Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is a comic book-oriented fan convention held annually in Baltimore since 2000. Each year, the show features marquee-name comic book creators past and present, charitable organizations, vendor booths offering genre-related items, including comic book back-issues, limited edition collectible items such as Toon Tumblers and clothing, videos/DVDs, etc. Panel discussions throughout the day feature industry names presenting information on current and upcoming industry events, past hallmarks in comic book history, information on the industry and how to be a part of it. Founded by Marc Nathan, owner of Cards and Collectibles of Reistertown, the show was a one-day show held at the Sheraton Hotel in the Chartley Shopping Center, located in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland; the show continued to grow in size, in 2002, it show moved to the Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore, across from Camden Yards and down the street from Geppi's Entertainment Museum, was extended to a two-day show.
In 2014, responding to demand from attendees and exhibitors, the show moved to a three-day event, from September 5 to 7. An annual Yearbook, featuring renderings by attending artists, became a part of the show in 2012, featuring Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows characters, followed by Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo in 2013 and Matt Wagner's Grendel in 2014. A scavenger hunt is associated with the Yearbook, where attendees who get a pre-defined number of contributor autographs receive prints that were not part of the book, featuring characters from that year's theme by other attending artists. October 29, 2000 October 28, 2001 October 26 - 27, 2002 September 20 - 21, 2003 September 11 - 12, 2004 September 17 - 18, 2005 September 9 - 10, 2006 September 8 - 9, 2007 September 27 - 28, 2008 October 10 - 11, 2009 August 28 - 29, 2010 August 20 - 21, 2011 September 8 - 9, 2012 September 7 - 8, 2013 September 5 - 7, 2014 September 25 - 27, 2015 September 2 - 4, 2016 September 22 - 24, 2017 September 28 - 30, 2018 In 2006, the 19th Annual Harvey Awards, named for comics creator Harvey Kurtzman, developed to honor comic book industry professionals and companies singled out by their peers, moved from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City to the Baltimore Comic-Con, with Kyle Baker as Master of Ceremonies.
The Harvey Awards were held every year at the Baltimore Comic-Con from 2006 to 2016, when they moved to a new venue. The Harvey Awards were replaced with the creation of the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards, or Ringo Awards", beginning with the September 2017 convention. Fandom Science fiction convention Comic Art Convention Baltimore Comic-Con Homepage Harvey Awards Homepage
Penciller
A penciller is a collaboration artist who works in creation of comic books, graphic novels, similar visual art forms, with focus on primary pencil illustrations, hence the term "penciller". In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form, may require several steps of feedback with the writer; these artists are concerned with layout to showcase steps in the plot. A penciller works in pencil. Beyond this basic description, different artists choose to use a wide variety of different tools. While many artists use traditional wood pencils, others prefer mechanical drafting leads. Pencillers may use any lead hardness they wish, although many artists use a harder lead to make light lines for initial sketches turn to a softer lead for finishing phases of the drawing. Still other artists do their initial layouts using a light-blue colored pencil because that color tends to disappear during photocopying. Most US comic book pages are drawn oversized on large sheets of paper Bristol board.
The customary size of comic book pages in the mainstream American comics industry is 11 by 17 inches. The inker works directly over the penciller's pencil marks, though pages are inked on translucent paper, such as drafting vellum, preserving the original pencils; the artwork is photographically reduced in size during the printing process. With the advent of digital illustration programs such as Photoshop and more artwork is produced digitally, either in part or entirely. Jack KirbyFrom 1949 until his retirement, Jack Kirby worked out of a ten-foot-wide basement studio dubbed "The Dungeon" by his family; when starting with clean piece of Bristol board, he would first draw his panel lines with a T-square. Arthur AdamsArthur Adams begins drawing thumbnail layouts from the script he's given, either at home or in a public place; the thumbnails range in size from 2 inches x 3 inches to half the size of the printed comic book. He or an assistant will enlarge the thumbnails and trace them onto illustration board with a non-photo blue pencil, sometimes using a Prismacolor light-blue pencil, because it is not too waxy, erases easily.
