11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

VCU TRIO Student Support Services invites campus faculty, staff and administrators to Suite 211, Hibbs Hall, 900 Park Ave., for cocoa and conversations. A division of VCU's strategic enrollment management, TRIO is a federally funded program supporting undergraduate students by providing guidance, tools and resources for academic success.

For more information, contact Michelle Bair at trio@vcu.edu or (804) 828-9517 or visit https://trio.vcu.edu/.

Friday, Jan. 11, 2019 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Calendars featuring VCU's Dogs On Call therapy dogs will be on sale for $10 at the Learning Center, Main Hospital, 1250 E. Marshall St. All proceeds support Dogs On Call and VCU's Center for Human-Animal Interaction.

For more information, contact Jessica Hale at chai@vcuhealth.org or (804) 628-2532 or visit http://chai.vcu.edu.

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Meet members of VCU Alumni's various affinity organizations in the lecture hall at James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. The groups include the African-American Alumni Council, the Asian Alumni Association, The Commonwealth Times Alumni, the Greek Alumni Network, the Jewish Alumni Association, the Latinx Alumni Council, the Military Veterans Alumni Council, Rainbow Rams and Riding Rams. Learn about each group's activities and how to become involved in one (or more) of them. Register online 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.support.vcu.edu/event/vcualumnielevate.

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

VCU's Center for Corporate Education will host a six-session PMP Exam Prep course. The evening Project Management Professional Exam Prep course, in Room B3189, Snead Hall, School of Business, 301 W. Main St., is geared toward participants looking to fulfill the remaining 14 education hours or refresh before taking the project management exam.

For more information, contact Katybeth Lee at kelee@vcu.edu or (804) 828-3165 or visit https://business.vcu.edu/corporate-education/project-management/.

VCU is improving its eID system, which allows users to log in and access university resources. All individuals with an active eID will be required to claim their account on the system. The account claim process will begin on or shortly before Jan. 29, and will occur during individual required annual password changes. To claim an account, users will be required to provide date of birth and VCUCard number or date of birth and V-number.

For more information, contact VCU Information Security Team at dirservices@vcu.edu or visit https://go.vcu.edu/myeid.

VCU’s Virginia Center on Aging is accepting grant applications through March 15 for the Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Research Award Fund. Applicants must be affiliated with colleges or universities, research institutes or other not-for-profit organizations in Virginia. Awards are limited to $45,000 each. A nonbinding letter of intent is required by Feb. 15 at bit.ly/ardraf-loi. Application forms and guidelines about preparing the letter of intent are available at the following URL.

For more information, contact Constance L. Coogle at ccoogle@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1525 or visit https://vcoa.chp.vcu.edu/apply-for-a-grant/alzheimers-and-related-diseases-research-award-fund/.

The Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry is a group of twins and their families who are willing to consider taking part in twin-based, health-related research. The registry welcomes twins of any age, ethnicity and zygosity (identical or fraternal). We invite all twins (or triplets) in the VCU community to register with us and to pass our information on to any other twins you know. More information is available at the following number (or 800-872-8946) or URL.

For more information, contact Carol Williams at smithc@vcu.edu or (804) 828-8116 or visit http://matr.vcu.edu.

VCU's Integrity and Compliance Office has published the winter edition of Policy Points. The quarterly notification highlights universitywide policy updates from Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2018. View this edition at the following URL.

For more information, contact Tony Rapchick at policy@vcu.edu or (804) 828-3982 or visit https://policy.vcu.edu/policy-points.

Submission of abstracts for consideration at the Virginia Global Surgery Symposium has been extended to Jan. 14. The Global Surgery Student Alliance's Third Annual National Symposium is hosted in partnership with the VCU School of Medicine and the VCU Program for Global Surgery. Abstract submission information can be found at the following URL.

For more information, contact Iris Wu at wui@vcu.edu or visit http://www.globalsurgerystudents.org/virginia-symposium.

Engage your students in the classroom with Top Hat. This secure, cloud-based solution allows students to use their own mobile device via a Top Hat subscription purchase. Visit https://go.vcu.edu/tophat for more information. A Top Hat representative, Patrick Fanizza, will be on campus Jan. 14-16 to assist faculty. Request a consultation with him at the following URL.

For more information, contact Jana Avery at jcavery@vcu.edu or (804) 828-4772 or visit https://tophat.com/edtech/teaching-with-top-hat-at-vcu/.

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.

If you are interested in stopping or reducing your drinking, VCU's Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies may have a study for you. Adults aged 21-70 who drink regularly/every day are invited to participate in a 16-week research study at VCU. Eligible participants will receive brief counseling as well as study medication (active drug or inactive placebo). All appointments and sessions are individual, provided at no cost and confidential. Participants will be compensated for their time. Call the following number to enroll.

For more information, contact Katie Schifano at schifanokr@vcu.edu or (804) 827-3784 or visit http://idas.vcu.edu.

Don’t let “later” turn into “never” – let REACH help you meet your goals today. We’re looking for young adults age 18-25 in the Richmond area who want support in losing weight and creating a healthier lifestyle. REACH is a free research study offered through the VCU School of Medicine designed to help you do just that.

For more information, contact Megan Henderson at Megan.M.Henderson@vcuhealth.org or (804) 827-2250 or visit http://www.reachtrialrva.com.