Quest for Distinction
Summary
This source contains the university’s major goals, vision, mission and a brief account of the plan to achieve VCU’s aims. The source provides insights into the present and the future of the educational establishment. Core values of VCU are accountability, achievement, collaboration, freedom, innovation, service, diversity and integrity. VCU will achieve its strategic goals through paying special attention to talented and diverse educators and students, encouraging students to discover and innovate, providing scholarships and improving students’ creative expression and quality of life, achieving the national recognition in the field of clinical research. The university will also address a number of institutions that will implement analysis of VCU’s performance. This will enable the university to make sure that it manages to achieve the goals set.
Key Points
The university aims at obtaining a place among top universities specializing in the clinical research (“Quest for Distinction” 3). This unveils the future of VCU as it is clear where the university is heading.
VCU will enhance its students’ performance through its commitment to its major values (“Quest for Distinction” 4). Students of the university will share such values as commitment, creativity, diversity, social and environmental responsibility.
VCU will achieve its goals through investing into human capital, its innovative infrastructure, efficient fiscal resources allocation, resource stewardship (“Quest for Distinction” 10). These strategies will enable the university to become one of the leading schools within several years.
The plan implementation will be divided into the following stages: review of the goals and previous progress, setting strategic priorities and budgets, approving the plans and budgets, review of the progress, assessment of the progress (“Quest for Distinction” 11).
Key Quotations
“We will… hold ourselves accountable to the highest of standards in teaching, research, and service” (“Quest for Distinction” 2). This quote includes the major goal of the university and provides insights into the future of VCU.
“The diversification and expansion of resources is a vital action required for the success of our new vision” (“Quest for Distinction” 3). The quote unveils some of the major tools the university will use to achieve its goals.
Peifer, K. “Does Walmart on VCU Campus Mean the End of Grace Street as We know It?”
Summary
This article dwells upon the changes that are taking place in Richmond and the role VCU plays in this process. This source focuses on the present of the university. The author stresses that development of VCU was beneficial for the city as many people were attracted by new opportunities the successfully developing university offered. The author shares some memories on the way the city looked like in the 1990s. It is noted that there is certain commercialization of the city and the campus. However, it is also concluded that these changes are still beneficial for the city as well as the university since people have also changed and the new environment is more suitable for them.
Key Points
The growth of VCU has positively affected Richmond, which is now a modern university city, where thousands of students gain education and acquire new acquaintances (Peifer 1).
The city is changing and the university’s alumni may miss the old parts of the city as well as campus, but this is life and the past should remain in the past (Peifer 2).
The changes may be seen as commercialization of the city as well as the campus, which is quite a natural course of event in the modern society (Peifer 3).
However, people are also changing and, hence, the changes in the university are beneficial as the university (as well as the city) can respond to modern people’s needs (Peifer 4).
Key Quotations
“And VCU’s physical growth has revitalized long-neglected parts of town” (Peifer 1). It reveals the importance of VCU for the city at present.
“Today’s generation of VCU students is a different generation” (Peifer 4). It reflects the changes that are taking place, which enables the reader to predict the way the university will develop in the future and whether it will be able to become one of the top schools in the USA.
Hershey, Greg. “Back to Old School.”
Summary
The article dwells upon the way VCU has changed since the 1990s. The major focus is made on students and some information on the neighborhood is given. The author argues that VCU was a shabby university in the 1990s and students got there only if they could not afford anything better. However, at present, the university is full of ambitious young people who make use of technology. Contemporary students have healthy lifestyles and focus on their studies to be successful in their future careers. The new generation sets goals and knows how to achieve them.
Key Points
Alumni do not recognize their old school (Hershey 9). It is clear that the university of the 2010s has little to do with VCU of the 1990s.
Shaggy students studied at VCU in the 1990s (Hershey 9). The past of the university was not very bright in the 1990s.
Modern students have numerous gadgets and they live healthy lifestyles (Hershey 9). The present of the university is quite bright as it has become one of the most popular and successful educational establishments.
