Thousands flocked to UVA’s South Lawn on Saturday to grab some breakfast – and try to help find a cure for Parkinson's disease at the same time.
Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics, is among the scholars looking forward to the release of the remaining documents. He said that while he doesn’t expect the remaining files to answer every question, he hopes they will reveal “critical details” such as what government agencies did or did not know.
Andrew Davenport and Gayle Jessup White’s families had always said they were descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, one of the third president’s slaves. Universities, and new efforts to gather and archive information, play a key role in connecting families to the stories of their ancestors, Davenport and White said last week at a panel discussion at the University of Virginia.
"People sometimes think of Virginia as a blue state or a Democratic-leaning state, and it's true that it's gone from a state that routinely voted Republican on the federal level to one that's a little more Democratic than the rest of the nation, but not overwhelmingly so," Kyle Kondik, the director of communications at UVA’s Center for Politics, said. "And the off-year electorate is smaller than the presidential electorate, which is true of any state, but it's also an older and less diverse electorate, which demographically tends to be more Republican. So I think this is going to be a relative...
The remarks were an exceptional breach of the protocol governing post-presidential behavior — be seen and rarely heard — and were especially striking coming from Bush. “He has, as matter of principle, made it a point not to comment on ongoing matters of political interest. I actually heard him in person talk about this,” said Russell Riley, co-chairman of the Presidential Oral History Program at UVA’s Miller Center. “I think he wouldn’t do this unless he felt obligated to do so.”
"Since he first emerged as a presidential candidate, Trump has regularly asserted things that aren't true in order to either avoid uncomfortable questions or paint a rosy (or dystopian) picture of whatever issue he's talking about," said Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor with UVA’s Miller Center.
Speaking at a rally in New Jersey to support a Democratic Party candidate for governor, the 56-year-old former president took aim at the fear and bitterness that marked the 2016 campaign that led to Donald Trump’s presidency. UVA political science professor Larry Sabato said the New Jersey and Virginia governor races were the only “big elections” this year. “What’s at stake is bragging rights headed into the 2018 midterm elections,” Sabato said.
Pancakes for Parkinson’s has become a Homecomings Weekend tradition at the University of Virginia, sending thousands of students from griddle to gridiron in a festive mood. It’s also an opportunity to welcome community members of all ages to the UVA Grounds, and organizers want to make sure one group in particular feels right at home.
The University of Virginia is hosting a series of events including a symposium to have an open discussion on slaves’ impact on the University. Thursday included dozens of breakouts sessions with descendants, community members, historians, UVA faculty and staff.
For the last few weeks, eight UVA nursing students and their professor, Vickie Southall, have been working with the students to teach them basic first aid as part of their community health rotation. The kids recently got a chance to show their parents what they've learned.
Beanstalk Farms is a Charlottesville-based agricultural technology company, co-founded by a UVA alumnus, that produces scalable, automated and sustainable vertical farms. Its innovative model grows greens such as spinach, kale and arugula in a fog of oxygenated water and nutrients.
Beverly McNeill and about 50 other participants, wearing sweatshirts and wool caps to protect against the oncoming October chill, gathered Wednesday evening at the Lawn to participate in the Slave Dwelling Project, an initiative started by Joseph McGill in 2010. The project is part of a symposium hosted by the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University, which was formed in 2013 to research and raise awareness of the enslaved workers at UVA.
Virginia universities shared business best practices today at Virginia Commonwealth University with the hope of finding ways to shave costs and improve the student experience. UVA expects to generate $300,000 extra in parking revenue this year by shifting from the traditional arrangement to a system of metered parking that provides more flexibility as to where and when students park.
New legislation introduced this week by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) would fundamentally alter how grant proposals are reviewed at every federal agency by adding public members with no expertise in the research being vetted. Two of the witnesses – Brian Nosek of the University of Virginia and Rebecca Cunningham of the University of Michigan – were generally supportive of the status quo, although Nosek emphasized the importance of replicating findings to maximize federal investments.
President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama and other former presidents of insufficient outreach to fallen soldiers’ families. Experts told us it’s not the norm for every family to receive a personal phone call. "For presidents who served in times of lengthy wars, Vietnam and War on Terror, when thousands of service members have been killed in action, it would be impractical to think presidents could call all families," said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at UVA’s Miller Center. "I suspect that all presidents at least send letters to the families of fallen service members."
President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama and other former presidents of insufficient outreach to fallen soldiers’ families. Experts told us it’s not the norm for every family to receive a personal phone call. "For presidents who served in times of lengthy wars, Vietnam and War on Terror, when thousands of service members have been killed in action, it would be impractical to think presidents could call all families," said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at UVA’s Miller Center. "I suspect that all presidents at least send letters to the families of fallen service members."
The number of physician-scientists is increasing at the UVA School of Medicine. Dean David Wilkes says immunology studies, in particular, are accelerating.
“Recent events have inspired rethinking the American approach, which is more speech-protective than is the case even in the rest of the open democratic developed world,” said Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia law professor. There’s also more conversation these days about costs, he said, a direct result of the reaction of hostile audiences. “So in that sense, the conversation has been changed both by the white supremacist speakers and by those who aggressively protest against them.”
Ed Gillespie often insists that the gubernatorial election in Virginia should mainly be a dialogue about the deeply researched policy papers he’s put out on seemingly every topic under the sun. And while that may be true, the Republican’s campaign might be best known at this point for a series of TV ads in which photos of heavily tattooed Latino men are displayed as the words “KILL, RAPE, CONTROL” flash across the screen. “That ad has aired, to my knowledge, far more than any other ad,” said political sage Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) ripped President Trump's "foolishness and shenanigans," but stopped short of confirming that he would oppose the New Yorker in 2020. McAuliffe, a longtime ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, was asked about his 2020 prospects, but punted the question to UVA political scientist Larry Sabato. "Yes. That's a one-word answer," Sabato said of McAuliffe, who co-chaired President Clinton's 1996 campaign.