11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Take a break from the news, social media and class assignments to find a moment of quiet reflection with guided meditation. Recharge for the rest of your day. This class is hosted by VCU Human Resources and VCU Recreation & Well-Being. 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://ramstrong.vcu.edu/.

12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Drop by the UCS Prize Wheel at the Jonah L. Larrick Student Center, 900 Turpin St., to meet counseling staff and peer health educators. Learn about suicide prevention and how to support a friend in distress and get information about helpful resources within UCS and across campus. Prizes and giveaways for all participants.

For more information, contact Caroline Coffill at cscoffill@vcu.edu or (804) 828-6200 or visit http://counseling.vcu.edu.

7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Adrienne Loker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, will explain the link between trauma and substance use and what you can do as a person in recovery, ally, friend or family member to understand trauma and work with it. This online event will be sponsored by Rams in Recovery. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Emily Tompkins at tompkinsee@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.zoom.us/j/97668962610.

7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Join the Poetry Club for the group's first event of the semester. Share your poetry at a virtual meeting and hear the work of others. Click on the following URL for the Zoom link.

For more information, contact Maheen Farooqi at farooqims@vcu.edu or visit https://tinyurl.com/PCOpenMic.

9:15 p.m.

"Welcome to the Show," a film written, directed and produced by VCU Department of Theatre graduate Dorie Barton (MFA 2020), will be the opening night feature at the Richmond International Film and Music Festival at the Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary St. Barton is a VCUarts adjunct instructor. The film, which includes VCUarts students and alumni, is about four best friends who attend an immersive theatre production on a wild last hurrah as college students. The student discount code is RIFFVCUtheatre.

For more information, contact Sarah Moore, theatre marketing coordinator, at mooresw4@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2695 or visit https://riff.eventive.org/schedule/60db608d4373f30053f40cd0.

Wednesday, Sep. 8, 2021 from 11 a.m. to noon

Top Hat is now free for VCU students and can be used by instructors to increase student engagement, gauge student comprehension and foster a sense of community. Join VCU Academic Technologies and Top Hat specialists for an overview of classroom polling, slide presentations, gradebook sync and low-cost interactive textbooks. Register at the following URL (search keyword: Top Hat). Click on https://tophat.zoom.us/j/4468339464 for the Zoom link.

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

Wednesday, Sep. 8, 2021 from 11 a.m. to noon

Top Hat is now free for VCU students and can be used by instructors to increase student engagement, gauge student comprehension and foster a sense of community. Join VCU Academic Technologies and Top Hat specialists for an overview of classroom polling, slide presentations, gradebook sync and low-cost interactive textbooks. Questions: https://go.vcu.edu/tophat. Click on https://tophat.zoom.us/j/4468339464 for the Zoom link. To register visit the following URL (search keyword: Top Hat).

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

Wednesday, Sep. 8, 2021 at 7 p.m.

Richmond-based artist and VCU alumna Joan Gaustad will launch her new book, "Someone’s Missing ... and I Think It’s Me: Our Great Adventure with Dementia," a hybrid of memoir and art. Joining her will be her longtime friend and first reader, Sara Monroe, M.D., VCU emeritus professor of infectious disease. The event is free and open to all and will be held in person but will also be live-streamed through Zoom. The event will be sponsored by VCU Libraries. Register 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/2021-2022/gaustad.html.

Friday, Sep. 10, 2021 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

If you missed the festivities at the July opening of Ibrahim Ahmed’s exhibition "It Will Always Come Back To You," artists Nyugen Smith and Ezrakh will return to the Institute for Contemporary Art at the Markel Center, 601 W. Broad St., for encore performances in response to Ahmed’s work. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP at the following URL.

For more information, contact Stephanie Stanton at stantons@vcu.edu or visit https://icavcu.org/events/nyugen-smith-dj-ezrakh/.

Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m.

This virtual session, presented by VCU Human Resources and VCU Learning and Development, will provide tips and strategies to cope with life's stressors. Questions: https://ramstrong.vcu.edu/. 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/2XO52ap.

Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

What makes a group different from a team? VCU's Human Relations Office of Learning, Development and Organizational Culture will offer a virtual course to help design effective teams and diagnose issues of context, team process and structure. Register in Talent@VCU at the following URL. The course closes five days in advance of the session date to allow for time to view a preparatory video.

For more information, contact Penny McFarline at mcfarlinep@vcu.edu or visit https://vcu.csod.com/samldefault.aspx?returnUrl=%252fDeepLink%252fProcessRedirect.aspx%253fmodule%253dlodetails%2526lo%253d2b8b16f4-2553-44f0-ac93-70dd50d3b12b.

Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2021 at 9 a.m.

Considering your PMP certification? Join the Project Management Essentials and PMP Exam Prep courses at the VCU Center for Corporate Education to start your journey. Courses run six hours a week for five weeks. VCU faculty/staff receive a 10 percent discount. Questions: Email corp-ed@vcu.edu.

For more information, contact Carrie Hawes at cjhawes@vcu.edu or visit http://go.vcu.edu/corped.

Wednesday, Sep. 15, 2021 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research and VCU Health's Office of Clinical Research will host a discussion via Zoom of the resources available in the North 8 Clinical Research Unit, the voucher program, how it works and what resources are provided through the unit versus the Pauley Heart Center. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Lauren Harris at harrisl4@vcu.edu or visit https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqcu2rqz0qHtYe9vh5vsjvTH3Xde5OKqcM.

Monday, Sep. 20, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

VCU's Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence will present a workshop on how and why to incorporate games and game-mechanics into class. The session will cover how to convert those methods into a fully remote format with examples of the various activities and software to use. Register at the following URL.

For more information, contact Tiffany Freitas at freitast@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/jKDmm69zVuGVhbvLA .

Join VCU's Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence for a faculty learning community that will discuss the relationship between Universal Design for Learning and racial equity in learning environments. Faculty who have foundational knowledge or are actively implementing UDL principles are invited to join and share ideas on effective practices with the goal of developing a set of resources for faculty on this topic. The group will meet virtually the following Mondays from 9-10:30 a.m.: Oct. 4, Oct. 18, Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. Sign up at the following URL.

For more information, contact Tiffany Freitas at freitast@vcu.edu or visit https://ctle.vcu.edu/initiatives/communities/.

Private and semi-private swim lessons are conducted by water safety instructors who will tailor lessons to meet individual swimming and fitness goals for ages 3 and up. Instructors are assigned according to individual schedules, instructor availability and to best meet the individual's specific needs. Two-, four- and six-hour private and semi-private lesson packages are available. Classes are at Cary Street Gym Aquatic Center, 101 S. Linden St. RecWell does not offer participant matching for semi-private swim lessons, so participants who do not have a partner should register for private swim lessons.

For more information, contact Amanda Simmons at alsimmons@vcu.edu or visit https://recsports.vcu.edu/programs/aquatics/private-and-semi-private-swim-lessons/.

VCU's Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation announces the Fall 2021 Grant Academy, a grant-writing program that provides training and support for a cohort of faculty investigators working toward submitting a successful funding proposal. Apply by 5 p.m. Sept. 30 at the following URL.

For more information, contact Joshua Hahn at hahnj2@vcu.edu or (804) 827-1524 or visit https://research.vcu.edu/training/grant-academy/.

Looking for ways to restore the calm? Join RecWell each Tuesday at 11 a.m. and Wednesday at 2 p.m. for a virtual, 20-minute group guided meditation. Meditation is suitable for all levels of practice. The Tuesday Zoom link is https://vcu.zoom.us/j/93553842102. The Wednesday Zoom link is https://vcu.zoom.us/j/99912588557.

For more information, contact Mia Liadis at liadisa@vcu.edu or (804) 828-6919 or visit https://thewell.vcu.edu/programs/resilience-lab/.

