Director’s Welcome
I’m grateful to be able to look back on another successful academic year for the Echols Scholars Program. We have so many highlights that it’s a challenge to share them all with you in a single newsletter.
What most stands out for me is the alumni-student networking social that we hosted at the Colonnade Club in February. We welcomed over 50 alumni back to Grounds to connect with one another and with a select group of 60 current scholars. I heard from so many alumni and students that they valued this shared experience and are eager to participate in more.
I’m excited to announce that we’re stepping up our work of engaging alumni and students this academic year with the celebration of our program’s 65th Anniversary, to be held March 20-21, 2026! Add your name to the Planning to Attend form to update your contact information and let us know you’re planning to be there.
We had a full schedule of events during the 2024-2025 term, including a seminar on student success with Professor Louis Newman of Stanford University, a series of lunches with directors of in-demand majors, a writing workshop with UVA alumna Taylor Harris (Col class of ’05), and book discussion groups, and 24 student presentations at our Echols Research Symposium. We also supported nearly fifty research projects through the Ingrassia Research Award!
Looking ahead, we are welcoming 212 new Echols Scholars in the Class of 2029. We also have some firsts to celebrate. Ana Harrington joins us as our inaugural Echols Program Coordinator, bringing her expertise in curricular development and team-building to our program. With Ana on the team, we look forward to scaling up our offerings of events and opportunities for both students and alumni. And, for the first time in sixty years, we are offering small, carefully curated Liberal Arts Seminars exclusively for first-year Echols Scholars, giving them the chance to learn from distinguished faculty.
I love to connect with alumni, so if you ever want to learn more about the current state of the program or to share your own experiences, please reach out to me at karl@virginia.edu!
Karl Shuve is director of the Echols Scholars Program and associate professor of Religious Studies.
Echols Council Update
The Echols Council had a busy year, hosting over 50 events and fostering intellectual growth, academic skills, and community development. We had an exciting lineup of speakers for our Fireside Chats, in which popular faculty share dinner with Echols Scholars over a question or topic of broad interest. Erin Nance (Col class of ’05) shared her research on healthcare literacy while visiting professor (and Echols alumna!) Abby Mandell (Col class of ’02) spoke on finding fulfillment in life.
Our Academic and Professional Development Committee was busy equipping students with skills to help them find success in their courses, write compelling resumes and cover letters, and get connected with internships and research opportunities on and off Grounds. Our Social Committee focuses on building connections among our scholars, including shared meals, movie nights, and sports events. Students also find support through the work of the Mentorship Committee, which pairs each incoming scholar with an upper-year mentor. Our students often tell us that this mentorship connection is one of their most defining events as first-years, and that these friendships last beyond graduation.
Hannah Carter (Batten class of ’25, Com class of ’26) is the outgoing president of Echols Student Council. She graduated with a BA in Public Policy from the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy this spring and is studying for her MS in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce.
Celebrating the Echols 65th Anniversary
The Echols Scholars Program turns 65 this year! The first cohort of scholars matriculated in 1960, and the program has been impacting lives and forging bonds of friendship ever since. We’re celebrating this momentous occasion with a weekend reunion gathering March 20-21, 2026. A committee consisting of over 15 alumni from every decade of the program’s history is busy at work planning a schedule that will foster connections, celebrate our history, and offer opportunities to learn new things from distinguished alumni and UVA faculty.
We can already share that the weekend will begin with a celebratory panel and reception at the Forum Hotel on Friday, March 20, which will give you the opportunity to meet other alumni and current scholars as well as past directors and affiliated faculty. Saturday will be jam-packed with panels and learning opportunities on UVA’s Central Grounds, and we will conclude with an elegant dinner at the Forum Hotel.
Tickets will go on sale early in the new year. Until then, mark your calendar, share your plans to attend, and visit our event details page to learn more. We hope to see you there!
