For the first time, Morgan Dana Harrington’s parents visited Anchorage Farm, the local site on which their daughter’s remains were discovered one year ago.

This Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the recovery of Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington’s remains on Anchorage Farm in Albemarle County.

Morgan’s parents, Gil and Dan Harrington, spent Tuesday morning retracing the path their daughter took on the night of her disappearance with Virginia State Police officials working on the case and members of select media outlets. For the first time, the couple saw the site where their daughter’s remains were found.

The Harringtons announced their plans for the walk-through last week in an e-mail.

“In the morning at 9am we will meet at the VSP office in the Fontaine Research Park and follow Morgan’s path from University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena to Copeley Road Bridge and finally to the field at Anchorage Farm where Morgan was ‘disposed’ of,” Gil wrote. “This will be the first time Dan and I have been allowed on the site, and we are grateful for the opportunity.”

State Police Special Agent Dino Capuzzo, the lead investigator for the crime, led the walk-through. When the party arrived on the scene of discovery yesterday, Gil Harrington ran her hands over the spot where Morgan’s body was found and made a plea for the public to continue searching for the perpetrator.

“Please spit out this evil criminal, and let us have him arrested and save another young woman,” she said.

Morgan Harrington was attending a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena Oct. 17, 2009 when she went missing.

On the night in question, Harrington left the arena shortly after 8 p.m. for reasons that are still unknown. She was denied reentry to the concert between 8:20 and 8:30 p.m. because she did not have her ticket stub. Her friends still in the arena were holding her car keys, and Morgan told them she would look for another way to get home.

Several witnesses reported seeing a woman matching Harrington’s description in the University Hall parking lot between 9 and 9:10 p.m., and in the Lannigan Field lot between 9:20 and 9:30 p.m.

The last report matching her description was of a woman attempting to hitchhike on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road at 9:30 p.m.

Three months later on Jan. 26, 2010, Anchorage Farm Owner David Bass discovered Morgan Harrington’s skeletal remains in a hayfield while doing maintenance work on his 742-acre property located about eight miles from Grounds.

Following the incident, administrators released safety information to the University and worked with the Harrington family on their search efforts. On the one-year anniversary of Morgan’s disappearance, a dedication ceremony during which a plaque was installed in her memory was held on Copeley Bridge. In an e-mail, Patricia Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer, invited the student body to participate in the dedication ceremony “and in the ongoing efforts to build a safe community.”

Yesterday, Dean of Students Allen Groves said even though a year has passed, Morgan’s story should not be forgotten.

“A promising young life was lost, and a family still grieves,” Groves said. “They should remain in our thoughts regardless of the passage of time. We must also remember that the person or persons who did this remain at large, a reminder that every student should remain vigilant for their own safety and that of their friends.”

Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller said the goal of Wednesday’s media event was to advance the progress of the investigation. “We are hoping to bring the case back to forefront of people’s attention,” Geller said. “Sometimes time helps trigger people’s memories or make them feel more conformable coming forward.”

The department’s hopes may have come true — it has seen an uptick in the number of leads coming in, and investigators are actively pursuing those new clues, Geller said.

She added that it was raining on Oct. 17 when Harrington’s body was likely left in the field and that the individual may have had muddied pant legs, shoes or vehicle, Geller said. “Those are the type of things we are hoping to trigger memories and lead us to the person’s location,” she said.

Anyone with information should call Jefferson Area Crimestoppers at 434-977-4000. There is still a $150,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest.

The University received 23,942 applications for the class of 2015, a 6-percent increase from last year’s pool of students. Photo by Thomas Bynum.

The University’s Office of Admissions is sorting through a record number of applications for the second consecutive year.

The University received a record 23,942 applications for the class of 2015 — a 6 percent increase from the 22,510 applications received for the class of 2014.

Many administrators point to the school’s financial aid programs to explain this upward trend, despite the falling numbers of high-school graduates across the nation.

“In this economy, students and families are looking for quality education at a value,” Dean of Admission Greg Roberts said. “Our relatively low-cost, especially when compared to our private peers, and our AccessUVA financial aid program make attending U.Va. affordable.”

Student Financial Services Director Yvonne Hubbard said AccessUVA keeps gifted students from “self-selecting” out of the process because of a perceived inability to pay for their education at the University.

“AccessUVA provides funding from federal, state and institutional sources to meet 100 percent of the demonstrated need of our students,” Hubbard said. She added that providing financial assistance is vital to ensuring diversity within the student body.

“We work to ensure that students who earn admissions can afford to be here and to experience the full range of what U.Va. has to offer,” she said.

Roberts added that a number of selective schools have received more applications this year than in the past, which hints that many students are applying to more schools than they were a few years ago.

Harvard Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath also credits outreach efforts and financial aid programs for their rise in applicants, which has risen by 50 percent since 2007.

“I think the reason why we and other colleges have seen increases is that we have all recruited very vigorously,” McGrath said. “In addition, electronic application procedures have made it easier to apply. Many colleges, including us, have been able to offer extremely generous financial aid programs and have publicized them.”

The Office of Admissions will look to increase enrollment by 120 students for the fall semester, bringing the total to about 3,360 students. This increase is unrelated to the increase in applicants, though, and instead stems from pressure to accept more qualified in-state students. Across the state, public schools are facing pressure from Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office to raise enrollment in an effort to increase the number of degrees issued to state residents.

“We continue to choose from the best students in the world,” Roberts said. “More applications means more great applicants to select from.”

