When snow began falling Sunday morning Facilities Management worked to clear up sidewalks and streets around Grounds, allowing the University to continue normal academic and medical center operations. "We very seldom close, but occasionally we delay opening" of school facilities, said Facilities Operations Director Chris Willis.
Religious Studies Prof. James Childress will chair the committee to find a replacement for Ed Ayers, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, who will leave the University this summer to assume the presidency at the University of Richmond. The composition of the search committee is likely to be announced later this week.
Today the Office of African-American Affairs launched a peer counseling program for African-American students, Project R.I.S.E.
Proposed legislation that would offer the children of faculty members at state universities a reduction in tuition rates narrowly survived a vote in a General Assembly subcommittee for education.
The Honor Committee discussed the addition of the "Definitions" section to Honor by-laws at last night's meeting.
The first black student to receive an undergraduate degree from the University addressed a group of students and faculty yesterday afternoon during a ceremony honoring student achievement. The event, Harambee II, has been held every winter for the past 16 years in recognition of first-year black students who achieve a first-semester GPA of 3.0 or higher. Sylvia Terry, associate dean of the Office of African-American Affairs, called keynote speaker Dr. Robert A.
While some students used this weekend to recuperate from the first few days of class, many others braved the inclement weather to participate in the ongoing fraternity and sorority recruitment process. Charlie Morgan, Inter-Fraternity Council chairman for membership intake, said 674 men are participating in rush this year. IFC President Andrew Paradis said the number of men participating is up about three percent from last year, noting that the IFC focuses outreach efforts toward those men who "might be on the fence in terms of rush and people who are typically underrepresented." Courtney Ball, Inter-Sorority Council vice president for recruitment, said 755 women began the rush process.
The University has dropped from first to second in a national ranking of the number of graduates from mid-sized colleges and universities serving in the Peace Corps.
The White House announced Tuesday that it would not support H.R. 5 -- known as the "College Student Relief Act" -- which would lower interest rates on some student loans. The bill, approved by the House 356 to 71 Jan.
MTV Networks, home of mtvU, VH1 and other popular networks, has recently purchased ratemyprofessors.com.
The Honor Committee passed a "transformation" proposal Dec. 3 to improve the committee's investigation process.
The University offered admission last month to 973 early decision applicants for the Class of 2011.
John Henry Agee, who faced charges for the rape and object sexual penetration of a former University Law student, has been sentenced to a combined term of 40 years in prison.
A recent study by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients ranks the University Medical Center number one in the nation for lung transplant operation survival. The ranking is based on a 98.08 percent survival rate from the 52 lung transplant procedures performed at the University's transplant center from 2003 to 2005. One reason for the Medical Center's high survival rate comes from a recent change in how patients are prioritized for receiving transplants. In the past, patients have been placed on a list based on when they requested a lung transplant, but now they are ranked using a new scoring system, according to Donna Charlebois, nurse practitioner and lung transplant coordinator from the University Transplant Center. "There is certain data we gather such as the amount of oxygen the patient is receiving, their age and their state of health, and they get a score based on that data," Charlesbois said.
University students' Social Security numbers were accidentally compromised Dec. 7 when a teaching assistant in the economics department sent out grades in an e-mail to his sections that included full names and full Social Security numbers. First-year College student Kimmy Feinstein was one of more than 60 students affected. "I was pretty upset," Feinstein said.
The University announced the appointment of Interim Police Chief Michael Gibson as the official chief of the University Police Department yesterday. Leonard Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer, finalized the decision last week, according to Gibson. Gibson, who has worked in the department since 1982, was selected by a search committee created to permanently fill the position, University spokesperson Carol Wood said. "A number of candidates were interviewed but it was clear to the search committee that Chief Gibson was the right candidate at the right time for the University," Wood said. Having worked in several different positions within the department, Gibson has seen many changes in relation to law enforcement at the University. "Since 1982 the University has grown tremendously--not only in the size and number of buildings but also the demands placed upon the police department in relation to the special events that we have," Gibson said. National accreditation for the department is now Gibson's main goal.
The University was recently recognized as one of the "best values in public colleges" by Kiplinger's Magazine, at number four on the list.
Recent passage of a bill by the House of Delegates' education subcommittee may grant the University's Board of Visitors the autonomy to control millions of dollars currently in restricted reserve funds. The bill, passed in subcommittee Tuesday, would allow the investment of University funds currently set aside for future expenses, according to Del.
