August 7, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Farnsworth Lectures on U.S. Politics to Norwegian Washington Seminar

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Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Stephen Farnsworth

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs 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 USA in 2021,” to the Norwegian Washington Seminar. The Washington, D.C., lecture drew on Professor Farnsworth’s recently published book, Presidential Communication and Character.

Dr. Farnsworth has also offered commentary in the following news stories:

Virginia Governor’s Race in its Final Stretch (CBS)

The anti-Trump resistance helped these Northern Va. Democrats get elected. Now they’re playing defense. (The Washington Post)

War of the suburbs: Virginia Democrats, GOP fight over key turf to win control of House of Delegates (The Washington Post)

Democrats take the lead in early voting in Virginia governor’s race, but GOP could close the gap on election day (CNBC; Times of News)

Third poll shows McAuliffe & Youngkin tied in Virginia governor’s race (WUSA 9)

Democratic Biden warns in Virginia Governor election (Texas News Today; Yahoo News; From Press)

Virginia’s redistricting commission’s failure to transcend partisanship has lessons for other states, critics say (The Washington Post; Westport News)

McAuliffe-Youngkin Governor’s Race Tests Democrats’ Tenuous Hold on Virginia (US News and World Report)

UMW professor argues dead heat polls show why Blanding’s name should be included (WINA; WVAX)

The Memo: Biden faces double crunch in Virginia and in Congress (The Hill)

Candidates in 88th House District race to take part in virtual debate (The Free Lance-Star; Fredericksburg Today)

With legislative control at stake, House of Delegates races take on more urgency (Richmond Free Press)

Education is Playing a Big Role in Virginia Elections This Year (WFVA)

Virginia governor’s race could give ‘flashing red warning sign’ for Democrats — and shift market sentiment (MarketWatch)

Former Carlyle Group CEO could knock Democrats out of Virginia’s governor’s office. Here’s what to know (CNBC; USA News Hub)

Jan. 6th insurrection investigation (CTV News Canada)

Redistricting stalemate may have been inevitable. It doesn’t mean the effort was useless. (Virginia Mercury)

VA-Gov: The Daily Beast, “This Mini-Trump Doesn’t Want to Be Seen With the Real Thing” (Daily Kos)

Who will win control the House of Delegates? A handful of Chesterfield races could be pivotal (Chesterfield Observer)

COMMENTARY: Two presidents will have limited effect on governor’s race (The Free Lance-Star)

Colin Powell Dead at 84 (CTV News Canada)

Larus Comments on China Aggression Against Taiwan on Newsy morning news program

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Professor and Chair of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Freund Larus

Professor and Chair of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Freund Larus

Dr. Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs, conducted an interview on China’s aggression against Taiwan on Newsy morning program, Oct 12. Professor Larus commented that recent incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ by Chinese military planes signal to both Taiwan and the U.S. that China will never relinquish its claims to the island.

REAL TALK, Virtual Women’s Colloquium, Nov. 4

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Real Talk, Nov. 4, 8:30-10 a.m.

Real Talk is an action-packed, inspirational, and women-led series. The morning will include 90 minutes of short talks focusing on Resilience, Empowerment, Affirmation, and Leadership.

Resilience is one’s capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It connotes someone who is tough yet flexible. Resilience doesn’t imply that we always handle adversity well, it means that we come back—that we resume our shape and take our place in the world with new experiences and knowledge for the next part of our journey.

Empowerment refers to the process of becoming stronger and more confident. It can also refer to that act of granting power or authority. We often hear of empowerment in terms of career or life choices. Empowerment implies that there is a transfer or assumption of power from one being to another. There are stories of empowerment leading to creation, change, reinvention, and wellbeing.

Affirmation is an action that is grounded in truth and positivity. It connotes strength and requires witnesses. When someone affirms us, they shine a light on our truth in a way that we can see it and others can’t miss it. An affirmation is a chronicle of the process of shining and sharing these truths.

Leadership is an ability, position, or a state of being that influences others to do something that they would not have done absent the leader. It is a force that compels others to act based on physical, emotional, or symbolic cues. Leadership brings together while simultaneously holding the power to disrupt.

The short talks will be structured through a storytelling format where a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each. This “talk less, show more,” approach is inspired by PechaKucha.

 

Guest Speaker: Chef Joy Crump

Chef Joy Crump

Chef Joy Crump

Joy Crump, a Pennsylvania native, is known for crafting the seasons’ best locally-sourced ingredients into comfortably refined dishes.

A culinary graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta, Crump honed her skills alongside Atlanta farm-to-table pioneers. Becoming a local entrepreneur, Crump opened her first restaurant, FOODE in Historic Downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia with business partner Beth Black.

In 2014, the duo opened their second restaurant, the breakfast-centric Mercantile, also in Fredericksburg.

Crump is actively involved in the James Beard Foundation’s Impact Programs for Food Policy, Chef Advocacy, and Change. In September of 2018, she appeared in the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook, “Waste Not: How to Get the Most From Your Food.” The goal of the cookbook is to shine a light on the collective efforts of the food community to tackle the food waste epidemic.

She has also served on the Advisory Boards of the Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival and the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. Most recently, she joined the Advisory Board of the James Beard Foundation.

