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(11/13/12 2:34am)
On Thursday, Nov. 8, there was an attempted abduction of a University student on Stadium Road. The abduction, which was perpetrated by a young man who worked regularly in one of the school’s dining halls, went unreported by the University Police through a University-wide email, but was picked up by the Daily Progress and NBC 29. Although I am grateful to Charlottesville’s local media for alerting the community, I am disappointed that the University has yet to notify students of the event and appears to be hiding it from the public eye. As a graduate student and undergraduate alumna, I have always appreciated the police alerts and safety reminders distributed by the University’s Chief of Police, and I can’t understand why, in this case, they have been silent on the issue. I, as well as my fellow peers, depend on the police to keep us informed and on alert for events like this and the idea that they are seemingly sweeping it under the rug is reprehensible.
(09/16/10 5:44am)
In yesterday's Cavalier Daily, an article was printed discussing the Board of Visitors' plan to preserve and restore the Rotunda, with renovations costing the University $22.9 million
(10/30/08 9:13am)
The University, in collaboration with the American Psychological Association, recently received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to begin research on the contributions of public high schools that specialize in science, technology and mathematics, the University announced yesterday.The study, which will be conducted over the course of three years, will examine various aspects of specialized high schools and the resources they provide to students.“Since these specialized high schools are not widely available, it is important to look at their strengths and the contributions they are making to students who are interested in these particular fields,” said Rena Subotnik, director of the American Psychological Association’s Center for Psychology in the Schools and Education.Comparing the career paths of recent graduates from both specialized and traditional high schools, the study aims to assess whether students in specialized schools have a greater likelihood of continuing on to a career in the field of math or science.“What we want to figure out is whether or not the likelihood of obtaining a degree in science-related areas increases after students graduate from specialized high schools,” Assoc. Education Prof. Robert Taisaid.Examining specialized schools from across the country, Tai said, including the Illinois Math and Science Academy and the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science and the Arts, the study will attempt to pinpoint which institutional practices exercised by such schools are associated with maintaining student interest in math and science.“By identifying which aspects of the school have the most impact and are the most useful, information can then be provided to more traditional high schools who can then choose to replicate some of these practices,” Subotnik said.The data, which will be collected from a wide range of schools “engaged in national conversation,” will also provide information to policy-makers concerning the benefits of these schools, in the hopes of allowing additional funding to be allocated for the research, Subotnik said.With the study’s findings, parents and teachers will be able to understand how much students are affected by participating in these types of programs, which are currently growing in numbers, Tai added.“Generally these schools have a positive impact on students,” Tai said. “The question is, how much?”
(10/29/08 6:07am)
University administrators are considering designating Hereford College as a housing option solely for first-year students beginning next year. Hereford residents discussed their opinions on the possible change at last night’s Hereford Student Senate meeting.This discussion arose in light of the University’s ongoing attempt to rebuild the Alderman Road first-year dormitories, University spokesperson Carol Wood explained, noting that the Alderman Road buildings are “coming down more quickly then expected” and the University needs somewhere to house first-year students during the construction process.Wood emphasized that the University has not made a final decision about Hereford’s future residents yet but is hoping to have a decision by the end of this week.Hereford College President Nancy Takahashi said if Hereford is designated as first-year student housing only, it will impact Hereford’s upperclass residents, who will need to find alternative housing for next year.Takahashi added that the possible change is, and should be, a concern to students in the residential college. She also noted that she welcomes students’ input into the decision.At the Senate meeting held last night, students expressed concern about the University’s neglect in informing students of the possible change. Students reported having no knowledge of the possible change until they tried to renew their rooms for next year, only to find that they had been “displaced.” “Just imagine that this was happening to you, suddenly having your home abolished out from under you with no warning,” said fourth-year College student Zack Yezek, a Hereford resident, at the meeting. “The way Housing [Division] has acted is frankly dishonorable, taking no time to interview students and listen to their concerns beforehand.”Third-year Engineering student Esteban Fuentes, a Hereford resident, noted that the change, if it occurs, would not affect him because he is planning to move off-Grounds next year, but that it would impact those students who wish to stay in the residential college.“Hereford is sort of like a sanctuary for some people,” he said. “Where else are they going to go?”First-year College student Eric Kim, a Hereford resident, said for him, the change would limit his housing options for next year, and therefore he is personally against the possible change.“I’m trying to live off Grounds next year but if I can’t find any houses off Grounds, Hereford would be my first choice,” Kim explained, noting that Hereford is his first choice for on-Grounds housing because he likes the available bus transportation and having Runk Dining Hall so close to his dormitory.First-year College student Charles Joynson, a Hereford resident, on the other hand, said he could see how having only first-year students in Hereford could be beneficial by allowing them to create a strong first-year community. During the meeting students voiced several ideas for conveying their opinions on the upcoming decision, including forming a group to speak with the Housing Division as well as sending letters to parents describing how the situation was handled.“What we want to know is if there is anything we, as current Hereford residents, can do to keep Hereford and still satisfy housing needs for next year,” Yezek said. “What could we do to make everyone happy?”
