Skip to main content

News Briefs

Holding Steady

UVA remains the No. 2 public university in the 2008 edition of the U.S. News & World Report rankings and is tied for No. 23 among all 262 institutions in the magazine’s national university category.

Fine Design

Architecture professor Maurice Cox has been named director of design for the National Endowment for the Arts. During his two-year appointment, Cox will oversee the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, Governors’ Institute on Community Design and the Your Town programs to help smaller communities preserve their character in the face of economic or social change.

Maurice Cox Dan Addison

High Marks for Darden

The Wall Street Journal ranked the Darden School of Business 10th in its 2007 ranking of the nation’s best MBA programs. Earlier in the year, Forbes ranked Darden fourth in its poll. In its just-released book Best 290 Business Schools, the Princeton Review ranks Darden professors as the best in the business.

Hop on the Bus

Starting in January, riders of University Transit Service buses will benefit from the latest Global Positioning System technology. Passengers can access real-time schedule information on a Web site and through the system’s “BusFinders”—touch-screen displays installed at 20 of the most popular UTS stops. The system was purchased with the help of a $40,000 grant from the Safety Task Force created through the UVA Parents Committee.

Campaign Update

In its quest to raise $3 billion by 2011, the Campaign for the University of Virginia is almost halfway home. As of Sept. 30, UVA had raised $1.39 billion since the campaign was unofficially launched in 2004.

Books for Rent

Textbook prices have long been a source of sticker shock for college students. To combat the rising cost of textbooks, UVA Bookstores now provides a range of alternative textbook options, including semester or full-year textbook rentals. Other options include electronic books and a guaranteed buyback program. UVA is one of the few U.S. universities offering optional textbook rentals, and it was among the first to make e-book technology available to students. The program includes more than 75 courses.

In the Legion

John D. Lyons, chair of the French department, has received France’s highest honor. Lyons was inducted into the Legion of Honor in recognition of his scholarship in 17th-century French literature and culture and for encouraging students to study French. Lyons is the latest UVA-affiliated inductee to the Legion of Honor. Others include professor emeritus Douglas (Bill) W. Alden, President Edwin A. Alderman and Paul Goodloe McIntire.

John D. Lyons Dan Addison