News briefs and announcements

University teams with Central Virginia Food Bank and Boy Scouts

The University teamed with the Central Virginia Food Bank and the Heart of Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts of America to conduct a food drive during the Richmond–JMU Homecoming football game at UR Stadium. Richmond area scouts were stationed at stadium entrances to collect food items and cash donations for the Central Virginia Food Bank. Approximately 1,000 pounds of food and more than $600 in cash donations were collected. The first Homecoming food drive kicked off the largest single community food drive in Central Virginia, Scouting for Food, which this year netted over 250,000 pounds in food donations.

Law students provide legal aid to hurricane victims

A group of 13 University of Richmond law students donated their time and effort during winter break in New Orleans to help rebuild and support the city’s legal system, which remains in disarray. The students were part of the Student Hurricane Network (SHN), a nationwide network of law students dedicated to solving the legal problems created by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Law students from across the country have visited the Gulf Coast to provide legal aid focused on criminal justice, housing, immigrant labor, employment, elections and real estate.

International educators association recognizes Faculty Seminar Abroad

NAFSA: The Association of International Educators has recognized Richmond’s Faculty Seminar Abroad as an exemplary program for increasing international perspective among college students.

The NAFSA report “Internationalizing the Campus 2006” spotlights the University’s biennial summer program that sends groups of professors to countries infrequently visited by Americans. The faculty members spend several weeks touring, visiting counterparts at campuses, and meeting with artists, government officials and business leaders.

The report notes the seminar’s benefits, particularly encouraging dialogue among Richmond faculty of various fields. It said the travel and interdisciplinary discussions promote the creation of new courses and research, while motivating college students to study abroad in less-visited countries.
“It became clear that if one wanted to approach internationalization broadly across the disciplines, what we needed to do was start with the faculty,” said Uliana Gabara, dean and Carole M. Weinstein Chair of International Education and NAFSA president.

The seminars began in 1989, funded entirely by the University. More than a third of Richmond’s faculty has visited 26 countries on six continents since the program’s inception.

NAFSA was founded as the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors in 1948 to help international students adjust to life at American universities. Today, it promotes international education and exchanges and provides global workforce development opportunities.
 
Cole, ’07, wins student paper competition

Robert Cole, ’07, of Farmville, Va., is the 2006 winner of the WHA/PAT Student Paper Prize Competition in the undergraduate division. The competition is sponsored by Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society, and the World History Association.

His paper, “Power and Performance in Bombay’s Victoria Terminus,” will be submitted for publication in the WHA Bulletin.
           
Philip Morris helps fund CDC programs

Philip Morris USA has made a grant of $20,000 to the Career Development Center to support career center resources, training and events.
“Strong career development programs are an essential part of preparing students to be the leaders of tomorrow’s workforce,” said Heidi Crapol, Philip Morris senior manager, contributions.

Boatwright Library receives preservation grant

Boatwright Memorial Library has received a $5,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to implement recommendations for preserving the humanities collections. The project resulted from a previous NEH grant project, in which a consultant reviewed the library’s humanities collections and made recommendations for enhancing preservation practices. The new grant will go toward staff training and equipment purchases that will supplement existing preservation work.

NEH has designated the project as part of the “We the People” initiative to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history  and culture.

Two students win VFIC scholarships
Sophomores Patricia Byrne of Media, Pa., and Naa-Koshie France of Midlothian, Va., have won Philip Morris USA scholarships through the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC).

Both students were selected through a statewide competition with applicants from all 15 VFIC member colleges. Each scholarship, worth $10,000, carries an opportunity to be considered for a paid summer internship at Philip Morris USA in Richmond.

Scholarships are provided to sophomores who have academic promise, demonstrated financial need and an interest in internship opportunities with a Fortune 500 company. Each scholar will receive $5,000 toward the junior year and $5,000 toward the senior year.

Founded in 1952, VFIC is a nonprofit, fundraising partnership supporting programs and students of 15 leading private colleges in Virginia.

Virginia-Nebraska Alliance meets at Richmond

The annual meeting of the Virginia-Nebraska Alliance, an association of 10  colleges and universities working to increase minority representation in health care professions, took place at the University Nov. 16.

State Sen. Benjamin Lambert, alliance co-chair, hosted a conference call during the meeting with then-Virginia U.S. Sen. George Allen, who outlined his efforts to increase federal funding to historically black colleges and universities.

The meeting, led by Dr. Louis Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, examined the alliance’s progress toward achieving its goals and presented program updates. Eastern Virginia Medical School was inducted into the alliance.

Dr. John Vaughan, director of Richmond’s pre-health studies program, reported on last summer’s Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) program, attended by 10 alliance students in June and July.  Richmond Provost June Aprille, who directs the University’s participation in the alliance, and President Bill Cooper attended the meeting.

The alliance’s members include Virginia’s five historically black colleges and universities—Hampton University, Norfolk State University, St. Paul’s College, Virginia State University and Virginia Union University—as well as University of Richmond, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Nebraska Medical Center, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College    and Eastern Virginia Medical School.
 
Graduate student publishes book on slavery

Second-year graduate student Hakeem W. Ali-Ber has published a book titled The Declaration of Black Independence. It investigates issues surrounding the Founding Fathers and slavery and provides an analysis of the most prominent cultural issue affecting the African-American community. A chapter titled “Romanticism’s Impact on Abolitionism” provides research and evidence that was completed at Boatwright Memorial Library. It links the great Romantic intellectuals Blake, Shelley and Southey to the trans-Atlantic abolitionist movement. A more detailed description of author and book with excerpts can be found at www.xlibris.com/HakeemWAli-Ber.html.