Stories of the Year: What Compelled UVA Today’s Readers in 2022

The unimaginable events upending the stillness of the University of Virginia just before the Thanksgiving break led to several of the year’s most-read stories, as hundreds of thousands of readers turned to the University to learn more about what happened. The headlines shared the tragic losses of Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler, slain on a bus that had returned to Grounds from a field trip.

UVA Today writer Andrew Ramspacher let readers see the players for who they were as students and friends, and how they inspired teammates and classmates. The story drew so many readers it became the year’s third-most read. It was followed by news of the suspect’s arrest after a 12-hour University lockdown and UVA President Jim Ryan’s message delivered shortly after the shootings. Not surprisingly, virtually every piece of content associated with the tragedy and UVA’s unified response, remembrances and efforts to heal generated tremendous readership.

In less extraordinary times on Grounds this year, readers turned to the University’s quiver of academic experts for a deeper understanding of national and world events.

What does Russia really want in Ukraine? So many of us would like hear an answer to that question, and Russia expert Paul B. Stephan’s explanation drew more readers than any other single UVA Today story in 2022. The overall topic proved interesting through the year, and our story on why Americans should care about the conflict in Ukraine also landed in the Top 10.

The year’s second-most-read story, about how UVA discovered a key driver of high blood pressure, went viral in October and underscored how the University’s medical researchers continue to create knowledge that promotes understanding and sets the stage for new ways to improve lives.

UVA Today readers also clicked frequently on a story collection outlining Ryan’s vision for making UVA both “great and good,” which may help explain the Wahoo excitement for news that UVA cracked the top three in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings of public universities. Both were among the Top 10 of the year.

A gift of $40 million to UVA Athletics from a former student-athlete in April also provided tens of thousands of readers with an update on the building of an ambitious Football Operations Center and an Olympic Sports Complex.

And finally, a summertime story that informed and definitely got the attention of some mid-Atlantic residents was the No. 10 story on our 2022 list. UVA’s Dr. Chris Holstege, who also serves as director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center, explained why copperhead snakes often lurk in wood piles and bushes, and what you should do if you are bitten.

Fortunately, the doctor says, most copperheads are hibernating by now.

Thanks for reading!