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There are many ways to experience the University of Virginia. Prospective students can attend an information session or spend the night on Grounds . Alumni can take advantage of career services and participate in a range of events , including reunions. History enthusiasts can take historical tours offered through the University Guide Service (and at Monticello ). Parents, prospective faculty and families can do all the above, plus enjoy walking tours and attend a variety of cultural events happening across Grounds and within the greater Charlottesville community.

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This is Charlottesville

The University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Virginia , approximately 120 miles southwest of Washington, DC. Please review our maps and our parking instructions before making your trip. Charlottesville has many lodging options, including The Forum Hotel , the Colonnade Club and the Boar's Head Resort . Visit the Charlottesville Visitor's Bureau for a full list of available accommodations.

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Cavalier Travels Offers a Lifetime of Learning All Around the Globe

• By Katie McNally , [email protected]

A group of boisterous sea lions played in the water and lounged on the rocks as the Cavalier Travels zodiac passed by.

By tradition, University of Virginia students are referred to by their year of study and never as seniors because founder Thomas Jefferson believed you could never be “senior” in education. There is always more to discover.

U.Va. alumni of all ages continue to prove Jefferson right by embarking on new educational journeys all around the world. By joining the University’s nonprofit Cavalier Travels program, they continue to broaden their horizons long after graduation.

“We plan and organize every aspect of the trip for our participants,” said the program’s director, Kevin Conley. “I only work with the best local companies and people we have longstanding relationships with.”

In addition to a high-quality travel experience, a University faculty member accompanies each trip and provides important context for the surroundings.

Past excursions have included a Tanzanian safari with biology professor emeritus Fred Diehl, a tour of Italy with art history professor Larry Goedde and a trip through Ireland with English professor Stephen Arata.

The largest portion of attendees are alumni and their spouses, though parents and friends of the University are also invited to join the trips.

“We usually have about 50 percent alumni and spouses, with 25 percent U.Va. parents and 25 percent friends,” Conley said.

On one of their most recent trips, Cavalier Travels teamed up with multiple educational institutions to explore the wonders of Alaska by cruise ship. U.Va. environmental sciences professor Howie Epstein joined them on board to discuss climate change and the unique Alaskan environment.

“The lecture component is so important because people want it. They want to learn,” Epstein said. “The average age of this trip was probably between 60 and 70, but many of them were in there taking notes even though there wasn’t going to be an exam or anything.”

For many participants, having the added layer of education made the beautiful surroundings all the more meaningful.

“I do think having the aspect of academic approach was appealing because there are a lot of trips to Alaska, but we wanted to avoid a huge cruise ship and I was very intrigued by the focus on the environment,” said Rebecca Maguire, a 1976 alumna of the College of Arts & Sciences . This was the first Cavalier Travels trip for her and her husband, Davis.

Epstein, who specializes in the Arctic tundra in North America and Russia, explained the various interactions of the plant and animal life around them and the environmental significance of the glaciers they visited.

“I asked if I could speak early in the trip because I wanted to give a general climate-change talk and I thought it would be good for people to have that information early on,” he said, adding that this was an important place to discuss and show the impacts of climate change. After his lectures, Epstein said he believes more of the participants are prepared to act on climate change and to share facts about it with others.

The smaller size of these U.Va. expeditions offer travelers the rare opportunity for in-person, up-close learning.

“One day, we went out on a little raft and saw a whole colony of sea lions, which are really large animals in person. It was thrilling to see them in their natural habitat with no infringement by humans,” Maguire said. “It’s a very different experience than seeing animals in a zoo.”

Nor were sea lions the only animals to pay the Wahoos on board a visit. The group saw numerous blue whales pass by and even had the rare experience of seeing four of them leap fully out of water and dive back in.

One afternoon, traveler and family medicine professor emeritus Sim Galazka and his wife, Donna, witnessed a special treat while whale watching on board. A distinctive formation of little dark animals passed by in the water just beneath them.

“Do you know that sea otters hold hands?” Sim Galazka asked. “A large group of them floated past us while we were on our deck and they were all laying on their backs and every one of them was holding hands with the one next to it.”

The Galazkas went to the Galapagos Islands with Cavalier Travels last year, so Alaska was their second trip. They said it won’t be their last.

“Both trips were so well-organized,” Donna Galazka said. “Sim was a little nervous before our cruise in the Galapagos because we didn’t know what to expect. Once we got there, we felt completely at ease and trusting because Kevin and the U.Va. team have everything so well-prepared.”

Anyone interested in future trips can find out more through the Cavalier Travels website . Highlights from the fall schedule include journeys to Costa Rica, Australia and New Zealand, and Northern Italy.

Media Contact

Katie McNally

Office of University Communications

[email protected] 434-297-6784

Article Information

August 11, 2015

/content/cavalier-travels-offers-lifetime-learning-all-around-globe

Virtual Tour

The University Guide Service would also like to extend a special thanks to the UVA Office of Undergraduate Admission, UVA Office of Communications, Nicole Eramo (Vice President for Student Affairs), and our three student tour guides, Jack Armstrong, Kamilia Moalem, and Alexis Alvarez.

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UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging Alumni Reunion Hits Record Attendance

May 14, 2024 by [email protected]

Over 130 people participated in the UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging’s 2024 Keats Alumni Society Homecoming Weekend on May 3-4 — the largest turnout in the Homecoming’s history.

Held every two years, the reunion event is an opportunity for trainees, faculty, alumni, and family members to reconnect and enjoy all that UVA Radiology and Charlottesville have to offer. The jam-packed weekend featured educational lectures, outdoor activities, and social events.