The University Board of Elections is now promoting the student-wide election held in February. The ballot, created and distributed annually by the UBE, will consist of candidates running for leadership positions among the University’s student governing bodies, as well as any referenda being proposed by these bodies.

In the past, the UBE has seen low voter turnout, UBE Chair Ricky Zein said, adding that on average, about 30 to 40 percent of students cast a vote.

“This year, I am hopeful that we can surpass 50 percent of the student voting population,” Zein said.

The UBE hopes that candidate endorsements from other student organizations will help to increase the number of students who participate in the process.

“Any [contracted independent organization] can endorse a candidate, and their endorsement is communicative throughout the general study body,” Zein said. “The general student body represents general student life. When they hear this info, it makes more sense for them to vote and reduces the degrees of distance between them and the candidates in the election.”

Any organization also will have the opportunity to campaign directly for candidates using its funds. “It’s the philosophy that any CIO can endorse a candidate,” Zein said.

The UBE is not alone in attempting to increase student turnout, as Student Council — one of the governing bodies whose candidates will be on the ballot — will be working to promote voter awareness as well. Director of University Relations Dan Morrison said Council is currently encouraging younger students to throw their hats into the ring.

“Contested races always have a lot higher turnouts and more votes,” Morrison said. “StudCo has power to let people know that elections are coming up. By getting diverse candidates, it brings different issues to the table and gets the word out.”

Meanwhile, the Honor Committee plans to host “a town-hall style, open dialogue for students” to promote voter turnout, Chair Charles Harris said.

Students running for positions have until Feb. 6 to submit their petitions. The voting period will begin Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. and run through Feb. 27.

Roy Willis was honored by the University at an event last year. Photo courtesy Dan Addison of University Relations.

With the start of Black History Month around the corner, the University celebrates a major milestone in its own history — the 50th anniversary of the first black student to enroll in the College.

Amos Leroy “Roy” Willis, in addition to being the first black graduate of the College in 1962, is notable for being the first black student to live on the Lawn. Last February, Willis was honored with a plaque at his former residence at 43 West Lawn that describes his achievements at the University. At the dedication ceremony, former University President John T. Casteen, III lauded Willis, stating that the plaque put in place in honor of Willis’ achievements is “reserved for the most extraordinary people and extraordinary things.”

Willis remembers his journey to the College as an uphill battle. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1957, he applied to and was rejected from the College of William & Mary, an incident that motivated him to break down racial barriers.

“I was denied admissions strictly because I was African-American,” Willis said. “After William & Mary, I got a social and political education. I saw the segregation.”

Willis enrolled at Norfolk State College, then an all-black university, where he studied chemistry. He transferred to the University’s Engineering School in 1959 to study chemical engineering, a decision that was again affected by race. Black students could only take courses at the University that were not offered by black colleges.

Once he arrived on Grounds, Willis thrived academically but decided that he wanted a change.

“I made the Dean’s List, but I decided I wanted a more liberal arts education,” Willis said.

Willis requested to transfer into the College but met resistance from University officials.

“I found that the College was not open to African-Americans. It was the crown jewel of U.Va., and it just didn’t seem right … They tried to discourage me, but I was quite persistent,” Willis said.

To convince the reluctant administration, Willis invoked the spirit of the University’s founder.

“I urged upon them that U.Va. was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who was also the author of the Declaration of Independence. I asked them, ‘Isn’t it about time to put these principles into action here?’” he said.

Ultimately the University relented and Willis entered the College in 1961 to study chemistry. In September of that year, Willis was assigned to live in 43 West Lawn through his involvement in the ROTC program at the University, shattering another barrier in the process.

Nevertheless, Willis recalls that not only did he face adversity from officials at the time but also he encountered racism from students.

“People have asked me what it was like, and it was a tough experience. I would walk across Grounds, and people wouldn’t speak to me. There were some very tough times. It’s taken 50 years for me to reconcile,” he said.

Willis graduated in 1962 with a bachelor of science in Chemistry and enrolled at Harvard Business School in 1967, where he received a Masters in Business Administration in 1969.

After his time at Harvard, Willis chose to continue his work for equality and to carry on the legacy of leaders of the civil rights movement.

“After Dr. King, I couldn’t throw my life away on Wall Street. There was too much social activism to be done,” he siad.

Willis moved to Berkley, Calif., where he established Roy Willis and Associates, Inc., a real estate consulting firm that specializes in “re-development” of education, arts and culture in various urban communities.

As he looks back upon his years as a student, Willis said he can visibly see improvements that have been made yet that there is still room to better both the University and the society at large.

“The world has changed a lot, and I’m glad I’ve lived long enough to go from a time when Virginia was a very segregated place and the University reflected that to here. When I go back now, there are men, women, people from other countries, and people of all persuasions. It’s something I’m very proud of,” Willis said.

University historian Alexander “Sandy” Gilliam similarly noted the strides the administration has made in the past decades.

“The state of Virginia, going back to some time in the early 1960s, was one of several states under federal court order to increase to diversity at state institutions. We really worked at it,” Gilliam said.

Willis also hopes that his legacy will carry on at the University for future generations. His twin children Nia and Maceo graduated from the College in 1993 and 1994, respectively, and he wishes forhis grandchildren to follow in those same footsteps.

“I want to establish an African-American legacy of people who went to the University and not only wanted to have a successful career but also a commitment to civil rights and social justice,” he said. “Even though there is work to be done, I’ve seen the country move forward. That’s what is on my heart today. It gives me hope that we can make our country and our society better.”