74 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/12/09 6:47am)
The Corporation for National and Community Service named the University to the 2008 National Community Service Honor Roll with distinction last month, said Siobhan Dugen, the corporation’s spokesperson.The Honor Roll included 653 schools, with six receiving presidential awards and 83 named to the “with distinction” list, Dugen said.The mark of “with distinction” means a school’s community service and service learning efforts were impressive to reviewers, she explained.“They pick the ones that are outstanding, and in this case, that was the University of Virginia,” Dugen said.This is the University’s third year on the Honor Roll and its second year with distinction, said Megan Raymond, the University’s director of academic community engagement.The application to the Honor Roll asks for the number of students participating in community service and in academic community service, and for an estimate of the total number of service hours contributed, said Raymond, who completed the University’s application. During the 2007-08 school year, which is the period of evaluation for the 2008 Honor Roll, about 8,500 students logged 450,000 hours of community service, she said. Raymond emphasized that these figures are estimates. “I think it’s really the tip of the iceberg for what our students do,” she said.The application allows schools to submit five narrative descriptions of projects, Raymond said. The most recent application highlighted Bridging the Gap, a program that gives refugee youth who have resettled in Charlottesville access to resources. It also included Nursing Students Without Borders, the University Internship Program, Project SERVE and the Law School’s pro bono project, Raymond said.As part of its annual special focus, this year the Honor Roll emphasized service projects affecting youth in disadvantaged situations, Raymond said. Schools were allowed to submit two additional project descriptions for this special focus. For this section, Raymond described the Young Women Leader’s Program, which is run through the Women’s Leader Center, and the Day in the Life Program, which provides tutoring and mentoring to local middle school students.“We’ve got a nice little snapshot of a whole range of activities,” Raymond said. The activities described on the application are only a sampling of the entire University, she said. “There’s a lot more work going on than what gets captured through this process.”The Honor Roll is a way to recognize and validate the work of people supporting the University’s service mission, Raymond said. “It rewards them for their good work,” Dugen agreed. “It draws attention to the need for volunteering and service learning on college campuses.”College students can have a strong impact on the community they live in, Dugen said, noting that students who volunteer early in their lives tend to continue volunteering later on. “The University has a responsibility to educate people to live their lives as active, involved citizens,” she said. “And this is part of what [the University] is doing.”Being on the Honor Roll can also help other schools across the state and country realize their ability to perform similar service work, Dugen said. “U.Va. can serve as a role model for other colleges and universities,” she said.
(02/05/09 7:20am)
During his annual State of the University address yesterday, President John T. Casteen, III discussed the impact of the current economic turbulence on the University — including the effect of state budget cuts — and strategies to deal with the situation.The address was focused almost exclusively on the financial state of the University. “This is not an ordinary year,” Casteen said. “The uncertainties around us are a fundamental part of the University’s life.”One of these uncertainties is related to state revenue. The state’s revenue shortfalls have greatly exceeded the estimates from the first quarter, Casteen said.With Governor Tim Kaine’s proposed budget for 2007 through 2010, the University is facing three rounds of cuts, Casteen said. The proposal includes a general fund reduction of 8 percent, or $12.4 million, for the 2009 to 2010 fiscal year, in addition to a 7 percent, or $10.6 million, cut during the current year. “We have seen a series of cuts and we will see more because the state simply does not have the revenue,” Casteen said.Kaine’s proposals include eliminating the state match for the Eminent Scholars program, which began in 1964, Casteen said. “[The] 2.8 million dollars proposed to be removed this time will end the program,” he said. The University is working to build legislative support for the program, which various University schools depend on, Casteen said.The University will also delay two major capital projects: the renovations of Ruffner Hall and Cabell Hall, Casteen said. Privately funded projects, however, will go ahead as long as money is available.Despite losses in funding, Casteen said the University is faring better than many national private universities in the Northeast. “The fundamental reason is that many or most of them are dependent on maybe one revenue source,” Casteen said. Many private universities rely heavily on their endowments, supplemented by their tuition. It is not uncommon for major universities’ endowments to make up approximately 35 percent of their budgets, he said.The University’s endowment has dropped about 25 percent in the first and third quarters of 2008, from $5.1 billion June 30 to $3.9 billion Dec. 31, Casteen said. “From what we can tell, the flow of large gifts [which constitute the bulk of donations] will not stop,” he said, though the University also needs “substantial numbers of smaller donors.” The global nature of the recession is also important because many of the larger donors are in international business, Casteen said.The economy will also impact financial aid, Casteen said, explaining that financial aid will increase as unemployment increases. “Many of the funds that are required for financial aid come from donors,” he said. The University is working to continue acquiring donations, he said. There have been “fairly dramatic gifts” recently, Casteen said, including the $1.6 million donation so far for AccessUVa from friends of former Admissions Dean John Blackburn.Though there are some federal financial aid bills passing through the House of Representatives and the Senate, Casteen said there are flaws with the current bills. “Both bills increase funding for student financial aid, [but] the specifics and the amounts are different,” he said. “Neither addresses the fundamental defects ... in the [federal financial aid] system.”Casteen said the University has two choices to address the economic situation — one more proactive than the other.“One is to see the crisis as an excuse for mediocrity,” he said. “The other is to see the downturn as an opportunity for carefully conceived, wise ... and innovative thinking.”Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said University officials have thought on a “broad basis” to protect the University’s interests and programs. The University will be working to control costs, manage the employment level and find new revenue sources, he said. Furthermore, the University will not be filling vacancies unless absolutely necessary, Casteen said, but will refrain from laying off current employees.In terms of building new revenue streams, Casteen noted that he wants to see the University expand into untapped regions, such as Asia, via online education. “Imagine what we can do in places where we have never been but where our name is known,” he said. Such branching out, however, is very challenging, with very few successes among American universities, he said. “The demand for this service is huge. It’s everywhere,” he said. “We will meet these challenges and we will succeed.”Sandridge said he agreed that the University will manage the difficult financial situation.“Our objective is for those who receive services from the University will not see a decrease in the quality of the education and the patient care they receive, and that we emerge from this as a stronger institution,” Sandridge said.The economy will recover eventually, Casteen said. Until then, “the challenge is to work together, to work smarter, to work more strategically than ever before,” he said, “and to understand that we will come out of this downturn a stronger and smarter university.”
