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VCU launches pharmaceutical sciences undergrad degree
Graduate school isn’t a prerequisite for a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Virginia Commonwealth University‘s new Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) degree will prepare students to step into pharma jobs like quality assurance technicians, research technologists and laboratory technicians, according to Kelechi “K.C.” Ogbonna, dean of VCU’s S[...]
VCU revives Atlanta’s Creative Circus ad school
Editor’s note: The print version of this story in the May 2024 issue of Virginia Business incorrectly reported the amount of Virginia Commonwealth University‘s purchase of the Creative Circus. VCU acquired Creative Circus’ branding and intellectual assets from Texas-based Ancora Education for $75,000. The potential bottom line wasn’t the sole motivator behind Virginia Commo[...]
Chips ahoy
Finally, the world is catching up with Virginia Tech’s semiconductor curriculum. Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering started a chip-scale integration major in 2016, but it wasn’t exactly high profile when Sheena Deivasigamani arrived at Virginia Tech as a first-year engineering student in 2019. Chip-scale integration wasn’t even on Deivasigamani’s radar. Tech was t[...]
Hollins president to chair national board
Hollins University President Mary Dana Hinton has been elected chair of the board of directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the university announced April 17. Hinton begins her term on July 1 and leads a board of four officers and 14 board members. NAICU focuses on representing private, nonprofit higher […]
Richmond-based attorneys win U.S. Supreme Court case
After nine years and through three U.S. presidents, two Richmond-based attorneys and their client, an FBI agent who also lives in Richmond, received great news Tuesday: They had won their U.S. Supreme Court case against the federal government. Rudisill v. McDonough was decided 7-2 in favor of plaintiff Jim Rudisill, a retired Army captain who […]
SCHEV board member hired as new director
Less than a year after joining the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s board, A. Scott Fleming will be SCHEV’s next director, the state agency announced Thursday. Fleming, whom Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed to the SCHEV board in July 2023, stepped down from the body this week after accepting the job as director. He […]
Truth, justice, and the Liberty Way
The past four years have been rough on Liberty University‘s reputation, judging by the sheer tonnage of negative press that the Lynchburg-based evangelical education powerhouse has received. But with a $2 billion-plus endowment and one of the nation’s largest private, nonprofit college enrollments, Liberty appears to be not only surviving but thriving, even amid embarrassing […]
W&M receives $30M anonymous donation
An anonymous William & Mary alumna has donated $30 million to renovate and rename a building in honor of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, who is currently the university‘s chancellor. Robert M. Gates Hall will house three academic centers — the Global Research Institute, the Institute for Integrative Conservation and the Whole […]
Virginia Tech announces new CFO
Virginia Tech has hired Simon Allen as its chief financial officer and vice president for finance, the university announced Monday. Allen is currently vice president for finance and CFO of the Ithaca campus of Cornell University. In his new role, which he’ll start May 6, Allen will report to Virginia Tech Executive Vice President and […]
Alger leaving JMU to head American University
American University announced Monday that James Madison University President Jonathan Alger will be its next president, starting July 1. Alger joined the Harrisonburg public university in 2012. Alger will be the 16th president of AU, a private university in Washington, D.C., replacing President Sylvia Burwell. During his tenure, JMU received R2 research classification from the […]
Liberty University fined $14M for underreporting campus crime
The U.S. Department of Education has fined Liberty University a record penalty of $14 million for underreporting crime on campus, in a Clery Act settlement announced Tuesday. The amount far outstrips the department’s previous highest-ever fine, $4.5 million, assessed in 2019 against Michigan State University for the gymnastics sexual abuse scandal involving Dr. Larry Nassar. […]
New options, new audiences
As more students and their families question which colleges present the best return on their big investments, many are choosing to play it safe. That often means starting at community college or public universities while living at home, with others postponing post-secondary education or considering other options. The impact of college loan debt and soaring […]
