AP Environmental Science

By Carol Matthews and N. Kathryn Weatherhead ’77 Nora Kathryn Wire Weatherhead ’77 and Carol Matthews created and wrote AP Environmental Science, the teacher and student manuals for which were awarded the 2010 TEXTY − the National Textbook Excellence Award. Only seven texts in any subject area were given the national award in 2010, and Advanced Environmental Science was the only one that was recognized for the physical sciences. The student version of the textbook includes 32 labs and activities designed not only to help users prepare for the AP exam, but also to teach students to be environmentally conscious citizens. The instructor’s version includes a pacing guide, daily lesson plans, major state standard alignments, editable PowerPoint presentations, and assessments. Both authors are experienced classroom teachers. Weatherhead is an AP environmental science exam grader, table leader, and workshop lecturer. The TEXTY award is given by the nonprofit Text and Academic Authors … [Read more...]

Career Magellan: How to Begin Your Career Journey

By Melissa S. Fireman and Susanne M. Maurer ’99 Passions, talents, and values are not usually words associated with a career in today’s job market, but Melissa S. Fireman and Susanne M. Maurer ’99 intend to change that with their book Career Magellan: How to Begin Your Career Journey. This career/life assessment guide is full of ideas to help match interests and passions with possible careers. Designed for just about every level of worker, ranging from someone just entering the workforce to one near retirement, the book features actual case examples and includes two pages of resources. It explores how to take stock of what matters most; how to define passions, talents, and values; and how to turn those into the first steps of career exploration. Fireman and Maurer are the founders of Washington Career Services, a career management firm specializing in organizational and career consulting for individuals, academia, and industry. − Published by Washington Career Services, July 2011 … [Read more...]

And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life

By Charles J. Shields, UMW Great Lives assistant director In the summer of 2006, Charles J. Shields contacted Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and offered to be the famous author’s biographer. Vonnegut’s first response was, in so many words, “no.” Shields persisted, and finally got an “OK” from the writer of such works as Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Breakfast of Champions. Shields interviewed Vonnegut, who died the following April at age 84. The result of those interviews and subsequent meticulous research is And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, the definitive biography of Vonnegut based on his own words and those of his contemporaries, friends, and family members in addition to personal letters. Through the biography, Shields exposes the effects on Vonnegut of his mother’s suicide, his internment during WWII as a POW in Dresden, his many years as a literary failure, his adoption of three children who were orphaned by his sister and brother-in-law, his alcoholism, and his own … [Read more...]

America’s Allies and War: Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq

By Jason W. Davidson, UMW associate professor of political science and international affairs America’s Allies and War by Jason W. Davidson, a multiple-case-study analysis of transatlantic burden-sharing, provides a unique explanation of why Britain, France, and Italy provide or refuse military support for U.S.-led armed forces. Using 60 original interviews with top policymakers and analysts, Davidson explores allies’ decisions during conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. From the cases explored, Davidson finds that “neoclassical realist factors” such as alliance value, threat, prestige, and electoral politics better explain allies’ actions than “constructivist factors,” identified here as identity and norms. The book briefly covers Vietnam, Lebanon, the Persian Gulf War, and Somalia. Davidson, the author of Origins of Revisionist and Status-quo States and numerous scholarly articles that have appeared in journals such as Contemporary Security Policy, Nonproliferation Review, … [Read more...]