(01/29/09 7:59am)
Recent estimates from the University’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service suggest that economic factors are responsible for Virginia’s increasingly slow population growth rate in recent years.The population growth rate had been about 1.2 percent from 2001 to 2004 but declined to 1.1 percent beginning in 2005 and has been slightly less than 1 percent for the past two years, said Qian Cai, Cooper Center demographics and workforce section director.“The population is still growing,” she said. “It’s just not [growing] as fast as in the earlier half [of this] decade.”Cai explained population growth depends on two factors: natural increase and migration. The commonwealth’s overall birthrate has been rising steadily for the past four or five years, Cooper Center research associate Michael Spar said, noting that the slowing population growth rate is a result of a lack of migration.“Good economic conditions in an area encourage people to migrate to that area, as well as providing a mechanism for keeping new job entrants staying in the area,” he said, explaining that poor economic conditions have the opposite consequences.The fastest-growing counties in the commonwealth are mostly located in Northern Virginia or along the Interstate 95 corridor, Cai said, partly because employment opportunities are more widely available there. Loudoun County, the county with the highest growth rate in the state, has grown almost 70 percent since 2000, Cai said.Outside of the metropolitan region, the Highland County and Buchanan County populations have each decreased 10 percent during the past eight years, and the city of Petersburg lost 9.6 percent of its population, she said.“Those localities losing population ... suffer both the natural decrease and the migration,” she said.In addition to a lack of opportunities in some areas, people may be concerned about being able to sell their houses or being able to afford two mortgages, Cai said. “That could have a dampening effect on mobility.”Spar described the importance of mobility, noting that when migrants move to an area, they can have an “immediate economic impact” as they find a place to live and begin paying property taxes, either directly or indirectly through a landlord. When they start working, they begin paying local, state and federal taxes.“They spend their money in the local economy,” Spar said, which has a “multiplier effect” by increasing employment opportunities for others.The declining economy can also have an indirect impact on population growth, Spar said. The economic outlook can influence birth rates, he said, explaining that in good economic times, families may be more willing to have children. This is “a little bit more subtle,” Spar said. “I think it’s too early to tell about the impact of the economy on birth.”The statewide decline in natural population growth rate would be just barely noticeable, Spar said, explaining that the drop in migration to Virginia is more significant. Fewer people coming into Virginia results in a net loss of tax dollars, Spar said.Spar said he would not be surprised to see a growth rate of 0.8 or 0.7 percent next year, and Cai agreed that “we’ll see a continuing decline in population growth rate.” Spar said he expects the situation to continue for the next two years or until the economy moves out of recession.“Once the economy starts to rebound and the housing market gets back to normal, we could expect to see an effect on the population growth,” Cai said. “This really depends on the national economy and the state economy.”
