News briefs
Alumnus initiated 40 years later
Wayland Denton II, B'72, pledged Phi Gamma Delta fraternity when he was a student at the University in the 1960s, but circumstances forced him to leave school before he was initiated into the brotherhood.
That changed March 29, when Denton was formally initiated into the fraternity during the group's annual Pig Roast.
After leaving Richmond, Denton served in the military in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star, Silver Star and other medals. Years later, having started a family, he returned to campus and became president of the Robins School's student government and a successful student.
Online recruiting tool will match
students with Virginia employers
The University has joined with 14 other Virginia colleges and the Virginia Founda-tion for Independent Colleges (VFIC) in launching Career 15, an initiative matching Virginia companies with Virginia college students looking for jobs and internships.
In recent years, recruiters have reduced the number of visits to small college campuses, focusing instead on larger institutions. Career 15 will gather students from several small, private Virginia colleges and universities in one location—a Web site, vfic.org/career15.html—to interact with participating recruiters.
Students will be able to post resumes and search job postings in a format similar to monster.com or hotjobs.com. Virginia recruiters can review the resumes and set up interviews.
In addition to the Web site, Career 15 will hold job fairs and interview days for student and business participants. More than 20,000 students from VFIC member schools will have direct access to recruiters' participating companies, including such Fortune 1000 firms as Philip Morris USA, Genworth Financial and Luck Stone.
Career development centers at each college or university will promote the program to students, while VFIC staff will recruit Virginia businesses to participate.
"We want to encourage students going to Virginia schools to stay in Virginia post-graduation," says Leslie Stevenson, director of Richmond's career development center. "Career 15 is one way we can encourage students to make a career in the commonwealth."
Campus high ropes course will
provide team-building adventure
The University is constructing a high ropes course along the tree line at the far end of the intramural field. Scheduled to open this summer, the course will be operated by UR in partnership with Challenge Discovery, which will be responsible for the registration, staffing and supervision of the program.
The outdoor experimental education program encourages individuals "to move beyond self-imposed limitations by involving them in the processes of integrated learning through creative problem solving exercises, high risk adventure and team building initiatives."
The course is designed for teams of four to eight participants and is suitable for use by athletic teams and student organizations. A discount will be given to University groups, and they will save additional funds by not having to travel to other Challenge Discovery sites. For more information contact Tom Roberts at troberts@richmond.edu or go to oncampus.richmond.edu/student/ affairs/recwell/high_ropes.htm.
Sophomore coach taking kids
to Baltimore Orioles game
Chris Lucas, '10, who coached a team of Highland Park 9- and 10-year-olds in baseball last spring, has arranged for the kids and their parents to attend a Baltimore Orioles game April 20.
Lucas, who will coach the team again this year, secured 150 tickets and transportation for the group from the Orioles organization. They also will be featured on the park's jumbo-screen television during the game.
Lucas, who pitched in high school before injuring his elbow, decided to coach the team after meeting Anthony Allen, director of Hotchkiss Community Center, during a stop on a city bus tour sponsored by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement. The team won its first game 8-1 and went on to win every subsequent game until losing to another undefeated team in the citywide semifinals.
After the 2007 season, Lucas secured 50 complimentary tickets for a Washington Nationals game because he had heard the players say during practice that they had never seen a professional baseball game.
Lucas also is trying to obtain new equipment for the team and has approached Winning Beyond Winning, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young athletes, about sending a professional player to conduct a clinic for the Hotchkiss children.
Ethics Bowl team members
met Supreme Court Associate
Justice Samuel Alito (center)
during the VFIC's annual
competition in February.
Team members included
(from l.) Mason Turner, '08,
Jill Eisenberg, '09, Jason
Levinn, '08, and Lauren
Pryor, '09.Ethics Bowl team meets Supreme Court justice
A team of UR students got a surprise when they competed in the annual Ethics Bowl, sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.
One of the judges brought her husband to the official dinner. The judge, Martha Alito, was accompanied by her husband, Samuel Alito, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Richmond students posed for photos with the jurist.
Students from all 15 VFIC colleges participated in four rounds of debates during the competition, held at Marymount University in Arlington. They analyzed environmentally-oriented, ethical case dilemmas and presented their recommendations for the best ethical solutions.
Nearly 50 business and community leaders from across Virginia critiqued team arguments. Richmond's team ended with a record of 2-2. Mary Baldwin College was the 2008 winner.
Research videos eligible for prizes
Students in the School of Arts & Sciences can enter self-made videos about their research projects in a contest with a $500 first place prize.
Participants in the Student Symposium are eligible. They should make a five-minute video about their research, upload the video to You Tube by April 11 and send the link to as@richmond.edu to enter. Entries will be judged by the number of You Tube views and a panel of judges.