Author: Brynn Boyer

On August 29, 2012, the University received a $38,000 gift to add to an existing scholarship for UMW students with exceptional academic ability. The new scholarship funds are from the daughter of Dorothy Chiles Hodnette ’26.

The late Mrs. Hodnette originally established the Chiles Scholarship in 1992 to honor her three sisters: Avie Bell Chiles Smith ’19, Lula Garland Chiles Clarke ’31, and Mary Chiles Henderson ’27. All four Chiles sisters expressed a great love for Mary Washington – and this gift perpetuates their family legacy by helping students pursue their educational dreams at UMW.

This gift update is from the Division of Advancement and University Relations.

Rosalyn Cooperman, associate professor of political science, has been named a 2012 recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Jack L. Walker Outstanding Article Award.  The award honors a paper published within the last two years that contributes to the discipline’s understanding of political organizations and parties.

Cooperman co-wrote “Activists and Conflict Extension in American Party Politics,” originally published in the American Political Science Review in 2010, with Geoffrey Layman of the University of Notre Dame, Thomas Carsey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, John Green of the University of Akron and Richard Herrera of Arizona State University.

The article examines the recent growth of party polarization in American politics. Specifically, it identifies party activists as a main source of polarization between the Democratic and Republican parties as party activists with extreme views on a variety of issue dimensions encourage candidates to take non-centrist positions.

The political organizations and parties section of APSA has recognized outstanding articles through the Jack L. Walker Award since 1989. The American Political Science Association, founded in 1903, is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 15,000 members across the world.

The UMW community was saddened this summer with the passing of Cheryl Hawkinson-Melkun.  Cheryl was a valued colleague and friend.  In order to honor her memory, College of Business colleagues are planning to purchase a bench to be placed at the Stafford campus where Cheryl founded the Writing Center and served as professor for her last years.  If you would like to support the COB’s efforts, you can make a gift as follows:

Gifts can be received via checks, online or by payroll deduction for UMW employees.  Checks should be made out to “UMW Foundation” and can be mailed to the UMW Advancement Office (1119 Hanover St).  Most importantly, donors need to be sure to write on their check’s memo line “for Cheryl Hawkinson-Melkun bench” (the same goes for the designation field on the online gift form). If donors forget to do this, the gift will go to the general Fund for Mary Washington.

For more information, contact Lynne Richardson at (540) 654-1455.

Melanie Szulczewski, assistant professor of environmental science, presented “Examination of the Diverse Environmental Impacts of Long-Term Acid Mine Drainage on a Virginia Stream Ecosystem” in the environmental chemistry division at the 244th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The national meeting was held in Philadelphia, Penn., August 19 to 23.

Erma Baker, assistant vice president for business services and chief purchasing officer, has been named vice president of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services-East  (NACAS-East).

NACAS, headquartered in Charlottesville, is the largest auxiliary services support organization serving higher education.  Established in 1969, NACAS is a nonprofit higher education association serving auxiliary services and student support services professional. The east region encompasses 13 states as well as Washington, D.C., Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Provinces, Ireland and the United Kingdom.