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CIAA Profile

Virginia Union University

A close-knit city campus rooted in leadership and service.

Campus information that helps students picture the place, the pace, and the possibilities.

Location
Richmond, Virginia
Founded
1865
Enrollment
~1,200
Mascot
Panthers
School Colors
Maroon and Steel Gray
Conference
CIAA

Popular Areas of Study

  • Theology
  • Business
  • Criminal Justice
  • Education

Campus Feel

  • Urban
  • 84 acres
  • Conveniently located in the heart of Richmond, offering direct access to city life, internships, and cultural experiences

About

Virginia Union delivers a close-knit campus experience within a vibrant urban setting focused on leadership, service, and opportunity.

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Campus Life Perspective — Richmond’s Close-Knit HBCU

Virginia Union’s location gives students a distinctive combination: a small, close-knit HBCU campus inside Virginia’s capital city. That setting places students near government, nonprofit organizations, churches, businesses, museums and cultural institutions while preserving a campus identity rooted in the university’s long history. Virginia Union’s campus identity goes beyond athletics and includes student leadership, service, academic achievement, arts and culture, alumni engagement and fraternity and sorority life. Documented chapter activities can provide context without turning the profile into an exhaustive organization directory. Richmond itself extends the classroom through civic, cultural, nonprofit and professional institutions, giving Panther campus life a setting that is both close-knit and connected to a capital city.

Greek Life profile — verified August 2026

Greek Life: Chapters With Deep Union Roots

Greek-letter life at Virginia Union reaches back more than a century. VUU identifies Gamma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Alpha Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Beta Epsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Alpha Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Zeta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; Lambda Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.; Tau Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.; Nu Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.; and Theta Omicron Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. A concrete example of the connection between Greek life and student achievement is Alpha Gamma Chapter initiate Jayvien Pinnock, who received an NPHC scholarship. The scholarship example shows how named chapters can be connected to documented student achievement, service and campus activity.