(Commentary) The 2019 “American Evolution” Commemoration will feature highly substantive dialogues on the challenges confronting representative democracies today. In May, UVA and surrounding presidential homes will be the site of the Global Pathfinder Summit, a program that will embed 200 students and young adults – half from the U.S. and half from other countries – in a week-long series of reflections and discussions on civic engagement.
An assistant professor with UVA’s Miller Center who’s an expert on the “alt-right” has launched a podcast series focuses on the events that led up to and occurred on Aug. 12, 2017. Dozens of community members gathered Monday at the Miller Center to hear from host Nicole Hemmer about the making and inspiration behind the six-episode series.
This year patients were able to receive free teeth cleanings and fillings and other dental procedures in a more comfortable, air conditioned environment thanks to our partner (the University of Virginia’s College at Wise).”
Hands-On Learning: “I most enjoyed the diversity of projects we completed for real companies and the opportunity to present our findings to top decision makers at those companies. For example, I presented a mobile app prototype to the Chief Marketing Officer of CarMax, and I presented a machine learning project to the CEO of RentPath. I am very grateful for these rare opportunities to get face-to-face with business leaders.” Brian Alexander Mitchell, University of Virginia (Darden)
(Commentary) A study by Paolo D’Odorico of the University of Virginia has provided some shocking facts. A study has revealed that 454 billion cubic metres of water is grabbed annually by corporations which is equivalent to 5 percent of the water annually used globally.
Barack Obama’s involvement could help drive turnout for Stacey Abrams, who is running in Georgia to become the nation’s first African-American female governor, said Geoffrey Skelley, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Fredericksburg City Public Schools Superintendent David Melton oversees the region’s smallest school system, but collects a larger paycheck than his counterparts in surrounding counties. University of Virginia law professor J.H. Verkerke said the insurance benefit in Melton’s contract is not “incredibly common,” but that employees—typically executives—do have it.
Jalane Schmidt, a local activist and associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, said she had also seen an uptick in everyday civic engagement over the past year, with more people showing up to city meetings on issues like housing.
Jalane Schmidt is a University of Virginia professor who went on the pilgrimage to Montgomery. She said the trip has revealed a lot to her. "By making this pilgrimage we've engaged on a journey of truth-telling," said Schmidt. One of those truths is that the violence of August 12 last year is not unique in Charlottesville.
Ninety-eight community members took a nearly weeklong trip in July to the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, to deliver soil from the Albemarle County site where John Henry James was murdered in 1898. Jalane Schmidt, a local Black Lives Matter activist and University of Virginia professor who also organized the trip, and UVA staff members DeTeasa Gathers and Patsy Goolsby, spoke on behalf of the 21 UVA staff and faculty who went on the pilgrimage.
“I’ll just say the Minnesota eye bank has been hands down the easiest to work with,” said University of Virginia professor Brad Gelfand, who is studying age-related macular degeneration.
The number of births in Virginia continues declining, reaching the lowest level in years in 2017 — only 100,248. A decade before, births had numbered 108,884. Demographers Savannah Quick and Shonel Sen at the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia attribute the overall dip in fertility decline to a dramatic decline for 15- to 19-year-olds and 20- to 24-year-olds and a slight increase for 30- to 34-year-olds and 35- to 39-year-olds. In other words, many women are postponing childbirth, not choosing not to have children.
Anne Verbiscer, a UVA astronomy professor and part of the New Horizons team, said she valued working with Senegalese students and could relate to overcoming hurdles in pursuing a career in astronomy. Verbiscer was 5 when a human first walked on the moon in 1969. Transfixed by the Apollo mission, she wanted to be an astronaut for Halloween. So she shopped for a costume with her mother and finally found one: It was in the boys’ section.
Facebook “can’t win at this game,” said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a University of Virginia professor of media studies whose 2018 book “Antisocial Media” critiques Facebook’s effect on democracy and society. Because it’s so huge — 2.2 billion global users and counting — and so difficult to police, he said, “it will always be vulnerable to hijacking and will never completely clean up its content.”
Five years after the UVA Medical Center’s Hospital to Home program launched, a team of researchers began analyzing the program. In a recent study, they found the program helped to reduce patient death rates and hospital readmissions and also saved the hospital money.
Another study, conducted by researchers at Utah State University and the University of Virginia for the Journal of Marriage and Family, revealed that generosity is linked to happier, longer marriages, and a lack of generosity can increase the likelihood of divorce.
Researchers at the University of Virginia are now able to explain why obesity causes harmful inflammation, which often leads to diabetes, clogged arteries, and other health problems. Their findings may eventually lead to a medical treatment for the inflammation, which so often causes other health problems for obese Americans.
Emerging evidence suggests that a “potent” drug could prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease — but only if a person takes the medication long before symptoms of this condition make an appearance.
The new research from the University of Virginia demonstrates that one of the key mechanisms preceding specific neuron cell death in the disease involves the movement of calcium through channels on cell surfaces. The scientists hypothesized that cell death could be prevented by closing a certain receptor that allows calcium to flow and ultimately cause neuronal destruction.
The Innocence Project at the University of Virginia School of Law filed a pardon request last year with the governor’s office and last week sent a letter to Gov. Ralph Northam warning that unless Trudy Eliana Munoz Rueda, 53, is pardoned, she will be deported when she leaves the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women.