News Briefs

Massie Road closings
Portions of Massie Road west of University Hall will be closed beginning June 2 to accommodate construction of U.Va.’s arena and special events center. Work will take place in three stages on the section of road between the North Grounds Recreation Center and Copeley Road. From June 2 to July 28, no through traffic will be allowed on Massie Road west of its intersection with Copeley. Traffic will be detoured around Copeley Road, between Massie Road and the Copeley Hill Housing entrance, from July 28 to Aug. 18. Throughout the period, motorists will be able to turn off Emmet Street onto Massie Road and turn south onto Copeley Road. Motorists also will be able to access University Hall parking and all University buildings along Massie and Copeley roads at all times. Signs will be in place to assist traffic until the construction is completed. The detours are necessary so workers can install a new electric duct bank.Updates on the road closing can be found at http://fmweb.
virginia.edu/fpc/ArenaProject/ArenaProject.htm

Community briefing on building projects
To sustain the progress of its academic and clinical programs, U.Va. has developed a master plan that outlines its future building needs. An inaugural community briefing on “Building for Tomorrow: U.Va.’s Master Plan” will be held June 17 to give residents an opportunity to learn about building projects supporting U.Va.’s core missions of teaching, research, public service and patient care. The meeting, led by Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be at 7 p.m. in Newcomb Hall Ballroom. Parking will be available at the Emmet Street Parking Garage. For details, contact the Community Relations Office at 924-1321 or communityrelations@virginia.edu.

Inside UVA’s summer schedule
Inside UVA will be published biweekly in June and August, but not in July. Summer publication dates are June 13 and 27, Aug. 15 and Aug. 29, the back-to-school issue. For up-to-date news, see Top News Daily at http://www.virginia.edu/topnews.

Changes in retirement plan
On July 1, some important changes will take place in the investment options for employees’ University-sponsored Faculty, Medical Center and Cash Match Plans. These changes will affect how employees invest the retirement contributions that the University makes on their behalf. For information, including the addition of a new vendor, the addition of new funds and the elimination of some existing funds, go to: http://www.hrs.virginia.edu/benefits/retinvest
If you have questions about the changes, contact the Human Resources Benefits Division at benefits@virginia.edu or 924-4392.

Positions open at the Teaching Resource Center
The Teaching Resource Center has two positions open for faculty consultants. The full-time general faculty positions involve helping U.Va. professors and graduate teaching assistants improve their instruction in the classroom through a variety of methods and programs. One of the faculty consultants will be involved with a new Excellence in Diversity Fellowship Program for beginning assistant professors.
William McAllister, the current faculty consultant, will be taking a position as U.S. State Department Research Historian.

Review of applications will begin June 1, and the new consultants are expected to start mid- to late summer. For information, see http://www.trc.virginia.edu/Position
Announcement.htm or call 982-2815.

New self-service applications open via Oracle
Applications for enrolling in education and training offerings from Employee Career Services, Information Technology and Communication, Personal and Professional Development, and Integrated System Deployment & Support are now available via Oracle through a self-service process to all University and Medical Center employees.

Before using self-service enrollment, employees should review the workshops and seminars offered by the Human Resources Division of Training Web site at http://www.hrs.virginia.edu/dot/. The instructions will send you to Oracle self-service enrollment.

Access Oracle self-service applications with user accounts and passwords at the Integrated System Deployment & Support Web site, http://www.virginia.edu/integratedsystem. For help with Oracle passwords or access problems, call the ITC Help Desk at 924-3731.

Anyone who has problems with Oracle can call the Integrated System Customer Support Center at 243-7550.

Send an e-card to a patient
When loved ones are hospitalized and in need of cheer, friends and family often buy them get-well cards. At the U.Va. Health System, friends and family have another option. Now they can visit the Health System Web site, click on “Send an E-card to a Patient,” and in minutes an electronic greeting card is sent. The card is then printed out by Patient & Guest Services and delivered by the volunteers along with the regular mail.

Card-creators can choose from a variety of themes and pictures. Before sending the get-well greeting, they can add messages to brighten the day of a patient in the Medical Center. The Web address is www.med.virginia.edu.

Chamber Music Workshop goes beyond the notes
The McIntire Department of Music presents a new chamber music workshop, “Beyond the Notes,” June 16-18. The focus will be on developing musicianship skills that go “beyond the notes” — the listening, rhythmic, analytical and diplomatic skills that go into the making of quality chamber music.

Students will study in small ensembles with faculty members Constance Gee, viola and artistic director; Hasse Borup or Susan Black, violin; Amy Leung, cello; or Scott Perry, oboe.

The program, open to university and high school students, will meet in Old Cabell Hall 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, culminating with a concert June 18 at 8 p.m. in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.

The application deadline is June 4, and the cost for the workshop is $225. For information and an application, see http://www.virginia.edu/music/summerchamber.html or e-mail Gee at cwg4q@virginia.edu.

New ways to save energy on Grounds
U.Va. has partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program to improve its energy efficiency. The Energy Star-labeled products use 25 to 50 percent less energy than their traditional counterparts and can save thousands of dollars annually. Products include: office equipment, electronics, heating and cooling equipment, lighting, appliances and water coolers.
Procurement Services encourages departments to purchase Energy Star-labeled products to save money and improve the environment. Dell computer monitors purchased on the University’s Dell contract (see http://www.virginia.edu/procurement/publicpostings/
Contracts.html#DesktopComputers) are one such purchase, and many other product listings may be found at www.energystar.gov.

Architecture wins awards
The 2003 Inform magazine design awards program has recognized three projects by U.Va. architecture department students and faculty.
In the professional
category, Assistant Professor Tim Stenson received two awards: a first place award for the Campbell Hall entrance project and another for his plywood panel furniture project.

In the student category, the Shure Design Studio’s project for the outdoor lounge, which students not only designed but also built outside Campbell Hall, received a first prize. Visiting faculty member Charles Wolf, of Dean-Wolf Architects in New York, served as adviser. Students included Andrew Burdick, Penley Chiang, Joshua Galloway, Anne James, Melanie Shields, Stephanie Giles, Leigh Herndon, Rani Ranade and Aaron Weil.

The projects will be published in the upcoming issue of Inform, the publication of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects.

New General Faculty Council
Lotta Lofgren, a lecturer in English, just took the helm as the new General Faculty Council chairwoman, and Elaine Attridge of the Health Sciences Library, was elected chairwoman-elect at the last meeting May 3. Outgoing Chairwoman Lynda White of Alderman Library will stay on the executive council for another year. The council also elected a new secretary, Mary Abouzeid, a professor in the Curry School.

Center for Politics looks to save Birdwood
Birdwood Pavilion, built in 1819 by some of the same craftsmen who fashioned the Academical Village and bought by U.Va. in 1974, has sat unoccupied for seven years. Now U.Va.’s Center for Politics is seeking to raise $8 million to renovate the property for use as its new home. When completed, it will provide space for conferences, visiting scholars and staff for the Center for Politics and other University departments.

Notable
Awards, achievements of faculty, staff
• Dr. R. Scott Jones, professor of surgery at the U.Va. Health System, has been elected president of the American Surgical Association, one of the highest honors a surgeon in the U.S. can receive.

• Cathy Palombi, head of Access Services at the Law School Library, has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Virginia Association of Law Libraries.

• Norman A. Graebner, U.Va. professor emeritus of history and public affairs, gave the commencement address at Averett University and was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

• Mary Beth Knight has been appointed the director of development, annual giving and major gifts for the School of Nursing Alumni and Development Office. Since March 2002, Knight has served as assistant director of alumni affairs, annual giving and donor relations for the School of Nursing.