VCU Celebrates Alumni Month in April

By Tom Gresham

Virginia Commonwealth University celebrates its inaugural Alumni Month in April with a full calendar of activities scheduled in the Richmond community, including an evening out in area restaurants, Reunion Weekend, a night at The Diamond and a new program that will help VCU alumni spread their school spirit at work.

VCU Alumni Month, which will become an April tradition, launches Thursday with open houses at the Richard T. Robertson Alumni House, 924 W. Franklin St., on the Monroe Park Campus, and at the MCV Alumni House and Paul A. Gross Conference Center, 1016 E. Clay St., on the MCV Campus. VCU alumni are invited to visit during the open houses to learn about the benefits and services that the VCU and MCV Alumni Associations have to offer. There will be food, giveaways and prizes.

“Alumni Month provides many and varied opportunities for alumni to reconnect and engage with one another, as well as students, faculty and staff at VCU,” said Gordon McDougall, assistant vice president of University Alumni Relations at VCU. “The calendar includes a full range of intellectual, cultural, recreational and leadership events to celebrate the university and showcase Rams spirit.”

Highlights of the month include:

• Fridays all month, “Rams at Work Fridays:” VCU alumni can sign up to receive a box of VCU spirit items to distribute to friends and colleagues at work. The program will run each Friday in April, except for Good Friday on April 2.
• April 10, “Rams Night Out:” Trolleys will transport participating alumni to several restaurants between the two VCU campuses for an evening of food and fun. Those who visit each of the destinations on the route will be eligible for a variety of prizes.
• April 23-25, “Reunion Weekend:” VCU hosts its annual Reunion Weekend for MCV Campus alumni, the African-American Alumni Council and Richmond Professional Institute alumni. Events include receptions, dinners, lectures, tours and much more.
• April 24, Resumes, Interviewing, CareerBeam and Social Media: VCU alumni can participate in three career-focused workshops in the Forum Room of VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. – “Resume Writing and Behavioral Interviewing,” 9 a.m.; “CareerBeam Demonstration,” (demonstration of new career exploration program with personal assessment tools and job databases, available to VCU alumni) 10 a.m.; “Using Social Media for Marketing,” 11 a.m.
• April 30, “VCU Alumni Night at The Diamond:” Discounted tickets are available to VCU alumni for the night’s baseball game featuring the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

For additional information, including a full schedule of events for Alumni Month, visit http://www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/Alumnimonth or call (804) 828-2586.