When working on the final illustration board, he does so on a large drawing board when in his basement studio, a lapboard when sitting on his living room couch. After tracing the thumbnails, he will clarify details with another light-blue pencil, finalize the details with a Number 2 pencil, he drew the first three chapters of "Jonni Future" at twice the printed comic size, drew the fifth chapter, "The Garden of the Sklin", at a size larger than standard, in order to render more detail than usual in those stories. For a large poster image with a multitude of characters, he will go over the figure outlines with a marker in order to emphasize them, he will use photographic reference when appropriate, as when he draws things that he is not accustomed to. Because a significant portion of his income is derived from selling his original artwork, he is reluctant to learn how to produce his work digitally. Jim LeeArtist Jim Lee is known to use F lead for his pencil work. J. Scott CampbellArtist J. Scott Campbell does his pencil with a lead holder, Sanford Turquoise H lead, which he uses for its softness and darkness, for its ability to provide a "sketchy" feel, with a minimal amount of powdery lead smearing.
He uses this lead because it strikes a balance between too hard, therefore not dark enough on the page, too soft, therefore prone to smearing and crumbling. Campbell avoids its closest competitor. Campbell has used HB lead and F lead, he maintains sharpness of the lead with a Berol Turquoise sharpener, changing them every four to six months, which he finds is the duration of their grinding ability. Campbell uses a combination of Magic Rub erasers, eraser sticks, since he began to ink his work digitally, a Sakura electric eraser, he sharpens the eraser to a cornered edge in order to render fine detailed work. Travis CharestArtist Travis Charest uses 2H lead to avoid smearing, sometimes HB lead, he illustrated on regular illustration board provided by publishers, though he disliked the non-photo blue lines printed on them. By 2000, he switched to Crescent board for all his work, because it does not warp when wet, produces sharper illustrations, are more suitable for framing because they lack the non-photo blue lines.
Charest prefers not to employ preliminary sketching practices, such as layouts, thumbnails or lightboxing, in part due to impatience, in part because he enjoys the serendipitous nature in which artwork develops when produced with greater spontaneity. He prefers to use reference only when rendering objects that require a degree of real-life accuracy, such as guns, vehicles or characters of licensed properties that must resemble actors with whom they are identified, as when he illustrated the cover to Star Trek: The Next Generation: Embrace the Wolf in 2000. Adam HughesThe penciling process that artist Adam Hughes employs for his cover work is the same he uses when doing sketches for fans at conventions, with the main difference being that he does cover work in his sketchbook, before transferring the drawing to virgin art board with a lightbox, whereas he does convention drawings on 11 x 14 Strathmore bristol, as he prefers penciling on the rougher, vellum surface rather than smooth paper, preferring smoother paper only for brush inking.
He does preliminary undersketches with a lead holder, because he feels regular pencils get worn down to the nub too quickly. As he explained during a sketch demonstration at a comic book
Fashion illustration
Fashion Illustration is the art of communicating fashion ideas in a visual form that originates with illustration and painting and known as Fashion sketching. It is used by fashion designers to brainstorm their ideas on to paper or computer, using digital software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, which helps them to communicate with their team. Fashion sketching plays a major role in designing to preview and visualize designers thoughts and make decisions before going to actual clothing to reduce any wastage. Apart from fashion designers, fashion illustrators get commissioned for reproduction in fashion magazines as one part of an editorial feature or for the purpose of advertising and promoting fashion makers, fashion boutiques and department stores. Fashion illustration has been around for nearly 500 years. Since clothes have been in existence, there has been a need to translate an idea or image into a fashion illustration. Not only do fashion illustrations show a representation or design of a garment but they serve as a form of art.
Fashion illustration shows the presence of hand and is said to be a visual luxury.. More there has been a decline of fashion illustration in the late 1930s when Vogue began to replace its celebrated illustrated covers with photographic images; this was a major turning point in the fashion industry. Laird Borrelli, author of Fashion Illustration Now states, Fashion Illustration has gone from being one of the sole means of fashion communication to having a minor role; the first photographic cover of Vogue was a watershed in the history of fashion illustration and a watershed mark of its decline. Photographs, no matter how altered or retouched, will always have some association with reality and by association truth. I like having more fictional narratives, they are more filtered through an individual vision than photos. Illustration lives in the position of a poor relative to the fashion. A designer starts with an brainstorm ideas to rough sketches on sketchbook; these rough sketches are transferred to croquis and rendered to a fashion sketch applying the texture, color and details with the help of art materials.
