A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Join us as we take a stand against sexual assault and domestic violence.
Take Back the Night
Thursday, April 2
6:30 p.m.
Lee Hall Patio (rain location Lee Hall rm. 412)
Come hear various speakers tell their stories of resilience, perseverance and hope and enjoy musical and inspirational expressions of the arts.
Hosted by UMW’s Talley Center, this is a night of inspiration, empowerment and encouragement for survivors and the community. All are welcome – learn more about the event!
Many music department recitals, festivals and performances coming up in March and April. To learn more, the Music Events Calendar is also accessible online.
All are welcome at a very exciting public debate event taking place on campus — it’s a great opportunity for community engagement, professional development and networking.
A VA250 Public Square Debate: Is Social Media a Threat to Democracy?
Wednesday, March 11
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
CRUC Chandler Ballroom
Reception to follow
Event FAQ:
What is the Public Square Debate initiative?
The Public Square Debate initiative brings together students from local high schools, 2-year (Germanna) and 4-year (UMW) colleges, and members of the broader community for a respectful exchange of ideas on timely civic questions. Public Square debates help participants explore what it means to live in a democracy — and what it takes to strengthen one. The Public Square Debate initiative is a partnership among VA250, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Braver Angels and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), which houses the College Debates & Discourse Alliance.
What is the Braver Angels debate format?
Braver Angels debates are non-competitive and allow everyone in the room to participate. There is no distinction between the speakers and the audience. The debates are run by a trained chair using a light parliamentary format that allows for everyone to have a chance to speak. The UMW/GCC debate will be chaired by an experienced chair from the College Debates and Discourse Alliance.
What will the debate be about?
The topic that will be debated is whether social media a threat to democracy.
The Center for AI and the Liberal Arts is pleased to invite you to a guest talk by Sean O’Brien ‘09, UMW’s AI Expert-in-Residence, on Tuesday, March 10.
The University Committee on Sabbaticals, Fellowships, and Faculty Awards (SFFA) is very pleased to solicit nominations for our annual faculty awards. We hope you will take the time to prepare and submit a nomination. The Committee has received strong slates of nominees in recent years, and we hope to continue this tradition.
Award Descriptions
The Grellet C. Simpson Award is awarded to a faculty member for outstanding undergraduate teaching. All full-time continuing faculty are eligible for this award.
The Graduate Faculty Award is awarded to a faculty member teaching at the graduate level who has distinguished themselves as members of a graduate program at the University. All full-time continuing faculty are eligible to be nominated for this award.
The Outstanding Young Faculty Award is presented to a full-time faculty member who has between two and five years of full-time teaching service at UMW. Someone who is in their fifth year is eligible; someone who has already completed five years of service is not. Please make sure the individual you are nominating in this category is eligible. See the list of persons eligible for the Outstanding Young Faculty Award below.
The Topher Bill Award recognizes outstanding faculty service. Nominees must have served a minimum of seven years as a member of the Mary Washington teaching faculty and must have been significantly and consistently involved in a variety of service roles through department, college, university, and/or community service activities.
The Waple Faculty Professional Achievement Award is based on the significance/impact of the faculty nominee’s scholarly, creative, and/or professional achievement(s). All full-time, continuing faculty with at least seven years employment at UMW are eligible. Achievement(s) must have been undertaken during the nominee’s years at UMW.
The UMW Board of Visitors Faculty Leadership Award recognizes and supports faculty who exhibit exemplary leadership in advancing the mission and priorities of the institution. Any full-time faculty member of any rank who has demonstrated excellence through teaching, research, and scholarship is eligible. Please see the provost’s announcement for more information.
The SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Awards are the Commonwealth’s highest honor for faculty and take into consideration scholarship, teaching, mentoring, public service, and research. The university may nominate up to three regular faculty members and one “rising star”; for further information about this award and its special nomination procedures, see Appendix B.
Please note that the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award is determined by the Senior Class, and our committee will not accept nominations for the Pinschmidt award.
Nomination Process
Nominations are welcome from any member of the University community, and letters may be written by single or multiple individuals. Nominations from students are always welcome, so please consider relaying this message to your majors through an appropriate channel. A list of past recipients of these awards can be found here.
Nominations must include the following materials:
1) Letter to the Provost’s office indicating the specific reasons for the nomination.
2) Candidate’s curriculum vitae: this can be obtained from the provost’s office if necessary.
