Online trivia, virtual dance parties and outdoor fitness classes are in this fall. High fives, handshakes and hugs are out, at least for now. Activities and engagement are as much a part of college life as academics. That’s why staff and student volunteers at the University of Mary Washington have worked tirelessly this summer to […]
UMW Presents Top Faculty Awards
The University of Mary Washington bestowed honors on several professors at the general faculty meeting on Monday.
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss received the 2020 Waple Faculty Professional Achievement Award.
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss received the 2020 Waple Faculty Professional Achievement Award, presented by College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger.
Established in honor of 1952 alumna Shirley Van Epps Waple, the nomination-based award recognizes instructors who have made significant contributions to their scholarly or creative area of expertise. The recipient must be a full-time faculty member for at least seven years.
“Exemplifying the UMW teacher-scholar model,” Liss has coauthored published research with more than 40 students in her two decades at Mary Washington, presented at numerous professional conferences and written several books, Mellinger said. “In the words of her department chair, Liss’s ‘ongoing record of stellar and consistent professional activity places her in the very top tier of our talented faculty.’”
Professor of History and American Studies Allyson Poska received the J. Christopher “Topher” Bill Award.
Professor of History and American Studies Allyson Poska received the J. Christopher “Topher” Bill Award for her contributions to the University and her involvement and leadership in the greater community. Since 2003, this award has been presented annually to a member of the full-time teaching faculty who has served at UMW for at least seven years and has a significant record of service accomplishments.
In her 28 years at Mary Washington, Poska has served on or chaired over 20 university committees, said Assistant Professor of Biology Parrish Waters, who presented the award.
She also helped establish UMW’s Women’s and Gender Studies major, serving as chair for six years. Poska “elevated the program’s stature through impactful speakers, a student research forum and making it an integral and essential part of the UMW experience,” Waters said.
In the community, Poska “brings a strong voice to advocate for those who may otherwise go unheard,” said Waters, citing her service to local organizations like Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault, Empowerhouse and the Fredericksburg Food Bank.
Associate Professor of Computer Science Stephen Davies earned the Grellet C. Simpson Award.
Several awards traditionally given at Commencement were also presented, with the exception of the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award, which will later be selected by the Class of 2020.
Associate Professor of Computer Science Stephen Davies earned the Grellet C. Simpson Award, the institution’s most prestigious honor for excellence in undergraduate teaching, given to a senior faculty member.
Known for “extremely challenging but exceptionally creative courses,” Davies creates materials and assignments tailored specifically for his students, said Provost Nina Mikhalevsky, who presented the annual award. He’s also authored three textbooks that have been adopted by other UMW instructors for their classes, she said.
“He treated my knowledge with respect and curiosity,” said one of Davies’ students, “driving home for me the important lesson that the most learned people always seek to expand their knowledge and are humble about whom they learn from.”
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences April Wynn received the UMW Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award.
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences April Wynn received the UMW Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award, presented annually to an exceptional member of the faculty who has served the institution for at least two years but no more than five.
Praising Wynn’s empathy and enthusiasm as both a faculty member and director of UMW’s First-Year Experience, Andrew Dolby, University Faculty Council chair, presented the award to his colleague. “[Wynn] is thoughtful, diligent and meticulous in carrying out every service or obligation she agrees to take on,” Dolby said.
“She is a fantastic professor and a truly wonderful person,” said one of Wynn’s students. “Her classes are streamlined, organized and hyper-efficient – but boy, are they fun!”
John Burrow, a lecturer in the College of Business (COB), was recognized with the Graduate Faculty Award, showcasing an exceptional full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in graduate teaching and professional leadership in a graduate program. The person selected must have served in a full-time position at UMW for at least two years.
College of Business Lecturer John Burrow was recognized with the Graduate Faculty Award.
Presenting the award, COB Dean Lynne Richardson quoted a recent student, who said that “everyone respects and thinks highly of Burrow.”
At UMW, Burrow has established relationships with local organizations to provide real world challenges for his students, Richardson said. He also helped create a project management certificate and MBA opportunities for cohort classes at the Dahlgren Campus, she said, “extending the reach” and “enhancing the brand” of both UMW and COB.
