10 a.m.

Speakers will discuss current maternal and child health research and statewide initiatives that improve the health delivery system for mothers and their children. The session, hosted by VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, will feature Kenesha Smith Barber, Ph.D., Va. Dept. of Health, and Amy Paulson, M.P.H., Eastern Virginia Medical School, and will be moderated by Alethia Watford, M.S.W., LCSW, clinical social worker at VCU Health and the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Lauren Harris at cctrhlthdis@vcu.edu or visit https://cctr.vcu.edu/events/health-equity-series/.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 7 p.m.

Rams in Recovery will host an online graduation for the organization's students in recovery. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Emily Tompkins at tompkinsee@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pc-ivrjwqG9XseGMxUQ3BI_Thpd-W5gzu.

Friday, May 14, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m.

Join the IT Career Community Lunch and Learn for a glimpse into the world of auditing at VCU. Blake Bialkowski and Michael Pointer will explain what led them to Audit and Compliance Services. They will provide an overview of VCU audit processes and how they identify audits with risk assessment, scoring and audit plan approval. Learn more about what they traditionally look at and how it potentially applies to everyone at VCU. Register in Talent at the following URL. Click on https://go.vcu.edu/itcc-events-remote for the Zoom link.

For more information, contact Warren Mays at itcareer@vcu.edu or visit https://go.vcu.edu/itcc-events.

Monday, May 17, 2021 from 9 a.m. to noon

Sharon Zumbrunn, Ph.D., Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence Faculty Fellow, will facilitate a two-session virtual writing retreat. She will help participants define their writing and wellness priorities and learn practical strategies for a more balanced and rewarding summer. Register for Part One at the following URL.

For more information, contact Tiffany Freitas at freitast@vcu.edu or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeremTN7hYb5qnw1M9jmSkLYI_uZFLQfcbmcGq44_i9-j83tA/viewform.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m.

Mario Acunzo, Ph.D., VCU KL2 Scholar, Massey Cancer Center researcher and an assistant professor in VCU's Department of Internal Medicine, will give a presentation on the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in lung cancer. The talk will be hosted by VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research and the Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Rob DiRenzo at direnzor@vcu.edu or visit https://georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tTihJejLQJyGEqXf8r_V8A.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from noon to 12:45 p.m.

Move through a variety of yoga poses in a balanced and systematic way, connecting breath with movement. The goal of this class is to improve body awareness, mental focus, muscular tension, range of motion at the joints and an overall sensation of a more balanced life. This session is brought to you by VCU Human Resources and VCU Recreational Sports. Questions: https://hr.vcu.edu/current-employees/worklife/. Register in Talent@VCU or at the following URL.

For more information, contact Cindi Phares at cphares@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1521 or visit https://bit.ly/3gGEy1S.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

VCU's Black Education Association will sponsor a workshop with the virtual keynote address “The New Normal: Life After COVID-19.” VCU and VCUHS Staff are encouraged to attend. Questions: http://bea.vcu.edu. Register (required) at the following URL.

For more information, contact Marquita Aguilar at mcaguila@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1200 or visit https://tinyurl.com/VCUProfessionalStaff.

Thursday, May 20, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m.

Deborah DiazGranados, Ph.D., director of evaluation, C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, will discuss best practices for using and designing research surveys. The seminar is next in the Wright Center's Whetting Your Appetite for Research series. Register 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/tJUqcuyspjwoE9cTUsSWS9ydCq9OY1foLLlW.

Beginning May 17, all students, faculty and staff will collaborate together in one Google Workspace domain. Students involved have been directly notified of action needed.

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

VCU REAL will hold training sessions for VCU Student Opportunity Center, a platform which provides a central place for students to find hands-on learning activities. Training sessions are open to faculty and staff and will be held every Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. Topics to be covered include an introduction to SOC, using SOC communities and building SOC pathways. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Erin Webster Garrett at real@vcu.edu or visit https://real.vcu.edu/employees/socsupport/.

Eligible faculty and staff may make open enrollment elections for state health coverage and flexible spending until May 17. Elections may be made online or by using an enrollment form. Enrollment forms must be received by VCU Human Resources no later than 5 p.m. on May 17 or postmarked by May 17 if sent by mail. Questions? Visit go.vcu.edu/hrsupport. Enroll at the following URL.

