The Perry Family Lawyers Up

Posted on December 16, 2022 by | 1 comment

Happy and Sean Perry

by James A. Bacon

In a news conference yesterday the parents of D’Sean Perry, one of three University of Virginia football players slain in a mass shooting last month, called for changes to gun laws and faulted UVa for failing to boot their son’s killer off campus. Said D’Sean’s father Sean Perry: “(We want) to make sure another family will never, never go through this again.”

According to CNN, the Perrys said they wanted unspecified reforms to “gun laws” (CNN’s words), although it was unclear from the article what remedies they sought. “The red flags were there, and (the suspect) was still able to purchase a firearm,” said D’Sean’s mother Happy Perry. Here’s the background provided by CNN: Continue reading →

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Posted in Student health, safety, welfare

UVa Law Rejects U.S. News Ranking Methodology

Posted on December 14, 2022 by | 20 comments

Lemming

by James A. Bacon

The University of Virginia School of Law has announced that it will no longer cooperate with U.S. News & World-Report in compiling its ranking of top law schools. The school currently ranks No. 8 in the country.

Here’s the reason given by Dean Risa Goluboff: “As they currently stand, the U.S. News rankings fail to capture much of what we value at UVA — facilitating access to legal education and the legal profession for students from every background; fostering the free exchange of ideas within a community of joy, humanity, and trust; providing top-notch teaching by accomplished faculty; supporting public service; and launching our graduates into the stellar career paths of their choosing.”

I’ll leave it to others to comment upon the law school’s commitment to “fostering the free exchange of ideas” and probe the meaning of the modifier that such an exchange should take place “within a community of joy, humanity, and trust.”

I’ll focus instead on Goluboff’s commitment to facilitating access to legal education for students “from every background.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Admissions, Race, Equity and Diversity

Helping Minorities Thrive in STEM

Posted on December 12, 2022 by | 7 comments

Josipa Roksa

by James A. Bacon

There is a shortage of doctors, scientists, engineers and other employees with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and medicine) backgrounds in the U.S. economy. One reason is that American institutions of higher education aren’t turning out enough graduates with STEM degrees. And a big reason for that is that roughly half the students who enter STEM programs drop out. The labor shortage is especially marked among Hispanics and African-Americans.

The University of Virginia is trying to address disparities in STEM degrees awarded by applying university funds to leverage a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute — $7.7 million total over five years — to support the Driving Change and Inclusive Excellence 3 initiatives that aim to “enhance the academic experience and success of STEM students, particularly those who belong to historically excluded groups.”

The project director is Josipa Roksa, a professor of sociology and education who gained notoriety a decade ago as co-author of “Academically Adrift,” a book that showed that more than one-third of college students showed “almost no significant improvement in learning” during their four years in college. Since then, her research has focused on racial/ethnic inequalities in learning.

The underlying problem is that many students who enter UVa STEM programs are academically unprepared for the courses taught. Continue reading →

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Posted in Academic programs

Red Brick or Limestone for the Temple of Democracy?

Posted on December 11, 2022 by | 8 comments

Preliminary draft design for the Institute of Democracy building on Ivy Road.

by James A. Bacon

The University of Virginia’s newly formed Karsh Institute of Democracy will be housed in a signature building, a key part of the Ivy Road corridor in Charlottesville that will include an Olympic sports center, the football program, the School of Data Science, a conference center, and structured parking. Expecting to invite world-class speakers to the venue, UVa officials want the building to make a memorable architectural statement.

In a presentation to the Board of Visitors last week, University Architect Alice J. Raucher walked board members through the thinking behind the preliminary design. Thematically, the architects sought to link UVa’s founding ideals while looking ahead for the next 200 years and highlighting the university’s “global identity” as a forward-looking institution, she said. The signature staircase was inspired by the Oval Rooms in the Rotunda, and the window panels by the classical columns of Thomas Jefferson’s academical village. The design also is meant to communicate the “message of democracy” by being a “welcoming, inviting, inclusive” place that is “open and transparent.”

Some board members liked the design. But it left others cold.

“The building is a beautiful building, but it has nothing to do with the University of Virginia,” said board member Bert Ellis in the first response to the presentation. There is nothing in the design to tie the building to the rest of the UVa grounds, where the dominant motif is red brick. Continue reading →

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Posted in Buildings and Grounds

How UVa Responded to Grief

Posted on December 10, 2022 by | 4 comments

Pop up memorial. Photo credit: WTOP

by James A. Bacon

The shooting of five University of Virginia students Nov. 13 on a bus back from a field trip in Washington, D.C., was understandably traumatic for the young people who witnessed the horror, as it was for family and close friends of the victims, three of whom died.

Indeed, the event was a trauma for the entire UVa community, and the administration treated it as such. The University responded by launching into full therapeutic mode: canceling events and classes, giving students a pass/fail option in their courses, mobilizing counselors, and creating safe spaces.

“There is still profound sorrow and loss that we’re all feeling,” President Jim Ryan said Friday in briefing the Board of Visitors about the administration’s response to the shooting. The horror impacted far more than the homicide victims and those who witnessed the shootings, he said. The circle of those affected included medical professionals who responded to the shooting, football teammates, friends, roommates and students who sheltered in place during the search for the killer. “This had a large ripple.”

