Deborah Eisenberg
As a book lover who spends a fair amount of time sniffing out old copies of favorite novels in used book stores around Charlottesvillle, you can imagine how excited I was to find out that Deborah Eisenberg is and has been a faculty member here since 1994.
Deborah Eisenberg is a phenomenal American author, particularly in the realm of short fiction. Having taken a fiction writing seminar first semester, I can appreciate the amount of skill and grace with a pen or keyboard it takes to capture a character and his story in the traditional short story format. And Eisenberg embodies a brilliance in authorship, and I can only marvel at the fact that we share the same grounds.
Not only does she earn literary hero status with me by virtue of her ten story publications in The New Yorker, a person favorite choice in magazine, but also by virtue of her recent reception of the PEN/Faulkner Award. Each year, a panel of judges reviews recent publications of American authors. The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg, published in 2010, earned her, on March 15, 2011, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country. She topped fellow finalist Jennifer Egan and her A Visit From The Goon Squad, which garnered a fairly wide readership. Her newest collection combines four previous works, Transactions in a Foreign Currency, Under the 82nd Airborne, All Around Atlantis, and Twilight of the Superheroes, bringing together an astonishingly witty and biting group of stories.
Emily Renda
Kenneth Elzinga
I didn't know much about UVA's faculty before enrolling at this University, but now that I'm here, I am so grateful that there are brilliant professors that love this place as much as I do. One such guy is Economics Professor Kenneth Elzinga. I, along with countless other UVA students and alumni, could go on and on about how cool he is. To give you a glimpse, I'll just list some facts and quotes and let you decide for yourself--or better yet, use this as a sneak peak before coming here and taking his Introduction to Economics course!
"Ken Elzinga is probably the nation's most successful teacher of college-level economics" -Gus A. Stavros Center Website
Under the pseudonym Marshall Jevons, Elzinga has co-written three mystery novels with William Breit, a Professor at Trinity University. In the novels, main character Henry Spearman uses economic analysis to solve crimes!
Before Thanksgiving, Professor Elzinga invites any students that are not able to travel home for the holiday over to his nearby home for a Thanksgiving Dinner
In 2001, he received the Thomas Jefferson Award, the highest honor awarded annually to a member of UVA's faculty
He has an English Bulldog named Rotunda
He is very open to his students, if you haven't guessed already, and tries to make him self available as often as possible. He schedules his office hours to occur right after class so that students can come straight from lecture with their questions and comments
The Southern Economic Association recently created a teaching award and named it the Kenneth Elzinga Award
He owns two antique street rods, whose license plates read "UTILMAX" and "ECON201"
Each fall, his Introduction to Economics (ECON 2010) course attracts over 1000 students, making it the largest class offered at UVA
Elzinga's interests outside of Economics include, but are not limited to, Jesus Christ and Water-Skiing
During the ECON 2010 final, he goes around to each testing room to thank and wish the 1000+ students well
He was the first recipient of the Cavalier's Distinguished Teaching Professorship at the University
Elzinga specializes in Antitrust Economic research and has testified in several antitrust court cases, including two that reached the Supreme Court
He has taught at the University of Virginia since 1967
There is much more to say and much more to learn about Elzinga, but I hope this gives you a taste of how multi-faceted and passionate an economic genius can be! The University of Virginia certainly is fortunate to have him aboard.
Sarah Cole
