• Edgar A. Starke Jr., the former dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
• Charles Wright, U.Va. professor of English, receives the 1998 Pulitzer prize for his recent collection of poems Black Zodiac.
• The Board of Visitors raises the University's Capital Campaign goal from $750 million to $1 billion as the University joins a select group of public schools seeking this level of private support.
• Poets Gregory Orr and Rita Dove, novelists George Garrett and John Casey are among U.Va. faculty participating in the Virginia Festival of the Book held on the Grounds and in Charlottesville.
•
Renowned poet Adrienne Rich, right, reads her work to wide
acclaim in the Culbreth Theatre.
• IBM and U.Va. announce an alliance to speed the integration of information technology into the University's teaching and research.
• President Casteen outlines four new planning initiatives for the next century to improve support for science and engineering, the fine and performing arts, public service, and international initiatives in his State of the University address at Cabell Hall.
•
Ken Kesey, right, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,
speaks in connection with an exhibition in Alderman Library
on "The Psychedelic 60s."
Executive Vice President and CFO Leonard W. Sandridge and
IBM executive John Kelly authorize the IBM-U.Va. technology
alliance.
• Yahoo! Internet Life magazine names U.Va. among the nation's top twenty "techno-savvy" schools. Wired classrooms, the outstanding quality of the University's Web sites, and the quality and range of computer classes offered are among the citations for excellence.
• Curry School dean David W. Breneman and University president John T. Casteen III are named by the American Association of Higher Education among the nation's top educators.
• Senior vice president and University Professor Ernest H. Ern is named the recipient of the University's Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
February
March
April
New board members Joseph F. Wolfe,
Timothy R. Robertson, and Benjamin P.A. Warthen join newly
elected Rector John P. Ackerly III (third from
left)
•
University history professor Julian Bond is selected as
national chair of the NAACP. Bond, a leader in the civil
rights movement and former Georgia state legislator, teaches
and conducts research on the history of civil rights.
• Former U.S. Sen. Alan K. Simpson and former dean of the School of Architecture Jaquelin Taylor Robertson (pictured below with President Casteen) receive the 1998 Thomas Jefferson awards in Law and Architecture during U.Va.'s Founder's Day ceremonies.
• Governor Gilmore names three new members to the Board of Visitors. Hovey S. Dabney steps down after serving as rector for six years. John P. Ackerly III is elected the new rector of the University.
• The Curry School of Education receives national recognition for programs using technology in the classroom. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education awards the school its first Best Practice Award at a national meeting.
• The Board of Visitors approves plans for a new parking deck at Scott Stadium and additional seating to accommodate a total of 60,000 spectators. Carl W. Smith's 1997 lead gift (a $25 million challenge grant) kicked off the fund-raising effort for the $75 million stadium addition.
• Seventeen professors and four graduate teaching assistants are honored in a ceremony celebrating excellence in teaching. Louis Bloomfield, professor of physics, and Michael Klarman, professor of law, receive SCHEV teaching awards. Farzaneh Milani, professor of Persian language and literature, is honored with the Distinguished Professor Award. Edmund P. Russell III wins the Alumni Board of Trustees Teaching Award.
• Dean of Students Robert Canevari announces his
retirement next year after thirty-three years at the
University.
• NASA space shuttle flight Columbia includes rats from a study of spatial memory conducted by neuroscience department chair Dr. Oswald Steward.
