Virginia Commonwealth University has a new critical-care hospital in downtown Richmond, an environmental life-sciences center that opened in the fall on the James River and a campus in Qatar that just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Those buildings are about more than bricks and mortar, says VCU Rector Thomas Rosenthal. They represent “a remarkable testament to the reach and breadth of this university.“

Students traveling abroad for Randolph-Macon College’s January term are doing more than sending postcards home. Nearly 200 students will spend time in 11 countries for the J-term travel-study program. Some are writing about their experiences in virtual diaries. In addition to academic courses, the program involves service learning to strengthen communities.

Forty-three Richmond-area teachers will be honored today by Virginia Commonwealth University for achieving certification from the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and VCU President Eugene P. Trani are scheduled to address the teachers from schools in the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico.

Two Virginia Commonwealth University professors have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sarah Spiegel, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the VCU School of Medicine, was recognized for her discovery of a potent lipid mediator with important roles in cancer, inflammation and allergy.

People love gossip. But what happens when the gossip is about you, and it’s posted on the Internet—by an anonymous source—for all to see? Vanessa Granby, a Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacy major from the Bronx, N.Y., experienced this when unflattering remarks about her appearance were posted in October. “I cant belive that boys really like her slopy booty,“ the poster wrote badly. “Her baby teeth and her to tight clothing. And come some one tell me why she had that weave in for like a week after you saw the tracks hanging out. She needs to be told she embareses New york.“

A University of Virginia project exploring the relationship between Christian spiritual beliefs and social practice has received a $2.1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. The grant will finance the Project on Lived Theology for an additional five years, from 2010 through 2014. It is the fourth major grant from the endowment. Craig Dykstra, senior vice president for religion at Lilly, said the project is helping individuals and communities carry forward the practices and wisdom of the Christian tradition.

Virginia Tech’s police department has two new members: Boomer, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, and Boris, a 2-year-old German shepherd. Both came to Tech from Germany by way of an Ohio police dog trainer and supplier. Boomer and his handler, officer Larry Wooddell, graduated from the Virginia State Police K-9 training school this summer. Boomer is Tech’s first explosives-detection K-9.

Two initiatives designed to help make college more affordable have received financial boosts. The University of Virginia announced yesterday that it has received $1 million for scholarships to help older students complete their degrees. And the College of William and Mary board of visitors said last week that the Gateway endowed fund for need-based aid has reached $10.7 million.

The College of William and Mary has received a $6 million gift to build a new career center on campus. Manhattan real estate developer Sherman Cohen, a Tidewater native who attended W&M for one semester in 1938, and his wife, Gloria, committed the funds for the $7.9 million facility. A ceremonial groundbreaking will take place Friday for the Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Career Center at the site of the building, between Walter J. Zable Stadium and the Sadler Center.

Survivors of the Virginia Tech massacre and the families of those who were slain told Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday the state must resolve conflicting accounts of how officials responded before and during the shootings.

Public university presidents’ salaries climbed 7.6 percent last year, according to the annual Chronicle of Higher Education survey released today. University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III was third on the list, with $797,048. The salary increases almost entirely reflect contracts signed before the economy turned sharply downward. Colleges and universities now are slashing budgets and laying off staff.

Virginia parents will pay more for a state guarantee of college tuition for their children. The price of a pre-paid tuition contract will rise 10.3 percent on Dec. 1 when the state offers parents a new chance at enrolling in a program that guards against rising tuition rates and falling investments. Those forces—a stock market that has hammered investments and tuition increases at state colleges and universities that have outpaced expectations—have prompted the Virginia College Savings Plan to raise prices for pre-paid contracts to bolster the program’s diminished reserve fund.

The chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee has stepped up pressure on Virginia Commonwealth University to hold former Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe accountable for the degree he received improperly. In a letter to VCU Rector Thomas Rosenthal, Del. Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford, spelled out three options for Monroe, now police chief of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, N.C.

Six Virginia schools are ranked among the 100 best values in public colleges, with the University of Virginia at No. 3 on the list. The annual rankings by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine also rate the University of Richmond as 22nd among best bargains in private schools. Schools making the lists combine “outstanding economic value with top-notch education,“ according to Kiplinger.

Two Virginia Commonwealth University professors have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sarah Spiegel, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the VCU School of Medicine, was recognized for her discovery of a potent lipid mediator with important roles in cancer, inflammation and allergy.