Fourth-year Engineering student Emily Ewell created her own course this fall as a response to her desire to be able to take classes with many of the University's most renowned faculty members within the often rigid confines of her major program. Ewell's class aims to accomplish these goals -- not just for her but for any University student.
The class, LASE 360: U.Va.'s Unforgettable Lectures, was created in order to bring the most popular professors to those students that normally would not have the chance to take a class with them. In an effort to make available the widest variety of faculty members, the class features a revolving lecture series -- every week, a new professor speaks about whatever topic they choose.
"The class is a fantastic way for students to meet professors who they might have heard about," said Biology Prof. Barry Condron, the class's first lecturer and Ewell's faculty liaison.
LASE 360 lecturer Richard Guy Wilson, Commonwealth professor of architectural history, said the class "seemed like an interesting vehicle offering a tremendous variety of perspectives from different professors."
Ewell credits the class's conceptualization to both herself and her friend Ronnie Parikh, who graduated last year from the University. According to Ewell, it was a conversation with Parikh and a few friends that sparked the idea when Parikh mentioned that he wished he had the ability to take more classes with various professors.
"Part of the problem is that, with grade chasing, people are afraid of going outside of their boundaries," Wilson said. "This class is a way of reaching out to students who normally would not try something different."
Both Condron and Wilson added that Ewell's devotion to the ideas of her class is remarkable.
"Emily has done something amazing with this class," Condron said.
Ewell also mentioned that the name of the class, LASE 360, is meant to refer to the "360 degrees of the University," and that the class is a "showcase of our academia."
Ewell said she hopes that the University agrees to institutionalize the course as a permanently student-run series of lectures. Ewell said LASE 360 will be offered during the upcoming spring semester.
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