News Briefs

Honoring Bond and Martin

In October, the College of Arts & Sciences announced the establishment of the Julian Bond Professorship of Civil Rights and Social Justice. “One of Julian’s wishes was to ensure that the history of the American civil rights movement was always taught to students at UVA,” says Marcus L. Martin, vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity. “This provides an opportunity for the College and Woodson Institute history departments to carry on the work that he was doing.”

Martin got to know Bond well when he hosted dinners in which the civil rights leader and longtime UVA history professor was the guest of honor. Martin says endowing Bond’s professorship took several years of fundraising, with former employee Daisy Lovelace (Com ’05) playing a large role. Bond taught more than 5,000 students in his time at UVA from 1992 to 2012. He died in 2015.

Just two months after the Bond professorship was announced, the Board of Visitors approved the creation of the Marcus L. Martin Distinguished Professorship of Emergency Medicine in the School of Medicine. “It floored me,” Martin says. Other African Americans to have a UVA professorship endowed in their name include former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Sorensen Institute Names New Director

One of the objectives of UVA’s Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership is promoting public confidence in the political system. Its new executive director, Tom Walls (Col ’82, Law ’87), knows he has his work cut out for him. “There’s no question we’ve just come through a very contentious election,” says Walls, referring to the 2016 presidential race. “I think it makes Sorensen’s mission as timely as it ever has been.” Walls, who succeeded Bob Gibson (Col ’72) in November, previously served as chief counsel to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. Walls says he is enjoying his new nonpartisan role. “I’ve always been somebody who just loved politics,” he says. “I’ve always enjoyed analyzing and trying to understand what the voters are looking for and why this person or that lost an election.”