Margaret Sutton, Life and Art

Ridderhof Martin Gallery Through June 29

In 1993, Mary Washington received an extraordinary gift from an extraordinary benefactor, the New York painter Alfred Levitt. It included more than 3,000 works of art from his personal collection. These included works not only by Levitt, but also by his dear friend Margaret Sutton ’26. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Mary Washington, Sutton moved to New York City where she met Levitt and his wife, Gertrude, a lawyer. The three lived together in a Greenwich Village apartment from 1939 until Gertrude Levitt died in 1983. Alfred Levitt and Sutton remained together there until Sutton’s death in 1990. The exhibit Margaret Sutton, Life and Art examines a rich moment in American art through Sutton’s work and long career. Most importantly, the exhibit represents what is best in the UMW Department of Art and Art History – students learning, creating, and contributing. Students in Professor of Art History Marjorie Och’s Laboratory in Museum Studies class are curating … [Read more...]

Bring Old Photos to Digitize at Reunion

Do you have a box of college memorabilia stashed away somewhere? We hope you’ll bring it to reunion to share with fellow alumni and preserve for the future. During Reunion Weekend, UMW digital archivists will set up a scanning station at the University Center to preserve your college photos and papers as part of Mary Washington history. You can keep your originals or donate them to the University Archives, but either way you’ll contribute to the lasting record of a time and place that meant so much to you. The History Harvest table will also feature an exhibit of artifacts from the archives. The table will be open the afternoon of Friday, June 2, and the morning of Saturday, June 3. Reunion Weekend ends Sunday, June 4. Learn more online at www.alumni.umw.edu/reunionweekend. … [Read more...]

Farnsworth Among Best Profs in Virginia

Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs, is the University of Mary Washington’s latest winner of a statewide award for outstanding higher education faculty. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) selected Farnsworth as one of 12 award recipients from a field of 97 nominees for 2017. The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate the highest level of scholarship, teaching, mentoring, public service, and research. Farnsworth has taught at UMW for 16 years and directs the Center for Leadership and Media Studies. He is the author or co-author of five books and dozens of articles and book chapters on mass media, the presidency, and state and national politics. He is a frequent media commentator on political topics. He was a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Scholar at McGill University and is former president of the Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association and of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national … [Read more...]

Shetterly’s Book Is UMW’s Next Common Read

Incoming first-year students will learn in-depth about the crucial role a team of female African-American mathematicians played in the early days of America’s space program. The university has selected Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race as the common read for 2017-18. Students receive the book at orientation in June and join the campus community in a discussion of the book in August. Throughout the year, university events feature themes from the reading. The program includes a lecture and campus visit by the author. In March 2017, the Fredericksburg area’s Central Rappahannock Regional Library held a lecture and book-signing by Shetterly at Dodd Auditorium in UMW’s George Washington Hall. Every seat was taken, many attendees stood at the sides of the auditorium, and an overflow crowd watched the talk on a screen in the lobby. Shetterly signed books for two hours … [Read more...]

Bennett, Chenoweth Play Sold-Out Dodd

Legendary singer Tony Bennett thrilled the audience in sold-out Dodd Auditorium in a Dec. 9, 2016, concert that stretched to four encores. In March, singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth also sang with the UMW Philharmonic Orchestra to an adoring, standing-room-only crowd. Singing with both the full orchestra and a select quintet, Bennett offered many familiar favorites, including I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Rags to Riches, and The Way You Look Tonight. The audience couldn’t get enough of the high-energy performance by the 90-year-old musical powerhouse, and Bennett returned to the stage for encore after encore, performing almost 20 minutes longer than expected. Bennett’s production manager, Tom Young, told Philharmonic Conductor Kevin Bartram afterward: “We have done a lot of colleges over the years, but never with the college orchestra. You have a great combination of community members and students. It really works.” Bennett appeared as part of the Philharmonic’s … [Read more...]

Qdoba’s Braxton Wins Service Award

Grace Anne Braxton, who works as a dining room attendant at Qdoba in the University Center, won the regional Customer Experience Award from Sodexo in February. Braxton, a longtime Campus Dining employee, earned the recognition for being a kind, thoughtful, and hard-working employee who has formed supportive bonds with students, said Rose Benedict, UMW Dining’s marketing director. Braxton previously won local and district awards for her Sodexo work. In addition, she is an accomplished Special Olympics athlete, having won gold medals in swimming and golf in three World Summer Games. She also has competed in track and field, basketball, field hockey, skiing, and ice skating. An avid basketball fan, Braxton is a season ticketholder for UMW Basketball and shouts encouragement from the stands. … [Read more...]

Give It Your Best Shot!

Who knew packing for travel could be so much fun? Or are these students unpacking souvenirs from a spring-break getaway? The photo is undated and the subjects’ names are unknown, but they look very happy with the contents of the suitcase. If you can help us identify these three travelers, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment, or send us an email. You may also write to: UMW Magazine – Get the Picture 1301 College Ave. Fredericksburg, Va. 22401-5300. … [Read more...]

You Got It!

The creative members of the Class of ’94 who dressed up as Interstate 95 for Halloween were, left to right, Megan Carter Shepherd, Heidi Heise Pardue, and Patricia “Tricia” Cleary Lenney. Wes Cantrall ’93 was the first to identify the three. He shared the sad news that Tricia Cleary Lenney passed away in 2013. Others who helped with identifications are Tisha Custis Henderson ’93, Sarah Lange ’94, Stacy Tench ’94, Jeff Kramer ’96, and Andy Whitman ’97. Though he graduated with the Class of ’97, Andy started at Mary Washington with the Class of ’94 and remembers being in biology lab with Heidi Heise Pardue. Thanks to all! We use this column to supplement photo information for UMW’s digital collections. To see more images, go to archive.umw.edu and choose the Centennial Image Collection. … [Read more...]

Swimmers Corley, Tarkenton Go All-American

A stellar season for men’s and women’s swimming culminated in March with All-American honors for seniors Anna Corley and Dallas Tarkenton at the NCAA Division III Swimming Championships in Shenandoah, Texas. Tarkenton turned in two All-American performances with a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly and a ninth-place result in the 200-yard fly. He also competed in the 200-yard individual medley. Tarkenton earned All-American honors at last year’s NCAAs as well. In the 200-yard individual medley, Corley finished in 13th place, earning All-American honors. She also competed in the 400-yard individual medley and the 100-yard freestyle. Earlier, both the men’s and women’s swim teams captured 2017 Capital Athletic Conference Championship titles. It was the 27th straight title for Mary Washington women and the 17th consecutive title, 23rd overall, for the men. Freshmen Julia Geskey and Austin Farrar were named CAC Rookies of the Year. Head Coach Abby Brethauer and … [Read more...]

Riding Program to Stay at Hazelwild

The UMW varsity equestrian program will stay at Hazelwild Farm after all. Hazelwild, the riding program’s longtime home in Spotsylvania County, had earlier told UMW it could not accommodate the program after the spring 2017 semester. But that situation changed, to the delight of team members and UMW’s Director of Athletics Ken Tyler. “We appreciate our longstanding partnership with Hazelwild, as well as their cooperation in working together with us for a viable solution,” Tyler said. “We’re really happy for our student-athletes.” UMW is the only public institution in the commonwealth that offers riding at the varsity level, according to Tyler. The 25-member team participates in eight shows each year, in addition to regional, zone, and national competitions. In 14 of the past 17 years, UMW has sent at least one rider to the national championships. … [Read more...]