The U.S. House of Representatives approved new legislation Monday that would make it a crime to harass or threaten animal researchers and their families.
Neurology Prof. Jaideep Kapur has received a five-year, $2.3 million research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to fund his research in the treatment of nerve agent-induced seizures.
Three members of the University community joined representatives of 14 other colleges to discuss the issue of sexual assault at Washington & Lee last weekend. The conference, organized by W&L senior Matthew Loar and W&L counselor Dr. Jennifer Sayre, was intended to provide a forum for discussion about successful and unsuccessful experiences dealing with the issue of sexual assault on different campuses, according to Loar. Chris Elliott, assistant dean of students from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and University students Andrew Tuttle, vice president of 1 in 4, and Amanda Penabad, co-chair of the Sexual Assault Leadership Council, gave a presentation about the design of sustainable and effective programs for fraternities and sororities. Tuttle said the University representatives' presentation included information about a new interactive fraternity education program that was first implemented at the University last year. "We wanted to share that with other peer education groups [and] receive their feedback so we can do better," Tuttle said. Loar said events at the conference provided opportunities for attendees to work in peer groups and for students and administrators to work together. The discussion allowed participants to learn more about how other schools deal with the issue of sexual assault, Penabad noted. "It was nice to hear different perspectives of what's going on at different schools," Penabad said. Elliott noted that the chance to communicate with members of other communities led to "some pretty rich dialogue about how administrators and students can both take some proactive steps." Loar said he would like to see similar conferences regularly held in the future, as some participants expressed interest in meeting again to discuss their progress. Elliott echoed this sentiment, noting that student peer groups have frequent leadership turnover and could benefit from the conversations produced at such conferences.
William N. Beebe, III, a former University student, pleaded guilty to one charge of felonious sexual assault in Charlottesville District Court yesterday.
A new spam control system has been recently implemented by Information Technology and Communications for all electronic mail accounts on the University's Central Mail Service. The system, designed by IronPort Systems of California, will offer an unprecedented level of spam blocking at the University and allow Central Mail Service users to set their own personal levels of spam-stopping stringency. According to James Hilton, vice president and information officer of ITC, the IronPort spam software was purchased in response to the ever-increasing levels of spam and the declining effectiveness of current spam-prevention solutions.
Faced with rising enrollments and escalating costs of higher education, Virginia is focusing on increasing enrollment in two-year schools, including those in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), and providing a seamless transfer process to four-year institutions.
The University of Virginia Library System announced yesterday that it is joining the Google Books library project, making the University's substantial collections available to students around the world. By working with Google Book Search, the University will join the likes of Harvard and Oxford in making its resources available over the Internet. "Our goal is to help to connect users to more books and to help users to discover books that they would never have known existed," Google spokesperson Megan Lamb said.
The Virginia House of Delegates recently announced an excess of state finances for 2007. The state will have the opportunity to spend $550 million to $600 million in addition to the previously approved state budget. House Appropriations staff director Robert P.
Americans can sometimes forget how easy it is to find housing, with banks regularly advertising attractively priced mortgages and fee-free checking accounts, but in other countries getting a home loan is not so easy.
Interacting with faculty and participating in collaborative learning and educational activities outside of the classroom enhances student's grades and satisfaction in their education, among other things, according to a survey by the National Survey of Student Engagement. The survey measures student engagement in academic and campus activities by conducting a random sample of freshmen and seniors from over 200 colleges and universities across the country, NSSE Associate Director Jillian Kinzie said. "We choose to survey first years to get a sense of a student's perspective of a university after being there for one year," Kinzie said.
The Institute of International Education released its annual "Open Doors" report yesterday, which placed the University at number 10 on its list of Top 20 Institutions by Carnegie Type, which takes into account factors such as student population, school size and undergraduate programs. The list ranked universities based on the number of students that studied abroad in the 2004-05 academic year within a certain classification of higher education institutions that is set by the Carnegie Foundation, said Daniel Obst, director of membership and higher education services at IIE. Among the other schools that ranked above the University were New York University, Michigan State University, University of Texas at Austin and Penn State University. In last year's "Open Doors" report, the University was ranked 17, said Marina Markot, University associate director of study abroad. Markot said the International Studies Office has been preparing numbers for the 2005-06 academic year, which are higher than the previous year. Markot attributed this rise in numbers to an increase in student interest to study abroad. "Many students come to colleges already wanting to study abroad," she said.
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies announced yesterday the two inaugural winners of the University's Distinguished Scientist Award: Brian R.
William Beebe is scheduled to enter a guilty plea at 8:30 a.m., according to today's Charlottesville Circuit Court docket.
The Honor Committee discussed a new format for its accusation letter as well as its upcoming schedule Sunday night. Julie Crauccio was also introduced as the new special assistant to the Honor Committee. Crauccio is currently on staff in the office ofPatricia Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, and attended the University as an undergraduate, according to Committee Chair Alison Tramba. Crauccio is taking over for Nicole Eramo, who held the position for the past nine years. Other changes to the Committee included modifications to the letter that is sent to students accused of committing an Honor offense. According to Vice Chair for Investigations Andrew Siegel, the accusation letter sent to students will now include a more detailed description of the charge. "I have gotten a number of calls from parents, students and attorneys asking exactly what they're being charged with ... I thought something like this would be helpful," Siegel said. Other Committee members approved of the changes. "It's nice and clear," said Graduate Arts & Sciences Rep.
The Miller Center of Public Affairs and University Law School hosted the Lloyd N. Cutler Conference on White House Counsel last Friday and Saturday.
The University of Richmond announced Friday its selection of Ed Ayers, dean of the University's College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, to become Richmond's ninth president as of July 1, 2007. "I've been at U.Va.
The University officially dedicated its newest building, Wilsdorf Hall, at a ceremony Friday afternoon.
