Rap Tribute to U.Va.-Wise Chancellor
A rapper who goes by the handle of “thegreat1987″ — presumably a student at U.Va.’s College at Wise — has posted his own tribute to Chancellor David Prior, who died yesterday morning, on YouTube.
U.Va. Alumni Meet at World Economic Forum in Davos
UVA Today’s Matt Kelly reports:
University of Virginia alumni Micaela Connery and Tyler Spencer were among the “Global Shapers” who met at Davos, Switzerland, as part of the World Economic Forum talks Jan. 25 to 29.
Connery, who graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences in 2009 with an interdisciplinary degree in the distinguished majors program, and Spencer, who graduated from the College in 2008 with a self-designed degree in international health and sustainable development, are members of Global Shapers, an off-shoot of the World Economic Forum for those in their 20s and 30s. About 70 of these Global Shapers were invited to participate in the recent talks.
While graduating only a year apart, their paths had not crossed before Davos.
U.Va. May Have Had Surprising Influence on SEC Schools
A little over a month ago, when the U.Va. football team was preparing to face Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, much was being made about Auburn’s supposedly having adopted U.Va.’s orange-and-blue school colors, thanks to a former Wahoo who went on to coach the Tigers. (Here is one account, from an Auburn perspective.)
Now, the Los Angeles Times (of all places) has published a piece that links U.Va. to another orange-and-blue-clad Southeastern Conference school, the University of Florida. According to the story, a Gainesville entrepreneur named Phillip Miller visited his son in U.Va.’s School of Law in 1907.
Football Program Celebrates So-Called Recruiting Christmas
For passionate followers of college football, today is a Big Day. Feb. 1 marks the first day that football recruits can sign their National Letters of Intent that formally commit them to their future colleges and universities. Some call it “Recruitin’ Christmas.” ESPN has been running coverage all day on one of its channels. There are minute-by-minute blogs. It’s all quite exciting.
Signing Day has been pleasantly uneventful for Cavalier head coach Mike London. All 25 of the recruits he was anticipating hearing from faxed in their letters by noon — no sudden changes of heart — and those who follow these things closely rank his incoming class among the best in the nation.
To get the full lowdown on U.Va.’s talent haul, check out the special Signing Day page, which includes bios and videos of all 25 new ‘Hoos. You could also head over to the John Paul Jones Arena for a celebration that starts at 5:30, or watch the proceedings live online starting at 6. Also, U.Va.’s Jeff White live-blogged the morning’s events.
UVA Today Radio Show | Feb. 1, 2012
Check out the new episode of the UVA Today Radio Show, a weekly five minute segment on WTJU radio. Look for new editions of the show every Wednesday at 11:55 a.m. and every Friday at 3:55 p.m. on WTJU. Afterward, all of the segments will be posted on iTunesU.
Read more about the stories featured in this week’s program:
• New Instrument Peers Through the Heart of the Milky Way (Steven Majewski)
• “The End of Diversity as We Know It: Why Diversity Efforts Fail And How Leveraging Difference Can Succeed” (Martin Davidson)
• Library’s Praxis Program Provides Digital Tools for Tomorrow’s Scholars (Bethany Nowviskie)
• Air Date: 2/1/2012
To download mp3, click here.
Another Popular U.Va. Eatery Shuts Its Doors
In another blow to U.Va. community members and alumni already reeling from the Christmas Eve closing of The Tavern, it was widely reported yesterday that St. Maarten Cafe’ has locked the doors after 26 years on The Corner and is now for sale.
Hmmmm — just thinking out loud here — The Tavern’s owner is looking for a new space …
Sabato Thrown Into Florida Primary
As the dwindling Republican presidential candidates continue to brawl in the Sunshine State, Newt Gingrich dropped the name of U.Va. political scientist Larry Sabato into the discussion.
Analyzing his lackluster performance in Thursday night’s debate, Gingrich invoked Sabato in justifying his frustration with Mitt Romney’s tactics, according to the Boston Globe:
“You cannot debate somebody who is dishonest,” Gingrich told reporters. “You just can’t. People say I’m a good debater. I can’t debate somebody who won’t tell the truth.”
