The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Jim Groom, director of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies, one of 12 “tech innovators who are transforming campuses.” Along with the distinction, Groom is featured in the Sunday, Feb. 26 issue. The article “Self-Described ‘EduPunk’ Says Colleges Should Abandon Course-Management Systems” explores Groom’s involvement with UMW’s digital-storytelling course and his ideas on learning management systems.
Claudia Emerson Releases New Poetry Collection
Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry Claudia Emerson’s new book “Secure the Shadow” is now available. Her book, published by Louisiana State University Press, is a collection of poetry.
Daringly realistic and artfully mediated by past and present, Claudia Emerson’s Secure the Shadow contains historical pieces as well as poems centering on the deaths of the poet’s brother and father. Emerson covers all aspects of the tragedies that, as Keats believed, contribute to our human collective of Soul-making, in which each death accrues into an immortal web of ongoing love and meaning for the living. Emerson’s unwavering gaze shows that loss cannot be eluded, but can be embraced in elegies as devastating as they are beautiful.
UMW Speaking Center Director Publishes Book
UMW Speaking Center Director Esther Yook co-edited a book on communication centers in higher education, published by Lexington Books. “Communication Centers and Oral Communication Programs in Higher Education” is a collection that examines the centers that support communication departments or across-the-curriculum programs as higher education focuses more attention on the communication field. The text addresses theoretical issues covering topics such as the importance of communication centers to higher education, and the effects of communication centers on retention, critical thinking in the center and ethics.
Mark Thaden Presents at Conferences
Mark Thaden, director of alumni relations, presented at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III conference in Atlanta from Feb. 19 to 22. Thaden’s talk focused on small shop alumni relations.
On Monday, March 26, he will present “Cost Effective Strategies for Reaching out to Alumni: Alumni Relations on a Shoe String” at the Institute of International Education’s Finnish Higher Education Experts USA Study Tour in Washington, D.C.
Jeopardy Question References Charles Shields’ Book
In an episode of the television program “Jeopardy” that aired on Friday, Feb. 24, the final question referenced Charles J. Shields’ biography “And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life.” Shields is associate director of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series.
The question, in the category of literary biographies, was:
“Quoting a famous line of his, a 2011 biography of this man was titled ‘And So It Goes’.”
Steve Farnsworth Featured in The Washington Post
Steve Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is featured in the Thursday, Feb. 23 issue of The Washington Post. In the article “McDonnell, Virginia Republicans Back Off Mandatory Invasive Ultrasounds,” Farnsworth comments on Gov. McDonnell’s decision to remove support from a bill.
Farnsworth discusses a similar topic in an interview on WAMU 88.5’s “The Kojo Nnamdi Show.” The Thursday, Feb. 23 segment, “Reversal in Virginia,” discusses the implications for Gov. McDonnell.
On Monday, Feb. 27, Farnsworth appeared on TBD NewsChannel 8’s program “News Talk with Bruce DePuyt.”
Writing Contest Winners
The 2011 Writing Contest winners were announced Wednesday, Feb. 22. They are:
FSEM:
Meredith Stone: “Learning about Race”
Instructor: Dr. Cooperman
Brooke Andrews: “What Makes an Effective Infographic”
Instructor: Dr. Hydorn
Arts and Humanities:
Katie Hubbard: “Embodiment and Sexuality in the Works of Mark Z. Danielewski and Shelley Jackson: Postmodern Reactions to Posthumanism”
Instructor: Dr. Whalen
Tracy Frelk: “The Corpse Beloved: Necrophilia and a Strange Feminism in Haggard’s ‘She'”
Instructor: Dr. Mathur
Natural and Social Sciences (Sophomores and Juniors):
Gemma Cohen: “Neighborhoods and Child Development”
Instructor: Dr. L. Martin
Sara Krechel: “Harry Potter and the History of Racism”
Instructor: Dr. Cincinnati
Ethan Bottone: “Keeping a Language Alive: Inuktitut”
Instructor: Dr. Bowen
Natural and Social Sciences (Seniors):
Dana Cazan: “Is It Time to Upgrade? The Technological ‘Participation Gap’ and Fairfax County Public Schools”
Instructor: Dr. Moon
Katie Geary: “Preferences in Human Mate Selection Explained from a Social Role Perspective and an Evolutionary Perspective”
Instructor: Dr. Liss
Kelsey Coates: “Busying Giddy Minds: A Pluralist Perspective on Argentina’s Invasion of the Falklands”
Instructor: Dr. J. Davidson
Brian Brown: “Imaginative Geographics: Culture, Power, and Memory in National Memorials”
Instructor: Dr. Hanna
Cameron Carroll: They’re Coming to Get You, America: The Popularity of Zombie Films and National Fear during the Cold War and the War on Terror”
Instructor: Dr. Ferrell
Congratulations, winners! Please look for their papers in their entirety in the forthcoming publication of the 2011 Writing Contest Winners.
