An Excellent University Depends on Excellent Faculty
An endowed chair is one of the greatest honors an institution can bestow on its faculty. Combining prestige and financial rewards, it both recognizes and enhances a scholar's professional reputation. There are more than 300 endowed professorships at the University of Virginia. The Campaign for the University of Virginia includes a substantial endowment goal for professorships and other faculty support. This endowment will serve as a permanent source of funding for faculty excellence, enabling the University to pursue its joint missions of teaching, research, healthcare and public service. Private gifts to the endowment, managed by the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, provide a steady flow of revenues that helps smooth out the University’s budgeting process by compensating for year-to-year changes in state funding for public education. We are grateful to donors who have made these chairs possible and invite others to learn more about them by contacting us. 
Marcia InvernizziCurry Professor Champions Child LiteracyChildren in Virginia are finding it easier to read at an earlier age, thanks to a special diagnostic and screening tool developed at the University of Virginia. Created nearly a decade ago, the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) test enables teachers to gauge students' reading skills and tailor instruction to meet their individual needs. more > 
Jeff LegroThere's More to Chinese Foreign Policy Than Meets the EyeWhat does China want? Jeffrey W. Legro tackled this important question in a recent article in Perspectives on Politics, a journal of the American Political Science Association. "The 'rising China problem is not just about power, but purpose," noted Mr. Legro. more > 
Patricia HollenCreating 'Life Tools' for Teen Cancer SurvivorsPatricia Hollen (Nursing '67) has developed an educational program to teach teenagers who are survivors of cancer how to make good decisions. That means learning how to say "no" if their friends urge them to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or abuse drugs. more > 
Robert I. WebbDeciphering the Financial World for OthersWhen news breaks in the financial world, Robert I. Webb is often one of the first to get a call. As an expert in speculative markets, Mr. Webb studies sophisticated financial instruments and helps news reporters explain breaking news to their readers. more > 
Dennis R. ProffittPerceiving Problems, Visualizing SolutionsWhere did you leave your glasses? To find them, you may have to return in your mind to the place you stood when you last wore them. And you may have to mentally retrace your steps until you can see, in your mind's eye, where you were when you set them down. more > 
Kim Forde-MazruiFirst Amendment Limits Universities' Options in Responding to Hateful SpeechVerbal or physical harassment of minority college students is not uncommon, with 20 percent of minority college students reporting such abuse, said Kim Forde-Mazrui, the Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Research Professor in Law and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Law at the University of Virginia. more > 
Timothy BeatleySeeking to Help Gray Cities Go GreenFor architecture professor Timothy Beatley (Architecture '79), the phrase, "urban environment," is not an oxymoron. Rather, he sees cities as levers for environmental change. more > 
Sankaran VenkataramanEntrepreneurship Is About More Than Starting a BusinessSankaran Venkataraman sees entrepreneurship as a force for change. As the MasterCard Professor of Business Administration and research director for entrepreneurship at the Batten Institute, his responsibilities include raising the visibility of entrepreneurship throughout the Darden School of Business. more > 
John A. StankovicA Network in Your Everyday SurroundingsJohn A. Stankovic is interested in using wireless networks to solve health care challenges. The BP America Professor of Science and Technology, a computer scientist, is collaborating with Robin A. Felder, a professor of pathology in the University's School of Medicine, and researchers at other institutions to develop a smart living space that would enable older adults to age safely. more > 
Brian Steel WillsFamily Trips, Summer Jobs Plant Seeds for a Flourishing CareerBrian Steel Wills grew up in Suffolk, Virginia, the son of a farmer and a fourth-grade teacher. His mother, the teacher and a history buff, led the family on vacation trips to historic sites—Jamestown, Yorktown, Gettysburg. "We visited a lot of battlefields," he said. more > |