M. Rick Turner, the dean of African-American affairs, announced his retirement yesterday, and, as usual, he did it his own way. Not quite two weeks after he was suspended from his position when the University learned of a pretrial diversion agreement with federal prosecutors, Turner announced his retirement through a University-issued statement that included no mention of his recent problems.

When one avoids a trial for misleading federal authorities on the activities of a “known drug dealer,” common sense would dictate that you get your side of the story out in the open. But like in many instances, Turner did not do the commonsensical thing — he has not spoken to the media at all to clarify his agreement in the apparent hope that the controversy will go away. As everyone knows, however, controversy has a way of following around Rick Turner. In searching for his replacement, University administrators must keep in mind the negative consequences of Turner’s independent streak.

With the University’s graduation rate for black students as the most obvious example, Turner can point to many great accomplishments during his career here. Indeed, it seems as though Turner’s supporters were always pointing to those accomplishments, because someone was always calling for his head. While Turner charred the landscape with his particular brand of invective, the impressive achievements of the Office of African-American Affairs kept him anchored. Turner presented a double-edged sword: a loose cannon who kept his position because he was good at his job. In the next OAAA dean, University administrators should seek to find someone who brings the same enthusiasm and love for the office’s mission without carrying the extra baggage.

Turner repeatedly described his role as an advocate for black students, and he adhered to that description through an outspokenness that was often hurtful, sometimes even targeting black students themselves. If it sounds unusual that an employee was allowed a blank check to publicly define his or her purposes within an organization, that’s because it is — at the University, that was a liberty extended to Turner and essentially no one else. When Turner appointed himself the University’s own racial provocateur, no one effectively scaled him back, even after the creation of the position of vice president for diversity and equity, which was placed in charge of spearheading the University’s dialogue on race. The University, and not the next OAAA dean, should be firmly in charge of defining the office’s role around the University’s priorities: to foster a welcoming environment for black students, provide academic support and address the unique needs of that student community.

In his 18 years here, M. Rick Turner helped the University accomplish many great things, but his early retirement nonetheless offers a good opportunity for the OAAA and the University to move forward. In hiring a new dean for this new era, University administrators should seek out someone committed primarily to the University’s vision as the University has defined it. Most importantly, the University must find someone who can offer Turner’s talent and energy but also respect others’ rules. That the OAAA is perceived to the on the front lines of battling the University’s race problems does not justify a carte blanche to that office’s dean. Next time, there is no excuse for bringing on an OAAA dean whose continued employment requires excuse after excuse.

After serving 18 years as the University’s dean of African-American affairs, M. Rick Turner, 65, announced that he will retire from the University at the end of the month. Turner’s retirement comes after he was forced to take administrative leave from the University July 14 after signing a pretrial diversion agreement with a federal prosecutor acknowledging that he misrepresented his knowledge of the activities of a “known drug dealer.”

The announcement marks the end of a controversial career at the University, serving as a sociology professor and an advocate for African-American students in all disciplines. With the announcement of his retirement, the University’s investigation of Turner has concluded, said University spokesperson Carol Wood.

According to a University press release, Turner said that he has enjoyed his work at the University and has been pleased that such a prestigious institution of higher education has made such strides in serving the minority community and advancing “the interests of diversity.”

His legacy includes attracting more African-American students to the University in addition to helping maintain one of the highest graduation rates for African-American college students in the nation. In 2006, the graduation rate for black students at the University was 86 percent, the highest rate at any flagship public university for the 12th straight year. He also expanded the Office of African American Affairs program offering to include the Peer Advisor Program, the Luther Porter Jackson Black Cultural Center and the Parents Advisory Association. Turner’s tenure included new initiatives such as the Faculty Student Mentoring Program and numerous fundraising activities.

Turner also leaves behind a legacy of controversy at the University. His reputation for speaking bluntly left some student groups at the University, such as the Individual Rights Coalition, feeling that he did more to stoke controversy about race relations at the University than improve the situation.

