University of Richmond's Pi Beta Phi chapter hosted its annual spring philanthropy event Ballin' for Books Wednesday, March 26.
Inclusivity has been a major focus at University of Richmond as part of the Richmond Promise. As a result of the hard work of many faculty and students, the university will be honored May 3 with the Catalyst Award for supporting LGBTQ students and creating a more inclusive environment. Presenting the award is ROSMY, a local organization based in Richmond that aims to ensure equal opportunities for LGBQT youth in Virginia. Ted Lewis, associate director of Common Ground for LGBTQ campus life, said, "The only reason 2013 was successful is because of lots of work done by faculty, staff and students for decades here at the University of Richmond." Lewis said the award was honoring the past academic year and the work done in 2013 by the university.
Pig Roast is a spring tradition at University of Richmond made famous by its barbecue, fraternity lodge parties and underage drinking. Eric Beatty, Richmond's police lieutenant, said in fact, the past rate of calls for police service on Pig Roast had not been much more than on a Friday night, but since Pig Roast was an all-day event, the number of violations went up. Beatty said last year there had been only a few traffic violations and two arrests on charges of public intoxication. Although none of the procedures for Pig Roast this year have changed, Joe Boehman, dean of Richmond College, said the two variables for the event would be the rain and the number of fraternities that were on probation. This year, only four of the lodges that are hosting events will have alcohol for students who are over 21.
Janet Jarman, an award-winning photojournalist from Richmond, spoke in the Jepson Alumni Center Wednesday night as part of the 2013-14 Jepson Leadership Forum.
The Office of Sustainability hopes to strike up more efforts to fight the risks of climate change in light of a new index that will rate University of Richmond based on steps taken to divest from fossil fuels. Asset Owners Disclosure Project's new Global Universities Index will rank over 300 universities in 32 countries on how much each institution is investing in fossil fuels.
Survey results showed when students were asked whether they would use a bike trail that directly led from the University of Richmond to the James River, the answer was an overwhelming yes. Todd Lookingbill, assistant professor of geography and the Eenvironment, addressed the question "How Can We Be Better Connected to the James?" Thursday as part of UR Downtown's lunch series, TAKE 30. The lunch series is held every third Thursday of the month at the UR Downtown building in the heart of Richmond.
At the second annual Green Bike Rollout March 20, about 50 staff and students came to the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness for a three-mile ride around campus on the familiar yellow bikes. Lucia Anderson, outdoor and facilities coordinator, said the event would send 46 bikes throughout campus. "The goal of the event is not only to have people [at the event], but also to increase the visibility of the bikes," Anderson said.
The University of Richmond Emergency Medical Services team received two awards at the National Collegiate EMS Foundation's annual conference, held from Feb.
Stephen Addiss, a recently retired professor who taught art history for 20 years at University of Richmond, recently opened an exhibition called "No Eye Flowers: Paintings, Calligraphy, and Ceramics" in the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art in the Modlin Center for the Arts. Richard Waller, executive director of University Museums, curated the exhibition, which contains ink paintings, ceramic art and one sculpture. The pieces cover a large time frame, from 1970 to about three or four weeks ago, Waller said.
The University of Richmond Octaves have been nominated for three 2014 Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards.
The first Q-Summit to be held at University of Richmond was a roaring success, and joined over 100 southern youth and queer activists to strategize the future of the LGTBQ movement, according to Wesley Meredith, co-president for Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity. Q-Summit was held on campus March 22, and the scheduled events lasted all day: breakout sessions on narrowed topics in the morning and afternoon; a keynote address from Loan Tr\0x1EA7n, a mixed-race queer storyteller and aspiring educator after lunch; and a Q-Summit After Dark Dance Party at night.
When two University of Richmond staff members' computers were infected with a virus two weeks ago, the FBI contacted the university's Information Services and alerted them of how to handle the virus. The virus, CryptoLocker or Cryptobit, is a type of "ransom-ware" that encrypts or "locks" files on a computer, then demands payment for unlocking them within 72 hours.
This is the third year the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement had an alternative spring break opportunity for students who are interested in learning more about the Richmond community.
Dining Services will change the meal plan options for next school year and Spider 17, the current meal plan assigned to all students in resident halls, will no longer be offered. The Spider 17 costs $2,810 a semester and provides students with 17 meal swipes to be used in the Heilman Dining Center each week and 715 dining dollars for the semester to use at on-campus food retail locations, according to the dining services webpage. "Students have access to come have all meals if they want," said Bettie Clarke, executive director of campus dining.
University of Richmond's Office of the Chaplaincy welcomed the Rev. Dr. John Philip Newell as a guest preacher in Tuesday night's weekly service led by the Kairos Leadership Team. Newell is a Scottish poet, preacher and scholar.
The Faculty Athletic Committee released a report this month that included a student-athlete fall 2013 academic report, an updated concussion awareness letter and information about a pending student-athlete satisfaction survey. The fall 2013 academic report documents the second-best student-athlete fall grade point average on record of 3.12, following fall 2012 in the top spot.
The Richmond College Dean's Office introduced the "I am Richmond College" project this February. The initiative is designed to celebrate diversity, both visible and invisible, within the RC community. An "I am Richmond College" video, published on the RC website, features nine RC men who talk about their different identities based on background and experiences, sexual orientation, religion and nationality. Matt Palmisano, RC '14, said he was proud to participate.
March 5, the College Board revealed new changes to the SAT that will make the test more in sync with high school curriculum and more focused on important academic skills. The new SAT will first be offered in spring 2016.
March 23, Bon Air Artists Association will feature 66 artists and their work in the Artful Healing show at the Jepson Alumni Center in support of World Pediatric Project. World Pediatric Project is a non-profit organization based in Richmond that provides healthcare to children in developing countries in Central America and the Caribbean who do not have access to proper healthcare, according to the WPP website. "There are a lot of students from UR that intern and volunteer with WPP, and we have a lot of support from local artists as well," Treva Thomas, director of development at WPP, said. The association is estimating to raise between $15,000 and $25,000 for WPP, said Joyce Satterwhite, a member of the Bon Air Artists Association. The art will include paintings, photographs, sculptures and 3-D pieces.
Despite the continuous tension between Russia and Ukraine, the Office of International Education and Ryan Foulds, a junior studying abroad in Russia, agrees the conflict is not affecting study abroad experiences. March 2, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Russia had declared war on Ukraine after Russian troops moved into Crimea.
