Author: Brynn Boyer

The University of Mary Washington is listed among Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2012.

The university ranks fifth among Virginia’s best values and 44th out of 100 four-year public institutions nationwide when comparing tuition costs, according to the February 2012 issue of Kiplinger’s. The list is available online at www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.

The magazine selects the best values from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, ranking them on academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid.

For more information, read the full press release.

Ranjit Singh, associate professor of political science, will reflect on his experience with Bahrain’s royal family in relation to last year’s uprising in the Middle East during an interview on the “With Good Reason” public radio program beginning Saturday, January 7.

The interview can be heard on January 7 at 4:30 p.m. on WCVE 88.9 FM and on Sunday, January 8 at 7 p.m. and Monday, January 9 at 12:30 a.m. on WAMU 88.5 FM. The segment, “Reflections on Arab Spring,” is expected to be online beginning the week of the show at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2012/01/reflections-on-the-arab-spring/.

Read the full news release.

Holly Schiffrin, associate professor of psychology, and Hilary Stebbins, assistant professor of psychology, are presenting at the 34th annual National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology conference from January 3 to January 6.

Stebbins is presenting “It’s Not That Boring! Active Learning Activities That Help Make Teaching Biopsychology More Fun and Effective” at a participant idea exchange on Tuesday, January 3.

Schiffrin is presenting “Predicting Student Success in Introductory Statistics for Psychology: You Can Lead a Horse to Water, but You Can’t Make Him Drink It” at a poster session on Thursday, January 5.

Torre Meringolo, vice president for advancement and university relations, announced that Anna Billingsley has been named associate vice president for university relations.

An administrator at UMW since 2004, Anna Billingsley previously oversaw the university’s editorial and design staff and edited University of Mary Washington Magazine. Since July 2011, she served as interim AVP during which time she successfully guided the university’s launch of its new branding campaign.  Prior to her arrival at Mary Washington, Billingsley was editor of the University of Richmond alumni magazine. She also  taught journalism at Mary Washington and Richmond. She previously held positions as a reporter and editor at several Virginia newspapers, including The Ledger-Star in Norfolk, the Richmond News Leader and Richmond Times -Dispatch, and The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg. She also worked for the Associated Press.

Billingsley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from American University.

Steve Watkins, professor of English, is a recipient of a 2011-2012 Artist Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

The Virginia Commission of the Arts awards fellowships annually to artists residing in Virginia in recognition of creative excellence and to support their pursuit of artistic excellence. Watkins is one of four Virginia artists honored in the field of fiction. Each artist will receive a fellowship of $5,000.

For more information about the fellowship or the VCA, read the Dec. 19 press release.