Joanna Pinneo ’76 loved the month she spent in Spain her sophomore year, immersing herself in Spanish culture and studying the works of the masters at Madrid’s Prado museum. She wasn’t nearly as crazy, however, about the images she captured with her point-and-shoot camera, especially after seeing the photographs her boyfriend took with his own more-expensive device. So Pinneo, who majored in art history and psychology, returned to campus, wrote an A paper on Diego Velazquez’s 17th-century masterpieces, and bought herself a new camera. “When I found the camera, it was like a light bulb went off. I found ‘the thing,’ ” Pinneo recalled. “I was really kind of hooked from then on.” For the shy young woman from Richmond, the camera was a passport of sorts, giving her the confidence to engage with strangers - ultimately in more than 65 countries. During Pinneo’s career as a photojournalist, her intimate and moving images have appeared in National Geographic, Life, Time, The New York … [Read more...]
A Step Ahead
Center Merges Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Even before he taught his first class in the new Information and Technology Convergence Center, Jeff McClurken ’94 could see that the building was fulfilling one of its main missions – bringing students and faculty together in a technology-rich, collaborative space. The Convergence Center had been open to students for only a few hours on the first day of classes. But they had already sought out spots in study niches throughout the four-story building. They nestled into comfortable chairs and couches, plugging laptops and tablets into power outlets built right into the furniture. Some tapped keyboards in solitude, while others shared screens and conversation. As an “academic commons,” with access to state-of-the-art technology and a fully powered and networked design that encourages creativity and idea-sharing, the Convergence Center was well on its way. Several years in the making, the center places UMW in the national forefront in using technology to advance learning and … [Read more...]
Learning Lab
Service Dogs Train on Campus
There was a new student in the Tuesday afternoon principles of management class this fall. Meet Farrah, a Labrador and golden retriever mix and service dog in training. Farrah is one of two dogs in the University of Mary Washington’s chapter of Canine Companions for Independence started this fall and founded by UMW juniors Rebekah Selbrede and Abigail Hannell. Having grown up with dogs, both women were eager to put their love of animals toward a meaningful cause. After a year of planning, Selbrede and Hannell traveled to New York in June to pick up Dragon and Farrah. As service dogs in training, Dragon and Farrah will eventually be paired with people in need of help with a physical or hearing disability. Guiding pups to become service animals isn’t the same as having a pet. “It’s like having a child,” Selbrede said. “It’s a big responsibility to train these dogs.” Over the next year and a half, Dragon and Farrah will learn 30 basic commands, house training, and … [Read more...]