Poet Nikki Giovanni (above) will give the keynote public talk at the annual HUES Black Women’s Leadership Conference on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., in the University of Virginia’s Newcomb Hall South Meeting Room. The conference, which aims to empower black women and strengthen the community of black women at U.Va., in Charlottesville and the surrounding areas, will feature career-focused workshops and panels from U.Va. schools of law, business, medicine, education, arts & sciences and engineering. Full story.

U.Va. News Services

The Medical Center’s Crispell Drive will become a construction zone this month as work begins on the Carter-Harrison Medical Research Building (MR-6). The building is an addition to the south side of the existing MR-5 building (above), which connects to Crispell Drive in front of the South Parking Garage at the Medical Center. Disruptions of some pedestrian and vehicle traffic can be expected over the next several months. Construction of the new MR-6 will take about 28 months to complete. Full story.

U.Va. News Services/Photo: Jenny Gerow

An in-depth analysis of software programs to determine which one would most efficiently replace the University of Virginia’s 16-year-old Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) has resulted in U.Va.’s selection of PeopleSoft. “This is the beginning of a new, evolutionary approach to addressing the administrative needs of students,” said Charles Grisham (above), Student System Project director. The next steps will be to continue refining the parameters of the project and build an implementation team. Full story.

U.Va. News Services/Photo: Dan Addison