May 20, 2013

UMW Awards Top Honors at Commencement Ceremonies

May 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The University of Mary Washington presented its top honors during commencement ceremonies Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11.

Courtney A. Lynn of Virginia Beach received the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award, which is presented to the student with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in the four-year undergraduate program. She finished with a 3.99 GPA.

Joella Killian, professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was presented the Grellet C. Simpson Award, the institution’s most prestigious annual award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. The recipient is routinely a senior member of the faculty.

Melanie D. Szulczewski, assistant professor of environmental science in the College of Arts and Sciences, received the UMW Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award, which is presented annually to an exceptional member of the faculty who has served the institution for at least two years but no more than five years.

Daniel J. Hubbard, associate professor in the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems in the College of Business, received the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award. The winner is selected by the graduating class as the faculty member “whom they will most likely remember as the one who had the greatest impact on their lives.”

Louis A. Martinette, associate professor in the Department of Management and Marketing in the College of Business, was recognized with the Graduate Faculty Award. The honor recognizes an exceptional full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in graduate teaching and professional leadership in a graduate program. The person selected must have served in a full-time position at the university for at least two years.

Courtney Lynn

Provost Newbould presented Courtney Lynn with the Darden Award.

Lynn is a psychology major who received a Bachelor of Science degree. A statistics tutor for two years, the Department of Psychology named her as the department’s outstanding senior.

She has served as co-president of UMW’s chapter of Psi Chi, the international psychology society. Lynn has been named to the President’s List for six semesters and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board national honor societies that recognize students for scholarship, leadership and service.

Her research on children’s stress culminated in an honors thesis titled, “The Effect of Physical Activity on the Heart Rate Recovery of Children Under Stress.”  This fall, she will enter the Ph.D. program in School Psychology at the University of South Florida.


Joella Killian

Killian has taught at UMW for 29 years, joining the faculty in 1984. Students admire her for the thoughtful and tireless ways she approaches teaching. They view Killian as a role model and mentor.

Joella Killian received the Grellet C. Simpson Award.

“They freely share their academic and personal challenges with her and actively seek her advice and support,” Interim Provost Ian Newbould said.  “The many long-lasting relationships she maintains with her former students serve as testimony to the positive impact she has had on them.”

Killian earned a doctorate in entomology from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A member of the Entomological Society of America and the scientific research society Sigma Xi, she is an expert in tree fruit entomology.

Melanie Szulczewski

A member of the faculty for the past five years, Szulczewski is recognized for her interactive ways of engaging students and her innovative teaching methods.

Melanie Szulczewski received the Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award.

“She works at helping students understand the complex scientific phenomena involved in the subjects she teaches,” Newbould said.  “Students praise her as energetic, passionate and enthusiastic.”

Szulczewski spearheaded groundbreaking programs for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, including a global inquiry course, the department’s first fully online course; its first field study course to be offered outside of Virginia and its first international course. She also initiated the development of the interdisciplinary environmental sustainability minor, a pioneering program that brings together courses from eight different departments.  In just two years, the minor has more than 35 students from 16 different majors.

Szulczewski earned both a doctorate and a master’s degree in soil science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and French literature from Cornell University.  An authoritative source on environmental issues, climate change and solar cooking, Szulczewski has presented her research at conferences such as the American Chemical Society, the Soil Science Society of America and the International Solid Waste Technology and Management Conference.

Louis Martinette

A member of the UMW faculty since 2004, Martinette is an exemplary teacher who is well-respected by his students and colleagues, according to Newbould.  Martinette earned a doctorate in business administration from Nova Southeastern University, a master’s degree from Golden Gate University, and a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University.

Before coming to UMW, he had an extensive career in the private sector. Martinette founded and served as president for 12 years of a marketing and consulting company that developed strategic business plans for major corporations, including Chesapeake Forest Products Company and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. He also served as vice president of marketing of MicroMagnetic, a major distributor of computer supplies and accessories, and worked as a marketing manager for the 3M Company. His business experience provided him practical insights that he imparts to his students, Newbould said. Under his guidance, his MBA students helped a business leader develop a strategic plan for the next stage of his firm’s growth.       “Students saw firsthand how the task of developing a marketing strategy requires keen awareness of numerous market factors and sound, critical thinking,” Newbould said.

