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Ram Pantry Makes Sure There’s Still Food on the Table

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A greater number of VCU students than you think struggle with food insecurity. Fortunately, Ram Pantry is there to help alleviate food insecurity within the VCU campus community.

College students already have a lot on their plate regarding stress. From finals, to worrying about finding employment after graduation, to just finding a parking spot, there is a lot going on for students without adding food insecurity to the equation. An average of 38 percent of students are food insecure countrywide, with more specific statistics varying by college and state. A global pandemic on top of it all is, to say the least, not helping. 

Luckily for students of Virginia Commonwealth University, there are options like Ram Pantry.  An institution within the university for years, Ram Pantry helps provide food to students at VCU who face the challenge of being food insecure. Students can qualify by going online to the pantry’s website and filling out a Google Doc application to pick up donated food. All student identities are kept private, and most of the information is used as a census to get a better idea of what students’ needs in the area are, both in a dietary sense and in terms of overall need. 

“[Ram Pantry] is open to all students,” said Lisa Mathews-Ailsworth, Advisor for Off-Campus Student Services at VCU. “We do ask that they be in need, but we do not have anything that disqualifies anybody.”

Mathews-Ailsworth oversees and ensures that the pantry functions, while also advising in the VCU dean of students’ office. She noted that while the Google Doc helps give Ram Pantry a better sense of the needs of the overall student population, it is also used as a way to figure out what financial needs the students have, and what steps they can take to help. Whether it is help with budgeting, the SNAP benefits program, or connecting with the various resources on campus, ultimately the end goal is for students to no longer need the pantry. 

“We can also help them connect with the various resources on campus, the biggest one of which we try to push is budgeting,” said Mathews-Ailsworth. “They can meet with you, talk with you, talk about your budget from work or financial aid, where is the money going, how can we help you to get more money, or save money. We work with [students] as a liaison, and try to figure out how we can help them to be successful personally and academically, and what kind of skills they need to reach that level of success.”

One of the biggest ways that Ram Pantry tries to help students facing varying levels of food insecurity is academically. Certainly one of the biggest stressors students face in these situations is money for food, but that leads into the long term effects that students will have due to food insecurity — not just on their health, but on their academic performance and resulting futures. Naturally, if you’re focused on where your next meal is coming from you are not going to think about too much else. This can make scholastic focus difficult, which turns into a long term set of cascading dominos. 

“If you don’t have a roof over your head, or you don’t have food in your stomach, it’s very difficult to focus on your academics or social interactions with other students,” said Mathews-Ailsworth. 

Lisa Mathews-Ailsworth. Photo via VCU

Ram Pantry is entirely volunteer-led. Pre-COVID, it was staffed by four work study students, and during COVID, it is entirely virtual and contactless. Two students workers work there each day, with eighteen student workers total on staff. So far this year the pantry has seen upwards of 569 visits; the numbers pre-pandemic were even higher. 

When the pandemic hit, many students working in the service industry lost their jobs and understandably opted to stay home, if possible, in order to save money. Ram Pantry also took a hit amidst the uncertainty that everyone faced last March, and opted to shut down until further notice because, like the rest of the world, they were not sure what was going to happen next. 

“We cleared out shelves 100 percent,” said Mathews-Ailsworth. “We took everything we had and divided it into boxes, and just gave it out to students and told them to take it. No one knows what the future holds, who knows what is going to happen financially. Period.”

The pantry reopened that September and started completely from scratch. They relied almost entirely upon the kindness of strangers, especially their donors.

“They came through with flying colors,” said Mathews-Ailsworth. “Hungry Harvest started giving us produce, Duncan United Methodist Church in Ashland gave us bread every week. The Pace Center was crucial in getting us stocked back up. Kroger came through like no other and gave us $6000.”

Times of struggle often prove that your neighbors are there for you to lean on when you need them, even when they are big names, such as grocery giant Kroger. However there is still lots of ground left to cover with other powerhouses, even the ones in your own backyard. As a VCU alumni myself with memories of Rodney the Ram vivid in my head, this writer had a big elephant in the room to tackle. 

Has having an organization on campus like Ram Pantry made VCU more cognizant of their own food waste? 

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it does,” said Mathews-Ailsworth. “The dining halls are not usually able to donate because of federal laws. Because of the way that insurance policies are, if they donate to an organization, they can be held accountable if someone is sick.”

Fortunately, one thing that can not be denied is that Virginia is for lovers, and cities like Richmond pride themselves on their love of community. Whether it is protecting small businesses from megalo-mart giants, or ensuring our college students are receiving the help they need, Richmond gets it done when times get tight. 

If you want to get involved with Ram Pantry, the best thing you can do is donate. Information about the best way to donate food, money, organize a food drive for Ram Pantry, buy them things from their Amazon wish list, and more can all be found at the Ram Pantry’s website. But outside of doations, the biggest way you can help is a lot easier than you might think. 

“We rely a lot on word of mouth,” said Mathews-Ailsworth, “Even just talking to people about the Ram Pantry is super helpful to us, because you never know who you are talking to, and who might know somebody that is food insecure, or might be struggling and didn’t know we are a resource.”

Top Photo via VCU Ram Pantry

Hungry Harest proudly partners with VCU Ram Pantry

VCU Workers Form All-Inclusive Union

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Today’s announcement that the VCU Union is now open to faculty and staff members of all classifications has implications beyond higher education. The fight to improve the working conditions of Richmond’s largest employer could have ripple effects that impact all Virginians.

This afternoon VCU workers, including tenure line faculty, adjunct faculty, and staff, announced the formation of a VCU union. The union, a chapter of United Campus Workers (UCW), will be an expansion of a UCW-affiliated organizing effort among adjunct instructors in the School of the Arts. 

The implications of this new organizing effort extend beyond VCU, and beyond higher education in general.

Virginia has long been considered one of the most hostile states for labor, ranking dead last among the 50 states in a 2019 analysis of worker’s rights by anti-poverty group Oxfam.

