Bike FXBG is a student-built project that is working with a local organization, Fredericksburg Main Street, to place bike infrastructure downtown. Bike infrastructure includes racks, corrals, and shelters; these structures target and help cyclists directly but benefit pedestrians and drivers as well. As UMW students and members of the Fredericksburg community, we would like your input, which you can give us by taking a two-minute survey on the bikefxbg.org website. While there, you can learn more about bike infrastructure, drop a pin on an interactive GIS map, and meet the team.
Women’s History Month Program Proposals Needed
![[Text] Women's History Month Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced [Image] Title in a speech bubble with a graphic of a group of diverse women](https://eagleeye.umw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/WHM2021_Theme-150x150.png)
Submit your Program Proposals by Monday, December 7. Contact JoAnna Raucci (jraucci@umw.edu) for more information.
The Women’s History Month Planning Committee invites members of the University of Mary Washington community to submit program proposals for the annual Women’s History Month Celebration in March!
This year’s theme is “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.”
Visit students.umw.edu/multicultural/programs/womens-history-month/ or contact JoAnna Raucci (jraucci@umw.edu) for more information. Please submit your program proposals by Monday, December 7 at 5 p.m.
Commendation for UMW Police Officer Michael Jackson
I’d like to thank Officer Michael Jackson for being so sweet, kind and helpful on 11/09/20. I sprained my ankle and was on crutches so my whole morning had been a struggle to gather my things and ambulate. When I arrived on campus for my scheduled shift with BetterMed, Officer Michael so kindly helped me carry my things inside and made sure I got into the building safely. His professionalism and willingness to help without any hesitation truly helped turn my hectic morning around and ease my stress. This was my first interaction/experience with UMW Police and Officer Michael left a very good impression of the department as a whole.
– Lexy
Open and Affordable Textbooks
The impact of COVID-19 demonstrated the importance of having consistent, online access to course materials. As faculty select course materials for the Spring semester, please consider searching the VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal to identify no-cost, online alternatives to print textbooks. The Portal contains over 200,000 titles from the Virtual Library of Virginia’s (VIVA’s) shared library collections, open access textbooks, and e-books available to UMW at no-cost. For more information, please contact Paul Boger, the Scholarly Communications Librarian at pboger@umw.edu.
Important Campus Information
A message from the COVID Implementation Team:
Dear Colleagues:
With the majority of students moving off campus for the next two months, the COVID Implementation Team has recommended that the campus resume several of the practices that were in place during the spring and summer before students returned. The Cabinet has approved this recommendation, which includes the following:
- Building access: Beginning Monday, November 23, all buildings will remain locked; access to each building will be limited to those who work in the building and visitors with appointments. Deliveries and other individual department needs will need to be coordinated as they were during the spring and summer.
- Telework: While many employees have continued to telework throughout the year, some employees needed to return to campus in order to provide in-person services when students returned. With students gone again, the need for that campus presence is expected to be greatly reduced, and all departments are strongly urged to reassess teleworking options for employees who have been working on campus, and allow telework wherever possible.
- Thanksgiving precautions: The COVID Implementation Team encourages adherence to the CDC guidelines regarding the Thanksgiving holiday.
And finally, whether on or off-campus, continue to follow UMW’s MMDC guidelines.
We are grateful to each of you for everything you’ve done to help us mitigate the COVID risk for our students, staff and faculty.
On behalf of the entire team, we wish you a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving break – you’ve earned it!
Eagle Scholar – Faculty Making a Difference
Eagle Scholar is the open access institutional repository of UMW. Since it was launched in February 2018, 43 faculty have contributed their OER and open access books and articles. As a result, their work has been viewed in 119 countries at over 700 unique institutions. If you would like to share your professional work in Eagle Scholar, please contact the Simpson Library’s Scholarly Communications Team at: scholcom@umw.edu.
