1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity and the American Red Cross will host a blood drive at the Pace Center, 700 W. Franklin St. Donors will receive a free T-shirt and a coupon from Dunkin'. Schedule an appointment (recommended) at the following URL and enter the sponsor code pacecenter. Questions: Email Katie Miller at katie.miller2@redcross.org or Alyna Duong at the following email address.

For more information, contact Alyna Duong at duonga2@vcu.edu or visit http://redcrossblood.org.

1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Top Hat’s active learning platform is now free for VCU Students. Use your mobile device for live responses to instructor polls, discussions and assessments. Join the Top Hat specialists for online Q&A sessions during Weeks of Welcome on Aug. 25 from 1-2 p.m. Register at https://cglink.me/2dV/r1146642. Another session will be held on Sept. 14 at 12:30 p.m. Register at https://cglink.me/2dV/r1146644.

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

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Will you be the first in your family to graduate from college? Come by the You First at VCU table at The Compass to learn more about the university's available resources. Pick up some swag and a Your First decal.

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

3:30 p.m.

VCU's National Scholarship Office will offer a virtual informational session about the Critical Language Scholarship and the Boren Awards. Both programs fund the study of a critical language abroad and are open to both undergraduates and graduate students in all majors. Questions: http://blogs.vcu.edu/natlscholar. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Meredith Sisson at mrsisson@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/hQkty1mwrcNfJ1cF8.

4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Are you interested in working with other students across different disciplines? Are you fascinated by creating solutions to complex problems? Have you always wanted to start a business or nonprofit? Attend a virtual informational session to learn about available undergraduate certificates at VCU's da Vinci Center. Find out precisely what a certificate is and learn about the center's programs in product innovation, venture creation and human-centered design and how they fit into your academic plans. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Lloyd Young at youngel3@vcu.edu or visit https://connect.business.vcu.edu/register/ugrad-aug-23.

7 p.m.

Chi Alpha Campus Ministries will host a time of worship and community at 822 W. Franklin St.

For more information, contact Lisa Taylor at taylorlr4@vcu.edu.

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.

V Cubed (Virtual Volunteer at VCU) will host a President's Volunteer Service Awards Interest Meeting on Zoom. The meeting will be geared for those interested in learning how to achieve a service award. Register for the event at https://cglink.me/2dV/r1163364. The Zoom link is https://vcu.zoom.us/j/93714995100.

For more information, contact Akhila Kunuthuru at kunuthurua@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.campusgroups.com/vcubed/home/.

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 at 7 p.m.

Chi Alpha Campus Ministries is hosting Art in the Park at Monroe Park. Painting supplies will be provided.

For more information, contact Lisa Taylor at taylorlr4@vcu.edu.

Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Check out more than 150 VCU organizations and departments at the Student Org Fair in Monroe Park. The rain date is Aug. 31. Looking for more in-depth information about university clubs and organizations? Students are invited to drop in at The Underground in the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., Aug. 30 through Sept. 3. Student Leadership and Involvement ambassadors will be on hand discuss personal interests and match them with student organizations.

For more information, contact Nicole Patterson at nlpatterson@vcu.edu or visit https://cglink.me/2dV/r1154737.

Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 at 7 p.m.

VCU's Catholic Student Association invites all health care faculty and students for an evening of food, friends and fellowship at the home of Fidelma Rigby. M.D. The event is open to all medical and graduate students; you do not have to be Catholic to attend. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Andrea Nguyen at amnguyen@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/euk1xj2PMbakiHobA.

Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 at 9 a.m.

Attend via Zoom the Fall 2021 Biostatistics Student Research Symposium (Day I), hosted by VCU's Department of Biostatistics. Students enrolled in the Biostatistics graduate program will present their research conducted during Summer 2021. The Zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/95733658725?pwd=OFBRaUdJd2RwdU9QUWNPY0RWRmxUdz09. The meeting ID is 957 3365 8725. The passcode is 373907.

For more information, contact Dipankar Bandyopadhyay at dbandyop@vcu.edu or visit https://biostatistics.vcu.edu/news/student-research-symposium-2021/.

Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ramboree, a Weeks of Welcome event, will feature carnival games, inflatables, photo booths and fair prizes on Cary Street Field. All VCU students are invited for free games, food and prizes. Register for a ticket on RamsConnect at the following URL. (Enter the event at 1106 W. Cary St.) See all Weeks of Welcome events at www.wow.vcu.edu.

For more information, contact Tyler Jarrett at tljarrett@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.campusgroups.com/WoW/rsvp_boot?id=1146443.

Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m.

Join the student chapter of AcademyHealth at a panel discussion for the information you will need to apply, work through and earn a Ph.D. in public health. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Mary Johnson at johnsonme6@vcu.edu or visit https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kcOitqjMiE9x1tyOLum3qF5fg01O3rsyt.

Wednesday, Sep. 1, 2021 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

VCU's Honors College Berglund Seminar Series will host "The Bad Environmentalism of 'Nature is Healing' Memes." Join Kai Bosworth, Ph.D., a geographer and assistant professor of international studies in the School of World Studies, for a discussion of the “nature is healing” meme format that circulated widely on social media last year amid COVID-19 lockdowns. Email the following address for the Zoom link.

For more information, contact Jared Johnson at jajohnson4@vcu.edu or visit https://honors.vcu.edu/news--events/events/.

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

Google has added many exciting features to Meet and Chat for team collaboration. Collaboration Services invites you to learn all about Meet and Chat to make you the master of team collaboration. Register at the following URL.

