A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
UMW Chief of Police Mike Hall. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
UMW Police Chief Michael Hall was among the participants in town hall sponsored by Germanna Community College, focusing on current events and policing by criminal justice agency representatives. Read more.
If you are willing to voluntarily share the news of your vaccination with the University, please complete this brief survey. It’s important for us to have an idea of how many folks in our community have been vaccinated.
If you haven’t been vaccinated, please fill out this form to get vaccinated even if you have already registered at vaccinate.virginia.gov, but not if you have already been scheduled for or have received one or two doses of the COVID vaccine. We will submit this to RAHD and you will be contacted to schedule your appointment.
Some things to point out:
A message from the Provost.
Dear Colleagues,
Today, the University of Mary Washington is making the announcement that our 2020 and 2021 Commencements will take place in person over as many as four days: Thursday, May 6, and Friday, May 7, for the Class of 2020, and Saturday, May 8, and Sunday, May 9, for the Class of 2021.
To accommodate the expected numbers and to comply with the Governor’s updated health and safety guidelines, instead of a single ceremony on Ball Circle, we will need to provide multiple smaller ceremonies in a new location. The only feasible on-campus venue is the recreation field next to Route 1; this the site that will allow for the most graduates and guests and provide readily accessible garage parking with minimal interruption to campus. The format of each ceremony will be modified and shortened, and the platform party will be reduced to the smallest representation possible – again, to ensure more space for graduates and guests. We hope to have a faculty representative on the stage for each of the ceremonies; otherwise, only those faculty and staff who happen to be family members of graduates or those specifically supporting the logistics of the event will be in attendance. It will be a priority to limit the number of individuals in attendance at each ceremony, as well as those moving around on the campus, in order to observe our COVID protocols and to avoid impact on final exams.
Because the major activity, parking, and visitor flow will be along Sunken Road, Route 1, and the parking garage, we hope to avoid undue noise or disruption while students are taking their final exams. Residence Life is working on plans for move-out that should also lessen impact on student finals. Before the event, additional information will be shared about alternative parking for those who would normally utilize the garage during this time.
While you are strongly advised to plan to be away from campus those four days doing your end-of-semester work remotely, and we continue to encourage departments, programs, and Colleges to conduct end-of-semester student activities virtually, we will be in critical need of volunteers. Please watch for the email call for volunteers; your service will be welcomed and appreciated.
Although a number of Commencement plans had been developed, this new opportunity to hold an in-person event on campus is by far the most meaningful option for students and their families. It is also the most intensive and challenging. Thus, many details clearly need to be resolved, and we appreciate your patience. Please refer to the Commencement website for periodic updates.
Nina Mikhalevsky
Provost
The following message is from the Office of Human Resources.
Dear Colleagues:
Open Enrollment for Tuition Reimbursement for courses starting July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 has begun and will end on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (courses outside of UMW) The complete policy and procedures are posted online but some important and key provisions are listed below. You may contact Denise Frye at dfrye2@umw.edu with any questions.
Program Purpose:
Eligible employees enrolled in a degree seeking program at other accredited institutions of higher education will be provided with tuition reimbursement up to a specified amount for courses after completion of the course and submission of proof of grade.
Eligibility:
This policy applies to classified, wage, administrative professional faculty, and other non-faculty part-time employees. Graduate Assistants who are required to be enrolled in UMW graduate programs are not eligible for this program. Eligible employees must be continuously employed by the University for a minimum of one year prior to their application for reimbursement and job performance must be satisfactory or at the “contributor” level. Tuition up to the approved amount will be reimbursed upon receipt of proof of completion of approved courses. Employees who receive tuition reimbursement must remain employed at the University of Mary Washington during the term of the courses taken and for one year after receipt of tuition reimbursement for those courses(s) or be subject to terms for repayment as described in the written agreement.
Important Information to Know:
Thank you,
Denise M. Frye
Benefits Manager
Office of Human Resources
University of Mary Washington
Banner Downtime:
Starts: 6:00 PM, Friday, 4/9
Ends: 6:00 AM, Saturday, 4/10
Impact To You: Banner SSB (Self-Service Banner for students, faculty, and staff), Banner 9 (for administrators) and Reporting (for administrators) will be unavailable during this time while scheduled maintenance is performed. This means that actions like registration and student payments through Banner via EaglePay must wait until the maintenance is complete and the system is returned to active status.
Updates: If needed, will be posted to our UMW System Status page http://status.umw.edu and our Twitter account https://twitter.com/umwIT
Thanks for your patience as this work is completed. Please contact the IT Help Desk if you have any questions or concerns.
Phone: 540-654-2255
In Person: HCC Room 112
Email: helpdesk@umw.edu
Website: http://technology.umw.edu/helpdesk
A Message from the Chief of Staff:
All,
I’m happy to announce the selection of Professor of Art Carole Garmon as the inaugural Campus Display Project Manager. As I indicated when I announced the call for applications, this special assignment will support efforts of the University to encourage members of our community to propose and create long term and permanent public art and public history installations and exhibits. Such displays will reflect Mary Washington’s history, current community, and vision for the future.
I’ve included the position description below; in short, Carole will serve as manager and facilitator for a variety of projects, starting with the Dr. Venus Jones display (initiated by Biology Professor Andrew Dolby and with a committee), and working with the Standing Campus Environment Committee, the Office of the President, and the Vice President for Equity and Access, as well as people who have ideas for new installations and exhibits.
