The University of Virginia is distinctive among institutions of higher education. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University sustains the ideal of developing, through education, leaders who are well-prepared to help shape the future of the nation and the world. The University is public, while nourished by the strong support of its alumni. It is also selective; the students who come here have been chosen because they show the exceptional promise Jefferson envisioned.
Since U.S. News began a separate listing of the top 50 public universities, U.Va. has never been ranked lower than No. 2. And in the history of the U.S. News Rankings, U.Va. has never dropped out of the top 25 listing of all national universities.
The Supreme Court's public reputation is strong in part because people see it as less political than other government branches. What can text analysis tell us about how accurate that perception is?
As the Trump administration settles into office, regulators and lawmakers have big plans for shifting the country's media landscape, with potentially profound effects on the public.
Will talk of adapting to climate change be less polarizing politically? Faced with rising seas, Miami is adapting by raising its roads.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Le mariage entre personnes du même sexe n’est pas un phénomène récent : voilà des siècles que les couples d’hommes et de femmes réclament le droit de se marier.
Does our dependence on smartphones harm our social fabric?
Alone with phone via shutterstock.com
The Federal Communications Commission has broad power to support fast, affordable internet service reaching every home in the U.S. What are its limits – and its possibilities?
Profits from slavery funded education. Washington and Lee University campus.
Robert of Fairfax
The slave trade was used to fund American universities. Scholars are looking to recover the lost stories of the enslaved humans who built some of America's oldest institutions.
A colorized 1937 photograph of a shantytown on the outskirts of Seattle.
photoretrofit/Reddit
Like Brazil's favela dwellers, America's working poor felt a sense of pride and community in their shantytowns – and desperately resisted the powerful interests that sought to demolish them.
A common sight: smartphones at mealtime.
Phones at dinner via shutterstock.com
Anecdotal evidence suggests the pervasiveness of smartphones is making us increasingly distracted and hyperactive. Does research support that conclusion?
Activists surround Shell Oil rig in Seattle’s Elliot Bay to protest Arctic drilling plans.
Daniella Beccaria/Flickr
Offshore drilling debates boil down to "Drill, baby, drill" versus "spill, baby, spill." But economists say the right question is when we know enough to drill safely – and often that means waiting.
But did you vote for the candidate that best matches your beliefs?
jamelah e.
Even with free, private ballots, a quarter of us still end up voting for the 'wrong' presidential candidate. Here's how to make sure you vote for the one who best matches your beliefs and hopes.
Flaking lead paint in a home in Muncie, Indiana.
Shelly/Flickr
How did lead poisoning become a persistent threat in U.S. cities? Lead paint and slumlords played key roles, but so did postwar housing policies that trapped minorities in crumbling inner cities.
If scientists’ knowledge is segregated in non-overlapping silos, there can’t be cross-pollination between fields.
Doc Searls
Scientists often prioritize deep goals over broad ones. But today's "wicked" problems demand an interdisciplinary approach. A new study shows how they can tweak work styles to alter their deep/broad ratio.
A homeless person sleeps under a post promoting marriage equality.
Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
