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Leading the River City Renaissance
By Lucy Balch
If you don’t live or work downtown, you might not have witnessed the change firsthand. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is going through a major transformation. “The 11-acre campus is nearly all under construction,” Pam Lepley, the director of the office of communications and public relations for VCU, says.
 One of the main goals of this transformation is to lure top-level researchers to the newly constructed, state-of-the-art facilities. This massive recruitment holds true for most of VCU’s schools, including the recently completed School of Engineering, located on the Monroe Park Campus Addition. It hopes to position itself among the top 25 engineering schools in the nation. The renovated School of Nursing has attracted top-notch faculty in an effort to increase student enrollments. The goal is to eliminate the nursing shortage in Virginia. The Massey Cancer Center Addition, completed in 2006, was crucial in recruiting top-level cancer researchers.
Improved quality extends to the Arts as well. VCU’s Brandcenter, named one of the world’s 60 best Design Schools by BusinessWeek in 2007, has a newly renovated building designed by internationally renowned architect Clive Wilkinson (in conjunction with Richmond-based Baskervill). The Brandcenter is touted by VCU president, Eugene P. Trani, as “continuing to reshape advertising and branding education.”
In his 2008 State of the City speech, Mayor Wilder says “we should not forget –and indeed feel fortunate – that our City is the home of Virginia Commonwealth University, which not only continues to grow in national and international stature year after year, but continues with academic and medical campus expansions that represent hundreds of millions in construction growth in just the past few years.”
The Mayor’s office has helped make the expansion possible by increasing public safety in downtown Richmond. Since 2005, crime is down by 22% – at its lowest rate in 26 years. Students, faculty and researchers alike are more confident about living in the city, and construction is keeping up with their needs by building new housing for students, new apartments in historic tobacco warehouses, and entirely new communities, such as the waterfront Rocketts Landing.
According to Anne L. Buckley, Associate Director of the Office of Communications and Public Relations for VCU, the university and health system make up the city’s “single largest employer.” With its focused campaign for improvement and expansion, the already substantial employment opportunities that VCU offers will skyrocket. Mayor Wilder’s office reports that 2,500 new jobs have been created in the city of Richmond since 2005, and this number will continue to grow in line with VCU’s growth. The possibilities are almost endless, making Richmond an economically vibrant city that offers opportunity where other cities have become stagnant.
Governor Tim Kaine agrees, saying, “It has always been my sense that the biggest single factor in Richmond’s economic renaissance was VCU. Their efforts to build the research park, the growth of their undergraduate program, and their work with the medical school have played a significant role in moving Richmond back in the right direction.”
River City thanks you, VCU.
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