(01/22/09 7:23am)
At a Harrison Institute discussion yesterday, professors from the University of Virginia, the University of Richmond and Brown University argued that despite its historic nature, Barack Obama’s presidency does not represent a fulfillment of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and said linking the two figures is an oversimplification. Others in attendance, though, including University of Virginia African-American Affairs Dean Maurice Apprey, said the professors’ comments “understated” the historical significance of Obama taking office.The panel, titled “King and Obama: the Dream, the Promise, the Fulfillment” was part of the University’s recognition of the holiday celebrating King earlier this week. The panel focused on the significance of Obama’s inauguration in the context of discussing King’s legacy.“It was a wonderful day for us, not only because Obama is symbolically a representative of an oppressed people,” said Andrea Simpson, associate political science professor at the University of Richmond. “As a political scientist, we’ve always said that if you had a vowel at the end of your name, you could not be elected president.” Despite the unprecedented nature of Obama’s election, Simpson cautioned that “what it means most is a change in party leadership.” This can impact issues such as government support for returning veterans and those seeking Social Security, but Simpson argued that the United States is not “even halfway” to King’s goal. “We should still be happy,” she said. “But we should keep our head on straight.” The black community continues to face problems such as high rates of infant mortality, incarceration and poverty, she said.Connecting Obama to King is an oversimplification, University of Virginia Asst. History Prof. Claudrena Harold said. Obama’s victory in November began a period of “politics of self-congratulation,” she said, in which “the mainstream media and the larger society” continued to perpetuate the ideal of American perfectibility.Simpsons said many in the media and the United States have used Obama’s presidency to “begin the process of liberating itself from its blood-drenched past,” explaining that Obama has been connected to a larger civil rights narrative. Corey Walker, assistant Africana Studies professor at Brown University, emphasized the inaccuracy of this comparison between King and Obama, who he characterized as centrist and in line with the general attitude of the Democratic Party since the 1980s. Walker described Obama’s ascendency as “far from being a fundamental transformation of America.” He pointed to the tilt of Obama’s academic advisers toward liberalism and the protection of the free market, a foreign policy focused on American “expansion and imperialism” and a national security policy favoring U.S. troop strength and supporting U.S. unilateral action.Connecting Obama to King “speaks to a larger issue of how King’s activism and his vision has been simplified in ways to silence his salient and ... still relevant criticism of the problem of militarism, corporate greed and the maldistribution of wealth,” Harold said.Simpson added that politically liberal and black communities make comparisons to King when it is convenient, glossing over King’s more critical and less idealized views. “He’s always painted as a patriot — the ultimate patriot,” she said, explaining that very few people have an understanding of King beyond his “I Have a Dream” speech.Harold similarly argued that many members of the black elite and those on the left end of the political spectrum have manipulated King’s beliefs in a problematic fashion. Walker added that this manipulation, when put in the context of a “black political class” that is part of the “entrenched political elite,” caused Obama to become “a logical conclusion.”During discussions of Obama’s presidency, the precedents set by other members of the black community, such as Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, are de-emphasized in favor of directly linking Obama with King, he said. “It’s as if all of that is erased away and we go back to King,” Walker said.African-American Affairs Dean Maurice Apprey, whose office helped to host the panel discussion yesterday, said he was pleased with the event but expressed some concern that the panel may have not fully given credence to a view that places more emphasis on the historical nature of Obama’s presidency.“I was very pleased to hear the ironic feel that [the panelists] were able to take in examining the legacy of MLK and its revisions,” Apprey said, noting, though, that he “thinks the panel understated the meaning of this moment, this special moment in our history,” and that he would have liked more discussion about what enabled this event to take place.Fourth-year College student Michael Horton said he felt similarly, noting that the panelists “did an excellent job bringing up issues people wouldn’t have necessarily talked about.”That variety in dialogue also was emphasized by Apprey.“Most importantly, a new conversation has begun, and we ought to continue this conversation,” Apprey said.
(11/24/08 5:29am)
In response to a 2004 complaint filed by the non-profit organization Security on Campus, the Department of Education has ruled that aspects of the University’s sexual assault policies at the time requiring confidentiality violated federal law.Security on Campus filed the complaint on behalf of Annie Hylton, a former University student who was sexually assaulted and chose to bring her case to the Sexual Assault Board, an autonomous subcommittee of the University Judiciary Committee. Hylton was forced to agree not to disclose information about the hearing in order to receive its results, explained Daniel Carter, Security on Campus public policy director. The organization believed this constituted a violation of the Clery Act, a federal law that requires that both accused and accuser be informed of the outcome of any institutional discipline hearing, and therefore filed the complaint with the Department of Education, Carter said. Susan Russell also joined in filing the complaint on behalf of her daughter, former University student Kathryn Russell.The Department of Education’s ruling, handed down in a letter to University President John T. Casteen, III found that Hylton and Russell’s actions in speaking about their cases were not in violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, as the University argued. The ruling also found the Sexual Assault Board’s confidentiality policy at the time to be in violation of the Clery Act.The ruling states that the Department of Education is aware that the University has worked to improve and evaluate the effectiveness of the policies of the Sexual Assault Board as well as to bring them into compliance with the Clery Act.“Nevertheless ... the University is required to conduct a comprehensive review of its Clery Act policies and procedures to identify and address violations or weaknesses in its Clery Act program,” the ruling states.The University is required to submit a copy of current Student Assault Board policies and procedures, a summary of changes between the current policy and the one in place at the time of the complainant’s hearing and a copy of the most recent Campus Security Report. The Department of Education currently is not imposing any fines or sanctions on the University.Asst. Dean of Students Nicole Eramo, Sexual Assault Board chair stated in an e-mail that the letter is still under review and that the University currently has no comment.University spokesperson Carol Wood said the University’s policies regarding sexual assault have changed significantly since this complaint was filed. “We have implemented numerous changes and revisions to the policy,” Wood said, “in order to be more aggressive, flexible ... and nimble in responding to sexual assault cases.”Wood also said University President John T. Casteen, III has spoken a number of times about the University’s zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault.