(Commentary) Brad Wilcox, a University of Virginia professor, notes that “current federal and state funding for higher education totals about $150 billion. But only $1.9 billion in funding is devoted to vocational education in high schools and community colleges. … Too many of our schools discount the potential of less academically minded children. … Far too many high school students—especially young men—spend critical years of their development struggling in classes that bore or overwhelm them and fail to offer them a path to a stable career—much less a clear sense of vocation and direction.”
(Commentary by William Antholis, director and CEO of UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs) How did Americans view the Greek Revolution of 1821? “No people sympathise more feelingly than ours with the sufferings of your countrymen, none offer more sincere and ardent prayers to heaven for their success: and nothing indeed but the fundamental principle of our government, never to entangle us with the broils of Europe, could restrain our generous youth from taking some part in this holy cause.” In one long sentence, Thomas Jefferson summarized pro-democracy hopes and non-interference constraints....
(Commentary by Christine Rosen, a fellow at UVA’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture) Last spring, as the COVID-19 virus was spreading across the globe and state and local officials in the U.S. scrambled to announce pandemic safety precautions, most K-12 schools across the country closed as a temporary emergency measure. By January of 2021, a clear divide had emerged in the nation between places where kids could go back to school in-person and those where they could not.
(Commentary by Kyle Kondik, political analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics) So far this year, the Crystal Ball has released its initial ratings for the 2022 Senate races and the 2021-2022 gubernatorial races. We’re holding off on House ratings, though, because this is a national redistricting cycle. Without district lines in place, there’s no sense in issuing specific ratings.
Reporters, not surprisingly, weren’t keen on the proposition. When press secretary Pierre Salinger informed them that the president intended to hold live press events, “most of us print reporters, comprising the vast majority of the press corps then, objected vociferously to the idea of making a TV spectacle out of a news conference,” former Newsweek correspondent Charles Roberts told a Kennedy Presidency Forum at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.
Researchers at the University of Virginia, as well as other doctors, are trying to figure out how to prevent heart attacks and strokes from occurring.
Scientists at two Virginia universities are developing a coronavirus vaccine candidate that showed promising results during animal testing. The vaccine was developed by virus experts at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, and so far it has only been tested on pigs.
Researchers at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech have teamed up to develop a new vaccine to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine is in its early stages, but both men behind it are very optimistic, based on what they’ve seen so far from their trials on pigs. “The results are promising, but there’s still a long way to go before we know for sure this vaccine can work in humans,” Dr. X.J. Meng said.
Researchers in Virginia are developing a vaccine that may protect people against all forms of coronaviruses. A team at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech saw promising results with their candidate, which prevented pigs from being becoming ill with a pig coronavirus. The candidate would help the body fight off existing and future strains of coronavirus, including the pathogen that causes COVID-19 and even the common cold.
Dr. Steven Zeichner’s goal when he started work on a coronavirus vaccine in the early days of the pandemic was not necessarily to be the first to market. The federal government’s Operation Warp Speed was on top of that. One of his top priorities was that his vaccine be cheap and easily reproducible enough to be manufactured and used all over the world. He may now be well on his way.
Scientists at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech say a promising COVID-19 vaccine they've tested on pigs could offer "broad protection" against current and future strains of the coronavirus – and it could cost as little as $1 a dose.
Demand is increasingly across the board regardless of geography, suggesting that local infection rates and public health policy are not a deterrent. At University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, MBA applications are up substantially this year after a 364% surge in applications in the third round of admissions last year. Dawna Clarke, executive director of admissions, expects an even better performance this time around: “We anticipate that we will see a record volume of applicants in the history of the school.”
Data from the Common App has shown institutions such as Harvard University experiencing a 42% increase in applications in 2020/21 and public universities like the University of Virginia seeing a 15% increase.
Stevens Point native Sam Hauser announced via Twitter that he is leaving the University of Virginia to pursue a professional basketball career.
John Edwin Mason, a UVA professor of African history and the history of photography, said the post shows how radically different the African American experience is from the white experience in Charlottesville. “Probably most white people think that Charlottesville works pretty well because Charlottesville is set up to be a delightful place to be a middle class or affluent white person,” Mason said. “Charlottesville has been a very uncomfortable place to be Black from the very beginning.”
(Commentary) The technology to digitally alter still images – Adobe’s Photoshop editing software – has been around for decades. But deepfake videos pose new problems, like being weaponized, particularly against women, to create humiliating, nonconsensual fake pornography. “There’s potential harm to the viewer. There’s harm to the subject of the thing. And then there’s a broader harm to society in undermining trust,” says Deborah Johnson, UVA emeritus professor of applied ethics.
Is the Supreme Court in crisis, and if so, how can it be fixed? On Wednesday, three distinguished Court-watchers from across the ideological spectrum debated these questions at Harvard Law School. The panelists included Saikrishna Prakash, the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law at UVA.
(Editorial) Graduating from college is a major life event. Students who have worked hard, spent a lot of time, not to mention money, and completed the requirements for a degree are understandably disappointed when there’s no traditional rite of passage. It was therefore most welcome to see the Northam administration recently announce revised plans for holding in-person events this year, owing to a reduction in COVID cases and the steady distribution of vaccine.
In a career spanning from 1912 until 1933, Culpeper native Eppa Rixey was a feared southpaw pitcher. National League umpire and University of Virginia coach Cy Rigler, recommended Rixey to the Philadelphia Phillies. The team immediately placed the UVA graduate into the starting rotation and is one of the few major league Hall of Famers to skip the minor leagues. In the off season, Rixey pursued a Master’s degree in Chemistry from UVA and served during World War One in the army’s Chemical Warfare Division.
Shane Simpson recently had the phrase “bet on yourself” tattooed on his forearm. It’s the product of a journey during which the Easton Area High School graduate has had to prove himself every step of the way. Simpson will have another opportunity to do just that on Wednesday as he participates in the University of Virginia football program’s pro day in front of an audience of NFL scouts.