Martinette has received professional awards, including the Silver Patrick Henry Medallion for Patriotic Achievement from the Military Order of the World Wars, an Outstanding Service Award from Averett University and the Associate Service Award from the Home Builders Association of Richmond. He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Global Management Studies, and he is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity and the American Marketing Association.

Daniel Hubbard

Daniel Hubbard received the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award.

Hubbard is a registered certified public accountant who received a doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech. He earned an A.B. from Georgia State University, a master’s from Middlebury College and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Student Government Association Treasurer Amanda Buckner, who presented the award, described Hubbard as a role model and guiding light to students.  “His door is always open and a warm smile is always waiting,” Buckner said.  “One student said ‘he has helped me immensely through college and the hardships I endured. Without his help I would not have been able to do the things I did in college.’”

His popularity also is apparent by his inclusion in the Princeton Review’s 2012 list of “Best 300 Professors.” The publication, which featured seven UMW professors, recognized 300 challenging and inspiring teaching faculty from 122 public and private colleges.

Filed Under: Academics, dhubbard, jkillian, Newsletter Latest News, Top Stories, UMW News Tagged With: , ,

Virginia Psychology Group Recognizes UMW Students

May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

University of Mary Washington psychology majors Drew Hickey and William “Heath” Sharp were recognized for their outstanding undergraduate research at the Virginia Psychological Association’s spring conference April 25 in Richmond.

They received the Frederick Rowe Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Paper,

Heath Sharp and Drew Hickey were recognized by the Virginia Psychological Association.

the highest award given for undergraduate research by the association. The honor is determined by a panel of judges who examined nearly 50 presentations by undergraduate researchers from Virginia colleges and universities, including Virginia Tech, James Madison University and Old Dominion University.

Their research, entitled “Does Gender Classification of Faces Benefit from Right Hemisphere Presentation?” looks at the role gender plays when recognizing a face. The duo, under the supervision of Associate Professor Steve Hampton, studied more than 100 people during their yearlong research project.

“They determined that deciding the gender of a face is a much slower process than determining if a face is human (versus, say, a monkey),” said Hampton. “Their research suggests that processing a face proceeds from the primitive, such as ‘what is it?’ to the complex, such as ‘who is it?’.  In between these two decisions is the decision about the gender of the face.  All of these decisions are made in well under a second and are automatically computed by the brain.”

“It’s important to understand how we process faces,” said Hickey, a senior from Stafford County.  At UMW, he helped organize SAVE, a student antiviolence education club aimed at bringing awareness to domestic violence. He also works part-time at Snowden, a mental health facility operated by Mary Washington Healthcare.

Sharp, a senior from Arlington, is pursuing a double major in psychology and Spanish. He has been treasurer of UMW’s club basketball team and plans to pursue graduate school after he graduates.

 

Filed Under: Academics, College of Arts and Sciences, Frederick Rowe Award, Newsletter Latest News, Steve Hampton, Students, Top Stories Tagged With: ,

Rosemary Arneson Presents at Conference

April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Arneson_Rosemary_58  University Librarian Rosemary Arneson is presenting a session on the ThinkLab makerspace at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference in Indianapolis this week.  The session, titled “Made in the Library” is part of the ACRL CyberZedShed series on innovative uses of technologies in academic libraries.  The UMW ThinkLab is among the first general-purpose 3D printing labs in an academic library in the country.  Arneson will also present a poster session showcasing items created in the ThinkLab.

Filed Under: Academics, Professional Notes

Nabil Al-Tikriti Participates in Iraqi Foreign Policy Workshop

February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Pro Photo 2012 On February 20-21, Associate Professor of History and American Studies Nabil Al-Tikriti joined a workshop in London entitled “Iraqi Foreign Policy in a Changing Middle East.” Participants included over thirty area experts, party representatives, government officials, scholars, and journalists.  The closed workshop was sponsored jointly by the Middle East and North Africa Programme of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House and the U.S. Institute of Peace of Washington, D.C. Six sessions covered a range of topics, including Iraq’s relations with Syria, the Kurdish Regional Government, the oil sector, and the Gulf states, as well as Iraq’s future role in the region. Chatham House plans to publish a summary report of workshop proceedings within the next few weeks.

