December 26, 2025
A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
by Erika Spivey
Yuan-Jen Chiang, professor of mathematics, had a research article “Exponentially Harmonic Maps and Their Properties” published in Mathematische Nachrichten by Wiley-VCH in Europe.
She presented “Some Properties of f-biharmonic Maps” at the 2015 International Congress on Mathematical Physics in Santiago, Chile. She also presented “Transversally f-biharmonic Maps between Foliated Riemannian Manifolds” at the Lehigh University Geometry and Topology Conference.
by Erika Spivey
Professor of English Chris Foss recently accepted an invitation to join the editorial board of Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies (Liverpool University Press/Project MUSE). The journal is one of the two most important venues for scholarly work in the interdisciplinary field of disability studies (together with Disability Studies Quarterly), and it is the key periodical (as its name might imply) for work in literary and cultural disability studies in particular. Its editorial board consists of 50 internationally recognized cultural disability scholars.
by Erika Spivey
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently published an article entitled, “Virginia Voters and Decentralized Governmental Power: Federal Frustration and State Satisfaction?” The article appeared in the current issue of the Virginia Social Science Journal, a refereed scholarly journal.
by Erika Spivey
The BREAK-A-LEG award goes to Susan Worrell, Vicky Wilder and Doug Noble and his merry band of Dodd staff and students for their work planning and directing the third Dancing with the Fredericksburg Stars event! Last Saturday night’s performance and reception were outstanding in all respects. In case not everyone knows, the proceeds of these performances are funding UMW Theatre and Arts scholarships for students. On behalf of the UMW community, we thank you for your time, effort, skill and enthusiasm.
Richard R. Pearce
Vice President for Administration and Finance
by Erika Spivey
Elizabeth Larus, professor of political science and international affairs, delivered comments on the key drivers of Taiwan’s 2016 elections to U.S. Department of State foreign service officers and government analysts at the Summer Working Group “2016 and Beyond: Impact of Taiwan’s Presidential and Legislative Elections on Taiwan, Cross-Strait Relations, and US-Taiwan Relations,” in McLean, Va. on Sept. 18.
by Erika Spivey
Professor of History and American Studies Nabil Al-Tikriti published conference proceedings entitled “The 1502-1504 Correspondence between Şehzade Korkud and the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem” in the Italian peer-reviewed journal, “Mediterranea – ricerche storiche.”
The journal is supported by the International Association of Maritime Studies (IAMS) and Piri Reis University and published conference proceedings this past summer from the Second International Congress of Eurasian Maritime Studies, which Al-Tikriti participated in at Venice in 2013. Al-Tikriti‘s contribution appears in the third part of the volume, which can be accessed here:
The article abstract is as follows: “When the 1499-1502 Ottoman-Venetian war ended, Bayezid II’s son, Şehzade Korkud, was granted the task of managing relations with the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Between 1502 and 1504, the two parties exchanged many missives. Their English translations are published here, together with the translations of other documents written by the Knights about their negotiations with Korkud.”
The entire journal volume can be accessed here: http://www.storiamediterranea.it/portfolio/agosto-2015/.
by Erika Spivey
FREDERICKSBURG CAMPUS: Textbook adoptions are due Oct. 8, 2015.
For more information: http://bookstore.umw.edu/site_faculty.asp
For information on Course Packs click here: http://bookstore.umw.edu/site_coursepacks.asp
Departments with 100 percent on-time adoptions are eligible to win up to $2,500 in Pepsi Scholarship funds for students’ course materials.
