January 25, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Webmaster Walk-In WordPress Labs

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Beginning this Monday, October 31, the University Web team — Cathy Derecki and Curtiss Grymala — will hold walk-in labs to assist people with managing and enhancing their websites in the new UMW WordPress environment. Open labs will be held at George Washington Hall, Room B010 three times per week at the following times:

  • Mondays, 2:30 pm
  • Thursdays, 10:30 am
  • Fridays, 9:00 am
Clinics will start with a 15-minute talk on a specific topic of interest to site administrators. Our inaugural topic will be: “WordPress Tools to Publicize Events.” Registration is available and preferable, but feel free to walk-in if you need help. Click here to register >

Derecki, Grymala and Groom Present at edUi Conference

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Wordpress LogoCathy Finn-Derecki, Curtiss Grymala, and Jim Groom — UMW’s web team and UMW Blogs architect  — gave a presentation on the philosophical and strategic drivers behind the new UMW Web site on October 15, 2011 at the 3rd annual edUi Conference in Richmond. The presentation, entitled “University Web Site to University Web Life” talked about how the new system paves the way for a growing integration between the external image of the University and its real-time academic activities online. Also presented were the specific WordPress tools developed exclusively at UMW for scaling WordPress for multiple networks. The ideas were well-received and sparked lively discussion regarding free speech, censorship, and the changing nature of higher education online branding in the open environment of today’s web.

Charles Shields Publishes Article and Plans Speaking Engagements

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Charles J. Shields, associate director of the Great Lives Lecture Series, has an article in the October issue of Writer’s Digest magazine. The article, “Wish You Were Here,” satirizes the supposed glamour of a published author’s life. The issue is available at http://www.writersdigestshop.com/product/writers-digest-october-2011-pdf-issue/.

Shields will appear at the National Press Club’s 34th Annual Book Fair and Authors’ Night on Tuesday, November 15 in connection with his new biography, “And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life.” He also will appear at the Miami International Book Fair and at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C. in November.

Cate Brewer to be Featured on Lifetime Networks Program

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Cate Brewer, visiting instructor of theatre and dance, recently filmed an episode of “Twisted Fate,” formerly known as “The Day That Changed My Life,” to air on Lifetime Networks this fall.  People who have encountered dramatic incidents, from accidents to miracles, are at the focus of the six-part, one-hour series.

Mathematics Student Wins Award at Regional Conference

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UMW mathematics major Kathryn Dillinger won second place for her poster presentation at the Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics (SUMS) conference held at James Madison University on Saturday, October 29.  Her poster, titled Profiting with Options Using the Black-Scholes Equation, details her work completed during the Summer Science Institute of 2011 under the guidance of Dr. Leo Lee.

Join JMM on November 4 for “Founding Gardeners” with Andrea Wulf

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The James Monroe Museum and the Fredericksburg Area Museum are pleased to present a talk by Andrea Wulf, author of the recent New York Times best-seller Founding Gardeners, on Friday, November 4, at 7 p.m. at the Area Museum!

For the Founding Fathers, gardening, botany, and agriculture were elemental passions, as deeply ingrained in their characters as their belief in liberty for the nation they were creating. Wulf’s talk will offer a fascinating look at the revolutionary generation from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners and farmers. A book-signing will follow.

Tickets are $12 ($10 for Friends of JMM) and can be purchased by calling Adele Uphaus-Conner at x1123 or e-mailing auphaus@umw.edu. Find out more about Andrea Wulf and the book at her website.

Additional support for this program comes from Ron Singleton, Roxbury Farm and Garden Center, the Ann Page Garden Club, and the Rappahannock Area Master Gardeners Association.

UMW Athletics Hosts Special Olympics Fun Run; Helps Raise Over $5,000

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The University of Mary Washington athletic department co-hosted the first annual Run with the Law 5K and Special Olympics fun run on Saturday, October 22 with the Fredericksburg City Police. The races raised over $5,000 for Special Olympics Virginia, and more than 350 UMW student-athletes provided support for the fun run by lining the course and cheering for the runners.

“I was truly blown away by the support of the UMW athletes”, said Carrie Dyer, the Director of Development for Special Olympics Virginia. “I know our athletes felt extra special with all those fans cheering them on… Truly spectacular.” Several UMW athletes also accompanied some of the 75 competitors throughout the race.

The day began with a 5K run, followed by comments from UMW President Richard V. Hurley. The final event was the fun run, which began at the William M. Anderson Center and stretched to the Campus Bell Tower and turned back across campus to the starting point. The Student Athlete Advisory Council provided UMW athletes with t-shirts, lining the course and providing support.

“The 5k race for the Special Olympics and one mile ‘fun run’ helped raise over $5,000 dollars for the Special Olympics,” said UMW men’s basketball coach Rod Wood, who helped organize the event.  “That pales in comparison to the reward our athletes, coaches, and UMW community received from the special friends we met, encouraged, and shared with on Saturday. This will be a life-long memory for all of us. It really puts in perspective what we do and what we, as a community, can do. We changed lives this weekend, mostly ours. It was a powerful day and something I hope we can continue for years to come.”

COAR’s Pumpkin Palooza is Sunday

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Bring your little monsters and join us for C.O.A.R.’s annual Pumpkin Palooza this Sunday, October 30th from 1-4pm. We will have more than 20 crafts and games for kids of all ages. We will also be sending out “tours” to trick-or-treat around dorms on campus. Costumes are strongly encouraged! The event is free of charge. Please direct any questions to coarumw@gmail.com.

Dr. Cliff Edwards to Present Lecture on Vincent van Gogh

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Obj. No. 83.26. Vincent Willem Van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), The Wheat Field behind St. Paul’s Hospital, St. Rémy, 1889. Oil on canvas. 9½” H x 13¼” W (24.1 cm x 33.7 cm). Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon. Photo: Katherine Wetzel © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Join the UMW Galleries for “Mysteries of The Night Café: Hidden Key to the Spirituality of Vincent Van Gogh,” presented in conjunction with the traveling exhibition Van Gogh, Lichtenstein, Whistler: Masterpieces of World Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The lecture will be held on Sunday, October 30 at 2 p.m. inside Combs Hall, Room 139. Admission is free. However, pre-registration is required to ensure proper seating.

Dr. Cliff Edwards, professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, explores the spirituality of one of the world’s most beloved artists, Vincent Van Gogh, through one of Western art’s most mysterious paintings, The Night Café. Enter the imagination of Van Gogh through the books he read, the art he admired, and the people with whom he identified, and arrive at startling conclusions that include a new and deeply spiritual understanding of a café after midnight and the “night prowlers” who inhabit it.

Please call the Galleries at (540) 654-1013 or e-mail Justine Geiger, Visitor Services Coordinator, at jgeiger@umw.edu to reserve your seats.

This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is supported by the Paul Mellon Endowment.

W. Brown Morton III Elected Vice-Chair of Loudoun Heritage Commission

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W. Brown Morton III, UMW professor emeritus, has been elected Vice-Chair of the recently formed Loudoun Heritage Commission, a body created by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to address matters of natural and cultural heritage in Loudoun County.

Brown Morton will also present a paper, “Beyond History:  Success and Failure in Historic Preservation,” on Friday, October 28 at the Master Builder Dialogues: Preserving America presented by The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia in collaboration with Drexel University and the National Park Service.