Paul D. Fallon, Associate Professor of Linguistics, presented a paper at the 41st annual meeting of the North American Conference on Afroasiatic Linguistics (NACAL), held at Yale University on 16-17 February 2013. His paper, “Appleyard’s Proto-Agaw vis-à-vis Ehret’s Proto-Cushitic” compared the historical reconstruction of the Agaw (Central Cushitic) languages of Eritrea and Ethiopia by two different scholars, analyzing 200 proposed roots and categorizing them. The paper contributes to the the study of Agaw and Cushitic linguistics by providing a critical assessment of two reconstructions of the same language family.
Rosemary Jesionowski’s Exhibition Open at Randolph-Macon
Rosemary Jesionowski, Assistant Professor of Studio Art, currently has a solo exhibition, Mapping Nowhere, on view at Randolph-Macon’s Flippo Gallery in Ashland, Virginia. This is her third solo exhibition in the past year. The body of work is a continual investigation of place, land, and how we identify ourselves through location. How do we define ourselves by where we live? How do others define us? How does place define or even change us? These images simultaneously reference a personal experience of place and an investigation of the relationship between people and place. The exhibition will be on view through April 5.
See more of Jesionowski’s work on her website.
Elizabeth Lewis’ Articles Republished on Cervantes Virtual
Three articles previously published by Professor of Spanish Elizabeth Lewis on the late-Enlightenment dramatist María Rosa Gálvez were included in a new digital collection of the author’s life and work. The collection, edited by Helena Establier of the University of Alicante, Spain, is one of the newest additions to the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, the most extensive collection of digital texts in Spanish. Two of the articles–”Breaking Chains: Language and Slavery in María Rosa Gálvez’s Zinda (1804).” Dieciocho. 20.2(Fall 1997) and “The Tearful Reunion of Divided Femininity in María Rosa Gálvez’s Neoclassic Theater.”Letras Peninsulares. 9.2(Fall 1996)—represent some of the earliest published studies on Gálvez. The third–“Crying Out for Feminine (Un)Happiness: María Rosa Gálvez’s Search For Sapphic Immortality”–was a chapter taken from Professor Lewis’s 2004 book Women Writers in the Spanish Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness. Aldershot, Hants, England and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishers.
News from Human Resources
As a state employee, please remember you can take advantage of the discounts on this page: http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeediscounts.html.
Employee Banking Opportunities and Discounts:
To view the list of participating financial institutions, visit: http://adminfinance.umw.edu/hr/benefits/banking-information/.
UMW: A Great Place to Work:
Click on the link below to see a highlight of the major benefits and perks available to you just for working at UMW!
http://adminfinance.umw.edu/hr/benefits/benefits-of-working-umw/
Center for International Education Adds Sign to Campus
The Center for International Education is happy to announce the installation of a new wayfarer’s sign on Campus Walk in front of Lee Hall. The sign provides distances from UMW to various global cities, many of which are popular study abroad destinations. It’s part of the Center’s “You Can Get There from Here” campaign, designed to raise awareness about education abroad opportunities and contribute to the internationalization of our campus.
UMW’s Digital Initiatives Featured in Free Lance-Star Article
Several of University of Mary Washington’s digital initiatives, including ds106, the newly minted Digital Studies Minor, and Domain of One’s Own, were featured in an article this past Monday in the Free Lance-Star titled “UMW Gives Credit to the Digital World.” The article celebrates the brave new digital world emerging at UMW, driven by a legacy of projects in the digital arena that’s been happening at UMW for almost a decade. It is truly encouraging to see the UMW community recognized locally for its pioneering work in the digital arena.
President Hurley Announces Task Force Members
I am pleased to announce that I have selected the following members of the faculty to serve on the fifteen member Academic Task Force that will work on the Strategic Resource Allocation study. You will recall that for the Academic Task Force I was to select eleven members from the list of faculty elected by their peers and four others of my choosing.
Elected Members Other Members
Mehdi Aminrazavi Ken Machande
Rosemary Barra David Kolar
Chuck Whipkey Dana Hall
Stephen Davies Beverly Epps
Steven Greenlaw
Venitta McCall
Marie Sheckels
Louis Martinette
Marjorie Och
Allyson Poska
Brooke DiLauro
I am pleased to announce the members of the Strategic Resource Allocation Support Task Force. Their names and the area in which they work are listed below.
Jay Sullivan, Facilities
Andy Rush, DTLT
Mark Thaden, Alumni Relations
Christie Glancy, Library
Jason Kilby, Athletics
Sabrina Johnson, Human Resources
Golda Eldridge, Student Affairs
Allyson Moerman, Finance
Ginny Irvin, Academic Affairs
Lavar Edmunds, Student
Sarah Healy, Student
Ranjit Singh, Political Science and International Affairs
Suzanne Sumner, Mathematics
Jackie Gallagher, Geography
Leslie Martin, Sociology and Anthropology
Our consultant for this process, Larry Goldstein, has asked that faculty reserve three days, March 25, 26 and 27 to begin the process. He will work with both task forces over these three days and after that, his work is finished unless we need to call on him for advice. More precise information will be provided as the dates draw near.
— President Richard V. Hurley
Office Sustainability Tip of the Week
We wanted to use this week’s entry to point out a very good article written by author and Duke University professor Dan Ariely entitled “How To Turn Consumers Green.” In the article, Ariely examines why even though studies show that, as a majority, people are altruistic and put the happiness and well-being of others (future generations in the case of environmental concerns) above their own, they often have difficulty aligning their behaviors with their intentions. As illustrated in the following excerpt from the article:
“Information clearly isn’t the problem in the sustainability realm. We are inundated with statistics on global warming, water conservation, fuel efficiency, and myriad other environmental concerns. This information is right at our fingertips, readily available and sometimes even shoved into our ear canals. Yet it doesn’t seem to get results. While we may be able to change beliefs through informational appeals, igniting action is a different story. If we want to influence behavior, we can’t assume that providing information will do the trick.”
The article goes on to suggest some very practical ways to adopt behavioral changes that will carry through over the long term, from making important environmental decisions during a major life event (such as buying a house) to using children as a motivating factor for making change (the article highlights how children were instrumental in anti-smoking and seatbelt campaigns).
Hopefully you will enjoy the article and learn some things you may not have thought about before. 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 of the Week: Utilizing MS Office Folders to Save Paper
Gari Melchers Home and Studio Receives Loan from Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont has received a 100-year-old painting on long-term loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painting, “In The Studio,” is the highlight of a special exhibition in Belmont’s Studio Gallery, along with two early studies for the painting and a related photograph.
Artist Gari Melchers painted “In The Studio” in 1912 at the peak of his career. The painting depicts the artist at his easel with prominent German businessman, art patron and friend Hugo Reisinger. Reisinger worked with Melchers on a number of cultural exchanges including contemporary art exhibitions between Germany and the United States. Reisinger’s son gave “In The Studio” to The Met in 1956.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio is a 28-acre estate and former residence of the artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne. The property, which is operated by the University of Mary Washington, is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Located at 224 Washington St. in Falmouth, Va., a quarter mile west of the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17, it is open daily with an admission charge. The museum also serves as the official Stafford County Visitor Center. For directions and other information, call (540) 654-1015 or visit the museum website at http://garimelchers.umw.edu.
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News release prepared by: Michelle Crow-Dolby
Belmont Hosts Educational Seminar on Lyme Disease
Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont will host a free educational seminar on Lyme Disease in Virginia on Thursday, Feb. 28. The seminar, held from 6 to 7 p.m., will feature Dr. Jose Muñoz from the Division of Infectious Diseases. This seminar is presented by the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University.