Professors Pool Resources to Focus on ‘Compelling Courses’
Assistant Professor of Biology April Wynn is among the dozens of UMW professors participating this summer in Compelling Courses, a faculty learning community to help instructors design engaging courses.
To teach mitosis, April Wynn has students in her class act out the process, portraying chromosomes that divide into nuclei. The assistant professor of biological sciences hopes to replicate lively exercises like this – but virtually – in the fall.
“My goal is to promote the same level of engagement, energy and enthusiasm in an online space,” said Wynn, who, as faculty director of the University of Mary Washington’s First-Year Experience, is helping other instructors do the same for their classes.
Professors often spend their breaks on scholarly research, but Wynn is among dozens of UMW faculty members who went back to school this summer. Through a new faculty learning community called Compelling Courses, representatives from nearly every academic department have been teaching each other how to deliver dynamic online lessons and incorporate the best of the UMW experience into distance learning.
In March of this year, UMW professors – the majority of whom had never taught online – abruptly had to shift to a new method of teaching. The succeeding months have given these instructors time to tinker with and tweak tools so that they are fully prepared to teach virtually if necessary. Many, like Wynn, have found that this modality can even offer benefits.
“We believe teaching can be excellent regardless of medium,” said Professor of Economics Steve Greenlaw, who launched the group with Professor of Communication Anand Rao. “It all depends on how you design the course.” Read more.
Summer Science Symposium Showcases Student Research
Senior Allison Grant explains how climate change has disproportionately affected redlined communities, a project she’s worked on under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science Pamela Grothe. Grant was one of 19 UMW students who presented their research yesterday over Zoom as part of Mary Washington’s Summer Science Symposium.
Temperatures soared yesterday, but Allison Grant was cool and calm as she explained how climate change has disproportionately affected low income neighborhoods that are impacted to a greater degree by heat.
“Redlining was outlawed over 50 years ago,” said the UMW senior, citing the discriminatory lending practice that prevented minorities from purchasing homes. “Yet it continues to have a damaging impact on current communities, especially African Americans.”
Grant was among the 19 students who participated in the University of Mary Washington’s Summer Science Institute (SSI), which engages undergraduates in an intense 10-week research experience – in collaboration with their professors and peers – and provides a jumpstart on projects they’ll continue throughout the school year. The SSI Research Symposium, held virtually over Zoom for the first time, gave these young scientists the chance to explain their methods and findings to a wider audience.
Students from six concentrations – biology, chemistry, Earth and environmental science, computer science, mathematics and physics – displayed giant posters and delivered oral presentations. They discussed real world topics, from the reduction of carbon emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of statistical models to predict weather patterns, to pollinator insect diversity and more effective ways for computers to multitask.
“SSI is about providing an authentic research experience, and we’re fortunate that we can continue to give this to our students,” said Associate Professor of Chemistry Davis Oldham, who coordinated this year’s program with Assistant Professor of Mathematics Jeb Collins. “They’re still learning new skills, receiving faculty feedback and getting opportunities they could not get in a classroom setting.” Read more.
Quarantine Can’t Quash UMW’s Spirit of Service
Senior Heather Strother is among the Mary Washington students who are contributing in their communities this summer, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Friends of the Rappahannock volunteer, she’s participating in socially distanced river clean-ups.
Maria Rhoads was worried when COVID-19 first hit. But the UMW senior decided fear shouldn’t stop her from serving her community.
“I’m low risk as a young person,” said Rhoads, whose first task as a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer was assisting with safety and sanitation at a local voting precinct. “Because of everything that’s happening in our world, I think it’s important for someone like me to help others.”
While many people are staying home, the pandemic hasn’t paused UMW’s passion for service. From encouraging civic participation to feeding families in need to socially distanced river clean-ups, Mary Washington students and alums are stepping up, using the skills and experiences they’ve acquired in college to give back – both in person and remotely – to their communities.
“Our students went from doing their planned work on campus this spring to recognizing a need to help others in the face of the pandemic,” said Leslie Martin, faculty director of UMW’s Center for Community Engagement. “The ethos of civic responsibility has really taken root, and they’re finding new ways to support their neighbors even in situations of such uncertainty.” Read more.
