12 p.m.

VCU will conduct a full test of its emergency communications and alerting systems, including sirens throughout the Monroe Park and MCV campuses. The full test will include the sirens along with text messages, Alertus boxes, mass email, digital signs, desktop alerts, LiveSafe, VCU Mobile, social media and VCU website information — all part of a multichannel system for communicating emergency information to VCU students, faculty, staff, visitors and the community. VCU Police will send out a text message to let the community know that all testing has concluded.

For more information, contact VCU Emergency Management Staff at vcualert@vcu.edu.

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs will present the first session in its faculty professional development series. Featured panelists will provide context on research ethics and address general themes related to authorship order and partnerships. Register for the Zoom link at the following URL.

For more information, contact Katie Huynh at huynhkp@vcu.edu or (804) 827-0867 or visit https://vcu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k81ToLNST6y1fhA3FnDVig.

4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

VCU English Language Program's virtual open house will give an overview of program courses and how they provide an opportunity for those who speak English as a second language to improve their skills and confidence. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Rachel Aziz at rcwiltshire@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2551 or visit https://global.vcu.edu/elp/.

7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Rams in Recovery will host a community conversation with Jan Brown. Details: email recovery@vcu.edu. Click on the following URL for the Zoom link.

For more information, contact Emily Tompkins at tompkinsee@vcu.edu or visit http://bit.ly/3ofT5SB.

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

The L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs will host "Racial Challenges for Ethics, Urban Professionals," a virtual lecture by June Manning Thomas, a Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan. Thomas writes about race relations and social justice issues, largely in U.S. cities and focuses on strategies for distressed communities in cities like Detroit. She will appear as part of the Wilder School's Doctoral Lecture Series in Public Policy. Questions: https://wilder.vcu.edu/news-and-events/news-articles/thomas-headlines-february-doctoral-lecture-1.html. Register for the Zoom link at the following URL.

For more information, contact Katherine Huynh at huynhkp@vcu.edu or (804) 827-0867 or visit https://vcu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvduirrDkrGNZURhECvpWj8RxV61NkQguA.

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Elizabeth Bambacus, Ph.D., student engagement and Summer Studies administrator, will host the spring opening You First Presents to discuss the semester's activities. Meet other first-generation students and learn about the mentoring program and additional ways to connect. Questions: Email youfirst@vcu.edu. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Bambacus at bambacuses@vcu.edu or (804) 827-4586 or visit https://bit.ly/YouFirstPresents020421.

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

VCU's School of Education will present an informational session on Special Education Licensure. Register for the Zoom link at the following URL.

For more information, contact Cheyanne Brown at browncl27@vcu.edu or (914) 310-3287 or visit https://soe.vcu.edu/events/info-sessions-open-houses/.

Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 at noon

Join the Center for Interprofessional Education and Inter Health Professionals Alliance for a Root Cause Analysis Presentation for the National CLARION Scholarship Competition. This is a student case competition for health professional students, enabling them to achieve a 360-degree perspective on patient safety in today's health care system and how it might be improved. Student teams, consisting of four students composed of at least two disciplines, are given a case and are charged with creating a root cause analysis. The team members present their analysis to a panel of interprofessional judges that evaluates the analysis in the context of real-world standards of practice. The VCU winning team competes at the national level for scholarship and prizes. Contact the following email address for a request to participate. Join the Zoom meeting at the following URL.

For more information, contact Melissa Burton at mhburton@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2898 or visit https://zoom.us/j/98704205069.

Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m.

Jane Chung, Ph.D., RN, an assistant professor in the VCU School of Nursing's Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, will present her research, "Using Technology to Help Seniors Age in Place." The discussion is part of the Discovery Dialogues Series hosted by VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research. The series, open to all, is a regular event that bridges the divide between science, health research and the public. Register for the Zoom link at the following URL.

For more information, contact Pam Dillon, Pharm.D., research liaison, at pmdillon@vcu.edu or visit https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEscOiuqTsuG9CCNsqHfPGWwjN4EELf1hfU.

