August 9, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Merrill Pens Editorial on Goethe for ‘Great Lives’ Lecture

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Professor Emeritus of German Sammy Merrill

Professor Emeritus of German Sammy Merrill

Professor Emeritus of German Sammy Merrill penned an editorial in The Free Lance-Star on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in advance of his “Great Lives” lecture on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Watch here.

JOHANN Wolfgang Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on August 28, 1749. His long life of 82 years was defined by accomplishments that are surprising to those who know him only as the author of that most German of literary works: “Faust.”

Indeed, this dramatic poem—in which a man is so disillusioned with the scholarly life that he turns in despair to the devil himself as an alternative way to meaningfulness—is considered by most critics his magnum opus. Many even regard Goethe as the “German Shakespeare” because of this and other significant plays, some of them path-breaking in world literature. Read more.

Richardson Column in The Free Lance-Star

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UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s recent column in The Free Lance-Star is entitled, “Start the easy way or the hard way?”

DO YOU make lists of things that you need to get done every day? Or perhaps your time frame is weekly or longer. Most time management gurus will tell you that a ‘to-do’ list is a good way to help you maximize how you spend your day.

I’m a big fan of to-do lists. Most mornings, I generate a list of items that must be done that day. Occasionally, the list will include items that are longer term, but that need to be started soon.

Some people organize their list. Maybe they order the items by importance. Others create a list based on how much time each item will take to complete.

My list is created as I think of things to add. I do not take the time to organize it in any coherent fashion. It’s more a stream of consciousness list. I typically begin the list as soon as I get out of the shower, as I’ve usually thought of three to five things while I’m in there. Then I add to the list throughout the morning.

How do you “work” your list? Do you start with the easiest items to complete or do you tackle the hardest one first?

There is value in each method. Read more.

COB Events

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The College of Business is hosting its Money Matters series every Wednesday for the next three weeks. Each session focuses on financial responsibility, and is held virtually via Zoom

Upcoming Money Matters events include:

02/17 @ 7 pm: Credit Cards, Loans, and Credit Scores with Dean Lynne Richardson
02/24 @ 7 pm: Insurance with Rob Whitt ’93
03/03@ 7 pm: Saving and Retiring Planning with Chris Fines ’99

The COB welcomes all students to attend these events. To register, please email Lucy Quann at lquann@umw.edu.

MMDC Perks — Help Spread the Word!

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Have you heard about the new MMDC Perks program? This program recognizes Eagles who are doing a great job following MMDC guidelines and completing the Eagle Heath Journal. Students who complete the Eagle Health Journal every single day will be entered to win small prizes (like shirts, yoga mats, snuggies, and other freebies), and big prizes (like $250 towards books, a reserved parking spot, or graduation pictures with Sammy D. Eagle).

You can also nominate students to win prizes if they have done an awesome job following the MMDC guidelines.  Complete the nomination form here.

Please continue to encourage students to follow MMDC guidelines, complete the Eagle Health Journal every day, and remind them that if they do, they’ll be eligible to win free stuff!

Questions? Email ssutphin@umw.edu.

A Message from President Paino

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A message from the Office of the President.

As many of you heard me mention in the All-University Address a few weeks ago, UMW Vice President Sabrina Johnson has announced that she will retire at the end of the spring semester. At the time of her retirement on June 24, she will have served at Mary Washington for 24 years. She began her tenure in 1997 at the helm of the University’s Department of Human Resources – first as assistant vice president and then as associate vice president. For the past three years, Johnson has held the role of UMW’s Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Equity and Access.

The first to hold this position, she was uniquely qualified by her professional experiences, including teaching in the arts and serving in Virginia’s Department of Human Resources Management in Richmond, as well as her formal education in law. Her compassionate approach has allowed her to become a voice for underrepresented populations such as first-generation and low-income students, ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ communities, veterans and international students. She has championed those who felt marginalized, regardless of reason. As the momentum behind the University’s ASPIRE values and chief institutional advocate for a variety of viewpoints, Vice President Johnson has broadened the UMW community’s understanding of important and often overlooked issues.

I plan to consult with the campus community as I consider next steps in the process to identify a new leader for equity and access. Later this spring, we will celebrate the invaluable contributions of Vice President Johnson. In the interim, please join me in expressing our gratitude for her extraordinary contributions to our community.

President Troy Paino

UMW Faculty Learning Community Publishes Online

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Eleven UMW faculty from a variety of disciplines worked together in 2020 as the Advocacy, Deliberation, and Civic Engagement Learning Community. The group was led by Leslie Martin and Anand Rao, representing the Center for Community Engagement and the Speaking Intensive Program. The goal of the group was for the participants to work together to develop course materials that incorporate advocacy and deliberation activities to support civic learning in their courses. Modeled after a similar initiative at VCU, the UMW faculty learning community met through the Spring 2020 semester to study the ways that advocacy, deliberation, and debate, could be used in class, and the faculty then developed materials, including activities, assignments, and rubrics, for use in college classes. The materials were collected and were recently published online through UMW Eagle Scholar. The publication is titled “Supporting Advocacy, Deliberation, and Civic Learning in the Classroom,” and includes contributions from the following faculty: Leslie Martin (Sociology), Anand Rao (Communication), Adrienne Brovero (Communication, UMW Debate), Gonzalo Campos-Dintrans (Spanish, FSEM), Steve Greenlaw (Economics, FSEM), Pamela Grothe (Environmental Sciences), Jason Hayob-Matzke (Philosophy), Jodie Hayob-Matzke (Environmental Sciences), Christine Henry (Historic Preservation), Joseph Romero (Classics), and Andrea Livi Smith (Historic Preservation).

Spring Safe Zone Programs

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UMW Safe Zone logoThe UMW Safe Zone program offers workshops that are designed to educate members of the University community about lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) issues to increase the safety and inclusion of all campus citizens. We are excited to announce the following Spring programs:

  • We will be offering a basic training on Tuesday, March 2nd from 2:00-4:30pm (via Zoom). This training focuses on terminology, issues related to privilege, increasing awareness and sensitivity, and how to support the LGBTQ+ population on campus.
  • We will be offering an advanced training on Friday, March 5th from 1-3:30pm (via Zoom). The advanced training is for faculty and staff who have already completed the basic training and covers more complex topics, including bystander intervention.
  • We are also in the process of planning a book club. This would be a two-part program offered in the late afternoon on Zoom. We would like to judge interest and availability before picking the dates. We will be reading “Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More” by Janet Mock. Safe Zone will provide a free copy of the book to the first 14 people who sign up!
  • We are also in the process of planning an offering of our Identity and Intersectionality. The training covers privilege, power, oppression, prejudice, diversity, cultural competency, intersectionality, and allyship. Ideally, participants will have attended at least one Safe Zone workshop prior to attending this training, but this is not mandatory. We would like to judge interest and availability before picking dates and times for this workshop.

Registration is required to attend each event, and space is limited. If you are interested in registering for the Basic and/or Advanced training, or would like to express interest in the Book Club and/or Identity and Intersectionality Workshop, then please provide your information at http://umw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_57QYFoE4BvcEGz4.