The top story on today’s UVA Today is about a children’s bilingual astronomy picture book produced as an outgrowth of the “Dark Skies, Bright Kids” outreach program being run by U.Va. astronomy professor Kelsey Johnson and many student volunteers.
I’d like to highlight something from deep down in Fariss Samarrai’s story: the group is trying to win $25,000 in funding from Pepsi to get more copies of the book printed, with the goal of increasing its distribution around the local schools and possibly around the state. (Click on the link above; you can vote up to 10 times a day.)
Health care professionals joined forces with dancers, musicians and other artists on Saturday at Washington Park as part of the 21st annual African-American Cultural Arts Festival. The University of Virginia’s Office of the Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity and the U.Va. Health System worked with Martha Jefferson Hospital, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Health Department and the Quality Community Council to offer a range of health screenings. The 80 or so volunteers provided 55 sports physicals for youth, 13 mammograms, 50 checks for peripheral artery disease and more. They conducted screenings and gave information on Alzheimer’s, AIDS, cancer, nutrition and healthy weight and high blood pressure.
Marcus Martin, U.Va.’s interim vp and chief officer for diversity and equity, sent a shout-out to the ODE team, which orchestrated the fair. “I am so proud of the team effort,” he said. “The community benefitted in a very positive way.” Besides the screenings, folks were treated to juice, bagels and coffee. “I was exhausted at the end of the day but really pleased to have such a great ODE team,” Martin said.
Dory Hulse, director of communications for U.Va.’s School of Nursing, spent the weekend with the hundreds of U.Va. volunteers who helped staff the Remote Area Medical clinic in Wise, Va. The annual clinic draws thousands of people from Southwest Virginia and neighboring states seeking medical attention. This is her third and final dispatch from the clinic.
July 24, Wise — Breakfast under the stars. Lions Club volunteers are serving a hot breakfast to all of us volunteers in a buffet line on the stage at the Wise County Fairgrounds. Groggy and bright-eyed people line up for pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits with sausage gravy, fruit and juice and coffee. Other volunteers are circulating through the parking lot with food for the patients. I had to clear foggy car windows this morning, but we’re all grateful for the chilly air. Soon enough it will be hovering around 100 degrees.
At least we all slept in beds and enjoyed showers. Out in that parking lot whole families have spent the night sleeping in cars, the backs of vans and in tents. Who are they? Stan Brock, founder of Remote Area Medical, and Dorrie Fontaine, dean of the U.Va. School of Nursing, are at the gate greeting hundreds of people eager for coveted first-come, first-served numbers that will gain them admission for free health care. I circulate through the crowd with an audio recorder and camera.
Dory Hulse, director of communications for U.Va.’s School of Nursing, is tagging along this weekend with the hundreds of U.Va. volunteers who are helping with the Remote Area Medical clinic being held in Wise, Va. The annual clinic draws thousands of people from Southwest Virginia and neighboring states seeking medical attention. She has agreed to provide us with updates through the blog as she goes along.
July 22, Wise — After six hours along interstates and country roads, through undulating banks of thick kudzu and past massive coal operations, my friend and I have arrived at the Wise County Fairgrounds to join the rest of the U.Va. team of volunteers gathering and preparing for the weekend’s annual free clinic.
Some have been here since Tuesday installing wiring and computer and communications networks. A group of Air National Guardsmen are hooking up generators to supply power for lights, equipment and air conditioning. The U.Va. telemedicine department is already geared up to connect patients and on-site clinicians with specialists back in Charlottesville for consultations. Pharmacy students from Virginia Commonwealth University are sorting and bottling medications under a tent and under the watchful eye of their professor. Nursing and medical students are hauling tables and equipment to help set up operations for triage and medical care.
Dory Hulse, director of communications for U.Va.’s School of Nursing, is tagging along this weekend with the hundreds of U.Va. volunteers who are helping with the Remote Area Medical clinic being held in Wise, Va. The annual clinic draws thousands of people from Southwest Virginia and neighboring states seeking medical attention. She has agreed to provide us with updates through the blog as she goes along.
July 21, Charlottesville — Like swallows to Capistrano, flocks of people are heading to Wise this weekend for one of the largest free clinics in the country. Organizers expect to see a repeat of last year’s 20 percent increase in the number of patients who drive for hours to get what may be the only health care they’ll have all year: medical, dental, vision and hearing.
Slavery still exists in the world — even in America.
That’s the message of the traveling “Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum,” which will set up on the Downtown Mall, near the Pavilion and City Hall, on Sunday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. The museum, sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, is traveling the Northeast, and has recently been set up on the National Mall and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington.
The exhibit includes a “cargo truck outfitted as replica of vehicle used to enslave Florida tomato pickers in a brutal case prosecuted by the US Dept.of Justice (US vs. Navarrete, 2008),” according to a promotional e-mail sent out last week.
