Dr. Tombes speaking at the grand opening of the VCU Rice Rivers Center Research Facility

VCU's River Campus

The VCU Rice Rivers Center, VCU's river campus, supports scholarship and student instruction across diverse disciplines, including water resources, climate science, wildlife conservation and wetlands restoration.

Located midway between Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia along the historic James River, our 360 acres of riparian marshes, tidal creeks and mature forests represent a unique outdoor laboratory for important applied research and innovative, experiential classes. The center’s modern facilities offer offices, classrooms, laboratories and overnight lodging for students, faculty, visiting scholars and community groups. State-of-the-art technologies are deployed onsite to collect information on air and water quality, fish and avian migrations, changing sea levels and a host of other critical data sources. Our ongoing partnerships with state and federal natural resource and earth science agencies provide significant training opportunities for student scholars.

News & Events

News

Philanthropist Inger Rice stands in front of the lodge named in her honor at the Rice Rivers Center in 2017. (File photo)

May 22, 2026

Inger Rice, whose vision and support helped establish the VCU Rice Rivers Center, dies at 96

The Richmond-based philanthropist’s initial gift of 342 acres along the James River has bolstered life sciences education at VCU.

Seeing double: VCU anthropologist Bernard K. Means’ latest project includes 3D-printing his own skull. (Jonathan Haff, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

May 22, 2026

Hit by a cyclist, VCU professor has a 3D brainstorm

Bernard K. Means, director of the Virtual Curation Lab, turned his CT scan into a skull model that could offer lots of creative opportunities.

Recent VCU grad Stephen Tivenan aims to use systems modeling and analysis to advocate for the environment. (Jonathan Haff, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

May 21, 2026

Class of 2026: Stephen Tivenan brings AI to climate forecasting

With his Ph.D. in systems modeling and analysis, he seeks greater precision and pattern identification in examining our evolving environment.

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