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Conference kicks off
year-long self-study of U.Va. community
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CHARTING
DIVERSITY
Commitment, Honor, Challenge
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Feb.
18-19, 2000
Symposium & Workshop
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Staff
Report
The
University is launching a year-long initiative to deepen understanding
of diversity and foster new ways of responding to the changing needs
of its community.
The
year of introspection and study will kick off with a symposium and
workshop this month. The symposium, "Charting Diversity: Commitment,
Honor, Challenge," which is free and open to the public, will
be held Feb. 18 in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium. A related workshop
will be held on Grounds Feb. 19.
In
recent years, public universities around the country have been grappling
with legal attacks on their affirmative action admissions policies,
policies put in place as part of an effort to rectify past racial
discrimination, particularly against African Americans.
The
admissions policy is just one of several challenges that U.Va. faces
as it strives to reflect an increasingly diverse country and an
increasingly integrated global economy, according to conference
organizers.
"During
the last three decades the University of Virginia has witnessed
a marked diversification in all its various sectors," said
University President John T. Casteen III. "Diversity is an
issue that has received ongoing scrutiny and we have been challenged
to do better.
"The
symposium and workshop on diversity come at a critical juncture
in our history," Casteen said. "Across the country, institutions
of higher learning face challenges to traditional means of achieving
diversity. Launching this year of self-study, the symposium seeks
to discover ways to meet those challenges and to set the stage for
continued discussions across Grounds. We expect these discussions
will lead to an academic landscape that reflects the rich diversity
of our country." Full story.
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Stephanie
Gross
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Research
park planned for Blue Ridge Hospital site
By
Rebecca Arrington
The
University plans to develop a research park on its Blue Ridge Hospital
property, at the foot of Monticello Mountain. Legislation introduced
at the General Assembly last month would lay the groundwork.
U.Va.
will transfer the property, just south of Interstate 64 and east
of Route 20, to its real estate foundation. The foundation also
plans to lease 32 acres of the 159-acre parcel to the Thomas Jefferson
Memorial Foundation for a new Monticello tourism and visitors center,
according to the bill, introduced by Del. John H. Rust (R-Fairfax)
at the request of Gov. James S. Gilmore III. Del. Mitch Van Yahres
(D-Charlottesville) and Del. Paul Harris (R-Albemarle) are co-sponsoring
the legislation.
Plans
for the new research park, a "high priority" of the University's,
are preliminary, said Tim Rose, chief executive officer of the U.Va.
Foundation. The existing buildings at Blue Ridge would be demolished,
except for three that have historic significance, Rose said. However,
there is no cost estimate, timetable or name for the project as
yet. Full story.
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