VCU drives societal change with 10 new Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund awards

By Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation staff

What connects artificial intelligence with urban agriculture? The human experience. From guiding the ethical use of emerging technologies and workforce training to learning about the culture and community practices of urban farmers, our understanding of society is shaped by the knowledge we create.

To drive this vital research forward, the Virginia Commonwealth University Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund – a joint initiative of the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation – has dedicated nearly $100,000 this year to launch 10 projects exploring these critical intersections.

Award recipients of the VCU AHSS Fund are identified through a peer review process with an 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.

“The exceptional quality of proposals we receive year after year proves that VCU is a powerhouse for creative and humanistic inquiry,” said P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation. “This fund is a cornerstone of our strategic research vision, providing our eminent faculty in the arts, humanities and social sciences fields with the vital resources needed to push boundaries, challenge paradigms and produce definitive works that elevate VCU’s standing as a premier research institution.”

“True academic distinction lies in our ability to integrate world-class research with hands-on learning,” added Arturo Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and provost. “In a world that continues to change more and more rapidly, the humanities and arts are central to fostering creativity, problem-solving skills and helping us understand what it means to be human. By supporting our faculty’s scholarly pursuits, we are simultaneously building a richer, more engaging environment that propels our students toward academic and career success as global citizens.”

To qualify for funding through the VCU Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Fund, the research projects must further the goals of the Strategic Research Priorities Plan and research cluster areas. Each project must correspond with at least one of the four key research initiatives: enriching the human experience, optimizing health, advancing societal wellbeing, and supporting sustainable energy and environments.

Here are the 10 projects, and their faculty recipients, that received funding in 2026:

Emergent Strategies for Reimagining Social Change through Urban Agriculture

Meghan Gough, Ph.D., L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Susan Bodnar-Deren, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences

“P” and Me: Sarah Pettit and the Out Generation

Julianna Guillard, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences

Ethical Artificial Intelligence Readiness in Vocational Rehabilitation: A Framework and Measurement Development Study

Kanako Iwanaga, Ph.D., College of Health Professions

Jiale Hu, Ph.D., College of Health Professions

Empowering Preservice Teachers in the East End: Leveraging Ethnographic Pedagogy in Teacher Education

Kendra Johnson, Ph.D., School of Education

Lisa Cipolletti, Ed.D., School of Education

Planting Community Futures: An Interdisciplinary Transmedia Exhibition

Lillian Lewis, Ph.D., School of the Arts

Mothers of Volcanoes

Tesora Molina-Garcia, MFA, School of the Arts

Blood on the Highway: Murder, Majesty and the Origins of Modern Policing in Regency London

Brooke Newman, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences

The Impacts of Environmental Governance in the U.S. Territories

Andrea Simonelli, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Sciences

Ethics, Memory and Justice: Oral Histories of Black Dental Practice in Virginia

Carlos Smith, D.D.S., M.Div., School of Dentistry

Sarah Raskin, Ph.D., L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Does Generative AI Enhance or Disrupt Creative Joy? A Mixed-Methods Study of Art Students’ Flow Experiences With and Without the Use of GenAI in the Creative Process

Yi Wen Wei, Ph.D., School of the Arts

Since its inception, the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund has funded 38 faculty members across eight schools and 28 departments and units, resulting in a total investment of $337,328. The fund goes beyond VCU faculty members, engaging undergraduate and graduate students, the Richmond community and local, national and international organizations.

To learn more about the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund as well as additional Strategic Research Priorities Plan internal funding opportunities, visit the plan’s funding page or contact ovprifunds@vcu.edu.