Researchers such as Steven Johnson, an information technology professor at UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, have found no evidence to support GOP grievances that conservative voices are squelched. Rather, they said, social media algorithms don’t have a political affiliation or party but favor content that elicits strong reactions from users. Studies consistently show that conservative voices and viewpoints dominate the conversation on these platforms.
Recent peer-reviewed research from three UVA professors demonstrates how dramatically the design of social platforms can affect how people behave on them. In their study, in months where conservative-leaning users visited Facebook more, they saw much more ideological content than normal, whereas in months where they visited Reddit more they “read news that was 50% more moderate than what they typically read.”
UVA Health is in the process of developing its own version of a COVID-19 vaccine. “We’re working on a vaccine here at UVA in our lab. It’s an intranasal vaccine because that’s how you get infected with this virus is inhaling it through your nose,” said Dr. Bill Petri, a physician and infectious disease professor.
University of Virginia Lifetime Learning is partnering with the Morven Farm to host an online discussion about ongoing challenges in the food system.
Community businesses can help students get hands-on experience working on projects. UVA and the Central Virginia Small Business Development Center are working together to facilitate this community project-based learning program, which is called Propel.
Falcons quarterback and former UVA star Matt Schaub will retire from the NFL after 16 seasons, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Monday.
About a quarter of Georgia’s November ballots were cast by mail and Biden won about two-thirds of them. The rest were cast in person, with about 55% going to Trump. “Initial results will generally reflect the state of the race, but probably will be a little redder than what they will end up being,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics.
A1985 story in The Daily Progress helped lead Kostas Alibertis to turn his dedication to caring for others down a path to benefit the whole community. While attending UVA, he took an EMT course for general knowledge. A 1985 Progress story said the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad was looking for more help over the summer, and he decided to volunteer. “I came out here and embraced it, and it became a passion and a love,” he said. “Doing community service is certainly something that is part of who I am as a person.”
Kaye Monroe wears a lot of different hats. But while the numerous initiatives she’s got her hands on may require different skills, they all focus on opportunity. Monroe came to Charlottesville from New York City when she was about 25. Her grandparents lived in the area and Monroe attended Piedmont Virginia Community College, Old Dominion University and UVA.
For more than 40 years, Peter Agelasto III has combined his passion for history and environmental conservation in his community. He helped to establish the Rockfish Valley Foundation and played a key role in the development of such entities as the Nelson County History Museum – now called the Oakland Museum – and the Central Blue Ridge chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists. (He graduated from the UVA law school in 1965.)
As part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I interviewed UVA alumnus Derek Sieg, co-founder and chief creative officer of Common House. In 2017 he returned to Charlottesville to open Common House №1, a social club and curated third space that offers unique amenities including restaurants and bars, rooftop pool, co-working space, a podcast studio and more. Sieg and his partner opened House №2 in Richmond last month and are well underway on construction for House №3 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
UVA alumna Ashley Williams, the founder of BareSOUL Yoga and Wellness, started hosting weekly classes at the 17th Street Market, once the center of the busiest slave trading post north of New Orleans, precisely because of its dark history. She wanted to invite the healing power of both yoga and community to reclaim the space.
Avula attended UVA, where he says his eyes opened to issues of race and class, and the multitude of factors that contribute to someone’s health. Starting then, he says, “there was an awakening that happened.”
Former UVA women’s soccer star Emily Sonnett is headed to the Washington Spirit in a trade from Orlando.
As the first woman hired to be an NHL team’s president, Valerie Camillo, who earned both an undergrad degree in commerce and an MBA from UVA, has asserted her grip on the Philadelphia Flyers’ business side. Despite a disruptive pandemic, the 47-year-old executive has avoided the land mines that confront women in one of sport’s most macho outposts.
What do you remember about finding your own creative spark? Tina Fey: A story that comes to mind is that, when I was in college, I studied drama at the University of Virginia and, like everybody, I mostly wanted to be an actor. But then, the first time I took a playwriting class and I wrote a one-act play, and I was not in the play, I sat back and watched other people get laughs and stuff from something that I wrote, and it was such a unique thrill that something opened in my brain and I went, “Oh, I think this is it for me.”
Ray Szwabowski of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender Office announced Friday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney. According to a news release from his campaign, after graduating from UVA with a degree in Spanish and foreign affairs, Szwabowski stayed in Charlottesville to work as a Spanish-speaking sales representative and then returned to UVA to earn his law degree in 2015.
UVA alumnus Dr. Krishna Udayakumar is playing a leading role in the global effort to rid the world of COVID-19. Udayakumar, 42, is the founding director of Duke University’s Global Health Innovation Center, which tracks worldwide production and distribution of COVID vaccines.
Tom Bannard knows what it’s like to recover from alcohol and drug problems on a college or university campus that offers more temptation than support. Five years after becoming coordinator of Rams in Recovery, Bannard has built the collegiate recovery program at Virginia Commonwealth University into a model and a mentor for other Virginia colleges and universities. “We are kind of a flagship,” said Bannard, 36, who relied on a similar program, Hoos in Recovery, when he returned to UVA in 2008 after undergoing rehab for substance use disorder.
Zena Howard stands firmly at the top of the Triangle’s Black architecture community. The late Phil Freelon recruited her to join his Durham-based firm in 2003. He was committed to making good design accessible to everyone. “I thought it was a great firm doing the type of work I like to do,” said Howard, a 1988 graduate of UVA’s School of Architecture. “I thought by joining them, I could take it even further and contribute and grow what they’d started and take it to another level.”