Notable -- awards and achievements of faculty and staff

Rebecca Arrington

New Cabell Hall, seen here from a side entrance facing Bryan Hall, and Cocke Hall in the background, are two of the Arts & Sciences buildings slated for renovation in the 2002-08 six-year plan.

Board committee endorses nearly $1 billion building plan

By Dan Heuchert

Despite concerns about the unpredictability of state funding, the Board of Visitors'
Buildings and Grounds Committee on March 22 endorsed a $965.2 million, six-year capital spending plan. The full board will vote on the plan at its April 5 through 7 meeting, then forward it to the governor for consideration in the 2002-04 budget process.

The plan — easily the most ambitious in University history — includes renovation, new construction, infrastructure, planning and major maintenance projects for the academic division, the Medical Center, and for U.Va.'s College at Wise. Among the biggest-ticket items: a $111 million replacement for University Hall and an associated parking structure; $54 million to expand the University Hospital; $46 million to build a new medical research building, dubbed "MR-6"; $45 million for the Digital Academical Village project, and another $45 million for its associated residential college; $30 million to replace the Bayly Art Museum; and $50 million for a new science building.

The capital plan also includes nearly $40 million in funding for much-needed renovations to the main Arts & Sciences buildings — Cocke, Rouss and new Cabell halls. The entire $26 million for the new Cabell Hall renovation was moved into the 2002-08 plan; original plans called for completing half of the project after 2008.
"Our buildings are the oldest on Grounds, and generally in the worst shape," said Arts & Sciences dean Melvyn P. Leffler. "There is less room per student than anywhere else. It's appropriate to address these priorities."

Arts & Sciences recently initiated its own foundation and Leffler said alumni response to fund-raising appeals has been promising. "Our foundation has really focused attention on this, and they show enormous enthusiasm for addressing the infrastructure," he said.

The replacement arena will likely hsave multiple uses and the parking garage would be shared with the new arts precinct. The plan calls for construction to be financed through University-issued bonds, to be repaid mostly through gifts, student and parking fees and ticket sales.

The capital plan seeks $354.9 million in state funds over the next six years, with the balance to be raised from other sources. However, the prospects for receiving all of the state money requested are very dim, University officials said, particularly in light of what may be a souring economy and a statewide accumulation of backlogged projects. Full story.

University continues reorganization of top Health System administration

Staff Report

Two senior positions in the U.Va. Health System will be combined and new reporting lines established to the University president and provost later this year, the University's Board of Visitors agreed March 22 at a meeting of its executive committee.

Acting on the recommendation of U.Va. President John T. Casteen III and the board's Health Affairs Committee, the board voted to establish a new position: the dean of the School of Medicine/vice president and chief medical officer. Casteen said an international search will be conducted to fill the position.

"I have asked Dr. Munsey Wheby to chair a committee to identify issues that must be addressed as part of this consolidation and to draft a job description for the new position," Casteen said. Wheby is senior associate dean in the School of Medicine.

"These changes are another step in the administrative reorganization we began in November 1999 with Leonard Sandridge's expanded role in the Medical Center," Casteen said. "Over the past 12 months we have studied the administrative structures of other academic medical centers and have consulted extensively with our own faculty members and administrators, as well as with outside experts.

"This more streamlined academic structure will help sustain the progress made in recent years by the schools of Medicine and Nursing, support the Virginia 2020 initiatives, and encourage new collaborations across academic disciplines, especially those that link medicine to engineering and to the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences," he said.

Last month, Dr. Robert W. Cantrell, vice president and provost for health affairs, announced that he will not seek reappointment to his administrative posts when his term ends June 30. Full story.