UMW Goes Online for New Student Orientation
Thirty student orientation leaders, along with Mary Washington faculty and staff, will shepherd first-years and transfer students through UMW’s first-ever virtual orientation.
When Shannon Hardy misplaced her bookbag at her UMW orientation, it felt like a disaster. But the help and reassurance she got from her orientation leaders reinforced that she made the right college choice.
“That’s just how Mary Wash is,” said Hardy, a rising junior. “Everyone here wants you to succeed and gives you the tools to make that happen. I want every new student to feel the sense of belonging that I’ve felt since that day.”
Hardy’s among the 30 student orientation leaders who will shepherd hundreds of new Eagles through the University of Mary Washington’s 2020 orientation. Unlike her own orientation, though, she is connecting with incoming students via a computer screen.
Freshman orientation, pandemic style. Like other universities, UMW has had to shift from its traditional model of having new students experience life on campus to exploring their new home via Zoom. Today marks the first of nine one-day virtual sessions geared toward freshmen, while transfers had their pick of three events that began earlier this summer.
But that’s only the beginning – a series of online engagements with UMW faculty, staff and current students will guide incoming students throughout the summer and prepare them to step onto campus in the fall. Read more.
Governor Announces UMW Board of Visitors Appointments
The Virginia Governor’s Office today announced the appointment of Charles S. Reed Jr. ’11 of Sterling to the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors. In addition, Sharon Bulova of Fairfax and Edward B. Hontz of Stafford have been reappointed to second terms on the board. The appointees will serve four-year terms, which will expire June 30, 2024. Reed succeeds Deidre Powell White, who has moved out of state.
A member of UMW’s James Farmer Legacy Council, Charles S. Reed Jr. first became familiar with the late civil rights leader and former Mary Washington history professor when he took a first-year seminar on Dr. Farmer’s life and legacy. The class propelled Reed to numerous leadership positions at Mary Washington, including president of the Black Student Association, vice president of Brothers of a New Direction and treasurer of the campus finance committee, as well as a role on UMW’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Community Values. As a student, he received the Citizenship Award for Diversity Leadership, the James Harvey Dodd Scholarship in Business Administration and the Emerging Leaders Diversity Scholarship.
In May 2011, Reed represented the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of PBS’s 50th anniversary commemoration of the 1961 Freedom Rides. Selected from nearly 1,000 applicants, he was one of 40 college students nationwide to earn a seat on the bus, joining several of the original Freedom Riders to travel the same route they took half a century earlier. Though he missed his own commencement ceremony for the trip, Reed called the 10-day experience “life-changing.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Reed spent three years as a client financial management analyst for Accenture. Since 2014, he’s worked for KPMG International, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. As a manager in the organization’s federal advisory practice, he develops business and financial strategies to support federal clients.
In 2017, Reed received the Young Business Alumni Award, which recognizes UMW’s College of Business graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professional achievements, outstanding service and exceptional contributions to their field.
Sharon Bulova held the position of chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the last decade, before retiring in 2019. Previously, she served as supervisor of the Braddock District in Fairfax County and led the board’s budget committee. Bulova also served as chairman of the Council of Government’s (COG) “Greater Washington 2050 Coalition,” an effort that culminated in the adoption of the Region Forward Regional Compact planning initiative signed by all 21 of the COG’s jurisdictions.
In addition, Bulova helped establish the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail system, and has served on the VRE operations board since its inception. The 2009 recipient of COG’s Elizabeth & David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award, Bulova also earned the Virginia Transit Association’s 2012 Local Public Official of the Year award.
Bulova’s daughter, Karin Bulova Johansson, graduated from Mary Washington in 1991.
Edward B. “Ted” Hontz, a former Navy captain, is the vice president of Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc., in charge of the company’s Navy programs in Dahlgren, Virginia.
During his career with the Navy, Hontz served a year in Vietnam and participated in numerous military operations. He also served various in on-shore duties, including as commanding officer of the AEGIS Training Center in 1995.