New Advising Curriculum for Echols Scholars
Whether you graduated five years ago or 50, you probably know that the landscape of higher education is rapidly changing, with more opportunities for interdisciplinary majors, research, and internships than ever before. With complete exemption from general education requirements, Echols Scholars have tremendous freedom, but it can be challenging to know how to make the most of this opportunity. Beginning this year, we are rolling out a brand-new advising curriculum for Echols Scholars.
All first-year scholars now have the opportunity to enroll in Liberal Arts Advising Seminars taught by core faculty, which combine instructional content with advising guidance. Our first cohort of instructors are Keith Kozminski (Biology), Amy Ogden (French), Connie Chic Smith (Media Studies), and Karl Shuve (Religious Studies). These courses, which include Song of the Cell and Reading Great Writers, are taught in historic locations, such as the West Oval Room of the Rotunda. Faculty members not only teach these seminars but also become students’ advisors until they declare a major.
Students will also have a carefully curated selection of advising events to help them find their place on Grounds, learn about different areas of study, and begin to identify potential majors and career paths. We are especially excited about an alumni career panel taking place in October, and we look forward to working in future years with our amazing alumni to offer even more opportunities for current students to learn from and connect with them. We believe that alumni have a crucial role to play in student advising.
Echols Common Read
We continue our tradition of hosting a Fall Common Read, in which all incoming scholars read and discuss an important book, but with a twist. For this year, we have selected The Displacements, a novel about the effects of climate change, by UVA Professor Bruce Holsinger, Linden Kent Memorial Professor of English. In addition, for the first time, we are hosting an author talk, where students can hear directly from the author and ask him their questions. Professor Holsinger will be talking not only about The Displacements, but also about his brand-new novel, Culpability, which tackles the complexities of AI and was selected as an Oprah’s Book Club pick.
We are looking for ways to involve our alumni in the Common Read. Keep an eye out for the spring 2026 newsletter, where we’ll ask for your recommendations as we select our book for fall 2026. We are also hoping to support alumni discussion groups for the Common Read next year, so that you can share the fun and discovery.
Alumni Programming
This year has reminded us why the Echols network is such a powerful force for lifelong learning. In February, one of our student interns and a liaison to the Echols Advisory Committee, Millie Pandya (Col class of ’25, Med class of ’30), co-hosted the first Alumni-Student Networking Social in over a decade. The Colonnade Club’s Jefferson Hall ballroom was brimming with scholars ranging from the Class of ’65 to today’s fourth-years, swapping stories and making connections over mocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Alongside the spring marquee event, alumni voices stayed front-and-center throughout the year. By leading Fireside Chats and attending our second annual Young Alumni Reunions (YAR) Social Hour, graduates kept the dialogue flowing across generations and disciplines. Here’s to even more student-led collaboration in the year ahead!
Student Research
Pamela Green (Col class of ’26) leads the Namibian Genocide Project, which is aimed at increasing awareness of the 1904-1908 genocide of the Herero and Nama people under German colonial rule in Namibia. The project team traveled to Namibia for ten days, conducting 34 interviews with community members, activists, descendants of genocide survivors, and political figures. The project also explored the complex memory politics and German cultural legacy still present in Namibia. The preliminary version of a 30-minute research documentary produced by the project premiered at UVA to an audience of 40 and was screened at VCU’s senior premiere, at which it won the award for best senior thesis.
Samman Akbarzada (Col class of ’27) draws on her experiences as an Afghan refugee in her creative writing, and she used her Ingrassia funding to help publish and distribute her book of short stories, Wishful Thinking, on the experiences of childhood in Afghanistan. “As a refugee, my memory of these children is marked by their passion for learning, even while clutching a USAID backpack,” she said. Her book was read by students at the Hakim Mirza Orphanage in Kabul. According to the English instructor who led the reading, “It not only sparked joy but also planted seeds of understanding, resilience, and compassion. As an educator, I have rarely seen such deep emotional responses to a single reading session.”
Supporting the Echols Scholars Program
We would not be able to provide the many opportunities for academic exploration, research, mentorship, and community building without your support. Gifts can be directed to the Echols Scholars Program through the College Foundation.