[caption id="attachment_46236" align="alignleft" width="219" caption="Elkanah Odembo met with students and faculty in Nau Hall to discuss the past and future of Africa.
The National Science Foundation announced this week the introduction of an initiative intended to help women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields balance their work and family. The new initiative "will allow researchers to delay or suspend their grants for up to one year in order to care for a newborn or newly adopted child or fulfill other family obligations," among other new programs, according to a White House press release. The new initiative comes as part of a broader move by the Obama Administration to open careers to men and women with families. "The White House has also been committed to making the government a model employer in the area of workplace flexibility," the White House press release said. The NSF is especially working to increase the number of women in STEM fields. "It is timely, therefore, to provide incentives that will affect change in institutions that result in gender-neutral policies and practices that lead to the increased participation and advancement of women scientists and engineers in the scientific enterprise," NSF Director Dr. Subra Suresh said on the foundation's website. Pamela Norris, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and chair of the President's Women's Leadership Council at the University, pointed out some of the major hurdles for women in STEM fields. "By the time you enter the [research] profession as a faculty member, many women are seeking to start families themselves," Norris said.
[caption id="attachment_46233" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Princeton Review considered the curriculum of Darden's program, evaluations of faculty, and student successes when establishing the rating.
[caption id="attachment_46231" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Between Oct. 3 and Oct. 12, barricades and signs will reroute pedestrian traffic.
Fourth-year College student Danny Schmidt reported being robbed at gunpoint early Wednesday while walking home from the library around 2 a.m. Schmidt was walking north on Rugby Road near Grady Avenue behind three black males, according to the Charlottesville Police press release.
[caption id="attachment_46135" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello addressed University Democrats yesterday.
Schools which follow a threat assessment model developed by Education School professors at the University experience significantly less bullying and fewer suspensions, a recent study found.
U.S. News & World Report said Friday it will not adopt the National Association for College Admissions Counseling recommendations to reconstruct the way U.S.
[caption id="attachment_46053" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, pictured here, conducted a study this month diagnosing the location and levels of the City's poverty and proposing the creation of "local hubs" to create jobs for residents.
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced last Thursday that he will launch a new task force for the review of state mandates in hopes of reducing the amount local governments must spend on policies required by the state. Individuals on the task force will be able to review state mandates and recommend changes as they see fit. Serving on the Task Force for Local Government Mandate Review are Virginia Beach City councilman Bob Dyer, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors member Pat Herrity, Lynchburg city manager Kimball Payne, Falls Church school board member Joan Wodiska and Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors member Shaun Kenney. "This group will identify mandates that are overly burdensome or unnecessary and recommend appropriate changes, providing relief to local governments," McDonnell said in a press release. According to the release, the creation of the task force is part of an ongoing effort to improve local and state government relations and evaluate the effectiveness of mandates. Mandates are passed by both federal and state governments and require the implementation of certain policies at the local level. Ray Scheppach, Batten School professor of practice, said legislators often do not realize the adverse financial effects these well-intentioned laws have on states and localities. "Legislators will often mandate things assuming it's not going to cost anything," Scheppach said.
[caption id="attachment_46050" align="alignleft" width="214" caption="A porch at the Greenhouse apartment building on 14th Street was struck Monday night when two cars collided in front of it.
Student Council discussed last night the agenda for the 2011 Homecoming events, which will take place the week following Fall Break and culminate in the Oct.
The two students who fell from the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house balcony Saturday morning are in improved condition as of Monday afternoon. The James Madison University student was listed in stable condition, and the University student was released from the University Medical Center, Charlottesville Police Lt.
Honor Committee Chair Ann Marie McKenzie dropped University Judiciary Committee charges against four of the five members of The Cavalier Daily's managing board yesterday. The managing board was accused Sept.
[caption id="attachment_45997" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="About 30 people participated in a vigil last night to honor the life of Troy Davis, a Georgia convict who was put to death last Wednesday after years of controversy surrounding the lack of evidence linking him to the murder.
Charlottesville and Albemarle County Police are working to respond to an increase in gang activity in the area despite a period of reduced violence. Gang activity is defined by property crime and identifying oneself with a gang, Charlottesville Police Department Lt.
Democrat Tim Kaine has not lost any ground to Republican George Allen in the state's U.S. Senate race, despite President Obama's falling approval ratings, according to a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University released this month. The poll indicates that the two candidates "remain in a statistical dead heat more than 13 months before the voting." Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics, said in an email he thinks the campaign for president will have a significant effect on this Senate race. "Neither the Kaine campaign nor the Allen campaign is isolated from the top of the ticket [or their party's Presidential nominee], whatever a poll may show 14 months ahead of the election," Sabato said.
[caption id="attachment_45993" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The University Health System is now the first hospital in Central Virginia to offer a blood test which produces HIV results more quickly than the older test.
Charlottesville Police identified two students who were injured early Saturday morning when a portion of a balcony railing suddenly collapsed at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house at the University.
A Senate subcommittee approved a bill last week which aims to maintain the maximum Pell Grant award for the 2012 fiscal year. The bill provides $158 billion for programs which train workers, provide youth with skills for future success, locate fraud and abuse of governmental programs, and incentivize reforms to health, workforce and education systems, according to a Senate Committee on Appropriations press release. The Pell Grant is the cornerstone of the federal undergraduate financial aid program, and it offers students whose expected family contribution falls beneath a certain level a maximum award of $5,550 for 18 semesters, said Haley Chitty, director of communications at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