(10/02/08 5:54am)
In an attempt to help students gain deeper perspective into various options for higher education, Forbes.com recently released its first ranking of the country’s top colleges. The University ranked 43rd of 569 schools, according to the Forbes.com report, which seeks to provide an alternative to the annual US News & World Report rankings.“While US News & World Report tends to measure input and a college’s reputation, our system is different,” said Michael Noer, executive editor of special projects for Forbes.com. “We offer an alternative, measuring how students rate their own educational experiences.”Noer noted that Forbes.com gathered information from a variety of sources aside from student evaluations for it’s America’s Best Colleges report; it examined information from Web sites such as RateMyProfessors.com and Who’s Who in America. By using such resources Forbes.com hopes to publicize information usually not provided to or considered by students when choosing a college, Noer noted.“Students only get to choose one college,” Noer said, adding that factors such as graduation rates and the amount of debt students accumulate should be considered as well.Not everyone agrees with the methods used by Forbes.com, however.“It’s incredibly difficult to rank universities,” University Assistant Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said, adding that the subjective measures used by Forbes.com overlooked more important factors that should have been taken into account when evaluating the University and other higher education institutions.Noer said his company’s rankings measure students’ success upon graduation, while other reports such as the one compiled by US News & World Report analyze information relating to incoming students. This difference makes the Forbes.com rankings more useful and valuable, according to Noer.The University’s rank made it the only college or university with more than 10,000 students to break the top 50, Noer said.“U.Va. did very well, being the largest school to rank beyond the median range,” Noer said, adding that the other large state colleges and universities were ranked lower.Roberts said he appreciates the University’s ranking in Forbes.com’s America’s Best Colleges, but noted that he thinks the rankings are not as valid as those that focus on objective criteria. Noer emphasized, though, that this difference might be perceived as a beneficial one for prospective students seeking more information about various higher education institutions; the use of subjective issues also might make the Forbes.com rankings more reflective of a university’s true nature.“We felt it was important to offer an alternative to students,” said Noer. “America’s Best Colleges does that.”
(09/18/08 5:25am)
Considering herself a friend of the University, Elizabeth “Ibby” Greer, widow of T. Keister Greer, a University alumnus and lawyer, will be donating her husband’s personal legal files to the Corcoran Department of History later this year in hopes of giving back to the University that she believes gave her husband so much.“It was his Virginia education that made his career,” Ibby Greer said, noting that her husband’s education gave him the ability to spot technicalities that others could not. “He was, so to say, a lawyer’s lawyer.”A 1948 Law School alumnus, T. Keister Greer was known for his legal career in both Virginia and California. Ibby Greer said his cases — which include U.S. Supreme Court case Salyer Land Co. v. Tulare Water District (1973) — are the basis of the files.Explaining her donation to the department, Greer said she hopes to fulfill research needs for both students and faculty and showcase how T. Keister Greer applied his University education.History Prof. Charles McCurdy said the files will be valuable to the department.“Both undergraduate and graduate students will find these files to be of great resource when conducting research,” he said. “Keister’s life was just that interesting.”Ibby Greer said she chose the Corcoran Department of History as the recipient of these files because she believes the education her husband received there contributed greatly to his later success. “My husband’s attachment, passion and respect for its faculty make this department very special to me,” Greer said. “He used his education in his daily work. It enabled him to crack the cases he did.”McCurdy echoed Ibby Greer’s praise of her husband, noting the skills the former lawyer exhibited in the courtroom.“He could work a jury and a room as well as anyone I know,” McCurdy said. “He was persuasive and sharp, yet never hostile.”Although this recent donation represents Greer’s support and gratitude toward the department, she has been, as McCurdy stated, “one of the great boosters of the University” for many years. In the 1990s she founded the T. Keister Greer Faculty Endowment Fund to aid faculty members in their desires to conduct research overseas, in honor of her husband.