Who we are 
Program History: In May 2022, the Division of Student Affairs and the Provost’s Office approved a name change for the VCU Transform Unit to become the Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning. This move aligns and integrates our units’ programs and goals and clarifies our functional areas for both internal and external stakeholders. The Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning oversees the VCU Transform Living Learning Program, the Emerging Leaders Program, and the Peer Leadership Program.
VCU Transform
With the spirit of innovation in mind, the VCU ASPiRE, VCU Globe, and VCU LEAD Living-Learning Programs (LLPs) merged into one new LLP, beginning with the fall 2021 semester. The merger brought together the combined strength of each of those three communities while creating efficiencies and maintaining a focus on student success and career readiness. The essence of the LLPs was retained: living, learning and engaging together. The VCU Transform Living-Learning Program, opened in Fall 2021 with an entering cohort of 42 students living in the West Grace North residence hall.
Emerging Leaders Program
The VCU Emerging Leaders is a one-year scholarship program that recognizes and supports the development and engagement of emerging student leaders at the university. Scholarship awards, in the amount of $1,000 per semester, are granted to 44 highly qualified incoming freshmen from Virginia. The scholarships remain in effect as long as the student meets the requirements of the Emerging Leaders Program. Award recipients are required to participate in VCU Emerging Leaders related core-curriculum courses (UNIV 270 and LDRS 200) and in leadership events sponsored throughout their first year. In addition, VCU Emerging Leaders are given opportunities to participate in community service activities and to become second-year mentors to future VCU Emerging Leaders. Students who choose to live on campus are assigned to the Emerging Leader community located in the Gladding Residence Center. In the fall of 2021, the Emerging Leaders Program celebrated its 15-year anniversary.
Peer Leadership
In 2015, the Division of Student Affairs established a Peer Leadership Committee to explore the impact of peer leadership across the Division. The goal of the committee was to make recommendations to strengthen the experience of students who serve as peer leaders within the Division and advocate that peer leadership is a high impact practice which has been recognized as a REAL Level 3 Experience at VCU. In a wide variety of positions across units and divisions, Peer Leaders make the VCU experience possible by paving the way for other students to be successful. In many ways, the University could not achieve all that our units seek to achieve without Peer Leaders. The Peer Leadership Initiative at VCU seeks to equip and celebrate Peer Leaders and their supervisors as they lead and serve others. Housed in VCU Transform in the Division of Student Affairs (DSA), the Peer Leadership Initiative also translates the DSA’s strategic priority of student leadership development into formative, REAL experiences for Peer Leaders within and beyond the division.
Documents:
Annual Report: 2021-2022 VCU Transform Annual Report
