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General Faculty Council discusses restructuring

By Shea Connelly | September 11, 2008

The General Faculty Council, which represents full- and part-time general faculty and the senior professional research staff, held its first meeting of the semester yesterday afternoon, discussing the progress of restructuring currently taking place in the University Human Resources office.Chief Human Resources Officer Susan Carkeek presented information about the differences between the current and the new human resources structure, the latter of which will go into effect Oct.

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University hospital uses cycling method to treat infections in ICU

By Bethel Habte | September 11, 2008

The University Medical Center?s Surgical Intensive Care Unit has implemented a new antibiotic rotation method to try to ensure patients remain healthy during their hospital stays.The research team, headed by Dr. Robert Sawyer, co-director of the surgical trauma intensive care unit, looked to prevent bacterial staph infections common in hospitals ? officially known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infections ? from occurring in ICU patients.MRSA ?is, in many hospitals, the most common cause of pneumonia developed in hospitals,? Sawyer said.Sawyer?s team used ?cycling,? or switching the type of antibiotic medicine given to patients, to prevent them from contracting other illnesses caused by MRSA while they recovered.A different antibiotic would be used on patients every three months, Sawyer explained.?Other hospitals have done this with other bacteria, but we?re the first that we know of that has used it for MRSA,? Sawyer said, noting this method has proven very effective.?We have 25 to 35 new infections a year in our intensive care units,? Sawyer said.

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Prof. aids in Pentagon Memorial

By Jeannie Williams | September 11, 2008

Valued for his knowledge of metal alloys, Prof. Robert Kelly, of the department of materials science and engineering, has been involved in the planning and production of the national Pentagon Memorial since summer 2003.

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Speaker addresses issue of adolescent refusal of medical treatment

By Matthew Denton-Edmundson | September 11, 2008

Dr. Lainie Friedman Ross of the University of Chicago?s Center for Clinical Medical Ethics discussed the question ?Can Adolescents Refuse Medical Treatment?? yesterday at the University of Virginia?s Medical Center Hour.

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StudCo discusses graduate athletic fees

By Alexandra Hemenway | September 10, 2008

Last night Student Council discussed a resolution that would work to allow part-time and research-only graduate students partial access to athletic events, proportional to the fees these students currently pay.Part-time and research-only graduate students pay a $189 athletic fee per semester as a part of their tuition costs, while full-time students pay $644, said Graduate Arts & Sciences Rep.

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Fewer college students smoke, research shows

By Hannah Wallace | September 10, 2008

According to a report released Monday by the American Lung Association, tobacco use among college students has declined to its lowest level since 1980.

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Biomedical department tops nation

By Kate Colwell | September 10, 2008

For the second year in a row, The Hartwell Foundation has named the University one of the Top 10 Centers of Biomedical Research.This distinction continues to place the University biomedical department in league with institutions such as Cornell University, St.

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Universities admit more students from wait lists

By Samantha Koon | September 10, 2008

The uncertainty created by termination of the early decision program and financial constraints resulting from a declining economy led to an increase in the number of students admitted from many institutions? wait lists this year.

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Summit results in four recommendations

By Hannah Wallace | September 10, 2008

The Miller Center of Public Affairs? two-day global conference on financial issues concluded yesterday after participants issued four main recommendations for future financial ministers worldwide.The conference, ?The New Financial Architecture: A Global Summit,? brought together former financial ministers from around the world to discuss issues such as the global financial architecture and the current credit crunch and to provide financial management advice for economies across the globe.

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Va. artifacts donated to University

By Prateek Vasireddy and Sarah Wooten | September 10, 2008

The University?s Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture is in the process of receiving artifacts from the historic Flowerdew Hundred Foundation that will expand upon an existing collection and become a new resource for students and faculty interested in researching the history of Virginia.The collection from the Flowerdew Hundred farm, located on the James River between Richmond and Williamsburg,

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Four spring Chi Phi pledges face abduction charges

By Kelly Morenus | September 9, 2008

Four students who were pledging Chi Phi fraternity last spring are currently facing charges for felony abduction by force/intimidation for the alleged April 12 kidnapping of a fellow University student.

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Finance leaders confer in Rotunda

By Betsy Graves | September 9, 2008

The regulation of global markets was one of several key topics of discussion at yesterday?s sessions of the Mortimer Caplin Conference on the World Economy, held yesterday and today in the Rotunda and in other locations around Grounds.Former finance ministers from 13 countries have gathered at the University for a two-day conference titled ?The New Financial Architecture:

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Virginia

By Emily Poe | September 9, 2008

Red. It?s the color that Virginia has voted in every U.S. presidential election since 1968. Now, though, as the current presidential race draws closer and closer, some politicos are wondering if this historically Republican state is going to vote Blue come November.?Since 1952, there have been 14 presidential elections [and] in 13 of those, the state has voted Republican,? said Cordel Faulk, director of communications at the Miller Center of Public Affairs.

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Department will celebrate centennial

By Alex Foreman | September 9, 2008

In the same year that the American Institute of Chemical Engineers celebrates its centennial, the University?s Chemical Engineering Department will celebrate the progress it has made since its own opening in 1908, according to Don Kirwan, professor of chemical engineering and chair of the department committee for planning.On the weekend of Sept.

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Capital Campaign still on target even after slow July

By Alex Foreman | September 9, 2008

While monthly donor giving to the University?s eight-year Capital Campaign decreased from $45 million in June to between $8 and $9 million in July, Robert Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs, said the Capital Campaign remains ahead of schedule and does not face any unusual hurdles at this time.As of the most recently audited totals from July, the campaign has received $1.743 billion, roughly 58 percent of its $3 billion goal for 2011, Sweeney said.

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Construction to close JPA Saturday

By Samantha Koon | September 9, 2008

Jefferson Park Avenue will temporarily close Saturday as construction workers build a terrace that will eventually connect the developing South Lawn Project with New Cabell Hall and the Lawn.?To minimize the effect on traffic, the work on creating the foundation for the terrace will be done primarily at night,? University spokesperson Carol Wood said.Wood noted that the terrace construction will start at 3 a.m.

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Students protest policy banning signs

By Shea Connelly | September 8, 2008

Following an athletic department announcement at the beginning of the year banning signs from sporting events, University students staged a protest against the policy at Saturday?s football game.An e-mail was sent to ?Hoo Crew members early Friday morning containing a message from an anonymous source urging students to participate.?As many of you have heard,? the message read, ?The Athletic Department recently instituted a sign prohibition for all athletic events.

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ISC plans to alter judicial proceedings

By Shea Connelly | September 8, 2008

The Inter-Sorority Council is reviewing its judicial structure this semester, with the goal of making the judicial system more mediation-based rather than trial-based.Though the ISC currently has a judicial branch, ISC president Stuart Berkeley said, in recent years it has become less active ? a problem she attributed to its structure.?This might be a more approachable and appropriate way to deal with issues affecting sorority women,? Berkeley said of a revised, mediation-based system.

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Professors discuss function of American politics

By Kelly Morenus | September 8, 2008

The American Political Science Association recently held a conference during which scholars discussed the merits of American politics as a field of study and considered the possibility of abolishing the field altogether.APSA Executive Director Michael Brintnall said he did not believe this discussion implied that the field should be abolished in a literal sense, but rather that the scope of American politics should be broadened to include a wider range of world views.

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Voter registration code raises concerns

By Emily Poe | September 8, 2008

The voter registration code of Virginia has become a hot topic of debate among college students and young voters in the commonwealth following an August press release from the Montgomery County registrar.Though Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz?s Aug.