UVA psychology professor Timony D. Wilson – author of “Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change,” printed in 2011 – notes how psychological research debunked claims made for D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the program pioneered by former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates in which officers went to classrooms to deliver anti-drug messages, as well as Scared Straight, the program in which foul-mouthed inmates warned at-risk youths to avoid a life of crime.
Anyone who has known an athlete who was brutalized by a coach in high school and then had to deal with that student in adult life knows how little character is built by coaches’ extreme behavior. Reflecting on his time as a high school football player, UVA professor Mark Edmundson writes: “The kind of intensity that sports – and especially kinetic sports like football – can provoke is necessary for any society: Thymos [spiritedness] must have its moment. But that intensity is mortally dangerous for society and for individuals, too. Sports can lead people to brutal behavior – I see no way to av...
Election handicapper Kyle Kondik from UVA’s Center for Politics notes that the GOP percentage on the generic ballot has tracked more and more closely with Trump’s approval rating. There have been a few surveys where the Republicans have run a little ahead of Trump, but mostly they run even or behind. “So Trump’s improvement is felt in the generic ballot, but let’s also remember that approval in the low 40s is still weak historically,” said Kondik.
Experts say the primaries may signal what’s to come in November. “If you see Democrats up by 10 percent on the generic ballot, that puts them in a decent position,” said Geoffrey Skelley at UVA’s Center for Politics, one of the experts the USA TODAY Network consulted in developing its list of bellwether districts.
A recently published 22-year-long study found increased risks of hypertension, obesity, heart disease and coronary artery disease, even when ovaries were left intact after a hysterectomy. "That was a surprise," said Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of the North American Menopause Society, and professor of gynecology at the UVA Health System.
It is not clear whether Porter ever received a permanent security clearance. “The fact that Porter might have held a senior White House position without a security clearance is troubling and merits a full investigation,” said Chris Lu, former cabinet secretary under President Barack Obama and senior fellow at UVA’s Miller Center. “I’ve lost count as to how many Trump appointees have been sidelined because of their past views or conduct. But this is further evidence of a non-existent vetting process.”
President Donald Trump's approval rating has ticked up, while Democrats' lead in the generic ballot test, a key measure for congressional races, has dropped from 13 points in December to around 6 points, according to the Real Clear Politics polling averages. "It seems like Republicans are rallying to their president and party a little bit in recent weeks, leading to an improvement for the president's standing and the GOP standing in the House generic ballot," said Kyle Kondik, an analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics.
A national publication has named the UVA Health System among the top 100 hospitals and health systems with great neurosurgery and spine programs.
Developing critical thinking in adults can help them resist the allure of advertising, particularly for sugary drinks, a study has found. UVA researchers enrolled test subjects in a six-month trial, providing media literacy education to lessen the impact of marketing.
Outgoing UVA President Teresa A. Sullivan is slated to deliver the commencement address at Final Exercises in May. Since taking office in 2010, Sullivan has officially conferred degrees to graduating students, but students and their families will hear her speak on the Lawn on May 19 and 20. It’s a UVA tradition for outgoing presidents to deliver addresses as their tenure ends.
Like death and taxes, the rising cost of college seems inevitable. So is a degree, on average, worth what you pay? Maybe not, but a student going to a four-year public university could be in a worse place than Virginia. According to Kiplinger’s, UVA is the third-best value in the nation among public colleges and universities for 2018. William and Mary is 11th. Five other Virginia schools are in the top 100, including Mary Washington, checking in at No. 95.
From Feb. 9-11, James Madison’s Montpelier hosts The National Summit on Teaching Slavery. For the first time ever, national thought leaders from academia, museums, education fields, and descendants of enslaved people will gather to discuss best practices for teaching America’s history of slavery and its effects on American life. The group includes representatives from the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, Harvard University, Cornell University, Southern Poverty Law Center, Howard School of Law, Ohio State University, and the National Historic Trust, which sponsors the ev...
During his 11 seasons as the head football coach at Brigham Young, Bronco Mendenhall said he had more players of Polynesian descent on his roster than any Division I program in the country, except Hawaii. Since moving to Virginia, Mendenhall expected that connection to fade because of the distance. Instead, UVA will go into the fall with five Polynesian players, three of whom are incoming freshmen and two of whom committed Wednesday, college football’s national signing day.
At the second Future of Learning Forum, UVA faculty and local schoolteachers spoke about the present shortcomings of public education, and shared ideas for changing the status quo.
(By Tom Bateman, commerce professor) Sustainability is hard. Making even modest progress is daunting. Working effectively in this domain requires us to think not only about the scientific, technical and organizational challenges, but also about human psychology and behavior – others’ and our own. The good news is, you don’t have to run an energy company or a government to make a difference.
The Virginia Baseball Coaches Association, which is designed to educate and support baseball coaches in the state, launched on Feb. 1 and is currently accepting members at VABCA.org. UVA head coach Brian O’Connor and former Major League closer Billy Wagner – the head coach at the Miller School – are among its inaugural members.
A group of college students is calling on the Republican leader of the House of Delegates to consider a bill that would provide in-state tuition rates to children of illegal immigrants. “All people, regardless of immigration status, should be given an equal opportunity to attend the public schools in the state in which they reside,” Rawda Fawaz, a junior at the University of Virginia, said Tuesday.
Another group that focused on treatments for dry eye disease related to specific condition is TearSolutions. Founded by UVA cellular biology professor Gordon Laurie and led by Tom Gadek, the company is developing a treatment called Lacripep. The drug, currently in clinical trials, is a topical eye drop that seeks to eliminate inflammatory triggers by restoring the natural basal tearing mechanism and health of cells in contact with tears, according to a description on the group’s website.
Behaving proactively defies our natural tendencies, despite its long-term survival value. Certain short-term costs psychologically (and organizationally) outweigh uncertain long-term gains. Even if we take on the responsibility and decide to act, we get overwhelmed and often feel powerless and alone. I discussed the frustrations and gratifications of working in the sustainability arena with Deborah Lawrence, a UVA researcher whose courses include "Climate, You and CO2."
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that employers must reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees if that can be done without undue hardship. The problem with Davis’s case was that she didn’t seek just to exempt herself, UVA law professor Douglas Laycock said. Instead, she sought to exempt the whole county.