Inside UVA Office of the President at the University of Virginia

Welcome to another season of Inside UVA! This week, President Ryan sits down with Malcolm Brogdon--an NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers, Vice President of the National Basketball Players Association, an activist and philanthropist, as well as a Double Hoo. Malcolm discusses his time playing for UVA Basketball under Tony Bennett, his decision to finish his Master's before joining the NBA, lessons learned from his mother, and his work advocating for clean water and racial justice.

Tim Longo has been UVA's Chief of Police and Associate Vice President for Safety and Security since 2019, and he served as Charlottesville's police chief for fifteen years before that. In this episode, he and President Ryan discuss his long history in law enforcement, his duty to UVA students and parents, and what he thinks police need to do to rebuild trust in local communities. They also discuss the process for sending Community Alerts, including the rationale for sharing and withholding certain information.

This episode was recorded in two parts: the first in November 2022, a few days before the tragic shooting that resulted in the deaths of UVA students Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry, and Lavel Davis Jr.
The second part was recorded in May 2023, and includes a discussion of the shooting, the community aftermath, and the law enforcement response in subsequent months.

Madison Morey is the libero and team captain for UVA Women's Volleyball. In this episode, she discusses her rise to the role of captain, the importance of discipline and communication in the student-athlete life, and her growth-focused mindset for dealing with failure and overcoming adversity.

Eventually, most of us will find ourselves caring for a loved one as they reach the end of their life. This is an experience nurse Jonathan Bartels has spent his career helping patients and families navigate. Building on his experience in palliative care, in the ICU, the ER, and studying comparative religion and mysticism, he worked to implement a practice known as "The Pause" at UVA Hospital. The Pause is essentially a moment of silent reflection for the care team and the family after a patient passes away. The goal of The Pause is to help all those involved process the patient's death and appreciate their life with the goal of promoting resiliency and healing. In this episode, Nurse Bartels discusses his long career in nursing, compassionate care, and his new hot sauce company.

Ava MacBlane is the editor in chief of the Cavalier daily, an independent student run news organization. She previously served as managing editor for the Cavalier Daily’s one hundred and thirty-third team, as well as the news editor and News Senior Associate Editor. She's also a member of the University Guide Service and a dedicated thespian. In this episode she and President Ryan chat about student journalism at UVA.

Dan Willingham is a cognitive psychologist whose research focuses on the intersection of learning, memory, and education. As an applied researcher, he focuses on communicating psychological principles to educators, using science to help teachers understand student minds and teach more effectively. His latest book, "Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy" focuses on optimizing the learning process—using strategies that encourage retention and understanding while avoiding procrastination and burnout.