As VCU celebrates its 40th birthday, Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President Scott Burger calls on VCU and the Richmond community to reflect on the university’s encroachment into surrounding neighborhoods.

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This is a positive development. I am assuming this is ADA compliant (?). Hopefully there will be more ADA improvements in the future.

William Byrd Community House is pleased to announce the next lecture in its Hans S. Falck Lectureship on Social Responsibility, Civil Rights and Race Relations in Virginia Public Education: A Case Study in Social Change, for Thursday, October 23, 2008 from 7-9PM at St. Andrew’s School Auditorium (236 S Laurel St., Richmond, VA 23220). For additional information and directions call: 804-643-2717 or visit the WBCH website at: http://wbch.org.

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More followup to the impetus. But why is it in the TD’s ‘Entertainment’ section?

A task force of Virginia Commonwealth University professors and administrators is recommending a new corporate research review committee to implement updated guidelines on business-sponsored research at the school.

Dear Monroe Park Campus Community Advisory Group:

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 1, at noon, VCU will conduct our once-a-month emergency siren test on both the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses to ensure that the sirens are in proper working order. This test also serves to ensure that the siren batteries are fully charged. Unlike the test near the beginning of each semester which is a two-minute wail, the monthly tests consist of a one minute wail of the siren.

A reminder about text messaging and our VCU Alert Web site: text messaging is one of VCU’s primary channels for rapid communications and information. Text messages will be used for notifications about emergencies and closings and delays for inclement weather. There is no cost for enrolling. If you haven’t done so already, you may sign up for text messaging at www.vcu.edu/alert/notify. You can also subscribe on this same web page for email alerts. Emergency information also will be available on the VCU Alert Web site at www.vcu.edu/alert, which is also accessible off the VCU homepage at www.vcu.edu, and if you have signed up for them, you will receive an e-mail alert in a real emergency.

With this routine now well established, I will only e-mail the Community Advisory Group when there is any enhancement or change about which you would want to know. And please, do not hesitate to forward this email to your neighbors, to help spread the word about the siren test.

Sincerely,

SAM

Sue Ann Messmer
Chief of Staff, Office of the President
and Vice President for External Relations
phone: (804) 828-1200
fax: (804) 828-7532
e-mail: samessme@vcu.edu

Lets work to keep it Open in Oregon Hill.

Thanks,
Scott

For Immediate Release Contact: Charles Pyle
September 10, 2008 Director of Communications
(804) 371-2420
Julie C. Grimes
Communications Manager
(804) 225-2775

Virginia Schools Earn Federal Blue Ribbon Honors

The U.S. Department of Education has designated seven Virginia public schools and three parochial schools as 2008 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.

The public schools receiving federal Blue Ribbon School status are as follows:

Edgemont Primary in Covington
Graham Road Elementary in Fairfax County
Ocean View Elementary in Norfolk
Open High in Richmond
Springwoods Elementary in Prince William County
Temperance Elementary in Amherst County
Virginia L. Murray Elementary in Albemarle County

“These schools share a commitment to instruction and accountability that is grounded in the belief that all children can succeed,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Billy K. Cannaday Jr., who nominated the schools for federal recognition.

All of the public 2008 NCLB Blue Ribbon Schools earned awards earlier this year through the Virginia Index of Performance program that recognizes schools and divisions that exceed state and federal accountability standards. Virginia L. Murray Elementary in Albemarle County earned the Governor’s Award for Education Excellence while the others received the Board of Education’s VIP Excellence Award.

Three schools in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Holy Spirit School in Annandale, St. John Academy in McLean and Nativity School in Burke, were also recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools. The Council for American Private Education nominates private and parochial schools for Blue Ribbon awards each year.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established in 1982 to spotlight the country’s most successful schools. The program, which allows both elementary and secondary schools to be recognized in the same year, was renamed and modified last year to emphasize the goals of NCLB.

The U.S. Department of Education will honor Virginia’s Blue Ribbon Schools during an awards ceremony in October. Two people from each school, the principal and a teacher, will be invited to the ceremony where the schools will receive a plaque and a flag signifying their Blue Ribbon Status. Since 1982, more than 100 Virginia public and private schools have received federal Blue Ribbon designations.

# # #

Dear Monroe Park Campus Community Advisory Group:

I wanted to let our neighbors know that at noon on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, VCU will conduct a full test of its emergency communications system.
The full test of the system will include 10 sirens on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses along with text messages, digital signs, e-mails and Web site information that are part of a multi-channel system for communicating emergency information to VCU students, employees, parents and neighbors.

The sirens will sound a fast, up-and-down wail for three minutes, and after a one-minute pause, sound a steady wail for one minute to signal “all clear” to end the test.

We want to remind our neighbors that in a real emergency, sirens will sound for four minutes to signal that an immediate, life-threatening emergency has occurred or is imminent. The purpose of the siren is to alert people outside of campus buildings to immediately seek secure shelter and additional information. People in campus buildings should remain where they are and seek additional information about what is happening and how to respond. People off campus should not come to campus but should seek additional information. Once the campus environment is determined to be safe, the “all clear” even tone siren will be activated for two minutes.

A reminder about text messaging and our VCU Alert Web site: text messaging is the only channel available that can provide personal communication to you wherever you have cell phone service. Text messages will be used for notifications about emergencies, but will also be used to announce closings and delays for inclement weather. There is no cost for enrolling. If you haven’t done so already, you may sign up for text messaging now at www.vcu.edu/alert/notify.

Emergency information also will be available on the VCU Alert Web site at www.vcu.edu/alert, (also accessible off the VCU homepage at www.vcu.edu).

Following the test, we welcome your comments or feedback. You can e-mail us at vcualert@vcu.edu.

In addition, please note that full tests of the VCU Emergency Communications system are conducted near the beginning of each semester. Monthly checks of the siren system, consisting of a one-minute fast wail that also recharge the siren batteries, are conducted at noon on the first Wednesday of each month.

As always, we will communicate with our community neighbors when there is any enhancement or change about which you would want to know. And please, do not hesitate to forward this email to your neighbors, to help spread the word about the siren test.

Sincerely,

e-mail: samessme@vcu.edu

On behalf of Oregon Hill residents, I wish to express my appreciation for Michael Paul Williams’ Times Dispatch column this morning.

The school has increased its enrollment by 9,000 students during the past decade. But it has struggled to keep pace — from a standpoint of resources and faculty — to fulfill its academic mission.

Critics of school President Eugene P. Trani, who is stepping down in July, have long complained that he has placed development and enrollment growth above academics. They might call the U.S. News & World Report ranking the chickens coming home to roost.

As the Trani era ends, his successor’s main task will be to restore confidence in academic integrity and to enhance — or repair — VCU’s national stature.

VCU’s promise must not be compromised by its unbridled growth. The school must scale down its ambitions to meet its academic mission. If it is to become a true up-and-comer, quality — not quantity — must be job one.

Despite the hard feelings, Oregon Hill residents are sorry that VCU did not get nationally ranked, we do want what is best for our neighbors (including students getting a quality recreational center), but we are also happy to see that common sense is coming to bear.

Pretty low it seems. But back to this project…this is before adding the water. Tuitions Gone Wild, indeed!

This Wednesday, August 6, at noon, VCU will conduct our once-a-month emergency siren test on both the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses to ensure that the sirens are in proper working order. Unlike the test near the beginning of each semester which is a two-minute wail, the monthly tests consist of a short, 15-second burst.

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