“[President] Casteen has come out very vigorously in the past about how we do not tolerate sexual assault at the University,” Wood said.The letter is currently under review by the general counsel’s office, she added, and the University plans to formulate a response once the letter has been thoroughly examined.Carter spoke about the significance of the ruling, explaining that “this decision empowers victims with the freedom to talk about what disciplinary action, if any, was taken against their alleged assailant.” The Department of Education’s ruling will have a nationwide impact, Carter said, noting that the confidentiality policy criticized by the Department of Education is common on campuses across the country.“It’s an important point that the University cannot silence victims, and it’s not just them relaxing the policy,” Carter added. “[These are] clear guidelines that the United States Department of Education appl[ies].”The Department of Education’s ruling echoed its 2004 decision regarding a case in which a Georgetown student was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement. The recent decision concerning the University “makes it clear that [the Clery Act] doesn’t just apply in cases where there’s a written agreement,” Carter said. “It applies in cases where there’s a verbal agreement or [where] there’s just the threat of a sanction for talking.”Victims’ right to talk about their experiences is important for two main reasons, Carter said. First, it “can be an important part of the hearing process ... [and] they should have that freedom,” he said. Secondly, it allows victims to seek a redress of grievances if necessary. Carter explained that before, “if they believed there were problems with how the process worked, they were unable to raise those concerns in a public forum.” Fourth-year College student Matt Arango, a member of sexual assault awareness group One in Four, said confidentiality is important for victims in the sense that the people victims choose to share their experiences with keep the information confidential. Speaking about their experiences is a crucial part of the healing process for victims, Arango said. “There can’t be any real sort of healing if the survivor isn’t able to talk about it — whether that’s just because they feel they’re not going to be believed or because there is some sort of legislation put in place that sort of prevents them from talking about it,” he said. “Being able to talk about the experience is important and can be very helpful in the right circumstance.”Russell, who is also the founder of the Web site uvavictimsofrape.com, said she hopes the decision is empowering.“I would hope victims would see that it is OK to speak up, and even when the administration tells you they’re right, that doesn’t mean they’re right,” she said. “It’s OK to question the policies of the school.”Russell said she this ruling as part of a larger battle. The complaint she filed also charged the University with violation of Title IX, which includes the standards of truth used for student tribunals in sexual assault cases. Title IX requires a “preponderance of evidence,” while the SAB required the evidence to be “clear and convincing,” which is a higher standard than held in civil court and constitutes a violation of Title IX, Russell said.
(11/17/08 6:38am)
The Charlottesville metropolitan area lost 500 jobs during a one-year period from September 2007 to September 2008, according to data released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission.Despite the rise in unemployment, “the Charlottesville area still doesn’t do that bad in terms of the national area,” said William Mezger, chief economist of the Virginia Employment Commission. Charlottesville has the 19th lowest unemployment rate of metropolitan areas across the United States and the second lowest rate in the state, behind Northern Virginia.In September 2008, Charlottesville had a 3.4-percent unemployment rate with 3,610 people unemployed, compared to a 2.3-percent rate with 2,440 people unemployed in September 2007.The University, including the Health System, account for about a fifth of the jobs in the Charlottesville region, Mezger said. The net loss in jobs “may be just due to the fact that the University and the things that go along with it [are] still in a state of flux in September,” as they transition from summer to fall, Mezger said, because the University does not usually reach full employment levels until November.Though many areas nationwide showed declines in employment from September to September, Mezger noted the commonwealth as a whole has seen better-than-average job growth.“Virginia as a whole ... showed a half a percent job growth, September over September,” he said, while “the United States as a whole showed a job loss of a half a percent.”Though figures are not finalized for October, Mezger said they appear similar to those from September.“The general trend for most areas right now would probably be for job loss, although not a lot of job loss has shown up in Virginia,” he said. “I think the fact that some job loss showed up in the Charlottesville is probably just a fluke in this area.” He described 500 jobs as “a very minimal job loss.”The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce releases its own job report every year that examines average annual employment, accounting for season fluctuations, said Timothy Hulbert, president of the body. The most recent data is from 2007, and it “[shows] growth over the previous year although the growth slowed from the previous two years,” Hulbert said. “2007 was the fourth consecutive year of overall job growth in greater Charlottesville.”The numbers indicate, though, that job growth began to slow in the final months of 2007 along with the national and global economies, Hulbert said. The Virginia Employment Commission’s findings “[confirm] that job growth continued to slow in 2008 and definitely has declined,” he said. “We know that unemployment has risen in Charlottesville.”Hulbert described Charlottesville as insulated from large economic swings, experiencing neither large booms nor busts. As a large, stable employer, the University serves as a moderating impact on the regional economy.“That said, while we’re insulated, we’re not inoculated,” Hulbert added. “We still can feel the effects of a national economic slide.” Total retail sales are usually about $2.3 billion a year in the area, Hulbert said, but for the first nine months of 2008, retail sales have fallen by 4 percent.“If you [maintained] that over the course of a year, that would mean that about $100 million worth of retail activity would not occur,” he said. “One hundred million dollars’ worth of retail activity [is] pretty significant.”Falling retail sales result in lower tax revenues, and “that’s a significant impact,” Hulbert said.
