IF YOU WANT IT DONE RIGHT ...
A survey co-sponsored by San Jose [Calif.] State University and the San Jose Mercury News found that even in this supposed age of enlightenment about gender roles, women still do most of the work in Silicon Valley households. Apparently, many of the women are OK with it, and that came as little surprise to U.Va. sociology professor Steven Nock. “Most wives in national surveys report their household division of labor is fair — even when, from an outsider’s point of view, it’s not,” he said. One explanation the newspaper offered: Women take on more chores to make sure they are done right. — San Jose Mercury News, Aug. 8

NEW FACE OF THE UNIVERSITY
Expect to hear a lot about Matt Schaub this fall, even if you aren’t a football fan. U.Va.’s sports marketers are pushing the Cavalier quarterback as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the nation’s top college player. The graduate student was recently the subject of a major profile in USA Today, where he sang U.Va.’s praises. “Virginia is a magical place,” he said. “You find out about it the first day you step on The Grounds — the history, the tradition, Thomas Jefferson, The Lawn.” He also ’fessed up to streaking the Lawn in his first year, disrobing on the Rotunda steps and making a mad dash for Homer’s statue. “You try to get back fast,” he said. “That’s where your clothes are.” — USA Today, Aug. 18

NEWS OF THE WEIRD? NOPE, JUST CALIFORNIA
Normally, politics professor Larry J. Sabato would be focusing laser-like on the 2004 presidential race these days. But a seductive distraction has arisen in California, where an upcoming recall election will determine whether voters will dump incumbent Gov. Gray Davis, and if so, which of the dozens of candidates on the ballot will succeed him. In a commentary for the Los Angeles Times, Sabato wrote, “California’s national spectacle has been called a circus, but it’s more like a zoo with the cages of the untrained animals pushed wide open. Every stereotype of the Golden State has been validated, from the regrettable obsession with superficial Hollywood celebrity to its arms-open-wide welcome for, well, unusual people.” — Los Angeles Times, Aug. 19

A WISE CHOICE
Steve Kaplan is making his presence felt as he enters his second year as chancellor of U.Va.’s College at Wise, proposing new academic programs in computer science, technology and engineering. The school recently announced that it received federal funding and a private donation totaling nearly $130,000 to study the idea. Kaplan has the backing of U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, who declared, “The presence of an engineering program in Wise would expand the educational opportunities available to Southwest Virginia residents and would serve as a valuable economic development tool by adding another group of highly trained workers to our region’s skilled workforce.” — The Coalfield Progress, Aug. 14