7:30 p.m.

United2Heal will host a movie night featuring a short documentary, "The White Helmets," in Room 1102, Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Ave. Free U2H merchandise will be given to the first 10 who arrive and free food will be provided to all who attend.

For more information, contact Bilal Ghazi at MasoodBG@vcu.edu or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/481857162682590/.

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 from noon to 12:45 p.m.

Jewish Life at VCU will host a Jewish Medical Ethics Lunch in the first-floor conference room, Hunton Student Center, 1110 E. Broad St. The discussion will begin at 12:15 p.m. The topic is "Triage - Ethics of Who To Treat First." Questions, rabbi@jewishvcu.org.

For more information, contact Rabbi Friedman at mjfriedman@vcu.edu.

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 at 2 p.m.

The National Scholarship Office will host an informational session on the Fulbright UK Summer Institutes in Room 1303, The Honors College, 701 W. Grace St. A second session will be held Dec. 4 at the same time and location. The Summer Institutes offer a funded opportunity for exceptional first- and second-year students to study abroad at a highly regarded UK university for three to four weeks. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Meredith Sisson at mrsisson@vcu.edu or (804) 828-6868 or visit https://forms.gle/uQJAC14skCNUVQbc8.

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Learn how to maintain well-being and lessen stress to finish strong this semester and return refreshed for the spring. Summer Studies and Special Programs and the student organization You First at VCU present First Tuesdays With You First. This month's topic on good mental health and coping with stress will be presented by Mia Liadis of the Wellness Resource Center. The session will be in the SGA Senate Chambers, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Bambacus at bambacuses@vcu.edu or (804) 827-3927 or visit https://youfirst.vcu.edu/.

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Need to organize a messy Inbox? Want to know what that cool sidebar has to offer? Not sure what's new? VCU's Collaboration Services invites you to learn all things Gmail and make you the master of your Inbox. The class, in Room B1-020, Computer Classroom, Sanger Hall, 1101 E. Marshall St., will provide a hands-on walkthrough of the organizational and productivity tools Gmail has to offer. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Jourdan James at drgee@vcu.edu or visit http://go.vcu.edu/gogoogle.

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019 from noon to 1 p.m.

VCU Human Resources will host a workshop on enhancing health, well-being and productivity. Learn tips to relieve stress by exploring ergonomics, establishing priorities and learning the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise. The session will be held in Room 250, James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave.

For more information, contact Cindi Phares at cphares@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1521 or visit https://hr.vcu.edu/current-employees/worklife/.

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority, Inc. at VCU will hold a study forum in the Alumni Board Room, University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. The forum is open to all VCU students. Light refreshments will be available.

For more information, contact Payal Thakkar at thakkarph@vcu.edu.

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Work off that turkey dinner and use your volunteer leave to lend a hand with Virginia’s oyster reef restoration efforts. The Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program invites faculty and staff to bag recycled oyster shells for future oyster reef restoration. The event will be held at the Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences, 3800 John Tyler Memorial Highway, Charles City County. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Cindy Andrews at candrews@vcu.edu or visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050A4BABA72DA31-vcuemployee1.

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The Department of Biology and School of World Studies invite faculty and students to come together to discuss advancing sustainability at VCU and beyond. The session will be in Room 2108, Grace E. Harris Hall, 1015 Floyd Ave. Questions, contact Ching-Yu Huang (Biology) at the following email address or Mark Wood (World Studies) at mdwood@vcu.edu.

For more information, contact Ching-Yu Huang at cyhuang@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2858.

Friday, Dec. 6, 2019 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

VCU Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies will host "Decolonize Your Mind: The Physics of Spirituality in Black and Asian Diaspora." The panel discussion, which will examine diasporic Black and Asian cultural production to chart the shifting politics of spirituality, science, race, gender and sexuality in British and U.S. imperial projects, will be in Room 1105, Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Ave.

For more information, contact Levi Walter at gsws@vcu.edu or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/700341727121216/.

Friday, Dec. 6, 2019 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

On First Friday, Benae Beamon presents a tap performance, "Time Blackened for the Capture of Dawn," commissioned by the ICA as part of its "Great Force" exhibit. A tap dancer and performance artist from North Carolina, Beamon's work, which draws from traditional movements in black culture, deals with historical archiving, ritual, power and black existence. She will be accompanied by live musicians. The free performance will be in the Royall Forum, Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center, 601 W. Broad St. Refreshments and cash bar will be available.

For more information, contact Meredith Carrington at mtcarrington@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1088 or visit https://icavcu.org/events/first-friday-benae-beamon/.

Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019 at 1 p.m.

Join VCU's women's basketball team as they take on the William and Mary Tribe. The game will be played at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St.

For more information, contact Dylan Baker at dbaker28@vcu.edu or visit https://vcuathletics.com/WBBpromos.

