Organizers of the Rebecca Mitchell Tarumoto Short Fiction Prize hope this year’s inaugural winner sets the standard for future awards. Kelly Cherry ’61 accepted the prize in March for her work On Familiar Terms, a story of multiple generations told in fewer than 20 pages. “The award is definitely starting out auspiciously with such an outstanding writer as Kelly Cherry,” said Gregory Donovan, senior editor of Blackbird, the online literary journal from which winners are selected. He said Cherry’s inaugural selection will make later winners “feel even more positive about the support it brings to their writing and their careers.” Blackbird editors selected Cherry’s work for its subtle narrative voice, masterful compression of time, and affectionate portrayal of character. The family of the late Tarumoto, an award-winning fiction writer, sponsors the prize, in part, to expand the audience for extraordinary short stories. The competition will pay particular attention to … [Read more...]
Give It Your Best Shot!
In 1972, it was evident across the country and the campus that the times were changing. By then, “Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia” was authorized to admit men, and “The University” − common parlance in the Old Dominion for the fruit of Thomas Jefferson’s all-male academic vision − had begun to accept women. In July 1972, Mary Washington claimed its independence and became an autonomous liberal arts college looking forward to educating the women and men of a growing urban corridor. That month, Ms. Magazine hit the stands with Gloria Steinem as editor. The feminist and co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus came to Fredericksburg that fall to campaign for Sen. George McGovern for president after her preferred candidate, Rep. Shirley Chisholm, lost the Democratic Party nomination to the South Dakotan. McGovern in turn was handily defeated by Richard M. Nixon. Daniel A. Dervin, professor emeritus of English, attended the McGovern rally … [Read more...]
Swimmers Venture Beyond English Channel
William Davis Lee ’98 and Courtney Moates Paulk ’92 had their eyes on the same prize – the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. The “grand slam” of distance swimming, the Crown requires navigation of 21 miles of the English Channel, 21 miles of the Catalina Channel off California, and 28.5 miles around Manhattan Island. In June, Lee became the 50th person to finish all three; he circumnavigated Manhattan Island in less than 8 1/2 hours. Paulk, who twice swam the New York leg of the challenge, is one event closer to her goal; she conquered the English Channel in in August in just more than 14 hours. She hopes to swim the Catalina Channel next year. Triple Crown swimmers endure unpredictable currents, plummeting water temperatures, and periodic feedings; they dodge large ships, aquatic life, and litter. Paulk, an attorney with Hirschler Fleischer in Richmond, said she experienced a “power puke” after entering the Harlem River near Manhattan in June. Jellyfish pelted Lee, a … [Read more...]
Dear Editor, I enjoyed the article in the summer 2012 UMW Magazine that focused on the many accomplishments of Charles Girard ’12. I had the privilege of mentoring Charles during his four years at UMW, during which time he received a Dorsey Scholarship, which offers support to select students from diverse backgrounds. Charles personified service, and he was instrumental in helping define the parameters of this leadership program, established through a gift by Paul and Mary Ann Dorsey Judy ’58. This year’s Dorsey Scholars miss Charles, as many of us at UMW do, and we all wish him the best in his new endeavors! Sincerely, Venitta McCall UMW Professor of Education … [Read more...]
https://magazine.umw.edu/fallwinter2012/departments/editors-desk/editors-desk/
Building Momentum for UMW
With two groundbreakings and a rededication ceremony, the agenda for the late September meeting of UMW’s Board of Visitors didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. Thursday, Sept. 20, marked the official start of construction on the four-story Information and Technology Convergence Center. Newly installed BOV Rector Pamela J. White ’74 said the structure represents UMW’s commitment to giving students the tools they need to build successful careers, remain lifelong learners, and master digital information. Designed to blend with campus buildings, the nearly 77,000-square-foot center will straddle Campus Walk and connect to the Simpson Library’s third floor. It will include a digital theatre, data center, café, media labs, and flexible gathering spaces. It’s slated to open fall 2014. On hand again at Friday’s mid-day groundbreaking for the five-story Hyatt Place hotel at Eagle Village, White said the 66,500-square-foot facility, the first to qualify for Virginia Tourism Development … [Read more...]