Ryan listed key actions the administration took. Classes were canceled for two days. Events were canceled or rescheduled. Gathering spaces were set up where students could commiserate. Walk-in counseling was made available along with therapy dogs to comfort those in grieving. A basketball game was canceled, as was the remainder of the football season.

Provost Ian Baucom explained that the administration was concerned that the impact might linger and affect students’ ability to function academically. He asked faculty to provide maximum flexibility to allow students to deal with their grief and get them through the exam season, which wound up last week. Continue reading →

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Posted in Administration, Board of Visitors, Student health, safety, welfare

Auditors Find “Material Weakness” in UVa Financial Statements

Posted on December 9, 2022 by | 5 comments

Editor’s note: This is the first in an ongoing series of articles based on material presented to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors — material that never sees the light of day in standard news sources. We aim to provide a more complete understanding of how the university is governed. 

Auditors found a “material weakness” in the University of Virginia’s Fiscal 2022 financial statements but said they had uncovered no indication of fraudulent or illegal activity.

“We have resolved any significant difficulties experienced,” David Rasnic, head of the Auditor of Public Accounts’ higher-ed auditing team, told the Board of Visitors Wednesday.

The audit revealed two sources of concern that increased the risk that might give rise to financial misstatements. First, there was no central authority to align the financial reporting of UVa’s academic division and its healthcare division. Creating a central authority, said Rasnic, “would be helpful.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Finances

A Powerful Defense of Thomas Jefferson

Posted on December 7, 2022 by | 1 comment

In this interview with Jean Yarbrough, author of “American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People,” Douglas Murray explores Thomas Jefferson’s life and legacy, and dissects the modern-day assault on Jefferson’s reputation.

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Posted in Jefferson legacy

How UVa Addresses Student Loneliness, Depression

Posted on December 7, 2022 by | 5 comments

A federal survey shows a 63% increase in depressive symptoms in teens and young adults in the 10 years prior to COVID. Source: “Hoos Connected: Enhancing Social belonging & Support Among UVa Students“

by James A. Bacon

A new preoccupation of college administrators across the United States is how to give students a sense of “belonging.” The concern is understandable. There is increasing awareness that America is experiencing a “loneliness” epidemic, as reflected by a 40% rate nationally of anxiety, depression and other diagnosed mental illnesses among college students. If students fail to connect with classes, professors, or other students — to feel part of a community — they are more likely to fall into a state of anxiety, depression and self-destructive behavior.

The University of Virginia is trying to address the problem of loneliness and isolation with a program called Hoos Connected. Psychology Professor Joseph P. Allen, executive director, will brief the Board of Visitors tomorrow about the program.

Hoos Connected organizes weekly small-group discussions and activities for first-year and transfer students. In a pilot program, according to a PowerPoint presentation posted on the Board website, Hoos Connected participants and a control group of non-participating students started out roughly equivalent in a measure of student loneliness. Among the goals was to get students to make inter-personal connections and recognize “how much we all have in common beneath the surface.” By the end of the semester, the Hoos Connected cohort showed a decline in loneliness, while the control group exhibited an increase, according to Allen. Continue reading →

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Posted in Student health, safety, welfare

Cabrera Speaks to Congressional Free Speech Roundtable

Posted on December 6, 2022 by | 5 comments

Nick Cabrera, president of the University of Virginia Chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom and member of the Jefferson Council Board of Advisors, participated in the second Congressional Free Speech Roundtable yesterday. The event was organized by Congressman Greg Murphy (R-N.C.).

In his remarks, which begin at the 1:11:00 mark in the video above, Cabrera discussed the free speech environment at UVa. We post his more extensive written commentary below.

MR. NICKOLAUS G. CABRERA
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ‘23

Good morning, thank you Congressman Murphy and everyone for inviting me to this year’s 2nd annual roundtable. I am Nickolaus Cabrera, current third-year student at the University of Virginia. There I serve on the advisory board of The Jefferson Council and President of the Young Americans for Freedom. I also serve on the National Board of Governors for Young Americans for Freedom.

I chose to attend the University of Virginia because it was and is Mr. Jefferson’s. Now, Thomas Jefferson is frowned upon and seen as evil by many. His founding principles of a university that simply sought to advance human knowledge, educate leaders and cultivate an informed citizenry seem to vanish as we speak. Continue reading →

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Posted in Freedom of speech and expression

The UVa Track Record on Graduation Rates

Posted on December 3, 2022 by | 9 comments

Click on graphic for more legible image. Source: State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s University of Virginia profile.

by James A. Bacon

The University of Virginia has the highest graduation rate of any public university in the country, a record it can be proud of. Some analysts contend, however, that UVa’s exception performance can be attributed to the fact that it admits a lower percentage of students from low-income families, who are at higher risk of dropping out. Others counter that UVa’s emphasis on merit-based admissions is appropriate for Virginia’s flagship university. It is too early yet to tell if recent changes in UVa admissions policies, such as dropping the requirement to submit SAT scores, will impact graduation rates.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) publishes a breakdown of six-year graduation rates by race/ethnicity for the 2015 entering class (seen above). Though small in number, students who identified as American Indian scored a stellar 100% graduation rate. Among major groups, Asians performed the best, with a 95% graduation rate. Whites followed with a 93% rate, and Hispanics close behind with a 92% rate. By contrast, only 84% of Blacks graduated.

The lower graduation for Blacks at UVa should be a source of concern. 

Continue reading →

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Posted in Race, Equity and Diversity

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