Winter 2009 Table of Contents

Features

How Did We Get Here?

How Did We Get Here?

A “pocket guide” to why this debate is happening and what circumstances have propelled reform initiatives, as told by U.Va. faculty experts.

Bringing the Hospital to the People

Bringing the Hospital to the People

Inside beige tents, medical staff from the University of Virginia provide free health care to anyone who comes to the Wise County Fairgrounds. Meet a few of the people who depend on the Remote Area Medical clinic for medical treatment, as well as those who volunteer their services.

From Pennsylvania Avenue to Sesame Street

From Pennsylvania Avenue to Sesame Street

Westin trades politics for puppets.

Did You Know?

Did You Know?

Do you know which popular soft drink is named for a U.Va. alumnus? Or how about the top-secret military experiments conducted in the shadow of the Rotunda?

Lunar Lunacy

Phil Plait (Grad ’90, ’94) has a simple lesson plan. Known Webwide as “The Bad Astronomer,” he wants to stop bad science, especially the spread of misinformation about all things celestial.

Space Odyssey

Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the most recent shuttle flight, U.Va. alumni have journeyed beyond the earth's bounds to work--and walk--in space.

University Digest

Small Town, Big Acts

Small Town, Big Acts

Renovated venues have helped bring an impressive assortment of musical headliners to Grounds.

Celebrating Service

Celebrating Service

Madison House grew from the efforts of U.Va. volunteers to help storm victims.

Space-Age Eraser

Space-Age Eraser

Conservators used a laser to clean 180 years of grime from the column capitals of Pavilion II.

Floating ideas

Floating ideas

The Learning Barge has gone from concept to classroom.

Breaking Through, Looking Back

Breaking Through, Looking Back

More than two dozen alumni recently returned to Grounds to commemorate their role in desegregating the University of Virginia during the 1950s and ’60s.

Fresh Art

Fresh Art

The University of Virginia Art Museum reopened after a $2 million summer renovation.

Story Genius

Story Genius

Short story writer Deborah Eisenberg was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant in September.

Minding Manners

Lack of respect and courtesy constitute a serious national problem, according to a study conducted in 2002, and most people interviewed saw the problem as getting worse.

Verbatim

Verbatim

For 20 years, our state has put essentially every other priority ahead of education. It has done this for so long that most people simply take it for granted now that the state can dodge this most basic of its obligations.

Holding Steady

Holding Steady

This year’s U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of America’s best colleges yielded a familiar outcome for the University.

The Campaign for the University of Virginia

More than 77,000 alumni have contributed to the campaign. Here are the five largest gifts to U.Va.

Campaign Hits $2 Billion

Against the backdrop of the deepest recession since the 1930s, the University announced on Sept. 14 that it had reached the $2 billion mark in its $3 billion fundraising campaign.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

Supersized Ring

Supersized Ring

Astronomers recently found the largest planetary ring in the solar system swirling around Saturn.

Feeling Wobbly?

Feeling Wobbly?

Like a chain, the body is only as strong as its weakest link.

Burning Question

Our ancestors may have begun warming the planet 8,000 years ago.

SPORTS

Sports Shorts

ACC honors Bakhtiar Former U.Va. gridiron great Jim Bakhtiar (Col ’58, Med ’63) is now officially an ACC legend. Bakhtiar was...

Laying a Foundation

Laying a Foundation

Coach Tony Bennett discusses philosophy and goals.

Confidence Game

Confidence Game

Whitney Neuhauser stood over her second shot in a playoff for the state championship and committed the golfer’s ultimate sin. She doubted.

ALUMNI NEWS

Admission FAQs

How is the University using social media in its admission process? From dispelling rumors to engaging students in a...

Sharing a Vision

Sharing a Vision

Jennifer Tsai was so moved by the beauty and symbolism of the Rotunda, she knew it would be hard to leave when she graduated

China Connection

China Connection

A collaborative effort is strengthening Chinese connections among U.Va. alumni, students and officials.

ARTS

Bestsellers at the U.Va. Bookstore:July through September 2009

Fiction/Poetry

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

2. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and...

New & Notable

Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing Lydia Peelle (Grad ’06) Harper Collins This collection of short stories explores lives derailed...

Couture Construction

Couture Construction

Two alumnae, an urban planner and an artchitect, formed Chromat Garments. They make fashion that borrows heavily from architecture.

Required Reading: R. Jahan Ramazani

Required Reading: R. Jahan Ramazani

Professor R. Jahan Ramazani (Col ’81), chair of the English department, edited the Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, co-edited the 20th-century volume of the Norton Anthology of English Literature and published a book of poetry.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Michael Rasbury is a sound designer, a composer and a professor of drama at U.Va., and he co-wrote a play inspired by his son, a musical about a boy with autism named Max.

The Philosopher Mechanic

The Philosopher Mechanic

Crawford argues that physical labor that offers tangible results—a motorcycle that starts, a plumbing system that doesn’t leak—provides satisfaction, both intellectual and psychic, that office work often lacks.

DEPARTMENTS

In Memoriam

Letters to the Editor

Addiction Research

I found the article “Targeting Addiction” (Fall 2009) very intriguing. I especially was curious if Dr. Bankole Johnson...

Food for Thought

Student Life: Food for Thought

The bounty of dishes available at the University’s dining halls could easily be mistaken for a gourmet restaurant.

Terrorism on Trial

First Person: Terrorism on Trial

Over the last year, Edward B. MacMahon Jr. (Col ’82) has been working as a defense attorney in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Saving Green

Short Course: Saving Green

During the month of August, it cost $21,769.85 just to cool Newcomb Hall. The University is making eye-opening numbers like these available on its online “Building Dashboard,” which displays energy use in Newcomb Hall.

The Kennedys at Virginia

Retrospect: The Kennedys at Virginia

In March 1958, then-Senator John F. Kennedy, his wife, Jackie, and his brothers Robert and Ted attended Law Day at U.Va.

Art and Science

President's Letter: Art and Science

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