In 2019, just 4 percent of Virginia wage and salary workers were part of unions, compared to a national rate over 10 percent. Only South Carolina and North Carolina ranked lower. According to a 2020 report, Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are also the only three states to prohibit “collective bargaining by public sector employees including firefighters, police and teachers,” a ban that will be eased in Virginia on May 1, 2021 for local public employees, but will remain in effect for state employees, such as faculty and staff at VCU and other state universities. Notably, the new law does not bestow collective bargaining agreements to localities; it only allows localities to consider and revise the bans if they see fit.

However, the activities banned by these laws represent just a slice of union activity, and the means by which unions can accumulate leverage in labor negotiations are diverse. Via the First Amendment, it is unconstitutional for a state to prohibit unionization, even at public institutions; only the act of collective bargaining between the union and the state entity is banned.

In 2011, the Economic Policy Institute found that workers in “right to work” states like Virginia earn, on average, 15 percent less in wages. The number becomes 3.1 percent when adjusted for socioeconomic factors like cost of living, but it should be noted that cost of living is often lower in locations with lower “quality of life,” including access to quality education, healthcare, green spaces, transportation, and other factors (therefore, adjusting these numbers for cost of living has implications for equity). Moreover, workers in “right to work” states are also less likely to receive health benefits from employers, and are dramatically less likely to be protected by a union contract.

A January 2021 UCW victory in Tennessee presents an example of the power unions can wield, even in “right to work” states. Though Tennessee does not currently prohibit collective bargaining between unions and government entities, Tennessee has had “right to work” laws on the books since 1947 (Tennessee state law weakens unions by allowing workers who are protected by union negotiations to forgo paying union dues). 

Despite this considerable obstacle, in January of this year the University of Memphis chapter of UCW secured $15/hour minimum wage for all campus workers, the result of a union campaign waged since 2017, according to a UCW press release.

By contrast, at the time of this writing VCU is running multiple ads on ‘vcujobs.com’ for hourly positions that pay $10/hour or less. This is including a position in the box office that pays just $9.50/hour, is eligible for 29 hours per week, and in which the new hire would be ineligible to ever receive health benefits, according to the point of contact listed in the ad, who was reached by phone by RVA Mag. A separate VCU Jobs listing seeking a housekeeper lists $10/hour as the expected salary. 

In 2021, VCU pledged to raise their standard base pay to $1,200/credit hour taught for adjuncts, though in the current academic year, base pay is $1,100/credit, and VCU has paid faculty wages as low as $816 per credit, according to Kristen Reed, an associate professor and member of the VCU union’s steering committee. In a press release on April 12, the union noted “’VCU Arts Adjuncts Organizing for Fair Pay’ was successful three years ago in winning pay increases.” However, “the increases they won still leave most VCU adjuncts below [Virginia’s] poverty line.”

A 12-credit load is considered full-time for adjuncts at VCU, and would gross $28,800 for two semesters of work. According to an online paycheck tabulator, after deductions a single person earning this salary should expect a net paycheck of $946 twice a month. According to a Richmond Times Dispatch report, rents in Richmond rose more than 30 percent over a six-year period from 2012 to 2018. According to multiple apartment rental websites, in April 2021 the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Richmond was approximately $1,200 per month. 

Therefore, VCU adjunct instructors — many of whom have PhDs or other terminal degrees in their fields — can expect to spend over 63 percent of their take home teaching pay on renting a one-bedroom apartment in Richmond, with just $700 left over per month for all other expenses including child care, groceries, student loans, car payments, heating, electricity, hot water, retirement savings, health care, leisure, and unforeseen expenses. 

According to VCU Human Resources, only “salaried” faculty members are eligible for health benefits, a classification that does not include adjuncts. Furthermore, the school will only contribute to benefits premiums for employees who work 30 hours a week or more. With a budget stretched this tightly, a worker at this income level would be unlikely to accrue disposable income to create an emergency fund, save for a future down payment on a property, or pursue other long-term financial goals.

Photo via VCU CNS

To understand the full context of Virginia’s contemporary labor crisis, one must also revisit two familiar Virginian themes: Segregation and Dominion Energy. 

As sociologist Marc Dixon describes, the founder of the “right to work” movement was a segregationist named Vance Muse. Muse and his organization — “The Christian American Association,” founded in 1936 — were based in Texas, but wielded a powerful influence through the American South. As early as 1916, Muse is noted as opposing a Texan pro-labor law that protected railway workers from excessively long work days. 

Revealingly, in opposing unions, Muse deployed ugly, anti-Black rhetoric: “From now on, white women and white men will be forced into organizations with black African apes whom they will have to call ‘brother’ or lose their jobs.”

In 1961, Martin Luther King Jr laid bare the connection between anti-Blackness and anti-labor sentiments, telling the AFL-CIO “the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth.”

That same year, King condemned “right to work” laws in more general terms. “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work,'” he said. “It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone… Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer, and there are no civil rights.”

According to Dixon, though numerous unions were segregated — and the AFL’s record on race is particularly checkered — in the early 1940s, Muse saw the CIO’s opposition to Jim Crow laws as a particular threat (later these national, competing entities merged into the AFL-CIO). An expert in coded, racist public messaging, Muse’s group lobbied heavily for the successful passage of “anti-violence laws” that ultimately prohibited union strike picketing in states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas, effectively making illegal one of the primary tactics unions deploy in making grievances public, and accruing negotiation leverage.

Emboldened by these victories, in the late 1940s numerous other conservative state legislatures and governors cracked down on organizing efforts. 

In Virginia, a battle between Virginia Electric and Power Company (predecessor to Dominion) and its workers led then-Governor William Tuck to pass a right-to-work law in 1947. Tuck made national headlines for his anti-labor resistance, and notably, was an enthusiastic participant in the Virginian strategy of “massive resistance” to the Supreme Court’s Brown vs Board of Education decision, which desegregated schools. In the US Congress, where Tuck represented Virginia from 1953-1969, the congressman fought vigorously against civil rights legislation in the 1960s.

