Inside UVA

Eventually, most of us will find ourselves caring for a loved one as they reach the end of their life. This is an experience nurse Jonathan Bartels has spent his career helping patients and families navigate. Building on his experience in palliative care, in the ICU, the ER, and studying comparative religion and mysticism, he worked to implement a practice known as "The Pause" at UVA Hospital. The...

Ava MacBlane is the editor in chief of the Cavalier daily, an independent student run news organization. She previously served as managing editor for the Cavalier Daily’s one hundred and thirty-third team, as well as the news editor and News Senior Associate Editor. She's also a member of the University Guide Service and a dedicated thespian. In this episode she and President Ryan chat about stude...

Dan Willingham is a cognitive psychologist whose research focuses on the intersection of learning, memory, and education. As an applied researcher, he focuses on communicating psychological principles to educators, using science to help teachers understand student minds and teach more effectively. His latest book, "Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy" focuses on...

Today, we're sharing a conversation with an extremely distinguished UVA alumnus! This episode is a special cross-promotion with a new podcast at UVA, Hoos in STEM, and the featured interview was not conducted by President Jim Ryan. Subscribe to Hoos in STEM: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hoos-in-stem/id1671045329 https://open.spotify.com/show/0gjo3bwE5z1xsLIBHKS3f8 https://podcasts.google....

Dr. Christopher Holstege wears a lot of hats around the university. A toxicologist by training, he recently worked with UVA students and the local master naturalists to develop a guide to the poisonous flora and fauna in the Charlottesville area. He's also put this knowledge work, navigating the wilderness, as an avid trail runner. As director of Student Health and Wellness, he's interested in nov...

Dr. Stephanie Rowley joined the School of Education and Human Development as Dean in 2022. She is an alumna of the Education school and leading expert in the development of children's racial and gender identities. She returned to UVA to serve as dean following her time as a Provost, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Teachers College at Columbia University. In this episode she talks a...

Dean Tab Enoch is sometimes known as the university’s unoffocial hype girl. As the director of Orientation, she is one of the first people many new students meet at UVA. She and her team work hard to help every new student at feel excited and supported for their time at the University. In this episode, she and President Ryan share how their own experiences as first-generation college students have...

UVA Law Professor Leslie Kendrick is a podcasting pro. She’s spent many hours behind the mic with Dean Risa Goluboff exploring how law shapes society in their podcast, Common Law . In this episode, she talks about the ways in which her years studying English literature led her to become a free speech expert, her upbringing in Kentucky and her time serving as Vice-Dean of the UVA School of Law.

Our first guest of the season truly needs no introduction. She is a journalist, who, among other assignments, has been co-host of the Today Show, anchored the CBS Evening News and was a correspondent for 60 Minutes. She's a producer, a path breaker, an author, a performer, a guest star on episodes of Glee, Sesame Street, Austin Powers and Murphy Brown. She is a parent, wife, entrepreneur, genuine...

A 2016 Vogue magazine headline called our guest the "George Clooney of March Madness". He is a former NCAA and NBA sharpshooter, coaching legend, and national champion. If you haven't guessed yet, it's UVA's Head Basketball Coach, Tony Bennett. In this interview he talks about his very early start in basketball and going into the family business of coaching. We also get some snacking tips.

Ian Baucom has led a very eventful life. He grew up in South Africa, left a burgeoning acting career for military school in South Carolina, and even wrote a children’s fantasy novel! These unique experiences eventually led him to UVA, where he served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for over 7 years, and recently became the Provost of the University. In this episode, you can hear Ba...

Dr. Ken Ono says his greatest strength is his curiosity. That curiosity has taken him to the 100 year-old manuscripts of Srinivasa Ramanujan, to the US Olympic swimming team, to astronomical queries into black holes and even to Hollywood. Tune in to hear more about those adventures and why Dr. Ono says theoretical math is an art form.