David Downton Julie Verhoeven Abigail Slessor Mina Hartins Paul Iribe Carl'Eric' Erickson'Erté' Romain de Tirtoff Christian Bérard Max Hoff Cecil Beaton Dagmar Freuchen Ruth Sigrid Grafstrom Rene Gruau Irwin Crosthwait Lila De Nobili Bernard Blossac Kenneth Paul Block Andy Warhol Antonio Lopez Joel Resnicoff " Le Premier siècle de René Gruau " by Sylvie Nissen & Vincent Leret. Published by Thalia Edition Paris. 2009. ISBN 978-2-35278-058-8 An Illustrated History of Fashion: 500 Years of Fashion Illustration, by Alice Mackrell. Published by Costume & Fashion Press, 1997. ISBN 0-89676-216-5. Fashion Illustration Next, by Laird Borrelli. Published by Chronicle Books, 2004. ISBN 0-8118-4573-7. New Fashion Illustration, by Martin Dawber. Published by Batsford, 2005. ISBN 0-7134-8961-8. Fashion Illustrator, by Bethan Morris. Published by Laurence King Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-85669-447-X. 100 Years of Fashion Illustration, by Cally Blackman. Published by Laurence King Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1-85669-462-3. Essential Fashion Illustration: Details.
By Maite Lafuente. Published by Rockport Publishers, 2007. ISBN 1-59253-331-0. Borrelli, Laird.. "Fashion Illustration Now," Thames & Hudson Ltd. London.. Drake, Nicolas.. "Fashion Illustration Today," Thames & Hudson Ltd. London.. Kesav articles fashion illustration today.. New edition, Illustration
Superman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Superman as its main protagonist. Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938; the strip proved so popular that National launched Superman into his own self-titled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with the cover date Summer 1939. Between 1986 and 2006 it was retitled The Adventures of Superman while a new series used the title Superman. In May 2006, it was returned to its original numbering; the title was canceled with issue #714 in 2011, was relaunched with issue #1 the following month which ended its run in 2016. A fourth series was released with issue #1 in June 2016 and ended in April 2018. A fifth series with new issue #1 was launched in July 2018. Due to the Superman character's popularity after his premiere in Action Comics #1, National Allied Publications decided to launch an new magazine featuring a single character, which at that time was unprecedented.
Superman #1 appeared on the shelves in the summer of 1939. Superman now had the distinction of being the first hero-character featured in more than one comic magazine. By issue #7, Superman was being hailed on the covers as the "World's Greatest Adventure Strip Character". Perry White, a supporting character who had originated on the Superman radio program was introduced into the comic book in issue #7. Editor Mort Weisinger began his long association with the title with issue #11. Jimmy Olsen first appeared as a named character in the story "Superman versus The Archer" in Superman #13. In the early 1940s, Superman was selling over a million copies per month. By 1942, artist Wayne Boring, one of Shuster's assistants, had become a major artist on Superman. Superman #23 featured the first Superman comic book story written by someone other than Jerry Siegel; the story "America's Secret Weapon!" was written by Don Cameron despite bearing Siegel's signature. Siegel introduced Mister Mxyzptlk in issue #30.
A more detailed origin story for Superman was presented in issue #53 to mark the character's tenth anniversary. Another part of the Superman mythos which had originated on the radio program made its way into the comic books when kryptonite was featured in a story by Bill Finger and Al Plastino. Superman was the first DC title with a letters column as a regular feature beginning with issue #124. In the view of comics historian Les Daniels, artist Curt Swan became the definitive artist of Superman in the early 1960s with a "new look" to the character that replaced Wayne Boring's version. Writer Jim Shooter and Swan crafted the story "Superman's Race With the Flash!" in Superman #199 which featured the first race between the Flash and Superman, two characters known for their super-speed powers. Julius Schwartz became the title's editor with issue #233 and together with writer Denny O'Neil and artist Curt Swan streamlined the Superman mythos, starting with the elimination of Kryptonite. Elliot S. Maggin began his long association with the title with the story "Must There Be a Superman?" in issue #247.
Writer Cary Bates, in collaboration with Swan, introduced such characters as the supervillain Terra-Man in issue #249 and the superhero Vartox in issue #281. Issues #272, #278, #284 of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. Superman #300 featured an out-of-continuity story by Bates and Maggin which imagined the infant Superman landing on Earth in 1976 and becoming a superhero in 2001; the tale was an inspiration for Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son limited series published in 2003. DC's parent company Warner Communications reinstated the byline for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, dropped decades earlier and the first issue with the restored credit was Superman #301. Martin Pasko and Swan created the Master Jailer character in issue #331; the bottle city of Kandor, introduced in 1958, was restored to normal size in a story by Len Wein and Swan in Superman #338. The series reached issue #400 in October 1984; that issue featured work by several popular comics artists including the only major DC work by Jim Steranko as well as an introduction by noted science-fiction author Ray Bradbury.
