring Chris Fischbach, publisher at Coffee House Press, and Heather Cleary, a translator and writer and one of the founding editors of the digital, bilingual Buenos Aires Review. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event will be followed by a public reception, book sale and signing.

For more information, contact Sue Robinson at srobinson26@vcu.edu or visit https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/events/2018-19/first-novelist-2018.html.

7 p.m.

The VCU Department of Music presents a guitar studio recital in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall of the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave.

For more information, contact Anne Marie Dumain at dumainamm@vcu.edu.

7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Active Minds at VCU will host a How to Help a Friend workshop, in Virginia Room B, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., in support of Safe Harbor, an organization that works to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking.

For more information, contact Shelby Forosan at forosansj@vcu.edu.

7 p.m.

Black Women in STEM and Black Student Union will host a Black Professionals Panel Event in Virginia Room A, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. Panelists will be from careers such as bioengineering, IT, chemistry, neuroscience and law.

For more information, contact Christina Brown at browncj9@vcu.edu.

8 p.m.

The VCU Department of Music presents "A Night of Carnatic Music" with guest artists Raman Kalyan, flute, and Rohan Krishnamurthy, mridangam, in the Recital Hall of the James W. Black Music Center, 1015 Grove Ave.

For more information, contact Anne Marie Dumain at dumainamm@vcu.edu.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 from noon to 1 p.m.

VCU Libraries offers a webinar, "Publishing Scams: Spotting Predatory Journals and Thesis Publishers," which explores common predatory publishing schemes and how to tell the real offers from the fakes. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Sue Robinson at srobinson26@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.libcal.com/event/4631713.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 from noon to 1 p.m.

An interest meeting about the CLARION competition, in which interdisciplinary teams of health-related professional students brainstorm solutions of health care problems, will be held in Room 6-032, Sanger Hall, 1101 E. Marshall St. Food will be provided. RSVP at the following URL. Visit the competition website at: https://www.chip.umn.edu/clarion/case-competition

For more information, contact Eun Joo at ejseo@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2898 or visit https://goo.gl/forms/tt22yVLgWXXoOWs53.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 from noon to 1 p.m.

Join the Graduate and Professional Student Programming Board in welcoming the fall season and celebrate the 16th Anniversary Homecoming with a free brunch in the lounge of the Hunton Student Center, 1110 E. Broad St. First come, first served.

For more information, contact Shravan Morla at gspb@vcu.edu.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 from noon to 3 p.m.

VCU Career Services and Pre-Professional Health Advising will host an Experiential Opportunities Fair for all students on the second floor of the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., to connect students with organizations in their field through internships, field work, externships, research opportunities, study abroad programs, health care shadowing opportunities and volunteer.

For more information, contact Lian Currie at lcurrie@vcu.edu or (802) 828-1645 or visit http://tinyurl.com/ExpOppsFair.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

Virginia anthropologist Kareene Wood, a member of the Monacan Indian Nation, will discuss American Indian history in Virginia during a talk hosted by VCU's Multicultural Student Affairs in Room 2221, Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Kishla Conner at connerka2@vcu.edu.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 at 7 p.m.

The VCU Department of Music presents the Symphonic Wind Ensemble featuring Tiffany Valvo, clarinet soloist, in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall of the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave. Purchase tickets at the following URL.

For more information, contact Anne Marie Dumain at dumainamm@vcu.edu or visit https://www.showclix.com/event/symphonic-wind-ensemble122.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 at 9 a.m.

Information sessions regarding the RFP to develop diversity and inclusion courses will be held at the VCU Division for Inclusive Excellence in the Wanda S. Mitchell Conference Room, 817 S. Cathedral Place. A second session will be held at the same location at 5 p.m. both will be facilitated by Jan Altman, Ph.D., director for cultural competence and education.

For more information, contact Jan Altman at inclusive@vcu.edu or (804) 828-8947 or visit http://www.inclusive.vcu.edu.

Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

VCU's Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence offers a workshop with a Blackboard Grade Center specialist who can help set up an easy-to-navigate page, in Room 4100, Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Ave. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Tiffany Freitas at freitast@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1605 or visit https://goo.gl/forms/ZccGDdvaNxuHTN142.

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018 from noon to 1 p.m.

The November COBE Connect Lunch features Nina Schroder, MSW, LCSW presenting "Reboot: Examining Emotional Resilience and Well-Being in the Digital Age" in the Forum Room, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. Drawing on emerging published research and her clinical experience, she will share her insights into how high digital technology use may increase students' vulnerability to stress, inhibit their emotional resilience and impact their overall well-being and functioning. Free; lunch provided by COBE.

For more information, contact Marcie Walsh at walshmj2@vcu.edu or (804) 287-0546 or visit http://cobe.vcu.edu/programs/cobe-connect/.

Utility work and construction at the VCU Health Outpatient Facility construction site, at the corner of North 10th and East Leigh streets, will affect traffic patterns in the area of the MCV Campus over the next several months. For current information and updates, visit the website below.

For more information, contact Jake Hughes at jake.hughes@am.jll.com or visit https://www.vcuhealth.org/news-center/building-projects/outpatient-facility-updates.

A draft of the new Institutional Conflicts of Interest in Research policy is now open for university comment through Nov. 13. The draft policy can be found at the following URL.

For more information, contact Dr. Monika Markowitz at msmarkow@vcu.edu or visit https://policy.vcu.edu/policies-open-for-public-comment.

Alternative Spring Breaks at VCU is a student-lead program promoting national and international service and critical reflection on a variety of community needs. Trips include a faculty/staff learning partner who participates alongside students and acts as a resource for the leaders. For consideration for 2019 trips, submit an application profile at the following URL by Nov. 9.

For more information, contact Nicole Patterson at nlpatterson@vcu.edu or visit https://rampages.us/asbatvcu/learning-partner/.

VCU faculty will receive an email Nov. 7 for a link to the confidential Ithaka Faculty Survey about VCU Libraries. A $2 donation will be made to Feed More for each completed survey. VCU Libraries will award two $1,000 professional development stipends to randomly selected faculty from the two schools with the highest survey participation rates.

For more information, contact Sue Robinson at srobinson26@vcu.edu or (804) 828-0129.