August 7, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Message to the Community

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Dear UMW Community Members,

As part of the continuing work of the UMW Police Community Advisory Panel (CAP) process, I am writing to inform you of the formation of the Community Advisory Board (CAB). This is a presidential committee that will strengthen the University’s commitment to community policing, which is a strategy and a philosophy that emphasizes proactive and collaborative partnerships between police and community members. Ideally, this collaboration allows for an exchange of ideas and identification of concerns that encourages our dedication to inclusive excellence, builds trust, and strengthens public safety as a community-wide commitment and responsibility.

Input and recommendations from students, including the UMW NAACP 2020 Campus Police Assessment report, have informed the creation and mission of the Community Advisory Board. The CAB’s charge, purpose, and membership are below.

Sincerely,

Troy D. Paino
President

 

Charge

The Community Advisory Board (CAB) will be comprised of students, faculty, staff, administration and UMW Police; it will serve as a bridge between the campus community and UMW Police. The Community Advisory Board will recommend reforms to reflect best practices in bias-free, inclusive policing and develop a process to continuously review and assess the effectiveness of campus policing policies and procedures, while also actively working to ensure alignment with accreditation standards.

Purpose
The purpose of the Community Advisory Board is to reinforce the community policing philosophy embraced by the UMW Police. Through its representation from various stakeholders, the CAB will support the UMW Police’s efforts to promote transparency of operations and services in affirmation of their mission to provide a safe and secure environment for the University of Mary Washington. CAB recommendations and input will help the Chief of Police and UMW Police staff improve their operations and make community-informed decisions.

CAB Members

Dr. Juliette Landphair, Vice President for Student Affairs, Interim Chair
Officer Giovanni Baez, UMW Police
Dr. Bridget Brew, Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
Arin Doerfler, Sr. Accountant-Fixed Assets
JoAnna Raucci, Associate Director, James Farmer Multicultural Center
Dr. Danny Tweedy, Associate Professor, English and Linguistics
Nahjah Wilson, UMW Student
Brian Wolf, UMW Student, Resident Assistant

 

Ex-Officio Members:

Mike Hall, Assoc. Vice President of Public Safety and Chief of Police
Dr. Shavonne Shorter, Associate Provost for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer

Volunteer Servers Needed for Holiday Dining Events

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Thanksgiving Dinner FlyerUniversity Dining will be hosting several special holiday dining events this fall, starting with the annual Thanksgiving Dinner on November 17th, and followed by the Winter Holiday Dinner on December 2nd and the Cram Jam Late Night Breakfast on December 6th, the first night of final exams. Since these special events draw many more guests than usual, it has become tradition here at UMW for students and members of the faculty and staff to volunteer to help serve the food at these events. This year, due to the tremendous labor shortage caused by the current pandemic, University Dining needs volunteer help more than ever.

Volunteers work in teams to prepare plates of food for the students as they come through the serving lines. It’s a great opportunity to have some light-hearted fun with the students, and to also enjoy some great food! All volunteers get their holiday meal free, and they will also receive a coupon for a free retail meal!

Anyone wishing to volunteer can sign up through a Google Volunteer Form. For additional information contact Rose Benedict, rbenedic@umw.com, or call the University Dining Marketing office at 540-654-5982.

Cooperman Weighs in on Virginia Governor’s Race

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Professor of Political Science Rosalyn Cooperman

Professor of Political Science Rosalyn Cooperman

Professor of Political Science Rosalyn Cooperman shared comments with STAT prior to Election Day in Virginia:

“The governor’s race [is] an important test of how both parties message on Covid,” said Rosalyn Cooperman, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “Is that going to be palatable to voters who have typically trended blue over the last election cycles? I think we are paying very close attention to it because of the implications it has in other races in other states moving forward.” Read more.

Read THE NIGHT WATCHMAN with Mary Washington’s Mother of All Book Clubs

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We are beginning the next round of reading in our online literary group, the Mother of All Book Clubs! This club is open to anyone with a connection to Mary Washington — alumni, parents, donors, faculty, and staff. Join us!

Our next selection is The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich. This book won the Pulitzer Prize this year, is a New York Times bestseller, and is on countless booklists.