In addition, supplemental materials supporting the nomination may be included. Examples of evidence from strong nominations in the past have included some of the following; however, this list is not exhaustive:
1) Service: Letters, list of committees and positions, descriptions of service impact that contextualize importance
2) Scholarship: Letters describing and contextualizing impact in the field and at the university, statements, and evidence of importance
3) Teaching: Syllabi excerpts, assignments, program/course innovations, peer observations, evidence of publicly sharing pedagogical methods, student testimonials, letters, research, use of QEP competencies, service learning and community engagement, mentorship (students and colleagues).
Nomination materials (nomination letter and any supplemental documents), excluding the candidate’s CV, must not exceed 10 pages and must be submitted electronically as one PDF file. (See email to faculty from Christy Irish on 2.17.26 for attachment with alternate instructions regarding the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award.) Send all nominations to Amy O’Reilly (aoreilly@umw.edu).
The deadlines for nominations are:
Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m., for the Board of Visitors Faculty Leadership Award
Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m., for all other awards
If you nominated someone during the past three years for one of these awards and they were not recognized, you may reactivate the prior nomination by sending an email to Amy O’Reilly (aoreilly@umw.edu). All of the nomination materials previously submitted for that nominee will be used, provided these materials do not exceed the restriction on length.
Selection Process
The University Committee on Sabbaticals, Fellowships, and Faculty Awards will review all nominations and select the winners. Thank you very much for your attention to this important matter. Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to receiving your nominations on behalf of your outstanding colleagues!
All are invited to attend a special event in the Department of English and Linguistics — Thursday Poetry and Prose — as it marks Black History Month with guest speaker, Professor Brooks Hefner of James Madison University, giving a lecture on Claude McKay.
Claude McKay’s Bars, Cafes, and Cabarets
Thursday, Feb. 26
5 – 6 p.m.
Combs 139
The lecture, followed by a question-and-answer session, will run about an hour with a reception to follow just outside Combs 139.
Associate Professor of German Marcel Rotter
Professor of French Brooke DiLauro
UMW Professor of German Marcel Rotter and his students will present research next month into the area’s German influences at a local lecture series examining how each of Fredericksburg’s five sister city countries — France, Germany, Italy, Ghana, and Nepal — have influenced the cultural fabric of Virginia and the nation as a whole, as well as how America has influenced them.
In May, the series will include a panel discussion about France’s political and culinary contributions with Craig Vasey, retired philosophy professor at UMW and graduate of the Sorbonne in Paris; Bill Beck, former Fredericksburg mayor and long-time member of the Fredericksburg-Fréjus Sister City Association; and UMW Professor of French Brooke DiLauro, who sits on the board of that Association.
Part of the VA250 celebrations, the series will focus on the contributions of the sister city countries to the cultural fabric of America. Learn more about the lectures or read more in FXBG Advance.
President Troy D. Paino
In an interview with the Fredericksburg Free Press, Mary Washington President Troy Paino and Mary Washington Healthcare President and CEO Chris Newman discuss the possibility of a Fredericksburg medical school with host Bill Freehling The preliminary name is the Mary Washington College of Medicine, and the two institutions are working on building community support. Learn more and listen to the episode of Biz Beat Banter.
Associate Professor of Communications Elizabeth Johnson-Young and Senior Lecturer of Biological Sciences Michael Stebar on WFVA’s Town Talk.
Associate Professor of Communications Elizabeth Johnson-Young and Senior Lecturer of Biological Sciences Michael Stebar appeared on News Talk 1230 WFVA’s Town Talk recently to discuss the six-day slice of college coursework and campus life that’s available for high-schoolers through UMW’s Summer Enrichment Program. Running from July 12-18, 2026, the program is open to rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. Learn more and listen to the episode.
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson recently published an article in The National Interest titled, “Three Roadblocks on Europe’s Path to Defense Independence.” In the article, Davidson examines how dependence on U.S. military equipment, differing priorities and distinct identities all impede the formation of a unified European defense policy. Learn more and read the article in The National Interest.
Other media mentions for Davidson include:
New Book Takes Nuanced Look at NATO’s Ukraine Coalition (National Defense Magazine)
“NATO is made up of 32 countries, and those 32 countries have different threat perceptions. They have different national interests, and they have different histories and identities that they bring to the table,” said Jason Davidson, a nonresident senior fellow with the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington. Read more in National Defense Magazine.