VCU’s Staff Diversity

In late 2006 VCU conducted the Climate Survey to determine how pleased the staff, faculty and administration is with diversity among their colleagues.

Over all the survey was quite positive, but there were outliers within minority groups and the staff.

To get a better understanding of these outliers, the Equity and Diversity Committee conducted a series of three focus groups. The first was made up of faculty and staff, the second, black faculty and staff, and the third was full time staff.

The findings were startling.

The study found that adjunct faculty feels unappreciated, women aren’t as easily promoted as men, and black faculty feels that the university discriminates.

The EDC realizes that this could be a few upset staff members, but they want to address these issues to make sure they know why someone would feel this way and to insure that no one else does in the future.

They are developing a five-year diversity plan in the hopes to attract more minority administration and therefore more staff.

Richmond school system grads not going to VCU

In the 2007 school year Virginia Commonwealth University enrolled nearly 4,000 students, the school’s highest total in its 40 year history. However, only a fraction of those students came from public  high schools in the city of Richmond.

Just 51 graduates from Richmond city schools enrolled at VCU this past year.  VCU President Eugene Trani, told the Faculty Senate that he believes those numbers are too low.

VCU’s Vice Provost of Admissions, Delores Taylor, believes the city’s small high school population and graduation rates are both factors.

“Compared to some school systems, the numbers of students who are graduating from the high school within the public schools in Richmond are low,” said Taylor.

Not only are the graduation rates low, but Taylor has found an even simpler problem with Richmond and VCU, and that is proximity.

“Many students will decide, for example, that they’d like to go away to school. Many students will decide to go away from home and they may feel that VCU is a little to close to them,” Taylor said.

Mother Against Drunk Driving helps Navy fight alcohol

During a recent trip to the Nofolk Naval Station, our crew met up with Kaye and Bob Walsh. Kaye and Bob are the Norfolk branch of the orgainization Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Navy has reached out to them to help deal with alcoholism.

The Stats

Officals at the Naval Saftey Center in Norfolk belive that the problem with alcohol in the navy is worse now than ever before.

Virginia’s wine to help support cancer research

Virginia’s love for wine has turned into a method of financial support for cancer research.

Virginia held its first annual wine festival this weekend, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.  More than 40 wineries let visitors sample their finest creations.  Gourmet food companies and restaurants were there with specialty products too.

The Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center is the expo’s charitable partner. Fifty percent of the expo’s profits go towards the Center’s studies and the other half of the earnings support the Virginia Wineries Association and expo expenses.

Alex Papajohn is the founder and director of the expo. The Massey Cancer Center was Papajohn’s first thought of a notable charity.  His parents are cancer survivors and he wanted to partner with a name that is recognized in the community to help drive ticket sales.

Communications Director, Andrea Butler, of the Massey Cancer Center said that the center is excited about the partnership.

“To us the connection is partnering with a large activity in the community where we can reach a lot of people. Cancer affects one out of every two men, and one out of every three women,” Butler said.

Papajohn and Butler agreed that their connection would reach a larger crowd from the surrounding community, who support cancer research.

While this two-day affair is the first of its kind, it was in fact a success. More than 8,000 wine enthusiasts attended the event, which surpassed Papajohn’s predictions of only 5,000.

Papajohn is already making predictions for a bigger expo next year, with plans to lengthen the event to three days, including a wine makers dinner, and trade gala.

With a forecast of 10,000 attendees next year, the increase in wine sales will continue to add to the Massey Cancer Center’s contributions for research.

“In the second or third year, we will really start to raise serious money for a charitable organization,” said Papajohn.

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**Research projects and discoveries for the Massey Cancer Center are endless. Those who missed the wine festival can call (804) 828-1450 or log onto Massey’s website at www.massey.vcu.edu, and click on Support Massey to learn how to make further contributions.

 

Commercialization of Easter

If you’re a Richmond native, you’ve probably heard of or visited the Easter On Parade held annually on scenic Monument Avenue. It focuses on the “fun” rather than religious aspect of Easter by showcasing lots of activities, food, music, and contests throughout the day. Though the Easter On Parade has become a staple event in the heart of downtown Richmond, some might point out that this sort of celebration is part of the commercialization of Easter.

According to www.dictionary.com, “commercialization” means “to make commercial in character, methods, or spirit; to emphasize the profitable aspects of, especially at the expense of quality.” In other words, the meaning of Easter today seems to supercede the religious story that we learned about about as a child. Marketing efforts indulge in profits earned through candy, toys, decorations, etc. at Easter time. According to recent reports, over a billion dollars is spent at Easter time.

How did Easter turn into a gift giving holiday or a reason for children to believe in the “Easter Bunny”?

How many people, Christian and non-Christian, actually know the story behind Easter?

Do today’s celebratory efforts influence you and your beliefs about Easter?

Do advertisements make you feel like you should go out and buy Easter products?

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-easter.htm

http://www.venturerichmond.com/events/vrevents.html

Have you ever studied abroad?

A lot of students are traveling abroad to get a different feel of what school is like outside of there own backyard. At Virginia Commonwealth University students earn credits and also get emerged in a different culture. There are financial aid options and programs that will assist you even if you don’t have the money yourself.

Does Free Press Exist in America? Freedom House Makes The Call

Freedom House is an organization that promotes democracy and monitors freedom across the world. An annual study analyzing press freedoms around the world is compiled by the organization, ranking close to 190 countries in how free their press is. Countries are graded on whether they are “free”, “partly free”, or “not free at all.

Allergy Shoot, Mark Coffman’s experience outdoors

This story was interesting for me to do to say the least. I did three separate video shoots on three beautiful days. But each shoot I got tired and would get headaches from the pollen. I have bad allergies. In fact you can hear it in my voice during the package. I tried my best to sound clear. But it was hard. The wonderful images you see in my package come primarily from a shoot I did on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus, near the life sciences building. They have really nice ornamentations around there. The rest of the shots come from within a block of my apartment in the Musuem District (This is where I shot my stand up). I will be posting some more info on some things that have helped me with allergies shortly so stay tuned. The pollen is only gonna get worse.

A rugger’s story:Monica Motley

VCU Insight reporter, Ashley Tipton, sat down with rugby player, Monica Motley, to get more insight on what drives her love for a sport that some say, only crazy people play.  Motley is a 23-year-old senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, who played her last game in her college career, in the Marfu Tournament this March.  Motley is part of the VCU Women’s Rugby team, and plays the position of “back” in the “backline.”  She is one of the 5-6 girls who the ball is passed to, for a chance to score a “try” or “goal.”  Motley has played rugby throughout her time at VCU, and is hoping her graduate journey will score a position on Virginia Tech’s Division I team.

Gas Lines

I woke up around eight last Monday to the sound of a jackhammer eating away a chunk of asphalt on my street. I was startled and confused.

I know eight is kind of late for those that have jobs, but for a college kid, that’s really early. I went out side to see what was going on, and found a bunch of men digging up my gas meter.

That’s when I realized, it was my street’s turn to get the gas upgrade.

The City of Richmond hired the Trafford Corporation to replace the old cast iron gas lines about 10 years ago. They have been working in the Fan for about 2 years. The upgrade also improves the gas pressure going to the home.

Though most are happy the upgrades are taking place, some are upset that the construction damages the roads.

“They tear up the roads and don’t ever replace anything,” says Kyle Murphy, a Bike messenger. “They just put down a layer of dirt and potholes form about two days later.”

Murphy says it’s dangerous to ride with damaged roads. He could easily hurt is bike or himself. He doesn’t like to ride in the middle of the road, but sometimes he’s forced to, and as we all know, that’s where the cars belong.