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Peer Recovery Specialist Joy Bogese and Officer Travis Adams conversing on a ride along. Credit: Rolynn Wilson for WRIC ABC 8News.
News / July 11, 2023

From Chains to Change: Joy Bogese's Transformation from Addiction to Advocacy

Joy Bogese (M.S. '06) found redemption not amidst academic credentials, a thriving career, or middle-class comforts, but inside an unwanted haven: a jail cell. This was the battleground for her transformative victory over drug addiction. Emerging as a symbol of resilience, she's now a peer recovery specialist at Project Recover. Her past, once a source of anguish, now equips her as a formidable agent of change in the fight against addiction and reforming law enforcement attitudes.

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Keith Rogers, a dual VCU alumnus and Wilder School M,P.A. graduate, was recently named city manager in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. (Contributed photo)
News / July 5, 2023

South of the (Virginia) border, VCU alum Keith Rogers Jr., '10 M.P.A., takes the lead as city manager

With two VCU degrees, a decade in Richmond government and a stint in N.Va., Rogers is now leading Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

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Orientation leader Essence Palmer (left), works with her peers Bella Riccardi (center) and Jamir Coleman (right) are great resources for new students, and any students, who have questions about life at VCU to show new students all the opportunities to prepare them for success. Photo: Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
News / July 6, 2023

VCU orientation leaders like Wilder School student Essence Palmer get lots of questions from new Rams. Here are her answers to some of the most common.

From places to eat to getting around – and even how to make friends – Essense Palmer, a criminal justice and homeland security and emergency preparedness student at the Wilder School offers experiences-based advice for incoming students.

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Professor Jay Albanese is collaborating with colleagues in Ukraine and Europe to identify transnational crime trends in Ukraine.
News / June 30, 2023

A house divided: international organized crime expert reveals how the Russian war against Ukraine is transforming the operations of Europe’s largest criminal ecosystem

Nearly a year and half after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, warzones, economic sanctions and shifting alliances are creating new long-term trends in local and global law enforcement. As a key hub of weapons, drugs and human trafficking, criminal activity in the region has large implications for Europe.

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Class of 2023 HIGHER Ground Women’s Leadership Development Program.
News / June 28, 2023

HIGHER Ground Women’s Leadership Development graduates learn to lead with compassion.

Introducing Dr. Antoinette Allen, Ph.D., the new director of Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute and HIGHER Ground Program. Under her guidance, 34 leaders completed the transformative program, emphasizing compassion and growth. With a distinguished career at esteemed institutions like the Federal Executive Institute, IRS Leadership Academy, and FBI, Dr. Allen brings extensive expertise in leadership development.

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Title card from virtual Wilder School Lunch and Learn featuring Damian Pitt, Ph.D.
News / June 23, 2023

“The State House vs. the Greenhouse: Reviewing the Landscape of Energy Policy and Climate Action in Virginia” with Damian Pitt, Ph.D.

Where does energy policy stand in Virginia? What are some leading strategies for advancing equity-focused clean energy? Damian Pitt, Ph.D., associate professor in the Wilder School’s urban and regional studies and planning program, addressed these questions and more during a virtual Lunch and Learn session titled, “The State House vs. the Greenhouse: Reviewing the Landscape of Energy Policy and Climate Action in Virginia” on June 21. 

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Engaged in focused research as a doctoral student at the Wilder School's public policy and administration program, Keandra Davis investigates the complex interplay of housing displacement, environmental risks, and emergency management within Miami's public housing sector.
News / June 22, 2023

Keandra Davis: A Guiding Force for Racial Equity in Housing

Keandra Davis, a doctoral student at the Wilder School's public policy and administration program, is leveraging her lived experience and academic insights to enact change in urban policy. Raised in Miami's Liberty City, Davis witnessed stark housing inequities firsthand, kindling a deep-seated resolve that now propels her professional journey. Her work investigates the complex interplay of housing displacement, environmental risks, and emergency management within Miami's public housing sector.

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Dean Susan T. Gooden accepts the 2023 Philip J. Rutledge Social Equity Award presented by the National Academy of Public Administration. Pictured from left to right: Teresa Gerton, Ph.D.; President and CEO of NAPA, RaJade M. Berry-James; Senior Associate Dean, VCU Wilder School and NAPA Co-Chair of the Standing Panel on Social Equity; Susan T. Gooden; Dean, VCU Wilder School; and Charles Menifield
News / June 16, 2023

Dean Susan T. Gooden Honored with Prestigious 2023 Rutledge Social Equity Award for Pioneering Work in Public Administration

Internationally renowned scholar Dr. Susan T. Gooden, Dean and Professor of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), has been honored with the prestigious 2023 Philip J. Rutledge Social Equity Award. This award, bestowed by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), underscores Gooden's commitment of over 20 years to advancing social equity.

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During her testimony, Cleary challenged assumptions regarding adolescent development and vulnerability to police manipulation and coercion as well as the developmental science on youth decision making in stressful contexts.
News / June 15, 2023

Youth and confessions: Wilder School interrogation expert aids defense in acquitting juvenile suspect of murder

Hayley Cleary, a professor of criminal justice and public policy with a Ph.D. in developmental psychology, focusing on justice system-involved youth, recently served as an expert witness for the defense in the murder case acquittal of Terrell Jones.

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Adelaide Alexander, a master’s student in urban and regional studies and planning at VCU, speaks at a Richmond Participatory Budgeting Commission meeting this winter at the Richmond Public Library. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
News / June 13, 2023

VCU urban planning student helps ‘a very hopeful experiment’ take root in Richmond

With the rollout expanding this fall, Adelaide Alexander says participatory budgeting elevates social awareness and community engagement.

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