A Revolutionary War military furlough, signed by then-Maj. James Monroe at Valley Forge, is now owned by the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library. The small, yellowed paper signed Feb. 23, 1778, by the Founding Father who would be the fifth U.S. president is believed to be the earliest official document bearing Monroe’s signature. The museum was able to purchase the historically significant paper thanks to private donations. Learn more at jamesmonroemuseum.org. … [Read more...]
Debate Coach ‘Exceptional’
April 17, 2012 by
In Adrienne Brovero’s fast-talking world of forensics, most things are up for discussion. But there’s one thing about the head UMW debate coach that is inarguable – her talent. “Adrienne Brovero is one of the best debate coaches in the country,” said UMW Director of Debate Timothy O’Donnell. In November, the National Debate Tournament signaled its agreement with O’Donnell by honoring Brovero with the Ross K. Smith National Coach of the Year Award, reserved for exceptional teachers who have proven their ability to advance the forensic art. The annual award is presented during the Intercollegiate Debate Tournament at Wake Forest University, where Brovero spent much time honing her skills. She twice made it to the National Debate Tournament semifinals while earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Wake. She also coached debate there and at the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and the University of Richmond. During most of her time at Mary Washington, … [Read more...]
Scholar Finds Refuge, Shares Experience
April 17, 2012 by
An international law professor and women’s rights activist seeking refuge in Fredericksburg is sharing her knowledge and experience with Mary Washington students. Leila Asadi, who fled Iran to escape the possibility of being jailed for speaking against the government, is serving this semester as UMW Iranian scholar-in-residence. Asadi feared legal retaliation after she worked to quash a proposed law that would negate the rights of married Iranian women. She also reported about gender-related issues to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Asadi came to Fredericksburg through the Scholar Rescue Fund program, part of the nonprofit Institute of International Education. UMW is committed to safeguarding human rights and helping scholars who face persecution; it provides Asadi room and board. In addition to teaching a seminar on human rights and Islam, Asadi is assisting with student research and continuing her own studies of women’s rights in Iran, including human … [Read more...]
Dahlgren Campus a Partnership
April 17, 2012 by
When the University of Mary Washington dedicated its Dahlgren Campus Center for Education and Research, the University’s third campus, on Friday, Feb. 17, the theme was cooperation. UMW built the state-of-the-art facility so it and other state colleges and universities can easily collaborate with the Navy, state government, and business leaders to bring advanced science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) training to the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren and to professionals in the area. At the opening ceremony, William J. Howell, speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, said the center will bolster Virginia’s STEM education initiatives, and it will build the area’s workforce and economy. “The campus will contribute much to the future vitality of the region,” Howell said. Four Virginia universities – George Mason, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, and Virginia Tech – and the Naval Postgraduate School offer graduate engineering courses at the 27-acre Dahlgren campus. … [Read more...]
Role Model
April 17, 2012 by
Thank you for your article about Farrah Tek ’10 and her work in Cambodia (Pursuit of Justice, Fall/Winter 2011), which was so beautifully written by Kristin Davis, photographed by Reza Marvashti, and designed so spectacularly by the staff at University of Mary Washington Magazine. When our daughter saw the magazine, she asked me to make a color copy of the cover. She already has the photocopy on her wall. Farrah is one of her greatest heroes. Gregory H. Stanton President, Genocide Watch [Stanton, a former UMW James Farmer professor of human rights, was Tek’s teacher and adviser.] … [Read more...]
Remembering Ruby Lee Norris
April 17, 2012 by
No one exuded more exuberance for life than Ruby Lee Norris ’36.That’s why news of her stroke earlier this year and subsequent death hit me so hard. I first met Ruby Lee eight years ago at her Topping, Va., home in Virginia’s Northern Neck. As the new Mary Washington magazine editor, I was her invited guest. In her mind, we were kindred spirits, laborers in the thankless but gratifying world of words. We sipped tea while perusing the Pleasant Living magazines on her coffee table – nearly every one with an article or photograph by Ruby Lee. Using a state-of-the-art computer, she was a writer, blogger, emailer, and faithful UMW class agent. As daily inspiration, I keep a snapshot of Ruby Lee – eyes twinkling – on my desk. At a packed funeral service, her pastor and friends tried to find words to capture this 96-year-old who defied description: A lady of great stature Dignified, gracious, enlightened, forthright, and faithful An elder stateswoman A fashion icon A … [Read more...]
Self-Described “EduPunk” Says Colleges Should Abandon Course-Management Systems
April 17, 2012 by
The Chronicle of Higher Education, the news source of the U.S. academic world, featured Jim Groom, UMW director of teaching and learning technologies, Feb. 26 in 12 Tech Innovators Who Are Transforming Campuses. Here is the article in its entirety: THE INNOVATOR: Jim Groom, University of Mary Washington THE BIG IDEA: Colleges should use free Web tools for course discussions and projects to better prepare students for jobs after college. Jim Groom doesn’t hate learning-management software. But he’s certain it doesn’t make teaching any better. For Groom, an instructional-technology specialist, the features that attract professors in the first place – like grade books and quizzing tools – are traps that squash creativity and bury thorny issues like fair use. When professors try a learning-management system that promises to improve teaching, it “really encloses space, and it encloses the possibility of the Web,” he said. Groom charges so-called open-learning … [Read more...]