Message from the Dean
On July 8, 2011, I started a new chapter in my life and academic career by taking on the role of dean of Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences (the College) after spending the past four years as the vice provost for research at Rice University. I wrote this letter July 22, 2011, two weeks after I began this new journey.
My initial experience has wowed me. I have found VCU to be an intellectually, culturally and socially vibrant institution composed of students, faculty and staff who are passionate about the transformational mission of the university. And, I found, as so eloquently written in Richmond Magazine by one of the College’s most accomplished alumni, best-selling author David Baldacci, “… what VCU has in abundance is a huge heart and a vast soul. A can-do spirit resides in every single one of its students and faculty.” I am so glad that my heart and soul has landed with kindred spirits at 828 W. Franklin St.
I was really attracted to VCU because the university offers almost limitless opportunities for its remarkably diverse student body; VCU is revolutionizing the way we understand the world through research and scholarship; and VCU is transforming Richmond by engaging the city with the tremendous intellectual capital of the university. VCU is a university that profoundly matters — it provides opportunity where none might have existed otherwise, and it fuels the economic, cultural, intellectual and human health of the city of Richmond.
It is often said that no university can be a great university without having excellence in the core areas of liberal arts, humanities and the sciences. I believe that the disciplines represented in the College's 13 academic departments coupled with the Wilder School of Public Affairs, the School of Mass Communications and the School of World Studies are the “sun” providing the intellectual energy to the “solar system” called the university — i.e., the College is at the core of reaching the aspirations of VCU’s Quest for Distinction (our new strategic plan). The College offers a diverse array of academic programs, and our students and faculty together pursue research, scholarship and creative activities in a range of fields – psychology, biology, nanotechnology, world studies, creative writing, forensic science, journalism, public policy – I cannot name them all here. The College’s programs connect scholars and students across disciplines on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses, a key component of VCU’s Quest for Distinction.
The College is the largest unit at VCU with about 15,000 undergraduate students majoring in programs representing the full spectrum of disciplines in the humanities and sciences. Additionally, last year about 1,140 graduate students were enrolled in the College’s programs working toward master’s and doctoral degrees. Because the College is the core of this ambitious university, our excellent faculty teach nearly every one of VCU’s undergraduates.
A foundational value of the College is our commitment to our students, and we are extraordinarily proud of what they accomplish! Just last year, we had a Fulbright Research Fellow, three Boren Scholars (international study) and two Goldwater Scholars (recognizing excellence in undergraduate research). We have a number of scholar-athletes in a range of sports. For example, seven of the 14 members of VCU's Final Four and ESPY-winning men's basketball team and four of 14 players on our women’s basketball team major in one of the College’s programs. Additionally, our students participate in wide range of community-service activities.
The College also has a thriving community of more than 40,000 alumni who offer a network that facilitates the launching of careers for our graduates and provides support in a variety of ways to help us achieve our mission. The College’s graduates have gone on to become best-selling authors, CEOs and executive vice presidents of major corporations, successful biotechnology entrepreneurs, renowned medical practitioners, high school teachers and political leaders, making a real difference in Virginia and around the world. One of the great pleasures of my new job is getting to know and engage the wider VCU family with the College.
I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to serve VCU and the College. After my first two weeks, I have been enthralled by the spirit and dedication that VCU elicits from our faculty, staff, students and members of the Richmond community. Although VCU and the College have significant challenges, I am sure this university should occupy a special place among the world’s universities. I hope you will join me on my journey to help facilitate securing that special place.
The article I referenced above by David Baldacci was written as a letter to our successful men’s basketball coach, Shaka Smart (who, by the way, majored in history and is passionate about the humanities), reflecting on why he should stay at VCU. One surely unintended consequence of David’s well articulated description of what makes VCU special is that his words resonated to my core and helped me realize how great a fit VCU and the College are for me. I encourage you to take the time to reflect on this piece.
I hope you are as enthusiastic as I am about VCU, with the College at its core, and our potential to transform lives and communities and to innovate through our research, scholarship and creative activities. I hope that you will work with me to overcome our challenges and help the College achieve its own quest for distinction. As the black and gold banner above the Siegel Center says, “Our time. Right now.”
Go Rams!!!
James S. Coleman, Ph.D .
Dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences
