Catherine Howard, Ph.D.

Director, Office of Community Programs
Contact for service-learning internship/externship opportunities

Catherine W. Howard, Ph.D., is director of the Office of Community Programs and an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. In her role with the Office of Community Programs, she administers the university’s service-learning opportunities, Community Service Associates Program, AmeriCorps and America Reads at VCU, and the university’s summer school and off-campus programs. She is also responsible for working with local government officials, public schools and many nonprofit organizations throughout the city to maintain the office’s role as the primary contact between the university and the community. In addition, she has co-chaired the Carver-VCU Partnership since its inception in 1996. She has served as the primary investigator for the HUD Community Outreach Partnership Center grant and has received grants from other sources to support the activities of this university-community partnership.

As a developmental psychologist, Howard’s research has focused on risk-taking and social behaviors of adolescents. She served as the primary investigator of a five-year demonstration grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to establish an after-school program for middle school youth in Richmond’s public housing communities. She also has worked to establish mentoring programs for youth and is a founding board member for the Virginia Mentoring Partnership.

Howard is the former chair of the board of directors for the Carver Promise and currently serves on the board of directors for the Coalition for a Greater Richmond.