April 23, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Spotsy Fifth-Graders Tour Campus, Meet Current Students

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A group of fifth-graders from Lee Hill Elementary School in Spotsylvania County toured campus on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The elementary-schoolers arrived at George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium in the morning to meet with current UMW students. They then toured campus, including the Anderson Center, where they spoke with Mary Washington student-athletes.
“The fifth-graders were very excited to be on campus and interacting with our community!” UMW Chief of Police Mike Hall said to those who helped organize the event. “Thank you for doing what we do best.”

Farnsworth Lectures on U.S. Presidential Election at the University of Warsaw in Poland

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Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Stephen Farnsworth, professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently presented a lecture, “The State of the U.S. Presidential Election,” as part of the University of Warsaw’s American Studies Program Spring Colloquium. Dr. Farnsworth is serving in Poland as a Spring 2024 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar.

Other recent media mentions for Farnsworth include:

So, Is the Potomac Yard Stadium Deal Dead? (Washingtonian Magazine)
In order for the deal to progress this year, Youngkin would need to propose an amendment to the budget bill, which the chambers would then vote on at the April 17 session or call a special legislative session. But Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington—and a longtime Virginia General Assembly watcher—said it was unlikely such a move would be successful. “Trying to add the stadium deal to the legislature’s budget plan only means that the Senate would reject that project again,” Farnsworth told Washingtonian. “The governor wants a legacy, and the Democratic majorities can just wait him out—he only has one more session as governor after this year’s session concludes.” Read more.

Trump Wins Prince William: Examining his decisive victory in the deep-blue county (Potomac Local)
Donald Trump won his first victory in Prince William County during a dual Presidential Primary on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2023. Read more.

Biden, Trump Look to Secure Party Presidential Nominations (CTV News)
“Absolutely, the obstacles of the nomination and renomination of Trump and Biden are settled, so the delegates should add up to fifty plus one by the time the counting is done tomorrow,” said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more. 

Larus Comments on Taiwan, U.S. Elections

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Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum

Taiwan

Elizabeth Freund Larus, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum, offered commentary to international media on Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential and Legislative elections:

U.S.

Larus also commented recently on Vietnam News on Super Tuesday. Larus said there would be little change in voters’ support for Biden and Trump between Super Tuesday and Election Day because voters are already well aware of the candidates’ weaknesses. The only place where the campaigns have left to influence voters are in the swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and maybe Nevada, Arizona and Georgia. Trump needs to pull out all the stops in Michigan where Biden is vulnerable to the Arab American vote. Larus also indicated that Trump has picked up support from Black and Hispanic voters since 2016 and 2020. In recent polls in 6 swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin), 22% of Black people would vote for Trump, up from 8% in 2016, and 42% of Hispanics said they would vote for Trump, up from 29% in 2016. View the segment.

 

 

 

Bales Fills Retirement With Research and Writing

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Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus Jack Bales

Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus Jack Bales

Jack Bales’ vocation for more than 40 years was assisting students, faculty, and staff in Mary Washington’s library. His avocation, research and writing, was always an important part of his life as well, and now that he’s retired, the Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus happily stays busy with these interests. Bales continues to present Zoom PowerPoint programs to baseball groups and public libraries around the country on his true-crime narrative and tale of baseball history, The Chicago Cub Shot for Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series (History Press, 2021). He is an active member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and has presented several Zoom programs on assorted baseball topics. He is also an occasional moderator of a SABR book discussion group devoted to the sport during the nineteenth century.

Bales has always liked to focus on topics about which little has been written, as he enjoys digging around in primary, original sources and uncovering new information that sheds light on the historical record. While working on his 2019 book, Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team, he read about Lewis Meacham, a Chicago Daily Tribune sports editor who helped William Hulbert of the White Stockings (the team now known as the Chicago Cubs) found the National League in 1876. Very little was known about Meacham, but Bales tracked down invaluable material in both newspapers and Chicago and Vermont archives. He gave a PowerPoint presentation, “The Mysterious Lewis Meacham: The Untold Story of William Hulbert’s Right-Hand Man,” at a SABR meeting and also wrote an essay on him for the organization’s peer-reviewed Biography Project, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/lewis-meacham/

Bales said that it took many months of research, as most of what was published was inaccurate, including a fictitious Civil War record. “You know you are going to have a rough time of it,” he recently observed, “when biographical sources for the person you are writing about provide assorted birth dates, various names, two birth places, two burial spots, and even two entries in the popular website “Find a Grave,” both of them incorrect.”

