VCU news

By Raina Fields
Division for Inclusive Excellence

Six members of the Virginia Commonwealth University community, including the late Jan Chlebowski, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the School of Medicine’s associate dean for graduate education, were honored Thursday at the 2018 Presidential Awards for Community Multicultural Enrichment.

The 2018 honorees also include:

- Administrator award: Thomas Bannard, program coordinator, Rams in Recovery, Wellness Resource Center; and Carlton Goode, academic advisor, University Academic Advising

- Faculty award: Anita Nadal, assistant professor of Spanish, College of Humanities and Sciences, and faculty fellow for Latinx Community Inclusion

- Staff award: Corey Boone, assistant director of university events, Division of University Relations

- Student award: Lauren Griggs, graduate student, Department of Biomedical Engineering

The Presidential Awards for Community Multicultural Enrichment honor individuals who have made significant contributions toward enhancing VCU’s commitment to diversity, excellence and inclusion. Four separate awards are designated to recognize students, faculty, staff and administrators. Each recipient also receives $500. 

Nadal was also honored with the capstone award, the Riese-Melton, which is given for contributions to cross-cultural relations.

“This is a community that I know I can count on to advance our journey towards inclusion and excellence,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “Thank you for your hard work, but never give up on the idea that you can make a difference.”

In their remarks, honorees shared their thanks and their hopes for diversity and inclusion at VCU.

Bannard mentioned the importance of recognizing the hidden identities of those dealing with substance use issues and those in recovery.

“Students cannot aspire to a similar work if they don’t see their identity in positions of leadership,” he said.

“So here is my dream: That VCU distinguish itself as a flagship university for all things substance use related,” Bannard said, pointing to opportunities from curriculum to community engagement.

Goode was recognized for being a role model to men of color at VCU. He has developed two courses for men of color, one for first year students that acclimates them to the university environment and another for upperclassmen that provides career mentoring.

“Many African-American males are wondering, ‘Do I matter? Why do I feel invisible?’” Goode said. “If you are different, I see you. We value you and most of all we celebrate you. To males of color, you do matter at VCU.”

Nadal was described as a “driving force” by Jose Reveles, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences. Nadal has been involved with VERDE, a VCU student organization that works to deepen intercultural understanding and reduce the carbon-footprint of immigrant communities and Welcoming Richmond, an offering that prepares legal permanent residents in their journey to becoming U.S. citizens. She also has volunteered locally in support of Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Boone, meanwhile, has helped plan trainings on topics such as unconscious bias and inclusive communications for VCU communications staff and administrators. He has served as a fellow during the inaugural year of the Division for Inclusive Excellence’s Student Social Justice Fund, as a member and co-chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Week committee, as a junior board member of Side by Side and as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

“I come as one, but stand as 10,000,” said Boone, quoting Maya Angelou.

“You think of VCU, you think of family,” he said.

Griggs, a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschtein National Service Research awardee, is a program coordinator for Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a National Science Foundation-funded program committed to enriching STEM fields with talent from traditionally underrepresented groups. 

“My ultimate goal is to encourage students to take full advantage of what the university has to offer them and help them discover their own personal direction,” Griggs said Thursday.

Chlebowski, who led the Massey Cancer Center Structural Biology Shared Resource Core, was honored with the President’s Inclusive Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award. Chlebowski was instrumental in diversity and inclusion efforts in the School of Medicine and is remembered for his participation in more than 100 committees and organizations during his nearly 40-year career at VCU.

Much of his legacy focused on diversity education, retention initiatives and student success.

Harold Greenwald, graduate programs coordinator at the School of Medicine, worked with Chlebowski for 12 years and accepted the award.

“In many ways, Jan has set the bar quite high for all of us,” Greenwald said. “Thank you, Jan, for showing us the way.”