Active in the Fredericksburg area, Hontz was a member of the Stafford County Economic Development Authority and the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors. In 2015, he became a citizen member of the Mary Washington Healthcare board of trustees. A founding member of the Fredericksburg Military Affairs Council (MAC) in 2006, he served on its board of directors until 2012. While chairman, he took a lead role in promoting the establishment of UMW’s Dahlgren Campus, Center for Education and Research.
Hontz also is recipient of the 2015 Prince B. Woodard leadership award given by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also led the effort to establish a UMW student leadership cash award supported by an endowment funded by previous Prince B. Woodard award recipients.
Alumna, COO Scales Cybersecurity Career
Megan Carter Shepherd ’94 double majored in math and computer science while also breaking records for the Mary Washington swim team. She’s now the COO of SimVentions, an engineering services company in Stafford.
Throughout her four-year college career, Megan Carter Shepherd ’94 broke records with the Mary Washington swim team, winning championships and earning a top spot in the Capital Athletic Conference.
“Cybersecurity wasn’t even something that was discussed when I first graduated,” Shepherd said of her field, which employs only about 20 percent women, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. “Now it’s at the forefront of everything.”
But Goolrick Pool wasn’t the only place she made a splash. Double majoring in math and computer science, Shepherd dove into numbers, equations and formulas – expertise she relies on in her new role as chief operating officer of SimVentions. The Stafford-based engineering services company counts the Navy, Marine Corps and NSWC Dahlgren as customers. Protecting clients’ data, assets and information is more important than ever, she said, since many organizations have shifted to telework due to COVID-19.
She encourages those beginning their careers to secure a cybersecurity certification, like the one UMW introduced last fall. She also recommends finding a mentor and establishing relationships with professors like the ones she found at Mary Washington. Read more.
Connections Steer Geography Grad Toward New Tech Job
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, 2020 grad James Fendley secured a job – a month before earning his degree – at a D.C.-based data analytics firm owned by Jonathan Steenberg ’14.
For his first virtual interview, James Fendley paired a freshly pressed shirt and tie with basketball shorts and asked his family for an hour of quiet. But the best preparation came from UMW’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD).
Throughout his final semester, the 2020 University of Mary Washington graduate scheduled regular phone calls with the Center’s career counselors, who are charged with guiding students and recent grads toward employment, even during COVID-19.
“With each appointment, my résumé improved,” Fendley said. “Seeing my progress kept me motivated and helped me stay on track.”
His perseverance paid off. A month before he earned his degree, Fendley secured a job at a D.C.-based data analytics firm owned by 2014 alum Jonathan Steenberg. They’re two in a long line of UMW geography majors hired right out of college, thanks to solid programs, strong connections between faculty and students, and an active alumni network. Often landing employment in D.C.’s tech corridor, graduates of the program are the highest paid in the nation for the field, according to College Factual, which also recently ranked Mary Washington’s geography department No. 1 in the Southeast. Read more.
Video Spotlights Theatre Students, Broadway Stars
UMW students Oscar León (left), Genesis Simmons (center) and Hannah Chester (right) were thrilled for the opportunity to perform together again – albeit remotely – alongside Broadway stars and theatre students from other universities.
When UMW Theatre performed Adam Gwon’s musical Ordinary Days in February, students couldn’t anticipate that just weeks later, they’d yearn for rehearsals with castmates and performances in front of live audiences.
They also couldn’t have guessed they’d get to sing one of Gwon’s songs alongside Broadway stars.
Seven UMW Theatre students were selected to appear in a YouTube video featuring aspiring young thespians from schools across the country. Dubbed a “quarantune,” their version of “Get Me Outta Here”from Gwon’s musical String has already been viewed by thousands. Virtual projects like this, as well as Mary Washington’s recent Much Ado About Nothing Zoom production and reimagining of Dear Evan Hansen’s “Anybody Have a Map?” give theatre students the chance to hone in on their craft for the digital age. And the experiences allow them to connect and collaborate with peers and industry professionals during the lockdown.
“Opportunities to perform, even from far away, have helped me channel my emotions and feel less isolated,” said Riley Salazar, a rising UMW junior who starred in Ordinary Days, which she said prepared her to tackle Gwon’s complex melodies. Read more.