Author: Brynn Boyer

The University of Mary Washington will offer a new merit-based scholarship for historic preservation students starting in the fall of 2014. The Northern Virginia Branch of Preservation Virginia and Prince William County recently presented the university with a $35,000 gift to establish the Milton Grigg Northern Virginia APVA Scholarship, in honor of a valued architect and preservationist.

(from left to right): Becky Starling, Trustee, Preservation Virginia, Mary Washington Branch; Michael Spencer, Assistant Professor, Historic Preservation, University of Mary Washington; Rob Orrison, Site Manager, Prince William County Department of Public Works Historic Preservation Division; Torre Meringolo, Vice President for Advancement and University Relations, University of Mary Washington

“Preservation Virginia has played a vital role in the interpretation and presentation of numerous historic sites within the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Torre Meringolo, UMW’s vice president for advancement and university relations. “As one of the nation’s premier institutions for the study of historic preservation, the University of Mary Washington is proud to be able to honor the memory of an esteemed architect and valiant preservationist, while offering financial support for UMW students.”

Grigg, an Alexandria-based architect with a passion for the preservation of antiquities in Virginia, worked on the preservation of many well-known Virginia structures, including Monticello and historic Williamsburg. The scholarship will be awarded on a merit basis to junior and senior historic preservation majors who are residents of Northern Virginia, specifically the counties of Fairfax, Prince William, Loudon and Arlington; and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park.

Preservation Virginia was founded in 1889 as a private, non-profit organization and statewide historic preservation leader dedicated to perpetuating and revitalizing Virginia’s cultural, architectural and historic heritage.

The University of Mary Washington is accepting donations to support the victims of the Boston Marathon attacks and to stand as one with Boston. One hundred percent of donations from two UMW initiatives will be given to One Fund Boston, a charity set up to help the victims of the bombings.

Student donations will be collected at UMW’s Devil-Goat Day on Thursday, April 25 as classes compete to see who can raise the most money. Devil-Goat Day is an annual UMW tradition where classes that will graduate in even years (“goats”) compete against classes that will graduate in odd years (“devils”).

Students in the “Training for a Half Marathon” course, taught by women’s soccer coach Corey Hewson, will run a half marathon on Saturday, April 27 in solidarity with Boston. Members of the community can sponsor one of the students as they run the marathon, with all donations going to the One Fund Boston.

Donations will be collected at Devil-Goat Day on Ball Circle and throughout the week in Goolrick Hall, room 106A to Kathleen Flanagan or Dana Hall. Checks should be made payable to the One Fund Boston, Inc.

All donations will be mailed on Wednesday, May 1. More information about the fundraiser can be found in a recent article published in the Free-Lance Star. For any questions contact Corey Hewson at (540) 654-1871 or Megan Higginbotham at (540) 654-1061.

University of Mary Washington’s Diversity Academy Workshop

Dates:   May 14, 2013 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and May 15, 2013 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Stafford Campus, North Building

www.Diversityacademy.org

For most of the past decade, the University of Mary Washington has worked to become a diverse and inclusive institution. This shift represents a change in how University employees approach and carry out their work.  As the University looks forward to new institutional initiatives, our focus will appropriately turn to improving the alignment and cohesiveness between diversity efforts and the institution’s other strategic initiatives.  To lay the foundation for these efforts, UMW is sponsoring DIVERSITY ACADEMY – a focused, two-day workshop designed to examine the ways in which institutions of higher education infuse and incorporate diversity into the curriculum, programming, and the campus climate. This event is being hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in conjunction with the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies, the Speaking Center, and the Writing Centers.  This event is free and open to all members of the UMW community as well as representatives from other schools and institutions throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.

This workshop will:

• Help to frame the conversations about infusing diversity into the curriculum, and campus programs
• Identify best practices for inclusiveness in a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse society
• Examine whether today’s students possess the requisite multicultural competencies to navigate the global world
• Discuss ways to infuse diversity into speaking and writing assignments

Register: http://diversityacademy.org/register/

We are seeking proposals from faculty regarding in-class strategies or curricular/ assignment models regarding issues of diversity, which may include but are not limited to race, ability, disability, gender, and culture.

Submit a proposal by May 3: http://diversityacademy.org/submit-a-proposal/

If you have questions, please contact Leah Cox, Jim Groom, Gwendolyn Hale, Mary Kayler, or Anand Rao.

Children of UMW faculty and staff are eligible to receive a 50 percent discount on tuition for the 2013 Summer Enrichment Program.

The program, designed for advanced middle and high school students, offers a variety of courses, including: Popular Music Analysis, Immunology, Film Studies, Digital Storytelling, Music Production, Creative Writing, and SAT Prep. The program will run from Sunday, June 23 to Saturday, July 6.

Residential applications for the summer sessions are due by Wednesday, May 1 and non-residential applications are due by Saturday, June 1. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis.

The faculty and staff discount applies to tuition only, not to the residential program. For more information or to register, visit http://academics.umw.edu/sep.

Associate Professor and Chair of Mathematics Keith Mellinger recently attended the Mathematical Association of America‘s regional meeting held at Salisbury University.  At the meeting, Mellinger presented Eigentriads – a musical offering in which he discussed eigenvectors, a topic found in any undergraduate course in linear algebra, and an amusing relationship they have with diminished and augmented triads.