Tech’s new cohort of critics are not exactly profiles in courage, according to Siva Vaidhyanathan, a UVA professor of media studies who is writing a book about Facebook. “Social media scholars have been warning about the fact that Facebook has been hijacked by hateful groups, violent groups, authoritarian leaders for years. It’s just that very few people have been paying attention. It doesn’t take a huge intellectual leap to be a Facebook critic these days.”
These election rumblings could affect Maryland races this coming year. The deep blue state has no elected women in statewide office and no female members in Congress. Incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin, 74, is rated “Safe Democrat” by Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia.
The first ‘Hip-Hop Professor’ in UVA history, 2004 Millikin University graduate A.D. Carson is a scholar focusing on the transformative musical and cultural force in America and around the world.
“Researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Harvard and the University of Virginia examined 499 studies over 20 years involving 80,859 participants. … They discovered two things: One is that the correlation between implicit bias and discriminatory behavior appears weaker than previously thought. They also conclude that there is very little evidence that changes in implicit bias have anything to do with changes in a person’s behavior. These findings, they write, ‘produce a challenge for this area of research.’”
UVA scientists proved by the experimental method that the bones of astronauts on Mars may suffer greatly. This conclusion came after studying the effects of microgravity on rodents, according to Henry Donahue, the elasticity of bones need to be supported by heavy loads.
W. Bradford Wilcox is director of the National Marriage Project at UVA, professor of sociology and senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. On this episode of “The Federalist Radio Hour,” Wilcox shares his research on marriage, families and how the structure of both impacts economics, class divides and individual success.
Trump Has the Formidable Power to Fire Mueller, But the Constitution's Constraints are Also Powerful
(Commentary co-written by UVA law professor and Miller Center fellow Saikrishna Prakash) Our 18th-century Constitution causes confusion in the 21st by granting the president great power, but also demanding great accountability. Donald Trump’s defenders believe his authority forges an impenetrable shield that deflects criminal charges. His critics find wrongdoing in every presidential action, order or tweet, especially on law enforcement. Both camps are mistaken.
The House of Delegates’ rare 50-50 tie between the parties raises questions about how the legislature will govern, given that Virginia has no official tie-breaking mechanism for its House of Delegates, if the results hold. “It’s not a crisis,” said Larry J. Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics. “This happens almost every election in one of the 50 states.”
Diabetes and menopause can prove to be a one-two punch for some women. And while it’s hard to separate the effects of age and weight, there is some evidence that hormonal shifts during menopause can be a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. “Women with diabetes are also at a higher risk for heart disease, and may need more aggressive management of their blood sugars and cholesterol,” says Dr. JoAnn V. Pinkerton, executive director of the Midlife Health Center and a UVA professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
The first Environmental Justice Advisory Council is meeting for the first time on Monday, and UVA has a big role on it. According to a release, UVA's Institute for Environmental Negotiation representatives will serve as facilitators for the council, which includes leaders from academia, business, public service and non-governmental organizations.
A newly pledged $20 million endowment at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise will make the dream of attending college easier for students across the state of Virginia. The donation, announced Monday, was made by Hunter Smith, a resident of Charlottesville. Smith and her late husband, Carl W. Smith, have been major benefactors of the liberal arts college for more than three decades and have supported a number of projects on campus over the years.
The Hunter Smith Family Foundation has given UVA’s College at Wise a $10 million gift, the largest in the college’s history. This gift will be matched by UVA’s Bicentennial Fund program, bringing the total to $20 million for UVA-Wise students. The $20 million endowment will provide significant access to scholarships for more than 100 qualified students each year.
Legislation from Del. R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta, calls for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to work with state officials and public university leaders to set quality standards for dual enrollment courses. It also envisions a system to ensure that courses meeting those standards will be accepted for credit at any of the state's four-year public universities, including the College of William & Mary, the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University.
The wave election of 2017 has yet to crest, and a handful of recounts are moving forward. Three recounts will be happening this week, although Geoff Skelley at UVA’s Center for Politics says new technology is making recounts increasingly marginal.
(Commentary) Racial differences in outcomes don’t just affect end-of-life care. It extends through the entire lifespan. For example, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome affects blacks at twice the rate of whites, according to Dr. Fern Hauck of UVA. Much of her research focuses on SIDS and the social (racial, ethnic and cultural) factors that affect risk of death in infants.
It’s been three years since Rolling Stone published its now-discredited story, “A Rape on Campus.” What followed was a good deal of soul-searching and discussion at the University of Virginia, and a new survey suggests that may have had a positive impact.
The University of Virginia ranks No. 8 overall.
London Perrantes said being an NBA player first hit him when he stood on the court for the national anthem – looking across and seeing a slew of professional players who he recognized. The former UVA starting point guard had been undrafted, played in the NBA Summer League, waived by the San Antonio Spurs during training camp, and was a “Did Not Play” his first several times suiting up in Cleveland. But on Tuesday, Perrantes actually played in NBA game.
Calena Wagoner, a 2017 UVA graduate, has gotten into the rhythm of her job as a fifth-grade teacher at Lightfoot Elementary School and reports a smooth transition into her chosen profession.
An extraordinary crisis of conscience last year prompted two innocence claims filed Friday in the Virginia Court of Appeals for a Covington man convicted of bank robberies. The petitions for writs of actual innocence filed in the Virginia Court of Appeals by the Innocence Project at the UVA School of Law contend: "This case is straightforward. Mr. Bush was convicted and sentenced for robberies he did not commit.”