News Briefs

Community briefing on projects june 17
To sustain the progress of its academic and clinical programs, the University 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 take place at 7 p.m. in Newcomb Hall Ballroom. Parking will be available at the Emmet Street Parking Garage. For information, contact: U.Va. Community Relations Office at 924-1321 or communityrelations@virginia.edu.

Men’s lacrosse wins NCAA championship
The Virginia men’s lacrosse team won the 2003 NCAA Division I championship May 26, beating top-ranked Johns Hopkins 9-7. Head coach Dom Starsia led the Cavaliers to their first national championship since 1999.

Senior midfielder Chris Rotelli and junior goalie Tillman Johnson were named to the first team of the 2003 All-America teams in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Rotelli, the ACC Player of the Year and winner of the Tewaaraton Trophy — equivalent to football’s Heisman Trophy — is the first midfielder in U.Va. history to make at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a season. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship.

Inside UVA’s summer schedule
Inside UVA will publish biweekly in June and August, but not in July. Publication dates are June 27, Aug. 15 and Aug. 29. Send July and early August news and notices by June 18 for the next issue. For up-to-date news, see Top News Daily at http://www.virginia.edu/topnews.

CMC telethon tops goal
The current state of the economy didn’t stop NBC Channel 29 viewers from helping to raise more than $1.7 million during the Children’s Miracle Network telethon that aired May 31 through June 1. Proceeds will benefit the U.Va. Health System Children’s Medical Center. This year’s total was $120,000 more than last year’s $1.58 million.

Of the money raised during the telethon, 30 percent will go toward renovations for the Newborn Intensive Care Unit and 30 percent to the pediatric endowment, which is matched by the School of Medicine dean’s challenge fund. The other 30 percent will fund CMC research grants, and 10 percent will provide extras such as children’s books and toys.

Think of Day of Caring volunteer work
U.Va. employees can serve the community on the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring, Sept. 24. Because projects are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis, faculty and staff should e-mail their names and the types of projects in which they are interested to Dana Rivera at dlr2v@virginia.edu. Include phone number, department name and address, T-shirt size and other information useful in matching you to a project. If several employees want to work as a team, indicate that preference.

U.Va. employees work with volunteers from the community on projects designed to help people and organizations in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties. Past projects have included working with children and seniors, landscaping, painting and construction and repair.

Actual project assignments will not be made until receipt of the project list in mid- to late August.

Conference focuses on trend in student suicide
U.Va.’s June 12-13 conference on “Suicide, Violence and Disruptive Behavior on University Campuses” attracted a sold-out audience of nearly 300 clinicians and student affairs professionals from colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.

Focusing on clinical, administrative and legal issues, the conference addresses what many studies show is an increasing trend toward suicide and violent or disruptive behavior among college students nationwide. According to the National Mental Health Association, the suicide rate for young people between 15 and 24 has nearly tripled since 1960. Among college-age individuals, suicide is the second leading cause of death after accidents.

“Recognizing this disturbing trend and the potential impact on colleges and universities led to our desire to host the conference,” said Penny Rue, dean of students and co-leader of the conference with Russ Federman, director of Counseling and Psychological Services.

Following an overview of the problem by Federman and Rue, David Rudd of Baylor University spoke on “Suicidal Students.” He is president-elect of the American Association of Suicidology and has written several books on suicide.

Other featured speakers on the schedule were: Eric Harris, risk management consultant to the American Psychological Association Insurance Trust, legal counsel to the Massachusetts Psychological Association and a faculty member at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology; Janet Warren, professor of clinical psychiatric medicine and associate director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at U.Va.; and Gary Pavela, director of judicial programs and student ethical development at the University of Maryland, and editor of the journal Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education.

Grasso leaving, Daniel named to post
Joseph E. Grasso, who has served as associate dean of planning and operations in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, has been named to Washington and Lee University’s newly created position of vice president for administration, effective July 1.

Adam Daniel will become associate dean for administration and planning. He has served as chief of staff to the Arts & Sciences Dean for five years. Daniel’s duties will include overseeing capital projects and space management, as well as strategic planning.

Blasting scheduled to begin Monday
Some blasting is scheduled to begin next week as workers begin excavating for the concrete foundation walls of the parking garage associated with U.Va.’s John Paul Jones Arena. Current plans are for the blasting to be carried out Monday through Friday in four sequences that start June 16 and end June 27.

Starting Monday, weather permitting, and continuing throughout the month, there will be two periods of blasting each day. The first will occur between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m; the second between 6 and 7 p.m. The blasting will entail setting small charges to excavate the rock.

