YOU MAY never have met her, you may not even have voted for her, but chances are she has touched your life in more ways than one. Virginia State Sen. Emily Couric has served the Charlottesville area for five years as an elected state official and years before as a member of the school board; now she will run in another race: a race for health.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in mid-July of this year, Couric has opted out of the race for Lieutenant Governor in order to pursue treatment. She might be years away from another election, but the people of Charlottesville should know now her long list of accomplishments and other victories.
Couric developed ties to the University not just because of the alumnae status of her famous sister, Katie Couric, or through her husband, George Beller, the Chief of Cardiology at the hospital, but through her political support of the University over the years. Josh Scott, Couric's assistant campaign manager and a 2000 College graduate, says that "U.Va. is a big part of her constituency," but she doesn't only focus on the decision-makers at the University. "She is involved with the workers as well," says Scott, "she deals not just with Charlottesville bigwigs, but with normal people."
Couric has spoken to the University Women Faculty and Professional Association, the University's chapter of the National Organization for Women, the University Health System, and served as a keynote speaker for several events including the Curry School's Education Day.
Why isn't Couric a Wahoo herself? Couric told University faculty during a speech that "it's not my fault I didn't go here -- U.Va. didn't accept women at the time." It was the school's loss.
Couric's signature issue has been education since she began work for the Venable Elementary School Parent Teacher Association when her son was a student. Soon she was elected president of the association, then moved on to serve on the Charlottesville school board for two terms, including one year as its chair. She was elected to state office in 1995, where she continued to work in support of Virginia's public schools. She sponsored a bill allowing donations of surplus computers and related equipment to public schools and charitable corporations and a bill allowing retirees to continue teaching without interrupting their retirement benefits. She also worked to create an advanced mathematics and technology diploma for students in Virginia, and to help disadvantaged students with loan programs.
In an even closer tie to the University, Couric worked extensively with the Youth Leadership Initiative at the University's Center for Governmental Studies. Through her participation in student-run debates, mock elections and other YLI events, Prof. Larry Sabato, the Center's Director, said that "Emily Couric has been a tremendous asset to the University of Virginia in general and my Center for Governmental Studies in particular."
In conjunction with the Center, Couric supported exploration of Internet voting in the Commonwealth. She co-sponsored a bill to form a subcommittee that would review the practical applications of online voting. The Center, named in the bill, provides staff support for the study.
These types of initiatives, called "quality of life concerns" by Scott, included work on prescription drug benefits and access to quality, affordable health care, and an issue that created national press recently: colorectal cancer screening. Couric was the patron of a bill passed last spring requiring health insurers and HMOs to provide coverage for screening. The law was the first of its kind in any state, and was considered a serious step forward in battling one of the most preventable types of cancer. Couric's brother-in-law, Katie Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, died of colorectal cancer in 1998.
Ironically, Couric has one of the most serious and hardest to prevent types of cancer. With few warning signs, pancreatic cancer is difficult to catch early. Though the prognosis was serious enough to prompt Couric to withdraw from the race for Lt. Governor, she plans to finish her term in the Virginia State Senate. "She's in really good spirits," said Scott, also commenting on her otherwise excellent health. "She even used to yell at us for bringing doughnuts into the office in the morning," he said.
Couric will be missed this fall in the race for Lt. Governor. Her departure created an avalanche of potential candidates who otherwise would not have challenged the popular Senator. Alex Theodoridis, Chief of Staff at the Center, says that Couric "has an almost Kennedy-esque ability to transmit her enthusiasm for civic involvement and public service to others."
Although not everyone may have agreed with her political views in the past, no one can deny that Couric still is a powerful political force with a wealth of potential. I'm sure the University and the city of Charlottesville stand behind me in wishing her strength and a speedy recovery, and in hoping that this is simply a pause before a future race for Lt. Governor.
(Emily Harding is a Cavalier Daily columnist. She is an intern at the Center for Governmental Studies.)
Read More
IYER: Sports stadiums should sport more benefit to Virginia residents
By Arjun Iyer | YesterdayPast stadiums in other states show that Virginia has the potential to succeed at such a construction project, provided that proper measures are undertaken.
KURTZWEIL: True financial aid must be transparent
By Paul Kurtzweil | 5 days agoThe implications and revelations of the lawsuit should inspire greater transparency at the University in order to ensure that financial aid is properly and equitably distributed.
SULLIVAN: Ramp up physical accessibility on Grounds
By Scarlett Sullivan | April 27, 2024The University must take responsibility for the inaccessibility of Grounds and work to promote accessibility for all students despite misguided laws.
