When Patrick Murphy declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in March 2015, the two-term Democratic congressman was poised to run for an open seat while Republican incumbent Marco Rubio sought the presidency. But the chance to take out Rubio – a potential GOP presidential candidate for 2020 – will keep Democrats watching Murphy’s progress, said Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics.
The chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission believes that "religious freedom" and "religious liberty" don't really exist. They are "code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.” Be afraid. Be very afraid. According to religious liberty expert Douglas Laycock, a UVA law professor, the USCCR offered “no coherent reason” why the federal or state versions of RFRA don’t protect faith-based organizations or businesses, “except to...
(Co-written by Jennifer Doleac, assistant professor of public policy and economics) If we want to reduce incarceration rates, we must help ex-offenders build stable lives outside prison walls. Assisting them as they find jobs, even from employers skeptical of those with past convictions, is an important step to enabling them.
The University of Virginia has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with the New Delhi water authority to map out an expansive, multidisciplinary prescription to rehabilitate the pollution-choked Yamuna River.
The city of Charlottesville will hold a remembrance ceremony for the 2001 terrorist attacks at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Sprint Pavilion. Richard Westphal, a professor in the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing, will give the keynote speech.
(By Marva Barnett, retiring director of the UVA Center for Teaching Excellence) To vote our conscience, we need to know what we believe will best serve our nation moving forward. At this historical turning point, we must ask ourselves – as Jean Valjean and some public servants have asked themselves – “Who Am I?”
State Sen. Creigh Deeds addressed UVA students about mental illness Thursday. He discussed his personal experiences with mental illness and about new state laws that will increase the availability of mental health treatment.
Business leaders from North Africa and the Middle East are in Central Virginia advancing their studies on civic engagement in the United States. UVA’s Center for Politics is hosting 21 fellows as part of the center's Democracy Fellowship Program.
(By Carolyn Long Engelhard, director of the UVA School of Medicine's Health Policy Program) Right-to-try laws allow terminally ill patients to take experimental drugs before final FDA approval. Although more than half of states have passed right-to-try laws, some have resisted the trend.
If everyone in the Chesapeake Bay watershed ate 30 percent less meat, experts say it could save the bay. That's because Americans typically eat an awful lot of meat – 30 percent more protein than he or she really needs, said James Galloway, a UVA professor of environmental sciences.
If everyone in the Chesapeake Bay watershed ate only the amount of protein recommended by the federal government’s dietary guidelines, the “reductions in nitrogen emissions would be substantial,” said James Galloway, a professor of environmental sciences at UVA. In the United States, the typical person consumes roughly 30 percent more protein than he or she needs.
Persistent gaps in kindergarten readiness between children from low-income families and their higher-income peers – which have continued as ongoing achievement gaps in later years – appear to be narrowing, new research shows. And in a related finding, another report has concluded that lower-income parents are investing more time and effort in their younger children. Daphna Bassok, associate professor of education and public policy at UVA and lead author of the report, said more research is underway to “tease out the explanations for this.”
If Clinton could get 54 percent of the vote in November, said Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley of UVA’s Center for Politics, it would provide a wave big enough for down-ballot Democrats to surf to victory in enough races to give House Democrats the majority.
(Commentary By Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley of UVA’s Center for Politics) They aren’t getting much national attention because of the races for the presidency and Congress, but this year’s gubernatorial contests seem to be just as confounding as the ones from 2014 – and they could produce some equally head-scratching results.
(By Robert Emery, psychology professor and director of UVA’s Center for Children, Families, and the Law) When I mediate with parents who live apart, I ask them to do what I want all parents to do, married or divorced: Talk. Listen. Don’t act rashly. Mull over problems and alternative solutions. Look at the issue from all sides, especially from your child’s point of view. Keep an open mind. With a little time and perspective, maybe the problem won’t seem so impossible to resolve. Put your children’s needs (mostly) above your own feelings. Maintain a united front, e...
Working with the UVA Health System, PVCC started programs for pharmacy technicians and central services technician because the health system said they will need to fill jobs in those areas soon. Health System CEO Pamela Sutton-Wallace spoke about how retention is becoming a problem. They’ve found, however, that if they create a local pipeline, those recruits are more likely to stay.
A robotic mannequin at UVA’s School of Nursing is giving students the chance to put real-life skills to the test. The mannequin’s name is Victoria and she's a birthing simulator that allows students to train how to deliver babies.
Victoria is having her fifth baby. It means her childbirth could be a complicated one. But Victoria has UVA nursing students who are helping her deliver her baby. "If a mistake is made, no harm is done," said Violet Horst, a nurse-midwife at UVA. Horst says it is OK if students do something wrong during the childbirth; that's because Victoria is actually a robotic mannequin.
A wide-ranging discussion about immigration in the U.S. includes Larry Sabato, founder and director of UVA’s Center for Politics; David Martin, Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law; and the First Year Project at UVA’s Miller Center.
UVA students got an environmental wake-up call Wednesday. About 75 people packed into the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy to hear from Patrick Regan, professor of peace studies and political science at the University of Notre Dame. His message was simple: Climate change is very real. And we must do more.