Author: Brynn Boyer

[vimeo 50547675 w=640 h=360]

A Culture of Innovation from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Martha Burtis, Jim Groom, Tim Owens and Andy Rush of UMW’s Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies (DTLT) presented on Tuesday, October 2 at the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s Online Fall Focus Session on the theme of innovation in higher education. The basic question guiding the presentation, which was centered around the seven minute video above, was the following: how does a university like UMW consistently foster innovative projects like UMW Blogs, ds106, and, more recently, A Domain of One’s Own?

There’s no one adequate stock answer to such a question, so when preparing the presentation DTLT decided to interview students, faculty, and staff around campus to get a broader sense of the culture of innovation happening at UMW. What DTLT got in return for its labors was quite compelling. The video was shot and edited by Andy Rush, and it’s just a teaser for a much larger documentary that DTLT is planning on making this semester to start chronicling and narrating the culture of innovation at UMW.

In the past two weeks, UMW students, faculty and staff have shown their generosity through Day of Service activities and National Student Day.

When Governor Bob McDonnell declared September 29, 2012 to be the “Day of Service in Virginia,” the UMW Staff Advisory Council (S.A.C.) moved into action. The S.A.C. Eagles in Service quickly replaced their school supply drive boxes with Day of Service food donation boxes and then went to work soliciting donations to fight hunger in Virginia.

When September 29 arrived, the group delivered 300 pounds of food to the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. Priscilla Sullivan, S.A.C. activities chair,  said she is very grateful to each UMW employee who donated to this crucial effort. The next donation campaign will kick off at the employee luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

On Wednesday, Oct. 3, more than 50 student volunteers gathered in Lee Hall for UMW’s Stop Hunger Now event. The students packaged 10,000 meals for children and families from impoverished areas who have been affected by natural disasters. The Center for Honor, Leadership and Service and the UMW Bookstore partnered to bring the event to UMW as part of National Student Day,  a day that celebrates the volunteer work of students nationwide.

On Sunday, September 30, Professor of Art and Art History Joseph Dreiss presented a paper at the 26th Annual Meeting of the 
Society for Literature, Science and the Arts (SLSA)

which was held in Milwaukee, Wis. The paper, “Direct Encounters with Nonhuman Nature: The Landscape Interventions of Andy Goldsworthy,” was presented as part of the Arts and Ecologies session. Fellow panelist and presenters were Elizabeth Kessler, Stanford University, who presented on “Alignments: Earthworks, Astronomy, and Instrumentality” and  Christine Filippone, University of Pennsylvania, who presented on “The Human Use of Human Beings?: Feminism and Systems Theory in Public Sculpture and Ecological Art.”

The Society for Literature, Science and the Arts is an interdisciplinary society devoted to the study of the interrelationship and dialogue between the science, engineering, technology and the arts.

The University Health Center and Department of Emergency Management and Safety are hosting flu clinics on the following days:

Friday, October 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Campus Walk at Ball Circle
Rain location will be at the Link (Randolph-Mason)

Tuesday, October 9 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Stafford Campus, South Conference Room

Tuesday, October 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Seacobeck-Faculty Staff Dining Room (lower level)

Flu shots will be available for students, faculty and staff FREE of charge.

Anyone with questions regarding the flu clinic may contact the Health Center at 654-1040.

Free flu shots are also available at specified locations for state employees and their covered family members that are enrolled in COVA Care and COVA HDHP health plans.  For more information and a list of participating pharmacies, go to http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hbenefits/flushotinformation.html   Kaiser Permanente HMO plan members have access to free flu shots at participating Kaiser medical centers.

Susan Knick, director of scheduling and events, was named the first recipient of Leadership Fredericksburg’s Joseph H. Dangler Leadership Visionary Award. Knick, a 2009 graduate of the Leadership Fredericksburg program, received the award during a ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 3. The award goes to a graduate of Leadership Fredericksburg who has been a top community leader.