Top Ten: Blue Ridge 2024
It’s been a full year of programming at the Blue Ridge Center.
We covered topics from economics and business to history, pre-law, foreign affairs, nursing, architecture, public policy, and more.
We can’t pick favorites (in terms of public events), but are our top ten events that surprised us this year. Here are some stories that sound fake… but are true.
10. The kids love...the law? Blue Ridge provides interested students with a full track of pre-law events.
In 2024, we hosted 10 law-related events and 3 law-specific workshops. Why? Despite the fact that UVA now boasts a Top 5 Law School, it doesn’t have courses designed specifically for a pre-law track. We’ve decided to feature a variety of law careers, a few hot button legal issues, and are now halfway through a series of talks on the courses you take in your 1L year. Blue Ridge’s partnership with Phi Alpha Delta—UVA's pre-law fraternity, has created a core group of students who are getting a taste of what law school and beyond could be like.
9. Students pack the house for an event on how leases work. What does this say about college town real estate?
We didn’t know how many students needed to hear a talk on “Leasing” in college towns, but it turns out Charlottesville landlords drive a hard bargain.... or include lots of fine print. Over 70 students came to learn about how to navigate the tricky parts of leases as a college student.
8. It’s still a hot topic on campuses: The Coddling of the American Mind’s Greg Lukianoff fills a room on free speech.
FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff joined us in September to discuss the importance of free speech. 2024 has been a year charged with debates over free speech’s meaning, application, and limits. Lukianoff's crowd of over 75 students reminds us that conversations are far from over.
7. Our youngest speaker of the year brings his book and 100+ students to talk about environmentalism.
Our last event of the spring semester featured a young conservative outdoorsman and environmentalist: Benji Backer. He brought a passion for the environment and compelled students—only a few years younger than he—to consider alternative methods of environmentalism.
6. Dr. Meg Jay fills room of highest female attendance all year, discusses how to navigate life in your twenties. Do men not worry... or just not care?
In October, Dr. Meg Jay addressed a room full of listening young women. She named the struggles of your twenties and the normalcy of their instability. The attendees nodded along, and we wondered: are these the lost and anxious “twentysomethings” we should be worried about? What about those who thought they didn’t need any help navigating life? Not to point fingers, but the numbers report that many young men were not interested in going to an event about these topics.
5. Blue Ridge President Gerard Alexander tapped to interview VA Attorney General Jason Miyares in Center for Politics event on Grounds.
In April, President Alexander was asked to sit down with Virginia’s AG Miyares in a conversation about crime, the Israel-Hamas war, protests, and reform in the justice system. What an afternoon!
4. Most interesting man alive? Sports business giant Harvey Schiller is... a doctor of inorganic chemistry and Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force.
We’re pretty sure this event made UVA students realize their resumes aren’t that impressive. Schiller has been commissioner for the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference, Executive Director of the US Olympic Committee, and Chairman and CEO of more companies than can be listed here. He has multiple PhD’s (and honorary ones), and he came to flex on McIntire undergrads this fall. Talk about a networking event!
3. New pro-life debate strategy just dropped: feature your baby as a guest panelist.
In November, Blue Ridge hosted Leah Libresco Sargeant and Rachel Cohen for a panel on abortion. We expected two very different takes on the issue, some philosophical quandaries, policy proposals, and firm disagreement. What we didn’t expect was our pro-life expert demonstrating her literal expertise by holding her (happy) 9-month old baby boy during the conversation. Maybe that makes him our youngest speaker of the year... by over two and a half decades.
2. Chris Wright speaks at UVA with Blue Ridge, dines with BRC fellows, and then is nominated as new U.S. Energy Secretary. Coincidence?
Of course. But we are thrilled to have provided our Blue Ridge fellows with an opportunity to have a private dinner with Mr. Wright following the event. All this took place only a few weeks before President-elect Trump nominated Mr. Wright as Energy Secretary. You just never know where a Blue Ridge speaker will go next!
1. UVA’s President Jim Ryan tells his adoption story and endorses the work of faith communities.
In February, we held on of our most beloved events in UVA’s Rotunda, featuring President Ryan; Walter Olson; and Abundant Life Ministry’s Executive Director, Eddie Howard. Each of them shared stories of how people of faith have changed their lives for the better. Abundant Life was featured as an example of a Christian community development ministry in Charlottesville where event attendees could get involved as a tutor, mentor, or donor.