A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Each semester University Dining offers all UMW students, faculty and staff an opportunity to provide feedback about your campus dining experiences through a short, online survey. The survey only takes about 5 minutes to complete, and your comments and suggestions are given careful review and consideration by the University Dining team in developing plans for future enhancements of the dining program.
Your comments are anonymous, unless you wish to participate in the national prize drawing. You would need to share your email address in order to enter the drawing to win a $500 VISA gift card, AirPods Pro, and $50 in campus dining funds. Your contact information will only be used to identify you if you win one of the prizes. It will not be used to market any products or services to you.
SURVEY LINK: https://tinyurl.com/58pt3ybj
If you have questions, please contact University Dining Marketing Manager Rose Benedict at 540-654-2169 or rbenedic@umw.edu.
University Dining locations will be closed during Fall Break; see dining’s fall break hours below. If you know of students who need meal assistance over the break, please encourage them to contact Assistant Dean of Students Chris Porter as soon as possible to see if special arrangements can be made; she can be reached at CJPorter@UMW.edu. If you have any questions, please contact University Dining Marketing Manager Rose Benedict at rbenedic@umw.edu for more information.
Annual Employee Appreciation Luncheon
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In the Cedric Rucker University Center Chandler Ballroom
Join for a delicious lunch menu, award announcements, and raffle prizes. Please complete the response form by Thursday, October 9, if you will attend.
Employee Portraits
Employee photos will be taken outside of the Chandler Ballroom from 9 to 11 a.m. and from 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14. Look for the photographer outside on the lower-level patio or inside at the hallway if there’s inclement weather.
The cover of Barry’s recently published monograph with the University of California Press
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Jennifer Barry
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Jennifer Barry published her second scholarly monograph, Gender Violence in Late Antiquity: Male Fantasies and the Christian Imagination, with the University of California Press.
Barry’s new book examines how early Christian writers used narratives of gendered harm—especially domestic violence—to shape theology, consolidate authority, and imagine social order.
Later this month, she will give an invited book talk at the University of Pittsburgh highlighting this material and exploring how depictions of violence within the household became central to Christian thought.
Barry was also recently featured on the New Books in Late Antiquity podcast, presented by Ancient Jew Review, to discuss her monograph.
In the interview, Barry explores how early Christian writers used narratives of gendered harm—especially domestic abuse, martyrdom, and sexualized violence—to shape theology, consolidate authority, and imagine social order. She also reflects on how feminist horror theory, trauma studies, and womanist scholarship offer new perspectives on these texts and their enduring impact on the study of gender and power.
Barry joined host Michael Motia (UMass Boston) for the conversation, which is now available online.