News

U.Va. architects plan for City's future

A University-based group of architects and students have unveiled an exhibit for their plan to connect vital parts of Charlottesville with a single-track trolley system, according to a University press release. The team includes former Charlottesville Mayor Maurice Cox and Gary Okerlund, both current adjunct professors in the Architecture School, as well as Architecture graduate students Justin Laskin, Justin Walton, Tommy Solomon and Jayme Schwartzberg and Shannon Yadsko and Architecture undergraduate Sally Foster.

Got Science?

If you are one of the many people who are in search of a "science-y" class to fulfill an area requirement -- simply out of interest but do not want to get into a "weed out" class full of potential science majors -- you're in luck.

What's my age again?

An oft-quoted statistic in the field of biogerontology, the study of aging, is that slowing down the aging process would amount to a greater gain in lifespan than curing cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes today.

NASA rewards U.Va. astronomy profs. grant

Two University astronomy professors are the recent recipients of a NASA grant, NASA Public Affairs Officer Erica Hupp said. Prof.

Casteen names Bruner Darden School dean

President John T. Casteen, III announced Tuesday that Robert F. Bruner accepted a five-year appointment as dean of the Darden Business School. According to Casteen, Bruner has been serving a one-year term since August, but was offered the five-year contract after a special search committee decided he was the proper choice for a long-term position. "This committee unanimously recommended that I appoint Dean Bruner to a full five-year term, as I did yesterday," Casteen said in an e-mail.

My Robot is Sweeter Than Yours

Acquitted, Honor respond to open trial

The two students who were acquitted in the open honor trial last Sunday said the experience changed some of their opinions of the honor system. Although they were acquitted of honor charges on the seriousness clause, third-year College students Joe Schlingbaum and Lindsey McClung said they believe there was confusion that led the jury to decide the students' committed and had the intent to commit an honor violation. Act, intent and seriousness are the three criteria for a guilty verdict in an honor trial.

Mulberry e-mail service company files bankruptcy

Next semester the University's Information Technology and Communications services will begin to look for an e-mail client to replace Mulberry. This comes in light of a recent announcement that Cyrusoft International, Inc./ISAMET, the company that developed the Mulberry e-mail software, had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Because Cyrusoft International, Inc./ISAMET is now defunct, there will no longer be any new versions or updates for Mulberry available, and when the current version of Mulberry becomes too outdated for newer versions of Windows operating systems, or in the unlikely event that Mulberry begins to have major problems, an alternative e-mail client has to be found, said James Jokl, Director of Communications and Systems at ITC. The fact that Mulberry has to be replaced is not an immediate problem of the University, however, nor does it mean that Mulberry e-mail services are going to be diminished, Jokl said. According to Jokl, the fact that the company that created Mulberry has folded does not affect the University's license or right to use the software.

U.Va. eligible for highest autonomy

Gov. Mark R. Warner's administration announced that the University, the College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech all have passed the requirements in the higher education restructuring act to receive the highest level of autonomy, according to University spokesperson Carol Wood. The University applied to be a level three institution, which would give the Board of Visitors full responsibility for managing the University's operations. The autonomy will eliminate extra procedures that add time and resources to the daily functioning of the University, Wood said. Tuesday was the last day for an institution to submit a management agreement to the Commonwealth, which lists the responsibilities of the institution and proposes a six-year operating plan. Because Warner has approved the management agreements, they will be sent to the General Assembly, which will vote on the agreements during its session that begins in January.

Will camp for seats

City weighs improvements for Downtown Mall area

Charlottesville City Council held a special planning meeting Monday night to discuss changes and improvements to West Main Street and the Downtown Mall. "The purpose of [Monday's] meeting was to discuss and prioritize a number of capital improvement projects," Vice Mayor Kevin Lynch said.

Commonwealth's attorney general race remains close

The race to become the Commonwealth's attorney general is still close, in fact "freakishly close," according to Politics Prof.

Sending out an SOS

With burglary rates ballooning in Charlottesville and assaults on students becoming practically a weekly occurrence, many members of the University community are becoming increasingly concerned about students' personal safety. Last month, numerous burglaries and peeping incidents in the University neighborhoods of Jefferson Park Avenue, Observatory Hill and Stadium Road areas were reported, according to Charlottesville Police Investigations Detective Randall S.

Diversity Officer debuts agenda in first official speech

Chief Officer of Diversity and Equity Bill Harvey addressed students at the Student Council meeting last night in his first official address. Harvey said his three main diversity concerns of the University are faculty member representation, the western bias in curricula and graduate student representation.

Presidents see salary increases at public colleges, universities

Presidents of public colleges and universities generally receive relatively lower salaries than their peers at private institutions, but many are seeing increases in their compensation packages as the number of presidents earning over $500,000 is continually increasing, according to an annual survey performed by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The survey data, which was compiled from the responses of 139 public research institutions and public-college systems, found that 23 of the 139 leaders were expected to make over $500,000 this year, compared to 17 last year. The median payment received by public-institution presidents was $360,000, a $31,600 increase over last year, according to a Chronicle report; however, the data are not perfectly comparable because this year's survey included eight new institutions, and several schools had not yet determined their presidents' compensation, the Chronicle reported. Jeffrey Selingo, editor of business and politics at the Chronicle, said the increase in presidential compensation is part of a general trend which has been going on over the past few years. He explained that this increase in compensation likely can be attributed to the fact that there is a short supply of qualified candidates for college presidencies, while the demand for them is increasing. The survey found University President John T.

Warner approves new $270 million technology project

Gov. Mark R. Warner approved an agreement between Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Commonwealth Monday that will include an investment of almost $270 million for modernizing Virginia's information technological infrastructure.

Report sets goal for increased study abroad

A congressionally created commission released a report yesterday on undergraduate study abroad, issuing a goal for a dramatic increase in overall student participation in international education initiatives.

Honor defeats change in trial procedure

A proposal to change the speaking order during closing arguments at honor trials was defeated narrowly at last night's Honor Committee meeting. Under the current system, the counsel for the community gives his or her closing arguments first, followed by the counsel for the accused. The proposal would have switched the order in which the two counsels speak so that the counsel for the community would speak last. In a vote, seven Committee members voted in favor of the proposal, seven voted against and four abstained.

Pavillion party with professors

ACLU files suit regarding foreign student visas

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit concerning visas denied to foreign students and professors based on political views last week. The suit, filed in conjunction with the American Association of University Professors and the PEN American Center, a leftist literary organization, charges the State Department, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the CIA with not complying with a Freedom of Information Act request filed in March. The ACLU requested documents related to several "prominent intellectuals" who were denied visas under Section 411 of the Patriot Act, which allows the United States Government to deny entrance to any foreigner who has "used positions of prominence to endorse or espouse terrorist activity." After eight months, the ACLU had received only one document from the State Department that was deemed unhelpful, according to the ACLU. The ACLU statement said 61 Cuban students were denied entry less than two weeks before they were scheduled to attend the Latin American Students Association's international congress in October 2004. The State Department claimed that it was only being consistent with the Bush administration's policies aimed at quickly bringing democratic reform in Cuba, according to the ACLU. In another incident, Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen and Muslim scholar, was forced to resign his teaching position at the University of Notre Dame when his visa, granted in 2002, was revoked.