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In July, third-year political science majors Ella Milton-Benoit and Rebecca Weil took part in the Summer Leadership Institute sponsored by Virginia21. (Contributed photo)

Political science students get crash course in community leadership

Sept. 4, 2025

Undergraduates Ella Milton-Benoit and Rebecca Weil bring lessons from statewide summer institute back to VCU.

A VCU researcher’s new study evaluates how different types of state legislatures can impact the effectiveness of women lawmakers. (Getty Images)

Are women better lawmakers than men? A nuanced yes, VCU researcher finds

Aug. 22, 2025

However, women serving on less professional state legislatures struggle to overcome lower-ranked committee assignments and entrenched sexism.

Denver Supinger (far right) stands with three other individuals in the chamber of the Virginia State Capitol

Alumni Q+A: Denver Supinger (B.A. ’14, M.P.A. ’15) is an advocate for community betterment

Aug. 11, 2025

Supinger’s career of public service in the region was launched in the Department of Political Science.

Fulbright recipients from VCU will travel to Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Nigeria and Taiwan during the 2025-26 academic year. (File photo)

Five recent graduates receive prestigious Fulbright awards for the 2025-26 academic year

July 23, 2025

The selections continue VCU’s upward trend of honorees in the federal cultural exchange program.

Merilyn Arikkat, who will graduate in May, is co-executive director of VCU Votes, a student-led, nonpartisan initiative. (Contributed photo)

Class of 2025: VCU Votes co-leader Merilyn Arikkat drives civic engagement among fellow students

April 28, 2025

The biology major and aspiring doctor is among national honorees for championing democracy.

Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier who became an extremist commander, was found guilty in 2021 by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (Getty Images)

For war crimes defendants, media coverage can reflect how audiences see ‘local justice’ and ‘international justice’ differently

March 10, 2025

Exploring the court case of an abducted child soldier who became an extremist commander, VCU professors Jessica Trisko Darden and Amanda Wintersieck see a framework for understanding harsher perceptions at home.

VCU student Natasha Romero Moskala worked with Alex Keena, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, as a research assistant on the Guinier Project hosted by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School. (Contributed photo)

A natural progression: VCU senior joins professor for Harvard research project into elections

March 7, 2025

Political science student Natasha Romero Moskala fills the role of research assistant alongside mentor Alex Keena.

VCU alums who won Black History in the Making Awards when they were students. Clockwise from top left: Eloise Berry, Ph.D., Fadel Allassan, Jaz-Munn Johnson, M.D., Taylor Pattie, Tonecia Brothers-Sutton and Sasha Pierre-Louis.

Checking in with VCU’s Black history makers

Feb. 26, 2025

For more than four decades, VCU has honored students with Black History in the Making Awards – and here are updates on six accomplished recipients.

Black History in the Making Award alumni Fadel Allassan

Black History in the Making Award alumni highlight: Catch up with 2018 Award Recipient, Fadel Allassan

Feb. 17, 2025

For Black History Month, we’re shining a spotlight on Black History in the Making Award recipients.

Iman Sikandar (left) and Samantha Mendoza-Hernandez (right) didn’t know each other when they became roommates freshman year, but now they are inseparable. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Unbreakable bonds: Just random roommates at first, Iman Sikandar and Samantha Mendoza-Hernandez are now united by ‘invisible string’

Feb. 14, 2025

An early falling-out helped the undergrads realize how much they’d miss without each other’s sisterhood.