(Commentary by James Loeffler, Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History) In the face of rising anti-Semitism, what should we ask of the law? The highly conflicting responses to President Trump’s executive order on anti-Semitism highlight a fundamental, century-old tension within the American Jewish community about the role of civil rights law in protecting Jews: Do we want the government to treat American Jews as a vulnerable minority group requiring specific anti-discrimination protection? Or are Jews better off seeking equal citizenship as part of the white majority, with no special protect...
With his Virginia men’s soccer program about to make its sixth appearance in the College Cup national semifinals under his watch, George Gelnovatch doesn’t shy away from the comparison game. After watching his players win national championships in 2009 and 2014, Gelnovatch knows which of his teams represent the gold standards around Charlottesville. He has a hunch about where this season’s team, which faces fellow ACC power Wake Forest (16-4-2) at 8:30 Friday evening in Cary, North Carolina, may fit in. “We’ve still got a couple of games to play, I hope,” said Gelnovatch, who has been Virginia...
Dozens of volunteers are working to spread some holiday cheer to Central Virginia children who will spend their holiday season in the hospital. On Thursday, volunteers spent a couple of hours packing up holiday gifts for kids of all ages as part of Mason’s Toy Box. Mason’s Toy Box will be dropping off this year’s donations to several hospitals across the state, including UVA Children’s, on Dec. 17, just in time for the holidays.
The hedge fund industry is sticking closer to passive benchmarks, and alpha has declined as a result, according to research from the University of Virginia.
Benetech is participating in the creation of an online library called EMMA (Educational Materials Made Accessible) that will allow member institutions to find and use accessible educational materials created at other participating institutions. A pilot is being led by the University of Virginia, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Decolonization is defined in AAM’s TrendsWatch 2019 as “the long, slow, painful, and imperfect process of undoing some of the damage inflicted by colonial practices that remain deeply embedded in our culture, politics, and economies.” As more and more institutions begin this process, it helps to look at examples already taking place in the museum field, and to explore the questions they raise. In this post, we look at two examples of decolonization in the field, from the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Virginia.
(Commentary by Kelly Fanto Deetz, lecturer in American studies) Fall is almost gone and winter is coming, as are hundreds of hearth cooking demonstrations at countless historic homes and plantations throughout the nation. In New England, these stories sit firmly in the mythos of Thanksgiving. In the mid-Atlantic, these stories blend their Amish, German and Dutch roots to talk about Colonial fare in early America. But while these two regions must always deal with issues of accuracy, the South’s historic sites have remained locked in a myth of their own.
What Larycia A. Hawkins didn’t see coming was the intense backlash, including from her own institution. Wheaton, a Christian college, placed Hawkins on administrative leave, then began formal proceedings to terminate her employment. Eventually, Hawkins reached an agreement with the college to part ways. She’s now an assistant professor of religious studies, with an associated appointment in the politics department, at UVA. A documentary about the controversy, “Same God,” is airing this month on PBS.
“This season is off to an early start, earlier than any season this decade,” UVA professor Dr. Bryan Lewis wrote in an email. “You have to go back to 2003 before you have as much active transmission in early December as we have now.”
James Loeffler, a professor of Jewish history at the University of Virginia, explained in The Atlantic earlier this year why singling out American Jews for special protection could do more harm than good.
Liberal localities declaring themselves immigration sanctuary cities chose to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities. But while cities can legally choose not to voluntarily work with federal immigration agencies, counties have no legal standing to expressly refuse to enforce state law, says Richard Schragger, a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law. The resolutions, he says, are largely symbolic.
House Democrats will vote on two articles of impeachment early next week, charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – two offenses they say should remove him from office under the standards laid down by the U.S. Constitution. "He really had no say constitutionally on whether it should be given to Ukraine. Right there, he's in violation of constitutional norms and practices and the law," said Barbara Ann Perry, presidential studies director at UVA’s Miller Center. Perry said Trump further abused the power of the presidency by tying the holdup...
“Ocean acidification makes it more difficult for many marine organisms to construct their shells and skeletons,” said Scott Doney, study co-author and the Kington Professor of Environmental Change at the University of Virginia. “The organisms at risk from acidification form the foundation of the marine ecosystem food chain—including some types of plankton, algae, shellfish, and coral that may struggle to grow and survive in a future warmer, more acidic ocean.”
The point of this endeavor was, in part, to gain a sense of what the world would look like today had these major emitters had acted on what some began to understand in the 1960s, said author Scott Christopher Doney, a UVA professor of environmental sciences. Corporations like Exxon and even the coal industry knew back then that peddling and burning fossil fuels were detrimental to the planet. And yet instead of alerting the world and producing less, they invested in climate denial to keep profits flowing.
Mildred Robinson, a professor of law at the University of Virginia, plans to retire after more than 30 years as a member of the faculty. She was the first African American woman to become a tenured professor at the university's School of Law.
UVA Health is testing a new way to battle cancer. Clinical trials are now open for a focused ultrasound to treat advanced solid tumors. The technology has also been used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. UVA researchers may use that alone or in conjunction with a cancer immunotherapy drug.
Two new papers find evidence that lower-performing teachers are substantially more likely to voluntarily leave the D.C. school system than their higher-performing counterparts, and those lower-performing teachers are also more likely to improve. When struggling teachers leave, student achievement improves. “We found that in many respects, teacher-evaluation practices in seem to be working to the advantage of students,” said James Wyckoff, a UVA professor of education and one of the authors of the studies.
A clinical study is underway to see how focused ultrasound may be used to treat certain metastatic cancers. UVA has opened the trial to assess the safety of the treatment of advanced solid tumors within the body.
Five football programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision represent schools that are ranked among the Top 10 of public universities and are playing in bowl games this year. Of those five, the Orange Bowl is the only matchup between two of them. That is something that both Florida head coach Dan Mullen and Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall are proud of as they are set to square off on Dec. 30.
One of Stokes County’s most successful sports figures is being remembered for his impact on many young people. Francisco native (and UVA alumnus) Charles Moir, who had a long and successful career coaching high school and college basketball, died recently at his home in Virginia at age 88.