Please contact the textbook department if you have questions or need assistance at textbooks@umw.edu, or email our Textbook Department staff directly:
DJ Garcia: dgarcia@umw.edu or 540-654-1649
Francis SanPietro: fsanpiet@umw.edu or 540-654-1653
STAFFORD CAMPUS:
Course materials for classes being taught on the Stafford Campus are facilitated through MBS Direct. These orders are due by Nov. 16, 2015. There are three points of contact to assist with submitting your Stafford campus orders:
College of Business: Lucy Quann, lquann@umw.edu or 540/654-1019
College of Education: Anna Perdue, aperdue2@umw.edu or 540/654-1034
Terri Luttrell, tluttrel@umw.edu or 540/286-8097
Bachelor of Science in Nursing: Missy Hall, mhall7@umw.edu or at 540/286-8084
Kathy Sandor
Retail Operations Manager, University Bookstore
by Erika Spivey
Save the date! The fall employee luncheon is set for Tuesday, Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. in the University Center’s Chandler Ballroom. Come ready to eat lunch, win prizes and hear about what’s new on campus! Wear your UMW spirit wear for extra tickets. Don’t have any UMW spirit wear or would like something new?
Staff Appreciation Sale at the Bookstore:
15 percent off regularly priced UMW clothing or insignia.
Monday, Oct. 12, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
*Tuesday, Oct. 13, 8 a.m. – 10:30 am and 1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
*Please note special store hours on Tuesday
by Erika Spivey
Title IX for Employees
Revisions to the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Upcoming Training:
The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is committed to providing a safe and non-discriminatory learning, living, and working environment for all members of the University community. UMW does not discriminate on the basis of sex or gender in any of its education or employment programs and activities. To that end, our Sexual Misconduct Policy prohibits specific forms of behavior that may violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”); relevant provisions of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (“VAWA”); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”); the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”); and the Virginia Human Rights Act.
UMW prohibits Sexual Assault, Sexual Exploitation, Intimate Partner Violence, Stalking, Sexual or Gender-Based Harassment, and Retaliation against a person for the good faith reporting of any of these forms of conduct or participation in any investigation or proceeding under the policy (collectively, “Prohibited Conduct”). These forms of Prohibited Conduct are unlawful, undermine the character and purpose of the University and will not be tolerated.
One of the many outcomes of the President appointed UMW Sexual Misconduct Task Force was the revision of our Sexual Misconduct Policy. The revised policy was effective on September 18, 2015 and can be found on Board Docs. Please take a few minutes to review this very important policy. (http://www.boarddocs.com/va/umw/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=93QKQ352EB3D).
In addition, it is important that every employee (except for the Talley Center Staff, the Health Center Staff and designated Title IX Advocates) understands you are a “responsible employee.” This means you are required to report to the Title IX Coordinator all relevant details (obtained directly or indirectly) about an incident of Prohibited Conduct, as defined by policy, that involves any student as a complainant, respondent, or witness, including dates, times, locations, and names of parties and witnesses.
Within the next few weeks Human Resources will launch a comprehensive online training course regarding sexual misconduct. This training will be required for all employees and will outline your rights as an employee, your responsibilities and your resources in regards to Sexual Misconduct. The training takes approximately 2 hours; however, it can be taken in segments based on your time allowed.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Terri Arthur at 540-654-2015 or tlockhar@umw.edu.
by Erika Spivey
The Staff Advisory Council is pleased to recognize Alicia Tisdale as the Excellent Eagle Employee for October. The award for this honor is a designated parking space of the awardee’s choosing.
Alicia is distinguished in having two champions, or those who nominated her for the award.
Laura Allison wrote:
Alicia is absolutely fantastic! She works with students, parents, staff, and faculty on a daily basis. No matter what she’s working on, or how busy she may be, Alicia always has a smile on her face. She provides phenomenal internal and external customer service, and her professionalism should be an example to us all. Alicia is an advocate for the Lee Hall front line staff, and always pays attention to detail. She is always willing to jump in and help out on a project. She provides invaluable insight due to the vast institutional knowledge she possesses. Alicia truly is a representation of what an Excellent Eagle is, and the University is lucky to have her!
Accompanying that, Alicia’s other champion, Angela Lilly, wrote:
Alicia always has a professional demeanor and a willingness to help with any situation. She is a pleasure to work with on projects. She displays excellent customer service with a smile for her co-workers, UMW students and everyone that she interacts with.
Congratulate Alicia when you see her, and remember to send nominations for Excellent Eagle Employee to Excellent Eagle Employee nomination.