By Edie Gross For years, newspaper journalist Kristen Green ’95 covered stories about inequality in poor, minority communities around the country. But one story she hadn’t yet tackled nagged at her. In 1959, her Virginia home county had closed its public school system rather than integrate its classrooms. Perhaps, Green thought, it was time to turn her reporter’s eye on the role her own community – and her own family – had played in perpetuating racial segregation. There was a book there, she knew. She’d read historical articles detailing Prince Edward County’s refusal to desegregate as part of Virginia’s so-called “massive resistance” to integration. And she’d begun grappling with the realization that her beloved grandparents, Mimi and Papa, had been part of an effort to shut black children out of school. Papa had passed away while Green was a student at Mary Washington, and Mimi was ill and unwilling to talk about the past. But Robert Taylor, a longtime friend of her … [Read more...]
Facing an Ugly Truth
In her new book, Kristen Green ’95 examines her home county’s segregationist past
Building Community
At the University Center dedication on Sept. 17, 2015, Student Government Association President Hannah Tibbett ’16 provided the following remarks: Before I can speak about why this new building is important to the student body, I need to talk about what makes us, the students, us. We are Goats, Devils, math nerds, aspiring authors, dancers, hikers, video game enthusiasts, commuters, runners, couch potatoes, night owls, early risers, expert Netflix-watchers, and amateur bloggers. We can be described thousands of different ways because we are made up of 4,400 students – 4,400 unique individuals – and all 4,400 of us are one community. This building, also known as the UC, the Sequel, Sequel-beck, and the new Chandler (did I mention that we’re also very clever?!), brings this community, my community, together on a daily basis. Students spend most of their days on campus – in class, “bench sitting,”* studying in the library, getting food with friends, playing the banjo on … [Read more...]
Alumni Honored for Their Work in Education
Educators Abigail Omans Seeley ’78 and Seth Kennard ’01 have earned separate honors for their contributions to student learning. Seeley, a sixth-grade teacher at Orange Hunt Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, was named the 2015 Virginia History Teacher of the Year. The award is presented by the Virginia Department of Education in conjunction with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, cable television channel History, and Preserve America. “Abby Seeley is known for providing lessons that accentuate the uniqueness of each student … and help them develop critical-thinking skills,” according to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples. Kennard, principal of Charles Barrett Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia, earned The Washington Post’s 2015 Distinguished Educational Leadership award. He was recognized for his commitment to engaging all students. He has expanded his school’s tutoring program and doubled its community … [Read more...]
Professor Helps Her Students Connect
Jennifer Mozolic ’03, a professor of psychology at North Carolina’s private Warren Wilson College, has been named to NerdScholar’s second annual list of “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire.” NerdScholar, a financial literacy website focusing on college students, said in a news release that the 40 professors under age 40 were chosen “based on their ability to captivate and engage students in the classroom, their outstanding involvement on campus and in the community, and their overwhelming passion for their subject matter.” A story on Warren Wilson’s website quotes Mozolic saying she is “fascinated by the way the brain supports human thought and behavior. In my classes, I love connecting students to the basics of neuroanatomy and neuropsychology by providing them opportunities to experience things firsthand – like touching a human brain or hearing nerve cells sending signals.” Mozolic is in her seventh year of teaching at the college. At Mary Washington, she majored in biology and … [Read more...]
Tennis Champ Returns for Court Dedication
The University of Mary Washington athletic department has dedicated a court at its Edward H. Hegmann II Tennis Complex in honor of two-time national champion and three-time All-American Christine L. Copper ’91, a professor of chemistry at the U.S.Naval Academy. Copper, a UMW Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, achieved a singles record of 114-30 and was named NCAA Division III National Senior Player of the Year. A founding member of the Eagle Club Advisory Board, she has contributed more than $10,000 to the Eagle Club. “Christy was one of the greatest players in Mary Washington history and had many victories on that court,” said UMW Director of Athletics Ken Tyler. “More importantly, her legacy of leadership and support to UMW continues to make a difference for our current student athletes.” … [Read more...]