Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019 at 8 a.m.

VCU's Office of Alumni Relations is embarking on its first tour, and events begin Jan. 9 in Richmond. The ensuing 23-city tour following the Richmond kickoff puts VCU Alumni’s new strategic plan, ELEVATE (Expanding Leadership, Enrichment and Volunteerism for Alumni Through Engagement), in motion and brings new opportunities and programming to elevate the alumni experience. From Jan. 9-19, Richmond-area alumni, including VCU faculty and staff, can select from a schedule of cultural excursions, career and personal development programming and social events. Learn more about the ELEVATE Tour, including a Jan. 9 breakfast forum for faculty and staff who are alumni or current students, and register, at the following URL.

For more information, contact VCU Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2586 or visit https://www.vcualumni.org/about/strategic-plan/elevate-tour.

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019 from noon to 1 p.m.

VCU Human Resources and Recreational Sports will offer 45-minute sessions of chair yoga. The goal of chair yoga is improve posture, increase flexibility, reduce stress and improve balance while avoiding injury. A class will be held at the Cary Street Gym, 101 S. Linden St. Two classes per month will be offered, alternating between the Monroe Park and MCV campuses.

For more information, contact Cindi Phares at cphares@vcu.edu or visit https://training.vcu.edu.

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center, 601 W. Broad St., presents "We the Animals." The coming-of-age story creates an immersive portrait of working class family life and brotherhood. Tickets are available at the following URL.

For more information, contact Institute for Contemporary Art at ica@vcu.edu or visit https://icavcu.org/films/cinema-0109/.

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 at 1 p.m.

VCU's Records Management Office will hold Records Management 101 training. The session, open to all university staff, will be in Room 2-010, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, 509 N. 12th St. Training will cover recordkeeping requirements and practices to be compliant with state regulations and university policy. Register at the following URL (keyword "records"). Self-paced Records Management 101 training is also available in Blackboard.

For more information, contact Amber Peranski at aperanski@vcu.edu or (828) 804-2097 or visit https://training.vcu.edu/.

Monday, Jan. 21, 2019 from noon to 1 p.m.

Cultural competency and language classes for VCU and VCU Health employees and community members will be held on the Monroe Park Campus. The classes, for one academic credit, will be offered by VCU's Office of Continuing and Professional Education in partnership with the School of World Studies. Courses run from late January through early May and include Intro to Conversational German I, Intermediate German II, Intro to Conversational Italian I, Intermediate Italian I, Intro to Conversational Spanish I and Intro to Conversational Spanish II.

For more information, contact VCU Office of Continuing and Professional Education at ocpe@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1322 or visit http://ocpe.vcu.edu/languages.

VCU's Phillips Institute for Oral Health Research is offering 10-week, fully funded summer internships. Opportunities are available in oncology, microbiology, infection and immunity and tissue engineering. Apply by Feb. 28.

For more information, contact Oonagh Loughran at oloughran@vcu.edu or visit https://philipsinstitute.vcu.edu/postgraduate/summerresearch/.

A research study focuses on the results of genetic somatic tumor testing. An anonymous, five-to-10-minute survey is for health care providers in cancer care who work with patients who may have undergone the testing. The survey is part of a statewide research study on provider confidence and perceptions of the testing. Click on the survey at the following URL. This survey was developed as part of a graduate-student research project at VCU.

For more information, contact Jessica Dagher at dagherjn@vcu.edu or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=3XFKNF9R8F.

VCU Libraries will host a two-day writing retreat which concludes Jan. 8. The event is for all-but-dissertation students, doctoral candidates and masters thesis writers. The free retreat will be held in Room 303, James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. Writing space with big tables and power strips will be available 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Optional sessions will be offered on varied topics. Coffee and snacks will be served. One-on-one writing and research consultations will be available. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Sue Robinson at srobinson26@vcu.edu or (804) 828-0129 or visit https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/events/2018-19/dissertation-retreat.html.

U.S. Postal Service postage rate changes take effect Jan. 27. See structure changes, postage statement updates and technical specification updates at the following URL.

For more information, contact Donnette Haynes at haynesds@vcu.edu or (804) 828-3868 or visit http://apps.bsv.vcu.edu/MailServices/uspspriceoverview.pdf.

VCU's Academic Learning Transformation Lab will offer three faculty development courses in the spring. The online sessions involve designing an individual online course, exploring best practices for online student engagement and the management of time and teaching presence as an online instructor. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Tim Luckritz Marquis at tluckritzmarq@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1924 or visit https://altlab.vcu.edu/spring-2019-offerings/.

Are you currently experiencing low back pain, between the ages of 18-60 years old and interested in the possibility of nine weeks of nonsurgical experimental treatment? If you answered yes to all three you may qualify for our research. What? New, innovative and fun virtual reality games designed to help people with chronic back pain move and feel better. Where? All appointments, testing and treatments are conducted at VCU. When? Participation in the study involves 24 one-hour appointments scheduled over a 57-week period. Who? The VIGOR Study team consists of professionals in the field who have been selectively chosen and extensively trained. Interested? Contact us at the following URL. You may be compensated for your time.

For more information, contact Tiffany Amos at mcl@vcu.edu or (804) 628-2902 or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=DHT7NDE3J9.