In 1946 though, to smash efforts of energy sector labor to attain fair wages and safer working conditions, then-Governor Tuck drafted 1,600 “essential production and maintenance workers” of Virginia Electric and Power Company into an “unorganized militia,” a power play that temporarily reclassified private utility employees as members of the armed forces, whose chain of command leads to the governor. William Green, then President of the AFL, described the action as “involuntary servitude.” 

After a response from the union that he found unsatisfactory, Tuck ordered 2,500 members of the Virginia State Guard to assemble in uniform. Each member was given papers to distribute to power company employees in their districts. According to a New York Times article published that week, “One paper was a ‘notice of draft and order to report,’ addressed to the worker as ‘a member of the unorganized militia of Virginia.” 

A second sheet of paper contained the following warnings: 

If and when any union of its employees calls its members out on strike, your status as an employee of such company shall thereupon cease, and you shall immediately thereafter be on active duty as a member of the State militia, and assist in the operation of said company’s plants and facilities which will be taken over by the Commonwealth of Virginia […] You are now subject to the military law of Virginia, and for disobedience to orders you are subject to such lawful punishment as a court-martial may direct.

All male workers under the age of 55 received the above notices.

In this dramatic, legally-dubious union-busting maneuver by an anti-labor segregationist governor, one can observe the intersection of militarism, class struggle, corporate welfare and racism in Virginia. Serving as an executive agent and state enforcer for the private utility that would ultimately transform into modern day Dominion, Tuck defeated the Virginia labor movement, and cemented some of the nation’s most aggressive anti-labor policies into Virginian law.

Virginia’s contemporary position in the basement of labor rankings not only correlates with its ghastly record of human bondage, genocide, Jim Crow laws, and other systemic forms of anti-Blackness: the genealogy and impetus behind our labor laws and organizing restrictions are inextricably entwined with segregation and forced labor.

This week’s announcement of a comprehensive union for VCU employees represents a dramatic step forward in the history of Virginia labor. VCU is the largest employer in the city of Richmond, and one of the top five largest institutions of higher learning in Virginia by population. 

Moreover, a new law set to go into effect on May 1, 2021 will allow localities to determine whether non-state public employees will be allowed to collectively bargain. For example, if a Virginia locality passes new ordinances permitting them to do so, teachers and police officers employed by the locality could be allowed to negotiate via a union. However, the transference of discretion to local governments in deciding the legality of union negotiation is reminiscent of the General Assembly’s passage of a Civilian Review Board bill last year, which critics say gives localities too much power to convene (or not convene) police review boards with limited tools. Similarly, in a state as business-friendly as Virginia, there is reason for skepticism about whether the new labor law will create substantive change for workers. 

Furthermore, state employees, including all employees of state universities such as VCU, are not covered under the new bill, and will still be prohibited from both picketing and collective bargaining through a union.

Nonetheless, the new collective bargaining law, viewed alongside other signs of progress — including organizing efforts at multiple Virginia universities — may provide a glimmer of hope. With a Democrat-controlled General Assembly and Governorship, the recent passage of marijuana legalization in Virginia, and a 2021 election in full swing for numerous state-level positions, the Virginia labor movement may have a unique opportunity to expand and apply pressure to politicians. 

How lawmakers and their counterparts in VCU administration respond to this moment may provide a litmus test for how far toward progressive, equitable reforms Old Dominion is willing to swing.  

Top Photo: VCU Monroe Park campus; photo by Noah Fleischman.

Virginia College Students Reflect On COVID-19 Anniversary

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One year ago, students at several Virginia universities were on spring break when they received notice they would not return to campus. Students said the past year has been devastating and disorienting, but they have also grown from the experience. 

Shayla McCartney remembers where she was when the pandemic closed her university. 

“It was spring break,” said McCartney, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. “I was at home with my mom, we were marathoning ‘Gilmore Girls.’ We got the email that said ‘don’t come back.’”

McCartney said she was upset at the news.

“I had plans,” she said. “I had people I wanted to see.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of more than half a million Virginia college students, including McCartney’s.

“My mental health plummeted, and I didn’t get to see friends,” McCartney said. “I had to come to terms with how to be alone this year.”

The pandemic has impacted lives globally. For young people around the world the coronavirus disrupted their education, jobs and social lives. Many universities and K-12 schools switched to online learning. Some students left campuses to live with their families, while others stayed in on-campus or off-campus housing while taking classes online. 

Virginia’s first case of COVID-19 was announced on March 7 — with the first death announced a week later on March 14. 

VCU junior Yonathan Mesfun was at his student apartment in Richmond when he received the announcement spring break was extended and in-person classes would move online.

“I got everything, packed up, and headed home,” said Mesfun, who lives in Northern Virginia. “I was just thinking about when it would end, honestly.”

VCU biology major Sellas Habte-Mariam was picking her sister up from track practice when she saw the email that announced the school’s closure.

“My dad had been scaring me the whole time,” Habte-Mariam said. “He said ‘you’re not going back to school.’” 

The sophomore said that she spent much of the quarantine period re-reading books. “My favorite is ‘Little Women,’” she said.

Habte-Mariam said adjusting to online classes was difficult. 

A photo of the College of William & Mary’s campus in Williamsburg, VA, taken from the college’s website.

A survey of over 1,000 Virginia college students by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia found that 76 percent reported challenges to their mental health during the first months of the pandemic. Another survey of more than 2,000 students at Texas A&M University showed that 71 percent reported increased stress and anxiety levels. Only 43 percent said they were able to cope with this stress. 

Clinical depression increased 90 percent among college-aged young adults in the first few months of the pandemic, according to a recently published study. The students’ screen time more than doubled, socialization decreased by over half, and average steps taken declined from 10,000 to 4,600 per day. 

