Even in his own domain, [UVA Law alumnus] Robert Mueller is often silent. When witnesses arrive at the special counsel's office in southwest Washington, they are ushered through an underground parking garage and up to an austere, windowless conference room. Mueller's prosecutors do the talking. The man in charge, if he appears at all, greets visitors with a polite handshake and then retreats to a seat against a wall.
This month, economists from UVA and two other schools published a new study that found no relationship between college selectivity and long-term earnings among men. But for women, attending a school with a 100-point higher average SAT score increased earnings by 14 percent and reduced marriage by 4 percent. Has one of the most famous papers in education economics been debunked?
J.H. Verkerke, director of the program for employment and labor law studies at the UVA School of Law, said the First Amendment in a situation like this, while protective of a person’s hateful speech, doesn’t necessarily protect that person’s job. Racist comments about patients, Verkerke said, would give both public and private medical employers a “pretty strong argument that those statements signal problems with care” and “reveal attitudes that are inconsistent with his duty of caring for patients properly.”
The effects of childhood trauma can spill over into the classroom, says Patricia Jennings, associate professor at the University of Virginia. She offers several ways to develop trauma-sensitive classrooms, including by eliminating zero-tolerance discipline policies, reconsidering the root causes of students' behavior and learning to model compassion and resilience in the classroom.
In recent years, marginalia left by ordinary readers has become a subject of large-scale data collection efforts. At the University of Virginia, English professor Andrew Stauffer leads a team that has made a book’s annotations, inscriptions and insertions discoverable as part of UVA’s online library catalog. Any user will be able to find such markings through a simple online search.
During their childhood, about a third of children will develop an intense interest for one topic between the ages of 2 and 6. A study done by the University of Virginia and Yale University found that only 20 percent of these kids will carry on their passion into adulthood. Kids will spend months and years learning the ins and outs of construction vehicles or tractors, but the fascination will fade when they begin elementary school.
The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors approved tuition and fee increases on Friday. The board’s Finance Committee said it had exhausted other options before considering slight increases to undergraduate tuition, but believed 2.9- to 3.5-percent increases in most schools are necessary.
Perhaps the only redeeming thing about the first week of December and the onslaught of Old Man Winter is that it sets up a wonderful scene for one of the best modern traditions at the University: the Lighting of the Lawn. This year’s Lighting of the Lawn had a theme of “Brighter Together,” a hope-inspired theme reflective of University and world current events. A cappella groups were asked to perform not only individual sets, but also together with other a cappella groups on Grounds for a fun twist to some old traditions.
Fortunately, other institutions have recognized — and sought to compensate for — academic history’s failures. Schools of international affairs, public policy, business, and law, and even political science departments, have hired leading historians working on political, military and diplomatic issues. Scholars working in think tanks and interdisciplinary centers — such as the Brookings Institution and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs — have produced outstanding works of history that have reached a broader popular audience.
(Commentary by UVA psychologist Daniel T. Willingham) A few years ago, when people heard I was a reading researcher, they might ask about their child’s dyslexia or how to get their teenager to read more. But today the question I get most often is, “Is it cheating if I listen to an audiobook for my book club?” Examining how we read and how we listen shows that each is best suited to different purposes, and neither is superior.
UVA can seem like a textbook college campus: white columns and porticos, long lawns and statues of Thomas Jefferson and Homer. In 2017, though, the Rotunda steps were transformed into a maelstrom as white supremacists carried torches and attacked protesters. The turmoil did have an impact on prospective college students who submitted early applications just two months after the Unite the Right rally, but by May, admissions rightsized and the Class of 2022 became UVA’s most diverse ever.
Opponents of the pipeline criticized Dominion for initially failing to do a proper demographic and cultural study of the neighborhood, leading the final proposal to disproportionately target black residents. In response, Lakshmi Fjord, a visiting scholar in UVA’s anthropology department, led a door-to-door household study of a one-mile radius around the proposed station, concluding in September.
(Commentary by Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics) When newly elected Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia switched parties from Democratic to Republican in 2017, the Democratic Party held just 15 of the 50 state governorships. But after picking up New Jersey in 2017, Democrats netted seven more governorships in 2018.
Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett and Cavaliers quarterback Bryce Perkins were among the familiar faces to make cameos in new UVa president Jim Ryan's Christmas video.
UVA released its Happy Holidays video on Thursday, which featured cameos from several Cavalier student-athletes.
A book drive will be launching this weekend in honor of Heather Heyer, the woman who was killed in a car attack on Aug. 12, 2017. The University of Virginia Bookstore, Cville OneBook and other organizations are supporters and book donors.
The 18th annual Lighting of the Lawn drew hundreds to the University of Virginia on Thursday evening. This year's theme is Brighter Together. There was entertainment provided by local schools and groups, followed by a light show where the Rotunda was engulfed in lights.
Are you between the ages of 30 and 35? You really are making the most rapid salary gains in your career, if you’re like most Americans. The ideal income is $95,000 a year for individuals to reach peak life satisfaction, according to researchers at Purdue University and the University of Virginia.
Are you between the ages of 30 and 35? You really are making the most rapid salary gains in your career, if you’re like most Americans. The ideal income is $95,000 a year for individuals to reach peak life satisfaction, according to researchers at Purdue University and the University of Virginia.