(11/10/08 5:59am)
At a work session last Thursday, Charlottesville City Council members discussed strategies for improving the situation of Charlottesville citizens living in poverty.“We have more trouble than a lot of other communities,” Council member David Brown said, noting, though, that because Charlottesville is home to the University , the poverty rate is inflated because it includes University students who earn under $15,000 a year.Council member Holly Edwards pointed to the number of free and reduced lunch recipients as a more accurate measurement of poverty in the city. In August 2008, there was a total of 5,193 recipients — 2,745 adults and 2,448 children. Slightly more than 40 percent of students at Charlottesville High School receive free and reduced lunches, as do 55.9 percent of students at Buford Middle School and more than 80 percent of students at Clark and Johnson elementary schools, she said. The work session gave Council members an opportunity to explore the issue of poverty in the local community and to consider remedies that could be possible under a “tight budget.” Council members examined ways to partner with the private sector and nonprofit organizations in addition to looking at what other communities are doing, Brown said. “We’re doing a lot of things that a lot of other communities do,” he said, “but I think we came up with some areas to emphasize in our upcoming budget year.”Council discussed issues such as job skills training and the possibility of partnering with the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development to help expand access to vocational training, Brown said. “It’s a real challenge for families in poverty who are working to find the time, the energy, the money, the childcare to be able to upgrade their skills,” he said. “It’s not an easy road.”At the work session, Brown suggested reducing bus fees or limiting them for people at a certain income threshold. “Thirty ... or 40 dollars a month may not seem like a lot to a lot of people, but to people living on the edge, it’s a lot,” he said. His idea would “do a little bit to help” people get where they need to go, he said.Council members also talked about ways to increase access to banking for people living in poverty. University students receive free checking with “no fee, no minimum balance required,” Brown explained, “but families who live in poverty don’t get that.” Council members are looking for a way to get people “engaged into the banking system” so they do not have to spend money while cashing their paychecks, Brown said.Edwards suggested a series of town hall-style meetings, “where we could get people from all sides of the issue ... and really get a further discussion on what would be some things we could do easily,” Brown said. Edwards said the idea came from an analogy someone shared with her.“We need to make sure that we’re not making the shoe fit the foot,” she said, but that “we’re actually going into the community to find out what the actual needs are.”Edwards hopes to develop a grassroots-style effort that would revolve around “meeting people where they are and just sitting around and chatting.” The meetings would lead to an understanding of the challenges and the barriers the city faces and what opportunities the city can offer to citizens who are struggling.With state budget cuts, the declining economy and lower tax revenues, Brown explained that creativity is key when working to address these issues.“We really are fortunate to have so many [programs and agencies already in place],” Edwards said, “but clearly this is an opportunity to see where the overlaps are, to see where the connections need to be and to see how our resources can be better coordinated so that they really are effective.”Though Council still has much to consider regarding the poverty problem in Charlottesville, Thursday’s work session was “a very good beginning,” Edwards said, describing it as “an opportunity to find out what the numbers are, what’s available and then to ask the question of what comes next.”
(11/03/08 8:21am)
Despite the economic downturn, the 2008 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign received over $135,000 in its first two weeks, according to the CVC Web site.“The [CVC] is simply a tool that makes giving and supporting employees’ favorite charities easier,” CVC Chair Jim Fitzgerald said. University employees are able to donate to any of 1,400 CVC-approved charities through the campaign, which began Oct. 13, and students can also channel earnings from fundraisers for any of those charities through the CVC. One hundred percent of each gift goes directly to the charities, Fitzgerald said.Because of the current financial situation, the CVC anticipates receiving less money in donations this year than in past years. Although University employees donated a record $888,888 through the CVC last year, Fitzgerald said, “this year, in light of the economic downturn that’s occurring nationally, we are more realistic about how well the campaign will do in terms of dollars raised.” He said the CVC is “a little bit behind” where it was last year in terms of dollar donations but attributed this mainly to the times when reports are conducted.“We’re very aware of the sacrifice that many employees will make this year to continue supporting their favorite causes at levels they have in the past,” Fitzgerald said. “The gist of it is there’s probably less disposable income this year than there was in previous years.”“Times are tough,” said Tim Eckert, Student Affairs representative for the CVC. “I get that, and I know it’s hard to fill the gas tanks, it’s hard to get food on the table.” Eckert works to increase participation in the CVC, he said, especially by emphasizing the fortunate position of University employees, who have been promised job security. “We’re still able to give back to the charities,” he said, “and every little bit helps.”Fitzgerald explained the importance of the CVC, pointing out that outside the University, charities are having difficulties obtaining levels of financial support similar to those in the past. “Charities both nationally and right here in our local area rely on the generosity of U.Va. employees,” he said. “For many of them, the CVC donations they receive are their biggest line item in their budget, or the biggest one-time donation they may receive.”Donations through the CVC have skyrocketed in recent years, Fitzgerald said, and he believes the current economic turbulence will not keep University employees who recognize that need from donating, even if less money is donated overall.“For us it’s not only about the dollars raised,” Fitzgerald emphasized, but about the level of participation. Though figures of total dollars donated will not be available until the end of the 2008 campaign, as of Friday about 1,100 gifts had been donated through the CVC, Fitzgerald said.The top 10 charities receiving donations through the CVC are “almost without exception local charities,” Fitzgerald said, which means that “the majority of the dollars stay here and help local agencies and non-profits.”United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area was one of the top 10 organizations receiving donations in the 2007 CVC campaign. Kim Connolly, marketing and communications director of United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, said the organization provides grants to organizations in the local community and also presides over its own community outreach programs, such as the RxRelief program, which provides free medication to uninsured, chronically ill members of the community.Connolly said donations from campaigns like CVC are very important to United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, especially this year because of the economy. “U.Va. is the largest employer in the area,” Connolly said. “When you have so many employees giving, whether it’s $5, $10 or $20 dollars a week, it’s very powerful, and it has a very big impact on our community.”Despite the current economic downturn, Connolly said fundraising is going well so far this year. Eckert also noted the impact of small gifts in the local community. “For Madison House, for instance, $1 per pay period equals $60-impact on the community,” he said. “That’s a lot of money for just $1.”
