Dept: University Digest
Upholding the Dream0
Spring 2012
From a rousing choir performance at the Mount Zion First African Baptist Church to a moving speech by U.Va. history professor and former NAACP chairman Julian Bond, the University’s two-week commemoration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebrated the intricacies of his message of racial equality. Those two weeks also allowed U.Va. to explore its own racial history and honor those individuals who contributed to it. This year, U.Va. observed its 27th annual Community MLK Celebration, and stories were told about U.Va. figures past and present. The...
Worth Thousands of Words0
Spring 2012
The U.Va. Art Museum introduced four new exhibitions on Jan. 20. “Master Printmakers” is a collection of 16th-century Italian Renaissance prints, based on images from Raphael, Federico Barocci, Tintoretto and others. Moving to the contemporary realm, artist Tom Burckhardt’s work is being exhibited. His paintings, made of oil on cast plastic supports, blur divisions between abstract and representational art. For “100 Years of Photography,” art history professor and curator of modern art Matthew Affron assembled a multigenre survey of works by artists from Walker Evans to Helen Levitt. “Curator’s Choice:...
Addressing Weapons0
Spring 2012
After Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (Engr ’91) ruled that state college policies against weapons on campus were not legally enforceable, the U.Va. Board of Visitors voted unanimously to upgrade its policy to a “regulation.” That small technical change effectively prohibits weapons, fireworks and explosives, and bars students with concealed carry permits from exercising that right on Grounds. The University’s regulation distinguishes between visitors and the U.Va. community. The former group is formally prohibited from carrying weapons into University buildings. However, the latter is banned from bringing weapons onto “University property,...
Top of His Game0
Spring 2012
One week before his team’s trip to Georgia for the Chick-fil-A Bowl, head football coach Mike London announced that he would match a $50,000 University athletics department donation to AccessUVa. The total $100,000 contribution to U.Va.’s financial aid program, valued at more than $90 million this academic year, represents a portion of the $1 million donated by the athletics department to academic programs. “The football program is here to foster the University’s educational mission,” says London. “I often talk about the importance of ‘student’ first in ‘student-athlete,’ and...
Women at War0
Spring 2012
When her husband was killed by British fire in a 1776 Revolutionary War battle, Margaret Corbin reputedly took his place behind a cannon and returned fire. Wounded in battle, the woman named “Molly Pitcher” in legend later received a pension from the U.S. Congress for her combat role. Now a group of U.Va. law students and professor Anne Coughlin want combat roles formally extended to women. “When the Pentagon made a deliberate decision to put women in combat situations while maintaining this fiction that they are not in combat jobs, they crossed the Rubicon,...
Leaps and Bounds0
Spring 2012
In the very near future, the University will feel the impact of two forces—significantly more students and more departures by existing faculty who are reaching retirement age. With hundreds of new Hoos headed to Grounds, the University’s challenge will be to keep up with the next wave of growth. The overall student population is anticipated to grow by as many as 1,500 students during the next five years, pending a commensurate increase in state support. The College of Arts & Sciences alone, whose undergraduate enrollment totaled 10,342 in fall 2011, expects to add as many as half...
Record Breaking0
Spring 2012
Before setting foot inside a U.Va. classroom, the Class of 2016 posted impressive numbers as part of a record-setting applicant pool. This year, the U.Va. Office of Undergraduate Admission saw total applications jump by 18 percent compared with last year. In mid-January, 3,187 of the 11,753 students who applied by Nov. 1 via the University’s nonbinding early-action program were accepted, while another 3,150 had their applications deferred to the standard admissions cycle. Meanwhile, a number of elite schools, including Harvard and Princeton, saw a decrease in applications. Dean of Admission Gregory Roberts attributes the jump in U.Va. applications to...
HIGHLIGHTS

Jefferson’s Secret Bible
In the twilight of his life, Jefferson began exploring his faith and deepening his understanding of the Bible and Christianity.

Over Seven Billion Served
Last October, the 7 billionth person on the planet was born. Professors explain the dynamics of the population boom and demographic transition.

What Can the New Frog in Town Tell Us About Our Eyes?
A biology student explains a U.Va. professor's new experimental animal

Lady Gaga Recruits U.Va. Bullying Expert
Lady Gaga's lofty goal and a Foundation stacked with experts well-suited to help achieve it.

Spirit of Adventure
Two documentaries portray challenging journeys and the importance of family

Theater as You’ve Never Seen It Before
Set designer Lisi Stoessel (Col '06, Grad '08) creates fantastical places.

Eyes on the Olympics
U.Va. athletes play vital role in Team USA’s path to No. 1

New & Notable
Listen to six innovative albums by 15 must-hear alumni musicians.

Wrapped in Mystery
A guide to U.Va.'s student societies.

Can Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment Prevent Crime?
Why U.Va. students are teaching Russian literature at a juvenile correctional center

1976: A Royal Visit
On July 10, Queen Elizabeth toured the Academical Village, where 18,000 people watched her stroll down the Lawn.

Body Builder
Mike Curtis helps athletes recover from injuries and maintain peak form

What’s Up, Doc?
The human body is a complex machine of about 10 trillion interconnected cells. Researchers at the U.Va. Health System are working with new technology to keep everything from our brains to our blood sugar in good shape.

Where We Study
When finals are approaching at U.Va., the air seems charged with anticipation as students take to the libraries and cafés en masse and energy drinks fly off the shelves.

A New Kind of Leader
The Batten School was created to develop 'challengers of the status quo.'