Abel Liu wasn't planning on getting involved in Student Council when he started at UVA. But when he got here, he was excited about student self-governance and the opportunity to make a difference for his peers. Then COVID hit and he got that opportunity. Even before Abel was elected president, he was involved in lobbying for a credit/no credit option for students during the height of the pandemic...

Carla Williams says college athletics is the reason she was able to go to college. In high school, she was a star basketball player and her teachers helped her go to basketball camps and travel to play in front of college scouts. Once she made it to the University of Georgia she excelled on and off the court, eventually earning her doctorate and building her career in coaching and then athletic ad...

Kayvon Samadani is a fourth year at UVA studying Public Policy and Environmental Science. He is also currently the president of the Inter-Fraternity Council at UVA, an organization that oversees the activities of 1,700 students across 32 chapters. In this epsiode he talks about his experience at UVA and how he got involved in Greek life and Greek leadership. 

Dr. Bill Petri came to UVA for Medical School and never left! In his over 30 years here, he's authored over 400 publications and worked with dozens of undergraduate and medical students in his research lab. In the past couple years, he's also been a resource to the community, communicating important information and research related to COVID-19. In this episode he talks about why he loves working w...

It might be the height of basketball season but the varsity athletes aren't the only ones practicing, working out and competing. UVA has over 60 club sports and intramural competitions, not to mention group fitness classes and four gyms open to students, faculty, staff and community members. It's all run by the department of IM-Rec. This week we talk to the Director of IM-Rec Sports, Erica Perkins...

Dr. Craig Kent was never supposed to go into medicine. He grew up helping his dad run a ranch in Nevada that had been in his family since the 1880s. Eventually, he got his family’s blessing to become a vascular surgeon and he’s spent his career dividing his time between patient care, research, and hospital administration. He currently serves as the CEO of UVA Health.

Lauren Kim (COL '22) has a lot of responsibility for an undergraduate student. She runs The University Judiciary Committee or "UJC" in UVA speak. The UJC is an entirely student-run judiciary body which is responsible for upholding the University’s Standards of Conduct. In this episode, she talks about how the UJC operates, how it differs from the Honor Committee, and how she choose her unusual dou...

Dr. Rita Dove is one of the most acclaimed contemporary American poets. But every week a few dozen UVA students get to sit down in the classroom with her to read, write and discuss poetry. Charlottesville and UVA are honored to host Professor Dove and in this episode she discusses her early literary influences, from MAD Magazine to Shakespeare, the assignment her students live in fear of, and her...

Professor Ken Elzinga has perhaps taught more UVA students than any other faculty member. Every fall he teaches Econ 201 to nearly a thousand students, making his class the largest one at the university. He is known by his students not only for his engaging lectures but also for his commitment to their personal and intellectual development. In this conversation he talks about participating in Supr...

Colette Sheehy started as a Budget Analyst at UVA in 1982. These days she has a large portfolio of responsibilities that range from parking to working with the Virginia General Assembly. President Ryan asks her about her long career at the university and what it takes to manage the operations of a university during a period of immense growth.

Natalia Wilson’s (COL ’02) father told her she was his immigration lawyer at age three. It took her a few more years to get officially licensed, but these days she’s a Principal at at a family law firm in Washington, DC. President Ryan sat down with Natalia Wilson to get her perspective as an alumna on the University and the impact it’s has on her life and career.

The Honor Committee is one of UVA's most cherished and controversial institutions. The current Honor Committee Chair, Andy Chambers, says he knew he wanted to be a part of it from the first time he visited UVA. In this episode of Inside UVA, Andy Chambers and President Ryan talk about changes to the Honor System, student self-governance and what it means to live, work, and study in a community of...

Even if you don't know what the Chief Operating Officer does, if you live, work or study at UVA, you've almost certainly gotten an email from Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis. She's the one who lets us know when there's a snow day or a test to the emergency system, and this past year she's sent us a lot of updates about COVID-19. Tune in to hear about how UVA upended its operations to ensure safety du...