With the heat index nearing 100 degrees Tuesday, the sustainability team at the University of Virginia’s department of energy and utilities is asking employees to reduce their energy draw wherever possible.
“We don’t want to impede anybody’s work,” said Armando deLeon, sustainability programs manager at Facilities Management. “But if people could turn off non-essential lights and equipment they would not only be helping the University but the entire state.”
Temperatures are expected to remain high the rest of the week, putting more demand on the electric generating and transmission equipment. No electrical emergency has been declared yet, according to deLeon, but the University is anticipating the increased demand and is working to reduce its draw on the system.
During a recent emergency drill the University cut its electric draw by several megawatts. About 18 percent of that savings was through voluntary reductions.
It might be a good idea to turn off unnecessary lights and unused desktop printers.
U.Va.’s Kluge-Ruhe Collection is reputed to be one of the top collections of Australian Aboriginal art in the United States. So it seems appropriate that it has opened an exhibit at the Embassy of Australia in Washington.
“Circles in the Sand: Aboriginal Art from Central Australia in the Kluge-Ruhe Collection” features work from the art centers at Papunya, Yuendumu and Balgo, dating between 1971 and 2007. Among the works is “Bush Tucker Dreaming” (above), by William Sandy (ca. 1986-88).
If you’re in D.C. before the exhibit closes Sept. 17, drop by the embassy at 1601 Massachusetts Ave NW. The exhibit is open weekdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. A photo ID is required for entry.
For information, call 202-797-3000 or e-mail Cultural.relationsUS@dfat.gov.au.
If you happen to come across someone who looks a lot like Richard Dreyfuss tomorrow, it might really be Richard Dreyfuss.
The acclaimed Hollywood actor will be at the Darden School of Business on Tuesday to address the annual conference of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground partnership. He’ll be joined by director Ron Maxwell (”Gettysburg,” “Gods and Generals”); both have a keen interest in civics and history education.
Sixth-graders at Sutherland Middle School will have their chance to be discovered, as they will show off history films they produced with the help of the folks at Monticello.
Attendance at the conference is by registration only.
According to the organization’s website, “The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising national awareness of the unparalleled history in the region, which generally follows the Old Carolina Road (Rt. 15/231) from Gettysburg, through Maryland, to Monticello in Albemarle County.”
“Started by a student initiative, the University of Virginia’s Community Garden hopes to be a space for both Charlottesville and the University to learn more about organic gardening,” the web site says. “Keeping with the agricultural traditions of the University’s founder, Thomas Jefferson, the garden is a place to foster the growth of community as well as food.”
Of course, such a thing does not happen without money, so the garden’s organizers are holding an old-fashioned rummage sale on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the corner of McCormick and Alderman roads (near their gardens). Among the items for sale are things collected in the “Chuck It for Charity” effort that were turned down by the charities, but are still suitable for use.
Despite many efforts to promote it, it remains a lesser-known fact that Virginia community college students who complete a specified curriculum with acceptable grades are guaranteed admission into the University of Virginia.
Today’s Washington Post has an article by Dan DeVise that details how many students are taking advantage of the community-college transfer option. Also, the DeVise follows up today with a College Inc. post on the same topic, focused specifically on U.Va. and including a Q&A with President John T. Casteen III, a passionate advocate for the community college system.
C-Ville is reporting that Marines will be conducting a “Realistic Urban Training” exercise somewhere in Charlottesville on Wednesday. It quotes a Marine release as saying that residents “can expect to see Marines, their vehicles and their equipment, and will hear the sounds of helicopter, tilt-rotor aircraft and blank ammunition being fired.”
You’re free to watch, C-Ville reports, but stay at least 200 yards away.
Meredith Woo, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, turned her blog over to Michael Suarez, an English professor and Jesuit priest, on Monday. He wrote a thoughtful perspective on the death of Yeardley Love, based upon his class’ discussion of Thomas Gray’s poem, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.”
I’ve written before about “BackStory with the American History Guys,” the somewhat widely syndicated public radio show that features U.Va. history professors Peter Onuf and Brian Balogh and University of Richmond President Edward Ayers discussing various facets of American history.
One week from today, they’re taking their show on the road. The Virginia Historical Society, at 428 North Boulevard in Richmond, is hosting a live taping of an upcoming show. Admission to the 6 p.m. show is free; no reservations are required, but seating is first-come, first-served.
The topic is “Paying Up: The History of Taxation from the Stamp Act of 1765 to the Tea Party Movement of 2010.” The panelists will take questions from the audience, so give it some thought beforehand.
If you happen to come across someone who looks a lot like Richard Dreyfuss tomorrow, it might really be Richard Dreyfuss.
I’ve written before about 