Fall 2008 Table of Contents
Features
New World Views
Map collection charts course of understanding
Did you know Virginia was once believec to be only a 10-day march from the Sea of China? An exhibit at the Special Collections Library shows how views of North America evolved as navigation, printing and cartography advanced.
The University and the Civil War
New book offers a fictional account grounded in fact
Nick Taylor’s debut novel, The Disagreement, is set at the University’s Medical School during the tumult of the Civil War.
The Vanished Prince
In the footsteps of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Howard Scherry’s life direction was determined early on, when as a student he encountered the words of the legendary aviator and author.
The Tibetan Connection
The University's unique relationship with an ancient culture
The people and culture of Tibet have been a part of the U.Va. community for decades, and a new center provides a fresh link to an area of growing international focus.
Behind the Scenes
A look within the University’s operations
At an institution as large as U.Va., it’s easy to forget that it consists of many individually moving parts. We profile a few of the 13,500 employees who keep the University humming every day.
University Digest
A Balm for Burns
Inventor receives award for gel
Burn victims suffer a unique agony. The pain of their injury is compounded by the rigorous cleansing required to ward off infection, a common and often fatal complication.
Bookmarked: Crystal Ball
Election season is heating up and Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball is the place to go for the Web’s most reliable source of political analysis. (The Pew Research Center and…
A Walk on the Lawn
Nearly 6,400 degrees were conferred during Final Exercises on May 18. For the first time in University history, more than 10 percent of the graduates were international students.
The Big Picture
A new video board will be installed in Scott Stadium in time for the 2009 football season.
The Power of Rice
Darden students develop energy source
In villages throughout India, huge piles of rice husks—a byproduct of rice milling—sit slowly rotting. Proving the old adage that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, two Darden students have started a business that uses these discarded but plentiful rice husks as fuel for two generators that are providing power to about 10,000 rural Indians.
Admission Dean to Retire in 2009
Blackburn has helped shape classes for nearly 30 years
Three decades and 451,908 applications later, Blackburn, 66, has announced that he will retire in June 2009.
Fighting Fair
Rethinking the war powers statute
A bipartisan panel of statesmen, scholars and military experts convened by U.Va.’s Miller Center of Public Affairs has issued a call to change the process by which the nation’s leaders address decisions about going to war.
Chinese Spoken Here
A first at the Curry School
While Elizabeth Wesner was filling out her application to the Curry School of Education in 2004, she felt like something was missing. When asked to indicate which language she wanted to be certified to teach, she created her own box and wrote "Chinese."
Q&A
Ronald T. Wilcox
Darden professor and former economist for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Ronald T. Wilcox examines the causes and consequences of America’s aversion to saving
University Notes
Helen DragasRobert D. HardieHelen Dragas of Virginia Beach, chief executive officer of the Dragas Group, and Robert D. Hardie of Charlottesville, managing director of Level One Partners, were appointed in…
Say Hello to the Future
New leaders begin work
A number of key leadership positions have been filled in recent months around Grounds. The following is a brief introduction to the people who will help guide the University in coming years.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Tapping Into the Brain
Device allows people to communicate with their minds
Imagine being able to think, taste, touch and feel, but being completely unable to move or communicate. “Locked-in syndrome” is…
Lost Flower Power
Findings may explain current pollination crisis
Air pollution is destroying the fragrance of flowers and inhibiting the ability of bees and other insects to follow scent…
Post-Combat Care
Plastic surgery procedure has new applications
A surgery long popular for cosmetic purposes may also help soldiers when they come off the battlefield.Adam Katz, a plastic…
SPORTS
Sports Shorts
Dawn StaleyPhoto c/o University of South Carolina Athletic Media RelationsNew courtThe legend of Dawn Staley (Col ’92) begins a new…
Making Sport of Water
The hush of sailing, the rush of skiing bring students to two U.Va. clubs
Such is the appeal of water sports—dancing on the thin line between two elements, riding on surface tension, moving faster on water than legs can travel on land.
Basketball Beats Ballet
Ryan honored for wins, inspiring confidence
The world of ballet might be a better place if Debbie Ryan (Grad ’77) had made a different choice as a child, but the world of basketball would be poorer.
Fountain of Youth
Field hockey squad has richness of rookies
This year, a bumper crop of talented young players—eight in all, including two from the Netherlands—makes the odds good for a threepeat.
A Tackle to Remember
Dombrowski earns spot in College Football Hall of Fame
Dombrowski also became pretty good at football. He played a central role in U.Va.’s success in the 1980s, including Virginia’s first bowl game, a 27-24 victory over Purdue in the 1984 Peach Bowl.
No Country for Slow Players
International soccer requires "faster, dirtier" approach to game
Becky Sauerbrunn (Col ’08) will remember her first international soccer match for all the right reasons—and one she’d just as soon forget.
ALUMNI NEWS
Reunions 2008: June 5-8
See photos from 2008 Reunions Weekend
Saluting Achievement
Annual ceremony honors award-winning students, faculty, alumni and staff
The U.Va. Alumni Association’s Board of Managers saluted past accomplishments and paved the way for new ones at its spring…
Admission FAQs
How does the University regard transfer students, particularly those from community colleges?
ARTS
Required Reading: Marcia Day Childress
Marcia Day ChildressMarcia Day Childress is an associate professor of medical education and director of programs in humanities for the…
Comic Wizard
Adam Beranek's breakout graphic novel
He points out the stigma attached to comic books—that it’s for geeky kids with Coke-bottle glasses and pocket protectors—is out the window.
Mom’s the Word
A magazine devoted to mothers attracts a strong following
They just felt compelled to create a magazine that, as thinking mothers, they would want to read.
A Long Paper Trail
U.Va. Library acquires the papers of poet Anne Spencer
A 40-year effort by U.Va. to acquire the papers of Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer finally met with success in June. With her family’s blessing, the late poet’s literary life on paper was boxed up at her home in Lynchburg, Va., and delivered to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.
DEPARTMENTS
Letters to the Editor
For what it is worth, I could not have been more pleased, or impressed, with the cover of your summer…
Student Life: Learning the Ropes—and Stairs
Orientation helps first years air anxieties, build sense of community
The community these students have already begun to create emulates the group focus that orientation director Tabitha Enoch and orientation leaders emphasize. "Orientation is important in establishing what it means to be a part of the University community," Enoch says.
First Person: Crossing the Aisle
Background as a journalist helps effort to untangle political gridlock
Virginia was a smaller state in 1968, and its politics had been one-party Democratic for the previous swath of the 20th century.
Short Course: Teen Angst and Parental Stress
Adolescence can be a trying time for teens—but more so for their parents
For those of us who fear that all our efforts to raise our children to be bright, polite and responsible have failed miserably, Peter Sheras has a message: Don’t give up.
Retrospect: 1825-1939: The Anatomical Theater
Thomas Jefferson designed the Anatomical Theater in 1825.
President's Letter: Tomorrow Takes Shape
President Casteen Photo by Peggy HarrisonThis fall is a season of change in leadership here at the University. Retirements, departures…