Campus Conference Targets Poverty
The Poverty Action Conference convened at UMW with three world-class speakers, 14 global poverty experts, 17 student presenters, and a dozen exhibits by such graduate schools as Georgetown and Johns Hopkins universities. The October conference, organized by Shawn Humphrey, associate professor of economics, and his students, was part of an ongoing effort to end global poverty. Humphrey also initiated the student-run microfinance group La Ceiba and conference host Two Dollar Challenge. Speaker Jonathan Lewis, founder and host of iOnPoverty, energized listeners with his words and left feeling energized by the conference. The lecturer at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, University of California, Berkeley, is known for his blogs at The Huffington Post and the Skoll Foundation’s Social Edge. Lewis wrote: The Poverty Action Conference is extremely valuable in three respects: One, students with powerful learnings from overseas projects can and do share them with peers. … [Read more...]
A Fiddler’s Holiday
Last December’s fiddling frenzy on the stage of Dodd Auditorium can now be viewed in your living room. The UMW Philharmonic performed its annual Holiday Pops concert in 2011 with the Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Family Band. In addition to filming the concert, a television production crew shot footage around campus and at various locations in Fredericksburg. It was all a gamble. The University hoped PBS would pick up the show – and it has. Created by Emmy Award-winning producer Jim Brown, A Fiddler’s Holiday showcases the talents of the UMW Philharmonic and its conductor, Kevin Bartram. PBS has agreed to forward the finished program in its entirety through a national feed to all PBS channels. Thanks in part to UMW alumni requesting it of their local stations, it will be carried on many PBS affiliates. Brown said the concert is appropriate not only to the time of year but also to the time in history. “The music celebrates the winter season, the holidays, and is performed in … [Read more...]
UMW Rakes in the Ratings
In higher education, whether the topic is advanced degrees, graduation rates, or good deals, the University of Mary Washington is bound to be part of the conversation. UMW is ranked in every major selective guide publication, including the most recent editions of: Fiske Guide to Colleges’ list of best-buy public schools. Twenty-one schools made the cut, based on academics, quality of campus life, and cost for a typical student. Of those, 18 are in the U.S., and only one – UMW – is in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, D.C. The Princeton Review’s The Best 377 Colleges, based on the largest and longest-running college student survey, and its The Best Value Colleges, which includes 150 schools and considers undergraduate academics, costs, and financial aid. U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges. UMW is sixth on the publication’s list of top public regional universities in the South, which weighs data about each school in 16 areas related to academic excellence, and 16th on … [Read more...]
Ten Great Years of Great Lives
William B. Crawley, professor emeritus of history, is director of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series. He taught the first University of Mary Washington “Great Lives” history class in 2004.
The Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series, which begins its 10th season in January, has evolved into the University’s highest-profile community outreach program, bringing hundreds of people to campus weekly during the spring semester for lectures by some of today’s most prominent biographers. Great Lives was modestly inaugurated in 2004 – created more out of necessity than by grand design. The impetus was the need for another course to serve an increasing number of history students without putting an additional burden on departmental faculty. The solution was to create a multidisciplinary, team-taught course that could draw upon the expertise of not only the history department but of other departments as well. The resulting course, “Great Lives: Biographical Approaches to History,” included lectures by faculty from 10 disciplines across the University. Students were immediately attracted to it, as enrollment approached 100. Considering the success of the history department’s … [Read more...]
More Than Making It
3-D printing has taken off in the last few years as the technology has become more affordable and widely available. And as often is the case with emerging technologies, it’s landed at UMW. Today a Simpson Library classroom – dubbed the Think Lab – is home to 3-D MakerBot printers and a first-year seminar called Mashups and MakerBots. Instructional Technology Specialist Tim Owens and Professor of Education George Meadows team up there to teach printing, electronics, and robotics. This fall, 16 first-year students from across disciplines are learning the basics of circuitry and automation while designing 3-D objects, from the simple – think key rings and iPad covers – to intricate works of art. Seven of Meadows’ master of science in education students are using the lab to get to know the technologies, too. Meadows hopes the graduate students’ time in the Think Lab will make them more confident and willing to try new things in the classroom when they are teachers. And they … [Read more...]