James Monroe Museum Acquires Revolutionary War Document
Front of the furlough document
On Friday, Feb. 17, the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library announced the acquisition of a significant artifact from the Revolutionary War. The museum has obtained a furlough signed by then-Major James Monroe on February 23, 1778, at Valley Forge. The furlough is believed to be the earliest-known official document bearing Monroe’s signature.
Support from the Friends of the James Monroe Museum was instrumental in purchasing the furlough from a nationally recognized documents dealer. The effort involved several weeks of negotiation and fundraising.
“Securing such a rare and interesting artifact as this furlough for the museum’s collection would be good news under any circumstances,” said Scott Harris, director of the James Monroe Museum. “To do so with the help of so many supporters is especially gratifying.”
The furlough, or military pass, was issued to Second Lieutenant John Wallace, Jr. of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, an infantry unit in the division of Major General William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling. At the time, 19-year-old James Monroe served as Stirling’s aide-de-camp.
Donations made specifically for the purpose of buying the document came from the following: Paul M. Jones Revocable Trust; Stewart Jones Charitable Trust; Clan Munro Association, USA; Champe and Mary Randolph Corbin; Mrs. Mary Alice Regier Hoes; Charles and Mary Wynn McDaniel; Mrs. Rita M. Stone; and Judge Jere M. H. Willis, Jr. and Mrs. Barbara Willis.
COAR to Host Variety Show & Egg Hunt
Egg roll at Brompton
Community Outreach and Resources (COAR) will host a variety show on Saturday, March 24 to support Habitat for Humanity and Alternative Break trips. The show will begin at 2 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium and will feature various UMW performing arts groups, including the UMW Dance Team, the UMW Breakers and BellA’capella. Tickets are not required, but donations will be accepted.
On Sunday, April 1, COAR will host the annual Spring Forward Festival at the President’s residence at Brompton. The festival, from 1 to 4 p.m., will include crafts, games, food and egg hunts. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact COAR at coarumw@gmail.com or (540) 654-1802.
Great Lives Lectures Available Online
Starting Friday, Feb. 24, high-definition presentations of all 2012 lectures in the Chappell Great Lives Lecture series will be available online.
Every Friday, another presentation will be released in chronological order, starting with Charles J. Shields’ talk on the life of American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, which was the first lecture on Jan. 24. The release dates will run into the end of June, the last being James “Bud” Robertson’s lecture on the Civil War soldier. After that, several years’ worth of lectures will be available.
Each presentation will begin with a short introduction summarizing the life of person written about, followed by background about the lecturer. Subscribers to updates about the series will automatically receive a reminder e-mail that a new presentation is available. Each presentation is full-length, about an hour, which includes questions from the audience at the end. The series is being filmed and edited by UMW’s Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies.
The videos will be accessible for viewing online under “Archived Lectures” on the homepage of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series. A link to the schedule of releases will be there, too. The series will also be posted on YouTube and a number of other social media outlets.
The schedule of the lectures, and the release dates of the videos is here: http://www.umw.edu/greatlives/2012/02/20/great-lives-videos-to-be-released-weekly-beginning-march-24/.