Larus Comments on Indian Talk Show on 2nd Presidential Debate
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Freund Larus
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science, joined a panel of experts on India’s WION TV November 1 to discuss the 2nd presidential debate. During the program “U.S. Elections Dialogue,” Professor Larus compared the domestic and foreign policy records of the two presidential candidates. The program has garnered 10,649 views on YouTube. View the program at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yihWqsiXu-w&feature=youtu.be
Required Spring Semester COVID-19 Training for faculty and staff
The following message is from the COVID-19 Implementation Team.
To all faculty and staff:
Welcome to 2021, which we believe to be a more hope-filled year. We are looking forward to having students back on campus for the spring semester, and we appreciate your continued hard work and flexibility. In keeping with our goal of minimizing risk, you are required to complete by Wednesday, January 13, 2021, the following COVID-19 related steps. This requirement applies even if you are joining us virtually.
- Take the Spring COVID-19 training in the Learning Center and sign-off on the Eagle Pledge. Instructions are at the bottom of this email.
- Fill out the Eagle Health Survey every day unless you are furloughed. The Eagle Health Survey will be emailed to your UMW inbox every morning.
- In order to create a healthier environment for all members of the University community, please limit your activities, interactions, and travel for 14 days prior to returning to campus to reduce your potential exposure to the virus. This includes adhering to UMW’s MMDC guidelines as well as all federal, state, CDC guidelines.
To access the COVID training (please use Firefox or Chrome):
Login to the Learning Center at https://covlc.virginia.gov using your Learning Center credentials. These credentials may not be the same as your UMW credentials; to reset your login ID or password use the “forgot your login ID or password” option to reset either or both.
- Once you are logged into https://covlc.virginia.gov, enter UMWCOVID in the search box (magnifying glass in the upper right).
- Open UMW COVID-19 Training 2021.
- You will see three items, two of which you must complete.
- Select the appropriate UMW COVID training module (for either new or continuing employees). Read the content in the presentation, then mark the item complete.
- Access the Eagle Pledge. Once you have read the Eagle Pledge, mark the item complete. Doing so indicates that you have read the document and will comply with it.
If you need assistance logging into the Learning Center, please reach out to Pam Lowery (plowery@umw.edu).
Remember to #ProtectTheNest by following MMDC: Monitor. Mask. Distance. Clean.
Thank you.
Recognize a Colleague!
Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for exemplary service, commitment and contribution? It’s easy to nominate them for a Hurley, Coleman or Atkins Award; to do so, visit the University Recognition Awards webpage! Submit your nomination(s) by 5:00pm on Monday, November 9, 2020. Please see below for further details, or visit University Recognition Awards.
Each fall, through the presentation of 3 awards, the University of Mary Washington recognizes employees who have been nominated by other members of the University community for providing exemplary service to the University and making a positive contribution to the work environment. Nominations are now open and the details are outlined below; please take the time to nominate a colleague who deserves to be recognized and celebrated!
What: Hurley Presidential Commendation, Coleman Memorial Service Award, Larry Atkins Staff Award
When: Nominations are open, and will close at 5:00 pm on Monday, November 9, 2020.
Awards will be presented later this fall.
How: See University Recognition Awards for nomination criteria and the nomination form.
Questions: Contact Terri Arthur (tlockhar@umw.edu) about the Hurley and Coleman awards; contact Charles Tate (ctate@umw.edu) about the Larry Atkins Awards.
Esunge, Mathematics Department Host ‘The Life of a Mathematician’ Inaugural Talk
Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics Julius Esunge
The Department of Mathematics hosted the inaugural talk in its new colloquium series, The Life of a Mathematician. This initiative of the new chair of mathematics, Professor Julius Esunge, featured Professor Larry Lehman as the speaker, with several students, alumni and colleagues in attendance. The series aims at addressing such pertinent matters as the factors that contributed towards the career choices of mathematics faculty, the tools they use in their research and the relevance of their work.
Professor Lehman who is in his 35th year at UMW presented a leisurely and engaging talk. The series continues in the spring with Professor Marie Sheckels as the speaker. This series will showcase the excellent work and background of departmental colleagues with a view to encouraging students.