Tree planting to honor Alan H. Matsumoto, MD

On May 2, “Homecoming Eve,” the department hosted a special tree-planting ceremony to honor former Department Chair Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, MA. The commemorative tree, which grows on Grounds near the Old Medical School Building, symbolizes life, growth, protection, and strength: all of which are products of Dr. Matsumoto’s contributions to the department. ( Read more about the event here. )

Department tours, lectures, and cocktail reception

The first full day of the weekend events on May 3, featured two illuminating lectures: an Alumni Lecture with former IR resident Ally Baheti, MD, titled “Alternate Career Paths,” and the Theodore E. Keats Endowed Lecture with Dr. Alan Matsumoto titled “VUCA: How Is It Impacting Healthcare & Radiology?” ( Watch the lecture recordings here. )

Later that day, residents offered department tours to returning alumni, and then in the evening attendees gathered for a cocktail reception overlooking the Blue Ridge at the home of Patt Keats, wife of the late Theodore Keats, MD.

Golf, pup hike, family picnic, and banquet

The day culminated with a cocktail hour and banquet at the Quirk Hotel, where festivities abounded with great food, live music, and a special roast of Dr. Alan Matsumoto.

Department Chair Colin Derdeyn, MD, also presented the Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, and Julie A. Matsumoto, MD, Endowment to Advance the Missions and Science of Radiology — a recently-created fund to further the department’s mission and impact. ( Donate to the fund here. )

For more pictures, click the link here .  The Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging wishes to thank all the attendees for helping create such a memorable and joyous weekend!

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The Virginia Glee Club Alumni & Friends Association

University of Virginia

Spring 2024 Tour

• by Emma Baumgardner
• Posted on February 20, 2024

Tour of the South

March 2-10, 2024.

This year’s tour will include collaborative performances with the East Tennessee State BucWorths Men’s Chorus, Georgia State University Tenor-Bass Choir, and the Hollins University Choir.

Glee Club members will also enjoy a free day to explore the French Quarter of New Orleans, so if you live in the area you might hear a hearty version of The Good Old Song wafting through the streets on the evening of Thursday, March 10!

If you live in one of these metro areas listed above, we invite you to join us in the audience to hear our performance! Performance dates, times and locations can be found on our website or reach out to our tour manager for more information.

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Pastor establishes church in Moscow, Iowa

Home \ Faith News \ Pastor establishes church in Moscow, Iowa

• Alumni Story ,

May 14, 2024

Pastor establishes church in Moscow, “We’re going to try”

Pastor John Brown called to revive church services in the building formerly known as the United Methodist Church By Jacob Lane , Advocate Editor

“There is no guarantee of success,” says Pastor John Brown, “but we know this, if we don’t try, we’ll never succeed, So, we’re going to try and see where God takes this,”

“It will have no affiliation with anyone, it’s just a Bible believing group that we hope to organize into an established church,” he says.

The name is Moscow Bible Fellowship right now, though that’s subject to change. It also has a Board of Directors. Brown and his crew are currently working on the building to get it up to par by Resurrection Sunday, March 31, when the pastor hopes to hold a Bible Story and Fellowship Time.

“The building is essentially sound, but it needs some repairs, that will be an ongoing thing,” he says. “We’ve been doing the basics, like painting and cleaning.”

Pastor John Brown and his wife of 45 years, Kim, are in for the long haul. The couple have four children, while Brown also has roots stretching back to 1851 in the Wilton area. He was a businessman and a farmer, but says when he turned 40 God called him into vocational ministry, of which he has around 24 years of experience now.

God brought him to a point where he realized that business wasn’t his purpose. So, he went into the ministry after getting polished up in school.

Currently the Pastor of Fruitland Baptist Church, he feels led to help plant a church in Moscow, a field that is ripe for the harvest.

He learned of the church’s closing from its former pastor, Sandra Berryman, when they were having lunch.

“When I learned that United Methodist Church was going to close, I became interested, because Moscow still needs to have a church,” he says.

“It doesn’t really have a full name yet because it’s a church plant,” he explains. “This is an independent thing that Kim and I have been led to try.”

Pastor Brown received a degree in Pastoral Studies and Counseling from Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. He spent a few years pastoring in Corwith, Iowa, before coming to the Muscatine area. While he says he’s at retirement age, he still has a hunger to spread the Word.

“I’m a Bible believing Christian and I believe the Bible is sufficient for all things that man needs, it’s an instruction book and love letter to mankind,” says Pastor Brown. That will be the basis of the church in Moscow, it’s not tied to any one person or denomination, it all depends on what God wants to do with the church.

His wife Kim has a background with children, so she’ll lead the children’s ministry in the basement of the building, while Pastor Brown will begin with Bible studies for adults above.

“Why not?” he answers. “There’s a need to have new churches reborn. We live in an era when churches are closing, this is not the trend, this is the exception,” he says of the church plant. However, the building itself is not the focal point.

“The church is not a building,” he explains, “Moscow is an identity point for people to gather, we want to do this for the people.”

Pastor Brown intends to continue as the pastor of Fruitland Baptist Church. He’ll meet in Moscow from 8-8:45 a.m., then drive to Fuiltland to pastor there.

While he still plans to do some farming, his priority is on what God has called him to do. Right now, that’s helping establish, or reestablish, a church in Moscow.

“We don’t need anything from the community except for people who are interested in the Lord to come,” he says. “As they get involved it will become an organized church.”

He’s asking for prayer in the endeavor, stating that many people have had a bad experience with the church, people who need a fresh start. He’s also not asking for people’s money either, only if they feel the need to give. Their entire operation is faith based and holy grounded.

So how can people get involved?

“Well, I am around, and I am available, and I just want to talk with people, ” he says, “I also intend to maintain a certain time out at the church, though I don’t know what that will be yet. But if they want to get involved, they can attend,” he adds. “From there that’s up to them and that’s up to God.”

Karen Denger

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