From The New York Times:

“Early in this banquet of a novel that invites us back into Louise Erdrich’s ongoing Chippewa chronicles, a character on the reservation boasts, ‘Law can’t take my Indian out of me.’ Unfortunately, the United States government is hoping to do just that through the Termination Bill, an Orwellian plan that promises to ’emancipate’ Indigenous people from their lands and their tribal affiliations…

The novel’s title character, Thomas Wazhashk, is a night watchman for a factory where women of the Turtle Mountain clan work by day, using gemstones as drill bits for Defense Department ordnance and for Bulova watches. Among these working women is Thomas’s niece, Patrice, known against her will as Pixie. Thomas watches over the dark, possibly haunted factory to protect these gems from thieves. The novel follows the fates and struggles and adventures of these two people and the ever-expanding circles of their relations.”

Pick up a copy of the book and start reading–we will begin posting discussion questions on Monday, November 22. You might consider supporting an independent bookstore, or you could try your local library system.

We look forward to reading with you!

All the best,
The Alumni Relations Team

Marsh Shares Thoughts on MBA on Fuentitech.com

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In a Fuentitech.com piece, Associate Professor of Business John Marsh was asked his opinion on how a Master of Business Administration degree continues to be a benefit to today’s jobseekers.

John Marsh, an associate professor of business at the University of Mary Washington, said some people choose to earn an MBA early in their careers. It’s easier to manage when you’re young. Some people find that the MBA puts them in a better position for career advancement.

“Others help to stand out from other applicants, so we pursue it,” continued Marsh. “Yes, in a sense, revenue potential is certainly a major consideration for most people looking to get an MBA.” Read more. 

Sanford Provides Comments on Potential Enslaved Quarters on W&M Campus

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Professor Emeritus of Historic Preservation Douglas Sanford

Professor Emeritus of Historic Preservation Douglas Sanford

Professor Emeritus of Historic Preservation Douglas Sanford provided comments for an article in The Virginia Gazette entitled, “Could there have been homes for enslaved people on William & Mary’s campus?”

One part of the case comes from help I sought from an expert on how enslaved people were housed, Douglas Sanford, professor emeritus of historic preservation at the University of Mary Washington. I had thought the larger structures might have been occupied by the enslaved, but Professor Sanford wrote me that “we do see plantations with ‘streets’ and ‘rows’ of aligned outbuildings and slave quarters, but usually the slave quarters are smaller structures, similar to the small, one-story buildings seen in the Graham drawing. Right now, I cannot think of an example, whether existing or documented historically, with multiple two-story buildings.” Read more.

If you see something, say something — ‘TAT’ and ‘VPT’ are here for you

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The University of Mary Washington promotes a safe and secure environment in which to learn and work by prohibiting threats and acts of violence by or against members of the University community, and by prohibiting such threats and acts on University property and within University facilities. Members of the Threat Assessment Team (TAT) and Violence Prevention Team (VPT) are here for you. If you see or sense something, say something. Learn how.

Future of Work Survey – summary posted to website

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Dear Colleagues, 

Over the summer, the Future of Work Planning Group asked you to share feedback related to your work experience by responding to the Employee Experience Survey. We appreciate your participation and honest responses! There were over 380 responses which gave the Future of Work Group insight into how the University of Mary Washington responded to the change in work modalities, strengths and weaknesses employees identified in their work environment, and what changes UMW may consider for the future. 

You will find a summary of the survey responses and a link to the quantitative data report on the Future of Work webpage here. While responses to the open-ended questions were discussed internally, the group intentionally did not publish those responses in the public report in order to ensure the anonymity of respondents. The summary provided on the website does summarize some of those qualitative data in order to give a full picture of the feedback.

To view the survey report from the website, you may be asked to log in to your Microsoft Office 365 SharePoint account (UMW Net ID + password). For your convenience, we have also attached the Future of Work Employee Experience Survey – Public Results.

If you have any additional thoughts to share about the future of work at UMW, please use the feedback form on the Future of Work webpage. 

Sincerely, 

The Future of Work Planning Group 

New Anti-Malware Software – SentinelOne

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UMW Faculty and Staff,

The IT Department is working on a project to migrate all Windows and Mac workstations from the legacy Symantec Endpoint Protection anti-malware software currently in use to next-generation anti-malware software from SentinelOne.

The SentinelOne software client will be automatically pushed to and installed on your computer in the coming weeks. Shortly after that, the old Symantec Endpoint Protection client will be automatically removed. There is nothing you need to do to prepare for these changes, and they will happen in the background and should not interfere with the use of your computer.

After the SentinelOne software client has been installed, you will see the product logo below in the system tray on your computer.

If you have questions or concerns about the SentinalOne anti-malware software, you can contact me directly or the Help Desk at 540-654-2255 or helpdesk@umw.edu.

Thank you,

Mike Townes
Director of Information Technology Security/ISO
University of Mary Washington
(540)-654-2152
mtownes@umw.edu