Heart Research Has Roots at Mary Washington

By Daryl Lease ’85 As head of a lab bearing his name at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Anthony Cammarato ’95 leads pioneering research in heart disease. But as a first-year at Mary Washington, he wasn’t sure how he was going to make it to graduation. “I think I was quite poorly prepared for college,” Cammarato said. He’d attended a small high school in rural Delaware, which at that time “was not overly challenging.” As a result, he struggled in his early classes at Mary Washington and sensed he was well behind his peers. His interest in science drew him to the biology department, where professors Janet Nicodemus-Hughes ’87, Rosemary Barra, Werner Wieland, and Steven Fuller were eager to help him adjust. Barra is still teaching, Nicodemus has since passed away, and Wieland and Fuller have retired with emeritus status. “Those four really helped me figure out how to learn,” he said. “They helped hone my skills and get me up to speed. By the end of my second … [Read more...]

Scientist Connects Babies’ Motor, Cognitive Skills

By Vicki L. Friedman Regina “Reggie” Tambellini Harbourne ’76 stops short of calling herself a pioneer. The assistant professor at Duquesne University is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow, the highest honor bestowed by the American Physical Therapy Association.It’s an accolade that reflects her forward-thinking research tying an infant’s motor skills to cognitive abilities. “If we advance motor, we advance cognitive,” said Harbourne, director of the Infant Development Lab at Duquesne, which investigates how babies learn to use their bodies and minds together. “I call myself the queen of sitting because I’ve done so much research on infants learning how to sit.” The science enthusiast followed a STEM path before it was a mainstream choice for women. She entered Mary Washington in 1972 as a pre-physical therapy major, racking up the necessary prerequisite science credits for admission to the Medical College of Virginia, where she finished her bachelor’s degree. She earned a … [Read more...]

Historian Unearths Unlikely Stories

By Emily Freehling Growing up in Dinwiddie County, Emmanuel Dabney ’08 couldn’t have avoided Civil War battlefields if he’d tried. “I literally grew up a mile away from part of the Petersburg National Battlefield,” he said. Dabney, who works for the National Park Service as museum curator at Petersburg National Battlefield, traces his fascination with Civil War history to fourth grade. “It hooked me, and it has not let go,” he said. A high school guidance counselor recommended Mary Washington, and after two years at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Dabney transferred to UMW as a historic preservation major. These days, Dabney says his fellow preservation majors are an invaluable network for troubleshooting professional problems and questions. “I feel like we are all able to provide each other support,” he said. After graduation, Dabney earned a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Then he returned to the Civil War … [Read more...]

Give It Your Best Shot

Who are the three celebrating grads photographed at commencement? If you can put a date and names to these happy faces, please drop us a line. Comment on this post or send an email with “Get the Picture” in the subject line to magazine@umw.edu. You may also write to: UMW Magazine – Get the Picture 1301 College Ave. Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5300 … [Read more...]

You Got It!

Christine Dorner Clark and Suellen Grant Knowles, both Class of 1963, recognized themselves among the students posing with Dean Edward Alvey Jr. in what was then Trinkle Library. Christine is second from left and Suellen is third from left. The student on the right is Ginger Rawlins Crisp ’63, who passed away in 1996. Dean Alvey died in 1999. Suellen said the photograph commemorated the students’ experiences studying abroad. She recalled studying in Vienna, Austria, in the 1961-62 academic year. Suellen was  a member of the Board of Visitors from 1997 to 2005. The picture sparked a happy thought for Christine, who wrote, “What a lovely surprise and a look back to a wonderful time in my life.” We know one other interesting fact about this image: The chair pictured is still in use in the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. We thank office manager Cynthia Toomey for recognizing the chair and Professor of Religious Studies Mary Beth Mathews for emailing us … [Read more...]

UMW Named “Great College to Work For” 

The following remarks are excerpted from a Q&A with President Troy Paino that focused on how he used feedback from a Great Colleges to Work For survey of university employees completed in 2016, a year when UMW did not make the cut. Having just taken the helm at Mary Washington then, President Paino used the results as a platform for change and setting of priorities. In only three years, his initiatives paid off – of 152 four-year institutions nationwide that participated in this year’s survey, UMW was among 60 selected as a Great College to Work For.    Below are excerpts of Troy Paino’s responses in the Q&A:   The survey gave me an important diagnostic tool to better understand how the people who work here felt about the state of the university. To move UMW forward, we needed the faculty, staff, and administrators to be fully invested in the school’s strategic direction. To get this sort of investment, our senior leadership had to build trust and instill hope. The 2016 … [Read more...]