For more information, contact VCU HR Benefits Administration at openenroll@vcu.edu or visit https://hr.vcu.edu/open-enrollment.

Grade sheets are now available on faculty eServices. Grades are due by noon on May 18, at which time grade entry will no longer be available. It is imperative to meet this deadline to complete all end of the semester processes. Faculty may choose to use the feature to upload grades from an excel file into eServices. Faculty may only access grade sheets for courses to which they have been assigned.

For more information, contact The Office of Records and Registration at rar@vcu.edu.

Applications are open for the 2021-22 Office of the Provost Faculty Fellows Program. Selected fellows will work with senior leaders in developing programmatic initiatives to support faculty. Available fellowships include Faculty Fellow for Faculty Affairs (2 available; 1 with a preference to adjuncts) and Faculty Fellow for the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (1 available). The application deadline is 5 p.m. May 19. Apply at the following URL.

For more information, contact Office of Faculty Affairs at vpfacaffrs@vcu.edu or visit https://provost.vcu.edu/faculty/faculty-resources/fellows/.

With the help of the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Provost, a Faculty Technology Advisory Committee has been established to ensure faculty involvement in major technology decisions. Chaired by Valerie Robnolt, Ph.D., the committee recently helped inform multiple aspects of the transition from Blackboard to Canvas and is now beginning to discuss hyflex instruction and its implications for classroom/instructional technologies.

For more information, contact Jana Avery at jcavery@vcu.edu or visit https://ftac.vcu.edu.

The 2021 VCU Science Communication Award has been awarded to Sean Koebley, Ph.D., for his presentation: “Goodbye, P-value: Practical Bayesian Statistics To Replace Frequentist Statistics.” Koebley is a fellow in the Physics Department. The award is for the best of How-to Talks by Postdocs, a series of instructional talks sponsored by VCU Libraries, VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research and the VCU Postdoctoral Association.

For more information, contact Sue Robinson at srobinson26@vcu.edu or visit https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/news/2021-news/science-communications-award.html.

While preparing courses in Canvas, it might be helpful to know what features and tools exist in Canvas, and how they align or differ from Blackboard. To assist instructors with the transition to Canvas, the Learning Systems team has created an "Equivalencies Chart" which maps the tools in Blackboard to those in Canvas. This chart is at the following URL.

For more information, contact Jamillah Martin at canvas@vcu.edu or visit https://ts.vcu.edu/askit/teaching-and-learning/canvas/blackboard-to-canvas-equivalencies-chart/.

Designing a human research project and have questions? The VCU Institutional Review Board can help you get it right the first time. Schedule a consultation to receive on-on-one IRB assistance while preparing your IRB submission. Schedule consultations through the HRPP’s home page at the following URL.

For more information, contact Nyssa Towsley at irbeducation@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1157 or visit http://bit.ly/VCUHRPP.

The required annual information security awareness training is due on May 12 all employees. This short training course will provide a refresher to employees on protection from cyber threats. Access the training under the learning tab in the VCU Talent system at the following URL.

For more information, contact VCU Information Security Office at infosec@vcu.edu or visit https://go.vcu.edu/talentatvcu.

As VCU moves forward with expanding community-engaged research efforts and improving relationships with community members and partners, the Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research recognizes the need to connect researchers and the public. Community health needs assessments serve as the starting point to address community needs and advocate for improvement. Over the years, the VCU/VCUHS community and partners have conducted several assessments and evaluation reports. The Wright Center seeks to create a database of compiled reports for users to access a cataloged repository of statewide and local needs assessments. Once populated, the database will be made public via the Wright Center website and participants who submit their needs assessment will automatically have access to the entire database. To begin this process, the Wright Center requests the submission of any existing assessments and reports completed by VCU/VCUHS or community partners. To submit a needs assessment, use the following URL to input information. This link may be shared with community partners and others to complete.

For more information, contact Rachel Hunley at hunleyre2@vcu.edu or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=PN347K3T38.

You are invited to participate in a research study aimed at examining what behaviors are considered to be effective in the workplace. This study consists of an online survey, which will last approximately 30 minutes. You must be a current VCU staff member to participate (compensation is available for participating). Complete the survey at the following URL.

For more information, contact Sven Kepes, Ph.D., at skepes@vcu.edu or visit https://vcubusiness.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8GqyGBzXF6Vz9OZ.