News Briefs

U.Va. accepts 872 early applicants
The University mailed acceptance letters Nov. 26 to 872 early decision applicants, forming the vanguard of the Class of 2008.

Those accepted came from an applicant pool of 2,368 that featured significantly more international and African-American applicants than applied for early decision last year. In-state applicants made up 82 percent of those offered admission, which is comparable to past years, said John A. Blackburn, dean of admission. The final class will be roughly two-thirds in-state, which is consistent with previous entering classes.

Males closed the gender gap, accounting for slightly more than 48 percent of applicants, compared to 46 percent a year ago.
Overall, “it’s a good group,” Blackburn said. “There’s a sense that they look a lot like last year’s group, which is the strongest class we have enrolled in the history of the University.”

Send a Santa letter and support the CVC
Employees can send holiday greetings to children while supporting the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, thanks to Bonnie Bragg, office manager in Student Financial Services. She creates colorful Santa letters, filled with holiday cheer and printed on special stationery.

For each letter, Bragg asks that a $5 check made payable to “CVC” accompany the order. She will give the proceeds to Big Brothers and Sisters of Central Virginia.

Requests for Santa letters are due by Dec. 10 and should be mailed
to her at P.O. Box 400204 with the name, gender and address of the recipient.

Donations for the Santa letters are part of a separate fund-raiser for the CVC and are in addition to any individual pledge an employee may wish to make.

Contest invites business ideas
If you have a great idea for a business but need start-up cash, consider the 2004 U.Va. Business Plan Competition, which is accepting entries through Jan. 12. Sponsored by the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, the Batten Institute and the Entrepreneur and Venture Capital Club, the contest will honor four finalists with the opportunity to participate in the Progressive Incubator. First place wins $10,000; second place, $4,000; third place, $1,000; and fourth place, $500. Finalists will give presentations at Darden on Feb. 10. All teams must include at least one U.Va. student, staff member or faculty member. For information, contact Elizabeth Smith at smithe04@darden.virginia.edu.

Winners of photography contest showcased
Through Dec. 21, local high school students will exhibit work at the University Art Museum from a photography contest called “Our View,” sponsored by the museum and Oakwood Arts. Students photographed their communities during a one-week period in May.
A distinguished professional panel of photographers, including Sam Abell, Mary Motley Kalergis, Stacey Evans, Bill Sublette, Nicholas Nichols and John Grant, judged the entries. Winners of the contest are featured in the exhibit.

A companion book is also on sale.

Students OK Board of Elections
In November, students
approved by a wide majority the formation of the University Board of Elections, a nonpartisan student group that will oversee elections for Student Council, the Honor Committee, University Judiciary Committee, class councils and other student organizations. The proposal
resulted from a student committee that worked on reforms following the 2003 Student Council elections.

Notable
Awards and achievements of faculty and staff
• Jules I. “Jay” Levine,
a 1960 alumnus, has been named the international president of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Levine joined the U.Va. faculty in 1972 and currently serves as associate vice president for the Health System.
Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity was founded in 1913 to provide opportunities for Jewish college men to develop leadership skills and undertake philanthropic work.

• Dr. Claudette Dalton was elected to the Council on Medical
Education of the American Medical Association. She also recently received the Community Service Award from the Medical Society
of Virginia, mostly for her work with the Remote Area Medical Clinic at Wise.

• Linda Watson, associate dean and director of the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, has been named a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Building a 21st-Century Community Health Care System in Rural America. The institute is part of the National Academy of Sciences.

U.Va. fields top turf award
The University has received the 2003 University Sports Field Complex of the Year Award from the Sports Turf Manager’s Association. This is the first year for the University Sports Field Complex of the Year Award. 

Among the criteria used to determine the award recipient were that a minimum of three fields be included in the complex and that the fields host a minimum of three different sports. Virginia’s awarded field complex includes the Carl Smith Center, home of David A.
Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium; Davenport Field at the U.Va. Baseball Stadium; Klöckner Stadium; and the artificial turf field behind University Hall.

Technology proposals due Feb. 27
Full-time humanities faculty interested in using advanced computer technology in their scholarship are eligible to apply for a two-year fellowship in digital scholarship, sponsored by the University’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. The deadline is Feb. 27.
Interested faculty are encouraged to meet with IATH directors to discuss their proposals in advance. Fellows receive a half-time teaching release for the first year. The institute continues to support the research for the life of the project.

See the institute’s Web site at www.iath.virginia.edu/iath/fellowships.html for guidelines and an application.

Selections will be made by the end of March, and the fellowship will begin July 1.

Technology Open House Jan. 13
The Division of Information Technology & Communication will host a Technology Open House for U.Va. faculty, researchers and instructors on Jan. 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the third floor of Wilson Hall.
Technology professionals will demonstrate technology and software tools to assist faculty in teaching or research. The open house also provides the opportunity to learn about the Instructional Toolkit and see a demonstration of the new Faculty Scheduler.
See www.itc.virginia.edu /training/conferences/
fto2004 or contact
Nancy Rogers at nfr3f@virginia.edu or 982-2991.

In Memoriam
• Nancy E. Walton Pugh, 45, died Nov. 25. A U.Va. Medical School alumna, she taught general pediatrics at U.Va. for the last five years.

• Dr. John S. “Jack” Horner Sr., 76, died Nov. 26. He taught at U.Va. for 29 years and directed the Communication Disorders program for four years. He also served as an audiologist in U.Va.’s department of otolaryngology.