UMW junior Mohammad Ali Hassan explains his work investigating the effects of immunogenic chemotherapy on triple-negative breast cancer during the sixth annual Network for Undergraduate Research in Virginia Conference. Hosted by the University of Mary Washington on Saturday, Nov.1, the daylong event welcomed student researchers from across the Commonwealth. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

For University of Mary Washington junior Mohammad Ali Hassan, Saturday’s presentation was personal. Standing in front of a poster representing his work in the lab, the biology major spoke of his family’s experience with two different types of aggressive cancer.

Hassan’s research employs mice to test the effects of immunogenic chemotherapy on triple-negative breast cancer, a similarly illusive and fast-growing disease. “I was grateful for the opportunity to study something I’m interested in and develop my skills in a laboratory,” he said of his recent stint in UMW’s newly named Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59 Summer Science Institute and the work he’s completed with fellow Mary Washington students.

Guided by Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Laura Sipe, Hassan’s project was one of more than 80 displayed and discussed during the sixth annual Network for Undergraduate Research in Virginia (NURVa) Conference. Marking its début appearance at the University of Mary Washington, the event turned the Hurley Convergence Center into a repository of scholarly exploration, with posters on view in the downstairs Digital Auditorium and oral presentations taking place on the upper floors. More than 100 students came from schools – large and small, public and private – across the Commonwealth to share their work, including about a dozen from UMW.

“Mary Washington was thrilled to host the NURVa annual conference this year,” said Director of Undergraduate Research Elizabeth Lewis. “Not only do students get to showcase their hard work, they also have a chance to interact with peers from other institutions in the state. I was really proud of their great work and the hospitality of our faculty and students.” Read more.

In his book, winner of UMW’s 2025 Center for Historic Preservation Book Prize, Daniel Campo highlights the unique revitalization the movement is bringing and the people who are making it possible.

A lecture by the winner of the University of Mary Washington’s 2025 Center for Historic Preservation Book Prize will be presented on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 5:30 p.m., in Combs Hall, Room 139. Daniel Campo will speak about his book, Postindustrial DIY: Recovering American Rust Belt Icons.

Once bustling with more manufacturing jobs than anywhere else in the country, the Northeastern Great Lakes region hit its peak in the late 1940s. As the economy changed, cities like Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh closed factories, and the American Rust Belt began to take hold.

Now, as the area dusts off the rust, communities have begun to see beauty in the abandoned and reward in restoring once-meaningful structures. It’s a bottom-up renovation phenomenon that’s catching hold across the globe. Campo’s book digs into grassroots urbanism, as sites – iron mills, train stations, grain elevators – are renovated.

“The work calls attention to the power individuals have in shaping their environments … while the DIY era may be shifting, it is not yet over,” said jurors, who deemed it an exciting and empowering approach to historic preservation. “The book serves as a valuable roadmap for those interested in preserving sites that have historically been seen as liabilities – factories, silos, furnaces – and the innovative strategies that can drive change.” Read more. 

Senior art major Madison Hinton poses beside the sketches and paintings she created during a summer program in the South of France. The trip was fully funded, thanks to the Rosalie Chauncey Memorial Scholarship in Studio Art. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Students who walk past the check-out desk and the “popular reading” display in the University of Mary Washington’s Simpson Library will find a newly named nook.

It’s quiet in the Research and Creativity Collaborative (RCC), but its mission – to highlight UMW’s emphasis on scholarly endeavors and artistic success – comes through loud and clear. A touch-screen kiosk allows access to a repository of original research and student artwork adorns the walls, while hanging plants, table lamps and comfy seating paint a collaborative mood.

“The space is beautiful,” said Director of Undergraduate Research and Professor of Spanish Elizabeth Lewis, who runs the Collaborative, working to match students and faculty with the funding, connections and opportunities it takes to bring their projects to life. “To me it’s a visible reminder of the UMW community’s enthusiasm for these transformative experiences.”

Senior Madison Hinton spoke of her own life-changing endeavor at an open house to début the space early this month. With her sketches and paintings on view, the art major recounted the six summer weeks she spent capturing the lavender fields and mountainous terrain of Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. An essay and portfolio won her a spot in the plein air painting program at the American College of the Mediterranean’s Institute of American Universities, where she also studied masters like Cézanne and Monet.

“I’m excited to see where this space goes,” said Hinton, whose trip was fully funded, thanks to the Rosalie Chauncey Memorial Scholarship in Studio Art. Read more. 

Candidates for Virginia’s 65th District House of Delegates, Joshua Cole (D) and Sean Steinway (R), will debate on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.

The University of Mary Washington will host a public political debate between candidates for Virginia’s 65th District House of Delegates on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. Incumbent Joshua Cole (D) will face off against Sean Steinway (R) in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.

The debate is being hosted by Mary Washington’s Student Government Association and moderated by UMW Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth, who also serves as director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies. It is co-sponsored by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area. The event is free and no tickets are required. Viewing also is available via Zoom at https://go.umw.edu/2025debate.

Farnsworth will join fellow UMW Professor of Political Science Rosalyn Cooperman, who chairs the department, and WFVA Radio News Director Ted Schubel in asking questions of the candidates. Audience members will be able to submit questions for consideration before the start of the event.

Virginia’s House of Delegates 65th District includes the city of Fredericksburg and parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties. Read more.

From left to right: University of Mary Washington students Rob Willcox ’26, Benjamin Kline ’28 and Emmy Beach ’26 star in ‘Dial M for Murder,’ onstage through Sept. 28 at duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre. Tickets available at www.FredTix.com. Photo by Geoff Greene.

Senior Isabella Ellenberger pinned a pair of zig-zagged curtains to make them stand out onstage, while sophomore Trevor Meyer steamed the last of the wrinkles from a pair of shiny pajama pants in the costume shop a floor below.

The students, both University of Mary Washington theatre majors, were putting the finishing touches on the first production of the 2025-26 UMW Theatre season, which opens tonight.

Dial “M” for Murder – a suspense-filled cat-and-mouse tale of mystery, greed and betrayal – débuts with a pay-what-you-can performance and runs through Sunday, Sept. 28, in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre. Put on by Mary Washington’s top-ranking theatre program, it’s the first in the four-show season, which runs through spring and also includes a musical, a dark comedy and a Shakespearean classic.

“The season is planned with an eye toward great stories, meaningful opportunities for our students and a variety of productions sure to engage audiences,” said Department of Theatre and Dance Chair Marc Williams. “Audiences can expect to experience stories that will delight and challenge them in unexpected ways.”

Landing on The Princeton Review’s Top 25 list of college theatre programs for the third consecutive year, UMW’s program was the only one in Virginia to make the cut, in the education services company’s 2026 edition of “The Best 391 Colleges,” coming in at No. 15. Read more.