Willie B. Fuller became Virginia Commonwealth University’s police chief with a bachelor’s degree of questionable quality.

Bryan Batten Crutchfield Three lions of Virginia journalism will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Virginia Press Association this spring. J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman of Media General Inc. and former publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, will join Frank Batten Sr. and George T. Crutchfield in receiving recognition during the VPA/Associated Press News Conference and Annual Meeting the weekend of March 20-21 in Norfolk.

Virginia Commonwealth University Police Chief Willie B. Fuller used the screen name “Hotcop2006” when, authorities say, he used a home computer to sexually solicit a chat room contact he believed was a 14-year-old girl.

Family advocate Alicia Rasin pleaded for the public’s assistance tonight in helping the mother and seven brothers and sisters of 2-year-old Kristofer L. Jefferson, who died last night of a gunshot wound to the head.

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.“

Virginia Commonwealth’s basketball series with George Mason dates to 1981. But a rivalry between the state schools, in the opinion of GMU coach Jim Larranaga, didn’t really develop until a few years ago, when both became consistent contenders in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Rams (7-1, 14-5) and Patriots (7-1, 14-4) are a big enough draw now that they’ll be on national television (ESPN2) today at 4 p.m., battling for first place in front of what’s expected to be a sellout crowd at the Siegel Center.

When photographer Rick Guidotti started looking through medical books for information about the genetic disorder albinism, all the images he saw depicted sadness and lifelessness. People with the condition lack pigment in their hair, skin and eyes. Many grow up teased and shunned. Pictures often show them unsmiling, eyes downcast and hunched over.

Sophomore forward Lance Kearse said he is leaving the VCU basketball team. In a telephone conversation last night, Kearse indicated he would probably transfer. “Basically, Coach Grant and I are going our separate ways,“ he said, referring to Rams coach Anthony Grant. “There were a couple of issues, but I really can’t talk about it right now.“

Virginia Commonwealth (7-1, 14-5) and George Mason (7-1, 14-4) battle tomorrow at the Siegel Center to remain in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The winner will earn a tiebreaker edge and have at least a share of the top spot with Northeastern, if the Huskies win at Old Dominion.

The Radio Advertising Bureau has pledged $250,000 to expand the curriculum at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter. The bureau will donate $50,000 annually for the next five years as part of a new partnership with the center. Rick Boyko, director of the Brandcenter, said the funding will not just expand VCU’s radio-advertising curriculum but will “help us to evolve the program” overall.

The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame will add five names to its roster this year: a print journalist, an educator, a First Amendment lawyer, a former talk show host and a broadcast executive. The 2009 inductees increase the hall’s membership to 112. They are:

In the spring of 1992, forensics expert and crime writer Patricia Cornwell was moderator of a Richmond Forum panel discussion on DNA procedures. A large, elaborate model of a DNA molecule was a prop for the event. Heads turned when Catherine Keefe’s friend exclaimed, “You have one of those in your basement, don’t you?“ She did, indeed—a model built by her father, Dr. William E. Keefe, and later put on display at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center.

A Virginia Commonwealth University foundation has purchased the property at Grace and Harrison streets where Ukrop’s operated a store until last spring. The VCU Real Estate Foundation bought the property last month for $9 million from BET Investments Inc., a Pennsylvania-based development company. But VCU’s plans are on hold for now because Ukrop’s Super Markets Inc. has a lease on the property through 2018, said Brian Ohlinger, VCU’s associate vice president for facilities management.

Virginia Commonwealth University will set up a confidential help line to make it easier for a whistle-blower to stop an ethics violation such as the one that led to the improper awarding of a bachelor’s degree to a former Richmond police chief. The tip line will be set up next month by an outside vendor to ensure confidentiality, VCU faculty and staff members were told yesterday at a campus forum on ethics.