A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Larus
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council penned a blog for the LSE U.S. Centre that assesses the apparent strengths and weaknesses of both contenders – who are now neck and neck in national polls – and outlines why Joe Biden might have an advantage in the Electoral College. Read more.
The AI Working Group invites the entire UMW community to participate in our AI Literacy Day event!
AI Literacy Day is a great opportunity to learn about the applications of AI in personal, professional, and educational contexts. You’ll also get a chance to try out AI firsthand, so bring your laptop!
We’ll also discuss the current state of AI at UMW, based on data from the AI Survey conducted in March.
Refreshments including coffee, tea, soda, and snacks will be provided. To ensure we have enough refreshments, please register in advance. Please feel free to attend some or all as your schedule allows. We look forward to seeing you there!
10:00 – 10:50 AM: First Steps With AI
J. D. Swerzenski, Associate Professor, Communication and Digital Studies
Jerry Slezak, Director, Digital Learning Support
Session description:
Based on data from our recent AI Survey, we might conclude that many at UMW are unsure about AI and what it means for teaching and learning. After a quick review of the survey results, we will dive right in to help participants get started using a large language model (LLM) AI. Bring your laptop and try out Copilot, a free AI service by Microsoft. We will look at the interface, review some of the basic options, and create prompts to generate text and images.
10:50 – 11:00 AM – Break
11:00 – 11:50 AM: Using AI in the Classroom
Anand Rao, Professor, Communication and Digital Studies
Session Description:
While most of us have made use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, that does not mean that we have a real understanding of how those tools work and how we can best make use of them. In this workshop, I will show you how to build your own AI chatbot with the free and no-code platform, PlayLab.ai. You can build your own chatbot or AI tool and can train it on your own documents and instructions. You might build something that is very useful while better understanding some of AI’s limitations. Bring a laptop or tablet and you will have your own chatbot before the end of the session!
University Dining is hosting a Farmers’ Market and Craft Fair on Tuesday, April 23rd between 11:30 am and 3pm in Palmieri Plaza. This event will feature an array of fresh fruits and vegetables from C & T Produce, along with lots of great munchies from a variety of food vendors. This year’s Fair includes returning favorite food vendors Poppin’ Jon’s Kettle Corn, Biscuit Batch, Great Harvest Bread, and Beth’s Mad Batter Baker, along with some new purveyors, such as Chocolate Moonshine, Agora Coffee, Selectos Latin Market, Kindred’s Kandies, and K & K Island Spice and Produce. There will be many gift and craft items available, too. A complete list of the vendors is available on the University Dining website.
New this year is a “Lunch & Learn” dining event featuring a variety of dishes made with honey and a presentation about the benefits of local honey and bee pollen from Rick Pound of the Blackstone Honey Bee Farm. This event will be held in the South Living Room on the second floor of the CRUC at 12pm. It is open to all, but space is limited! Those who wish to attend should RSVP to Rose Benedict, rbenedic@umw.edu, in order to assure a seat at the table! *Note: For those with food allergies, please be aware that the meal includes peanut butter and other nuts.
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Jennifer Barry
Jennifer Barry, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, has been awarded the 2024 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer stipend to begin work on her next book-length project titled Scandalous Christian Histories.
The stipend will be used to dedicate full-time research to examine the use of scandal stories in the ecclesiastical histories of the early Christian church. Scandalous Christian Histories emphasize how the agendas and scandals found within the ecclesiastical histories shaped competing visions of the formative years of Christianity. The book will engage multiple disciplines from the fields of Early Christian studies, late Roman studies, gender studies, and ancient historiography. The interdisciplinary nature of this project contributes to current trends that focus on the subjective nature of historical writing and sheds new light on the gendered tropes, power dynamics, and manipulations employed by early Christian historians. With meticulous research of the primary sources and applied critical analysis, offers a new perspective on the process of writing early Christian history. Ultimately, the project will reshape how readers understand the past and spark discussions on the dynamics of power, gender, and manipulation in historical narratives.
Prof. Barry is currently on research leave for the 2023-2024 academic year as the Harvard, Loeb Classical Library Fellow
Barry participates in workshop at William and Mary
On Friday, April 12, 2024, Associate Professor Jennifer Barry participated in an invited workshop at the University of William and Mary. The workshop, titled “Studying Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean: Methods, Case Studies, and Insights” spotlighted pedagogical insights from scholars and highlighted student research projects. Barry discussed the evolution of research and provided students with insight into the publishing process as well as how scholarly ideas change over time. The discussion also centered on Barry’s expertise as a teaching-focused researcher and how she brings her ideas to the classroom at UMW.
Dr. Barry is currently on research leave as a Harvard, Classical Loeb Library Fellow for the 2023-2024 academic year. Her second book, Gender Violence in Late Antiquity, is now under review with the University of California Press.
Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently presented a lecture, “Policy Issues in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election,” at Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. Dr. Farnsworth is serving as the Spring 2024 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in the American Studies Program at the University of Warsaw.
