In the wake of the recent shootings at Northern Illinois University and Louisiana Technical College, institutes of higher education across the nation are focusing on ways to protect their campuses.
For his work in accelerating the testing process of blood and tissue samples, Chemistry Prof. James Landers has been honored with the 2008 Innovation Award from The Association for Laboratory Automation. Landers presented his work on microfluidic genetic analysis technology to a panel of judges at the ALA conference in Palm Springs, Calif.
The Inter-Fraternity Council elected the remainder of its Governing Board officials last night, completing its elections for the 2008-2009 term. Joining the Governing Board will be second-year Engineering student Matt Hanna as?
This semester, the Honor Committee's new blog, coupled with the Committee's 2004 study on honor case initiations and conviction analyses, has brought important issues affecting the University's honor system to the forefront of both students' computer screens and concerns.
A female University student was sexually assaulted early yesterday morning while walking in the 1600 block of Grady Avenue, according to Charlottesville Police Sgt.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Last night the referendum to amend the Student Council constitution passed with the support of 92.3 percent of student voters.
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.
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?
