History

VCU Community Solutions was initially conceived by Dr. Roderick McDavis, former VCU provost and vice president of academic affairs, as a universitywide approach to engage faculty and students with the community around critical social issues and to serve as an academic companion to VCU Life Sciences. A concept paper for this initiative was developed by a team of faculty and staff from the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, followed by the creation of a task force with members representing all of VCU’s academic units.

The task force compiled information about the university’s involvement with the community through its research, service and teaching. Concurrently, community focus groups identified critical issues confronting the metro-Richmond area and ways that the university could contribute as a partner in addressing these concerns. Based upon the assets and faculty expertise at VCU and the most pressing needs identified by the community, the task force identified youth violence prevention and early childhood development as the initial areas of focus.

The task force has been replaced now with an interdisciplinary team for each focus area under the leadership of a faculty director. The Office of VCU Community Solutions will continue to gather input from the community, from the advisory council and from community partners who participate on the teams.