Sen. John Warner discussed his ideals of democracy, made pointed comments about the current situation in Iraq and answered students' questions during Politics Professor Larry J.
Chief Diversity Officer William Harvey met with black student leaders last night to discuss issues faced by the black student community at the University. Students questioned Harvey on a variety of issues including the reported incidents of racial intolerance last fall, the lack of black faculty members and other challenges faced by black students. Harvey encouraged the students to become more involved in various organizations at the University. "I need for you to understand this is your institution as much as anyone else's," Harvey said. Harvey spoke about ways to change the climate of intolerance that led to the reported incidents earlier in the school year, announcing that the University would be in written or electronic communication with every student before the end of the semester as well as over the summer about incidents of intolerance. Harvey added that he also hoped to have student organizations convey messages to students about racial intolerance. "We do need the student leadership to take responsibility for this message," Harvey said. Third-year College student Chelsea Cosby questioned Harvey about the way he would go about doing this. "How do you propose making CIOs and fraternities get out the message of the unacceptability of inappropriate racial attitudes?" Cosby asked. Other students offered additional suggestions to improve the racial climate of the University. "I think student leadership is not enough," third-year Education student Kevin Williams said. Williams brought up the possibility of a required diversity class for all University students. "I had to take four semesters of Spanish, why can't we have to take this?" Williams asked. Harvey encouraged the students to get involved and to engage the faculty to make changes to the curricula. Harvey also addressed efforts to increase the number of black faculty members at the University. "You can't have a world-class institution of higher learning in the 21st century unless you reflect the diversity of this country," Harvey said. The recruitment of a more diverse faculty was one of the major issues addressed by the Board of Visitors at its meeting last week. "We're going to have a fairly energetic recruiting drive pretty soon," Harvey said. Students also brought up concerns about the school's relation to the greater black community. "Our school fosters a plantation culture in which blacks are a majority in service positions and a minority in the classroom," third-year College student Jessica Childress said. Harvey also addressed the fact that many of the lowest level University employees are black. "We can't be a first-rate institution when all of the people doing the worst jobs are of the same race without having the opportunity for education or moving forward," Harvey said. Harvey said he was pleased with both the turnout and content of the evening and spoke about the possibility of future events like this one. "My position here is to provide whatever service or benefit I can," Harvey said.
University holds American Society of Civil Engineers' Virginias conference During the month of April students from 13 colleges and universities in Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The newly elected Honor Committee held its first official meeting yesterday, during which several support officers addressed the Committee about reforms they would like to see made to the Honor system. Support officers Josh Hess, president of Students for the Preservation of Honor, and Sam Leven, communications director of Hoos Against the Single Sanction, made a joint presentation to the Committee. Leven said their respective organizations agreed on five concerns: the amount of time it takes the Honor Committee to address problems, developing better relationships with students, addressing the problems faced by international students by printing the green Honor pamphlet in other languages and holding occasional meetings outside Newcomb. "We don't mean to be preachy -- we just want to start the dialogue a little bit," Hess said. Leven and Hess also distributed a letter voicing their concerns to the Committee. Honor counsel Ryan Martin suggested utilizing the resident advisor program to address Honor education issues. Martin, who is also an RA, said he sees "a lack of understanding is breeding a sense of fear, instead of embracing our system.
Philippines ambassador to the U.S.Albert F. del Rosario spoke about Filipino domestic affairs and relations with the United States during the Organization of Young Filipino-American's Spring Symposium Friday evening. Del Rosario discussed the recent dramatic political situation within the Philippines that resulted in the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency several weeks ago. "There was an [imminent] and real threat of the extreme left and the extreme right," del Rosario said.
