VCU student Victoria Ward, 45, was found dead Aug. 31 in her apartment at 918 W. Grace St. The Richmond City Police said the cause of her death has not yet been determined and will not be until the medical examiner’s report is completed.
Ward, a mass communications and history major, served as a president of the Shakespearean Co., as a staff writer for the Commonwealth Times, and as a volunteer reporter at WRIR-FM. In addition, she was appointed to a promotion review committee of a mass communications faculty member.
“She was a student member of the promotions committee for Rocky Dailey,” said Clarence Thomas, mass communications associate professor who chairs the committee. “I was supposed to get in contact with her but couldn’t reach her. The police told the dean who told me that she had just died.”
Ward was also an artistic director of an acting group called Stage Forward, a stage and film production company specializing in the presentation of military drama, Shakespearean plays and works of compelling social themes.
Her sister, Kelly Ward of St. Louis, recalls an example of a particular production of the Shakespearean play “Othello.”
“I’m not sure how many people were aware that ‘Othello’ was black, so when she did that play, she opened everyone’s eyes,” Kelly said. “Her adaptation of that play was very fresh when she did it. It was something new that people had never seen before, which was typical of her personality.”
Nicholas Sharp, associate chairman of VCU’s English department, learned yesterday of Ward’s death. He described her as a good student whose contributions to the Shakespearean Co. club really stood out.
“She was very enthusiastic about Shakespeare and enthusiastic about the club,” he said. “She acted in some plays off-Broadway in New York. She wanted to get a group together to talk about these plays seriously and to look at performances.
“I was a faculty sponsor for the Shakespearean Company, which was a registered VCU group. She was officially the president of the club. I last talked to her sometime this summer about the club. The club was her idea because she was enthusiastic about theater. “It’s a real loss. I’m truly sorry to hear about her passing. The club was her baby. She wanted to do it and I agreed to help her do it.”
People who worked at the WRIR radio station with Ward said they were shocked by the news of her death.
“Vikki was a phenomenal human being, an excellent reporter and passionate about everything she did here at the station,” said Sarah Barrett, a senior board operator at the station.
Other co-workers shared comments about their experiences with Ward.
“She was a woman with strong convictions about her work,” said fellow board operator and disc jockey Josh Bearman. “I had probably two months of hanging out with her in board operation in the mornings.”
Carl Hamm, a music DJ, recalled Ward as being an outstanding person.
“I’m really sad about this,” he said earlier this week. “I had just e-mailed her a week ago (before she died). I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”
Ward had resigned from her position at WRIR to begin her classes in August. Before she resigned, however, DJ Giz Bowe said she worked on a story featuring Linda Karim, widow of Benjamin Karim who was one of Malcolm X’s ministers.
Besides Kelly, Ward’s family, including her father Calvin, sister April and Kelly’s son, visited Richmond shortly after Ward’s death and plan to return to the city after the medical examiner’s report is released.
Those at WRIR who knew Ward identified her as an indomitable spirit who touched everyone she met. David Noyes, a DJ, was one of them.
“She was always around on Sundays with encouragement, a beautiful smile and assistance when asked,” he said.
Jason Guard, a WRIR volunteer producer, remembers the VCU student as an inspiration to the station’s production team.
“Vikki was so much more than a button-pusher or a knob-turner,” he said. “She had spirit and fire.”
Ward served in the U.S. Army from 1981 to 1984, where she served as a secretary to the Army’s assistant chief of staff. She worked as a word processing trainer for the Information Management Office, and in 1983 was honored as Soldier of the Year. “Information technology was her specialty. She was basically a computer whiz,” Kelly said.
“Vikki was a very creative person, very expressive, very outgoing as well,” she said. “Just as she was very opinionated, she was not afraid to let you know how she felt. She never intended to hurt anybody by what she said, she just always laid it out on the table for you.”
In May 2001, Ward became an editor for Black History Magazine in New York City, assuming the position after founding editor Abiola Sinclair died. Besides being an editor, Ward later worked as a freelance administrative assistant and consultant/graphic artist.
“She was always looking for ways to express herself and the world around her in a way that would make people sit up and pay attention,” her sister said. “She was a wonderful person.”
Sarah Barrett of WRIR talked about Ward’s importance to the station.
“I do know that we very much miss her and value all she did at WRIR. In fact, the last conversation I had with Vikki, I expressed immense appreciation for her effort and her energy.”