June 9, 2025: Inaugural director of Manning Institute for Biotechnology outlines vision to transform drug development process, create jobs
Plus: A rezoning application in Crozet and Jaunt seeks community input
Imagine you are an entity in the 22nd century staring back at this particular day, June 9, 2025. You’re seeing it through filters perhaps unimaginable to those who occupy this part of the timeline. Now imagine again a hundred years ago today when the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported a heatwave, told of Harry Byrd’s appearance at Crozet High School, and previewed the Keswick Horse Show. That’s all thanks to the University of Virginia Library.
Where will the stories of the future decades be kept? That’s not necessarily the role of Charlottesville Community Engagement but I’m Sean Tubbs and I’ll try to add to the tapestry with each installment.
In today’s installment:
A rezoning application has been filed for 22 units on just over three acres in Crozet
Jaunt is seeking feedback through an online survey
Governor Glenn Youngkin has announced several tourism grants for area destinations and festivals
Both major political parties will decide their nominees on June 28 for an upcoming special election to a vacancy in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District
UVA’s Honor the Future Campaign has exceeded $6 billion in contributions
The first director of the Manning Institute of Biotechnology at UVA explains the mission to the Health System Board
First-shout: Charlottesville Jazz Society to present Skullcap on June 20, 2025
On June 20, 2025, the Charlottesville Jazz Society will present the band Skullcap at Belmont Arts Collaborative on Carlton Road are available online.
The group takes their name from an herb used in indigenous medicine that is used to ease depression or anxiety. Their debut album, Snakes of Albuquerque on Cuneiform Records, combines jazz, rock, and free improv to form a memorably tuneful kind of road movie soundtrack. The music navigates wildly different terrain from Tennessee to Monterey to New Mexico.
Tickets to see Skullcap at Belmont Arts Collaborative on Carlton Road are available online. The cost is $22 General Admission, $18 for paid supporters of The Charlottesville Jazz Society.
All seats at the door will be $25. For more information visit Cvillejazz.org or call 434-249-6191. Listen for Skullcap’s music on WTJU jazz programs.
One correction:
The June 6 story on the request to fill in 1.5 acres of the floodplain in Albemarle County incorrectly identified the adjacent property. The land is across from the Carlton Mobile Home Park. (read the story)
Rezoning filed for 22 units in Crozet
Plans have been filed to rezone 3.15 acres in Crozet from R-1 Residential to R-10 Residential in Crozet to allow for a 22-unit development.
“The Property offers the ideal opportunity to realize an infill development directly consistent with recommendations put forth in the Crozet Master Plan,” reads a narrative for the project written by Shimp Engineering.
The density of the Windy Knoll development would be seven units per acre according to the narrative. That’s just above the three to six unit range called for in the Neighborhood Residential designation in the Crozet Master Plan.
“Windy Knoll will also provide affordable housing units, consistent with Albemarle County’s Housing Policy, by designating 20 percent of units built as affordable to households making 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) for rental units and 80% of the AMI for for-sale units,” the narrative continues.
The document said people who live in the development would be able to walk to the Harris Teeter and other commercial areas on U.S. 250. A portion of the property would be reserved to support the construction of Eastern Avenue.
“The preliminary conceptual design plans prepared for Eastern Avenue show a permanent slope and drainage easement on the Property and the approximate area of that easement is proposed to be dedicated to Albemarle County,” reads the narrative.
There would be no vehicular access to Eastern Avenue, however. That would come through a private road connection to Colony Drive in the Cory Farm community.
A community meeting for the project will be held June 11 as part of the Crozet Community Advisory Committee meeting at 7 p.m. in the Crozet Library. (agenda)
The only other pending rezoning in Crozet is a 134 unit proposal known as Oak Bluff. However, the county’s Civic Access portal shows that as being deferred indefinitely. That project is also the subject of a lawsuit filed by adjacent property owners.
JAUNT seeking feedback through community survey
The public service corporation that provides paratransit and fixed-route bus services throughout the region is seeking input to help prepare for its future.
“Complete this short survey and help us improve your ride–plus enter to win one of 24 gift cards of $25 each,” reads the home page of Jaunt, an agency that turns 50 this year.
The questions seek information on how Jaunt is perceived in the community and how people find out about services. Another important question is whether people ride. Take the survey here.
Transit agencies in the United States report data each year to the Federal Transit Administration. In 2023, Jaunt listed a ridership of its commuter routes of 46,242 and 193,993 in rides classified as “demand response.” Passengers traveled a cumulative 2,433,504 miles that year.
Charlottesville Area Transit reported ridership of 1,147,018 in 2023. Look here for their report.
The University Transit Service does not have report ridership to the federal government because it does not receive federal funding.
Jaunt’s survey comes at a time when Albemarle County and Charlottesville have formed a regional transit authority to implement recent studies. So far the group has met three times.
One item on the agenda for the May meeting was who what organizations should fill the four slots for non-voting members of the Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority’s Board of Directors. Staff recommended the University of Virginia be invited.
“As a large university and the largest employer in the region, the University of Virginia is a major trip generator that facilitates travel demand within the region,” reads the memo from transit planner Lucinda Shannon with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.