Superman ran uninterrupted until the mid-1980s, when DC Comics instituted a line-wide relaunch with the 1985 event maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths. Folding their vast multiverse into a single shared universe and his supporting cast would receive a massive overhaul at the hands of writer/artist John Byrne. One last story, which marked the end of Schwartz's tenure as editor of the series, was published to give a send-off to the former status quo: Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? The story's first part saw publication in Superman #423, which would be the last issue before the title was relaunched with its legacy numbering as The Adventures of Superman. Superman was relaunched with a new #1 issue in a second volume in 1986, was published concurrently with The Adventures of Superman; the Adventures of Superman was numbered from issue #424 to issue #649, for a total of 228 monthly issues including issue #0 published between issues #516 and #517 as a tie-in to the Zero Hour limited series and issue #1,000,000 as a tie-in to the DC One Million limited series and nine Annuals published between 1987 and 1997.
When the series was relaunched in late 1986 under its new title, the creative team was writer
X-Men
The X-Men are a team of fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist/co-writer Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, the characters first appeared in The X-Men #1, they are among the most recognizable and successful intellectual properties of Marvel Comics, appearing in numerous books, television shows and video games. Most of the X-Men are mutants, a subspecies of humans who are born with superhuman abilities activated by the "X-Gene"; the X-Men fight for peace and equality between normal humans and mutants in a world where antimutant bigotry is fierce and widespread. They are led by Charles Xavier known as Professor X, a powerful mutant telepath who can control and read minds, their archenemy is Magneto, a powerful mutant with the ability to manipulate and control magnetic fields and is the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Both have opposing philosophies regarding the relationship between mutants and humans. While the former works towards peace and understanding between mutants and humans, the latter views humans as a threat and believes in taking an aggressive approach against them, though he has found himself working alongside the X-Men from time to time.
Professor X is the founder of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters at a location called the X-Mansion, which recruits mutants from around the world. Located in Salem Center in Westchester County, New York, the X-Mansion is the home and training site of the X-Men; the founding five members of the X-Men who appear in The X-Men #1 are Angel, Cyclops and Marvel Girl. Since dozens of mutants from various countries and diverse backgrounds, a number of non-mutants, have held membership as X-Men. In 1963, with the success of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy, as well as the Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, co-creator Stan Lee wanted to create another group of superheroes but did not want to have to explain how they got their powers. In 2004, Lee recalled, "I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion, and I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, ` Why don't I just say, they were born that way.'"In a 1987 interview, Kirby said, The X-Men, I did the natural thing there.
What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls and not dangerous? You school them. You develop their skills. So I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the natural thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race, which they were. Radiation, if it is beneficial, may create mutants that'll save us instead of doing us harm. I felt that if we train the mutants our way, they'll help us – and not only help us, but achieve a measure of growth in their own sense, and so, we could all live together. Lee devised the series title after Marvel publisher Martin Goodman turned down the initial name, "The Mutants," stating that readers would not know what a "mutant" was. Within the Marvel Universe, the X-Men are regarded to have been named after Professor Xavier himself; the original explanation for the name, as provided by Xavier in The X-Men #1, is that mutants "possess an extra power... one which ordinary humans do not!!
That is why I call my students... X-Men, for EX-tra power!" Early X-Men issues introduced the original team composed of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast and Iceman, along with their archenemy Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants featuring Mastermind, Scarlet Witch, Toad. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil and included storylines and themes about prejudice and racism, all of which have persisted throughout the series in one form or another; the evil side in the fight was shown in human form and under some sympathetic beginnings via Magneto, a character, revealed to have survived Nazi concentration camps only to pursue a hatred for normal humanity. His key followers and the Scarlet Witch, were Romani. Only one new member of the X-Men was added, Mimic/Calvin Rankin, but soon left due to his temporary loss of power; the title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. In 1969, writer Roy Thomas and illustrator Neal Adams rejuvenated the comic book and gave regular roles to two introduced characters: Havok/Alex Summers and Lorna Dane called Polaris.
