A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Stephen Farnsworth
A new Virginia public opinion survey sponsored by UMW’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies and created by Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science, has generated considerable media attention, with two front-page news stories on the poll in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and reports in a variety of media outlets, including Slate.com, the Daily Kos, the American Prospect and the Washington Post.
Marie E. McAllister, professor of English, authored the lead article in volume nine of Eighteenth-Century Novel, “Pox Imagery in Clarissa.“
Eric Lorentzen, associate professor of English, gave a scholarly talk at this year’s annual Northeastern Modern Language Association conference in Boston, for a panel called “Dickens at 201.” The talk was titled “Cultural Studies, Critical Pedagogy, and Connecting with ‘Boz’ in the 21st Century.”
Chris Foss, professor of English, presented a paper entitled “The Aesthetics of Bharautism: The Articulation of Autistic Identity and Indianness in Raam, My Name Is Khan, and How Can I Talk If My Lips Don’t Move?” at the 43rd annual national meeting of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association on Wednesday, March 27. This year’s conference, which featured more than 3,000 program participants, was held at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.
Three UMW faculty participated in the recent Virginia Humanities Conference at Christopher Newport University on Friday, March 16. Professor of Art History Joseph Dreiss presented a paper, “The Landscape Interventions of Any Goldsworthy,” while Associate Professor of English Danny Tweedy delivered a paper entitled, “Faith and Ecology: Spirituality versus Eco-collapse in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.” Mary Beth Mathews, associate professor of religion, served as UMW’s delegate to the VHC.
Margaret Ray, professor of economics and director of the Center for Economic Education, recently received a M.Ed. from UMW. Ray previously earned a Ph.D. (1988) in economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an M.A. (1985) in economics from Western Illinois University, and a B.S. (1984) in economics with a minor in agriculture from Oklahoma State University.
More than 85 global microfinance partners have joined the University of Mary Washington in the Month of Microfinance. Throughout the month of April, students at UMW and other participating colleges, universities and high schools will host and participate in campus events related to providing financial services to low-income people who would otherwise be unable to get assistance.
A grassroots movement founded at UMW, the Month of Microfinance (MoMF) is in its second year. This year, dozens of international partners are supporting MoMF, including Kiva, Whole Foods Market’s Whole Planet Foundation and Accion. The program highlights local and global events with the goal of providing a value-driven and positive impact for clients. MoMF facilitates connections between students and the microfinance community through conversation and learning. Muhammad Yunus, recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, advocated for microfinance principles in a recent video.
“Many of the poor don’t have access to financial services and we’re really trying to change that,” said Laura Dick, a senior anthropology and economics major and member of the MoMF executive board.
As a part of MoMF, a group of UMW students will participate in the Two Dollar Challenge from April 8 through 13. The Two Dollar Challenge, founded by Associate Professor of Economics Shawn Humphrey in 2007, is designed to raise funds and awareness for poverty-related causes. The Two Dollar Challenge also will occur at other campus communities across the country. Funds raised during the Two Dollar Challenge will go towards La Ceiba, a UMW-based collegiate microfinance institution founded by Humphrey that provides financial, social and educational support to communities in El Progreso, Honduras.
“We’re passionate about what we’re doing” said Dick. “We really believe that it’s not just our intentions that matter, but the effects of our actions.”
For more information about MoMF and a full schedule of events, visit http://monthofmicrofinance.org/.
Marie E. McAllister, Professor of English, authored the lead article in volume 9 of Eighteenth-Century Novel, “Pox Imagery in Clarissa.“