University News

Accolades: UVA takes a third ‘Best School for Men in Nursing’ award

For the third time in the last five years, the University of Virginia School of Nursing earned the American Association for Men in Nursing’s “Best School for Men in Nursing” award, one of a small handful of U.S. nursing programs selected for the honor.

The award recognizes nursing programs that have made “significant efforts in recruiting and retaining men in nursing, providing men a supportive educational environment and in educating faculty, students and the community about the contributions men have made and do make to the nursing profession.”

A little over 10% of the school’s current undergraduate students, more than 15% of its graduate students and about one in five of the school’s faculty members are male.

The recognition comes as the school launched its first-ever American Association for Men in Nursing chapter and held an inaugural interest meeting with students, faculty adviser James Nisley, and Ryan Darensbourg, the group’s staff adviser and a student success specialist.

“This recognition reflects the welcoming and supportive culture we’ve built here at UVA, one where all nursing students and faculty feel valued, connected and encouraged to thrive,” he said.

HR’s employee development programs earn recognition

a sign covered in living plants reading University of Virginia | Human Resources

UVA Human Resources’ latest honor recognizes its employee learning and development program. (Photo by John DiJulio, University Communications)

The University’s Division of Human Resources achieved LearningElite Silver status for its employee learning and development offerings, Chief Learning Officer magazine announced Thursday. UVA joined 32 other organizations from a variety of fields in receiving recognition, a list led by Nationwide Insurance and Choice Hotels International.

According to the announcement, judges scored organizations based on their strategy and performance in five areas: learning strategy, leadership commitment, learning execution, learning impact and business performance results. Organizations were then ranked Gold, Silver or Bronze based on their scores.

“One of the top reasons employees stay is because of the investment that the organization makes in their career and professional development,” John Kosky, UVA’s chief human resources officer, said. “UVA offers free leadership development and skill-building classes and programs for all employees.”

In 2024, UVA delivered more than 775 hours of instruction, and more than half of participants returned for additional learning, said Carolyn Cullen, director of talent management at UVA Human Resources. One management program, Crucial Conversations, received a 97% satisfaction rating, while more than a third of participants in the Cornerstone development program advanced into broader roles within two years, Cullen said.

Engineer wins American Physical Society’s John H. Dillon Medal

Liheng Cai standing in a laboratory holding a red notebook

Engineering professor Liheng Cai’s research challenges the “rules” of how polymers are expected to behave. (University Communications photo)

The American Physical Society awarded its 2026 John H. Dillon Medal to Liheng Cai of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Cai is an associate professor in the departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering. His research has challenged long-accepted “rules” of how polymers are supposed to behave. His discoveries offer enormous promise for designing better, safer materials for applications in health care and sustainability.

“This is among the most highly prized awards in polymer research,” UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West said. “It’s truly a mark of distinction for Liheng and the research program he has built here, and a testament to the significance of his groundbreaking work.”

The medal recognizes Cai’s work for “pioneering the understanding and applications of architecturally complex polymers and networks using experiments and theory,” the society announced Nov. 5.

“Grateful,” said Cai, of how he felt upon hearing the news. “You only get this honor with tremendous support, from advisers and mentors, your school and leadership, the research community, funders, and most of all, grad students and postdocs who do the work in the lab. I’ve been blessed with all of the above, and I’m incredibly honored and humbled that our lab’s work has been recognized in this way.”

The American Physical Society and its Division of Polymer Physics established the Dillon Medal in 1983 to recognize an early-to mid-career researcher for “outstanding accomplishment and unusual promise” in polymer physics.

U.S. News names UVA Health Children’s No. 1 in Virginia

exterior photograph of UVA Health Children's at night

UVA Health Children’s is once again the top children’s hospital in Virginia, says U.S. News & World Report. (UVA School of Medicine photo)

For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has named UVA Health Children’s the No. 1 children’s hospital in Virginia.

The publication’s 2025-26 “Best Children’s Hospitals” guide ranks nine UVA Health Children’s specialties among the top 50 nationally: pediatric nephrology, neonatology, pediatric pulmonology and lung surgery, pediatric gastroenterology and gastro-intestinal surgery, pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, pediatric urology, pediatric orthopedics, pediatric diabetes and endocrinology, and pediatric and adolescent behavioral health.

“These rankings for UVA Health Children’s and the specialized care provided to patients are a testament to our incredible team members who work so hard every day to serve our youngest patients and their families,” said Dr. Mitchell Rosner, executive vice president for health affairs and chief executive officer of UVA Health. “I am thrilled to see this team’s commitment to our patients recognized again by U.S. News.”

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals guide recognizes hospitals providing excellent care for children with the most serious or complex needs. Rankings criteria include patient outcomes, patient safety and access to specialized clinics and programs, along with a national survey of pediatric specialists.

