Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography Marshall E. Bowen, 82, passed away Aug. 19, 2020, at his home. A native of Providence, Rhode Island, he moved to Fredericksburg in 1965 to join the faculty of Mary Washington College, where he taught until his retirement in 2001. Bowen shared his passion for North America with more than 300 students each semester in a packed Monroe Hall lecture room 116, now the James Farmer lecture hall. He taught seminars in historical geography and, early in his career, taught the geography of Asia as well as courses in physical geography. Throughout the 1970s Bowen’s summer field course to the American West had a profound effect on students and led many to pursue advanced degrees in geography. Bowen received the 1987 Grellet C. Simpson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the 1991 Mortar Board Outstanding Professor Award. His devotion to students went beyond academics. An avid basketball player, Bowen was Mary Washington’s first … [Read more...]
Dear Readers, Thank you for reading University of Mary Washington Magazine online. While we are not printing the fall/winter 2020 edition because of the pandemic, we offer this flipbook of Class Notes to let you read your news in a more traditional format. You also may download a digital copy of the book from there to keep or to print. We expect to print and mail the next issue, spring/summer 2021. The University of Mary Washington is near the end of a different but successful fall semester, with classes meeting in person, online, or both. Faculty, staff, and students have risen to the challenge of attending to one another's health. And UMW has continued its mission – to provide a superior education that inspires and enables students to change the world. Thanks to the community effort and the proud traditions that came before, we feel confident that we’ll have many years ahead telling great stories about Mary Washington and its graduates. Wishing you good health and … [Read more...]
Give it Your Best Shot!
It was move-in day 2000, and this couple pulled off just the right look for the occasion. Photographer Lou Cordero captured this image. Can you help us identify these stylish students from 20 years ago? They look ready to take on whatever fall semester might bring! Go online to magazine.umw.edu and click on “Get the Picture” to leave a comment. 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...]
Still Wondering …
This image from our previous issue was a stumper. No one came up with the last names of these three students photographed with Sammy D. Eagle at the 1988 ballfield dedication. But you can still help us identify Ton, Shel, and Bec. Go online to magazine.umw.edu and click on “Get the Picture” to leave a comment. 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...]
From Our Alumni Board President
Greetings fellow Mary Washington alumni, As I craft this message to you, we are a week away from Election Day, COVID-19 still remains a health threat, and UMW’s virtual Homecoming ended last Friday. In 2020 we are living in interesting times. Even in light of the challenges in our communities and in higher education, UMW continues to provide an outstanding liberal arts and sciences education to students on campus and virtually. If you have not yet participated in a virtual town hall with President Troy Paino, I encourage you to do so. You will learn we have much to be proud of in how our alma mater’s faculty, staff and students are responding to the challenges brought on by COVID-19. Check out the COVID-19 dashboard on the university website to see how UMW is doing. Your alumni association is also navigating these challenging times, holding events virtually, with some in-person events tentatively planned in the coming months. Last week’s virtual homecoming featured … [Read more...]
Early Students Bravely Faced Pandemic of 1918
By Ann Dunaway Criswell ’55 During this unsettling time of COVID-19, I am reminded of a conversation decades ago with my mother, Annie Towles Dunaway 1919. The 1918 influenza pandemic did not spare students or faculty at Fredericksburg State Normal and Industrial School for Women, as Mary Washington was called at the time. Classes were canceled, and students remained in their dorms. Those who were not sick helped those who were ill. There was one death, that of Professor of History Virginia Goolrick, one of my mother’s favorite faculty members. Professor Goolrick lived in an apartment in Virginia Hall, my mother’s dorm. The normal school, founded in 1908 and opened in the academic year of 1911-’12, was still new when Annie Towles journeyed by steamboat from Merry Point in Lancaster County to begin her college life. She was in the vanguard of young women attending college with sights on careers as teachers at a time when public education was being expanded. My mother … [Read more...]
Music and Mary Washington Stayed With Marilla Haas
No one ever had to remind 6-year-old Marilla Mattox – now Marilla Mattox Haas ’60 – to practice piano. Haas’ earliest memories of Sunday mornings in Richmond’s First Baptist Church are of balcony seats carefully chosen by her mother so young Marilla could have a clear view of the organist’s hands. She and her mother frequented what was then Richmond’s Mosque theater, where they heard pianists Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein, contralto Marian Anderson, and the Broadway cast of Porgy and Bess. “I was always exposed to music,” said the accomplished pianist, bassist, teacher, and accompanist. “That’s just been my life.” That love of music brought Haas to Mary Washington, where she earned a degree in music. But unlike most graduates, she never really left. Haas played string bass with the orchestra for three decades, taught piano as an adjunct professor in the Department of Music, and accompanied Mary Washington and community musical groups. “There was never a time when … [Read more...]
Human Resources Executive Keeps Giving Back
When James Llewellyn ’87 was a senior, the psychology suite in Chandler Hall – where the University Center now stands – was voted one of the top 10 favorite campus hangout spots by Mary Washington students. “The professors were so engaging and fun; learning from them was truly a gift,” said Llewellyn, who credits psychology faculty, including Debra Steckler; Steve Hampton; and the late Topher Bill, as strong positive influences on his college experience. The exceptional liberal arts education Llewellyn received from Mary Washington is why he continues to give back to his alma mater. Now a seasoned human resources professional who applies psychology in his work in the private sector, he was the Department of Psychological Sciences’ 2019 graduate-in-residence, sharing experiences and advice with psychology majors. After graduating with honors in 1987, Llewellyn pursued a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Old Dominion University. Early in his … [Read more...]
Judge Reflects the Real World
When he was a kid in the 1980s, Kerwin A. Miller Sr. ’95 watched L.A. Law on his family TV and waited for his favorite character – attorney Jonathan Rollins – to appear. Miller liked how the impeccably dressed law partner argued cases, how people listened to him, and how he won for his clients. And – unlike the characters Miller usually saw – the attorney was Black, just like him. “It made me want to do that – do something that actually made a difference and made an immediate impact on people,” Miller said of his decision to become a lawyer. “I thought about it so long that it was the only thing I could do.” Miller overshot his childhood dream in January 2019 when, by appointment of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, he was sworn in as the second African American judge in the history of Harford County. It was a long road to the bench, even though Miller made the journey much faster than most. When he chose Mary Washington College, his mother and his sister made the trek from his … [Read more...]
Urban Forester Finds Love of Nature at UMW
The 11,000 to 12,000 trees shading the streets and parks of Lynchburg, Virginia, are a lot to keep up with. But Sarah Hagan ’11 has charge of them all, from roots to crowns. It’s an ever-changing responsibility, varying with each season, storm, dry spell, and pest. As Lynchburg’s urban forester, Hagan oversees trees individually but also as an interdependent whole – the urban canopy that keeps the city healthy, vibrant, and beautiful. Now in her second year with Lynchburg, Hagan is dealing with the inherited problem of the emerald ash-borer, an imported pest devastating the native ash species of the eastern to midwestern United States. City trees face other stresses as well, from improper planting, poor soil, and road salt. Hagan constantly evaluates how long Lynchburg’s trees are lasting, how their lives can be extended, and how to bolster the overall health and sustainability of the resource. To handle it all she works with Lynchburg’s public works department, a contract … [Read more...]
