Farrah Jackson Ward, Ph.D., serves as the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and is a Professor of Mathematics at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). She earned her B.S. in Mathematics Education from North Carolina A&T State University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from North Carolina State University. Dr. Ward also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and is a graduate of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) Millennium Leadership Initiative. Before joining ECSU’s faculty in 2007, she taught at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr. Ward chaired ECSU’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science for six years before being named Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in 2016. She served as Interim Provost from 2018 to 2019 and was appointed Provost in 2019.

Under Dr. Ward's leadership, ECSU ranked among the top ten institutions nationally for graduating the highest number of African Americans with undergraduate degrees in mathematics. ECSU also achieved the #1 ranking for graduating the largest number of African Americans with master’s degrees in mathematics. Her expertise in breaking down educational barriers for STEM students has secured over $5 million in external funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education.

Dr. Ward has spearheaded numerous initiatives to improve student success, including implementing EAB’s Navigate, establishing the Office of Student Success and Retention, and reducing the average credit requirement for graduation from 128 to 120. In partnership with the John Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Studies, she led the Foundations of Excellence (FoE) project to develop a comprehensive plan supporting the first-year experience. Her strategic focus on enhancing student success has led to a 6.3% increase in freshman retention and a 35% increase in enrollment at ECSU.

Dr. Ward is widely recognized for her expertise in student success and higher education administration and has been invited as a featured speaker by numerous organizations, including the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), AASCU, Interfolio, and EAB.

GETTING INTO CHARLOTTESVILLE

• The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO) is served daily by the three major airlines American, Delta and United. American offers daily nonstop flights from and to Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (ORD), New York LaGuardia (LGA) and Philadelphia (PHL). Delta offers daily nonstop flights from and to Atlanta (ATL) and New York LaGuardia (LGA). United offers daily nonstop flights from and to Chicago (ORD) and Washington DC (IAD). If your preferred airline has flights into one of these major airports, a one-stop connection from thereon may be one of the easiest ways to get into Charlottesville.

• Alternatively, you can fly into nearby airports (major airports like DCA, IAD and BWI in Washington DC) and Richmond (RIC), and get a rental car to drive into Charlottesville. It takes about 2 hours to drive from DC, and 1 hour from Richmond.

• Another option is to fly into Washington DC (DCA, IAD and BWI), transfer by Shuttle bus/Cab/Uber/Lyft to the DC union station, and take an AmTrak train into Charlottesville. There are direct trains by AmTrak and Grey Hound/Megabuses that connect Charlottesville with major cities on the east coast like Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

PARKING AT UVA

• Parking will be availabe at Culbreth Road Garage or Emmett/Ivy Garage for free on Saturday March 22. These parking lots are within walking distance from the conference location and UVA Math Department. 

RESTAURANTS AND THINGS TO DO

• Oakhurst Inn Cafe (1616 Jefferson Park Ave, close to the workshop). A good breakfast/lunch place; good coffee; closes at 2 pm

• The Corner - a place with many lunch locations, including

  • Coffee options: Corner Joe (1325 West Main St Shop C); Grit Coffee (19 Elliewood Ave); Starbucks (1601 University Avenue)

  • Bodo’s Bagels (1609 University Ave). As suggested by the name, an excellent bagel place

  • Lemongrass (104 14th St. NW, #6) Casual Thai and Japanese place

  • Boylan Heights (102 14th St NW). Burgers

  • POKE SUSHI BOWL (101 14th St. NW). A poke place.

  • Pronto (104 14th Street Northwest Suite 4). Pasta place with freshly house-made pasta.

  • Trinity (1505 University Ave). Irish pub

  • THE Virginia (1521 University Ave.). Burger and sandwich place.

• A list of more places at the Corner

• Dinner locations in Charlottesville include

  • Downtown Mall, pedestrian part of Main St. There are dozens of restaurants there.

  • Belmont: The Local (824 Hinton Avenue) and several places around; Lampo (205 Monticello Rd)

  • West Main Street: Public Fish and Oyster (513 W Main St); Orzo (416 West Main Street); and several places around.

  • Fry’s Spring Station (2115 Jefferson Park Ave). Fire-roasted pizza. Lunch/dinner option in walking distance from the workshop

• Dinner in reasonable walking distance from La Quinta:

  • Milan Indian Restaurant (1817 Emmet St N), the closest option

  • Shops at Stonefield (walking map): ROCKSALT (2075 Bond St) and several other options

  • Barracks Road area (walking map): Tara Thai (1107 Emmet St N), Peter Chang (2162 Barracks Rd), and several other options

• Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, a major historical attraction

• There are quite a few wineries and breweries around Charlottesville, including Blue Mountain Brewery (30-minute drive) which has a restaurant.

• Hiking options, in town and outside