His condemnation of the decision by the University’s chapter of the historically black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha to join the Inter-Fraternity Council drew criticism. Turner said he found the move “disgraceful,” adding that “Martin Luther King Jr., would roll over in his grave” if he knew about the decision.

In addition, Turner expressed outrage over the Charlottesville School Board’s decision to accept the resignation of then-superintendent Scottie Griffin in 2005. Griffin was Charlottesville’s first black superintendent. Turner cited the decision as “an insidious form of blatant racism by elite white parents.”

Associate Dean Sylvia Terry will continue to serve as acting dean until an interim dean is appointed, an announcement that is expected by next week, according to Wood. Pat Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, will appoint a search committee to find a permanent successor.

Black Student Alliance President Tamara Dottin said she regretted the news of Turner’s departure.

“I’m sorry to see Dean Turner leave, and I am thankful for all he has done for the University.”

Turner was appointed as dean in August 1988. Prior to his appointment, he worked in various student affairs positions at the University of Connecticut, University of California-Irvine and Stanford University.

In Charlottesville, Turner served as president of the Charlottesville/Albemarle branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was a board member of the local Boys and Girls Club, and the founder of the Saturday Academy. He received the University’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, an award recognizing his commitment to mankind.

Correction

The July 20 News article “Turner put on leave after probation agreement” erroneously identified Gregory Jackson as president of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Jackson is a former president of Alpha Phi Alpha and the current vice president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at the University.

University Medical Center to provide medical services to 3,500 in Wise, Va.

On Friday July 28 at 6 a.m. the 7th annual Remote Area Medical clinic will open at the Virginia-Kentucky Fairground in Wise, Va. Home to the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. University Medical Center doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other personnel will be on hand for three days to provide medical services to what is estimated to be over 3,500.

While the clinic is in its seventh year, this is the sixth time that University medical personnel have been involved.

University assistant medical professor Claudette Dalton heard about the program seven years ago. She said she went back to the Medical Center and asked them for guidance.

“I was willing to do the work if they were willing to give me clearance to do it.”

Since then, the program has grown and expanded to provide a variety of services, according to Dalton.

The clinic will bring urologists, gynecologists, endocrinologists, audiologists, dentists, and a variety of other doctors to the area.

Dalton does not look at her work as charity, but rather as a way to assist the doctors at Wise who she said are doing a really good job.

“These folks don’t need handouts,” she said. “They work hard for what they have. This is not charity care. We prefer to think of it as a safety net.”

– compiled by Maria Tchijov

Student interest in internships has been rising steadily for several years, and many universities across the nation are taking the rise in popularity into consideration when awarding students with stipends to off-set the cost of a low-paying or unpaid internship. According to a July 19 New York Times article, elite schools such as Yale, Princeton, Duke, and the University of Pennsylvania are making stipends available to students to create internship opportunities for students who would otherwise be forced to work to support themselves.

While the University has a large amount of students receiving some type of financial aid, stipend-based internship programs such as those at other universities are few.

“Internships are definitely on everybody’s radar screen as a way to test the waters for skill developing and networking,” says Karen Nelsen, director of student services at University Career Services. “Any kind of experiential education is valuable. People are realizing more and more that the hands-on experience with the academic experience is a great thing.”

The main challenge to offering stipend-based internships to students is finding funding to back such programs, said Nelsen.

“Institutions are looking for a variety of ways to help students. Some have found alumni funding, or other university funding,” Nelsen added.

Several options are available for University students who demonstrate financial need and wish to take part in a low-paying or unpaid internship.

The University Internship Program offers a paid internship program that also provides college credit. The program will admit 250 students in the fall semester, the 30th anniversary of the program, said Nancy Gansneder, Director of the University Internship Program.