The members of the Board of Visitors broke ground for the new Nursing School building Saturday. The Claude Moore Nursing Education building is projected to open for general use in 2008, according to Theresa Carroll, assistant dean for undergraduate student services. The building will hold four new classrooms, faculty and administration offices, the Nursing School office of student life and a dining facility. The new building is necessary because the Nursing School has expanded beyond its current capacity, Nursing School Dean Jeanette Lancaster said. "We have completely outgrown McLeod Hall and our solitary off-Grounds research facility," she added. In the last five years applicants to the Nursing School have doubled, but the classes have only grown by approximately 10 percent because of the space issue, Carroll said. Lancaster said the Nursing School intends to increase the total enrollment by 25 percent in response to the national nursing shortage. "This new building will increase our space by 40 percent and allow us to increase all of our enrollments," Lancaster said. The dining area will be a café which will provide healthy food--part of a larger effort to keep the building in line with the virtues of the school, Lancaster said. Other healthful initiatives in the building's design include expanded bike racks, a large central staircase, large open able windows and an outdoor porch area. "We are absolutely considering health in the design of the building," Lancaster said. The new facility will provide nursing students with the most cutting edge educational technology as well as areas where they can congregate, she said. Currently there is limited space available where nursing students can socialize or for organizations to meet. "The main entry will have a large student center with computer kiosks, small seating areas and conference rooms," Lancaster said. The groundbreaking of the Claude Moore Nursing Education building is part of a larger project to revamp the Nursing School, which includes renovating McLeod Hall and renewing the landscape architecture in the area, Lancaster said. Lancaster estimated the cost of the new building at $12 million and the total cost of the project at $20 million.
The Board of Visitors continued its April session into Friday with discussion on the University's intellectual property policy, faculty diversity, alumni relations improvement efforts and various student issues. Committee presentations to the Board continued on Friday, beginning with the Educational Policy Committee's report. Ariel Gomez, vice president for research and graduate studies, presented the Committee's evaluation that focused primarily on intellectual property and "technology transfer" issues. Gomez discussed the University's intellectual property rights to products that develop through University research.
The April session of the Board of Visitors commenced yesterday in Darden's Abbot Hall, bringing with it new goals, new metrics to evaluate progress and new finance plans for the University. The Special Committee on Planning opened the meeting with its presentation and analysis of the University's national and international rankings. Ariel Gomez, vice president for research and graduate studies, presented a comparison and analysis of the significance of four published measurements, including the U.S.
A study released yesterday, done by astronomers at the University, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and Bonn University, with University Astronomy Prof.
An honor trial originally scheduled to be open to the public this weekend will be closed to the public, Honor Chair Alison Tramba said. Accused students have the right to change their mind about whether the trial will be open or closed until the day before the trial, she added. Two open honor trials have already been held in the 2005-2006 school year.
The Building and Grounds Committee of the Board of Visitors unanimously approved commencement of the South Lawn Project yesterday. The projected cost of $100 million will be spent over three phases, University architect David Neuman said. The first phase, slated to begin in 2007, will extend the Lawn across Jefferson Park Avenue and include new buildings for the History, Politics and Religion departments. This phase is projected to cost $65 million, Neuman said. Phase II will allow an additional building to be added without tearing down any of the nearby apartment buildings owned by the University. Phase III will "engage" New Cabell Hall with the South Lawn by building a new entryway into New Cabell Hall on the third story. Upon completion, the 100-feet wide space will include gardens, a conservatory, a café and lounges for students, in addition to academic space.
The Presidents' Council of the Inter-Fraternity Council voted last night to continue to recognize Zeta Psi despite the recent recommendation of the Inter-Fraternity Council Judiciary Committee to remove IFC recognition of the fraternity. The Cavalier Daily reported Tuesday that Zeta Psi was investigated after a first-year student was arrested for driving under the influence while returning from an off-campus Zeta Psi rush event in December.
The Public Interest Research Group released a report yesterday about rising student loan debt and its burden on graduates who want to pursue "socially important" careers, such as teaching and social work. Luke Swarthout, associate for the State PIRG Higher Education Project, wrote the report and explained how loans are preventing undergraduates from pursuing much needed jobs. In Virginia, 30 percent of public university graduates and nearly 50 percent of private university graduates will have "unmanageable" student debt if they become a teacher after school, Swarthout said.
Discussion ranging from the South Lawn Project to the University's national rankings will take place at Darden today, as committee reports are presented at this week's Board of Visitors meeting. The Board, which is scheduled to meet today, tomorrow and Saturday, usually takes this time to approve tuition rates.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced today the reappointments of three members of the University's Board of Visitors along with a new appointment to replace departing Board member Mark J.
In a special appearance yesterday, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine spoke about his financial concerns and campaign goals to Prof.
Smoke from a mulch fire caused the Fine Arts Library and the lower level of Campbell Hall at the Architecture School to be evacuated yesterday. The fire, which occurred after 10 a.m.
