News

U.Va. awardedin recognitionof local service

The Corporation for National and Community Service recognized the University last week for its dedication to community service and welcomed it to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Of the more than 500 colleges and universities that applied and were recognized, the University was one of 127 institutions named to the "Honor Roll with Distinction," according to Siobhan Dugan, public affairs specialist for the CNCS.? Dugan explained that there are several qualities taken into consideration by the corporation for the distinction, including the number of students involved in service, their time commitment, the number of people reached and the results of the projects undertaken.

Every now and then

Professor's ALS drug safe in sizable doses

A drug developed by a University researcher that could potentially help patients stricken by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has been shown to be safe and is now being researched by a Pennsylvania-based drug development company. Neurology Prof.

'Luckiest' claims $18,750 prize in Darden contest

It's official: Nobody at the Darden School is as lucky as first-year student Jong Uck Park, who took home a $18,750 prize yesterday after winning the 2008 "Luckiest Student" contest. The event, according to Darden professors Sam Bodily and Phil Pfeifer, which has been called a random act of kindness, was originally established with the help of an anonymous Darden graduate as a type of research experiment to see how people treat risk.

Faculty desire transparency, defined rules

A number of the University's general faculty members desire greater transparency of policy and equal treatment within their respective departments, according to a recent Faculty Senate faculty satisfaction survey. The survey, issued by the Faculty Recruitment, Retention & Welfare Committee of the Faculty Senate, showed that some members of the general faculty feel the rules regarding their positions "need to be more explicit," said Gertrude Fraser, vice provost for faculty advancement. The term "general faculty" refers to non-tenure-track faculty and "has a special meaning here at the University," said Milton Adams, vice provost for academic programs. General faculty are divided into two categories: administrative and professional faculty, and academic and research faculty, he said.

Sexual assault support network launched

University students who fall victim to sexual assault now have access to another form of support on Grounds: the Survivor Support Network. The network's "goal is to give students an increased number of safe people to talk to and to increase reporting" of sexual assault, said Claire Kaplan, director of Sexual and Domestic Violence Services at the University's Women's Center.

Student Elections

University elections see low participation

Voter turnout in this year's University Board of Elections student elections declined from last year's figures, but UBE officials were neither surprised nor discouraged by the numbers, pointing to a lack of controversy and competition as the cause. According to election results released by UBE, 36 percent of College students, 34 percent of Commerce students, 33 percent of Law students and 28 percent of Engineering students voted, with these four schools having the highest percentages of voter turnout compared to the total of the school.

Schrimper elected as president

Second-year College student Matt Schrimper was announced as the new president of Student Council last night, along with Council's new executive officers and student representatives. "This is wonderful," Schrimper said "I am really excited about the upcoming year." In a brief speech after election results were announced, Schrimper said he believes "tonight is the realization of Student Council's potential, and tonight is a great start to reach out to the student community and get individuals involved with Council." Aside from Council's goal of reaching out to a greater number of individual students in the University community, Schrimper also hopes to focus on developing a University Union Project. This project "goes back to the idea of designating a single project to Student Council and returning to its mission as a source of communication and collaboration for the University," Schrimper said.

New council officers seek increased interaction among students, faculty

Increased student body participation in Student Council governance and further departmental interaction between students and faculty are some of the proposed goals for school and class councils in the upcoming year, according to several of the newly elected councils' executive officers. For the class councils, the election results are as follows: Christina Polenta and David Newsome, Fourth-Year Trustees president and vice president; Michelle Henry and Kadeem Cooper, Third-Year Council president and vice president; and John Buttram and Yassee Pirooz, Second-Year Council president and vice president. One of the main objectives for the Fourth-Year Trustees is to help ease the transition of fourth-year students from the University to the real world in way that will let "everyone stay connected," said Polenta, a third-year Commerce student. "Fourth year is the most exciting year ... it's the beginning of a new great adventure," she said. Bringing in more new faces to the Trustees who will bring "fresh ideas and perspectives" is another goal for the upcoming year, said Newsome, a third-year College student. Polenta and Newsome have previously worked together on class councils and will be switching positions for the Trustees, Polenta said.

Referendum alters StudCo operations

Last night the referendum to amend the Student Council constitution passed with the support of 92.3 percent of student voters.

Next year's Honor, UJCrepresentatives elected

The representatives who will sit on the Honor Committee and the University Judiciary Committee for the next year were announced by the University Board of Elections last night.

City, county to develop bus system

In the face of a growing effort to improve transit efficiency and access, both City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County officials discussed plans for a new regional transit system last week. "We have agreed to develop a regional transit authority, which will be jointly owned by the city and the county," Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said. This new proposal significantly differs from the current transit system, which is owned solely by the City of Charlottesville, yet also provides service to Albemarle County, said David Slutzky, a county Board of Supervisors member?. If the two entities share ownership, taxes can help fund the system, he added. The city and county began discussions last year, Slutzky said, and much of the initial planning was done by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. Commission Executive Director Harrison Rue?

On the lawn, the sun also rises

Chemistry, microbiology professors honored with achievement award

A lifetime of hard work and scientific inquiry has paid off, both literally and figuratively, for two University professors, who are the latest recipients of the University's Distinguished Scientist Award. Chemistry Prof.

Timko's research seeks to better African food source

Biology Prof. Michael Timko, along with a team of international scientists and students, is currently conducting research for the Cowpea Genomics Initiative, a project that seeks to dramatically improve the lives of millions living in Central and Western Africa.

ISC GPA above average

Academic success, according to data compiled by the Inter-Sorority Council, isn't Greek to members of the University's chapters. For the fall 2007 semester, the average GPA of each ISC-affiliated chapter was well above the University's female average of 3.226, according to ISC president Stuart Berkeley.

Making tracks to public service

Through a program the Provost

Charlottesville sets voting record

Last Tuesday, a record number of registered voters arrived at various sites in the Charlottesville area to participate in what has become one of the closest presidential primaries in recent memory. Ric Barrick, director of communications for the City of Charlottesville, said 36.7 percent of registered voters cast their ballots in the Feb.

Honor considers possibility of moderated open meeting

Members of the Honor Committee discussed an upcoming open-community forum Sunday along with ongoing efforts to update the Honor Committee's Web site. According to Josh Hess, vice chair for community relations, the current Committee, as well as previous committees, have held open meetings in the past. "Last semester the Committee held an open-committee meeting in first-year dorms," Hess said, adding that "the Committee would like to do things in that view but switch the format so it is more interactive." Committee Chair Ben Cooper noted that open-committee meetings held by former committees have traditionally been successful but added that the Committee hopes to further engage the community in discussion. "The whole purpose is to allow students to feel more comfortable to raise issues," he said. The open forum, tentatively scheduled for the third week of March, will occur outside of the Committee's weekly meeting, unlike last semester, Hess said.