Filed Under: Academics, HIST, Professional Notes Tagged With:

Nabil Al-Tikriti Presents Great Lives Lecture on T.E. Lawrence

February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Pro Photo 2012 I On Tuesday, Feb. 12, Nabil Al-Tikriti delivered a lecture entitled “Troubled Man, Troubling Legacy: T.E. Lawrence, 1888-1935″ as part of the Chappell Great Lives lecture series at Dodd Auditorium on the UMW campus. The prezi visuals which accompanied the presentation can be accessed here: http://prezi.com/bjyci7hkur_a/te-lawrence-troubled-man-troubling-legacy/.

The Great Lives series official video production can be accessed here: www.umw.edu/greatlives/2013/02/14/video-lawrence-of-arabia/.

In advance of the lecture, The Free-Lance Star published an opinion piece by Prof. Al-Tikriti regarding T.E. Lawrence, which can be accessed here: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2013/022013/02102013/752750/index_html?page=1.

Here is the entire text of the opinion piece, published by The Free-Lance Star on Sunday, February 10:

“RARE IS THE individual who attracts over 40 biographies within decades of his or her departure from this world. Thomas Edward Lawrence, whose troubled legacy we will examine in Dodd Hall on Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m. is one of those rare specimens.

Certain facts about his biography are well-known to casual observers, usually informed by David Lean’s 1962 film classic, “Lawrence of Arabia.” As everyone knows, Lawrence organized and led the Great Arab Revolt, which delivered the Arabs from the terrible Turkish yoke and overturned the mighty Ottoman Empire. He was more a sensitive scholar than a classic warrior, and was reluctantly pressed into service to help his country in its hour of need. He shied away from the limelight, and hated the attention he received as a result of his fame.

While each point is defensible, all are interpretations that have reached the public only after several levels of distillation. The real story is far more complicated.

Lawrence was indeed a complex man, a visionary of sorts who as a child craved to be recognized as a hero and then grew arguably insane as an adult due to his success in this realm. He welcomed the publicity offered by the prominent American journalist Lowell Thomas, the individual most responsible for shaping the legend of “Lawrence of Arabia.” He carefully managed his own image and was not above reminding people who he was when they were either unaware or uninterested in his fame. By the end of his life, he had developed a series of personality quirks that suggested borderline psychosis, and the account of his death never fully satisfied all observers.

Real contention about Lawrence springs from his legacy and the overall British legacy in the Middle East following the Great War. The popular narrative suggests that without the “Arab” uprising, the “Turks” would never have been defeated, as well as that, without Lawrence, there would have been no “Great Arab Revolt.” Neither of these propositions passes without intense criticism in the region itself. While those participating in Lawrence’s military endeavor were certainly Arab when they weren’t loyal soldiers of the British crown, they never numbered more than a few thousand, and were never more than an idealistic core of committed activists leading a motley crew of criminals, opportunists, and tribal raiders interested far more in the violent privatization of spoil and plunder than the ideals of national liberation.

As difficult as it has been for subsequent Arab and Turkish nationalists to recognize, the vast majority of Ottoman subjects in what is today the eastern Arab world were loyal to their empire to the end. In many cases, they were loyal beyond the end, as when Iraqi peasants appealed to Mustafa Kemal to rescue them from their new British overlords in the early 1920s.

Lawrence, who repeatedly claimed in his own classic “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” to have been tortured by his irreconcilable loyalties to both the British Empire and Arab independence, was capable of a ruthless pursuit of his often inconsistent agenda. He was aware of allied agreements destined to betray British promises made to the Hashemite family, and he believed that Jewish settlement of Palestine need not conflict with the rights of the indigenous Palestinians. He felt that putting Faisal on the throne in the newly created country of Iraq, and his brother Abdullah in the equally unknown Transjordan, discharged his obligations to the Arab cause. Much like today’s Obama administration, Lawrence found the judicious use of air power to be modern, humane, and more efficient than alternative methods of exerting sovereign control over recalcitrant populations.