(10/20/08 4:15am)
The University is considering retrofitting the Ivy Stacks Storage Facility in order to increase storage space for the University Library’s collection. Library shelves are currently filled almost to capacity.Ivy Stacks, the University Library’s off-Grounds storage facility, was opened in 1994 “to enable us to keep shelving books,” University Deputy Librarian Diane Walker said. “At that point the shelves in all the libraries on Central Grounds were full.” Since 1994, 750,000 books have been moved to the off-Grounds facility, filling Ivy Stacks to capacity, Walker explained. “Those are mostly low-use materials,” including duplicate journals and other materials that don’t circulate often, said Warner Granade, circulation manager for Alderman Library.Ivy Stacks contains older materials, Walker said, “but as a research library, it’s our responsibility to keep them and to continue to make them available for researchers that might want them in the future.”Though Ivy Stacks has been filled to capacity for about three years, Walker said, the University continues to receive new books daily. During the last year, University libraries added a total of 61,056 volumes, with Alderman Library receiving 18,032, Granade said.“We are not [sending books to Ivy Stacks] anymore because there’s no space for us to send them there,” he said. “So we’re just being tighter and tighter in Alderman.”Books are being placed on their sides on top of shelves and piled on tables, Walker said.“If you walk in the libraries, you will see ... that the shelves are almost full to capacity,” Granade said.Materials are also being shelved in enclosed areas of Alderman Library “where people can’t get to them,” Walker said; however, like the materials in Ivy Stacks, they are still available through a delivery system. People can request items through the Virgo online catalog and pick them up at a library of their choice. “Usually we can do that in less than 24 hours,” Walker said.To create more space, Walker said, “the University is considering a request now to seek state funding to allow us to retrofit Ivy Stacks.” The proposal involves replacing the traditional shelves, which feature an aisle between rows of shelves. Ivy Stacks would instead use “compact shelving,” Walker explained, where shelves are placed on rails so entire ranges of shelving are compressed against each other. Aisles are opened up as needed and otherwise remain closed.“That will allow us to put twice as many books in Ivy [Stacks] as we now have there,” Walker said, adding that this plan would cost the University much less money than would be required to construct another building. If the plan is approved, it will begin in July 2009, and probably take about a year, she said.With more space, the libraries would be able to move overflow books out of the libraries on Central Grounds and continue adding to the collections, Walker explained. The overall aim is to expand shelving off rather than on Central Grounds, Walker said.“One of the reasons that we’re doing this is because our goal is to keep as much space in the libraries as possible for students to be able to use the libraries for studying and work,” she said.
(10/07/08 4:00am)
The University ranked 53rd out of 139 schools on the 2008 Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, an annual survey of U.S. colleges that measures the availability of information and services for sexual health. The University placed 37th in 2007 and 41st in 2006. The survey was created with the idea that “more sexual awareness is better so that students can make their own decisions,” said Bert Sperling, founder of the research firm Sperling’s BestPlaces, which Trojan chose to complete the study. The ratings involved an assessment of the sexual health services at each school. Schools received better scores for more accessible services, such as those that are open on weekends and allow drop-in patients rather than requiring appointments. The survey also examined student outreach and awareness programs for sexual health, the variety and availability of contraceptive methods, the availability and cost of testing for sexually transmitted diseases, the existence of programs dealing with sexual assault, and opportunities to receive anonymous health advice.Sperling noted that being ranked 53rd is “certainly very good,” but noted that “one could argue there is room for improvement.”Student Health Executive Director James Turner said he did not think the University’s ranking accurately reflects the sexual health services offered on Grounds. Turner, who said he was not previously aware of the survey, criticized its administrators for not contacting any faculty, staff or administrators in regard to the services that the University offers. Sperling said the survey relied on student opinion, noting that Sperling’s BestPlaces sent questionnaires to students and received 9,000 responses, which offered student perceptions of the availability and accessibility of sexual health services and information. The University received a score of 2.98 on a 4-point scale.Turner, though, said student perceptions may not be a true measuring stick to gauge the resources available, noting that the score provided is lower than he would have anticipated. He said national accreditation, such as that awarded by the non-profit Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organization, offers a better insight into the quality of a college or university’s sexual health services. This past April, the University’s Health Center received a top ranking from the JCAHO, he said.He also noted that data from the last 20 years show a decrease in the transmission of STDs and unwanted pregnancies at the University, as well as an overall increase in the accessibility of the University’s health services. This data helps verify the high quality of the University’s health services, Turner said. “Students need to be aware that Student Health exists,” Turner said noting that the University offers separate health services for men and women, HIV and STD testing services, and has a very active peer health education program.Leading all schools according to the 2008 report was Stanford University. The lowest grade was awarded to DePaul University of Chicago. Virginia Tech finished 52nd, just edging the University in overall sexual health according to the report.
