It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Professor Emeritus of English Dan Dervin.

Dan joined Mary Washington in 1967 and was known in and out of the classroom, particularly as the professor who traveled by bicycle. He published nine books with numerous articles in academic journals, even after his retirement. Topics included Shaw and Lawrence, Freud and cinema, creativity and culture, and most recently in 2018, The Digital Child. He also is remembered as an avid and very talented tennis player, as well as one of Fredericksburg’s long-time book reviewers for The Free Lance-Star.

Fellow book reviewer and UMW alumnus Drew Gallagher ’92 shared a tribute to Dan earlier this month, noting that Dan was the “most prolific book reviewer in the history of The Free Lance-Star.” According to Drew, he seemed to be on a never-ending quest to read everything. As a result, his reviews and his contributions spanned decades and connected with so many authors and readers.

He was known to have a book with him always, even late into his life. He passed away at his home in Florida at the age of 89.

Dan will be remembered by many readers particularly on the Mary Washington campus.

Mary Beth Conrad, who spent nearly 10 years working with UMW’s Advancement team, passed away on on April 8, 2024. Read more.

Campus Community,

The water in Woodard and Seacobeck Halls has been turned off this morning, April 4, due to a water main break.  The work to repair the water line begins at 9 a.m. and is expected to take up to 12 hours today. We will update campus when the water service resumes.

The Eagle’s Nest is closed today, April 4.

The buildings remain open for classes and activities, but restrooms will be unavailable. Water and restrooms are available in adjacent buildings, including Simpson Library and the Cedric Rucker University Center.

For questions, contact Executive Director of Facilities Operations Brian Gorham.

Retta Young

The next Coffee Talk presented by the Women’s Leadership Colloquium will take place on Tuesday, April 9, from 8 to 9 a.m. at *718 Venue, 718 Caroline St., Fredericksburg. Parking is available at Riverfront Park, George Street Lot and Sophia Street Parking Deck. Street parking is also available along Caroline Street. Register for the April Coffee Talk.

*Please note: The location for April’s Coffee Talk is 718 Venue in Fredericksburg. The event space has been graciously donated by Joy Crump, Founding Partner & Executive Chef, and Beth Black, Founding Partner, of Foode + Mercantile and 718 Venue. Attendees will receive a 10% discount on coffee from Italian Station when they mention they are there for the Coffee Talk session.

The session, titled “Rising Strong: Navigating Life’s Challenges with Resilience,” will be presented by Retta Young, owner and senior advisor of Assisted Living Locators.

We all face challenges and adversity in our lives, and it can feel difficult (sometimes impossible) to pick ourselves up and push through after a setback. In this session we’ll discuss how to recover our strength and faith in ourselves in order to navigate life’s challenges with resilience!

Originally hailing from Long Island, New York, Retta boasts a distinguished 22-year career in the federal government. Her journey began as a Budget Analyst, and she steadily climbed the ranks, assuming pivotal roles such as Contract Specialist, Supervisor Senior Contract Specialist, Deputy Director, and ultimately, Director of Acquisitions.

Retta’s career in federal government continued with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) until 2022, where she contributed her skills to the Financial Management & Budget Office Division. In 2022, she embarked on a new chapter, pursuing her entrepreneurial dreams by becoming a franchise owner and Senior Living Advisor for Assisted Living Locators.

Take Back the Night will take place Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. on the Lee Hall Patio (Rain location: Lee Hall 411)

Let’s speak out against sexual violence. Join us for an empowering evening of support and healing for survivors and their allies!

If you are interested in speaking at the event, scan the QR code on the poster to the right or sign up online.

Contact Melissa Palguta or Amiria Niori with questions.

This event is sponsored by the Talley Center for Counseling Services in collaboration with CPE, Doctors without Borders, Empower House, FAHASS, Mr. Reggie’s Snow Cones, One Note Stand, PRISM, RCASA, Safe Harbour, Safe Zone and more.

Join us for the Annual Student Art Exhibit April 11 to 28, 2024 at DuPont Gallery! The opening reception and awards will be April 11, 5 to 7 p.m.

ASPIRE Week will take place April 15 to 20.

Get excited because UMW SGA is excited to announce our second annual ASPIRE Week! ASPIRE week is a week to celebrate UMW community values spelled out in the letters ASPIRE! ASPIRE Week will be held April 15 to 20, so please mark the date in your calendars. We will see you then!

Learn more about UMW’s ASPIRE principles and values.

On Tuesday, March 12, you should have received an email invitation to participate in a short survey about your experiences and knowledge of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Generative AI is a branch of artificial intelligence that focuses on creating new content, such as images, text, music, or speech, based on existing data. Some examples are applications like Chat GPT, Dall-E, Copilot, and Gemini.

Your participation in the survey is at the request of the AI Working Group, a cross-disciplinary team of faculty and staff who are exploring the opportunities and challenges of AI at UMW.  It will take approximately 5 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. Your responses will help us understand the current state and future directions of generative AI use in teaching, learning, and work at UMW.

We thank you for your time and input,

The AI Working Group