College students in the Southeastern U.S. reported higher levels of mood disorder symptoms, stress, and alcohol use during the spring 2020 semester, according to another survey. These returned to pre-pandemic levels by the fall. 

Some students faced unique challenges during the pandemic — including international students attending colleges away from their home country. 

Sailor Miao, a student from China, returned to his home country and started his first semester at the College of William & Mary online. Miao said the 12-hour time difference made attending class difficult.

“I had to wake up at 2 a.m. for class,” Miao said. “I decided to return to the U.S. because I couldn’t complete another semester online.”

Miao, a political science and government major, said that the pandemic allowed him to finally spend time with his parents.

“I’d been living with a host family for four years,” said Miao, who attended high school in Alabama through an international exchange program. “When I went back to China, I missed graduation. I was the valedictorian of my class, so it was hard.”

Adjusting to online learning was also difficult for students in hands-on majors, such as arts and lab sciences. 

George Mason University sophomore Chandler Herr recalled being upset when his school announced it would be closing. He went back to GMU to pack his belongings, then returned home. 

“I was disappointed, because I was supposed to work on film sets when I got back,” Herr said. “I was wondering how I could even get a grade for some of my hands-on film classes.”

Herr, a film and video studies major, said he and his professors “mostly gave up” during that spring semester. Remote learning meant the events and hands-on projects “couldn’t be done,” he said.

“We were just flabbergasted to have it all happen,” Herr said. “It was surreal.” 

Students have lost jobs, internships and job offers. Many say they expect to earn less at age 35 than previously anticipated, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Almost half of the students SCHEV surveyed reported concern over employment.

Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond typically enrolls over 33,000 students, though enrollment is slightly down during the fall 2020 semester. Photo by VCU CNS.

One recent win for college students will be their first stimulus check. University students whose parents claim them as dependents did not receive stimulus checks during the early months of the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan, a federal stimulus package which was signed into law on March 11, will allow college students who are dependents to claim the upcoming $1,400 stimulus checks. 

The number of daily vaccines given out in Virginia has risen since December. The state has administered almost 2 million first doses of the vaccine and almost 1 million of the second dose. College students usually fall into the lowest-priority group, and many won’t be vaccinated until late spring or early summer. Cases of COVID-19 in Virginia have been trending downward since early February.

Many campuses around the state have reopened with coronavirus testing and new procedures in place.

Kim Case is the director for faculty success at VCU. She oversees the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, which promotes faculty development. The CTLE pivoted quickly last spring and helped prepare instructors to launch remote classes. Case said that she sees hope on the horizon after a year of helping colleagues navigate virtual learning.

“We were all pretty stressed in March 2020 and had no idea how long we would be apart,” she said. “At this point, I am much more hopeful about the future in terms of getting back on campus.”

Shayla McCartney said this year was disorienting, but it helped her grow.

“I’m only just now feeling kind of comfortable,” McCartney said. “I’ve grown up a little bit. I do my schoolwork a lot more.”

Written by Anya Sczerzenie, Capital News Service. Top Photo: VCU Monroe Park Campus during spring 2020. Photo by Georgia Geen, Capital News Service.

VCU Adjuncts Demand 172 Percent Pay Increase

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At VCU, adjunct professors make up as many as half of total instructors in some departments. Now they are campaigning to receive a living wage from the university that relies on their labor.

Roughly 100 Virginia Commonwealth University instructors are demanding what many adjuncts across the state want: a fair wage. Pay for adjunct instructors would more than double if requests are met. 

Adjunct instructors marched last week through campus to VCU President Michael Rao’s office to deliver their demands, which include a meeting with Rao on March 19 and a response by March 30.

Tom Burkett, a founder of VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay, is an adjunct instructor at the VCU School of the Arts. 

“We look at our pay as one defining thing that can bring up the quality of life and the accessibility of teaching at the higher education level,” Burkett said.

The group delivered demands to the president’s office on March 4 because certain in-person and hybrid classes at the university began that day, Burkett said.

VCUarts employees first launched the group in 2017 because the majority of instructors at the School of Arts are adjuncts, Burkett said. VCUarts adjuncts comprise 51 percent of instructors, according to VCUarts spokesperson Teresa Engle Ilnicki. The university employed 691 adjunct faculty members this semester and 3,193 total faculty members last fall, according to VCU spokesperson Chris Katella.

Virginia Commonwealth University Adjuncts Organizing for Fair Pay walk together to VCU President Michael Rao’s office to physically present him a letter of their demands. Richmond, Virginia. Photo by Enza Marcy

VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay is making demands for all university adjuncts, not just VCUarts instructors. Burkett said the movement was revamped because of the lack of living wage for adjunct instructors. VCUarts adjuncts were paid $800 per credit hour in 2017 and the group demanded an increase to $2,000 per credit hour, according to a letter addressed to Rao. Most classes at VCU are three credit hours.

“We saw a small pay increase, but nothing that substantially met a livable wage,” Burkett said.

The base pay is the same for graduate and undergraduate adjunct instructors and increased from $1,000 to $1,100 over a year ago, according to VCU spokesperson Michael Porter. VCU budgeted almost $400 million on all instruction for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, according to the university’s budget.

VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay group now demands an increase in base pay from $1,100 per credit hour to $3,000 per credit hour, which is a 172 percent increase. The requested pay increase would bump adjuncts with a maximum teaching load above what some full-time faculty earn. 

VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay, who want demands met by next semester, asked for a one-year contract for adjuncts. The group requested $1,000 compensation for cancelled classes because of the labor that goes into development. The group also pushed for a policy that would limit adjunct cuts as demands are put into place.

VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay also wants access to health benefits. Adjuncts are currently not eligible for health benefits, according to Porter. 

VCU adjuncts can teach a maximum of nine credits, or three classes, each fall and spring under the Manpower Control Act. Adjuncts are also eligible to teach six credits, or two classes, in the summer. If an adjunct instructor taught eight classes, they would make $26,400 per year. 

