Virginia Commonwealth University
With more than $220 million in annual research funding, Virginia Commonwealth University ranks among the top universities in the country in sponsored research. VCU’s teaching, research, public service and patient care mission supports full-time and part-time students and faculty of diverse backgrounds. The university also contributes to the local, state, national and international communities through its scholarly activities, its diverse educational programs, and its public service and patient care initiatives.
Located in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, VCU is composed of two campuses. The 88.2-acre Monroe Park Campus is situated in Richmond’s historic Fan District. The 52.4-acre VCU Medical Center, which includes the VCU Health System, is located two miles east in the financial, commercial and governmental district of downtown Richmond. Of the university’s 196 buildings, 40 were built before 1900. Fifty-four buildings are national historic landmarks or lie within a historic district.
VCU was established in 1968 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly, which merged the Medical College of Virginia with Richmond Professional Institute to form the new university.
MCV was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. It became an independent institution in 1854. In 1860, when Virginia appropriated $30,000 for MCV’s first hospital, it became a state-supported institution.
RPI was established in 1917 as the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health. In 1925, it became the Richmond Division of The College of William and Mary. Its name was changed to RPI in 1939; in 1962, it separated from The College of William and Mary, becoming an independent state institution.
VCU is governed by a 16-member board of visitors appointed by the governor of Virginia. Board members, who come from the business, professional, civic and health care communities of Virginia, serve four-year terms. Members may be appointed for an additional four-year term at the governor’s discretion.
VCU is organized into the divisions of Academic Affairs (which includes the Provost’s Office and the Graduate School), Advancement, Government Relations and Health Policy, Finance and Administration, Health Sciences, Research, and University Relations,. The university offers 208 baccalaureate, master’s, professional, doctoral and certificate programs through VCU Life Sciences, the College of Humanities and Sciences (which includes the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, and the schools of Mass Communications and World Studies), the University College, and the schools of Allied Health Professions, the Arts, Business, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Social Work, as well as the Graduate School. Sixty-five of the university’s programs are unique in Virginia. In addition, 25 graduate and professional programs have been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best of their kind in the nation.
VCU also offers Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degrees through the University College and the College of Humanities and Sciences, and the Master of Interdisciplinary Studies through the Graduate School. Several additional programs provide off-campus students with the opportunity to earn degrees through telecommunications and instructional technology.
More than 32,000 students attend VCU; each year the university awards more than 5,500 degrees. Thirty percent of VCU’s students represent minority groups and five percent are international students, while 59 percent are women and 27 percent are part-time students. The student body represents 49 states, and 107 different countries. VCU students also come from Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
With an annual budget of approximately $1.5 billion, VCU and its affiliate organizations constitute a significant economic enterprise in the Richmond area. More than 18,000 faculty, staff and hourly employees, including 1,927 full-time faculty and 8,586 classified staff, make the university and the health system the city’s single largest employer. Employees and students together spend approximately $307 million a year in the city of Richmond. The VCU Health System provides more than $100 million worth of indigent health care services annually. More than 60 percent of VCU’s alumni live and work in Virginia.
VCU’s economic impact includes a master-site plan that calls for capital expansion into underused sections near the campuses. The plan has established architectural guidelines for future construction, which were developed in collaboration with the surrounding community. Since 1981, VCU has invested $1,165 billion in facilities.
As part of a long-range strategic plan, VCU has enhanced its stature as one of the nation’s leading research universities as well as continued its contribution to community and individual development, particularly through collaborative initiatives and partnerships.
One of the university’s strategic collaborations is the School of Engineering, which has been an important factor in attracting the microelectronics industry to Virginia. The university continues to develop the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in collaboration with business, civic and government leaders. When it is fully developed, the research park will cover 34 acres in downtown Richmond and employ an estimated 3,000 professional and technical personnel.
VCU also has established VCU Life Sciences, a comprehensive undergraduate and graduate program involving the university’s academic and medical faculty.
The VCU Health System supports a Level-I trauma center; the Massey Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated center; the Ambulatory Care Center; and a number of partnerships within the greater health care community. It is one of the most comprehensive teaching health centers in the country. It also has been ranked locally, regionally and nationally for providing the highest quality and most cost-efficient health care.