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

Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This inaugural, regional virtual research symposium hosted by VCU in collaboration with Eastern Virginia Medical School and Virginia State University will focus on the biology of inflammasomes and the therapeutic potential of inhibiting the inflammasome in diseases. Join a panel of experts who will present the latest investigations and discuss the future of inflammasome research. Register at the following URL for this free event.

For more information, contact Lauren Harris at harrisl4@vcu.edu or visit https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvfuygqzMpH9OJvPpgfU6FHPszgZD6GVGz.

“Never take your time here for granted. Learn who you are. Love yourself and find your Compass.” – Jonell Finley, BFA School of the Arts 2008. Connect with more alumni like Jonell to get career and professional advice on VCU Link at the following URL.

For more information, contact Latisha Taylor Smart at smartlt@vcu.edu or visit https://link.vcu.edu/.

VCU's Office of Student Experience is recruiting for its SCIE (Student Council for an Inclusive Environment) Ambassador cohort. The SCIE Ambassador Program is an inter-professional leadership opportunity for medical graduate students who are interested in and have a passion for cultivating diversity and inclusion across the medical campus. Ambassadors will have the opportunity to make suggestions and recommendations to improve the climate for all students on the MCV campus. For more information and to apply, click on the following URL.

For more information, contact the Office of Student Experience at studentexp@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/pgqQNNRwShutx5R8A.

Take a tour of Cabell Library – on your own, in-person or online. The library has tours to suit a variety of needs, including the Cabell Library Mobile Tour for Focused Inquiry, a self-guided tour using your smartphone and video tour playlists to help you learn about library services online. Questions: https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/events/2021-2022-ongoing/jbc-tours.html. Visit the following URL for a list of available tours.

For more information, contact Gregory Kimbrell at kimbrellgg@vcu.edu or (804) 393-2951 or visit http://guides.library.vcu.edu/jbctours.

The RamSafe program provides safe and free transportation to on-campus locations and nearby residences and buildings within defined boundaries on the Monroe Park and MCV campuses. Students can request a ride from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. RamSafe is now traveling cross-campus, starting at 5 p.m. daily.

For more information, contact VCU Parking and Transportation at parking@vcu.edu or visit http://go.vcu.edu/ramsafe.

VCU Continuing and Professional Education offers online learning for the VCU community and members of the public. Choose from Aikido, bookkeeping, computer skills, counseling and behavioral health, cultural competency and languages, customer service, event planning, Excel, Google Analytics, paralegal studies, play therapy, podcasting, supervisory and leadership, and test prep for the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, ACT, SAT, MCAT, PCAT, DAT and WordPress.

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

If you are a freshman at VCU age 18+, you are eligible to take part in Spit for Science: The VCU Student Survey. This research project looks at how environmental and genetic factors contribute to emotional health along with alcohol and substance use habits. The project now also aims to learn about the impact of COVID-19.

For more information, contact Joanna E. Penick at penickje@vcu.edu or (804) 205-8047 or visit https://spit4science.vcu.edu/.

VCU's Health Sciences Library will host webinars on PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and more to help students, faculty and staff with research. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Brandon Burneson at burnesonbp@vcu.edu or visit http://go.vcu.edu/healthwebinars.

All interested students with a music background are invited to audition for the Commonwealth Singers, Vox Concordia or Vocal Chamber Ensemble. Questions: Email Erin Freeman, DMA, Director of Choral Activities, at efreeman@vcu.edu. Auditions close Aug. 26. No audition is required to participate in the Choral Arts Society.

For more information, contact Lisa C. Fusco at fuscolc@vcu.edu or visit https://arts.vcu.edu/academics/departments/music/ensembles/vocal-ensemble/vocal-ensemble-audition-info/.

Library Fest is a virtual orientation to VCU Libraries featuring a series of brief, informal videos for incoming and current students and introduces library departments and services to help with research and creative projects. See a playlist and additional resources at the following URL.

For more information, contact Gregory Kimbrell, VCU Libraries Events Office, at kimbrellgg@vcu.edu or (804) 393-2951 or visit http://go.vcu.edu/libfest.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act affords students the rights to inspect and review educational records, request that records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading be corrected, provide written consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent and to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education. See complete rights under FERPA at the following URL.

For more information, contact Records and Registration at rar@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1349 or visit http://rar.vcu.edu/.

VCU's Office of Records and Registration is responsible for notifying the university community that it does not release nonpublic information about VCU students. This information is used and shared in a limited and carefully controlled manner. It is not disclosed, except as permitted by law, unless authorized by the student.

For more information, contact Records and Registration at rar@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1349 or visit http://rar.vcu.edu/.

Virtual auditions will be accepted for the Notochords, VCU's oldest competitive all-gender a capella group, from 7 a.m. Aug. 27 until 11:59 p.m. Sept. 3. See the group's schedule on Instagram at @Notochordsofvcu. The group will be performing from 3-6 p.m. Aug. 27 at SOVO (Student Organization and Volunteer Opportunities) Fair in Monroe Park.

For more information, contact Ronson Carr at carrr2@vcu.edu or (757) 572-1527 or visit http://vcunotochords.com.

The All of Us Research Program at the National Institutes of Health is inviting more than a million people across the United States to help build one of the most diverse health databases of its kind. VCU has partnered with All of Us to help the VCU community contribute to that database. People who join will give information about their health, habits and where they live. By looking for patterns, researchers may learn more about what affects people’s health.

For more information, contact Leslie Bobb at allofus@vcu.edu or visit https://www.joinallofus.org/VCU.