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.

Until more testing can be done, Army medics are being told to stop using a new product developed at Virginia Commonwealth University to help control bleeding among wounded troops.

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.

A Richmond economic development official has been charged with cocaine possession. C. Cary Brown, 45, of the 600 block of West Franklin St., was arrested Nov. 13 after a Nov. 4 traffic stop at Leigh and Lombardy streets by Virginia Commonwealth University police.

To Athleen Moore, yesterday’s commencement ceremony at Virginia Commonwealth University was just the icing on the cake for her graduate granddaughter, Nicole Williams.

Nuclear engineering studies is making a comeback in Virginia. Some of the state’s universities have added programs, are planning to do so or are considering it because of renewed interest in the nuclear industry.

Two Virginia Commonwealth University students are learning a lesson in tenant law. They want to get out of their lease. But unless they are military personnel called to active duty, they are bound by their lease, according to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Still, they say they are dealing with an extenuating circumstances. And it has to do with a rat.

Two Virginia Commonwealth University students are learning a lesson in tenant law. They want to get out of their lease. They say they are dealing with extenuating circumstances. And it has to do with a rat.

Bill Cosby wove biblical allegories with tales from his childhood to bring a simple message to Virginia Commonwealth University students last night. “You’re in college,“ he told them. “Value yourself.“

A president who will look out for the arts. And who understands the needs of a research university. Someone who will build more topranked programs to raise the university’s national standing. The committee trying to find a successor to Eugene P. Trani has heard all that and more as it searches for a new president for Virginia Commonwealth University.

Fort Lee’s Holiday Helper program is seeking volunteers to make cards for Fort Lee soldiers who will not travel home for the holidays and will be separated from their family and friends.

With the simple addition of the words “for cause,“ Virginia Commonwealth University yesterday revised its policies to make it easier to revoke a degree.

Authorities are investigating the collapse of a porch that injured 21 people at an apartment near the Virginia Commonwealth University campus Friday night. Shortly before midnight, a large number of guests were dancing on a back porch in the 1300 block of West Cary Street when the wooden structure fell. According to witnesses, a loud “crack” was heard, and people frantically tried to get off the porch into the apartment.

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.

AND OLYMPIA MEOLA Times-Dispatch Staff Writers Pop, comedic and political royalty cruised through Virginia yesterday as rapper Jay-Z, Chris Rock and Caroline Kennedy stumped on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama. Meantime, three of Sen. John McCain’s fellow former Vietnam War POWs began a threeday Virginia campaign swing on his behalf.