VCU news

By Chad Meister

Equality VCU, an advocacy body representing the LGBT community at Virginia Commonwealth University, honored three dedicated individuals at the Burnside-Watstein LGBT Awards Ceremony on Oct. 29.

The annual awards are given to individuals who enrich the community in and around VCU and make a difference in the lives of LGBT faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members.

“It’s a great feeling being able to work with so many people dedicated to making VCU an all-inclusive university,” said Wanda Mitchell, Ed.D., vice president of the VCU Division for Inclusive Excellence. “These individuals have all worked hard to make VCU ‘one.’”

Recipients of the awards this year were staff members Lisa Furr and Jeff Wing, and undergraduate student Caitlin Tolson.

As the project coordinator for the Central Virginia Task Force on Domestic Violence in Later Life, Furr has worked diligently to raise awareness and improve community response related to domestic violence and sexual abuse. Furr’s work with Equality VCU is a small part of her activism efforts, which extend deep into VCU and the local community as a whole.

Wing, director of the National Scholarship Office and former co-chair of Equality VCU, has contributed several key pieces to VCU’s Quest for Distinction. Wing’s accomplishments include the development of Equality VCU’s mission and goals, as well as implementation of Lavender Graduation, a special ceremony that honors the achievements of graduating gender-and sexual-minority students and their allies on campus.

Although just a sophomore, Tolson has been highly active in the LGBT community at VCU since beginning her undergraduate degree and serves as a voice for those students in the community who seek equality.

 

Subscribe for free to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday.