When Leslie Arriaza first heard about the University of Virginia’s Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program, she nearly dismissed it, seeing UVA as a four-year school with little room for adult students like herself. However, as Arriaza read more about the program, she realized it fit her circumstances perfectly. MORE >

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Art Museum Futures Fund recently awarded a $200,000 grant to the University of Virginia’s Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection to expand the promotion of Indigenous Australian art and culture, as well as enhance the leadership of Indigenous people within the museum. MORE >

*/ /*-->*/ /*-->*/ /*-->*/ /*-->*/ Fewer than half of Americans understand that alcohol consumption increases cancer risk, and a majority of people surveyed say they would support warning labels and drinking guidelines to increase awar MORE >

The University of Virginia announced today that John Kosky has been appointed vice president and chief human resources officer. Kosky has served in this leadership role in an interim capacity since June 30, 2020. A veteran of both human resources in higher education and the United States Army, he previously served as an assistant vice president with UVA Human Resources since September 2017. MORE >

Reforms to retirement plans over the past 25 years have disproportionately benefited the wealthy, according to new research by University of Virginia School of Law professor Michael Doran. That has happened, Doran said, despite lawmakers’ promises that the bipartisan legislation would improve retirement security for all Americans. In his article “The Great American Retirement Fraud,” Doran, a tax law expert and faculty affiliate of the Virginia Center for Tax Law, outlines what went wrong. MORE >

Dr. William Petri has maintained his morning routine of running with friends, followed by an outdoor gathering with sips of coffee and casual conversation. Yes, even in frigid temperatures. “We have blankets,” Petri said. Petri, the vice chair for research in the University of Virginia’s Department of Medicine, has developed his own “new normal” of life amid the coronavirus pandemic and the recent surge in cases caused by the omicron variant. MORE >

Research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests how a newly developed gene therapy can treat Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy, and potentially prolong survival for people with the condition. MORE >

Laws get broken on the hit HBO show “Succession,” but that’s not because lawyers aren’t there to lend a hand. Peter Lyons, a University of Virginia graduate and UVA Law lecturer, is a legal consultant for the show, and offers the writers advice on how to keep the characters on the right side of legal plausibility. He’s teaming up with law professor Cathy Hwang to teach a Law School January term course, starting this week, about the kinds of thorny legal questions that come up on the Emmy-winning series. MORE >

Support for refugees is generally considered to include things that meet basic needs like food, water, shelter and health care. But what about refugees’ mental health? Cox’s Bazar, a district in southeast Bangladesh, is home to what the United Nations has named the world’s largest refugee settlement. The result of increased violence in Myanmar, more than a half million Rohingya refugees – many of whom are women and children – now live in refugee camps across the district. MORE >

The University of Virginia implemented a new, temporary set of precautions Friday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus because of “a significant uptick in cases in the Charlottesville region and around the country.” Provost Liz Magill and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis detailed the new precautions Friday in an email to the University community as the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to grip the world. MORE >

Daniela Mengesha is on her way to the foreign service. The Houston native, a 2019 University of Virginia graduate, is UVA’s latest recipient of the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship. The Rangel Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State, is administered by Howard University and supports those who want to pursue a career in the foreign service of the U.S. Department of State. MORE >

University of Virginia Executive Vice President and Provost Liz Magill has been chosen to serve as the ninth president of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution that traces its founding back to 1740 and – like UVA – features a history intertwined with the growth of the nation. MORE >

University of Virginia researchers have used advanced computer modeling to better understand potentially deadly C. difficile infections that often plague hospitalized patients.  The researchers say their new work represents a significant step forward in the use of a form of predictive computer modeling called GENREs to battle infectious diseases. The results, they say, could speed the development of new treatments for Clostridium difficile infections that strike half a million Americans every year. MORE >

Be it in preschool or beyond, new research from the University of Virginia has found that people who had at least two years of Montessori education report a sense of well-being in adulthood. MORE >

Tom Donilon was in his third year at the University of Virginia School of Law when he sat down for lunch with a friend in Washington, D.C. By this point – spring of 1985 – Donilon’s résumé already included a degree from Catholic University and work in the Jimmy Carter White House. He had plans to begin a political consulting firm following his time at UVA Law. While such a proposed future seemed rewarding, Donilon’s lunch mate offered an alternative. “Why would you do that?” Warren Christopher asked. “You could come work at my law firm.” MORE >

New kidney research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine is raising concerns that long-term use of drugs commonly prescribed to treat high-blood pressure and heart failure could be contributing to kidney damage. Patients should continue taking the medications, which include the well-known and widely used ACE inhibitors, the researchers say. But the scientists are urging studies to better understand the drugs’ long-term effects. MORE >

“Why We Can’t Wait,” the title of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s third book, will serve as the theme of the University of Virginia’s 2022 Community MLK Celebration. MORE >

Writing for The Conversation, J. Kim Penberthy, a neurobehavioral scientist in University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, explains that regret can negatively affect your physical health and shares advice on how to overcome it, move on with your life and grow. A MORE >

Eric Weakley, a member of the so-called “Culpeper Three” and a client of the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia School of Law, has received an absolute pardon. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam granted the relief Tuesday. It is the fourth pardon for a clinic client since July. MORE >

University of Virginia leaders on Friday announced that the spring academic semester will begin in-person and on time, with several modifications to public health measures in response to the global spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant. In a message to the University community, the executive leadership team said UVA has moved the deadline for Academic Division students, faculty and staff to show confirmation that they have received a vaccine booster from Feb. 1 to Jan. 14. MORE >