News

Weijia Pan, a poet and translator from Shanghai, China, has won the 2025 Levis Reading Prize for his debut full-length poetry collection, “Motherlands.” (Photo by Ibrahim Badshah)

Weijia Pan wins 28th annual Levis Reading Prize for ‘Motherlands’

June 11, 2025

His debut full-length poetry collection is selected by the MFA in Creative Writing program at VCU.

An 18-month, $150,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation will support a new Indigenous Humanities Lab in VCU’s Humanities Research Center. (File photo)

Mellon Foundation grant will support launch of Indigenous Humanities Lab at VCU

April 21, 2025

Through a partnership of the Humanities Research Center and the College of Humanities and Sciences, Cristina Stanciu and Catherine Ingrassia are expanding the university’s focus on Native programs.

The Academy Awards will be held on March 2. (Getty Images)

At the movies: Professors review Oscar-nominated films through the lens of their expertise

Feb. 27, 2025

Ahead of the Academy Awards, professors discuss what worked – or didn’t – in five of the 2025 nominees.

Jatia Wrighten, Ph.D. and Alexandra Reckendorf, Ph.D., talked to students about political and social movements during their session in the U.S. Democracy United/Divided course. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

For the many layers of American democracy, new course taps into the many layers of VCU faculty expertise

Feb. 13, 2025

Nearly three dozen specialists in the College of Humanities and Sciences are collectively teaching U.S Democracy United/Divided this semester – and organizers think the concept will evolve.

English major Barbara Kornhauser will earn her bachelor’s degree this month. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Class of 2024: Barbara Kornhauser is a second-generation Ram in reverse

Dec. 3, 2024

A half-century after her initial foray into college, the English major will follow in her son’s footsteps with a degree from VCU.

David Wojahn, pictured here in his VCU office, has written nine collections of poetry and three books of essays. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Like a fine poem, David Wojahn made a lasting impression

Nov. 21, 2024

The esteemed English professor and Pulitzer Prize finalist retires after two decades at VCU, where his words and warmth endure.

cRam Session: Medieval Literature and the Weird

Nov. 11, 2024

3 questions, 2 minutes, 1 lesson with Adin Lears, whose course explores early stories to consider questions of fate, destiny and our place in the cosmic order.

Hope Ward’s work as a professional actor has inspired her research as a Ph.D. student at VCU. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Hope Ward studies paths to more equitable actor training programs

Oct. 23, 2024

Ward, a Ph.D. student, actor and director, finds inspiration in theater but also recognizes where it needs closer study and a commitment to marked improvement.

Moira Neve, a VCU graduate student in English, said their current research project has helped them develop a more complicated understanding of time and history. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Moira Neve studies visions of a queer utopia as described in an early 20th-century journal

Oct. 9, 2024

Neve said, 'I love the feeling of being in my own niche corner of this larger literary tradition, sifting through the archives only to arrive at new surprises every day.'

MFA student Josh Galarza’s debut book has been named a finalist for this year’s National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. (Photo contributed by Josh Galarza)

‘The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky,’ by VCU student Josh Galarza, named National Book Award finalist

Oct. 1, 2024

Galarza’s debut novel is one of five finalists for the 2024 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.