Paul Messplay, currently director of budget, will become vice president for administration and finance and will serve as UMW’s chief financial officer beginning Jan. 1, 2019. Messplay has worked in budgeting at Mary Washington for 11 years. He previously held positions at Virginia Commonwealth University, Tennessee’s Higher Education Commission, and Virginia’s Department of Planning and Budget. “I am delighted to have someone with his finance background who understands university budgets, in particular, at this time when we are looking closely at reorienting our budget to make it possible for UMW to invest in our strategic priorities,” President Troy D. Paino wrote to the university community in announcing the changes. Lynne Richardson, currently vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer, will return to her role as dean of the College of Business (CoB), Jan. 1, 2019. Paino noted that since Richardson joined the CoB seven years ago, she has prepared … [Read more...]
Art in the Community
Students in Professor Carole Garmon’s environmental art class conceived and installed several projects to delight visitors to Fredericksburg’s nonprofit Downtown Greens community garden. The students added a wild rose trellis, a tiny free library, a garden moon gate, and a sound wall where children may make plenty of joyful noise. … [Read more...]
A Career Sequel
Film Exec Teaches Business of Blockbusters
By Emily Freehling The questions that consume groups of students on a Tuesday evening in Woodard Hall are the kinds of details that can make or break multimillion-dollar motion pictures: Does a film about Formula 1 racing, 2013’s Rush, stand a chance in a country where NASCAR is the dominant motorsport? Is there a way to make the coveted 18- to 24-year-old demographic excited about 1999’s The Hurricane? Does the title October Sky really tell a potential audience much about this 1999 film about Cold War-inspired amateur rocketry? The movies were released in the past, but this is September 2018, and the individuals discussing them are students in Marketing Movies, a first-of-its-kind class in the College of Business. The class is the brainchild of Dan Wolfe ’84, who created this group assignment to introduce students to lessons he learned during a career of movie marketing that included 25 years at NBC Universal. In the 10 minutes he’s given the groups to … [Read more...]
Four Melchers Works Added to Collection
Four more pieces of Gari Melchers’ art are now part of the collection of the Gari Melchers Home and Studio in Falmouth. The three sketches and one painting came from the former Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., which closed in 2014. The works were distributed by the National Gallery of Art, custodians of most of the Corcoran collection. … [Read more...]
Campus Police Achieve Accreditation
The UMW Police Department has become only the fifth campus police agency in the commonwealth to achieve accreditation from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC), the accrediting agency in Virginia. The milestone is also a first in the history of UMW Police. Of 340 police agencies in the commonwealth – campus departments or otherwise – only 100 have attained VLEPSC accreditation. Chief Michael Hall set accreditation as a priority for the agency when he took the helm four years ago. The voluntary process enhances the quality of service and credibility of law enforcement agencies. … [Read more...]
UMW Ranks as a Top Green College
The University of Mary Washington has landed on a list of top “green colleges” in the nation for the fourth year in a row. The ranking appears in the 2018 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 399 Green Colleges. The Princeton Review profiles colleges with the most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on their academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives, and activities. UMW was selected based on a 2017-2018 survey of more than 2,000 schools. UMW also was recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation in February as a Tree Campus USA for its commitment to effective urban forest management for the third consecutive year. University efforts include: The President’s Council on Sustainability Four LEED-certified buildings, and the promise that all new construction and major renovations will meet or exceed LEED silver standards Campus Dining, which was named a green restaurant as part of the Virginia Green initiative … [Read more...]
Princeton Review: UMW’s Got It All
UMW is among the nation’s top higher education institutions rated by The Princeton Review, which featured UMW in The Best 384 Colleges for 2019. Surveying 138,000 students, the book ranks schools in selectivity, academics, and quality of life. Students surveyed praised UMW for its sense of community, school spirit, small class sizes, undergraduate research opportunities, outstanding professors, and proximity to Washington, D.C. … [Read more...]
Business Stars in Spotlight
The College of Business honored eight alumni at its annual Business Alumni Awards ceremony Oct. 19 at the University Center. They are: BUSINESS HALL OF FAME Iris Harrell ’69, founder and retired chief executive officer of Harrell Remodeling Inc. Distinguished Business Alumni Award Melinda May ’91, owner, Featherstone LLC Cara Parker MBA ’05, CEO, C Parker Consulting Inc. Rob Whitt ’93, managing director, Markel Corp. Young Business Alumni Award Robert Davis ’12, chief operating officer, Aspetto Glenn Gray ’07, vice president, Buffalo.Agency Abbas Haider ’12, CEO and president, Aspetto Darien Thall ’04, audit senior manager, KPMG LLP … [Read more...]
Paddle Sports Get Big Boost
UMW has partnered with the American Canoe Association to provide online continuing education for Team USA canoe and kayak athletes. The canoe association has its national headquarters in Fredericksburg, and it is also the national governing body for Olympic and Paralympic canoe and kayak disciplines. Because the paddling sports are not represented by NCAA programs, elite canoe and kayak athletes need a different way to pursue higher education while training for international competition. Team members are eligible to take online courses at UMW at no cost. “We are thrilled that the University of Mary Washington will help our Team USA athletes accomplish both their athletic and academic goals on and off the water,” said canoe association Executive Director Wade Blackwood. … [Read more...]
Agreement Benefits NVCC Transfers
Students who transfer from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) will benefit from a new guaranteed transfer partnership agreement. UMW President Troy D. Paino and NVCC President Scott Ralls signed the agreement in June. The partnership promises to smooth the transition for students and help them graduate on time. … [Read more...]