March 29, 2024

New Position for Greta Franklin

Greta Franklin, associate director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center, will be moving to Bloomington, Ill., where she’ll be the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Illinois Wesleyan University. As the Director, Greta will oversee diversity and social justice initiatives for the campus community and provide support for underrepresented students.   

Greta is an alumna of the University of Mary Washington (when it was Mary Washington College). Her time as a student leader at Mary Washington led her to a career in Student Affairs.  Greta held positions in multicultural affairs and student life at the University of Maryland, College Park, Vassar College, and the Community College of Baltimore County before returning to UMW in 2011 to be the Associate Director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center.

Please be sure to share your best wishes with Greta as she starts this new chapter in her professional career.

 

 

Multicultural Fair Returned for 23rd Year, April 13

The University of Mary Washington held its 23rd annual Multicultural Fair on Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The outdoor fair, organized by the James Farmer Multicultural Center, is one of the largest annual events at UMW, attracting more than 4,000 attendees each year. The Multicultural Fair demonstrates UMW’s commitment to multicultural awareness through a variety of ethnic performances, food and vendors. The fair also features kid-friendly crafts, activities and performances. “It’s one of those events where an adult will have just as much fun as a kid,” said Greta Franklin, associate director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center. “There’s something for everyone.” Throughout the day, more than 30 music and dance groups performed across campus, including Un Mundo, a local salsa band, Afro Funk All Stars, Intuition Band, Levi Stephens, and the McGrath Academy of Irish Dance. More than a dozen UMW student groups also performed, including BellACapella, UMW’s all-female a capella group, Eagle Bhangra and UMW Praise Dance. This year’s fair featured more than 60 vendors selling an array of jewelry, pottery, instruments and traditional clothing representing various cultures and 11 food trucks from different cuisines. “The goal [of the fair] is to celebrate cultural diversity and celebrate the differences amongst us and how they enrich our lives,” said Franklin. “It’s a very celebratory day.” The Multicultural Fair will be held rain or shine and is free and open to the public. For more information, including a full list of performers, visit http://www.umw.edu/multicultural/fair or contact the James Fair Multicultural Center at (540) 654-1044.

Multicultural Fair Draws Thousands to Campus

For the more than 4,000 people who attended UMW’s Multicultural Fair on Saturday, April 14, the campus was transformed into a space for music, dance, art and food from countless cultures.

“The day was a great mixture of student performances as well as local and regional performers,” said Greta Franklin, associate director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center. “It made the day unique and special.”

Franklin said about 60 UMW volunteers helped make this year’s event possible.

For an album of photos, visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150817947446660.473326.63057846659&type=3 or read the story in the Free Lance-Star.

Addition to James Farmer Multicultural Center Staff

It is with great enthusiasm that the James Farmer Multicultural Center announces the arrival of the newest member of its leadership team:  Greta Franklin, as associate director.  Franklin comes to UMW with a great deal of experience in the field of multicultural and diversity programming initiatives.  She joins the university after serving in key administrative multicultural leadership positions at the Community College of Baltimore County, Vassar College and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Franklin began her professional career at Mary Washington’s James Farmer Multicultural Center as the Multicultural Student Counselor from 2000 to 2005.  She received a bachelor’s in art history from the University of Mary Washington and a master’s of education in college student personnel from the University of Maryland, College Park.