(10/06/08 4:19am)
The University Board of Visitors recently approved the construction of four new dorms in the Alderman Road residence area as part of the plan for renovating the entire area.According to Richard Kovatch, University associate vice president for Business Operations, the University intends to replace 11 of the 13 residence halls that comprise the Alderman Road area. The plan is divided into four phases, he said, and the construction of Kellogg House dormitory was phase one of the plan. The Board of Visitors approved the concept site and design guidelines for phases two and three of the plan Thursday. Phase two includes the construction of two new residence halls. “We just started working [on it],” Kovatch said. “The architect for this phase has been hired, and we’ll be working with that architect on the design of these next two buildings.” The new buildings will feature the same design elements as Kellogg House, including available program space, study lounges and social lounges, Kovatch said. Construction on the first building will probably start in late spring and the next building would follow soon after, Kovatch said. Phase three of the project is the construction of two additional dormitories, one of which will open in fall 2011. The other will open the following fall, Kovatch said.“We’re going to basically start moving down the hillside and toward the dining hall,” University Architect David Neuman said. “And then those new buildings [including Kellogg] will ... form a kind of semi-circle as they go down the site.”Each of the new dorms will accommodate about 200 students, Kovatch said. Currently most Alderman dorms accommodate 108 students, though some hold 144.To make space for the new buildings, existing structures — including Dobie, Balz, Watson, Webb and Maupin — will be taken down sequentially, Kovatch said. “The first residence halls will come down right after the end of the spring semester,” starting with Dobie, Kovatch said, noting that first-year housing currently is under-capacity.“Dobie is not fully [used] and we have beds available scattered throughout the first-year area,” he said.Phase two also includes the construction of a student activities building, or commons. “It will kind of be a focal point for that particular area where students come [from] throughout the residential area [for social interaction],” Kovatch said.The commons buildings will be located in the center of the site, Neuman said, adding that “when Balz House will be demolished, there’ll be a new green ... open space created where [it] was.”The project, which also includes a fourth phase, is scheduled to be completed by fall 2017, and Kovatch said he does not foresee any major issues with financing. After completion “there’ll be a total of seven new buildings that will replace the 11 existing residence halls,” he said. “And then there’ll be additional space available for future residence halls should they be needed.”Kovatch explained that the project is the result of several years of planning, not just for the buildings but also regarding concerns about landscaping and including more space for interaction and socialization among students.“The goal is to first of all provide contemporary residence halls with all of the facilities that you would expect as a first-year student,” Neuman said. The project aims to respond to feedback about the Alderman residence area, Kovatch said, noting “the way [the buildings] were situated and laid out didn’t really foster much interaction among the students between the individual residence halls and even within the residence halls, since they were suite-based.”
(09/29/08 5:01am)
The current economic crisis has impacted University finances in small ways thus far, with fundraisers anticipating short-term difficulties but remaining optimistic about the overall success of the University’s Capital Campaign.The University issues bonds for the construction of structures such as the South Lawn Project and Kellogg dormitory, University Chief Financial Officer Yoke San Reynolds explained. These consist of “a diversified portfolio of debt instruments,” Reynolds said, noting “we use a pool of investment banks including Lehman Brothers.” After Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, some investors immediately sold their bonds. Nervousness about what bankruptcy meant forced the University to buy back the remaining bonds, Reynolds said.“We had to find $8 million worth of cash to buy the bonds, and then we had to pay higher interest on those,” she said. “Because we were able to line up and contract with another investment bank,” however, this was a short-term situation that lasted two weeks, she said.The University offers high quality, AAA-rated bonds, so there is always demand for them in the long term, Reynolds said. Currently there is uncertainty, she explained, because the market is nervous and some investors need liquidity because of the credit crunch. Reynolds cited the University’s situation as “a small example of what’s happening in the bigger market.”The University also has working capital that was put in short-term investments similar to a money-market fund, Reynolds explained. These investments contained Lehman securities, Reynolds said, so she said there will be a financial loss when the University sells them, if it is able to. Reynolds noted, though, that this “is just a small portion of our total investments.”The current economic situation could also impact fundraising at the University, though Robert Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs, said University administrators “expect that the [Capital] Campaign will hold its own even during this difficult time.” The Capital Campaign had brought in $1.77 billion as of late August, when the latest figures were available, Sweeney said. “Given the timeline that we’re onto,” Sweeney said, “we’re still ahead of trajectory.” The University has been raising funds “aggressively” since 1990, he said, and has experienced two economic downturns since then, though he noted that “they don’t seem to be anywhere near as dramatic as what we’re facing right now.” During these periods, University fundraisers continue work to maintain relationships with alumni, parents and friends. When these individuals are “engaged and involved in the life of the University,” philanthropy becomes an extension of the relationship, Sweeney said.He noted, though, that “as wealth in the country goes, so goes philanthropy to a certain extent.” Throughout the current economic downturn, the Capital Campaign will look to individuals who avoid the negative financial effects of the situation. “Part of our job will be to find out who is ready today to consider a gift,” Sweeney said, “even though there will be less of those people than there was a year ago.”Sweeney said he believes that though fundraising may be more challenging during this economic slump, overall, the Capital Campaign, which unofficially began Jan. 1, 2004 and will end Dec. 31, 2011, will be successful. “I would strongly argue that when we look at this campaign in its totality, at the end of 2011, the University will have raised more than $3 billion,” he said. In the short term, though, Sweeney said he is “very realistic that this will be a difficult 12-month period of time.”
