Professor of Psychology Miriam Liss is among 13 Virginia college educators to receive a 2015 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). The awards are the commonwealth’s highest honor for faculty at Virginia’s public and private colleges and universities, recognizing superior accomplishments in teaching, research, and public service. Liss, a clinical psychologist, has conducted research on parenting, division of labor, and work-family balance. Liss and Associate Professor of Psychology Holly H. Schiffrin are the authors of Balancing the Big Stuff: Finding Happiness in Work, Family and Life. Liss also has published articles about autism and developmental disorders, sensory processing sensitivity, self-injurious behaviors, feminist identity, and body image. She regularly presents at national conferences and has been interviewed by The Washington Post, MSNBC.com, and LiveScience.com. Since SCHEV's first awards in 1987, more … [Read more...]
Remembering Claudia Emerson, Poet
The Free Lance-Star published this memorial to longtime Mary Washington professor and poet Claudia Emerson on Dec. 8, 2014. Emerson died Dec. 4. Claudia Emerson, who passed away last week at the far-too-young age of 57, plied that most demanding and (to those who measure greatness by royalty statements) most unrewarding of writing professions. She was a poet – a great one. Of all the forms of creative writing, poetry is the hardest and seems to draw the smallest audience. It is, and was to Ms. Emerson, a labor of love. Through her labors, she rewarded her readers with some of the finest poetry this country has produced in recent years. Among other praise, she won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2006, while teaching at the University of Mary Washington, for her collection Late Wife. She was the state’s poet laureate from 2008–2010. She made her university and her city proud. She left UMW after 15 years to take a position at Virginia Commonwealth University last year … [Read more...]
Holding Out Hope
Lawman, Chaplain Helps Young Men Fight Despair
Hope has been a powerful influence in the life of Richard Arline ’77. He had it as young teen in the early 1960s, when his mother let him leave their North Carolina home for high school in the Northeast. He had it as an enlisted Marine fighting in Vietnam. And he had it as he earned a degree in sociology from Mary Washington at a time when men on campus were few, and African- American men still fewer. Today, Arline is 66, retired from a long career in law enforcement. He’s on the school board in his New Jersey town and is an active volunteer in his community. He and wife Mamie have two grown sons – one a Navy veteran, the other a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security – and six grandchildren. But there’s something else Arline feels compelled to do. In December, he completed requirements for a master’s degree in divinity. His goal is an urban ministry to help African-American youths navigate a society they, and Arline, see as set against … [Read more...]
Math Professor Receives Fulbright
Julius Esunge, assistant professor of mathematics, recently received a Fulbright grant. He will teach and do research at the University of Buea in Cameroon beginning in spring 2016. An expert in stochastic analysis, Esunge blends math and statistics to assess and solve problems. As part of his Fulbright grant, Esunge will return to his undergraduate alma mater to teach probability and actuarial mathematics and lead a graduate seminar in stochastic analysis. He also will construct and compare predictive models for health care costs. Esunge joined the UMW faculty in 2009. He received a master’s degree from Lehigh University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Louisiana State University. “The opportunity to return to the University of Buea and actively mentor a new generation of students is priceless,” Esunge said. … [Read more...]
Religion Professor Meets Coptic Pope
In February, Professor of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion Jim Goehring met Pope Tawadros II, leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, near Alexandria, Egypt. Goehring had just presented his paper “The Pachomian Federation in Lower Egypt: The Ties That Bind,” at a symposium sponsored by the St. Mark Foundation for Coptic History Studies. Just days after Goehring and wife Linda LaFave left Egypt, the Islamic State militant group released a video purporting to show the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who had been kidnapped in neighboring Libya. The group accused the Egyptian Christians of being “crusaders,” but Goehring said the men were in Libya not for religious reasons but simply to work. Many Egyptians, Christian and Muslim, have sought employment in oil-rich Libya as the Egyptian economy suffers from a decline in foreign tourism amid political unrest. … [Read more...]
Building a Better Spring Break
Forty-five University of Mary Washington students and staff advisers donated their time over spring break to rebuild and rehabilitate houses in needy communities. UMW’s student-run Community Outreach and Resources (COAR) team organized alternative spring break trips in Mobile, Alabama; Maryville, Tennessee; and Palm Bay, Florida. At each location, the students collaborated with Habitat for Humanity to help eliminate substandard housing. Kelly Bryant, a senior psychology major, co-led the trip to Alabama this year for her third alternative spring break. “It is such a cool experience to learn how to hammer, square a house, and put up roof trusses, all in the pursuit of giving someone a better life,” Bryant said. “It makes me so happy and proud to know that with my one short week I have made a lasting difference in someone’s life.” For some students, one trip is all it takes to change their perception of spring break. “After working with Habitat for Humanity last year, I … [Read more...]
Amphitheater Update
A $1.25 million pledge from an alumna has moved the University of Mary Washington closer to a $3 million fundraising goal to restore its historic amphitheater. The pledge, made by Josephine McPherson Heslep ’56 and her husband, Donald, of Richmond, Virginia, brings to $2.5 million the total raised for the amphitheater. Additional funding includes a $1 million pledge from Robert and of Savannah, Georgia, and more than $250,000 in gifts and pledges from other alumni and friends. “We still need to raise another half a million for the project,” said President Richard V. Hurley, “but with the tremendous amount of nostalgia and pride our alumni feel for the amphitheater, we’re confident we will reach the final goal soon.” For more than a century, the open-air amphitheater behind Lee and Trinkle halls has been an integral part of the Mary Washington experience. It was the setting for commencements, May Day celebrations, plays, and concerts. With age and weather damage, … [Read more...]
Alumni Seen
If your class year ends in 0 or 5, make plans to attend Reunion Weekend 2015, May 29 – 31, 2015! … [Read more...]
Give It Your Best Shot
The dapper gent in the middle of this 1950s photo is Burney L. Parkinson, a professor of education and psychology at Mary Washington from 1952 through 1956. He had earlier been president of the Mississippi State College for Women. He died in 1972, at age 85. But who, we wonder, are the stylish young women seated next to Dr. Parkinson? If you think you know, please tell us in 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...]
You Got It
Becky Earle Middleton ’97 recognized tray-sledder Amy Halter Watkins ’96 right away when she saw her in the fall/winter UMW Magazine. She and Amy were resident assistants in Jefferson Hall the year of the big snow. RAs returned to campus early after winter break, Becky wrote. “So we were the only ones there when the snow hit.” The Blizzard of ’96 closed campus to returning students. “We had the entire place to ourselves for nearly a week. I remember many good games of hide and seek, sledding, snowball fights, and how incredibly quiet it was.” Bob Shelton ’97 was a Jefferson RA, too. He identified Amy and thanked UMW Magazine for reviving a great memory. Dana Hall, senior associate director of athletics, wrote that she was Amy’s coach on the MWC women’s lacrosse team. Coach Hall stays in touch with Amy and her husband, Eric Watkins ’96, and their family, who live in Fredericksburg. Thanks to all who contacted the magazine, including Larissa Lipani Peluso-Fleming ’98, who said … [Read more...]