The median household income in the city is just over $47,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly a quarter of the city’s residents live in poverty, census data show. 

Adjunct instructors acknowledge their role as part-time workers when they sign contracts, Porter stated in an email. 

“Many of them enjoy the flexibility of a part-time position,” Porter stated.

Old Dominion University in Norfolk pays adjunct instructors between $1,043 to $1,263 per credit hour depending on the adjunct employee’s rank, according to ODU’s website. 

Adjuncts at Virginia Tech do not have a base pay, according to Michael Copper, compensation analyst at the university. The adjuncts are paid based on class demand and level of experience. 

Burkett said the group has about 100 active members from different VCU departments who attend meetings. 

“What we’re looking for is leadership that takes inequality and looks at it as a justice issue with the university and will respond,” Burkett said.

Photo by Enza Marcy

Jon Rajkovich, another member of VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay and a VCUarts instructor, said he wants the university to become a model for paying adjuncts fairly. He is “rooted” with his family in Richmond and is committed to teaching at VCU, but he wants to see compensation for adjuncts increase.

“I think that could happen,” Rajkovich said. “Especially with the right administration in place; it’s possible but it’s an upward push.”

The petition circulated on Twitter and Instagram and gained support from gubernatorial candidate and former delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy. The group is grateful Carroll Foy supports labor movements, Burkett said. 

Carroll Foy said in a statement she’s witnessed Virginia schools be denied resources, and will work to ensure quality of public education.

“This disinvestment has hurt our educators, including adjunct professors who deserve to be paid a living wage and fair benefits,” Carroll Foy stated.

VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay plans to protest until the university meets its demands. 

“It’s not about pitying us; it’s about creating systemic change at the university level,” Burkett said.

Written by Katharine DeRosa, Capital News Service. Top Photo: VCU Monroe Park campus; photo by Noah Fleischman.

Richmond For The Win: From Making Ads To Making Change

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In the midst of an extremely difficult year, increasing recognition for Richmond creative organizations like The Martin Agency, Arts & Letters Creative Co, and VCU Brandcenter have shown the rest of the world what locals have long known — that Richmond is one of the top creative cities the US has to offer.

In a dark year, Richmond’s creative scene is shining bright. 

A triple threat success from The Martin Agency, Arts & Letters, and the VCU Brandcenter has strengthened Richmond’s status as an epicenter for creativity.  

It’s no exaggeration. For the first time in over a decade, The Martin Agency has been awarded Adweek’s U.S. Agency of the Year, one of the highest accolades in the advertising industry. Newcomer Arts & Letters ranked #5 of Fastest Growing Agencies in the World, along with being named one of the Top 50 Best Places to Work in the U.S. And the VCU Brandcenter reported a record 26 alumni who contributed to 18 different Super Bowl commercials this year, solidifying the school’s reputation as the preeminent graduate program for creative problem solving. 

The achievements are remarkable given the backdrop of a global pandemic, a politically divided nation, and a resurgence for social justice. While many have been simply trying to survive, Richmond’s top creative entities have found a way to thrive.

According to Adweek, Martin was the only agency finalist to report double-digit growth this year. The agency won nine new accounts and created work for over 90 percent of their clients, involving 400+ productions. Kristen Cavallo, Martin’s CEO, attributes the success to a conscious decision to invest. 

“We played offense. The choice was intentional and required nerve,” states Cavallo. “In 2020, lots of things were in flux – this was true regardless of your industry or business model. If you didn’t harness the wind, you missed the lesson.”

Their core investment: People. Specifically, people who spanned a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, beliefs – and yes, genders and races. In total, Martin welcomed 70 new hires, including 50 percent BIPOC talent.

“In nearly every study, diversity in leadership results in higher profits and engagement,” adds Cavallo. “It doesn’t matter whether you are a feminist, equalist, or capitalist, it’s to your benefit to change the way you run your company… Moreover, it’s riskier not to.”

The Martin Agency has been awarded Adweek’s U.S. Agency of the Year, one of the highest accolades in the advertising industry. Above, the agency’s leadership team. Photo courtesy of The Martin Agency.

Martin didn’t waste any time in their efforts to “Fight Invisibility.” Beginning at the top, they comprised their leadership team of 63 percent females and 38 percent people of color. They overhauled their candidate interview and talent onboarding experience to center the individual, rooting out exclusive aspects like language, bias, and hiring manager expectations. And in agency-wide conversations, they consistently spoke up around racial reconciliation, white supremacy, and injustice against Black and Brown Americans. 

“We force ourselves to be honest with ourselves, no matter how much bravery it requires,” states Abu Ngauja, Martin’s Associate Director of Talent & Culture. “Honest in our capabilities, in our weaknesses, in our ambition. We cannot be a place that lies. Our bar is too high.”

In short, Martin has become a living, breathing case study for a commitment to overdue structural change in advertising and beyond. 

“We were not awarded Agency of the Year because we were lucky,” states Cavallo. “We built ourselves for growth. Diversity, by race, gender, and thought is a not-so-secret ingredient. We made it a priority three years ago.”

Indeed, when Cavallo assumed leadership, alongside Karen Costello, the first female Chief Creative Officer in Martin’s 53-year history, the agency’s evolution began. In an industry notoriously known for being a boys’ club, having two women at the helm of Martin’s new chapter was a powerful, visible change. One of the first actions taken was conducting an internal audit of salaries to correct the wage gap and enforce equal pay. 

For me, the transition was personal and poignant – not only because it was taking place in Richmond, but because Costello, a highly accomplished, well-respected industry leader, was my former creative director and mentor at Deutsch LA when I first started out in advertising. Having a big ad star, not to mention one of few female CCOs, in little RVA was proof our humble city was making headway. 

In August, Martin celebrated another milestone with the appointment of Danny Robinson, the agency’s first Black Chief Creative Officer, following Costello’s return to Los Angeles. Having been with the agency for 16 years, Robinson attests to the progress they’ve made. 