Bales hosted the annual convention of the Horatio Alger Society in Fredericksburg in 2021, 2022, and 2023. He will host it again this May.  Among the persons attending will be Michael Dirda, the weekly book columnist for the Washington Post.

Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Speaker, March 21

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Phi Beta Kappa Coming Events:
– Professor Anna Brickhouse, the Linden Kent Professor of English at the University of Virginia, will be this year’s Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Speaker. Brickhouse will be on campus to present a talk titled “Earthquakes and the Invention of America” on March 21 at 5 p.m. in the Hurley Convergence Center Digital Auditorium.
Professor Brickhouse specializes in early American and 19th-century U.S. literature in the context of the wider Americas. She is the author of two multi-prize-winning books, Transamerican Literary Relations and the Nineteenth-Century Public Sphere (Cambridge University Press, 2004) and The Unsettlement of America (Oxford University Press, 2014). Her work has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies and the Guggenheim Foundation. She is currently completing a book on earthquakes and the literary imagination of catastrophe in the Americas. Students also will join Professor Brickhouse on Friday, March 22, at noon for pizza and informal conversation about her work.
– The Phi Beta Kappa spring induction ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 14.

Parking Changes for Anderson Center, March 22

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The following space and lot reservations will be in effect March 21-22, 2024:

  • Friday, March 22, 2024, the Anderson Center General Faculty and Staff parking spaces and bus parking will be reserved from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. for the CPB Spring Concert.

Parking for faculty and staff will remain available in all other designated faculty and staff lots.

As a reminder:

  • Accessible parking spaces are available in all open lots to any vehicles with DMV-issued accessible placards or license plates.
  • The UMW Police Department provides escorts when needed and may be reached at ext. 1025. Please visit the Safety Escort webpage for more information.

For a calendar view of lot reservations visit the Parking Lot Reservations Calendar webpage. Please contact Parking Management with any parking related questions: parking@umw.edu, 540/654-1129.

Belmont to Host 10th Annual Beeping Egg Hunt, March 24

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Belmont's Beeping Egg Hunt

Photos from Belmont’s Beeping Egg Hunt

Gari Melchers Home & Studio will host its 10th annual Beeping Egg Hunt on Sunday, March 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. 

The free egg hunt provides an opportunity for visually impaired and blind children, along with their families, to participate in an accessible audible egg hunt. Sighted siblings can also participate by wearing a blindfold.  

“Every spring I look forward to organizing and planning the Beeping Egg Hunt and related activities,” says Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby. “I enjoy seeing familiar faces and welcoming new families. I am especially thankful for our event volunteers.”   

The specially designed plastic eggs, donated by Stafford County-based International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, emit a beeping sound that allows children to retrieve the eggs using their hearing. The event also includes a baby animal petting zoo, sensory crafts, gallery activities, and the popular Touch a Tractor station. 

During the 1920s and 30s, Corinne Melchers, with her husband’s encouragement, hosted Easter parties for area children at their Belmont home featuring egg rolls, puppet shows, and plenty of favors.

University Dining Presents Aloha Luau, March 27

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University Dining is hosting their big, end-of-the-year dining event, “Aloha Luau”, on Wednesday, March 27, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Top of the CRUC.

Polynesian dancers will perform at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. There will be Hawaiian music, decor, non-alcoholic Pina Coladas, and the first 250 guests will get a welcome lei! The dining room will be closed from 2 to 5 p.m. to set up. Menu details will be posted on the dining website on Friday, March 29.

For further information, contact Dining@UMW.edu.

Virginia529 Education Savings Webinar, March 28

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Spring is a time to grow. Learn how to grow your education savings with a 529 plan.

Get to know Invest529 – a savings tool that helps you or a loved one prepare for the future. In this webinar, you’ll learn about the uses of an Invest529 account and the tax advantages that come with it.

Join Virginia529 for a special webinar on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 12 pm.

As a bonus just for attending the webinar, you’ll receive an exclusive offer – a $25 gift code to open a new Invest529 account. You’ll also have the chance to win a $50 Target gift card that will be given away at the end of the session.

 ** Sign up to reserve your spot **