After being spurred into action by the Charlottesville protests, UVA’s Amalia Garcia-Pretelt began working for the city’s witness protection program, giving embattled immigrants a voice by translating theirs.
A documentary short about local retired physician and gardener Jay Gillenwater is scheduled to air on PBS in the Charlottesville and Richmond areas on Jan.7. The film, “The Gillenwater Story,” focuses on Gillenwater and his family, from Kingsport, Tennessee, as he witnesses the political, social and cultural transformations that shaped America after the Great Depression.
In his latest book, “The Thin Light of Freedom,” author Edward L. Ayers, president emeritus at the University of Richmond, reveals the war through the people who lived in Augusta County in Virginia and Franklin County in Pennsylvania. The book grew out of his digital project, The Valley of the Shadow at the University of Virginia. It’s also a sequel to “In the Presence of Mine Enemies.”
Geoffrey Skelley of UVA’s Center for Politics notes, however, that in the recent elections, “Virginia Democrats mostly won seats that Clinton carried.” If that dynamic plays out in the midterms, it will not be sufficient for Democrats to win back the House of Representatives.
“If it comes out rosy and positive, but does not contain a lot of information, people will still have the same doubts about him,” said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at UVA’s Miller Center. She also pointed out that the exams of Trump’s predecessors George W. Bush and Obama declared them “fit for duty.”
UVA’s poison center is warning parents about dangerous items their children may come into contact with during the holidays.
UVA’s Darden School of Business, on the other hand, has seen steady enrollment in its full-time, residential MBA program. The school’s executive MBA program has been growing, launching a popular new section in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington County in 2016. “Business education, overall, is growing very strongly; it’s just that now students have a choice of a lot of different formats,” says Dean Scott C. Beardsley.
In June, UVA announced plans for a large and visible memorial to commemorate the estimated 5,000 enslaved people who helped build and take care of the school in its early years.
A UVA technology project that aims to help diabetics is getting some serious cash from Gov. Terry McAuliffe. The artificial pancreas project is receiving more than $250,000 through a grant with the Virginia Research Investment Fund.
(By Robert C. Pianta, dean of UVA’s Curry School of Education) The acute shortage of teachers in Virginia means that too many students do not have their most important educational resource: the skilled educators who will prepare them to succeed in school and beyond.
The American Talent Initiative set a goal last year of adding 50,000 high-achieving students with significant financial need by 2025 at roughly 270 schools with high graduation rates. In December 2016, the initiative began with 30 members. Now the total is up to 86; newcomers include the University of Virginia.
“This has been a rough year for Breitbart – they started out 2017 in great shape, but ended up with a really bad year,” said political scientist Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics. “It’s funny how these things turn out.”
“[The tax bill] definitely is a political land mine for some of these members, on top of all the other challenges they’re facing as the ground is shifting under their feet in the Trump era,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball at UVA’s Center for Politics.
(Commentary) Study team member Jennifer Doleac of the University of Virginia said that even uneducated offenders who don't fully understand what DNA is nonetheless are deterred from recidivism after being added to the database because "television crime shows have a big impact on what people believe about the power of these tools."
Geoffrey Skelley of UVA’s Center for Politics notes that in the recent elections, “Virginia Democrats mostly won seats that Clinton carried.” If that dynamic plays out in the midterms, it will not be sufficient for Democrats to win back the House of Representatives. That’s because Democrats need to flip at least 24 seats and there are only 23 seats currently held by Republicans that Clinton won in the last presidential election. “Perhaps the one certain takeaway for Democrats should be to run everywhere,” Skelley said.
New research conducted in collaboration with UVA and other schools shows that cities with bad traffic under normal conditions may actually be more efficient at handling adverse events, like accidents and storms.
UVA lost three prominent former employees recently. Former spokesman William H. Fishback Jr. died Friday, associate professor of education Chester R. Titus died Sunday and drama professor David W. Weiss died Monday.
UVA employees and students are sending state lawmakers back to Richmond with a list of issues to consider in the upcoming General Assembly session. UVA President Teresa Sullivan moderated a public forum with four state legislators on Wednesday.
David William Weiss, 89, died Dec. 18 in Charlottesville. Weiss rose to the rank of professor and taught in UVA’s Drama Department for 37 years, serving as department chair for 16 years and creating the Master of Fine Arts program in theater. With his colleagues Roger Boyle and George Black, David established the Heritage Repertory Theatre, a professional adjunct to the Drama Department’s production program.
Chester R. Titus, 96, died Dec. 17 in Charlottesville. Titus had a long and illustrious career at UVA, where he served as housing director, associate dean of student affairs and associate professor of education. His vision was instrumental in the transformation of the Lawn, physically and socially, to its present state. In 1987, he was awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for his contributions to the University.