In The News

Doctoral programs across the nation took a collective pause Tuesday to peruse a long-awaited report that offers the first definitive rankings of the programs in 15 years. It might take a doctorate to fully comprehend the National Research Council rankings. Instead of ranking programs from first to last, the report states each ranking as a statistical range. … "It is an affirmation if you're doing well, and it is reason to question if you're at the bottom," said Arthur Garson, provost of U-Va. "You don't ever want to sit on your laurels with a top program. … The bot...

Monique Merrill U.Va. grad, now adventure racer Crash causes racer to view life differently Denver Post / Sept. 28

Daniel McDowell Doctoral student in international relations Commentary: Basel III Represents Test for U.S., G-20 World Politics Review / Sept. 28

Timothy Beatley Architecture professor Why Are We Still Allowing Coastal Development? AlterNet / Sept. 27 Qian Cai Director of the Demographics and Workforce Group at U.Va.'s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service McDonnell says state's regions must cope with growth Richmond Times-Dispatch / Sept. 28 Kristina Hill Chairs the landscape architecture department Stretching city limits (2) Chinadialogue.net / Sept. 28 Larry J. Sabato Politics professor and director of U.Va.'s Center for Politics Few debates across Va. congressional campaigns Richmond Times-Dispatch / Sept. 28 and Welcome to t...

Daniel Willingham Psychology professor Willingham: 'Superman' is entertainment, nothing more Washington Post "The Answer Sheet" blog / Sept. 27

The University of Virginia is getting $6.4 million from the U.S. Department of Education. Faculty at UVA's Curry School of Education secured grants focusing on kindergarten through 12th grade classes. Some of the federal money will improve urban 3rd-grade through 5th-grade instruction. UVA will assess the availability of child care and instruction nationwide.

A University of Virginia professor says foreclosures are not the cause of having more homes on the market than people willing to buy them. "There's very little market for new houses," urban planning professor William Lucy said. Lucy said changing demographics are at the root of the housing crisis. Instead of new construction, he said, people need to rethink housing needs. "Uncertainty has gotten so great that there are a lot of people who don't know what to do, so they're sitting," Lucy said. Older people want to downsize, but the younger generation doesn't want to settle d...

On average, the University of Virginia Parking Department hands out about 100 tickets each day. While some of them are warnings, a majority of them come with a fine, and some people are letting the fines build up. There are 10 people at the top of UVA's parking scofflaw most wanted list; 10 people that owe more than $17,000 combined. … To crack down on some high-rolling, repeat parking violators, UVA has recently started to boot cars.

A State Senate subcommittee took a field trip Monday, leaving Richmond and coming to Charlottesville as part of a tour to help the group get a handle on health care reform. The University of Virginia played host to the Subcommittee on Health and Human Resources that holds the purse strings for a lot of state money.

Neighbors at the Crescent Halls complex are working directly with graduate students from the University of Virginia to highlight what's working, where they need help, and what could make things better. … Charlottesville Vice Mayor Holly Edwards stated, "Some of the ideas they generated for us - for socializing - were things that we can do, things that will be manageable, things that won't cost a lot." Edwards says the neighbor-to-neighbor push behind the survey is what made it so effective and that it's a model she would like to see used across the city.

Charlottesville-area commuters can now find alternative forms of transportation online, while also earning rewards for local and national merchants such as Shenandoah Joe Coffee, Quiznos and Blue Wheel Bicycles. The University of Virginia has contracted with NuRide, a Connecticut-based Internet company, to provide an online service that offers incentives for not driving to work.

The bloom is off the rose. Virginia’s “restructuring” agreements, which provided select universities greater autonomy over finances in exchange for less state support, have emerged as a model that some public institutions in cash-strapped areas of the country would like to emulate. But to hear it from finance chiefs at Virginia universities now covered by restructuring, the agreements with the state haven’t been fully honored during the budget crunch.

Harry Bruns Earned two degrees from U.Va.; provided Jefferson nickels to entering students Longtime UVA Benefactor Harry Bruns Dies WINA-AM-1070 / Sept. 27

John A. Downey Earned a doctorate in higher ed administration from U.Va Blue Ridge prez inaugurated Waynesboro News-Virginian / Sept. 25 John Preston McConnell U.Va. graduate and founding president of Radford University Remembering Radford / Emory & Henry dean guided Radford University Bristol (Va.) Herald-Courier / Sept. 26 Scott Safon Earned undergrad degrees in history and economics Scot Safon Takes the Helm at HLN Network News on News / Sept. 24 Henry L. Valentine II and Beverly "B.B." Munford III Friends and colleagues mark 60 years at Davenport & Co. U.Va. grads, best frie...

With the heat index expected to be at or above 90 for Virginia’s football game with VMI at Scott Stadium on Saturday afternoon, UVa has activated its heat management-operating plan.

It costs a lot of money just to go to a University of Virginia football game, but some UVa. students began offering services to fans that are filling up their wallets. … Ashley Taylor and his roommates are offering 13 parking spots at their house at the cost of $20 each -- a business plan that helps their bottom line.

Jonathan Haidt Psychology professor Commentary: Boy summits Colorado parking ramp / Republicans detect bad meat quicker than Democrats Vail (Colo.) Daily / Sept. 24 Elizabeth K. Meyer Associate professor of landscape architecture Meet 'Em in St. Louis / Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates wins major competition to transform grounds around Saarinen icon The Architects Newspaper / Sept. 24 Dr. Norman Oliver Director of the U.Va. Center on Health Disparities Federally subsidized health center sought for city Charlottesville Daily Progress / Sept. 27 Michael Rodemeyer Lecturer, Department of...

The new multi-university–industry Photonic Integration for Coherent Optics consortium — which is to focus on basic research to develop photonic technology for communications and sensing applications — is one of four consortia that has been chosen for funding by the US Defense Advanced Research Program Agency out of contenders from around the USA. DARPA is providing just over $2m annually, with the university and industry partners providing about the same amount. The consortium is led by University of California Santa Barbara and also includes researchers from the Massachusett...

Story features research from U.Va.'s Weldon Cooper Center for Pubic Service.

Scientists are just beginning to explore the complex pathway that can repair the breaks in double-stranded DNA that have been linked to breast, pancreatic, and other forms of cancer. … The Yale team, in collaboration with researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the University of Virginia, describes how the large tumor-suppressing protein PALB2 enhances this repair process.