VCU College of Humanities and Sciences

The College congratulates Patsy Connors and Naomi Batten, both staff members in the College of Humanities and Sciences, who graduated this past May!

Patsy, who works in the Dean’s Office as Assistant Director of Financial Operations, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in History and minors in Art History and Latin and Roman Classics. Patsy tells us:

“These were all subjects I loved, but somehow I ended up taking practical courses like accounting and other business classes which served me well. I came to work at VCU in 1995 and moved to the Office of the Dean for The College of Humanities and Sciences in 1998. I had always taken classes to help my job, but not the subjects I really loved. My daughter and sister, VCU alums, were the motivators. They knew I was getting a degree long before I did….

Getting to know my fellow students and learning from them has been one of the most fun aspects of this degree. I’ve been included in study groups, tutored, been tutored, and been to some fun parties. Why is this important? Because I was more than twice the age of the other students. So, at 65 when I am supposed to be thinking of retiring, I am graduating magna cum laude and thinking of what do I want to do next.”

Naomi E. Batten, who works in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies graduated with a degree in Psychology. She has been pursuing her undergraduate degree since 2003. Naomi writes:

Naomi Batten

“Being the first in my immediate family and the first on my fathers entire side of the family has helped motivate me to finish my studies.  I wouldn’t say that I’m the typical success story because I have had rocky times in my education.  I have taken off from school for two years because I was unable to afford it.  After managing to get a job with VCU I was able to begin classes again and am now finally graduating from college.  I have always been a firm believer that a person should complete what they begin and I would say that was my main motivation to this day.  My plans for post graduation include obtaining a full time position at the University and continuing my education through a Masters Certificate if I am accepted.”

Patsy and Naomi are both inspirations to part-time students, and anyone who has taken a detour from education and is considering going back to school! Congratulations to both of you on this tremendous achievement.

The Alexandrian Society in the Department of History is holding their upcoming Spring Symposium, “Atlantic Migration During Slavery: Part 2,” on April 25th from 9 am to 6 pm in the University Student Commons Theater. The symposium brings together a group of dynamic scholars in the field of Atlantic Studies.

Guest lecturers include David Eltis, Ph.D., Woodruff Professor of History, Emory University, presenting the keynote address, “Africa and the Americas: Some New Approaches to Tracking Transatlantic Connections.”

Other lecturers include Audra A. Diptee, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Carleton University, Kevin Dawson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Daryle Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Maryland, John Garrigus, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, University of Texas, Brooke Newman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, VCU, and Madge Dresser, D.Phil., Associate Professor, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

The Alexandrian Society is a student organization in the Department of History under the direction of Dr. Bernard Moitt for history majors and other students interested in history. The organization takes its name from the library at Alexandria, Egypt, one of the foremost centers of intellectual enlightenment in the ancient world.

The Symposium is presented with support from the VCU Student Government, the College of Humanities and Sciences, the Honors College, and the Global Education Office. This event is free and open to the public.

Click here for a complete schedule of speakers and topics.

Dr. E. William Colglazier, Science and Technology Adviser to the State Department and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will speak Friday at VCU on the subject of Science and Diplomacy. His lecture is sponsored by the Department of Physics.

Dr. Colglazier serves as an advocate for science‐based policy at the State Department, helps to identify and evaluate emerging scientific and technical issues that affect U.S. strategic interests, brings scientific expertise to the Department, and helps to promote scientific and technological capacity‐building and science‐based policymaking internationally.

He also provides outreach to the U.S. and international scientific community and helps to facilitate scientific cooperation between the United States and other countries. Dr. Colglazier strongly supports global scientific engagement by the United States to help advance science, solve global problems, and advance diplomacy.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012
3:00 PM
VCU School of Business, Snead Hall Auditorium,
301 W. Main Street

For additional information, contact:
Dr. Shiv Khanna, 828-1820 or snkhanna@vcu.edu or
Dr. Puru Jena, 828-8991 or pjena@vcu.edu

Read more about Dr. Colglazier.

Are women’s constitutional rights to contraception in danger? Should faith-based employers be permitted to opt out of contraceptive coverage from their federally mandated health insurance plans? Four panelists will debate the issue at a public conversation, featuring diverse and opposing views, that assesses religion’s effects on women’s fundamental rights in society and in American and international law.

Time will be reserved for audience Q & A. Featuring opening remarks by Barton Hinkle: Deputy Editor, Editorial Pages, Richmond Times-Dispatch.

PANELISTS
Jeffrey F. Caruso: Executive Director, Virginia Catholic Conference
William H. Hurd: Partner, Troutman Sanders and Adjunct Professor, George Mason University Law School
Jennifer L. McClellan: Virginia State Delegate, 71st District
Karen Raschke: Retired Attorney and Planned Parenthood Lobbyist
MODERATORS
Amb. (ret.) Randolph Bell: President, First Freedom Center
Isabelle Richman, JD, PhD: Faculty Associate, VCU Religious Studies Program

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 from 7 – 8:30 pm in the VCU Student Commons Theater
907 Floyd Avenue, Richmond, VA 23284
Free and open to the public

Co-sponsored by the First Freedom Center, the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, and made possible by the generous financial support of Bon Secours Richmond Foundation.

See the event flyer here.

Dr. Craig Larson

Dr. Craig Larson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, has won a Fulbright Research Grant to work with Gunnar Brinkmann at the University of Ghent on advancing research on graph theoretic independence number algorithms. Gunnar Brinkman is best known for discovering the Brinkmann graph in 1992; a 4-regular graph with 21 vertices and 42 edges. It was first published by Brinkmann and Meringer in 1997.

Dr. Larson will travel to the University of Ghent in the spring of 2013.

Dr Larson earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas in 2008 before joining the faculty at VCU. He is especially interested in bounds for the graph theoretic independence number, the structure of maximum independent sets, and theory and applications related to these topics.

Dr. Larson can be reached at clarson@vcu.edu.

Dean Jim Coleman welcomed members of the Dean’s Society and members of the Humanities and Sciences staff to a hospitality suite at the Siegel Center to watch the Rams take on the University of Northern Iowa during the BracketBusters tournament on February 17th. The Rams put on a great show for everyone in attendance the with a thrilling 77-68 victory over UNI.

The Dean’s Society is a group of committed alumni and friends of the College of Humanities and Sciences who have come together to help Dean Coleman raise awareness and promote the many successes of the College. The Dean and Dean’s Society were joined at the game by two new members of the Humanities and Sciences team: Bethanie Constant, Assistant Director of Development and Alumni Relations, and Gregg Johnson, Director of Communications.

A gallery of photographs from the game can be found here.