Author: Brynn Boyer

President Richard V. Hurley sent out the following message on Thursday, March 1:

I have been notified by Dr. Jay A. Harper that he has chosen to step down as provost at UMW, effective June 24, 2012.  Given this decision, I feel it is in the best interests of the University to move quickly to effect a transfer of leadership responsibility within the Academic Affairs Division of the institution.  Accordingly, we will begin the formal transition of provost duties on April 2, 2012 as detailed in this message.

In his notification to me, Dr. Harper stated the following:

“For the last three years I have had the honor of leading an outstanding faculty through significant reorganization. The creation of two new professional colleges linked with the core College of Arts and Sciences is consonant with my initial mission.  I believe the division of Academic Affairs is well positioned to lead the university through our decennial reaffirmation process.  I am confident that we are well on our way to becoming the best public liberal arts university in the nation.”

As president, and on behalf of the Board of Visitors, I want to thank Dr. Harper for his service as provost at the University of Mary Washington.  He is to be commended for his efforts in leading the academic administration of UMW at a time of great transition and for laying the foundation for the upcoming SACS reaffirmation.  Please join me in offering Provost Harper our sincere thanks for his contributions to the University.

As noted above, I am moving forward now to appoint an interim provost to serve through the 2012-2013 academic year.  I will engage the services of a nationally recognized interim placement firm to assist in the hiring of an experienced and highly skilled administrator for this key position.

In early April, candidates for the interim provost position will be visiting UMW.  During their visits, an opportunity will be provided for interested faculty and staff to meet each candidate.  I soon will provide additional information about the candidates and their visits to campus.

The final executive decision to select the interim provost will fall to me as president.  It is my intention to complete this process and have the interim provost in place not later than the end of April.  Associate Provost John Morello temporarily will lead the Academic Affairs Division until the interim provost arrives.

Early in the fall 2012 semester, I will appoint and charge a provost search committee, comprised primarily of faculty members, to conduct a vigorous national search for highly qualified candidates.  I will consult with the University Faculty Organization Committee and the University Faculty Council (UFC) regarding the composition of the committee.  A national search firm will assist the provost search committee and the search process will provide ample opportunities for input from the University community.  I anticipate that the new provost will be named by the spring of 2013 and will take office not later than July 1, 2013.

I want to assure all members of the University of Mary Washington community that our forward momentum will continue through the coming months.  We are fortunate to have outstanding faculty and staff who are committed to academic excellence and dedicated to the goal of providing a high quality experience for our students.  I look forward to working with you as we strive to achieve even greater success in the future.

John P. Broome, assistant professor in curriculum & instruction and director of undergraduate secondary and preK-12 education programs in the College of Education, will present his study on the state of Virginia history and social sciences instruction to the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators (VCSSSCE) in Richmond, Va., on March 16, 2012. This organization comprises stakeholders in Virginia history and social sciences education, including social studies specialists, college educators, museum professionals, social studies education non-profit professionals and representatives from the Virginia Department of Education.

Dr. Broome serves on a national research team studying the state of social studies education in the United States. The first study of its kind, this 50-state survey-based research sampled K-12 social studies educators in America. The team’s study focuses on the impact of high-stakes standards, use of instructional time, methods of instruction and assessment and application of technology in U.S. K-12 social studies classrooms.

This summer, Dr. Broome will continue his exploratory mixed-method study by conducting focus groups with K-12 Virginia social studies educators. Dr. Broome’s research is being used to inform school-, district- and state-level policy and instructional decisions in the Commonwealth  of Virginia.

A one-day symposium will be held at UMW on fundamentalism and women’s rights in Islam.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Great Hall 9:00-5:00

PANELISTS
Farzaneh Davari – Women’s rights activist on Gender Perspective of Transition to Democracy
Yvonne Haddady – Professor of History at Georgetown University
Sheerin Hunter – Director of the Reformist Islam Project at Georgetown University
Mark Perry – Director of the Washington, D.C., London, and Beirut-based Conflicts Forum on Democracy
Sharifeh Zuhur – Scholar of Middle Eastern History, Institute of Middle Eastern, Islamic, and Strategic Studies

Sponsored by the following departments: Campus Academic Resource Committee, Geography, James Farmer Multicultural Center, Leidecker Center for Asian Studies, The Office of Student Life, Political Science and International Affairs, Sociology and Anthropology, and Women’s and Gender Studies

Questions? contact safsous@mail.umw.edu

Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of philosophy and religion, spoke on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at a symposium on philosophy of the Middle Ages at the Leibniz University of Hannover in Germany. The title of his lecture was “Soul in Later Islamic Philosophy.”

On Sunday, Feb. 26, Aminrazavi spoke at the third annual Interreligious Learning Institute in Bethesda, Md. The plenary discussion was on “Peace and Violence: Perspectives from the Sacred Texts of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.”

The commentary “College: Will it still be (a) there and (b) good?  A Mary Washington Bubble?” appeared in the Thursday, March 1 edition of The Free Lance-Star in conjunction with the March 1 Day of Action Occupy Education.

UMW faculty members Craig Vasey,  Ernest Ackermann, Jason Davidson, Suzanne Sumner, Leslie Martin, Denis Nissim-Sabat, Steve Watkins, Eric Bonds and Jo Tyler co-authored the piece.