Winter 2009
Features
How Did We Get Here?
A “pocket guide” to why this debate is happening and what circumstances have propelled reform initiatives, as told by UVA faculty experts.
Bringing the Hospital to the People
Inside beige tents, medical staff from the University of Virginia provide free health care to anyone who comes to the Wise County Fairgrounds. Meet a few of the people who depend on the Remote Area Medical clinic for medical treatment, as well as those who volunteer their services.
From Pennsylvania Avenue to Sesame Street
Westin trades politics for puppets.
Did You Know?
Do you know which popular soft drink is named for a UVA alumnus? Or how about the top-secret military experiments conducted in the shadow of the Rotunda?
Lunar Lunacy
Phil Plait (Grad ’90, ’94) has a simple lesson plan. Known Webwide as “The Bad Astronomer,” he wants to stop bad science, especially the spread of misinformation about all things celestial.
Kathryn Thornton: Aiming for the Stars
Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the most recent shuttle flight, UVA alumni have journeyed beyond the earth's bounds to work—and walk—in space.
Space Odyssey
Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the most recent shuttle flight, UVA alumni have journeyed beyond the earth's bounds to work—and walk—in space.
Small Town, Big Acts
Renovated venues have helped bring an impressive assortment of musical headliners to Grounds.
Bookmarked: UVA on iTunesU
The University of Virginia channel is now up and running on iTunes U—the higher education portion of Apple’s iTunes store.
Celebrating Service
Madison House grew from the efforts of UVA volunteers to help storm victims.
Space-Age Eraser
Conservators used a laser to clean 180 years of grime from the column capitals of Pavilion II.
Floating Ideas
The Learning Barge has gone from concept to classroom.
Breaking Through, Looking Back
More than two dozen alumni recently returned to Grounds to commemorate their role in desegregating the University of Virginia during the 1950s and ’60s.
Fresh Art
The University of Virginia Art Museum reopened after a $2 million summer renovation.
Story Genius
Short story writer Deborah Eisenberg was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant in September.
Minding Manners
Lack of respect and courtesy constitute a serious national problem, according to a study conducted in 2002, and most people interviewed saw the problem as getting worse.
Verbatim
For 20 years, our state has put essentially every other priority ahead of education. It has done this for so long that most people simply take it for granted now that the state can dodge this most basic of its obligations.
Holding Steady
This year’s U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of America’s best colleges yielded a familiar outcome for the University.
The Campaign for the University of Virginia
More than 77,000 alumni have contributed to the campaign. Here are the five largest gifts to UVA.
Campaign Hits $2 Billion
Against the backdrop of the deepest recession since the 1930s, the University announced on Sept. 14 that it had reached the $2 billion mark in its $3 billion fundraising campaign.
A Study in Leadership
Everything about UVA guard Monica Wright’s game seems effortless and natural.
Laying a Foundation
Coach Tony Bennett discusses philosophy and goals.
Confidence Game
Whitney Neuhauser stood over her second shot in a playoff for the state championship and committed the golfer’s ultimate sin. She doubted.
Couture Construction
Two alumnae, an urban planner and an artchitect, formed Chromat Garments. They make fashion that borrows heavily from architecture.
Required Reading: R. Jahan Ramazani
Professor R. Jahan Ramazani (Col ’81), chair of the English department, edited the Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, co-edited the 20th-century volume of the Norton Anthology of English Literature and published a book of poetry.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Michael Rasbury is a sound designer, a composer and a professor of drama at UVA, and he co-wrote a play inspired by his son, a musical about a boy with autism named Max.
The Philosopher Mechanic
Crawford argues that physical labor that offers tangible results—a motorcycle that starts, a plumbing system that doesn’t leak—provides satisfaction, both intellectual and psychic, that office work often lacks.
The Kennedys at Virginia
In March 1958, then-Senator John F. Kennedy, his wife, Jackie, and his brothers Robert and Ted attended Law Day at UVA.
Saving Green
During the month of August, it cost $21,769.85 just to cool Newcomb Hall. The University is making eye-opening numbers like these available on its online “Building Dashboard,” which displays energy use in Newcomb Hall.
Terrorism on Trial
Over the last year, Edward B. MacMahon Jr. (Col ’82) has been working as a defense attorney in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Sharing a Vision
Jennifer Tsai was so moved by the beauty and symbolism of the Rotunda, she knew it would be hard to leave when she graduated
China Connection
A collaborative effort is strengthening Chinese connections among UVA alumni, students and officials.
Supersized Ring
Astronomers recently found the largest planetary ring in the solar system swirling around Saturn.
Feeling Wobbly?
Like a chain, the body is only as strong as its weakest link.
Burning Question
Our ancestors may have begun warming the planet 8,000 years ago.
Food for Thought
The bounty of dishes available at the University’s dining halls could easily be mistaken for a gourmet restaurant.