However, these X-Men issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66 reprinting a number of the older comics as issues #67–93. In Giant-Size X-Men #1, writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum introduced a new team that starred in a revival of The X-Men, beginning with issue #94; this new team replaced the previous members with the exception of Cyclops. This team differed from the original. Unlike in the early issues of the original series, the new team was not made up of teenagers and they had a more diverse background; each was from a different country with varying cultural and philosophical beliefs, all were well-versed in using their mutant powers, several being experienced in combat. The "all-new, all-different X-Men" were led by Cyclops, from the original team, consisted of the newly created Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird, three introduced characters: Banshee and Wolve
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles for DC Comics such as The Flash, Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, for his work on Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil for Marvel Comics. From August 2007 to December 2010, Waid served as Editor-in-Chief, Chief Creative Officer of Boom! Studios, where he wrote titles such as Irredeemable and The Traveler. Waid was born in Alabama, he has stated that his comics work was influenced by Adventure Comics #369–370, the two-part "Legion of Super-Heroes" story by Jim Shooter and Mort Weisinger that introduced the villain Mordru, was "a blueprint for everything I write." Waid entered the comics field during the mid-1980s as an editor and writer on Fantagraphics Books' comic book fan magazine, Amazing Heroes. Waid's first comic book story "The Puzzle of the Purloined Fortress", an eight-page Superman story, was published in Action Comics #572. In 1987, Waid was hired as an editor for DC Comics where he worked on such titles as Action Comics, Doom Patrol, Inc.
Legion of Super-Heroes, Secret Origins, Wonder Woman, as well as various one-shots including Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. With Gotham by Gaslight, in tandem with writer Brian Augustyn, Waid co-created DC's "Elseworlds" franchise. In 1989 Waid left editorial work for freelance writing assignments, he worked for DC's short-lived Impact Comics line where he wrote The Comet and scripted dialogue for Legend of the Shield. In 1992 Waid began the assignment which would bring him to wider recognition in the comics industry, when he was hired to write The Flash by editor Brian Augustyn. Waid stayed on the title for an eight-year run, he wrote a Metamorpho limited series in 1993 and created the Impulse character in The Flash #92. Impulse was launched into his own series in April 1995 by artist Humberto Ramos. In November of that same year and Howard Porter collaborated on the Underworld Unleashed limited series, which served as the center of a company-wide crossover storyline, his first major project for Marvel Comics was as one of the writers of the "Age of Apocalypse" crossover.
He co-created the Onslaught character for the X-Men line. Marvel editors Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald hired him as Gruenwald's successor as writer of Captain America, during which Waid was paired with artist Ron Garney. Waid and Garney garnered critical praise for their run on the title, remaining on it until the title was relaunched with a different creative team as part of the 1996–1997 "Heroes Reborn" storyline. Rob Liefeld offered Waid the opportunity to script Captain America over plots and artwork by his studio, but Waid declined; that storyline ran a full year, after which Waid and Garney returned to the title for another relaunched series, Captain America volume 3, issues #1–23. Waid wrote the short-lived spin-off series Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty from 1998–1999, having written 10 of the 12 issues. In 1996, Waid and artist Alex Ross produced the graphic novel Kingdom Come; this story, set in the future of the DC Universe, depicted the fate of Superman, Wonder Woman, other heroes as the world around them changed.
It was written in reaction to the "gritty" comics of the 1980s and 1990s. DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that "Waid's deep knowledge of the heroes' pasts served them well, Ross' unique painted art style made a powerful statement about the reality of the world they built." Many of the ideas introduced in Kingdom Come were integrated into the present-day DC Universe, Waid himself wrote a follow-up to the series, The Kingdom. Waid and writer Grant Morrison collaborated on a number of projects that would reestablish DC's Justice League to prominence. Waid's contributions included JLA: Year One, as well as work on the ongoing series; the two writers developed the concept of Hypertime to explain problems with continuity in the DC Universe. Waid collaborated with artists Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary on JLA and the JLA: Heaven's Ladder one-shot. In 2000, Waid wrote a series named Empire with Barry Kitson, whose protagonist was a Doctor Doom-like supervillain named Golgoth who had defeated all superheroes and conquered the world.
The series was published by Gorilla Comics, a company formed by Waid, Kurt Busiek and several others, but the company folded after only two issues were published. Empire was completed under the DC Comics label in 2003 and 2004. Waid wrote the first year of Crossgen's Ruse series. Waid began an acclaimed run as writer of Marvel's Fantastic Four in 2002 with his former Flash artist Mike Wieringo, with Marvel releasing their debut issue, Fantastic Four vol. 3 #60 at the promotional price of 9 cents U. S. By June 2003, Marvel publisher Bill Jemas tried to convince Waid to abandon his "high-adventure" approach to the series, making the book into, in Waid's words, "a wacky suburban dramedy where Reed's a nutty professor who creates amazing but impractical inventions, Sue's the office-temp breadwinner, the cranky neighbor is their new'arch-enemy,' etc." Waid, who felt that this was too much of a departure from what he had been hired to write declined. After some discussion with editor Tom Brevoort, Waid found a way to make the requested changes, but by the decision had been made to fire Waid and Wieringo from the series.