“Internships should not only be for the wealthy,” Gansneder said. “These [stipend-based] programs are designed to level the playing field, to give a student experience in a non-profit or government organization. In the 30 years the program has been in existence, the number of interns has grown from 35 to 250 this semester, and the summer program consistently has grown from 95 to 110 people.”

University Career Services also has programs available to students in need of financial aid for internships.

The Parents Program Internship Grants provide grants so that students can go to unpaid internships, expanding from 10 to 15 students next summer, Nelsen said.

In June, the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education put out a draft report proposing the creation of a national database to track information about individual students such as financial aid standing, for students at the nation’s colleges and universities.

In March 2005, the National Center for Education Statistics put out a study examining “the feasibility of collecting individual enrollment and financial aid information for each student in postsecondary education.”

The study examined both whether or not such a system could be and should be implemented. In the end, the study found that “this system would, for the first time, give policymakers and consumers much more accurate and comprehensive information about postsecondary education in this country.”

While the study concluded that such a system would be a valuable asset, Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU chapter in Virginia, does not support the creation of such a database.

“The ACLU is opposed to the expansion of databases containing information about people in the United States,” he said. “The government has no business crating databases that contain private information about individuals in the United States. [In the past] when the government has information like this it has tended to abuse the privilege.”

Wills added the ACLU is concerned about the potential for identity theft arising for the storage of a large amount of personal information in one place.

“If this information leaks out or is stolen and it get into the wrong hands then the government is aiding identity theft,” he said.

Kevin Carey, research and policy manager for Education Sector, said the new proposal would not represent a substantial change. The new draft proposal is simply suggesting that the individual colleges and universities submit all the data they have previously entered in different studies into one centralized database in which the data would be cross-referenced by students’ social security numbers. The National Center for Education Statistics has been collecting data from all colleges and universities into a national database for quite some time, he added, and that process has been somewhat inefficient.

“The process has been around for a long time. [But] it is a pretty labor intensive process [to] add up information on the institutional level,” Carey said.

Carey said he believes that one central database would be both more efficient and cheaper in the long run. He added that such a database would allow the Department of Education to calculate more accurate data.

“The important thing to understand is although the data would be collected as individual student data, [the Department of Education] would be prohibited from releasing the individual data,” Carey said, because of existing FERPA regulations, or Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a law that protects the privacy of student education records.

While officials at private universities, such as Katherine Will, president of Gettysburg College in an editorial in The Washington Post, have spoken out against the proposed database, Carey claims that public universities support this plan.

While the University has no taken an official position on the matter, George Stovall, director of institutional assessment and studies, said he does not support the creation of such a database.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” Stovall said. “I think it’s overkill. I think it’s dangerous to collect all this information and put it in a spot where it can possibly get out.”

Stovall said he feels the individual studies conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics are a better way to track institutional performance. But, he does see some potential benefits to the creation of a single database.

“There would be some benefits to this sort of database,” he said. “It would be a little bit easier to track students through their entire career through higher education. The question is whether or not it’s worth it. Is it worth the money and the additional burden that it will be put on the institution?”

The Board of Visitors will go on their annual summer retreat July 28 in Williamsburg with an “evolving” CASE, or mission, statement for the launch of the $3 billion Capital Campaign in September.

While Board Rector Thomas F. Farrell, II said he was confident that the campaign would be able to proceed on schedule, according to the minutes from the Nov. 7, 2005 Board meeting, the CASE statement was to be completed before this week’s retreat. While the CASE statement is not complete, the 10-year plan was completed on schedule, according to Farrell.

“The planning process for the Capital Campaign is exactly on schedule,” Farrell said. “[However,] the CASE statement has had numerous drafts over time. It continues to be tweaked, and will be an evolving process.”

The CASE statement will essentially serve as a vision for the University put forth by administrators to prospective donors and alumni groups.

In its current form, the CASE statement articulates three goals for the University: enhancing the student experience, strategically enhancing the University’s stature in the sciences and making the world a better place, according to Bill Sublette, director of campaign communications.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Sublette said. “We’ll be revising the statement as the campaign goes along.”

