Illustration by Sarah Barton
Growing Green
A culture of environmentalism has brought the University of Richmond a national ranking as a Top 50 Green College.
The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges 2024 listed UR at No. 30 in its rankings. It’s the second year the school has been in the Top 50 (No. 21 on the 2023 list), and it has been listed in the guide for more than a decade.
More than 680 schools were considered. The list is based on student surveys regarding campus sustainability and on school-reported information.
The university’s eco-awareness efforts extend into 2024 with initiatives including sustainability coursework and working to enhance community partnerships and a greater emphasis on local and organic dining, according to Lauren Anesta, media relations manager. Additional efforts include hands-on projects to control invasive species and improve biodiversity, including in the university’s Eco-Corridor, an 18-acre green space that includes a restored stream and floodplain, pollinator meadows and a community garden.
“Sustainability at UR is vibrant at the grassroots level and has robust support from our administration,” Rob Andrejewski, director of sustainability, says in a release. “You can see evidence of this in initiatives such as the development of the sustainability minor and the creation of the Rethink Waste program, and through the students who are helping educate a new generation on the need for climate justice.”
Learning and Living
There will be more opportunities for Virginia Commonwealth University students to get paid as they learn, courtesy of a new, two-year pilot initiative at the school.
In the first stage, about 50 Federal Work-Study jobs on campus will be turned into paid on-campus internships that will receive intensive support from faculty and staff. The work-study slots will be tailored to meet learning goals and align with the university’s REAL (Relevant, Experiential and Applied Learning) initiative.
There are 1,157 VCU students in the current academic year in Federal Work-Study positions, which are subsidized by the U.S. Department of Education. They are paid posts that don’t necessarily align with a student’s career aspirations, according to Samara Reynolds, executive director for VCU Career Services. “Internship experiences are typically more closely and intentionally related to one’s career goals and professional skill-building, and at VCU we advocate for these experiences to include structured reflection and mentorship to enable student growth throughout the experience,” she says in an email.
The goal is to enhance work-study opportunities from serving primarily as an income source for students into also supporting their educational goals, or an opportunity to “earn while you learn,” Reynolds says.
Internship placements will be decided in spring and summer after staff develop plans to transform work-study positions into internships. Internships will run during the 2024 academic year. “Our hope is that both students and departmental supervisors will have positive-enough experiences in the pilot year to want to continue with a sustainable internship-level offering the following academic year, with eligible students either being rehired for a second year or the opportunity opening for new applicants,” according to Reynolds.
The pilot program is funded through a $100,000 grant from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. It runs through the 2025 academic year.
Participants will be paid through Federal Work-Study funding, a maximum of $4,000 per academic year. VCU expects $2.9 million in Federal Work-Study funds for the 2024 fiscal year. The amount varies yearly, and the university anticipates using the full allocation, according to Reynolds.
Paving the Way
A national initiative to provide a vibrant support system to students who are the first in their families to attend college is in the works at Richard Bland College of William & Mary.
The college has been designated as a First Scholars Institution, one of four phases of the First Scholars Network of The Center for First-generation Student Success. Bland was chosen for its commitment to ensuring success of first-generation students. The First Scholars Network bolsters support programs for such students through activities including peer networks, establishing communities of practice and learning about available resources.
Partners in Learning
City of Richmond employees can enrich their skill sets through a partnership with Reynolds Community College.
City workers can refresh or build new skills through training. The alliance was announced in September. Many programs began in January. Six public utility workers have already earned a commercial driver’s license certification, according to Joe Schilling, Reynolds director of communications and special assistant to the president.
Gaining an Edge
Acquiring skills needed to navigate the workaday world is the goal of a twice-yearly boot camp required of sophomores at Randolph-Macon College.
The Edge Boot Camp, Feb. 9-10, is a skill immersion program that gives second-year students a chance to practice interview skills, network with business professionals and alumni, and try potential career paths.
Participation in one of the boot camps (there’s also one in October) is required for the school’s 370 sophomores. Camp sessions cover topics including mock interviews and learning interview techniques, navigating the path to financial success, preparing for professional life and being a self-aware leader and an etiquette session over dinner.
“We believe that it’s important for students to start thinking about preparing themselves for their next steps early,” according to Beth Campbell, vice president for marketing and communications. “The Edge Career Boot Camp gives them a chance to practice telling their personal narrative.”
Topping Out
Work on Virginia State University’s $120 million Alfred W. Harris Academics Commons facility is set for completion in 2025. Construction began in January 2023, and a beam-signing ceremony was held in late December. The 175,000-square-foot facility will include academic and sports facilities. It will consolidate the College of Education and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and includes space for classrooms, laboratories, production labs, artist labs, auditoriums, a theater and scene shop.
Lighting the Way
Virginia Union University and Brightpoint Community College have each announced administrative hires.
At Brightpoint, William Fiege, the school’s eighth president, assumed duties in January. He says that Brighpoint seeks to be an integral part of the communities it serves, with a focus on “changing and bettering lives, and the success of our students is at the heart of our work.”
At Virginia Union, a center dedicated to strengthening and the preservation of historic Black colleges and universities has new leadership. Roderick L. Smothers Sr. assumed duties in late December as executive director for Virginia Union University’s Center for the Study and Preservation of Historic Black Colleges and Universities.
