Education
Share your thoughts on the “ONE VCU” draft master plan at community meetings Monday and Tuesday
More than 850 students, faculty, staff and community members have identified university needs and shared insights about potential campus improvements so far.

Members of the Virginia Commonwealth University community are invited to attend an upcoming open house to review a draft of the university’s “ONE VCU” master plan.
The plan is being developed to identify and detail the physical framework necessary to support the university’s strategic priorities.
The open house events will be held today and tomorrow:
Monday, September 17th, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Kontos Medical Science Building, 1217 East Marshall Street, Rooms 104 and 105
Monday, September 17th, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Avenue, 1st floor Floyd Avenue Lobby
Tuesday, September 18th, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Avenue, Richmond Salons III and IV
The master plan is guided by VCU’s Quest 2025: Together We Transform strategic plan and VCU Health’s Vision by Design strategic plan. The planning process started last fall when VCU and partner Ayers Saint Gross, an architectural, planning and design firm, hosted a series of input sessions. More than 850 students, faculty, staff and community members have identified university needs and shared insights about potential campus improvements.
VCU also has conducted studies regarding the master plan, including a parking and transportation study that resulted in a pilot with the Greater Richmond Transit Company to provide unlimited transit access for VCU and VCU Health System students and employees.
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Education
U of R announces socially distant service opportunities and virtual events in honor of MLK Day
Virtual events, such as luncheons and meditation sessions, are slated to take place on Zoom throughout the week in order to bring the campus community together to pause, reflect, and discuss the legacy of Martin Luther King and what it means to heal.

The University of Richmond has announced it will be closed Monday, January 18th to allow the campus community to engage in physically-distanced service activities celebrating MLK Day.
Historically, UR celebrates the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through a day filled with service opportunities completed alongside the greater Richmond community. Due to COVID-19, this year’s MLK Day events will foster opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to volunteer virtually by working on project kits developed by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement. The kits entail projects such as transcribing documents from the Library of Virginia; creating birthday cards for Celebrate! RVA; making toys for the ASPCA; writing letters to elected officials; and more.
The community will also have the opportunity to use the Book Arts Studio’s printing press on MLK Day, to create book art and journals that align with this year’s theme, “The Revolution Then And Now: A Time of Healing.”
Virtual events, such as luncheons and meditation sessions, are slated to take place on Zoom throughout the week in order to bring the campus community together to pause, reflect, and discuss the legacy of Martin Luther King and what it means to heal.
“In the wake of two pandemics — COVID-19 and social injustice — we’re encouraging our community to reflect on what it will mean to heal as we look to the future and explore the ways that we can better impact the lives of those in our community and beyond who experience social injustices and are fighting their own individual revolution,” said Morgan Russell, associate director of multicultural affairs and event organizer.
Full details about UR’s MLK Day celebration are available at richmond.edu/mlk.
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Education
RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras Statement on Trump Riot in DC
“Yesterday’s events were horrific. But rather than run from them, let’s confront them and the uncomfortable truths about race that they laid bare.”

The Superintendent of Richmond schools, Jason Kamras, issued a strong statement yesterday in the aftermath of Wednesday’s attack at the nation’s Capitol.
Dear #RPSStrong Family,
As many others have noted over the past 24 hours, one of the most striking aspects of yesterday’s events was how law enforcement responded to the overwhelmingly white insurrectionists, as compared to how they responded to BLM protestors of color in Lafayette Park in DC this past summer.
Yesterday, mostly white men seized and vandalized the United States Capitol – and were then allowed to simply walk away.
Last summer, peaceful, mostly Black protestors, who had gathered a block away from the White House to make their voices heard, were gassed and forcibly removed with military tactics, including the use of a US Army helicopter. I shudder at the thought of what would have transpired if the individuals who attacked the United States Congress were Black.As educators and parents, we need to talk about this with our children. And those of us who are white have a special responsibility to do so. For our national “reckoning” on race to yield tangible results, we must actively and repeatedly call out inequity, educate our children about it, and teach them to uproot it.
Yesterday’s events were horrific. But rather than run from them, let’s confront them and the uncomfortable truths about race that they laid bare. In doing so, perhaps we can take one more step towards fulfilling the ideals symbolized by the United States Capitol.
With great appreciation,
Jason
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Education
Four UR Students Awarded Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad in England, Jamaica, China, France, and Switzerland in 2021
The University of Richmond has had 47 Gilman Scholars since the program started in 2001.