‘Bipartisanship’ fizzles as General Assembly session ends (Chatham Star Tribune)
Another point of contention among lawmakers is establishing a regulated cannabis market. Democrats may have to wait for a new governor before making progress on cannabis, according to Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington. Read more.
Virginia lawmakers concerned Gov. Youngkin could scrap budget proposal amid declining bipartisanship (Loudoun Times)
Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, said he can’t recall any governor shooting down the entire budget. But he noted that bipartisanship is in decline.
“We really have seen a sort of downward trend in the ability of people in Richmond to work together across party lines,” he said. “A generation ago, moderates of both parties would have worked out a deal. Increasingly though, there aren’t that many moderates left.” Read more.
Congressional hopefuls are almost out of time to get their paperwork in (WVTF)
Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says they’ve got nothing to lose. “If you’re currently a member of the House of Delegates or the Senate of Virginia, you’re not on the same electoral timetable as a congressional race,” says Farnsworth. “So, you basically can get a roll of the dice without having to give anything up in terms of your own seat or not running for reelection because your contest would be in a different cycle in a different year.” Read more.
Virginia lawmakers concerned Gov. Youngkin could scrap budget proposal amid declining bipartisanship (The Virginian-Pilot)
Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, said he can’t recall any governor shooting down the entire budget. But he noted that bipartisanship is in decline.
“We really have seen a sort of downward trend in the ability of people in Richmond to work together across party lines,” he said. “A generation ago, moderates of both parties would have worked out a deal. Increasingly though, there aren’t that many moderates left.” Read more.
After vetoes, Youngkin’s budget “olive branch” unlikely to persuade Democrats (Virginia Dogwood)
Even as Youngkin struck a more conciliatory tone in budget talks with the General Assembly, “significant daylight” remains between the two sides, which have a history of contentious debate going back to the Youngkin’s first days in office, Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said in an interview. “The governor has offered an olive branch, but it’s a relatively small olive branch,” Farnsworth said. “My guess is the Democrats are going to want more from what they’ve seen from the governor so far. Read more.
Jury Selection Resumes in Trump Trial (CTV News)
“We should be prepared for a long slog with this case. What you are seeing so far is the reality of a man who is intensely polarized in the United States,” said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more.
Virginia’s legislature hasn’t overridden a veto in more than a decade. Could that change Wednesday? (WVTF)
Professor Stephen Farnsworth with the University of Mary Washington said Youngkin may have miscalculated when he overturned the largely red and rural-backed effort. “The governor will face more severe threats of an overridden veto because of the way that he ignored Republican concerns,” Farnsworth told Radio IQ. Read more.
Thirty years ago, Dr. Suzanne Sumner donated bone marrow to a two-year old child with leukemia. Now her cousin, Kelsey Sumner, an epidemiologist at the CDC, needs a stem cell transplant.
Please sign up for the NMDP bone marrow donor registry or give blood at the Red Cross Blood Drive on Wed. 4/24, 11 am – 4 pm, in the Chandler Ballroom in UMW’s Cedric Rucker University Center. Thank you!
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, commented on France24 on Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to Washington. Professor Larus indicated that, despite solid defensive agreements with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, Japan questions US political commitment to maintaining maritime security in the Asia Pacific. She also indicated that Japan can see that the US is short on ships, ship builders, and people to put on ships. In response, Japan is increasing its miliary budgets and expanding its military power. Read more.
Enrollment is currently open for Tuition Reimbursement (courses outside of UMW) for courses starting July 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024. All applications must be submitted by Friday, April 26, 2024. Please note: the Cabinet agreed to expand the Tuition Reimbursement Program to include certificate programs. However, any and all courses associated with the certificate program must be credit-bearing.
The complete policy and procedures are posted online; 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 or enrolled in a credit-bearing certificate 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:
a) Proof of enrollment in a degree-granting program
b) Schedule of the institution’s fees
c) Proof of payment
Thank you,
Denise M. Frye
Benefits Manager
Office of Human Resources
University of Mary Washington
Phone: 540-654-1210
Email: dfrye2@umw.edu
VRS DCP Online Regional Education Meetings
Register today for an online Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan Regional Education Meeting or a virtual one-on-one with your Defined Contribution Plans Retirement Specialists.
Learn More About Your Retirement Options
VRS 457 and Cash Match Plans Overview
What is a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan? How about a Cash Match 401(a) Plan? Learn about how these plans help you build your retirement future.
Select How Your Savings Are Invested
VRS Plan Investments
Do you find investing confusing? Learn about asset classes, diversification and the three investment paths available to you.
How Do I Withdraw My Money in Retirement?
VRS 457 and Cash Match Distribution Options
Retirement on the horizon? Understand the various distribution requirements and options under your 457 and 401(a) plans.
Personal Individual Account Review
One-on-one Appointment
Need assistance? Sign up for a 30-minute virtual one-on-one with a Defined Contribution Plans Retirement Specialist.
The 18th annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, showcasing student work, will take place across campus on Friday, April 26. See the Research and Creativity Symposium website for details.