The Board has explored many possible ways to market the University as part of a separate branding initiative. At a full board meeting last April, members discussed possible ways to “brand” the distinctive characteristics of the University. Discussion included, among other things, the extent to which the University should play up its Jeffersonian lineage or strength in American studies.

“I think it is a matter of making sure the way we describe these initiatives are in harmony with each other,” Sublette said.

Farrell does not believe the planning process of the Capital Campaign will fall behind without a completed statement. There is a preliminary statement that includes the updated recommendations and suggestions from the various groups contributing to the campaign that is available for the launch of the campaign in the fall, he said.

“There has been one [statement] that has been shown to numerous corporations over the past six months, and it has changed constantly,” Farrell said. “It has changed from what to emphasize [and] what not to emphasize. There is a draft for the start of the campaign in September.”

Board secretary Sandy Gilliam, who has assisted in past University capital campaigns, said that he is not surprised by the delay of the completion of the CASE statement.

“They’re just trying to fine tune it,” he said. “Probably for the last six months, the president and the development office have been testing [the statement] out on various alumni groups and constituent groups. We are doing well in pushing towards our goal. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for it.”

In the University’s last campaign, in 1993, priorities evolved over the course of the campaign, Sublette said. Initially plans included raising funds to expand the University Hall basketball arena, resources were instead directed to expanding Scott Stadium.

However, according to Michael Neilson of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the long term plan for a capital fundraising campaign is unlikely to dramatically evolve once a campaign has been launched.

“It will probably not change very much. The daily and monthly tactics might change because of both external and internal factors,” Nielson said.

Neilson commends the University on its extensive planning process for the campaign as a whole.

“The key for a capital campaign is that really much of the work is done before the campaign even begins,” he said. “Typically, you’ll see months, years of work before the capital campaign has begun. They obviously expect to make $3 billion. [Without planning] you wouldn’t stand a chance of making it.”

Last week, both the media and the general public got their first looks inside the brand new John Paul Jones Arena during a series of open houses held Friday and Saturday. The first event to be hosted in the $129.8 million facility will be Cirque de Soleil’s Delirium Aug. 1.

Other events already booked include concerts by such renowned musical acts as James Taylor, The Wiggles, Kenny Chesney, Dave Matthews and Eric Clapton. The arena is also scheduled to host WWE’s Monday Night Raw (with an appearance by Hulk Hogan), Disney on Ice, Larry the Cable Guy, the Lipizzaner Stallions and the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus.

“The facility speaks for itself,” Larry Wilson, the general manager of SMG, the facilities management company contracted to manage JPJ, said Thursday to an assembled group of local media. “We want to host as many events as possible, with as diverse of a lineup as possible.”

VMDO Architects designed the unique architectural plan for the building.

The completed arena is the product of many years of in-depth preparation, according to Leonard Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer. JPJ is one of very few arenas on the East Coast to be funded entirely by private, self-generated money. A 20-year business plan was developed in order for the arena to be constructed in an economically viable fashion. Sandridge hopes that 500,000-600,000 people will attend events at JPJ in its first year.

“This effort was a major one for us,” Sandridge said at the media open house. “The facility was built for our students and our community.”

The main purpose of the arena will be to provide a premier home for the men’s and women’s basketball programs as well as services for many of Virginia’s other varsity sports.

“We talk about winning championships,” executive associate athletics director John Oliver said. “This arena will help us achieve that.”

Oliver also added that the building will help attract elite recruits to Virginia’s basketball programs.

All of Virginia’s student-athletes will profit from what JPJ has to offer. Athletes will be able to eat at the facility’s 350-seat dining room as well as study in the arena’s academic center.

“The dining facility is tremendous,” Virginia football coach Al Groh said. “We’re going to realize great benefit from it.”

Groh added that the football program’s academic center will remain in the McCue Center.