I know many of us are looking forward to working with Carole in this important work.
Best,
Jeff
Special Assignment: Campus Display Project Manager
To ensure that the University of Mary Washington’s campuses help the institution fulfill its ASPIRE values by providing all members of our community with a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment, UMW is initiating a program to encourage members of our community to propose and create long term and permanent public art and public history installations and exhibits that reflect the university’s history, current community, and vision for the future.
A 12-month special assignment position for a Campus Display Project Manager is needed to support this program. This position is open to a faculty or staff member who has skills in project management and experience with public art and/or museum displays. Tasks will involve guiding a major new display project dedicated to Dr. Venus Jones from initial proposal to installation. In addition, the Campus Display Project Manager position will work with the standing Campus Environment Committee and the Vice President for Equity and Access to outline plans for other new campus display projects over the next three years. Finally, the person filling this role will be expected to help define the future role of the Campus Display Project Manager as UMW continues to install new public art and history displays.
The Campus Display Project Manager will report to the Office of the President and would be expected to work in partnership with the Standing Campus Environment Committee as it encourages and reviews proposals for new displays as part of its charge to promote an inclusive and welcoming environment on UMW’s campuses.
Assigned Tasks;
Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus Jack Bales
Jack Bales, Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus, has been keeping busy since he retired last August after more than 40 years at the UMW Library. His article, “‘He will do just what is best, no doubt’: William Hulbert’s Calculated Dismantling of the Chicago Base Ball Association,” was published in Base Ball 12: New Research on the Early Game (2021). Using original documents and primary sources such as the baseball club’s 1876 corporate charter, newspaper articles, and Hulbert’s letters and business records, the author details how the baseball club president shut down the Chicago Base Ball Association and, in so doing, disenfranchised many of its investors so he could form the new Chicago Ball Club. Base Ball is an annual peer-reviewed book series that promotes the study of the sport’s early history by publishing original research and analysis. Bales will discuss his work at the eleventh annual Frederick Ivor-Campbell Nineteenth Century Base Ball Conference, to be held virtually from April 22–24. He will also participate in a panel discussion on Chicago baseball executive and National League President William Hulbert.
Bales’s latest book, The Chicago Cub Shot for Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series, is scheduled for publication on June 21 by The History Press of Charleston, South Carolina. Using books, newspaper articles, memoirs, interviews, court records, archival documents, and never-before-published photographs, the author traces the story of how a young Chicago woman unwittingly set in motion events that indirectly changed baseball history.
Bales spoke on the nineteenth-century children’s author Horatio Alger, Jr. in February for UMW’s William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series. He has published many works on Alger over the years and will host the convention of the Horatio Alger Society, a book collectors’ organization, here in Fredericksburg from June 3–6.
Professor of English Maya Mathur
Professor of English Maya Mathur co-led the workshop, “Intersectionality and Inclusion in the Early Modern Classroom,” with Elisa Oh of Howard University. The workshop took place during the annual conference of the Shakespeare Association of America, which was held virtually from 30 March to 4 April 2021. The workshop drew on Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality to examine how the overlapping axes of our identities and those of our students shape our pedagogy.
At the University of Mary Washington’s 2014 commencement ceremony, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger heard something he knew he’d never forget.
A patch of garbage, estimated to be twice the size of Texas, is floating in the Pacific, Mellinger said, and is the largest of five offshore zones accumulating in the world’s oceans. That fact, which he called “truly alarming,” was shared by Rebecca Rubin, who gave that year’s commencement address to UMW graduates eager to make their mark on the world – while also reducing their carbon footprint.
“You don’t have to be a scientist or an academic to help save nature,” Rubin told them. Everyone plays a part in protecting and preserving the planet.
Just in time for Earth Day on April 22, UMW and Marstel-Day, the Fredericksburg-based environmental consulting firm Rubin founded, are teaming up to present A Climate of Change. This three-part series of public discussions with local leaders, held on Tuesdays in April on Zoom, aims to amp up critical dialogue about climate change and issues like environmental justice, clean energy and conservation. Following each discussion, Mellinger and Rubin will moderate a public question-and-answer session.
“UMW is sort of the anchor of the region,” said Mellinger, whose childhood experiences camping and hiking cultivated an interest in environmental and sustainability issues. “We pull together folks and facilitate conversation and collaboration.” Read more.
UMW students, faculty and staff, and alumni from the classes for 2014-2020 were surveyed in October 2020 (at the bequest of the Campus Advisory Panel). There were over 2250 responses. This forum, hosted by the students of Sociology 371 (The Invention of the Police: Policing and Social Control), examines the results of that survey. Questions included those on general attitudes about the American policing, attitudes about the UMW Police Department, safety on campus, comments about improving interactions between students and campus police. Data will also be broken out by various demographic categories, as relevant.
The April 1 and 5 forums, for students, faculty and staff have already occurred. The April 14 forum is for alumni; however, other groups may attend.
April 14th
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Apr 14, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Here's What You Said! Presentation on Alumni Data from Campus Police Survey
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://umw-sso.zoom.us/j/82493649383?pwd=bnVtVXRtMjlUdWZ6MVZSdGkyQmlRdz09
Passcode: 420418
Or One tap mobile :
US: +13126266799,,82493649383# or +16465588656,,82493649383#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
Webinar ID: 824 9364 9383
International numbers available: https://umw-sso.zoom.us/u/kcaoNTGWm0