Diamond Brooks

Off the Court

VCU alumni, as Diamond Brooks tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• Grace E. HarrisVCU provost and acting president

  Grace Harris was denied admission in nineteen fifty-four because of her race. She came back, finished her master's in social work in nineteen sixty, joined the faculty in sixty-seven, and rose to acting president. That is how you flip the record.

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• Sylvia Harrisdesigner of the 2000 Census

  Sylvia Harris, class of seventy-five, was the creative director behind the design of the two thousand Census, and a pioneer of social impact design. That is a groove with a purpose.

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• Baruj Benacerraf1980 Nobel Prize in Medicine

  Baruj Benacerraf earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia and shared the nineteen eighty Nobel Prize in Medicine. Rams, that is the top of the charts.

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• Rama Duwajiartist, First Lady of NYC

  Rama Duwaji, fine arts degree, twenty nineteen. Animator, illustrator, ceramist, and now First Lady of New York City. Now that is a remix, baby.

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• Jay Pharoahcomedian, Saturday Night Live

  And Jay Pharoah, comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member, came through VCU. Havoc on the court, laughs on the late show.

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