For JoNeal Hendricks Scully ’59, a handwritten note can be the scene of a crime. She zeroes in on evidence others might miss, probing each penned character for possible leads. Is it larger or smaller than normal? More pointed or more round? Slanted to the left or to the right? Little details can give Scully big tips about a penman’s personality. She has used them to weigh in on everything from criminal investigations to romantic relationships. But her decades-long career as a certified handwriting analyst came together much like the mysteries she solves – one clue at a time. “It’s like working a puzzle,” said Scully, who studied history, education, and psychology at Mary Washington. “You keep coming around and around. You’re looking for so many things.” Scully taught school for a while after college, but it wasn’t for her. Three years overseas, two children, and one decade later, she decided to revisit her love of psychology. She was excited until the graduate-school … [Read more...]
Marion Sanford
Marion Sanford didn’t think of herself as different until she started grad school at Iowa State University. “I found myself for the first time in 22 years being the only African-American student in class,” said Sanford, who grew up in Greenville, Miss. “I always knew I was African-American. I never felt like a minority.” Since then, she’s been committed to bringing diversity to colleges, one campus at a time. As director of UMW’s James Farmer Multicultural Center and Multicultural Student Affairs, Sanford juggles a parade of responsibilities. Whether she and her staff are planning for the thousands of guests who come to the Multicultural Fair each spring or putting together a peer-mentoring program, one name is never far from her mind. “We’re here to further the work of Dr. Farmer as it relates to equality,” Sanford said of the late civil rights leader and beloved Mary Washington professor of history and American studies. After earning a doctorate from Iowa State, Sanford … [Read more...]