VCU College of Humanities and Sciences

09/25/2026

While hanging out in the STEM Building, we spotted Farah Radwan, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, helping students after class. For additional support, the Science Hub on the second floor of STEM, offers student hours where students can meet with professors and get hands-on guidance. VCU Chemistry Department

09/24/2026

Meet Maurice "Moeflowz" Brown, a faculty member and CHS alum!

In April, Brown was named one of two new poet laureates for Richmond, a program that supports the city’s arts communities. But at VCU, Brown is known as well for his numerical pursuits: He earned his Ph.D. in systems modeling and analysis from the College of Humanities and Sciences in 2022 and teaches math in the School of Business.

Read more about Dr. Brown's fascinating journey here.

As one of Richmond’s two new poet laureates with VCU ties, he will emphasize community engagement.

09/24/2026

Part 2 is here! ✨

We’re continuing our Hispanic Heritage Month celebration by highlighting more of the stories and cultures that make CHS what it is. 🤍

09/23/2026

When we saw this fit, we couldn’t help but post: Kellie Aldi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has the perfect sweater to introduce the fall season! VCU Chemistry Department

09/23/2026

A new five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse will fund Aliza Ehrlich, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences and Sustainability, as she investigates how opioid receptors on our brain’s neurons interact with a little-known neuronal structure called the primary cilium.

By understanding the role of the primary cilium when opioids are present, Ehrlich ultimately aims to learn how this largely overlooked structure shapes our body’s relationship with opioids – from how we respond to them to how we build tolerance or dependence.

“The grant is designed to study this aspect of opioid signaling and determine whether or not it contributes to a specific type of function like neuronal firing,” she said. “Which could go on to translate to how it changes our overall behavior.”

Read more. https://bit.ly/4AicMzi

Ehrlich hopes to learn how the antenna-like compartment influences our response to opioids, including its role in building dependence or tolerance.

09/22/2026

In 2017, professor Anita Nadal and her Spanish language students began collaborating with the Virginia Museum of History and Culture to provide bilingual support for Richmond-area immigrants preparing for the U.S. citizenship test.

As of today, the collaboration between VCU and VMHC, and classes in the community, has helped more than 200 people become U.S. citizens. It also has led to special relationships formed between VCU students and new citizens from around the world. And it has provided VCU students with community-engaged experiences that helped set them on the path to careers as attorneys, nonprofit leaders and more.

Read more. https://bit.ly/3UM2mYy

Community engagement has been central to VCU’s mission since the university’s founding in 1968.

09/21/2026

After 40 years of inspiring students and helping shape the creative writing program here at VCU, Gregory Donovan, Ph.D., will be retiring.

Donovan ultimately saw the need to have an active literary journal to draw in students and round out their education and helped start Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts in 2002. Blackbird publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, plays, visual arts and pioneered presenting video essays. Contributors have included U.S. poet laureates and Pulitzer winners along with writers achieving their first publications.

“In its later years, the journal averaged around 950,000 unique visits annually from around the world,” Donovan said. “We helped to put online literary journals ‘on the map,’ including our own.”

Read more about Dr. Donovan's legacy here. https://bit.ly/4j8mzSd

Donovan, the author of two poetry collections, was one of the forces behind online journal Blackbird and ‘a passionate and committed teacher’ during his tenure.

09/20/2026

The Little Ram Pantries are getting a tech upgrade! 👏

Sixteen locations across VCU now have new sensors that provide real-time inventory photos and help track usage while protecting student privacy. Launched in 2021, the Little Ram Pantries provide free food and essentials for any VCU student who needs it. Contents typically include shelf-stable snacks, grab-and-go items, canned goods and personal hygiene products.

Created by John Jones, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences and Sustainability, the program continues to use research and technology to help address student food insecurity.

Read the full story. https://bit.ly/4iykLlw

New sensors can show the inventory of each location and help monitor usage while preserving privacy.

09/18/2026

Happy Friday Rams! We are kicking off the weekend with some good vibes, courtesy of our monthly ampersand shoot. ✨

Tag who you recognize, and swipe to the end for a surprise faculty feature! 😎

09/18/2026

A senior journalism student in the Robertson School of Communication, Ben Rekosh has spent four summers telling the stories behind the game with the Charlottesville Tom Sox.

Ben’s experience with the Tom Sox and VCU Athletics has helped shape his path toward a career in sports media. Read more about his journey and how VCU’s Internship Funding Program helped make it possible. https://bit.ly/3UWyo47

Supported by VCU's Internship Funding Program, the VCU mass communications student told the stories behind the Charlottesville Tom Sox this summer while preparing for a career in sports media.