“I am so proud of the work we’ve done this year,” states Robinson. “But I am even more proud of the way we did it – with impatience and perseverance, and with support and belief in each other.” 

Arts & Letters ranked #5 of Fastest Growing Agencies in the World and was named one of the Top 50 Best Places to Work in the U.S. Above, the growing portrait wall of current employees. Photo by Mel Calabro.

Like Martin, Arts & Letters credits much of their success to people – employees, as well as client and production partners. 

In 2017, Arts & Letters opened as a small agency in Scott’s Addition. Founder & Executive Creative Director Charles Hodges, once a former Creative Lead at Google, retained the tech titan as a client, and later acquired ESPN and NBC News. With the increased work, the agency grew. This year, it doubled in size, expanding to a second office in Shockoe Bottom, with the majority of people starting remotely. 

“For the most part, we’re really a group of strangers who recently met and have had to come together in a very real way to navigate extremely challenging circumstances and find a way to still move forward,” states Hodges. “Our motto has always been ‘We’ll figure it out,’ from when we were eight people to now 145. As people, as companies, as communities, we’re all a work in progress. We’re excited that we have the chance to build something.”

Hodges believes Richmond plays an integral role in bringing that vision to life. He intentionally chose The River City as the agency’s headquarters for a variety of reasons – among them, the vibrant creative community and incomparable quality of life. 

“People can do major market work with global impact, but not live in a major market,” explains Hodges. “This allows people to really build their career around their life, instead of their life around their career. It’s an important distinction that we think would have been hard to find anywhere else in this part of the country.”

No doubt about it, Richmond is on the radar of top agencies, brands, and tech companies looking to recruit the best graduates coming out of the VCU Brandcenter. In 2018, Richmond native Vann Graves returned to his hometown to serve as the Brandcenter’s fourth Executive Director. 

“Richmond isn’t the same city that it was 20 years ago. The community has really rallied behind its arts district, food scene and the vast array of outdoor activities. It’s a cultural hub and a desirable place to live,” states Graves. “Plus, with the growth of employment opportunities – yes, at top-tier advertising agencies, but also at smaller creative shops, or major companies like Capital One, CarMax, Dominion, and SunTrust — Brandcenter alumni can build a challenging and rewarding career right here.” 

Richmond is garnering attention as a small, affordable city with a high quality of life. Above, locals enjoy the popular happy hour on the lawn at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in pre-pandemic times. Photo by EVERGIB.

Caley Cantrell, Professor of Strategy and Creative Brand Management, agrees. “I believe RVA is absolutely right up there with what would have once been considered the only places to work: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. Richmond has a stellar advertising reputation wrapped up in an affordable and enjoyable city.” 

“More and more people are seeing the wisdom of living in a smaller market,” states Tom Scharpf, Professor of Creative and Brandcenter alum. “You don’t need to live in a big city to do big things. Martin has been proving that for decades, but back then, they were the exception. A lot has changed.”

The VCU Brandcenter (formerly the VCU Adcenter) opened its doors in 1996 and quickly gained recognition as one of the leading advertising and design programs in the country. Today, it continues to successfully prepare its students to work for some of the world’s biggest, most influential brands, all while adapting to a constantly evolving industry – even amid a global pandemic.

This year, the school launched three new endowed scholarships in support of a more diverse industry and maintained diversity and out-of-state numbers in its enrollment. Over the past two years, there’s been a 73 percent increase in diverse students, specifically more BIPOC and females.

“I think the Brandcenter has done a great job recruiting strong, diverse candidates,” states Ashley Sommardahl, Director of Student Affairs and Industry Outreach. “We need to work on raising more scholarship funds to help support them because we know that the biggest barrier to attending is the financial commitment.”

In addition to a focus on diversity, VCU Brandcenter Professor and Creative Director KT Schaeffer (also an alum) believes the school’s ongoing success can be attributed to the program’s multi-faceted approach to learning.

“We hold this polymathic view and know, based on experience from our faculty, staff, and alumni, that you don’t wear just one hat in your future job(s),” explains Schaeffer. “There are Strategists who shoot and edit films. Copywriters doing cinema 4D. Creative Brand Managers learning Adobe Illustrator. That crossover learning makes our students better creative problem solvers.”

The Brandcenter is one of 20 colleges, schools, and centers that make up the greater Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the nation’s premier urban, public research universities. Among a host of impressive rankings, VCU, Richmond’s largest employer, reports that 40 percent of its alumni opt to live and work in the city.

The VCU Brandcenter offers a two-year master’s program across five concentrations including art direction, copywriting, strategy, brand management and experience design. Photo by Rocket Pop Media.

Clearly, Richmond is doing something right. 

And yet, we always have been. For years, everyday Richmonders have been working to help this city come into its own. You can see their efforts in our incredible street murals, artisan stores, craft breweries, top-notch restaurants, and buzzing entrepreneurial scene. Creativity abounds.

Like many, I believe Richmond has always been creative, but its potential has yet to be fully realized by the rest of the country – in some cases, not even by the people living here. 

Finally, there is an awakening. Richmond is becoming known, not merely as a backdrop for creativity, but the inspiration for it. Our history less of a burden, and more an impetus for change. Just look to the events this summer. 

Amid BLM protests rising up and Confederate statues coming down, Richmonders got creative. 

One of the highlights was the transformation of the Robert E. Lee Memorial into Marcus-David Peters (MDP) Circle, an extraordinary graffiti-laden sanctuary dedicated to victims of racial violence and police brutality, created by the people of RVA. The reclaimed space received nationwide press and the iconic projections by artists Dustin Klein and Alex Criqui landed on the cover of National Geographic, putting Richmond front and center – no longer the Capital of the Confederacy, but of creativity. 

For Richmond transplant R. Anthony Harris, it’s been a long time coming. He believes we’re seeing the final stages of the city’s 15-year rebrand. He should know. Back in 2005, he instigated Richmond becoming RVA when he founded this publication. 