JPJ features three indoor basketball practice courts that ensure that both the men’s and women’s basketball programs will have at least 1.5 courts to practice, no matter what is taking place out on the arena’s main floor.

One of JPJ’s most eye-pleasing attributes is its state-of-the-art, $7.5 million audio-visual system. The main scoreboard above the court will feature Mitsubishi Diamond Vision, which is used at many of the nation’s modern professional arenas.

Fans will benefit from increased food options as well as bathroom facilities. JPJ’s 56 concession stands will sell food from vendors including AFC Sushi, Wild Wing Café, Dominic’s of New York, Boardwalk Fries, Greenberry’s, Ben and Jerry’s, Dippin’ Dots and Pepsi. There will be 45 bathrooms throughout the building with 369 toilets.

JPJ’s basketball capacity will be 15, 219, making it the fourth-largest in the ACC, behind North Carolina’s Dean Smith Center, N.C. State’s RBC Center and Maryland’s Comcast Center.

Saturday, JPJ’s general public open house saw thousands of people walk through the arena’s doors for the first time. Free hot dogs were offered as was face painting for children. Many visitors also purchased tickets for upcoming events at the new building.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — As both a drama major and a quarterback who has spent the past four years as a backup at both Notre Dame and Virginia, senior Christian Olsen knows something about being an understudy. Now, however, Virginia football coach Al Groh has given Olsen a chance to star in the spotlight. With the graduation of Marques Hagans, Groh has made it clear all spring and summer that Olsen will be his choice to fill the void under center.

“As long as he gives us the best chance to win, he’s our guy,” Groh reiterated Monday.

Groh’s confidence in him, however, does not mean that Olsen has relaxed his preparations for the upcoming season. In fact, he has only intensified those efforts. Olsen has been in Charlottesville all summer working out to get into the best shape possible for fall.

“There are about ten of us including Marcus [Hamilton] and Chris Long who have been here all summer,” Olsen said. “We’ve just been working out, running and throwing the ball as much as we can. I think it’s been the best summer since I’ve been here and this is my third summer here.”

The New Jersey native is also comfortable with his starting role heading into the start of training camp next week.

“I’m looking at it right now that it’s my job and that’s what we’ve been talking about with Coach Groh the whole time,” Olsen said. “I don’t have to go out there everyday and worry that if I throw an interception that I’ll lose the job. I have confidence going in there. But I’m not going to go out there lackadaisically. I’m going to go in there like I’m fighting for the job.”

After enrolling at Notre Dame in 2002, Olsen became stuck behind Carlyle Holiday on the depth chart. He had looked seriously at Virginia out of high school and decided in 2003 to leave South Bend for Charlottesville.

“Things happen for a reason,” Olsen said. “[Coming to Virginia] is probably the best decision I ever made.”

Olsen described his quarterbacking style as much closer to Matt Schaub’s than Marques Hagans’s.

“I’m a drop-back passer,” he said. “I’m not going to run the ball a lot. I’m just going to go out there and not try to do too much. I know that I don’t have to go out there and win the game like Matt had to do. We’ve got a lot of good players right now with our tight ends, running backs and receivers. I just got to go out there, give them the ball and be the point guard of the team.”

Over the past three years at Virginia, Olsen has gained a deeper understanding of football’s intricacies as he has stood on the sidelines. Now he wants to convert what he has learned into results on the field.

“I’ve definitely matured since I left Notre Dame,” Olsen said. “I’m better able to understand the overall concepts now and read defenses. It takes a long time to learn this offense, as intricate as it is. It’s been tough sitting around for three years but I definitely think that it’s been to my advantage.”

Olsen is incorrectly listed in the Virginia media guide as Anthropology major. In reality, after failing to gain admission to the Education School, he decided to major in drama.

Groh laughed when asked about Olsen’s major.

“I just hope he’s not a drama queen,” he said.

