Save the date!

If your class year ends in 0 or 5, mark your calendar for Reunion Weekend, Friday, May 29, through Sunday, May 31, 2015. Members of classes 1964 and earlier, the 1908 Society, are also invited. Look for details online at alumni.umw.edu/reunionweekend. … [Read more...]

Dear Editor,

UMW Magazine looks terrific. What a nice surprise to see the amphitheater as the cover story in the issue that just arrived – excellent cover photo. I hadn’t been on campus in over 20 years when I visited for Reunion Weekend 2013, the 40th for our Class of ’73. While there are stunning improvements and new construction on UMW’s beautiful campus, it was sad and of great concern to see the deterioration of the amphitheater. This was compounded by the fact that I’ve worked in the field of historic preservation planning and rehabilitation since 1978. I wondered if perhaps there were discussions about removing it altogether. So it was great to see the architect’s rendering of the amphitheater’s proposed restoration in the summer UMW Magazine. And a big thank-you to Robert S. and Alice Andrews Jepson ’64, who’ve made a generous donation for this important project. I look forward to the completion of the amphitheater’s restoration and renewed interest in and increased use of this … [Read more...]

Books by UMW Alumni

A Kind of Dream: Stories Kelly Cherry ’61 In these interlinked stories, five generations of an artistic family explore the ups and downs of life – fame, death, self-destruction, love, parenthood, and the excitement of making good art. Cherry, a former poet laureate of Virginia, has previously published 21 books, nine chapbooks, and two translations of classical drama. – University of Wisconsin Press, Terrace Books, May 2014   Seasons of Sharing: A Kasen Renku Collaboration Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda ’69 with Joyce Brinkman and others Former Virginia poet laureate Kreiter-Foronda and former Indiana poet laureate Joyce Brinkman have produced this poetry collection in partnership with Kae Morii of Japan, Gabriele Glang of Germany, Flor Aguilera Garcia of Mexico, and Catherine Aubelle of France. The poems explore events of global significance such as the Arab Spring, climate change, and urban violence. – Leapfrog Press, September 2014   The Arsonist’s Song Has Nothing … [Read more...]

Bravo, Chef!

Fans of the Bravo reality cooking competition Top Chef got to witness the culinary chops of George Pagonis ’05. The show’s 12th season, filmed in Boston, began Oct. 15. Pagonis is executive chef and partner at Washington, D.C.’s Kapnos, the first Greek restaurant of celebrity chef Mike Isabella. Pagonis came to the restaurant in 2013 after having served as chef de cuisine at Isabella’s Graffiato, also in Washington. He has also worked in fine-dining restaurants in New York. After earning a degree in business administration at Mary Washington, Pagonis got a degree from the Culinary Institute of America. His first restaurant experience was at his father’s diner, The Four Seasons, in Alexandria, Virginia. … [Read more...]

Poet of Visual Arts

The Library of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts have named Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda ’69 the winner of the second annual Art in Literature: Mary Lynn Kotz Award. The award recognizes an outstanding book on the theme of visual artists or art. Kreiter-Foronda won for a book of poetry, The Embrace: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, published in 2013. She was one of five finalists. Kreiter-Foronda studied English at Mary Washington and received its 2007 distinguished alumnus award. She was Virginia poet laureate from 2006-2008 and holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate from George Mason University. She received the award and spoke about her work and the art that inspired her at a ceremony in Richmond on Oct. 7, in conjunction with the Library of Virginia’s weeklong Virginia Literary Festival.   … [Read more...]

Marshall Center Names CEO

Patricia “Pat” Magee Daly ’73 has been named president and chief executive officer of the George C. Marshall International Center in Leesburg, Virginia. Daly, who studied English and has been an attorney and business owner, aims to expand the center’s education and community outreach programs. She had been the Marshall Center’s executive director since 2011. Daly holds a law degree from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law and a master of laws degree in securities regulation from Georgetown University Law School. She has been a law firm partner and president of a finance company, and has held executive positions in businesses and nonprofits. … [Read more...]

Animator Gets Emmy Nod

Alexander Cardia ’07 received a news and documentary Emmy nomination for his animation and design work on the PBS production Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle. Narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, Superheroes is “the first documentary to examine the dawn of the comic book genre and its powerful legacy,” according to PBS. Cardia, who studied English, conceived all visual elements for the three-part series, including 2-D and 3-D animations, titling, and backgrounds. The news and documentary Emmys were awarded Sept. 30. … [Read more...]

Dear Editor,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Summer 2014 issue of University of Mary Washington Magazine. I always delight in hearing about the accomplishments of the alumni and am proud to be a graduate of this fine university. Hardyville, Virginia … [Read more...]

Dear Editor,

Alec and I really liked Guest Editor Torre Meringolo’s edition of University ofMary Washington Magazine and the whole concept of putting Mary Washington first. Betty Olander Adams ’69 Glenwood, Maryland … [Read more...]

Q & A With Chemist Charlie Sharpless

  Who: Charlie Sharpless, associate professor of chemistry At UMW since: 2004 Academic specialties: environmental photochemistry; mentoring students in research projects What is environmental photochemistry? It’s the chemistry that happens when sunlight is absorbed by compounds at the earth’s surface. These reactions happen in air and water, but since I’m a water chemist, I’m interested in what’s going on in lakes, rivers, and coastal marine systems. What my students and I focus on is the way sunlight alters the oxygen chemistry in water and the effect that can have on contaminants. Normally oxygen isn’t very reactive but some of the natural organic matter – the brown stuff in water left over from plant and algae degradation – will transfer energy from the sunlight to the oxygen, and all of a sudden you get new kinds of oxygen chemistry that weren’t there before. Can you give an example? One of the projects we’re working on is how photochemistry affects the … [Read more...]