It was Move-In Day 2000, and these students looked ready to take on whatever fall semester might bring. Can you help us identify this stylish couple from 21 years ago? Photographer Lou Cordero captured the image. 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...]
You Got It!
Tonya Turner ’92 (left) recognized herself in this photo with Sammy D. Eagle at the 1988 ballfield dedication. Turner was Ton, of course, and she identified Shel as Michele Parks ’92 and Bec as Rebecca Murphy Fox ’90. Julie Lail Porter ’92 also identified Rebecca, her former roommate. Barry Fitzgerald was the photographer. Thanks to all for solving this mystery! … [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 has dealt with the inherited problem of the emerald ash-borer, an imported pest devastating the native ash species of the eastern to midwestern United States. Almost all the city’s ash trees have had to be removed. 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 … [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 childhood … [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 retired professors Debra Steckler and 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, he applies psychology in his work in the private sector, and he’s happy to share his experience and advice with psychology majors – in 2019 he was the Department of Psychological Sciences’ graduate-in-residence. Llewellyn and his wife, Deborah, have established a merit scholarship for psychology majors and contribute annually to the … [Read more...]
Marilla Haas Stayed With Music and Mary Washington
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...]
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...]
From the Alumni Board President
Greetings fellow Mary Washington Alumni, Isn’t spring the best season to stroll through the UMW campus? As many of us celebrate receiving vaccines and interacting with friends and family members we haven’t seen in months due to COVID-19, I am eager to visit our campus with all the spring blooms and renovations in progress. As much as I’ve enjoyed the UMW-sponsored virtual programs and gatherings this past year, nothing compares to a stroll down Campus Walk to remind me of the good times while a student, the excellent education I received, and the relationships that still mean so much to me. By the time you read this, the university will have held commencement exercises May 6 through 9 for the classes of 2020 and 2021, and we welcome these recent graduates to our alumni association of more than 42,000 members. Despite the challenges in our communities and in higher education, UMW continues to provide an outstanding liberal arts and sciences education to students on campus … [Read more...]