VCU news

Dear VCU and VCU Health Communities,

The recent announcement that Amazon chose Northern Virginia as one of two sites for its East Coast headquarters, along with New York, is welcome news and a testament to our state and VCU and Virginia's other major research universities.  In fact, one of the primary reasons for the selection was Virginia’s system of higher education and our ability to drive job growth that responds to major employers’ demands.

As acknowledged on Amazon’s NOVA headquarters website, Provost Hackett and I have been engaged from the beginning of this months-long process.  As negotiations drew to a close during the past several weeks, we met with state leaders at their request to reaffirm our staunch support.

VCU’s increased degree production in high demand areas, particularly in computer science and engineering, was an essential contributor to Amazon’s decision to locate in the Commonwealth.  Governor Northam and the General Assembly have created a pool of funds to incent this growth, and we anticipate executing a detailed memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth very soon.

As one of the top STEM degree producers in the state, we look forward to building the talent pipeline alongside our peer universities.

Thank you for all you do for Virginia Commonwealth University.

Sincerely,

Michael Rao
President
VCU and VCU Health System