| Live,
from Charlottesville … |
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Stephanie
Gross
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"Saturday Night Live" writer Tina Fey (center) returned
to her alma mater last week. With members of the Second City
improvisational comedy troupe, she conducted workshops with
U.Va. students. Here, she watches graduate student Jason Kehler
and undergraduate Sarah Drew work through an improv game. Fey
(CLAS '92) made her way to New York via Chicago, where she worked
as a cast member of Second City, where the likes of Dan Aykroyd,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mike Myers launched their careers. Then
Fey landed a writing job at SNL and became its head writer two
years later -- the first female to hold the post in the show's
25-year history. This summer, producer Lorne Michaels tapped
Fey to fill SNL's Weekend Update anchor chair -- the seat that
has boosted the careers of Chevy Chase and Dennis Miller. "Tina's
insight regarding the art of improv, as well as talking about
her experiences since graduating from U.Va., were inspiring
for many of our students contemplating a similar path,"
said Robert Chapel, drama department chair." All of the
improvisation workshops were full. … I was extremely proud
of [the students] on stage Friday night in collaboration with
those from Second City. Both Culbreth Theatre performances were
sold out and were received with great enthusiasm." |
State
move could reduce faculty retirement benefit
By
Anne Bromley
One
of several budget cuts Gov. Jim Gilmore proposes for the second
year of the 2000-02 biennium -- because state revenues haven't risen
as much as expected -- could lower statewide faculty retirement
benefits, U.Va. financial administrators told the Board of Visitors
at a Finance Committee meeting Jan. 19.
The
measure would decrease the amount of the state's contributions for
almost 80 percent of faculty, who choose an optional retirement
program. The governor's plan would reduce the current contribution
rate of 10.4 percent for the optional retirement program to 9.24
percent, the same rate applied to the Virginia Retirement System.
The
University is looking at several options to make up the difference
if the move does get passed, said Melody Bianchetto, U.Va. budget
director. Full
story.
Virginia
Press to launch electronic publishing
By
Robert Brickhouse
The
University Press of Virginia will develop a peer-reviewed electronic-publishing
program of original digital scholarship in the humanities with the
support of a two-year, $635,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation.
The
new electronic imprint will publish large-scale scholarly projects
that involve computerized research and are created in a digital
format, not simply electronic versions of print publications or
e-books.
The
press will aim to publish two to 10 electronic publications a year
in American history, American and British literature, architecture
and archaeology, all areas emphasized in the press's book program.
The publications will be available either on the Web or on CDs,
or both. Staff will experiment with and document a variety of cost-recovery
business models for electronic publishing in consultation with Darden
faculty.
"By
disseminating new knowledge, the electronic imprint will complete
the cycle of digital scholarship at the University," U.Va. President
John T. Casteen III said. Significant research is carried out at
the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities and other
digital centers, instruction is involved through U.Va.'s Teaching
and Technology Initiative, and collection and preservation of electronic
materials are an important role of the library.
"This
is a unique opportunity to experiment in applying the skills and
standards of scholarly publishing to electronic projects, to attempt
to resolve some of the issues that have stood in the way of scholarly
electronic publishing, and to share what we learn with the academic
and publishing community," said Nancy C. Essig, director of the
press. Full
story.
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