I very much liked the suggested point-counterpoint opinion pieces on the front of the Outlook section in today’s Washington Post. Actually it was not so much a debate ... but rather a one-two-punch critique of the rhetoric used on both sides. First, University of Virginia history professor Sophia Rosenfeld warns that the GOP’s talk of “common sense” when it comes to fiscal responsibility really has little to do with striving for “common good” type strategies. Her central thesis (emphasis added): Once democracy is established and consolidated, common sense is...
It's not your imagination: College students really are getting younger. A lot younger. This summer, kids as young as 4 will head for summer programs on college campuses – the latest trend for cash-strapped schools and for parents eager to give Junior an academic push. ... Applications doubled for the summer engineering programs for elementary and middle school programs at North Carolina State University ... So far, the Georgia Institute of Technology has received about 550 applications – the highest ever – for the 375 seats it can fill ... At the University of Virginia, aroun...
By Philip Zelikow, history professor
The revolution in Syria is well under way. The revolution in Libya struggles on. The Middle East is alight, yet most of America’s military commitment, and the political attention associated with it, remains in Afghanistan. Every day that the US worries about events such as the escape of hundreds of painstakingly detained insurgents from an Afghan jail is a day in which America loses the power of initiative elsewhere. ...
... In our analysis of starting salaries earned per annual tuition dollar spent, the state schools fare much better, averaging $4.97 vs. $1.64 for the private schools. What's more, there are state schools where graduates earn just as much as those at private schools, but pay far less for the privilege. Four schools on the list have median salaries of $60,000. The University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce (McIntire Undergraduate Business Profile) and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business (Ross Undergraduate Business Profile) each charge in-state residents less than $12...
The number of organ donors is declining in the United States ... On Monday, the University of Virginia Medical Center held a donor drive to raise awareness for the registry and ... reduce the wait time for people who need it most. According to LifeNet Health, nationwide, 110,000 people are waiting for donor organs and in Virginia alone, 2,800 people are waiting. "We have people who die waiting for organ transplants, sometimes they never get to the point where there is an organ for them that would match them correctly," said Melissa Donovan, a transplant coordinator at UVA Medic...
... The beauty of video gaming is that children understand that “failure is a normal part of the learning process,” said Dan Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia.
“Learning is the product of work, trial and persistence,” he said.
A retired justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will address University of Virginia students. Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will discuss "Leadership On and Off the Bench." The event will be hosted by UVA's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. It will begin at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Dome Room of the Rotunda. O'Connor lived on Park Street when her husband was a student at the Judge Advocate General School in 1954. She has returned many times as a guest speaker.
Jonathan Haidt
Psychology professor
A Journal’s Statement May Aid a Harvard Researcher Accused of Misconduct
New York Times / April 25
William Ruddiman
Environmental sciences professor
Scientists Search for the Lost City of Atlantis
Voice of America / April 25
Larry Sabato
Professor of Politics and director of the Center for Politics
Mississippi Gov. Barbour won't seek 2012 GOP nomination
Kansas City Star / April 25
Last week, a fine event took place in Charlottesville, Va., at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. A dozen members of the policy circle of the great Congressman Jack Kemp gathered there to record an oral history of their working days together in the 1970s and 1980s.
... A researcher at the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia says corporate managers set concrete goals and methodically work toward them. Entrepreneurs don't really have set goals in mind. Instead, they assess what is possible given the resources at hand and their personal strengths, and then they react to events as they occur. Their goals aren't really set. They evolve. ...
Statistically speaking, the percentage of people who cheat on their spouses hasn't changed much in the past two decades.
In a recent study, Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, reported that the rate of infidelity has held steady at about 20 percent.
What has changed radically in the past 20 years, however, is technology.
A new panel, tasked with reviewing Virginia's domestic violence laws, met for the first time on Monday. Governor Bob McDonnell appointed the group, which consists of victim advocates, prosecutors and police.
The goal is to analyze how the state responds to domestic, dating and family violence and to develop recommendations for the governor by this fall. ... The group will pay especially close attention to sexual assaults and physical violence on college campuses across Virginia.
... The final two lengthier surgeries, one per ear, to correct Nicholas' atresia -- an absent or malformed ear canal -- would be conducted by otolaryngologist Dr. Bradley Kesser, another highly experienced specialist, at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.
The Papaneris had done their homework and found the best surgeons for Nicholas. ...
“Who would have thought that sleeping in the cold and getting up early to carry rocks and work on trails could have been as much fun as lying on the beach,” mused Michael Mathias, one of the 30 spring break students from across the country that worked with the Trails Forever program in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
During the month of March, students from the University of Virginia, New York University and Calvin College spent their days off hard at work with Park staff improving two trails in the Park.
Despite challenges facing some regional projects like the water supply and the Meadow Creek Parkway, Charlottesville, Albemarle, and University of Virginia will launch a three-year planning effort Wednesday under the rubric “many plans, one community.”
Erika Meitner
Religious studies doctoral student
The University of Virginia took home the fist place title statewide in the 2011 Recycle Mania Contest. In just ten weeks, the University recycled almost 654,000 pounds, earning it the coveted Gorilla title.
Nationwide, UVA came in 12th out of 630 colleges and universities. ...
UVA Recycling Program Director Sonny Beale explains, "It's humbling to say to the least, we did so high in the state, can we do better of course, will we do better, we're going to strive too.
Beale says people at the university want to do the right thing for the environment. He hopes this has a ripple effect, spill...
Responsible for 2.1 million injuries and 50,000 deaths annually in the U.S., traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death in individuals under the age of 35. ... One of the challenges associated with TBI, which has been identified as a major public health problem, is obtaining a prompt and accurate diagnosis. To address these issues, researchers at the University of Virginia Health System (including James Stone, MD, PhD, assistant professor of radiology and medical imaging, and Greg Helm, MD, PhD, professor of clinical neurological surgery and biomedical engineering at the UVA Sc...
Gary Gallagher
History professor
What ‘union’ meant
The Boston Globe (Ideas blog) / April 24
Mavis Hetherington
Psychology professor emeritus
Fairy tales for straitened times
Financial Times / April 23
Wendy Huber
Darden Associate Director of Admissions
Inside the $20 Million MBA Draft
Poets & Quants / April 20
James Davison Hunter
Sociology professor
Commentary: Greg Rodriguez: The War Between The Whites
Los Angeles Times / April 25
Peter Rodriguez
Darden professor
Three Hidden Market Signals
The Wall Street Journal / April 23
Larry Sabato
Professor of Politics and directo...