No matter what happens during training camp, the real evaluation of Olsen will not begin until Virginia takes the field in Pittsburgh Sept. 2. Olsen is looking forward to that date.

“We’re a lot better than people are giving us credit for,” he said. “I’m excited to get out there. I’ve been waiting 23 years for this.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — With football season little more than a month away and practices starting next week, the Atlantic Coast Conference held its annual media Kickoff event Sunday through Tuesday at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.Sunday, the media voted in the pre-season poll and results were released early Monday afternoon. Virginia narrowly edged North Carolina by one point to be selected to finish fourth in the ACC’s Coastal Division.

Miami (374 points) was chosen to win the Coastal Division, followed by Virginia Tech (316), Georgia Tech (279), Virginia (166), North Carolina (165) and Duke (65). Florida State (373) was picked to win the Atlantic Division, followed by Clemson (322), Boston College (269), Maryland (163), N.C. State (124) and Wake Forest (116). Miami was chosen to beat Florida State in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship game, scheduled for Dec. 2 at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville.

Groh had no major qualms with the media’s picks.

“It certainly looks pretty accurate at the top. Since we are one point ahead of the team that you all picked fifth, I don’t see much difference in fourth, fifth,” Groh said. “Given who I look at above us, that is probably the pretty accurate, pretty smart thing to do if you want your postseason standings to look like your preseason standings.”

Groh added that Virginia hopes to finish higher than fourth.

“We’d always like to finish higher than that,” Groh said. “But we look at the reality of things too. We are going to try to win them all, but kind of know where we are as a team and what we need to get done.”

Last season, the Cavaliers finished fifth in the Coastal Division, with a 3-5 conference record.

Also in the media poll, Georgia Tech junior wide receiver Calvin Johnson was the overwhelming choice for Pre-Season Player of the Year. Also receiving votes were Miami quarterback Kyle Wright, Clemson running back James Davis, Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford, Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker and Clemson defensive end Gaines Adams.

All 12 conference coaches as well as two players from each team were present at the event for interviews. Quarterback Christian Olsen and cornerback Marcus Hamilton represented Virginia along with head coach Al Groh.

During his Monday sit-down with the media, Groh made several newsworthy comments.

Perhaps most significant was word that junior safety Nate Lyles will be ready to practice when Virginia’s training camp opens up next Thursday. Lyles suffered a serious neck injury during last year’s 27-17 win over Georgia Tech and missed all of spring practice.

Also of importance was the revelation that cornerback Tony Franklin might be invited back to the team after being dismissed last spring for receiving a possession of marijuana misdemeanor charge. Groh hinted that the decision about Franklin will come very shortly. He said his decision will be based on a conversation with Franklin that he hopes to have before practice starts next week. Franklin was Virginia’s fourth-leading tackler last season with 39 and his return would be a major boost for what will be a young defensive unit.

Groh also indicated that he plans to start junior Ian-Yates Cunningham at center with junior Jordan Lipsey backing him up. With the departures of stalwarts D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Brian Barthelemes, Virginia’s lack of depth on the offensive line is an area of concern.

Olsen’s interview session ranged over a wide variety of topics, from replacing Marques Hagans to Olsen’s brief foray into the world of modeling as well as his majoring in drama. Olsen was also paired with Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer in Monday’s golf tournament. He faced his toughest questioning when teammate Marcus Hamilton grabbed a recorder.

“Who is your favorite cornerback?” Hamilton asked.

“My favorite cornerback is probably Chris Gorham, because he’s probably the toughest to go against when I need to,” Olsen replied with a grin on his face. “The other guy [Hamilton] — we could probably put a cone out there and get more coverage on our receivers than that. But in all seriousness, going against you, Marcus, is probably what’s making me a better quarterback. I’m not bull [expletive] you right now. You make Deyon [Williams] better, you make Fontel [Mines] better and you make me better because you’re right there and I’ve got to throw it into tight coverage. It’s making me a much more accurate passer.”