UVA Dean of Arts & Sciences Christa D. Acampora shares how your generosity made 2025 a year of transformation, enriching the undergraduate experience, advancing graduate excellence, and fueling research and creative activity that addresses society’s most pressing challenges. ​​​​​​​

Arts & Sciences honored three faculty members for exceptional guidance and support of graduate students. This standard of excellence in academic leadership advances the prestige of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, a key philanthropic priority that’s critical to UVA’s overall national ranking.

Congratulations to these faculty members named to the Clarivate’s 2025 Highly Cited Researchers List, which recognizes scholars whose work ranks in the top 1% worldwide. Philanthropic support for A&S allows critical research across diverse fields to continue in times when federal grant landscape remains uncertain.

Using cutting-edge artificial intelligence, A&S researchers are mapping the eerie spread of “ghost forests” along the Atlantic coast, uncovering how rising seas and climate change are transforming ecosystems. Donor support for graduate research like this enhances knowledge, harnessing AI positively to advance UVA’s research profile.