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019 from 9 a.m. to noon

VCU Environmental Health and Safety will host training for handling dangerous goods at George Ben Johnston Auditorium, 305 N. 12th St. The training is for VCU and VCU Health employees who handle (mark, label, pack or prepare/sign shipping documents) dangerous goods. Handling dangerous goods without training or with lapsed training is illegal and may subject the handler and the university to fines. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Daniel Munoz at dmunoz2@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1279 or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekQpPDWKN6KF5WcJQVIq44NGQhRf3pQ7xVNwwAKQWpmrHsnw/viewform.

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 from noon to 1:15 p.m.

VCU's Center for Corporate Education presents "Using LinkedIn to Boost Your Career." Personal connections can lead to promising job opportunities. Learn how to enhance those connections using LinkedIn. This session will guide participants in a step-by-step process of how to strengthen their LinkedIn profile and attract recruiters. Registration is $35 and includes parking and lunch. The session will be held in Room B3189, Center for Corporate Education, Snead Hall, 301 W. Main St. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Katybeth Lee at kelee@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1595 or visit https://business.vcu.edu/corporate-education.

VCU Division for Inclusive Excellence is seeking input to enhance its Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations Jan. 20-24, 2020. VCU and VCU Health System Colleges, Schools, Divisions and Units are invited to facilitate events in keeping with the 2020 theme: "Reflections on the Fierce Urgency of Now." Financial support is available for approved events. Submit an event at the following URL.

For more information, contact the Division for Inclusive Excellence at mlkday@vcu.edu or visit https://mlkday.vcu.edu/vcu-submit-your-event/.

Human Resources presents "How to Retire With the Virginia Retirement System" for VCU employees. These sessions are open to VCU employees only, not VCU Health System employees. If you are interested in attending, view upcoming sessions at the following URL.

For more information, contact VCU Benefits at benefits@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1723 or visit https://bit.ly/2IQFZcJ.

For employees who participate in the Virginia Retirement System Hybrid Plan with membership dates in September 2019 or earlier, paycheck contributions and employer matches will automatically increase effective with the Jan. 16, 2020 paycheck. This change does not apply to members of VRS Plan 1 or 2, VaLORS, or the Optional Retirement Plan. Find out more or opt out of the automatic escalation at the following URL.

For more information, contact VCU Human Resources, Benefits Administration at benefits@vcu.edu or (804) 828-4660 or visit http://www.icmarc.org/x3333.xml?RFID=WC1185.

VCU Women in Science is sponsoring a holiday toy drive to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Through Dec. 6, toy donations can be deposited in collection boxes at Jonah L. Larrick Student Center, 900 Turpin St.; Sanger Hall, 1101 E. Marshall St.; and the Robert Blackwell Smith Building, 410 N. 12th St. Toys must be brand-new and unwrapped. Toys for Tots prefers not to accept realistic looking weapons or gifts with food. If donated, such items will not be distributed.

For more information, contact Erin Garcia at weesee@mymail.vcu.edu.

During December, VCU ASPiRE will collect gently used board games, puzzles and children's books to benefit one of their community partners, the Carver Promise Program. Many VCU students volunteer weekly with this program mentoring elementary school students. Items can be dropped off at the VCU ASPiRE office, 835 W. Grace St., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or email the following address to arrange to have the donations picked up.

For more information, contact Erin Brown at embbrown@vcu.edu or (804) 827-3915 or visit http://www.aspire.vcu.edu.

VCU Grant Academy is a grantsmanship program providing training and support for a select cohort of faculty investigators. Participants will work with senior faculty, research development experts and research administrators with the goal of submitting a successful funding proposal. Open to all faculty in any discipline from across the university, this multifaceted training will offer assistance to a selected cohort of faculty who 1) currently have a concrete research project idea, 2) are ready to develop a proposal and 3) have identified a competitive funding opportunity with a submission deadline during 2020 or the spring of 2021. Full applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 24, 2020. Apply at the following URL.

For more information, contact Melissa Throckmorton at throckmortms@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1443 or visit https://research.vcu.edu/vpr/grant_writing/index.htm.

VCU's Honors College is requesting proposals for fall 2020 courses and modules (five-week courses). Submit a proposal at the following URL by Jan. 15.

For more information, contact Jacqueline Smith-Mason at jsmithmason@vcu.edu or visit https://honors.vcu.edu/for-faculty/teach-honors/.

The new year is upon us and you may be considering how to achieve greater work/life balance. Access the Working@VCU Alternative Work Arrangements eLearning to learn about flexible and alternative work options available to university and academic professionals and classified staff. See the following URL. Or, in Talent@VCU, go to the Learner tab, Learner Search, search for Working@VCU HR Policy: Alternative Work Arrangement, then launch the eLearning.

For more information, contact Penny McFarline at mcfarlinep@vcu.edu or visit http://bit.ly/2D4a9FR.