The new generation of students of VCU are ambitious and quite pretentious (Hershey 9). This suggests that students will definitely become high-profile professionals in the fields.
Key Quotations
“It was a shabby school surrounded by shabby neighborhoods” (Hershey 9). It reveals the nature (or the past) of VCU in the 1990s.
“We got full of ambition, pretension and the struggle for status” (Hershey 9). It reveals the university and its students in the 2010s. In other words, it reveals the present of VCU and gives some insights into its future.
Synthesis
The sources in question provide valuable and comprehensive insights into the past and present of VCU. They also help predict the future of the university. The university has a very long history. Bonis, Koste and Lyons provide insights into the past of the university, which was established in the 19th century and it focused on teaching medicine (7). Introduction of the book is related to the rest of the sources as it serves as the background of the entire topic. It provides the information on the beginning of history of the educational establishment. Of course, this chapter is in major contrast with the report data and the newspaper articles (Hershey 9; Peifer 1), as it depicts the university as a small hardly known facility while the latter sources describe VCU as one of top schools (with a variety of courses) in the USA. Thus, it is clear that there were only a number of courses and a limited number of students. It was a small local educational establishment that did not have a nation-wide fame.
Chapter four of the book mentioned above is a continuation of the history of VCU that evolved throughout the 20th century. It is noted that, at the beginning of the 20th century, the university started developing rapidly. Its management enabled to expand the boundaries. Thus, in the first half of the 20th century, the school offered new courses in humanities and core sciences. Clearly, this was a great step forward, as the university could provide more services, attract more students and educators. This chapter is connected with the newspaper articles mentioned above as it dwells upon the development of the university in the 20th century. This source stresses that there were quite significant changes in the university in the middle of the 20th century. At the same time, the newspaper article show that this development stopped in the 1990s.
Chapter 8 of the book mentioned above focuses on particular people who contributed greatly into the evolution of VCU. It is stated that there were people who made a tremendous contribution into the development of the university. President Trani was one of these people. He helped develop global relationships with universities of other countries. He also paid specific attention to female empowerment. For instance, under his management, the university established relations with educational establishment of Qatar. It is noteworthy that the university did not have bright times in the 1990s as it lagged behind. This source stresses the contrast between the glory of the university in the middle of the 20th century and the stagnation of the 1990s. Of course, the report “Common Data Set 2014-2015” provides data that show that the contributions of the people mentioned are very important as they enabled the university to achieve such high results in the 21st century.
At present, it is one of the top schools and its growth has had a great impact on the development of the city. Modern students of VCU are ambitious people who can set major goals and achieve them. It is clear that the university has a sophisticated plan that will enable it to become one of the most successful educational establishments in the USA (and in the entire world). The plan developed by the university’s management is detailed and it reveals the university’s commitment. The newspaper articles depict the modern university that is one of the top schools. The report can be regarded as particular evidence of the information provided in the articles. The data suggest that the university has achieved very high results.
It is possible to assume that VCU has a bright future as the university is committed to achieve goals that are set. The plan of the educational establishment “Quest for Distinction” suggests that the goals are achievable and the university is going to use effective tools to become one of the top schools in the field of clinical research. Of course, it will also offer a variety of courses in different spheres and disciplines, which will attract students from all over the country (and even world). Nonetheless, the focus on clinical research is a very important milestone for the university. It is clear that medicine will be one of priorities of the humanity in the 21st century and, hence, clinical research will be one of the most advanced fields. Of course, VCU will satisfy the demand, as it will provide skilled professionals in this sphere.
Works Cited
Bonis, Ray, Jodi Koste and Curtis Lyons. The History of Virginia Commonwealth University. Chicago, IL: Arcadia, 2006. Print.
Common Data Set 2014-2015. 2014. Web.
Hershey, Greg. “Back to Old School.” Brick Weekly. 20: 9. Print.
Peifer, K. “Does Walmart on VCU Campus Mean the End of Grace Street as We know It?” Richmond Times-Dispatch 2014. Web.
Quest for Distinction. 2011. Web.