“RVA Magazine has always been a platform for creative and progressive thought in Richmond,” states Harris. “I am proud of what we have accomplished, with limited resources, for so long by encouraging everyone to be proud of who they are, the way they live, and how they work.” 

Like countless others, Harris has played a significant role in the city’s evolution through tireless work and an aspiration to be part of something greater than himself. That collective desire to shape, influence, and move our city forward, particularly in the face of a complex, fractured past, is exactly why Richmond and its people are so special. 

“There is an opportunity for Richmond to become a model for what a truly great city looks like,” states artist Noah Scalin. “That comes in part by supporting the creative community that already exists within its borders. We have no lack of talented, driven people who are great problem solvers here. They just need to be given the space, trust, and resources to do their thing.”

An image of George Floyd is projected on the statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee at Marcus-David Peters Circle, a community gathering spot created earlier this summer. Photo by EVERGIB.

This year alone conveys the ambition of Richmonders. Along with the creation of MDP Circle, locals took action in other ways. Nonprofit arts center Studio Two Three led the charge on a variety of programming aimed at uplifting the voices and visions of RVA artists. Among the initiatives, History is Illuminating, a series of recontextualized signs on Black history in Richmond, and For as Long as Such Images are Needed, an exhibition in partnership with the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) at VCU. 

Artist Hamilton Glass developed Mending Walls, a public art project bringing together RVA artists from different cultures and backgrounds to create murals around racial and social justice. VCU Alum and digital strategist Altimese Nichole, partnered with nonprofit Girls For A Change to launch a scholarship opportunity for local African American youth. Photographer Tania del Carmen created #OnHoldAtHome, a photo series raising awareness on community challenges during the pandemic. And Tim and Lauren Barry turned their home into the Billboard House, featuring dynamic projections that reminded Richmonders, even those in suburbia, to get into good trouble. 

“Richmond is a creative hub,” says Lauren Barry, who works as an art director with event management firm, Markham. “The city has always been buzzing with creative energy – it’s one of the reasons we decided to put down roots here. You can’t escape art and creativity in Richmond.”

It’s true. And when Richmond’s creative worlds collide, amazing things happen. Such is the case when Martin tapped Scalin earlier this year to collaborate on an initiative to promote their client Old Navy. The national retailer planned to donate $30 million worth of clothing to families affected by COVID-19. The end result was a time-lapse video featuring Scalin in action, applying one of his signature techniques to create a large-scale portrait of an American family made entirely out of Old Navy clothing.

“It drew a ton of national attention not only to Scalin’s work, but to The Martin Agency and [innovation studio] SuperJoy,” states Amanda Russell, Co-Founder and Creative Director of motion graphics studio, Cream. “I love that they are choosing to highlight our city and the talent within, rather than hide from it.”

Director Adam Dorland of Quirk Gallery believes that Richmond is gaining attention by companies embracing and encouraging local artists. “Having organizations like The Martin Agency, Arts & Letters, and VCU’s Brandcenter based in Richmond promotes the idea that artists and creatives can make a life for themselves here.” 

“Richmond is exploding,” says Jason St. Peter, Founder & Creative Director of Think branding and creative agency. “And much of the credit is due to the creative minds here who influence positive change every day.” Cabell Harris, Founder & Creative Director of WORK Labs, agrees. “I always say create work you love, with people you like, in a place you want to be.” 

“The Journey Forward” is part of Mending Walls, a community project created by local artist Hamilton Glass that aims to facilitate dialogue and foster empathy through public art. Photo by Katrina Boone.

Richmond is definitely a place people want to be – and return to. 

“I spent six years with Martin and fell in love with the city,” states Executive Producer Scott Friske of animation studio Hue & Cry, who recently moved back, having spent over 20 years of his career in Los Angeles. “The success of these three organizations puts Richmond in the conversation with towns like Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas, where you see a concentration of creative output.” Additionally, Richmond has retained its unique identity – an asset that has helped, rather than hinder, its growth. 

“Richmond truly seems to be experiencing a turning point in creativity,” says Macy West, Partner & Executive Producer at Mad Box Made. “There is a grit that has always run through RVA’s veins, but it is coming to the forefront, rather than only being the ‘underground’ movement.”

Executive Producer Melanie Cox says her company, Spang, was purposely built around working with agencies like Martin and Arts & Letters, as well as the innumerable other creative shops in town. “We designed our studio and edit suites to be an extension of creative agencies, a place where they can work, enjoy creature comforts and continue to churn out strong ideas,” she states. “The fact that Martin was founded in RVA and has chosen to stay in RVA has spawned work for an entire production community to flourish.”

J.L. Hodges, Partner & Creative Director of Overcoast Music + Sound says that people know they don’t need to leave Richmond to get extremely high quality work. His company applies a “locals first” approach as well. “Although we work with a global network of writers and composers, a large part of our talent pool is based right here in Richmond,” states Hodges. “We love that we are in a position to provide opportunities for the ‘home team,’ so to speak. We have always been proud ambassadors for Richmond.”

Danny MacNelly, partner at ARCHITECTUREFIRM, the local team behind the design of Arts & Letters’ new office space, states, “As a small business trying to do work in Richmond, we are amazed at what these groups are doing. Not amazed that the talent is here, but just in awe of their ability to create and communicate and attract some of the biggest clients anywhere to our town and keep them coming back. They are driving this city forward.”

After all we’ve endured in 2020, the concept of moving ahead – making progress, as well as an impact – feels strangely promising. Because let’s be honest, not everyone can look back on this year and feel successful. For many Richmonders, especially artists, entrepreneurs and small, minority- and women-owned businesses, this year has been a serious challenge.

Virginia Repertory Theatre is just one of countless creative organizations, along with local artists, entrepreneurs and small businesses, that will be relying on community support in the coming year. Photo by EVERGIB.