(09/22/08 4:00am)
Poll results released last Wednesday by the National Education Association’s Got Tuition campaign suggest higher education affordability is an important issue to many voters.The poll, conducted from July 21 to Aug. 3,, involved 825 likely voters, including current college students, recent college graduates, individuals with student loans, parents of college students and Hispanics, NEA spokesperson Shilpa Reddy said. Almost 80 percent of respondents indicated they believe it is more difficult to afford college education now than 10 years ago, and 39 percent said they were making sacrifices to attend college or to pay for their children’s education. Seventy percent of parents involved in the poll, meanwhile, indicated they believe higher education affordability is an important issue.“We even had some respondents that told us that they had to give up health care in order to afford college bills,” Reddy said. “Those were really telling statistics.”Reddy said the poll results show that, in light of current economic troubles, college affordability will be an important issue in the November election.“The rising costs of college are really putting higher education out of reach for middle-class families,” she said, but “the need for college education now is even more important.” University Financial Aid Director Yvonne Hubbard agreed that affordability is a significant issue.“It’s about the economy and it’s about our children,” she said. “You put those two things together and it becomes a very important issue.” A number of University students view college affordability as an important factor in the upcoming election as well, including some who do not feel concerned about their own ability to pay the rising tuition costs. “It doesn’t personally impact me,” third-year College student Annabelle Mangan said, “but it will affect my vote because I think it’s an important issue.” On the other hand, college affordability directly impacts first-year College student Chris Savedge, who said the issue will be important for him “because [he’s] going to have to take out big loans for college.”The potential for high student debt can often prevent promising students from attending college, Reddy said. And, for college graduates, lingering student debt may force them to delay buying a house or to choose a less-appealing career because it pays more.“We know the benefits of higher education,” she said, “and it shouldn’t be [a] path to permanent or long-term debt.”NEA’s poll was part of Got Tuition’s efforts to raise awareness about the issue of college affordability and student debt. The poll used a “blended methodology,” which involved both phone and Internet interviews.
(09/15/08 6:51am)
University researchers have developed a method for treating cancerous tumors that takes advantage of new research in laser technology to amplify the effect of radiation treatment.“The project was designed to solve a dilemma in radiation therapy,” said Ke Sheng, an assistant professor with the department of radiation oncology.In cancer patients, tumors are surrounded by normal, non-cancerous tissue. When considering treatment for the tumor, Sheng said, doctors choose between using a low dose of radiation, which preserves the normal tissue but risks losing control of the tumor, or using a higher dose, which can result in “extreme toxicity” of the normal tissue.The multidisciplinary team invented a particle conjugate composed of a quantum dot — a type of nanoparticle — and Photofrin, a photodynamic, or light-activated, drug. The nanoparticle can be used to trigger the photodynamic drug under layers of skin where external visible light sources are not as effective. When excited, the quantum dot emits a green light, which “can be used to activate [the] photodynamic drug [Photofrin] that can be used to kill tumor cells,” explained Wensha Yang, a material scientist in the University’s radiation oncology department.Using the new process, doctors are able to kill more cancer cells with a similar dose of radiation, Sheng said.“You don’t have to raise the radiation dose to control the tumor, and then you have [a] lower risk of causing severe toxicity to the surrounding normal tissue,” Sheng explained.Sheng said he anticipates patients with lung cancer and liver cancer are most likely to benefit from this discovery. Both types of tumors are embedded in normal tissue, Sheng explained, and often require higher doses of radiation because they are very resistant to therapy. With the conjugate, “we’ll be able to use same or even lower radiation doses to achieve tumor control while reducing the risk of normal tissue complication,” he noted.The conjugate is currently not available to the public in drug form, as the research is still in a clinical stage. According to Sheng, it usually takes five to 10 years for a drug to receive approval from the Federal Drug Administration. The research team is beginning animal studies, Sheng said, examining the toxicity and safety of the conjugate and its effectiveness in a living biological system. Depending on these results, the research team will move on to three phases of clinical trials. They will use these results to seek FDA approval.“It’s going to take a very long time, like any other drug development,” Sheng said. “That’s an inevitable, normal process.”