VCU news

By Emily Komornik
Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation

The Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation partnered to create the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund to support, facilitate and enhance the creation, production and dissemination of arts, humanities and social sciences research in 2022. In its second year, this internal grant opportunity continues to grow and support VCU’s research in these fields by awarding 10 projects with a total investment of nearly $100,000. 

Award recipients of the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund are identified through a rigorous peer review process with the emphasis on projects that expand imagination, innovation, self-reflection and society as well as cultural identity. Researchers across a range of fields were recognized with awards. 

“This is a joint effort to support scholarly works in these specific and sometimes underfunded fields that we hope will lead to new books, exhibitions, publications and more by our eminent scholars from VCU,” said P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation. “A second year of funding is one of many key investments behind our strategic plan for research that we know will generate lasting scholarly impact – something to build upon that will ultimately facilitate a network of multifaceted inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations and connections here at VCU and beyond.”

“As we elevate the VCU student experience, we are committed to increasing the number of undergraduate students who participate in formal research and activities that create knowledge in every field of study,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Humanities students are a vital part of VCU’s unstoppable communities of student scholars. Research opportunities are designed to promote hands-on learning, foster creativity and collaboration across disciplines and develop creative thinking, problem-solving skills and career readiness. And the thousands of VCU students who participate in formal research opportunities earn higher grades and graduate faster – successes we want for every student.”

To qualify for funding, the research projects must be aligned with Quest 2028: One VCU Together We Transform as well as the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan. The One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan, a six-year plan, is in its second year and continues toward engaging the VCU community by creating a culture of collaboration and inspiring researchers to improve and enhance the human condition while addressing societal grand challenges.

The One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan has four key initiatives: Enriching the human experience, achieving a just and equitable society, optimizing health and supporting sustainable energy and environments. Each project funded through VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund primarily responds to the initiatives and objectives of the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan. Of the 10 projects that received funding, seven are responsive toward enriching the human experience, two are responsive toward achieving a just and equitable society and one is responsive toward supporting sustainable energy and environments. 

The 2023 awardees of the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund and their projects are:

• Kai Bosworth, Ph.D., assistant professor of international studies, School of World Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences, “Protectors of the Subsurface: Knowledge and Imagination of the Underground in Contemporary Public Environmentalism.”
• Yossera Bouchtia, assistant professor of cinema, School of the Arts, “Afri; Unburying a Feminine Deity in North Africa through a Narrative Film.”

• Jessica Trisko Darden, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, College of Humanities and Sciences, “Unequal Justice: Women’s Accountability for Nazi-Era War Crimes.”

• Sinclair Emoghene, assistant professor of dance and choreography, School of the Arts, “Living Archive: Analysis, Description and Assemblages of African Dance.”

• Sasha Waters Freyer, professor of photography and film, School of the Arts, “GARRY WINOGRAND ARCHIVE 1948-1984.”

• Katie Logan, Ph.D., associate professor of focused inquiry, University College, and Gabriel Reich, professor of teaching and learning, School of Education, “The Memory Studies Lab.” 

• Bernard Means, Ph.D., assistant professor, School of World Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences, “An Ice Age ‘Monster’ Returns to The Peale: An Inclusive Exhibit Featuring Comic Art and Replicated Mastodon Fossils.”

• Daniel Morales, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, College of Humanities and Sciences, and Gabriela León-Pérez, Ph.D., assistant professor
   of sociology, College of Humanities and Sciences, “Latino Virginia.”

• Lauren Thorson, assistant professor of graphic design, School of the Arts, “The Drawing Room.”

• David Toney, assistant professor of theatre and head of undergraduate performance, School of the Arts, “Elysian Fields: What is the Ability of the Black Man to Protect and Support the Black Family in a White Patriarchal Society.”

To learn more about the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund as well as additional One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan internal funding opportunities, visit onevcuresearch.vcu.edu/.  To find external funding supporting knowledge creation in and across all disciplines, visit research.vcu.edu/resources/funding-opportunities/.