“My hope is that Richmond continues to work and thrive from within,” states Jolinda Smithson, Owner of Shapes & Colors and host of CreativeMornings Richmond. “That people decide to work, live and play here… found businesses, rent or buy their houses here, send their kids to local schools, and participate in local organizations.” She admits that Richmond is not always the easiest place to live, but feels optimistic seeing it grow and shift in positive ways. 

Unlike major cities, Richmond’s relatively low cost of living also allows people freedom and opportunity to take more risks. But for the success to continue, “Richmond needs governance and economic development that preempts, promotes, and supports this growth with smart planning strategies,” states Kristin O’Connor, Owner & Executive Producer of RainMaker Studios. She wants to see responsible development and the right support from local government to further advance the community in its many diverse districts, small businesses, and large corporations.

Justin Bajan, Co-Founder & Creative Director of ad agency Familiar Creatures, believes Richmond has become a viable and respectable spot to continue or start a career. “My hope for the future is that the growth and success of Martin and Arts & Letters is just the beginning of what’s to come here. That the great talent within those walls don’t use this town as a stepping stone, but instead stays in town and builds more agencies with individual flavors and capabilities. Agencies that reflect the independence and boldness you see all throughout Richmond.”

Having grown up in Richmond myself, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much it had changed after being away for 12 years. When my husband and I moved back in 2014 to start our creative studio, EVERGIB, what stood out most to us were the people – other local entrepreneurs and organizations who took time to offer us guidance and advice; who became allies, colleagues, and friends. After living in big cities like New York and LA, it reminded us about the importance of community. Looking out for your neighbors, as well as lifting them up.

The recent achievements of The Martin Agency, Arts & Letters, and the VCU Brandcenter are undoubtedly a collective win for our city, as are their efforts behind increased diversity, equity, and inclusion. But critical to the city’s ongoing evolution is a commitment to continued investment in Richmond and its people.

As we enter a new year of possibilities, let’s remember that we’re all working to build something special here. 

Together, we can make it happen.

Top Photo: The Martin Agency leadership team. Photo courtesy of The Martin Agency.

COVID-19 Cluster Sparks Quick Conversion of VCU Honors College Into Isolation Unit

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As VCU’s fall semester began, they set aside 54 isolation units on campus, but two weeks in, there are already over 100 COVID-19 cases at the university. Now, with very little notice, three floors of the Honors College are being converted to isolation units as well.

Virginia Commonwealth University will convert three floors of a building that houses classrooms and workspaces into an isolation space for students who test positive for COVID-19, according to a university spokesperson. The number of positive cases on campus has more than tripled since the university began reporting its cases online Aug. 20.

The plan calls for converting the seventh floor of the Honors College building immediately, followed by the fifth and sixth floors as needed — creating up to 160 additional spaces for students who need to stay in isolation. 

As of Thursday, there are 110 reported active cases at the university — 98 students and 12 employees. According to the dashboard, a cluster of 44 positive cases from the VCU Athletics department “necessitated the need for additional isolation space.”

“Students could move in as soon as this week, but the exact day will depend on need,” Jennifer Malat, dean of College of Humanities and Sciences, said in an email to employees that was shared with The Commonwealth Times, the independent, student-run newspaper at VCU.

Photo by Jon Mirador

Isolating students will use the rear entrance to the Honors College. They will access their rooms by the rear elevator, according to the email, “and will not need to leave their rooms until they are cleared for release.”

“I recognize the pandemic has been an especially challenging time for those who work in the Honors College building,” Malat stated in the email. “I appreciate your patience as we help to create a space that will help prevent students who have tested positive for coronavirus from interacting with the general population.”

The residence hall Gladding Residence Center III, which has a capacity of 54 isolation units, was at risk of running out of space, a VCU spokesperson said.

“The cluster of 44 student cases rapidly reduced VCU’s capacity to offer isolation housing in GRC III,” university spokesperson Michael Porter said in an email. “A decision to use the upper floors of the Honors College was made Tuesday evening after VCU Health confirmed the space was not currently needed for treating non-COVID-19 patients.”

Porter said deans and chairs began notifying their departments about the Honors College conversion Wednesday morning after the decision was made. All classes in the Honors College are being relocated, Porter said, and VCU is looking at relocating offices and labs in the building.

“The change will have no impact on workspace or access to offices or labs,” Porter said in an email. “Staff and faculty will not be interacting with COVID-19 positive students in the workplace.”

Porter said faculty in the physics department, housed in the Honors College, are discussing the impacts of the conversion but have not decided yet to move classes online.

In the Honors College building, students will receive food and medication via delivery, and employees will monitor the building entrance. The building’s HVAC system is under maintenance so that there are no pathways for air to enter into the lower floors from the upper floors, Porter said.  

The email from Malat was shared by an employee who works in the Honors College building and wished to remain anonymous. On Wednesday, they said they saw maintenance crews preparing rooms for conversion. The employee said they later received the announcement indirectly and felt it was “as an afterthought.”

“We are, in my unit, terrified,” the employee said. “They prepared this quietly and secretly, and waited until the last possible minute to inform anyone.”

Photo by Jon Mirador

Porter did not respond directly when asked why employees were not informed going into the semester that the pivot to use the space could happen.

VCU and VCU Health System prepared the Honors College in March to be used as a potential overflow hospital for non-COVID-19 patients. Student belongings were removed from the building without their knowledge and moved to a nearby storage facility. 

The employee said that in the university’s decision to plan another conversion without consulting employees, “they decided our health and safety doesn’t matter.”

“We are underpaid, understaffed, overworked, and now they take it further, and in the process, try to keep secret the need for MORE students to” isolate, the employee said in a direct message. “They are risking the health of staff, of students, of faculty.”

Written by Hannah Eason and Andrew Ringle, Capital News Service. Top Photo by Jon Mirador.

CNS Editor’s note: This article was written by staff members of The Commonwealth Times, the independent student newspaper at VCU, which originally published the article.