Hanna’s Plantation Museum Research Featured in Northern Virginia Magazine

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Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Steve Hanna’s work to encourage Virginia presidential plantation museums to recognize and share the stories of enslaved people was featured in an article in Northern Virginia Magazine.

Do plantation museums do justice to the memory of the enslaved? Local professor Stephen Hanna wanted to find out, so in 2014 he joined a team of researchers associated with TourismRESET, a world-wide network of scholars who study and challenge social inequity in tourism.

Hanna, who teaches geography at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, received a grant from the National Science Foundation, enabling him to lead undergraduate students through multi-year research on how narratives and exhibits about enslaved populations and slavery were presented or absent at 15 different plantation sites. The goal was to present their findings to museum managers and thus facilitate more historically accurate and meaningful tours. His team is in the final stages of publishing a book summarizing their data and findings, to be released in March 2022. Read more.

Melchers Paintings on Loan for Florida Exhibition

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A selection of 18 paintings from the collection of Gari Melchers Home & Studio are on loan to the Lowe Art Museum in Coral Gables, Florida. The paintings are featured in the Lowe’s exhibition An American Master at Home and Abroad: Gari Melchers (1860-1932) on view from November 18, 2021- February 13, 2022. 

Jointly curated with the Lowe Museum of Art, this exhibition surveys more than a half-century of Melchers’ career with key examples of the painting styles he favored, including landscape, genre scenes and portraiture. 

Gari Melchers was exceptionally versatile in his subject matter, being associated with Dutch peasant life, portraiture, the mother and child theme, landscapes, the nude and still life, as well as mural painting. His stylistic approach was equally eclectic, assimilating many of the progressive tendencies circulating around 1900, from academic realism to naturalism, symbolism and impressionism, but always in the service of old-fashioned, time-honored themes. In this way, Melchers amalgamated the old and the new into something uniquely his own. 

www.GariMelchers.org 

Zoom Phone Soft Launch

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UMW Faculty and Staff,

As you know, UMW is moving to Zoom Phone for telephone services. With Zoom Phone, you can make and receive phone calls and text messages wherever you are running the Zoom application, on any device, using your UMW phone number.

The Zoom Phone service is available to you starting today as a “soft launch”. During the soft launch period, you will be able to make and receive internal phone calls with your colleagues using their 4-digit extension.

However, you will not be able to make or receive calls to external numbers until the full launch on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. No change will be made to your current Cisco phones during the soft launch. They will continue to work as usual.

The soft launch period over the next two weeks provides you with the opportunity to get familiar with the Zoom Phone application and begin to practice placing phone calls, checking voicemail, etc., as well as configuring personal settings, like changing your voicemail greeting and PIN. It also provides the IT Department with time to correct any system configuration problems that may surface during testing.

For instructions on how to use many of the features and functions of Zoom Phone you can reference the guide below:

Yesterday’s live training session was recorded and made available on the IT Zoom Phone website.Zoom Application

When you log into the Zoom application, you will now see an additional phone icon at the top of the screen. Click this icon and you’ll be able to make and receive internal calls.

Yealink Phones

Some areas and individuals were issued Zoom Phone-compatible desk phones from Yealink. The Yealink phones can also be used during the soft launch to make and receive internal calls. If you have an open network wall jack in your area, you can plug in your Yealink phone for testing. If you don’t have an open network jack, you can unplug your Cisco phone, plug in and test your Yealink phone, and then swap them back when you are finished testing. I encourage you to take some time during the soft launch to practice using Zoom Phone. Investing time now to get familiar and comfortable with the service will ensure a smooth transition to the full launch on November 10th.If you have questions or concerns about the soft launch, please contact the Help Desk as 540-654-2255 or helpdesk@umw.edu.

For more information about UMW’s Zoom Phone project, including FAQs and how-to’s, visit https://technology.umw.edu/connecting/zoom-phone/.

Hall Cheshire
Chief Information Officer
University of Mary Washington
540-654-1379

JFMC Accepting Programs for 2022 Women’s History Month

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Comic book lines on a red background with white text reading "2022 Women's History Month"The James Farmer Multicultural Center invites members of the University of Mary Washington community to submit proposals for the annual Women’s History Month Program. The theme for this celebration is, “The Power Behind Healing.” Proposals are due by Friday, December 3, 2021. The sponsor(s) will be notified promptly. Approved programs will be included on the Women’s History Month calendar, as well as in print and electronic publications. The 2022 Women’s History Month Program Proposal can be found here:  https://students.umw.edu/multicultural/files/2021/10/WHM-2022-Program-Proposal-Form.docx

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Ms. JoAnna Raucci (jraucci@umw.edu).

Young Elected Chair of Library Board of Trustees

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Kimberly Young, executive director for Continuing and Professional Studies

Kimberly Young, executive director for Continuing and Professional Studies

Kimberly Young, executive director of Continuing and Professional Studies at UMW, was recently elected as chair of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Board of Trustees. According to an article in The Free Lance-Star, “Library Board of Trustees members are appointed by and represent their jurisdictions, donating their time as advocates for the public. Trustees work closely with the library director and deputy director to determine library policy, adopt budgets and support library legislation on a state and national level. Trustees also promote the library’s services, classes and events in their interactions with the community.” Read more.