Five minutes before each blasting, the contractor will sound warning signals with a siren, and flagmen will be posted along Copeley Road at access points to keep pedestrians and vehicles away from the blasting area. Immediately after the blasting, normal access to Copeley Road will resume.

For more information about the blasting, access the Web at http://www.fm.virginia.edu/fpc/ArenaProject/ArenaBlastingPlan.htm.

Safety alert issued
As a reminder to summer students and residents, as well as the year-round community, the University Police Department urges everyone to use caution in light of a series of assaults, including sexual assaults, currently being investigated by local law enforcement authorities. These assaults have occurred in the city of Charlottesville in areas densely populated with students, faculty and staff.
The most recent composite of the suspect in a series of assaults can be viewed on the police department Web page at www.virginia.edu/
uvapolice by clicking on “public notices” in the left hand column.

If you have information related to the suspect or assaults, call Crimestoppers at 977-4000 or the U.Va. Police Department at 924-7166.

Safety tips
Members of the University and local community can take simple precautions to help reduce the risk of being victimized. Here are tips from the U.Va. Police Department.

Personal:
1. Avoid walking alone.
2. Walk in groups whenever possible.
3. Trust your instincts about a person or situation. If you feel uncomfortable, report suspicions to police by calling 911.
4. Avoid dark isolated areas.

At home:
1. Keep doors and windows locked.
2. Keep all curtains, window shades and blinds closed at night.
3. Use outdoor lighting.
4. Trim shrubs and trees to enhance natural surveillance from passers-by.
5. Look out for your neighbors and fellow community members.
6. If you see or hear a prowler, report it to police immediately.

Notable
Awards and achievements of U.Va. faculty and staff
• Dr. Hilary Sanfey, associate professor of surgery in the Division of Transplant Surgery, has been recognized by the Association of Surgical Education for its 2002-03 Outstanding Teacher Award.
• Ethan Blue, a research fellow at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies and a history Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas-Austin, received an honorable mention from the Association of American Geographers’ Cultural Geography Specialty Group for his paper, “Seeing Like a Racial State: The Racial/Spatial Nexus of Punishment in Texas and California State Prisons, 1929-45.”

Summer Arts @ the Museum
The University of Virginia Art Museum offers area middle- and high-school students an opportunity to explore the visual arts in Summer Arts @ the Museum, a two-week program offered three times during July and August. Youth entering grades four through 12 this fall are eligible to attend the sessions at the museum.
As in the past, students will work closely in workshops with artists, including mixed media artist and arts educator Tim Rollins, who will be exhibiting artwork at the museum this fall, composer Judith Shatin of U.Va.’s music department, and documentary photographer Mary Motley Kalergis. Young artists also will visit the Music Resource Center to record a group musical composition.

Sessions are July 7–18, July 21–Aug. 1, and Aug. 4–15, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fee: $400 for museum members and $460 for non-members before June 16; additional $40 after June 16. Scholarships are available. For details, contact Jennifer Van Winkle at 243-5534 or e-mail summerarts
museum@yahoo.com. See also the museum’s Web site, www.virginia.
edu/artmuseum.

Library post
A committee has been formed to identify candidates to fill the position of assistant University librarian for organizational development. After a nationwide search, the committee will make recommendations to University Librarian Karin Wittenborg.
Diane Walker, associate University librarian for user services, is chairing the committee. Other members are: Marie Carter, library human resources coordinator; Guy Mengel, director of library information technology services; Vicki Coleman, director of Clemons Library; Ann Whiteside, director of the Fine Arts Library; Melinda Baumann, director of digital library production services; Charles Lyons, collections coordinator, Science & Engineering Library; Regina Rush, public services assistant, Special Collections.

Forward names of possible candidates to executivesearch@virginia.edu (Attn: AUL Search Committee). For details, see http://www.lib.virginia.
edu/HR/faculty.html.

In Memoriam
• Robert D. Cross, 79, died May 31 in Charlottesville. He was a professor and dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences from 1972 until he retired in 1994. He was president of Hunter College from 1967-69 and Swarthmore College from 1969-72.
A native of Grinnell, Iowa, he earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in history and literature from Harvard. He taught history at Swarthmore and Columbia.
• Joan Benfield Berman, 56, of Crewe, died May 10. She was a lecturer of Latin and Sanskrit in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.
• Jeanne C. Biggar, 79, of Louisa, died May 8. She was an associate professor of sociology from 1969 until her retirement in 1987. She conducted numerous studies of demographic patterns among the elderly. Her publications include “The Sunning of America: Migration to the Sunbelt,” a 1979 study for the Population Reference Bureau.