Charlottesville's historic Downtown Mall will undergo major changes after City Council approved revised plans for a new transit center at their Jan.
In one of many digressions in a nearly 10-page single-spaced letter that has landed former University Ph.D.
Praising American military efforts to promote freedom around the globe and plugging an array of new domestic initiatives, President Bush delivered the final State of the Union address of his first term last night. The president started with a discussion of the war on terror and situations in Afghanistan and Iraq, later isolating a train of domestic issues ranging from the economy, immigration and health care to faith-based initiatives, sexual abstinence and same-sex marriages. "Americans are rising to the tasks of history, and they expect the same from us," Bush told an audience of the nation's top leaders, including members from both houses of Congress, cabinet officials, Supreme Court justices and foreign diplomats. "The cause we serve is right, because it is the cause of all mankind," he said.
Pending a formal vote in Student Council's meeting next week, one familiar band may have a little more pep in their step. Council Vice President for Administration Will Sowers and Curry representative Sarah Outten introduced a resolution expressing Council's support for the Pep Band at last night's Council meeting. Nearly 20 Pep Band members attended the last Council meeting of the fall semester to express their concern about the Athletic Department's reluctance to deal with them. The Pep Band is waiting for Athletic Department approval to play at athletic events where the marching band does not perform. Pep Band President Scott Hayes said while relations between the Athletic Department and the new marching band have been relatively good and cooperative in nature, "they have been slow in making a decision." Unlike the marching band, which is run by a salaried faculty member brought in by the University's music department, the Pep Band is run completely by students.
For the first time in three years, college and university endowments had a positive average return on investments during the 2003 fiscal year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. At the University, the total return on investments in the 2003 fiscal year was second only to Harvard, coming in at a 9.2 percent gain, well above the national average of 3 percent. An endowment is a sum of money in which the principal can never be touched and only the annual payout from investments is available for university use. More money coming in from investments can mean augmented salary supplements for faculty, more financial aid for students and increased support for academic and athletic programs. University spokesperson Carol Wood attributed the strong return to the University's investment strategies. "Decisions made by the University's Board of Visitors in 1974 to invest 75 percent of the fund in equities have paid off," Wood said.
One year to the day after allegations became public that a Facilities Management employee may have improperly accepted gifts from a painting contractor, the University's investigation continues, according to officials. The allegations centered around L.T.
Virginia may finance a new public university in the south-central region of the Commonwealth within the next decade. Sen.
Student recipients of $5,000 in arts grants from Student Council continue to work on a handful of art projects which are slated for completion by the end of the academic year. The projects represent a diverse cross-section of the arts, according to Student Arts Committee Chair Rebecca Menges. The committee, created in 1999 by Council to facilitate artistic endeavors, initiated the painting of murals on red construction walls around Grounds and coordinated an arts reception for prospective students during Days on the Lawn in the spring. The six projects receiving funding last semester were chosen from 18 proposals that had to meet certain requirements, such as being extracurricular in nature and unaffiliated with other student groups or organizations. Those projects approved by the committee include a 20-minute black-and-white film, the installation of steel work tables in the courtyard of Campbell Hall, a multimedia sculpture, a public art display and the production of a Tennessee Williams play that was completed in December. The accepted proposals intentionally were varied in scope and cost, Menges said. "It was a struggle between funding a greater number of projects or fewer projects with greater complexity," she said. The Independent Student Arts Project Fund was started last year with a seed grant from Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Lampkin.
Fans attending basketball games this season will no longer have to sing the "Good Ole Song" without musical accompaniment, thanks to the creation of the Cavalier HOOps Band, which debuted at last night's men's basketball game. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said the new band will fill a void in the entertainment aspect of basketball games and bolster the type of support and enthusiasm that has been lacking this season. "Everyone is looking forward to how the band is going to contribute to the spirit and support for the team," Littlepage said. He said the band will go beyond being a group that simply plays quality music -- it will coordinate with the cheerleaders and dance group to "crank up" the atmosphere in University Hall. First-year College student Tracy Clemons, a tuba player, said the band will bring a welcomed change to basketball games by playing a mix of current and "old school" songs to pump up the crowd. "We want crowd participation," Clemons said. The band is comprised of about 60 students, but only between 45 and 50 members will perform at games, Band Director William Pease said.
It's the beginning of a new semester and for many students that means a handful of course action forms and a spot on a waiting list.
The Iowa Caucuses last night marked the official start of the race to select the Democratic candidate who will face off with President George W.
The University Art Museum will open its doors Friday for a new exhibit: "American Collage -- Telephones." The display is a montage of film clips organized to represent a telephone conversation, according to a University press release. Coinciding with the film compilation, an art exhibition entitled simply "American Collage" will display artwork from the University's permanent collection as well as items on loan. The works trace the history of collage in the United States over several decades. The two exhibits are a result of a partnership between the University's American Studies program and the Washington, D.C., Phillips Collection, the first modern art museum in the country.
Work is progressing steadily and on schedule for a Feb. 20 grand opening of the new diversity center, currently in construction on the third floor of Newcomb Hall, officials associated with the project said yesterday. "We hope that, assuming no last minute glitches, construction will be completed on Feb.
With the pungent smell of gas permeating the chilly air, thousands of faculty, staff and students were evacuated from University buildings surrounding the new Observatory Hill Dining Hall construction site yesterday afternoon because of a backhoe striking a high pressure natural gas main there. The accident occurred at approximately 1:49 p.m.
University Health System researchers discovered they could prevent diabetes from recurring in diabetic mice by transplanting insulin-manufacturing islet cells and then administering an anti-inflammatory drug called Lisofylline, according to a University Health System press release. Researchers knew that transplantation was promising in treating type 1 diabetes.
As the Harrison Awards enter their fifth year, the Center for Undergraduate Excellence and the Faculty Senate announced yesterday the awards will now be open to first-year students. Previously only second- and third-year students could apply for a Harrison Award, which funds an undergraduate research project during the summer or academic year after the awards are given. "We think this is a great opportunity to help students as early as the first year to fit research into their curriculum," said Nicole Hurd, assistant dean and director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence. This year also is the first year that the Center for Undergraduate Excellence will oversee the application and awards process.
A Richmond judge and a landscape architect were selected Friday as the recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Medals, a pair of awards that honor prominent figures in law and architecture each year. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation and the University selected J.
About 70 people went before the Commonwealth's Interstate-81 project advisory panel Thursday night to discuss plans to widen the four-lane highway. The panel used teleconferencing equipment to create a statewide public hearing that included participants from Richmond, Bristol, Salem and Harrisonburg. Most speakers opposed both of the two available multibillion-dollar proposals and instead suggested rail service expansion or increased police patrols on I-81, which spans a total of 325 miles in the western part of the Commonwealth. Those who are in favor of widening the highway oppose the installment of tollbooths to fund the project, arguing that truckers and other travelers would congest area country roads in order to bypass a toll. Once the panel decides whether or not to approve one, both or neither of the proposals, it will forward its decision to hearings conducted by the state transportation commissioner. --compiled by Natasha Altamirano
Former Greene County Sheriff William Morris is working on a granite memorial to honor County Sgt.