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 from noon to 12:45 p.m.

Join the Office of Student Experience as guest speaker Sheryl Garland, VCUH Chief of Health Impact, explores the racial disparities of COVID-19 and discusses the economic, social and health inequities that have led to or perpetuate the disparity. This presentation is designed with health sciences students in mind. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact the Office of Student Experience at studentexp@vcu.edu or visit https://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/vphs/OSEReg/Form.aspx?EventTypeID=3.

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Learn techniques for reshaping Zoom into a shared space in order to break down barriers between those infamous video rectangles. TakeBreakMake is a virtual “hands-on” workshop series, exploring creative and alternative uses of technology for instruction and is a joint program between the VCU Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and Innovative Media at VCU Libraries. Questions: https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/events/2020-2021/takebreakmake.html. Register for the Zoom link at the following URL.

For more information, contact Gregory Kimbrell at kimbrellgg@vcu.edu or (804) 393-2951 or visit https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/events/2020-2021/takebreakmake.html.

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Google Meet provides the faculty host attendance reports and a recording automatically, and the use of a chat room for class collaboration is easy to set up. Collaboration Services invites you to learn all about Meet and Chat for on-line learning enhancement. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Dr. Gee at drgee@vcu.edu or visit https://go.vcu.edu/gogoogle.

Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 at 11 a.m.

Up your fiber game at a session hosted by VCU Human Resources and CommonHealth to sort myth from fact and explore the health perks of fiber. Register in Talent at the following URL.

For more information, contact Cindi Phares at cphares@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1521 or visit https://bit.ly/2YFpyXW.

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation will present a workshop on resubmitting grant proposals. Melissa Throckmorton, M.P.A., director of research development and strategic projects, will discuss strategies for responding to reviewer comments, continuing the conversation with funders and resubmitting your proposal. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Joshua Hahn at hahnj2@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1524 or visit https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqf-6hqT0oHNT_mEJp-XAkQapeocgiYGv5.

All VCU Research Institutes and Centers seeking new or continued support from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation must apply at the following URL by March 1.

For more information, contact John Ryan at jjryan@vcu.edu or (804) 827-2267 or visit https://research.vcu.edu/resources/institutes-and-centers/.

Nominate a fellow VCU or VCU Health staff member for the annual VCU Staff Senate Awards for Excellence. The nomination period is Jan. 15-March 15. These are staff awards from staff. Any VCU or VCU Health staff member may nominate a fellow staff member who meets the specific criteria for each of the awards listed.

For more information, contact VCU's Staff Senate at staffsenate@vcu.edu or visit https://staffsenate.vcu.edu/awards/.

The Cabell First Novelist Award, organized annually by the VCU Department of English and VCU Libraries, is soliciting volunteer community readers to help with its spring judging process. Community readers will read a minimum of two novel submissions (as assigned) and provide feedback via an online form during February and March.

For more information, contact Michelle Goshen at cabellfn@vcu.edu or visit http://firstnovelist.vcu.edu.

The President's Awards for professional and administrative distinction, which honor VCU and VCU Health employees for outstanding performance, achievement and service excellence, are now open for nominations. The deadline is Feb. 28.

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

Are you currently experiencing low back pain, between the ages of 18 and 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 the 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 nine consecutive weeks of nonsurgical experimental treatment and five follow-up visits. Questions: http://www.movr.vcu.edu. To see if you qualify for the study, visit the following URL.

For more information, contact Tiffany Amos at tiffany.amos@vcuhealth.org or (804) 828-4766 or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=DHT7NDE3J9.

Alice Quach, a graduate student in the Sociology Department, is recruiting participants for a research study on how undergraduate and graduate students are experiencing the pandemic. Interviews will be conducted over Zoom and identities will be confidential. This research is geared toward helping improve understanding of the impact of the pandemic and the barriers that students are facing.

For more information, contact Alice Quach at quacham@mymail.vcu.edu or (434) 227-2042.