Although this individual’s illegitimate birth, proclivity for whippings, misanthropic and chaste approach to sexual relations, and extreme personality tendencies are all psychologically fascinating, our talk on Tuesday evening will focus more on public interpretations of his legacy than his private demons. Those planning to attend should do their utmost to first screen Lean’s film classic, as all good history should begin with a great flick.”

Filed Under: Academics, HIST, Professional Notes

Janusz Konieczny Publishes in Semigroup Forum

February 7, 2013 By 1 Comment

Janusz Konieczny, professor of mathematics, has co-authored a research article, Centralizers in the full transformation semigroup, published in the journal Semigroup Forum.

Filed Under: Academics, Professional Notes Tagged With: , ,

Teresa Coffman Publishes Book

January 13, 2013 By 3 Comments

tcoffman-avatarTeresa Coffman, associate professor of education, is the author of a recently published book, “Using Inquiry in the Classroom: Developing Creative Thinkers and Information Literate Students.”

The book, published by Rowman & Littlefield in January 2013, provides an overview of inquiry learning and the importance of developing creative thinkers and information literate students in 21st century education. The text explores how learning can be directly applied in a classroom setting using real world application through technology oriented activities. Coffman showcases WebQuests, Web inquiry, telecollaborative, and problem-based activities with examples and skill-building exercises for readers to implement in their classroom. Readers work through strategies for effectively integrating technology into a teaching and learning environment so students gain maximum knowledge and understanding of core concepts. Plus, the content is personalized so that the reader can create activities and lessons for specific curriculum needs.

Coffman, T. (2013). Using inquiry in the classroom: Developing creative thinkers and information literate students. (2nd Ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. ISBN 978-1-61048-851-8

Using Inquiry in the Classroom: Developing Creative Thinkers and Information Literate Students

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James Goehring Publishes Book

January 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Goehring, Jim07Professor of Classics, Philosophy and Religion James E. Goehring’s book “Politics, Monasticism, and Miracles in Sixth Century Upper Egypt: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Coptic Texts on Abraham of Farshut” has been published.

This volume contains a critical edition and translation of the Coptic texts on Abraham of Farshut, the last Coptic orthodox archimandrite of the Pachomian federation in Upper Egypt. While past studies have focused on the origins and early years of this, the first communal monastic movement, Goehring turns to its final days and ultimate demise in the sixth century reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. He examines the literary nature of the texts, their role in the making of a saint, and the historical events that they reveal. Miracle stories and tendentious accounts give way to the reconstruction of internal debates over the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon, political intrigue, and the eventual reordering of the communal monastic movement in Upper Egypt.

2012. XIV, 160 Seiten (Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 69). ISBN 978-3-16-152214-7 fadengeheftete Broschur € 49,– eBook erscheint im Dezember

Filed Under: Academics, Professional Notes

Nabil Al-Tikriti Presents at Istanbul History Symposium

December 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

On Thursday, Dec. 20, Nabil Al-Tikriti delivered a presentation in Turkish entitled “II Bayezid Oğulları Arasındaki Taht Kavgası / The Fight Between the Sons of Bayezid II for the Throne” to the “Symposium of the Sultan Beyazit II” in Istanbul, Turkey. The symposium was sponsored by Kültür Kenti Vakfı (Cultural City Foundation), Beyoğlu Municipality, Galatasaray University, and Mimar Sinan University. The symposium program included several prominent Ottoman historians.

In the course of this presentation, Prof. Al-Tikriti engaged with current debates about Ottoman family values by pointing out that Bayezid II’s extended family members carried out nearly a dozen murders of other family members between 1481 and 1522.

The conference program can be accessed here.

 

 

Filed Under: Academics, College of Arts and Sciences, Professional Notes

Andrea Livi Smith Publishes Article in Journal

December 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Andréa Livi Smith, assistant professor and director of the Center for Historic Preservation, published her article entitled “The Young Preservationist: Findings from the First Undergraduate Historic Preservation Education Symposium” in the peer-reviewed journal Preservation Education & Research. PER is the scholarly journal of the National Council for Preservation Education.

The article is derived from the first Undergraduate Historic Preservation Education Symposium, organized by Dr. Smith and hosted by UMW in June 2010. Dr. Smith is currently organizing the second iteration of the symposium, to be held this summer.

Filed Under: Academics, College of Arts and Sciences, Professional Notes
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