TEDxVCU, sponsored by The Commons, is looking for students interested in joining the organization as members and leaders of its following planning committees: curation, marketing, production and community outreach. Questions: https://vcu.campusgroups.com/tedxvcu/organization-interest-form/ or email tedx@vcu.edu. Fill out the interest form at the following URL by Sept. 10.

For more information, contact Justin Raibolt at jraibolt@vcu.edu or visit https://forms.gle/yd7ii9V3XkYwSU9b9.

This is an open call for all faculty/staff/students interested in reading for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. The award honors a debut novel written during the preceding calendar year. The VCU Department of English and VCU Libraries are currently receiving entries for the 2022 award and need your help to start reading and reviewing submissions. Contribute your voice to the judging process.

For more information, contact Ty Phelps at cabellfn@vcu.edu or visit https://firstnovelist.vcu.edu/.

A number of special food-related events will be offered at Shafer Court Dining Center, 810 Cathedral Place. They include Union Taco (through Sept. 10: 11 a.m.-close); Cheesesteak Day (Sept. 9: 11 a.m.-close); Free Kona Ice (Sept. 9: noon-2 p.m. or while supplies last); Road Trip American Southern Classics (Sept. 13-17: 11 a.m.-close); Carytown Burgers & Fries at 920 W. Grace St. (Sept. 14); Registered Dietitian’s Vegan Cookie Dough (Sept. 15: noon-2 p.m.); Shafer Favorites Week (Sept. 20-24: 11 a.m.-close) For more events and details, visit the following URL or follow @VCU_Dining.

For more information, contact Lauren Hay at dining@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1148 or visit http://vcu.campusdish.com.

Are you a health-care clinician or student who practices or trains in Virginia? If so, then you are likely eligible to participate in a survey study conducted by faculty at VCU. We are interested in how health-care professionals have learned behavioral health counseling, specifically motivational interviewing. Those who complete the 20-minute survey will be entered into a bimonthly gift-card drawing. Click on the following link to participate. For more information, contact Rashelle Hayes, Ph.D., at rashelle.hayes@vcuhealth.org or (804) 628-6752 or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=NWWYMP4W44.

For more information, contact Rashelle Hayes, Ph.D., at rashelle.hayes@vcuhealth.org or (804) 827-3695 or visit https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=NWWYMP4W44.

We are inviting male and female patients with diabetic neuropathy ages 18-75 to participate in a research investigation into the effects of noninvasive brain stimulation on pain perception. This study involves transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is a noninvasive and widely used brain stimulation technique. It also involves completing surveys and undergoing tests to evaluate perceptions of pain. Volunteers will be compensated for their time. You are only required to come once for the study and it will take approximately two to two-and-a-half hours to complete the study. The study is conducted within the VCU Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Engineering Lab at 737 N. Fifth St. Questions: Email Edmund Acevedo, Ph.D., at eoacevedo@vcu.edu or Bhushan Thakkar at the following address.

For more information, contact Bhushan Thakkar at thakkarbs2@vcu.edu or (804) 300-5578.

Researchers are looking for VCU employees, as well as their family members, to volunteer for the COVID-CARE study. Volunteers must be aged 18 and older and have one of the following apply to them: have had a known exposure to COVID-19 in the last 14 days or currently have suspected COVID-19 symptoms, Volunteers will be asked to review and electronically sign an informed consent document, complete a survey pertaining to your current symptoms (if any) and any known exposures in the last 14 days. You will be asked to complete two COVID tests at home, provided at no cost. Volunteers are paid for their time. To access the study’s website and see if eligible, go to the following URL.

For more information, contact Mandy Adams at study4u@vcu.edu or (804) 828-3686 or visit http://www.covidcarestudy.org/.

Youssef Roman, Pharm.D., Ph.D., of VCU's School of Pharmacy is conducting a study to assess the prevalence and causes of heart diseases in Filipino Americans. This study is for anyone who considers themselves as Filipino with both biological parents of Filipino heritage. The study is funded by VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research.

For more information, contact Youssef Roman at romany2@vcu.edu or (804) 628-6384 or visit https://forms.gle/jR9s1jgKncieSKxQ7.