Having served in the General Assembly before election to Congress, Rep. Robert Hurt reflected on how Richmond offers some lessons for a gridlocked Congress.

Third-year Hawa Ahmed will tell the story of her personal journey to college from refugee camps of Chad.

Leon Fuerth, former national security adviser to Vice President Al Gore, told students how the executive branch must move beyond month-to-month crisis management to make the sort of long-term plans and policies required to meet today’s global challenges.

U.Va. graduate Karsten Nohl, who has made international headlines by exposing security holes in commonly used smartcards and mobile phones, will discuss how such vulnerabilities are often the result of failures to adhere to basic security design principles.

Government benefits to current retirees will far exceed what those Americans have paid in total lifetime taxes, leaving future Americans to foot the bill, contends a campaign for generational equity.

Harding transformed the school from start-up status to being “one of the most dynamic public policy schools in the nation. ... Few new schools have accomplished so much, so quickly,” according to one observer.

Acclaimed author Diana Butler Bass will speak Nov. 1 on the growing trend of young Americans describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “spiritual, but not religious.”

On Nov. 1, a U.Va. student team will compete in the final round of an international genetic engineering competition with a “biobrick” that could address longstanding biosafety issues in synthetic biology.

“High-impact educational experiences" like undergraduate research, community engagement, global immersion, entrepreneurship or learning in flipped classrooms, should be a defining feature of the U.Va. experience, according to a draft of the new strategic plan.

“Tomtoberfest” – a celebration of entrepreneurship in Charlottesville – kicks off tonight and finishes Saturday with five events on Central Grounds.