University of Virginia Library

Cash Award To Top Average

College Academic Prize Started

By Stefan Lopatkiewicz
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Dean Irby B. Cauhen of the
College has announced the institution
of a "new prize for academical
excellence." The new
prize, consisting of a cash award,
will be given to the degree recipient
who entered the College
directly from secondary school
and who has the highest academic
average at the time of graduation.

Mr. Cauthen said he instituted
the award with funds made possible
by a "specific contribution"
to the Alumni Fund for the use
of the College. The name of this
year's recipient will be announced
at Finals.

Honors Students Excluded

Because the Williams Prize for
excellence in the Honors Program
is already in existence, students
in Honors wil not be eligible
for the newly-established
prize.

Mr. Cauthen also released the
results of a questionnaire on projected
graduate work filled out
by second-year students at the
same time they declared majors.
227 students responded that, at
this time, they plan to go on to
graduate work in the school of
arts & sciences, the largest percentage
of University students
yet to declare such plans.

Tenor Changing

"This school has traditionally
been thought of as one to send
students on to law or medical
school," Mr. Cauthen observed,
"But now the tenor seems to be
changing." 210 second-year students
indicated they are planning
to attend law school while 100
said they wish to go on to medical
school.

A total of 182 second-year men
stated that they are planning to
teach after graduating, 146 of
them after completing graduate
study.

"Wish Book"

Mr. Cauthen noted, however,
that this declaration of intentions
by second-year men must
be regarded as little more than
a "wish book," and that it has
"never been a reliable indication
before." He added that a similar
questionnaire is being distributed
to degree applicants for the first
time this year to obtain a more
accurate survey of what University
students are doing after graduation.

Once again, as in the last six
years, the English department has
collected the largest number of
declared majors. The total number
of declarations, however, fell
this year in English, as it did in
Economics. The two departments
showing the largest increase in
enrollment of majors are Government
& Foreign Affairs and
History. The Department of Sociology
and Anthropology also
showed a significant increase in
major declarations.