Gingrich said he was stunned by Romney’s repeated distortions.
“A couple of scenes you can go back and replay,” he said. “I was staring in amazement. I know what he’s saying is untrue. And I also know that, in that particular audience, it would not have worked to take him head on, so I backed out.”
Gingrich pointed to Romney’s assertion during the debate that he only voted for Democrats when no Republican was on the ballot. Gingrich said that, in the 1992 presidential primary in Massachusetts, Romney could have voted for either George H. W. Bush or Pat Buchanan, but chose instead to vote for Paul Tsongas, a Democrat.
“During the debate, Larry Sabato is tweeting, ‘that is not true,’” Gingrich said, referring to a prominent political scientist at the University of Virginia.
Just checked out Sabato’s debate tweets on Facebook, and could not find that particular reference. Hmmm …
UPDATE, 2/1, 10:45 a.m.: As per the comment below, Sabato did indeed tweet about Romney’s comment, as follows: “I don’t believe Mitt told truth about 1992. He voted Tsongas in D POTUS primary when Bush 41 was facing Pat Buchanan, same day 3/10/92.”
Arts & Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, News, People, politics | Monday, January 30th | By: Dan @4:43 pm | 1 Comment
Alumnus’ Obit Raises an Interesting Question
We at UVA Today headquarters are usually the ones who present the news from around the University, but today I’m asking you, dear readers, for a little assistance.
Yesterday we came across the obituary of Roy Britten, a pioneering DNA researcher at Caltech. Britten was a graduate of U.Va., where he studied physics. Presumably, he worked with legendary U.Va. physicist Jesse Beams, as both ended up working on the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort to build an atomic weapon. (Britten’s obit quotes his son, Ken Britten, as saying, “As a committed pacifist, he was always pleased to say that his particular project was a complete failure.”) Another U.Va. figure who worked on the Manhattan Project is Frank L. Hereford, who went on the become president of the University.
Which brings me to my question: Has anyone ever put together a good history of U.Va.’s participation in the Manhattan Project? It sounds like it could be a pretty fascinating story. (Then again, I would imagine that a lot of the source materials may still be under lock and key.)
UVA Today Radio Show | Jan. 25, 2012
Check out the new episode of the UVA Today Radio Show, a weekly five minute segment on WTJU radio. Look for new editions of the show every Wednesday at 11:55 a.m. and every Friday at 3:55 p.m. on WTJU. Afterward, all of the segments will be posted on iTunesU.
Read more about the stories featured in this week’s program:
• ‘U.Va. Innovation’ to Build on University’s Leading Innovation Programs (W. Mark Crowell)
• President Sullivan’s First U.Va. Course Offers More Than ‘Sociology of Work’ (President Teresa Sullivan)
• U.Va. Education Researcher Receives $1.35M NSF Grant to Help Students Connect Science to Real World (Jennifer Chiu)
• Air Date: 1/25/2012
To download mp3, click here.
Budding Alumna Actress Jen Lilley’s Career Is Looking Up
Back in May, we blogged about alumna Jen Lilley, who is pursuing an acting career in Hollywood.
Since then, we’ve been keeping tabs on her progress, and there are two pieces of happy news to report.
First of all, she has apparently landed a regular gig on ABC’s long-running soap, “General Hospital,” where she has become the fourth actress to portray “Maxie Jones.” (The Roanoke Times has the story of how she landed the temporary role, which has since been extended to “for the foreseeable future,” according to a recent email from our budding starlet).
Second, she played a major role in helping land “The Artist” 10 Oscar nominations this morning, including “Best Picture.” Well, maybe not a major role — she is officially credited as “onlooker” — but there are no small parts, only small actors, right? How many of us can say we appeared in an Oscar-nominated film? Congratulations are most definitely in order.
You can read her imdb.com bio here.