The resulting fan backlash led to Wieringo's reinstatement on the title by that September. Waid and Wieringo completed their run on Fantastic Four with issue #524, by which time the relaunched series had returned to its original numbering. In 2003 Waid wrote the origin of the "modern" Superman with Superman: Birthrig
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. MCV was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia General Assembly merged MCV with the Richmond Professional Institute, founded in 1917, to create Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2018, more than 31,000 students pursue 217 degree and certificate programs through VCU's 11 schools and three colleges; the VCU Health System supports the university's health care education and patient care mission. With a record $270.3 million in sponsored research funding in the fiscal year 2014–15, VCU is designated as "R1: Doctoral University - Highest Research Activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. A broad array of university-approved centers and institutes of excellence, involving faculty from multiple disciplines in public policy and health care discoveries, supports the university's research mission.
Twenty-eight graduate and first-professional programs are ranked by U. S. News & World Report as among the best in the country. VCU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the VCU Rams, they are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The VCU campus includes historic buildings such as the Ginter House, now used by the school's provost. Although created with the merger of the Richmond Professional Institute and Medical College of Virginia in 1968, VCU's history began in 1838 when the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College opened in Richmond. In 1844, it moved into its first permanent home, the Egyptian Building. In 1854, the Medical Department of Hampden–Sydney College received an independent charter from the Virginia General Assembly and became the Medical College of Virginia. A few years in 1860, MCV conveyed all its property to the Commonwealth of Virginia and becomes a state institution in exchange for $30,000. In 1893, the College of Physicians and Surgeons University College of Medicine, was established by Hunter Holmes McGuire just three blocks away from MCV.
In 1912, McGuire Hall opened as the new home of the University College of Medicine. The following year, MCV and UCM merged through the efforts of George Ben Johnston and Stuart McGuire. MCV acquired the Memorial Hospital as a result of the merger. Richmond Professional Institute traces its roots back to 1917, when it began as the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health. In 1925, it became the Richmond division of The College of William & Mary. In 1939, this division became the Richmond Professional Institute of The College of William & Mary". In 1947, the MCV Foundation was incorporated, in 1962 RPI separated from William & Mary to become an independent state institution. In 1968, state legislation merged MCV and RPI to become Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU claims 1838 as its founding date on its official seal and on promotional materials. In 2013, VCU was awarded a $62 million federal grant to oversee a national research consortium of universities and clinics to study what happens to service members and veterans who suffer mild traumatic brain injuries or concussions.
In 2010, VCU received a $20 million National Institutes of Health grant to join a nationwide consortium of research institutions working to turn laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The Clinical and Translational Science Award made VCU the only academic health center in Virginia to join the prestigious CTSA network. In 2011, The Carnegie Foundation elevated Virginia Commonwealth University to "Very High Research Activity," with over 255 million in sponsored research. In 2009, Michael Rao was appointed the fifth president of VCU and continues in his tenure to focus on VCU's growth as a premier public research university. In 2018, a series of protests by adjunct faculty were held at VCU, over low pay and no benefits. Ahead of the 2018-19 budget, $4.2 million was allocated to increase adjunct faculty funding from $800 to $1,000 per credit hour, about $1,000 less than what the coalition was demanding. Warren W. Brandt served as the first president of VCU. During his tenure, 32 degree programs were added, the School of Allied Health Professions and the School of Community Services were established.
In addition, more than $20 million of new construction was completed or initiated on both campuses, including the James Branch Cabell Library, Rhoads Hall, the School of Business building, the Larrick Student Center and a large addition to Sanger Hall. In the 1980s, under the leadership of VCU President Edmund Ackell, a major overhaul of the university's governance system and administrative structure was initiated. Dr. Ackell lead the administration in instituting a new system for both short-range and long-range university planning. Eugene Trani became the president of VCU in 1990. During his tenure VCU became one of the largest universities in Virginia, growing from an enrollment of 21,764 in 1990, to 32,284 at the time of his retirement. VCU was the state's first university to enroll over 30,000 students. Under Dr. Trani's leadership VCU and the VCU Health System undertook more than $2.2 billion in capital construction and renovation projects. In February 2006, VCU established VCU 2020 Vision for Excellence, a strategic plan to continue to fulfill VCU's mission as a leading urban research institution for the 21st century and develop more than $1 billion in new academic, recreation, student housing, parking faci
