Zach Whalen, Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Linguistics and Communication, presented a paper at the recent Society for Textual Scholarship hosted by Loyola University Chicago. The paper, “Videogame Typography and its Antecedents” developed used a reading of alphanumeric characters in videogames as a hermeneutic for thinking about how videogames express meaning.
Brian Baker Selected as Judge for William James Foundation Business Plan Contest
Brian Baker, Executive Director for Entrepreneurship at the University of Mary Washington Center for Economic Development ,was selected as a business plan judge for the second year by the William James Foundation. The William James Foundation has managed business plan competitions during the last decade that support for-profit businesses that integrate social and/or environmental values into how they make money. $150,000 will be divided among the business owners with the best proposals. Baker will provide guidance and evaluations to companies in both the concept and finalist rounds.
COAR’s Spring Forward Festival, 3/24
Join COAR at the President’s home at Brompton on Sunday, March 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. for the annual Spring Forward Festival. The free event will include spring crafts, games and hourly egg hunts.
If you have any questions about the event, contact COAR by email at coarumw@gmail.com or by phone at (540) 654-1802.
Chris Foss Presented Paper
Chris Foss, professor of English, presented a paper entitled “Engaging Eastern Enjoyment(s): Poetic Renderings of Hindu Festivals in Ghosh and Naidu” at the annual meeting of the Interdisciplinary Nineteenth Century Studies Association on Sunday, March 17. This year’s conference, hosted by the University of Virginia, was held in Charlottesville.
UMW Paints the Campus Purple
On Monday, March 18, President Richard V. Hurley and several faculty members spent several hours in “jail” on Campus Walk to raise money for Relay for Life. Hurley, along with Anand Rao, Dan Hubbard and Christina Eggenberger, participated in Relay for Life’s Jail and Bail event. The four sat in a makeshift “jail” until they posted “bail,” achieved through donations to Relay for Life. During the same afternoon, David Rettinger and Janet Asper volunteered to be “pied” in the face by fellow faculty members and students.
In all, the event raised more than $1,700. The event kicked off Relay for Life Awareness Week at UMW. The week will continue on Thursday, March 21 with a Luminaria Ceremony in front of Monroe Hall at 7:30 p.m. The ceremony will honor, celebrate and remember those affected by cancer. Luminaria bags will be available for $10 that you can decorate and dedicate to those you would like to honor.
On Friday, March 22, the Relay for Life Planning Committee encourages students, faculty and staff to wear purple to raise awareness for Relay for Life.
This year’s Relay for Life at UMW will start at 6 p.m. on April 6 and will continue through 7 a.m. on April 7. If you would like to sign up, please visit: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY13SA?pg=entry&fr_id=48740.
For more information, please contact Katie Sue Van Valkenburg, faculty relations chair of the Relay for Life Planning Committee, at
umwrelayforlife@gmail.com.
Rettinger & Searcy Publish Research
Executive Director of the Center for Honor, Leadership, and Service and Associate Professor of Psychology David Rettinger and Vice President for Student Affairs Doug Searcy’s article “Student-led honor codes as a method for reducing university cheating” appears in volume 12 of the journal Economic and Environmental Studies. The article provides support for student-led honor systems through a case study of UMW.
Surupa Gupta Presents Co-Authored Paper in South Africa
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Surupa Gupta presented a co-authored paper “India’s National Security Strategy as a BRICS Country” at a conference on the foreign policies of BRICS countries on Wednesday, March 13. The conference was organized by the Royal Danish Defense College and ACCORD, a South African NGO in Durban, South Africa.
Nina Mikhalvesky Discusses Women in STEM
Nina Mikhalevsky, professor of philosophy, gave a presentation on the “Current Status of Women in STEM” at the Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) in Quantico on Thursday, March 14. The presentation was part of the Women’s History Month program “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.”
Office Sustainability Tip of the Week
Even though Fredericksburg saw light snowfall earlier this week, and with it still a possibility in the upcoming forecast, Spring officially arrived on March 20th. While it may be a little early to toss your winter jacket to the back of the closet, it’s not too early to start thinking about Spring Cleaning. This week’s tip focuses on considering a more sustainable approach to this seasonal cleaning pastime.
One important thing to remember when cleaning your office or your home is many popular cleaning detergents contain chemicals that are toxic to the environment. When it comes down to it, we’re more or less just talking about cleaning normal surfaces. You’ll find that there are many alternatives to the cleaning detergents that you may normally use. Moreover, they will probably wind up being less expensive than what you spend on name brand products. A great site that contains recipes for making your own cleaning detergents can be found at The Sustainable Solution. Check out how with just some vinegar and water you can clean your windows and floors. Also, you may want to consider also using natural fiber sponges or an old t-shirt or piece of cloth as opposed to paper towels.
Some other sustainable spring cleaning tips for your home or office:
- Use fresh flowers or an open box of baking soda as opposed to chemical air fresheners
- Hang a clothesline to dry clothes naturally
- Replace old bulbs with energy efficient LEDs or Energy Star bulbs
- Always recycle
- Donate instead of throwing away!
And when the warmer weather does finally arrive, remember at home to try and open windows and save air conditioning for those truly hot unbearable days.
If you have any suggestions for things we can all do differently each day to create more sustainable environments, please feel free to leave a comment or email me the idea to be featured in a future Tip of the Week. The PCS Action Group members for the “Office Sustainability Tip of the Week” are Kevin Caffrey, Elizabeth Sanders, Robert Louzek, and Dre Anthes.
Last Week’s Tip: Meatless Mondays.