Berglund Seminar Series
Each semester the Honors College invites faculty and community partners to participate in our Berglund Seminar and Diverse Conversations series. The purpose of the series is to generate meaningful discussions and debates outside of the classroom on topical—and sometimes controversial—subjects.
VCU faculty have presented on a range of subjects from e-cigarettes, to 3D printing museum artifacts, to representation and identity. We have also had community partners discuss topics like affordable housing, the GRTC Pulse and Richmond transit system and helping families of inmates.
Our Diverse Conversations are designed to bring a small group (10-15) of students together to engage in conversation around topics of diversity and inclusion specifically. In contrast, the Berglund Seminars can be on a variety of topics and are open to the public.
Virtual Exchange: Making Global Learning Universal and Accessible
Presented by Dr. Houssine Soussi
November 14 | 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Honors College Room 1303
This seminar will explore how virtual exchange has emerged as a high-impact educational practice that allows students from diverse backgrounds to engage in global learning experiences without leaving their home institutions. Virtual exchange fosters cross-cultural understanding, collaborative learning, and global citizenship while eliminating traditional barriers such as travel costs, visa requirements and geographic distance. The seminar will introduce virtual exchange as an accessible, scalable model of experiential global learning that can be integrated across disciplines, making global education available to all students. It will also highlight the potential of virtual exchange to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in education, fostering meaningful intercultural dialogue among students from different parts of the world.
Historical Practices and Health Inequities in Richmond
Presented by Logan Vetrovec and Anne Massey
November 20 | 12 p.m.-1 p.m. | Honors College Room 1303
This presentation will cover intro/health equity concepts, historical practices and current health disparities and institutional history.
"We Demand": The History and Future of Student Activism
Presented by Dr. Vineeta Singh | September 26 | 12 p.m.-1 p.m. | Honors College Room 1210
Higher education has been seeing a new wave of student activism in Virginia and across the world this year. This conversation provides some historical context for the current wave of student activism at U.S. colleges and universities, including how universities have responded to various types of strategies at different campuses.
Space is limited to 10 students. The first 10 students will get a confirmation email from Anthony Burnham. All others will be placed on waitlist and admitted as space allows. Sign up here.