From Preparing for Disasters to Dancing in the Streets
Students met Jane Canning, a 101-year-old resident of St.Kitts-Nevis
Not all education happens in the classroom, especially compared to going abroad, second-year University of Virginia student Jeffrey Roberson said he learned when he took the international January-term course, “Disaster Preparedness in the West Indies” with 26 other students, led by Dr. Marcus Martin, vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity and former chair of the Health System’s Department of Emergency Medicine.
The group spent the first two weeks of January studying the fundamentals of emergency care and disaster preparedness in St. Kitts-Nevis. The small two-island nation is about one-and-a-half times the size of Washington, D.C.
From dancing in the streets during Carnival, celebrated for 10 days after Christmas, to learning about the small nation’s universal health care, Roberson said his experiences there showed him the importance of a strong community.
Health System, International, Medical School, News, Student Life | Monday, January 23rd | By: Anne Bromley @4:22 pm | 2 Comments
Wahoo Snowboarders Strut Their Stuff in N.C. Competition
We at UVA Today headquarters love notes from proud moms, especially when they have their facts together and take great photos.
We got this message from Liz Schad of Toronto, a “double-’Hoo” herself (Engineering ’77 and Darden ’79) and the mother of a first-year. With only a little editing:
The U.Va. men’s snowboarding team swept the top three spots on Jan 16th in the U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association’s Southeast Men’s Snowboard Giant Slalom at Sugar Mountain, N.C.
Mitchell Oliver (right) won with a combined time of 1:20.35. Chris McElaney was second with a combined time of 1:20.55 and first-year engineering student Michael Schad took third with a combined time of 1:21.98.
The Virginia team defeated teams from Appalachian State, Duke, East Carolina, James Madison, North Carolina State, Tennessee and North Carolina and are now ranked No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference — Collegiate Ski Racing in the Southeast U.S.
The U.Va. team will compete again this weekend at Beech Mountain, N.C. in both a giant slalom and a boardercross event.
Bill T. Jones Work To Have Formal Premiere on Saturday
The avant garde dance work with roots at the University of Virginia will make its formal stage debut on Saturday.
Bill T. Jones’ “Story/Time,” a work that features music by McIntire Department of Art professor Ted Coffey and was rehearsed extensively (and even publicly) here in the fall, when Jones and his dance company were artists in residence, will have its official premiere on Saturday as part of the Peak Performances series at Montclair State University. The New York Times previewed the work on Wednesday.
“Story/Time” is scheduled to tour the country through July.
Visiting Photographer to Unveil Portrait at National Gallery
Photo: Dave Woody; courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the Marc Pachter Commissioning Fund as part of the first prize, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009
Dave Woody, a visiting professor of photography in the College of Arts & Sciences, will have a rare privilege on Friday: His photographic portrait of Alice Waters (above), a champion of the “Slow Food” movement, will be formally installed in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
The museum’s director, Martin E. Sullivan, said, “In this compelling photograph, Woody captures Alice Waters’ commitment to local, organic food. The Portrait Gallery recognizes Waters for changing the way the nation thinks about how people are connected to food and the environment. We expect the event to be a lively celebration of this relatively new conversation in American culture.”
To read more about Woody, Waters and the gallery, click here.
Arts, Arts & Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, News, People | Thursday, January 19th | By: Dan @10:00 am | 0 Comments
UVA Today Radio Show | Jan. 18, 2012
Check out the new episode of the UVA Today Radio Show, a weekly five minute segment on WTJU radio. Look for new editions of the show every Wednesday at 11:55 a.m. and every Friday at 3:55 p.m. on WTJU. Afterward, all of the segments will be posted on iTunesU.
Read more about the stories featured in this week’s program:
• Health System Research Aims to Stop ‘Superbugs’ in Their Tracks (Dr. Costi Sifri
• Tax Preparation Help (Evan Didier)
• U.Va. Art Museum Exhibits ‘Curator’s Choice: People, Places, and Things’ (Jennifer Farrell
• Air Date: 1/18/2011
To download mp3, click here.