Shannon did not recommend inviting Jaunt or Charlottesville Area Transit to join as a non-voting member.
“To avoid potential conflicts of interest, transit service providers are not recommended to participate as non-voting members influencing the allocation of funds that could directly support their potential operations,” Shannon wrote.
However, they may be invited to serve on CARTA subcommittees.
Governor Youngkin announces funding for public-private tourism marketing projects
The Virginia Tourism Corporation works to promote travel across all corners of the Commonwealth through various programs. Several of these assist local groups to put on events intended to attract visitors.
“These targeted grants are strategic, results-driven investments that foster public-private partnerships to boost local economies and strengthen Virginia’s position as a premier travel destination,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin in an information release announcing 197 awards.
The grants come from either the Marketing Leverage Program, the Virginia Destination Marketing Organization Program, or the VA250 Tourism Marketing Program.
Several projects in the Charlottesville have been awarded funds.
The Crozet Winter Brews Festival will receive $3,600 for the Winter Brews Getaway
Foxfield Racing LLC will receive $3,239.86 for Virginia Steeplechase Racing
Friends of (Charlottesville) Downtown will receive $2,000 for a campaign called Make It Happen Downtown - 50 Years
James Monroe’s Highland will receive $2,880 for a program called A Window to A New America
An entity called Charlottesville-Albemarle VA250 will get $10,000 to produce a podcast series related to VA250.
The Tom Tom Foundation will receive $10,000 for this year’s EVOLVE Festival
Fluvanna County will get $20,000 for a campaign called Find Pleasant Grove: By Land and Water
Greene County will receive $10,000 for something called the “Greene Wine Elevation Campaign”
Louisa County has been awarded $20,000 to assist with content development and search engine optimization
The Louisa County Chamber of Commerce will receive $6,525 for an initiative called “Tracks, Trails & Timeless Tales”
Indigo House in Nelson County will receive $2,000 for a campaign called 2025 Evergreen NC
Love Ridge Mountain Lodging will receive $5,600 for a program called Love Virginia
Nelson County Tourism has been awarded $10,000 for something called Toast Virginia
Click here for a full list of the funded entities.
Second shout-out: Supporting the Keswick Heritage Fund’s Love Better Project
The Keswick Heritage Fund is a partnership of several churches in Albemarle County that provides education support and opportunities for professional development. One of their outreach programs is the Love Better Project, which provides scholarships to Black students in the Keswick area. The fund was created soon after the inaugural scholarship was awarded in 2020.
Grace Episcopal Church, Union Grove Baptist, Union Run Baptist, Zion Hill Baptist and St. John Church are united for growth through community partnership and education. To learn more about the fund, the scholarships, and the churches themselves, visit their website at keswickheritagefund.com.
Fairfax County Democrats to hold firehouse primary to select 11th District nominee
Three months from today, voters in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax will have the final day of voting in a special election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Representative Gerry Connolly.
On June 28, the two Democratic Party committees that cover those two localities will hold a firehouse primary to choose a candidate. Locations are to be determined and there will be one day of early voting.
“An ‘Unassembled Caucus’ (also known as a ‘Firehouse Primary’) is a primary election run by a political party, not the state,” reads the website for the 11th Congressional District Committee.
The 11th Congressional District Republicans will hold a caucus on June 28 to select their nominee. The canvass will be held at Fairfax High School from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and more information about that can be found here.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, there are eight Democrats in the race, three Republicans, and one independent.
The Charlottesville Democratic Committee used a firehouse primary to nominate three candidates for City Council in August 2011. Seven candidates participated and the results were decided through ranked-choice voting. According to this story from Charlottesville Tomorrow, the winners were Satyendra Huja, Kathleen Galvin, and Dede Smith.
Huja and Galvin qualified for a nomination on the first round of ballots but Smith needed until the fifth round to defeat Paul Beyer. All three nominees would go on to defeat five independents.
In the 2025 election, there are currently only three candidates in the race, and all are Democrats competing in the June 17 primary. They are Jen Fleisher, Brian Pinkston, and Juandiego Wade. Pinkston and Wade are incumbents.
This will be the first time that ranked choice will be used by the municipal government. As of June 4, 1,273 people have cast early ballots in Charlottesville.
Why are there so few candidates in 2025 compared to 2011? What changed? Does this pattern hold up across the nation?
Inaugural director of Manning Institute of Biotechnology shares vision with UVA Board
Construction of the new Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology is not expected to be open until 2027, but the first person to run its operations is already on the job,
Dr. Mark Esser began work in May as the first chief scientific officer and director and told the University of Virginia’s Health System Board last week that the Manning Institute will be a catalyst for innovation in Virginia.
“It can accomplish this by really doing five things,” Esser said on June 5. “First and foremost, being that drug discovery and development accelerator. How do we transform the exciting science going on here at UVA into medicines that can one day help patients?
More on the other four things in a minute. Esser earned his PhD in microbiology from the University of Virginia in 1998 and has been in the field ever since. He was introduced to the Health System Board by Dr. Mitchell Rosner, the interim executive vice president for health affairs.
