(Commentary by Cristina Lopez-Gottardi, assistant professor and research director for the Public and Policy Program at UVA’s Miller Center, and Raul O. Chao, associate professor at UVA’s Darden School of Business) The past few years have been difficult for Latin America, with stagnant economic growth, rising citizen dissatisfaction and ineffective governance. In more recent days, as the threat of COVID-19 infections move around the globe, there is growing alarm that Latin America’s existing troubles could combine to produce an untenable health and political catastrophe in t...
(Commentary by Raymond Scheppach, professor of public policy) Federal government officials are on television almost every day responding to the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s the nation’s governors who are taking aggressive action in the states.
The UVA Medical Center is set to open a new tower of the hospital early to boost capacity amidst the coronavirus pandemic. UVA Health will bring additional beds into the hospital expansion tower over the next six to eight weeks to provide additional resources if needed, according to a UVA Health spokesperson.
UVA School of Data Science researchers who created a pandemic modeling system for the federal Defense Threat Reduction Agency have also been working with the state government to produce a Virginia-specific model that will present the most accurate projection for what we can expect in the commonwealth, State Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver said during the briefing.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Norm Oliver said while there are many different models out there, the administration is working with the University of Virginia’s Data Science Institute to craft one that is tailored to Virginia.
Wes Hester, a spokesman for the University of Virginia, said the default grading system for undergraduate schools and most graduate schools where work this semester isn’t done is credit or no credit. He added that students, like at other Virginia colleges, will have the option to receive a letter grade. “We are currently developing a way for students to make that selection in the Student Information System and we’ll be providing details to students directly within the next week,” Hester said.
Admissions officers are getting creative – they’re doing virtual tours and allowing prospective students to tune into the online learning experiences they’re offering. The University of Virginia actually had all of its campus tour guides make TikToks.
David Foster, a former two-term member of the Arlington School Board and former member and president of the Virginia Board of Education, will be honored with the 2020 Chairman’s Award by UVA’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.
(Commentary by Aniko Bodroghkozy, professor of media studies) Over the past few weeks, the coronavirus has turned the country’s cultural spigot off, with sports suspended, museums closed and movies postponed. But the virus hasn’t stopped Bob Dylan, who on March 26 released “Murder Most Foul,” a 17-minute long song about the Kennedy assassination. Many have pondered the timing.
Several floors within the new, gleaming, six-story tower at the UVA Medical Center will come online sooner than expected as hospital officials plan for an increase in patients related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first group of additional beds in the tower will be available later this week, a hospital spokesperson said.
When the pandemic came to the country’s shores, UVA Medical School researchers studying the life cycles of various viruses dropped their cultures and switched gears. Building upon studies by researchers across the world, they are working on possible vaccines, screening existing drugs for efficacy and studying the use of antibodies in fighting the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
It was a pretty normal night. Nathan Stewart and a couple friends were hanging out, soaking up senior spring at the University of Virginia. Then an email landed in their inboxes. Classes were moving online, and graduation was indefinitely postponed.
Stony Brook University has named a new president, Maurie McInnis, a cultural historian who serves as executive vice president and provost of the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction in art history from University of Virginia and a master’s degree and Ph.D., also in art history, from Yale University.
With more families and couples spending more time at home due to social distancing, it could lead to a baby boom. Dr. Donald Dudley, the director of UVA’s Maternal and Fetal Medical Clinic, said when people have extra time on their hands, a baby boom happens.
(Commentary by Louis Jacobson of UVA’s Center for Politics) Will there be Democratic and Republican conventions this summer? The coronavirus pandemic, and the social distancing needed to combat it, are putting these quadrennial festivities in doubt – an unprecedented situation that is leaving party officials, politicians, and the media in a quandary, with a fast-ticking clock.
As the scale of the coronavirus pandemic came into view, UVA President James E. Ryan called Allen W. Groves, the dean of students. Telling students not to return to Grounds wasn’t some mere inconvenience, Groves recalled the president telling him; it was likely to strike students on a deep, emotional level. “He said, ‘Allen, I think what they’re about to go through is grief. What they’re about to go through is loss,” Groves said.
(Commentary by Bethany Teachman, professor of psychology) You have a choice to make when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. Do you treat this time as an insurmountable threat that pits you against everyone else? Or do you treat the coronavirus as a collective challenge that will require shared sacrifices to achieve a difficult but not impossible goal?
(Commentary by Teresa A. Sullivan, president emerita and University Professor) My latest book details the fundamentals and significance of the 2020 census. By April 1, every residence in the United States will be contacted, usually by mail, to answer only seven questions. This year you may respond online, although there are options for paper, telephone and even talking to a census worker. The census will cost billions of dollars. All this effort and expense raises the issue of whether there is an alternative. The short answer is no, not unless the U.S. Constitution is amended.
A former All-American and NCAA champion at the University of Virginia, Danielle Collins made a name for herself during a spring surge in the 2018 season -- and was fully riding a wave of momentum by the time she qualified for the main draw in Miami. With her run to the final four, Collins became the first qualifier in Miami Open history to reach the semifinals, where she was beaten by former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Like many mathematicians, Ken Ono cherishes the dense Japanese chalk that brings his work to life on slate blackboards. The professor often hands those white Hagoromo sticks to students so they, too, can wrestle with theorems and proofs in front of the class. It is a tactile ritual, he believes, rooted in the math traditions of the ancient Arabs and Greeks. Now Ono must make do with a digital pen, an iPad and a Zoom video link as he launches a remote session of Math 3354 for the University of Virginia.