Responding to strong student interest, UVA is expanding its Program on Constitutionalism and Democracy with three distinguished faculty members and a broader interdisciplinary mission. Supported in part by philanthropic partners, the expansion demonstrates how investing in extraordinary talent can enrich undergraduate education, foster collaboration across disciplines and strengthen UVA’s leadership in the study of democracy.
An overlooked collection of dried plants in a Puerto Rican archive became the foundation for award-winning research by UVA Ph.D. candidate Elizabeth Mirabal. Fellowships, travel funding and faculty mentorship enabled Mirabal to pursue her discovery across borders, illustrating how investment in graduate excellence gives emerging scholars the resources to expand knowledge in unexpected ways.
As the University shapes its next strategic plan, President Scott Beardsley is drawing on input from across the UVA community to identify the priorities that will guide its future. Emerging themes include academic and research excellence, deeper faculty-student connections, interdisciplinary collaboration and affordability, all areas where Arts & Sciences will play a central role in advancing UVA’s mission.
Dean Christa Acampora explores the lasting value of a liberal arts education and its power to cultivate judgment, discernment, empathy, and courage. It is an education that prepares students not only to shape their own lives, but to contribute meaningfully to their communities.
New research from UVA Arts & Sciences neuroscientist Dan Meliza and his graduate students shows that zebra finches can predict missing sounds in birdsong, indicating predictive processes in the brain. Determining the brain’s innate and learned patterns that guide behaviors has implications for neuroscience and multiple human technologies, including AI. Funding from donors creates an engine of meaningful interdisciplinary discovery that engages faculty, students and researchers across the University.
Supported by donors who want to ensure UVA continues to attract the brightest minds, Psychology Associate Professor Hudson Golino has developed a strong interdisciplinary approach to researching AI, where PhD students and scholars collaborate and students prepare for the world beyond graduation.
Photographer and UVA Commonwealth Professor of Art William Wylie’s new book captures his 1,200‑kilometer journey through Japan. His reflections draw on insights he also teaches in a popular first‑year Engagements course on the art of walking.
Priyanka Shetty, MFA ’19, reflects on how her broadly based foundational training in the Drama MFA program helped launch both an acclaimed acting career and award-winning original theatrical works. Philanthropic support for the Masters in Fine Arts graduate program enables UVA to attract some of the most talented students and prepare them for success in the disciplines they love.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, A&S was able to deepen its investment in students’ futures through a new initiative to expand experiential learning and career exploration. Learn more from Julia Lapan, the College’s inaugural executive director.
Curated by UVA anthropology students, this showcase of contemporary artwork from Papua New Guinea reflects Arts & Sciences’ commitment to hands‑on learning and global understanding.
Through philanthropic support that has more than doubled the Graduate School’s endowment in just two years, Arts & Sciences has once again increased living stipends for PhD students, further strengthening UVA’s position among elite public universities.
Nyamekye Wilson ‘18 credits UVA with fundamentally transforming her life—providing a foundation that empowered her to launch a global nonprofit, Black Sisters in STEM, now empowering more than 27,000 women across 33 countries to thrive in tech careers.