News

Mid-Autumns Carnival raises $4,000

Hordes of young children and their parents descended upon Mad Bowl Saturday afternoon to enjoy the first annual Mid-Autumns Carnival while also supporting several charitable causes. Carnival Director Jeremy Pollock estimated that over 3000 people attended the event. The event -- organized through the work of the four Greek councils, Student Council, Fourth Year Trustees, the Alumni Association, the Parent's Program and the University Programs Council -- raised approximately $4,000 on Saturday alone.

Ayers wins Thomas Jefferson award

College Dean Edward L. Ayers was selected to receive the 53rd annual Thomas Jefferson Award, the University's highest honor, during Fall Convocation Friday, Oct.

Former football player endows merit scholarship

Chicago Bears running back and University alumnus Thomas Q. Jones announced the establishment of a scholarship fund that will help students from a five-county area in Southwest Virginia at a ceremony Saturday. The scholarship fund will grant $2,000 per year to qualifying students from the Southwest Virginia counties of Dickinson, Lee, Russell, Scott or Wise, or in the city of Norton. Students may renew the scholarship each year following their first years as long as they remain qualified.

Town Center II opens at University Research Park

University officials gathered Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the Town Center II building, part of the University Research Park. University Research Park was developed through the U.Va.

Student struck by car on JPA

Monday morning a female University student was hit by a car while crossing Jefferson Park Avenue near New Cabell Hall and Dawson's Row. Fourth-year College student Andy Riff said he was crossing the street with his roommates and the female student at a spot he described as an "unmarked crosswalk." "We thought it was unsafe, but it is a convenient spot to cross," he said. Around 7:45 a.m.

New Spring '07 COD available today

The University registrar released the Spring 2007 Course Offering Directory online today. One new change has been made to the COD, according to University Registrar Carol Stanley: students will now be able to open both the online database which houses the University record and the COD at the same time. "You'll be able to toggle between the course descriptions and COD," she said. According to Stanley, individual schools and departments determine course offerings, rather than the registrar. "Departments determine their course offerings in concert with their faculty," Stanley said.

Law prof. to help examine Va. mental health laws

University Law School Prof. Richard Bonnie has been named to head a commission to investigate changes to the Commonwealth's current mental health laws. "We are going to conduct a comprehensive exam of Virginia's mental health laws and services and identify ways to use the law more effectively to serve the needs of people with mental illnesses," Bonnie said. Bonnie also said the commission will specifically examine access to mental health services and the presence of mentally ill people in the Commonwealth's prisons. "There are some people with chronic mental problems," Bonnie said.

Internet software to benefit disabled users

The University purchased licensing for software this fall that will allow the entire University Web site to be reformatted to benefit disabled users. The Lift Assistive software takes Web sites and reformulates them in a text-only format, said Steve Johnson, University senior web developer in the Office of Public Affairs. The software will help visually impaired users more effectively navigate University Web sites, Johnson said. "Lift Assistive is a web-based service and what it does is ... basically translate our pages into a format that is optimized for people that use browsers for assistance technologies," Johnson said.

Clarification

In Monday's News article, "Pancakes for Parkinson's raises $15k," Pancakes for Parkinson's co-chair Stefin Pasternak stated Saturday's event netted between $15-$17,000 and the groups total fundraising to date was $45,000.

Student votes approve UJC amendment

The University Board of Elections reported last night that a referendum amending the University Judiciary Committee Constitution passed and announced the results of Student Council and Engineering Council representative races.

New critical language award launched

The Fulbright Program, part of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), has established the Critical Language Enhancement Award, which will aim at increasing the number of U.S.

U.Va. now to offer master's in public policy

The University's five-year Bachelor of Arts and master's of public policy (MPP) program was approved by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia Tuesday. The program will begin fall 2007 with the vision of preparing students for occupations in the field of public policy. "Until now, students interested in public policy have not been able to get the opportunity for higher education in that field [at the University], which is ironic at Mr. Jefferson's University," said Eric Patashnik, associate director for the MPP program. Modeled after the Curry School of Education's Bachelor of Arts and master's of teaching program, the MPP program will allow students to receive a master's degree in five years, with graduate work beginning in their fourth year of undergraduate study. Students are eligible to apply for admission in the their third year and would spend half of their fourth year taking the graduate public policy courses and complete their remaining degree requirements with the other half, Patashnik said.

University community prepares for Family Weekend festivities

This weekend, the University will welcome visiting parents and family members for its annual Family Weekend.

Student votes approve UJC amendment

Faculty to study broccoli's anti-cancer effects

Pathology Prof. Janet Cross and pathology department Chair Dennis Templeton recently were awarded a $1.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute in order to conduct research on the anti-cancer benefits of broccoli. Cross said she has been researching this topic for approximately four years and began trying to acquire funding two years ago. Researchers have known for several decades that animals that are fed certain compounds identified in broccoli develop fewer tumors than animals which do not consume the compounds, Cross noted. "Nobody understood how that worked or why," Cross said.

Goode, Weed to participate in Liberty Univ. debate during quest for House seat

Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., and Democratic challenger Al Weed will engage in their first televised debate Monday as the two candidates strive to represent Virginia's fifth district in the U.S.

Journal appoints faculty member as editor

Pamela Cipriano, chief clinical officer and chief nursing officer at the University Health System, was recently appointed editor-in-chief at American Nurse Today, the new official journal of the American Nurses Association. Cipriano was chosen for the position by HealthCom Media and the American Nurses Association, which conducted a national search, finally narrowing the list down to 12 candidates to fill the position, according to Gregory Osborne, president of HealthCom Media. "Pam was at the top of our list, and we were able to get together with her and she was thrilled and, I believe, somewhat humbled that she was offered the position," Osborne said. Terri Haller, University Clinical Care Services manager, said Cipriano's appointment at American Nurse Today, whose first issue was published this month, will not adversely affect her day-to-day duties within the University Health System. "She will just integrate this into all the things that she is involved in, and she'll do it with ease", Haller said. According to a press release from HealthCom Media, Cipriano has worked at not only the University but also at the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina during her 30 years of experience in the field.

So a guy walks into a bar...

God on Grounds

Last week a small group of religious protestors came to the lawn to inform students that they were "sinners, sodomizers and masturbators" who were "all going to hell." A similar demonstration occurred last year when the Woroniecki family visited the lawn with banners that read, "Satan Rules!