University of Richmond

w Acting Dean John G. Douglass, a distinguished legal scholar, educator and practitioner, has been named as dean of the Richmond School of Law. Douglass joined the Richmond law faculty in 1996 and teaches criminal law, evidence, criminal procedure, and trial advocacy. He has served in various leadership roles at the law school and the university. Douglass was honored with a University of Richmond Distinguished Educator Award in 1999. He has served as acting dean since July 1, 2007.

w History professor Woody Holton has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the university’s first professor to receive the prestigious award. The fellowship will support Holton's work on a biography of Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams. Holton will take a one-year sabbatical during the 2008–09 academic year to complete "Abigail Adams, Entrepreneur."

w Miles Johnson, a junior from Akron, Ohio, has won a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, science and engineering. Johnson is among 321 undergraduates selected nationwide from a field of more than 1,000 students nominated for the awards by college and university faculty. The one-and two-year scholarships provide up to $7,500 per year to cover costs of tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Another Richmond student, Anne Galyean, a junior chemistry major from Idaho Falls, received an honorable mention in the competition.

Virginia Commonwealth University

w The Department of Dance and Choreography will present "BACK 2 BACK," the Spring 2008 Senior Project Dance Concert in two weekends: Friday and Saturday, April 18 and 19, and April 25 and 26 at the Grace Street Theatre, 934 West Grace St. All shows are at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for VCU students with a valid I.D. Rambucks accepted. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Grace Street Theatre box office at 804-828-2020. The 2008 Spring Senior Project Concert is an eclectic mix of works contributed by 10 talented and diverse seniors. Each choreographer investigates their world and explores their unique essence in works that are both comical and dramatic. In this dance extravaganza audience members will be compelled by pieces inspired by literature, emotion, and the struggles and triumphs of life, presented with inimitable flair.

w The 2008 Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design Candidates' exhibition will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. May 2 at 1509 West Main St. This event is free and open to the public. This exhibit features the thesis work of Can Birand, Christine Coffey, Ann Ford, Bizhan Khodabandeh, Will Pinholster and Andrea Quam. For more information, call 804-828-1709. Opening night of this exhibition coincides with May's First Friday Art Walk. The exhibition will also be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 3 and 4.

w The Massey Cancer Center reached its goal of raising $500,000 through the Massey Fundraising Challenge, offered in tandem with the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k. The fundraiser was the most successful this year since the Sports Backers tapped Massey to be a beneficiary of the event in 2006.

Randolph-Macon College

w The college received an estate gift of $2 million to support its mathematics and science program. The gift was given by the late Muscoe Garnett, '30, and his wife, Dorothy, of Suffolk.

Bryant & Stratton College

w New and returning students can do everything they need to enroll for the new semester. The "Midnight Madness" event is from 9 a.m. to midnight Thursday, May 1.