Virginia Commonwealth University


Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia General Assembly merged MCV with the Richmond Professional Institute, founded in 1917, to create Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2022, more than 28,000 students pursued 217 degree and certificate programs through VCU's 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health System supports health care education, research, and patient care.
VCU had a record $506 million in sponsored research funding in the fiscal year 2024 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". VCU's athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I and are collectively known as the VCU Rams. They are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The VCU campus includes historic buildings such as the Egyptian Building, the White House of the Confederacy and the Ginter House, now used by the school's provost.

History

VCU's history began in 1838 when the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College opened in Richmond, Virginia. In 1844, it moved into its first permanent home, the Egyptian Building. In 1854, the Medical Department of Hampden–Sydney College received an independent charter from the Virginia General Assembly and became the Medical College of Virginia. A few years later in 1860, MCV conveyed all its property to the Commonwealth of Virginia and becomes a state institution in exchange for $30,000.
As the Civil War began, Richmond became a focal point for battle and politics. After a long siege, Ulysses S. Grant captured Petersburg and Richmond in early April 1865. As the fall of Petersburg became imminent, on Evacuation Sunday, President Davis, his Cabinet, and the Confederate defenders abandoned Richmond and fled south. The retreating soldiers were under orders to set fire to bridges, the armory, and supply warehouses as they left. The fire in the largely abandoned city spread out of control, and along with Union shelling, large parts of Richmond, and virtually all MCV buildings, were destroyed. The city surrendered the next day; Union troops put out the raging fires in the city. Because of the worthless Confederate currency and high inflation, the medical school sold its ambulance horse for enough money to continue operation.
After the Civil War MCV participated significantly in medical advances, including in anesthesia and antisepsis. In 1893, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, later University College of Medicine, was established by Hunter Holmes McGuire, Stonewall Jackson's friend and personal doctor who had amputated Jackson's arm, just three blocks away from MCV. In 1912, McGuire Hall opened as the new home of the University College of Medicine. The following year, MCV and UCM merged through the efforts of George Ben Johnston and Stuart McGuire. MCV acquired the Memorial Hospital as a result of the merger.
Richmond Professional Institute traces its roots back to 1917, when it began as the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health. In 1925, it became the Richmond division of The College of William & Mary. In 1939, this division became the Richmond Professional Institute of The College of William & Mary. In 1947, the MCV Foundation was incorporated and in 1962 RPI separated from William & Mary to become an independent state institution. Then in 1968, state legislation merged MCV and RPI to become Virginia Commonwealth University. Descendant of Thomas Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize winner and editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginius Dabney was named the first Rector of VCU and went on to write Virginia Commonwealth University: A Sesquicentennial History.

Expansion

Warren W. Brandt was the first president of VCU. During his tenure, 32 degree programs were added, and the School of Allied Health Professions and the School of Community Services were established. In addition, more than $20 million of new construction was completed or initiated on both campuses, including the James Branch Cabell Library, Rhoads Hall, the School of Business building, the Larrick Student Center and a large addition to Sanger Hall.
In the 1980s, and under the leadership of VCU President Edmund Ackell, a major overhaul of the university's governance system and administrative structure was initiated. Ackell lead the administration in instituting a new system for both short-range and long-range university planning; establishing faculty convocation and a new set of faculty tenure and promotion guidelines; and establishing greater access to the community by supporting the use of the university's research and educational resources to meet social needs. Eugene Trani became the president of VCU in 1990. During his tenure VCU became one of the largest universities in Virginia, growing from an enrollment of 21,764 in 1990, to 32,284 at the time of his retirement. VCU was the state's first university to enroll over 30,000 students. Under Trani's leadership VCU and the VCU Health System undertook more than $2.2 billion in capital construction and renovation projects.
In 2013, VCU was awarded a $62 million federal grant to oversee a national research consortium of universities, hospitals and clinics to study what happens to service members and veterans who suffer mild traumatic brain injuries or concussions.
In 2010, VCU received a $20 million National Institutes of Health grant to join a nationwide consortium of research institutions working to turn laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The Clinical and Translational Science Award made VCU the only academic health center in Virginia to join the CTSA network. In 2011, the university's Carnegie classification was changed to "Very High Research Activity," with over 255 million in sponsored research.
In 2009, Michael Rao was appointed the fifth president of VCU. President Rao oversaw a major expansion in enrollment, funding and facilities at VCU. The construction of the Engineering Research and STEM buildings solidified VCU's strategy of becoming a leading scientific university. In 2022, VCU received a $104 million gift, the largest in university history, to support a new Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health. The university surpassed $400 million in sponsored research funding. As a result, VCU was designated a top 50 university by the National Science Foundation for research expenditures. In 2018, a series of protests by adjunct faculty were held at VCU, over low pay and no benefits. Ahead of the 2018-19 budget, $4.2 million was allocated to increase adjunct faculty funding from $800 to $1,000 per credit hour, about $1,000 less than what the coalition was demanding. The administration implemented a campus plan which featured a campus green, arts building, dormitories, general student facilities, and renovations of the historic buildings on campus.
Students at VCU took part in the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, assembling an encampment in front of the school library in April 2024. After roughly 12 hours, VCU, Richmond and state police violently dispersed the encampment, pepper spraying students and using riot shields and smoke bombs to disperse students and destroy the encampment's temporary structures. VCU closed the library, which is ordinarily open until 3 AM, while the encampment was being dispersed, and locked students inside of it. 13 students were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, but the charges were later dropped. VCU revised its campus policies in the aftermath of the encampment protest, banning forms of political expression including the use of sidewalk chalk and gatherings of more than 50 people without the university's permission. In 2025, two student leaders had their degrees withheld. One of the students was given her degree back after appealing the disciplinary charges against her.

Campuses

Virginia Commonwealth University has two main campuses in Richmond, Va.: the Monroe Park Campus, located west of downtown Richmond, and the MCV Campus in the urban center. Additionally, VCU has a branch campus in Education City, Doha, Qatar, along with numerous regional facilities.

Monroe Park Campus

Named after the city park, the Monroe Park Campus took its name in June 2004, replacing the former name, the Academic Campus of VCU. The Monroe Park Campus houses most of VCU's general education facilities, and is situated on the eastern end of the Fan district, a historic, late 19th-century neighborhood adjacent to downtown Richmond. Prior to the merger of the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia, the campus was the home to the entire Richmond Professional Institute. Today, the campus has a mixture of modern and vintage buildings, with over 40 structures built before 1900.

MCV Campus

The MCV Campus is home to the VCU Medical Center, which includes the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Public Health, the VCU College of Health Professions, and the medical center, which is overseen by the VCU Health System Authority. The campus is also home to the Massey Cancer Center and the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. The MCV Campus is an integral part of Richmond in the old Court End district. The neighborhood is located adjacent to the city's business and financial district near the state capitol. VCU's Health Sciences schools are the College of Health Professions, the School of Dentistry, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, the School of Pharmacy, and .

VCU satellite and research locations

  • Virginia Bio-Technology Research Park was incorporated in May 1992 as a joint initiative of Virginia Commonwealth University, the City of Richmond and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The research park is home to more than 60 life science companies, research institutes and state/federal labs, employing more than 2,200 scientists, engineers and researchers.
  • Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences is located on along the James River. The center has a primary focus of research on the science and policy of large rivers and their fringing riparian and wetland landscapes.
  • VCU Medical Center at Stony Point, in southwestern Richmond
  • VCU School of Medicine Inova Campus
  • VCU School of Pharmacy Inova Campus
  • VCU School of Pharmacy University of Virginia Division