“Mark is responsible for the overall strategic direction and operations of the Institute with a focus on accelerating biomedical research and advancing new treatments from discovery to clinical application,” Rosner said. “Mark brings more than two decades of leadership in the fields of immunology, virology, vaccines and biologics.”
Before returning to UVA, Esser served as vice president for vaccines and immune therapies at AstraZeneca.
Esser said the Manning Institute will attract talent to Charlottesville from scientists and clinicians in the field, will enable industry collaborations across all of UVA, and support biotech entrepreneurship in the community. The fifth thing relates to employment.
“It's going to create a lot of high quality jobs for folks here in the Virginia life sciences sector, which today is, although small compared to other parts of the country, is an $8 billion industry here in Uva alone,” Esser said.
Esser said there have been revolutions in medicine over the last 25 years since he left UVA.
“Cancer mortality rates have decreased by more than 34 percent,” Esser said. “Been great reductions in heart disease and hospitalization due to heart failure.”
However, Esser said there are challenges ahead for medicine as the Baby Boom generations approach their elder years, adding further strains to health systems across the world.
“Sixty percent of Americans have one or more chronic conditions,” Esser said. “Forty percent have two or more. If no medicines really become available or new treatments, 14 million Americans could be suffering from Alzheimer's by 2050.”
Esser said the pharmaceutical industry in the United States is a $600 billion industry that will grow to a trillion dollar industry by 2033. The Institute will be part of the quest to develop new medicines and begin to develop more of them for specific individuals
“Personalized medical and precision medicine approach is driving really the advance of gene therapies, cell therapies and biologics, which are becoming more and more prominent over the kind of traditional one size fits all small molecule approach,” Esser said.
Esser said UVA is poised to grow into this field. He’s spent his first 30 days on the job meeting with people. He said coming back to academia from time in the industry has prepared him to help train the next generation as they reimagine and reinvent the future.
“Recognizing this is a university and our core mission is to educate the future workforce, whether they go into the private sector or the public sector, public sector, to have really great careers in drug discovery and development,” Esser said.
One of Esser’s initial jobs will also be to network across the industry to build relationships and connections.
“We couldn't be more thrilled to have Mark here as an industry leader and also understanding research,” said Paul Manning, one of the institute’s namesakes and a member of the Board of Visitors. “We are going to, as quickly as in the next few months, go meet with industry partners, all the big pharma companies in biotech, to try to develop these partnerships early and then showcase some of our research that's there.”
For more information about construction of the Manning Institute for Biotechnology, take a look at UVA’s Facilities Management page.
UVA surpasses $6 billion in major fundraising campaign
A major fundraising campaign for the University of Virginia was supposed to have raised $5 billion by the end of this month, but that goal was reached by the first few months of 2024.
However, UVA kept going.
“I think it was kind of a view in the 80s and 90s that when a campaign finishes, it stops and you take some time off and you launch your next one,” said Mark Luellen, the vice president of advancement at the University of Virginia.
Luellen told the Advancement Committee of the UVA Board of Visitors on June 5 that planning for the next major campaign is underway, but the Honor the Future Campaign never really stopped.
“I'm happy to announce, and I'm sure you'll be excited to hear that we have now officially crossed $6 billion in the Honor the Future Campaign,” Luellen said. “And not only did we cross 6 billion, we're actually over that number by $38 million.”
Luellen said that amount was raised through over 257,000 donors.
More from the UVA Board of Visitors’ June 2025 meeting in future editions of the newsletter.
Reading material:
Virginia’s international trade already disrupted by U.S. trade war, Kunle Falayi, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism, June 5, 2025
Democrats plan ‘firehouse’ primary for 11th District special election, Jared Serre, Fairfax County Local News, June 6, 2025
Unhoused population in Charlottesville area keeps growing, despite efforts from city and nonprofits, Erin O’Hare, Charlottesville Tomorrow, June 9, 2025
An idea comes to me as I work on #877
Do you know anyone who would like to learn audio production and other skills? There were so many interesting things in Dr. Esser’s talk to the UVA Health System Board. Twenty years ago, I would have turned such a thing into a podcast. My first company (defunct for over a decade) did a lot of work for UVA as I tried to figure out what to do with the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.
I’ve so far not taken on any interns or volunteers because I lack resources to pay for anyone’s time. This newsletter is a business venture. The CPN site is, too, but it does not generate any revenue directly.
The current podcast, too, does not generate any revenue directly.
The radio version I do for WTJU is a volunteer gig.
So, who would like to learn audio production? The skill is good one to have and I believe is valuable for a person who wants to communicate. Any volunteers?
In any case, I’ve asked the question at least. Maybe I’ll ask it again later. I just know I want to get more long-form audio out there and want to make the Charlottesville Podcasting Network perhaps a bit more robust.
In any case, just an idea I had this morning while I writer’s block. Somehow I turned in six stories with this newsletter, wrote a story for C-Ville Weekly, and decided not to run another one until tomorrow.
“Going Against My Mind” by Built to Spill is an important song and it picked me up today when I was having a hard time getting to work.