The University's budget is set to see more reductions - estimated to be between $2.4 million and $7.1 million - on top of the $14 million cut passed by the General Assembly this April for the next fiscal year. The Office of the Governor notified the University of these cuts Friday and asked the University to develop an updated budgetary plan, which is due to Gov.
Credit card companies spent more than $83 million last year marketing their cards to college students through agreements with colleges and alumni associations nationwide, according to a report from the Federal Reserve. The report, required by the 2009 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, mandates the disclosure of all agreements between credit card issuers and college-affiliated organizations, said Josh Frank, senior researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending.
Board of Visitors Building and Grounds Committee discussed the design and schematics for the thrust-theater addition to the drama building Friday. Totalling 20,500 square feet, the addition will include a 3,000-seat theater, an expanded lobby with additional restrooms, dressing rooms, support spaces and a rooftop terrace. "This plan and project represent the Jeffersonian notion of how landscape and buildings fluidly fit together, in a 21st-century way," University architect David Neuman said at the meeting. The primary focus of the plan is to link the arts buildings physically and create a shared outdoor space for students, staff, faculty and visitors to enjoy, Neuman said, noting that the addition is a pointed attempt to provide space for both informal and formal activity, including both faculty-student interaction and performances. The largest outdoor area can fit 1,000 people in folding chairs, made to accommodate graduation ceremonies.
[caption id="attachment_37694" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Officials have discussed ways to make shared road space safer for cyclists in Charlottesville.
On the ballot for Tuesday's midterm elections are three initiatives that would change the state's tax and budgeting policies. For two consecutive years, the proposed constitutional amendments have received bipartisan and nearly unanimous approval when put to a vote before the General Assembly.
After evaluating nine categories relating to green energy practices, the Sustainable Endowments Institute's Green 2011 Report Card gave the University an overall B grade, an improvement from last year's B-. The report provides in-depth sustainability profiles and includes those institutions with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada. "The goal of the report card is to highlight schools that are excelling in promoting sustainability on campus in their operations and within their endowment opportunities," said Susan Paykin, director of communications for the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The average grade given to the surveyed colleges was a B, with 56 percent of surveyed colleges receiving the mark. The University received As in six of the nine grading components, doing well in administration, food & recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation and investment priorities.
[caption id="attachment_37690" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The former University president will be the first recipient of the award.
The Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices announced Wednesday that teenagers should receive a booster dose of the bacterial meningitis vaccine rather than a single dose. Officials noted that recent studies have revealed that a single dose is not as effective as previously believed.
A small fire broke out in the drama department's Helms Theatre yesterday morning. The fire started in a prop box and did not spread, said Richard Jones, battalion chief with the Charlottesville Fire Department. The fire department is still investigating the cause of the fire, but Ralph Allen, the University's director of environmental health and safety, said a malfunctioning prop cigar was probably the cause. "In all likelihood, it was a stage prop that was designed to keep the stage safe," Allen said.
[caption id="attachment_37629" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Following a nationwide search that began after former CEO Chris Brightman stepped down last March, University alumnus Lawrence Kochard was selected to lead the company.
A SafeRide van struck a student on a bicycle at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of McCormick and Alderman Roads. The bicyclist, first-year College student Patrick Monk, was taken to the hospital, where doctors performed surgery on his broken ankle.
In 2008, Tom Perriello came from behind to defeat Republican incumbent Virgil Goode for the Fifth District congressional seat. This year, it appears the Democrat is now the one trailing behind and will fight to hold onto his seat in the Nov.
[caption id="attachment_37568" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Ground crews worked Friday morning to repair the vandalism to the football field before the game Saturday.
Last year's college graduates were immediately saddled with an average of $24,000 in debt upon leaving their undergraduate careers behind, an increase of 6 percent from the previous year, according to a recent report from the Institute for College Access and Success. The institute's report, titled "Student Debt and the Class of 2009," also shows that the unemployment rate for graduates was 8.7 percent in 2009, an increase from 5.8 percent in 2008 and the highest annual rate on record. Members of the University's class of 2009 had an average total debt of $19,939, and for those students who took need-based loans specifically, $15,571, said Scott Miller, associate director of student financial services at the University, The previous year, the average debt was $19,016 and $14,849 for students who took need-based loans, he said.
The state of Virginia was awarded $45.4 million Monday in federal transportation grants to begin the initial steps to construct a high-speed passenger rail service between Richmond/Petersburg and Washington D.C., which is part of a larger plan to extend the high-speed rail service that connects Boston and Washington southward through Virginia to Charlotte, N.C. The funding awarded this week by the Federal Railroad Administration will be used to launch preliminary engineering and an environmental impact assessment for the section of the Southeast High Speed Rail that would link Richmond to Arlington. The funds were secured by Sens.
[caption id="attachment_37563" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Marie Crump spoke on behalf of her daughter, Sheila Johnson, at the opening of the new Education School's center for human services in Bavaro Hall.
Student Council held a Council-wide meeting last night in Newcomb Ballroom where committees summarized their accomplishments and previewed their upcoming initiatives for the remainder of the semester. Fourteen committees gave presentations, covering a wide range of initiatives - from the Athletic Affairs Committee's distribution of almost 6,000 water bottles to students at the Virginia Military Institute football game in September to the Building and Grounds Committee's Don't Sign It campaign to encourage students to hesitate before jumping to sign a lease for an off-Grounds apartment. Council members also discussed new initiatives, in particular the upcoming trial run of expanded dinner hours for Observatory Hill Dining Hall.
[caption id="attachment_37489" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Tom Perriello, D-Charlottesville, left, and Jeffrey Clark, right, of the Tea Party discussed immigration, social security and primary education at last night's debate sponsored by Student Council, while Sociology Prof.
A Charlottesville resident was robbed Sunday night while sitting at a picnic table near Carr's Hill Field. The resident was resting with her head down on the table when a man approached her and took her purse.
[caption id="attachment_37486" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Ramapo College banned Four Loko, which contains alcohol and caffeine, following a string of medical incidents following consumption of the drink.