Oops, we missed one

Our most recent Accolades roundup highlighted the University’s dominance of the annual Virginia Literary Awards, bestowed in September by the Library of Virginia. We announced that four of the seven major winners had UVA ties.

Make it five of the seven.

Jennifer Chang, who received a Master of Fine Arts and a doctorate in English from the University, won the poetry award for her collection, “An Authentic Life.” Alas, the library’s announcement omitted her UVA affiliation but noted she is the poetry editor of New England Review and teaches at the Bennington Writing Seminars and the University of Texas in Austin.

“An Authentic Life” was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

State academy taps computer scientist

Computer science professor Kevin Skadron is among the latest additions to the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine. (UVA Engineering photo)

Kevin Skadron, Harry Douglas Forsyth Professor of Computer Science, was inducted into the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine in late September.

The academy noted, “Skadron’s current research focuses on specialized and heterogeneous architectures and designing architectures in the presence of severe physical constraints. He and his colleagues and students have developed a number of tools to support research on these topics, such as AutomataZoo, HotSpot, Rodinia, and PIMeval/PIMbench. He has advised or co-advised 25 doctoral students, published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, and is co-inventor on 16 patents.”

The academy also honored UVA Engineering Dean Emeritus James Aylor, one of its former presidents, for his contributions.

UVA professor earns statewide language teaching award

Miao-fen Tseng, professor of East Asian languages, literatures and cultures, is Virginia’s Post-Secondary World Language Teacher of the Year. (UVA College of Arts & Sciences photo)

Miao-Fen Tseng, professor of East Asian languages, literatures and cultures in the College of Arts & Sciences, received the Foreign Language Association of Virginia’s Marshall Brannon Excellence in Teaching Award, while the Virginia Department of Education named her its 2025 Virginia Post-Secondary World Language Teacher of the Year.

The College wrote: “She is a nationally recognized language educator whose visionary and transformative leadership has elevated language education in the commonwealth and beyond. Her excellence in teaching is reflected in her innovative integration of emerging technologies, the authorship of influential instructional resources, and her unwavering commitment to inclusive, student-centered learning. Through a range of impactful leadership roles, she bridges K-12 and post-secondary contexts, advancing equitable and forward-thinking approaches that empower both educators and learners in ways that shape future practice.”

UVA nursing postdoc’s dissertation earns annual prize

Reynaldo Caasi Capucao Jr. is the Mellon Race, Place, and Equity Postdoctoral Research Associate in the History of Nursing and Healthcare at the School of Nursing. (UVA School of Nursing photo)

The Disability History Association and the University of Illinois Press awarded its 2025 Outstanding Dissertation in Disability History Prize to UVA’s Reynaldo Caasi Capucao Jr. for his project, “Pressed into Starched Whites: Nursing (Dis)ability in Filipino/American History.”

Capucao is the Mellon Race, Place, and Equity Postdoctoral Research Associate in the History of Nursing and Healthcare at the School of Nursing.

“Pressed into Starched Whites” explores the subjective and embodied experiences of Filipino nurses since the early 20th century across the United States and the Philippines. In revising his dissertation into a monograph, Capucao will write an additional chapter examining the early 20th-century recruitment of Filipina nurses in the Territory of Hawai’i and Cleveland, Ohio.

Rural health group honors law professor

Law professor Andrew Block’s paper recommends creating a state cabinet-level position dedicated to rural issues. (UVA School of Law photo)

School of Law professor Andrew Block is the 2025 recipient of the Virginia Rural Health Association’s Ken Studer Friend of the Association Award, which recognizes a program, institution or individual who has advocated for or aided the association in support of its mission, according to the association. Honorees will be recognized at an awards luncheon on Wednesday in Roseland.

Block has directed the School of Law’s State and Local Government Policy Clinic since returning to the school in the fall of 2019. In 2024, he presented to the General Assembly’s Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care. Block co-wrote a report with former law student Antonella Nicholas in 2023, identifying the systemic causes behind some of the problems facing rural Virginia and recommending the creation of a state cabinet-level position dedicated to rural issues, which the clinic has been working on with lawmakers.

Robinson named Brookings Fellow

Law professor Kimberly Jenkins Robinson is now a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. (Contributed photo)

Law School professor Kimberly Jenkins Robinson was named a nonresident senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Brookings, a nonprofit based in Washington, conducts in-depth, nonpartisan research to improve policy and governance at local, national and global levels, according to the institution’s website.

Robinson is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs; Martha Lubin Karsh and Bruce A. Karsh Bicentennial Professor of Law; and serves as the founding director of the Law School’s Education Rights Institute and the director of the Center for the Study of Race and Law.