December 23, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Lower Costs for Closed Captioning and Transcription Services at UMW!

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Lower Costs for Closed Captioning and Transcription Services at UMW!

ODR is pleased to announce long-term collaboration led by George Mason University that has resulted in reduced rates for video transcription and captioning services. The standard turn-around time (about 4 business days) is less than $2/minutes for each of the three vendors. Additional costs apply with alignment services. 3Play Media is the only vendor currently providing alignment services. If you unable or unavailable to do the alignment within your department, you will need to use 3Play Media and pay for the alignment service in order to have a final product that is usable. Specific pricing information can be found on the ODR website: Video Captioning and Transcription Services.

Danielle Smith, ODR Assistive Technology Coordinator, has planned the following dates for walk-in hours to learn more about how to set up an account and answer questions regarding these vendors.

Walk-in hours (Lee Hall, 431 – AT Coordinator Office)

  • Wednesday 11/28- 1:30-3:30
  • Thursday 11/29- 9:30-11:30

Reminders:

  • All videos posted online must be captioned. Videos should be shown with closed captioning, and at least be available with closed captioning, in case the need arises. Don’t find yourself in a bind without the captioned content – work on getting videos captioned as soon as you can.
  • Rates are based on turn-around time from when content is uploaded. It does take time for a user to learn the system and convert the content into a format that is acceptable in the system. Build in time for this learning process. ODR recommends designating someone in your department who can learn how to use the system and creating your own process to avoid last-minute issues.
  • Use of these services allow for the purchase of SRT files (caption text files). Alignment is needed in order to merge caption text files with video files. This allows for the end product to be a captioned video and ready for use. This service can be provided for an additional fee by 3PlayMedia when using 3PlayMedia for the complete captioning service.

ODR encourages every department and office at UMW to develop their own system and provide accessible content, now at lower costs than ever before!

 

 

On- Site Retirement Advising with TIAA & VALIC

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No matter where you are in life—just getting started or planning for retirement—a session with a Financial Advisor can help you create a plan for your goals. And, it’s at no additional cost as a part of your retirement plan.

You’ll get answers to these questions and more:

  • Am I invested in the right mix of investments to help meet my goals?
  • Am I saving enough to create the retirement income I need?
  • How do I take income from my retirement account once I stop working?

Register for a session with TIAA at www.TIAA.org/schedulenow:

Tuesday, August 28: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., GW Hall, 215B
Friday, September 7: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.  GW Hall, 215B
Thursday, October 11: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., GW Hall, 215B

Or

Register for a session with VALIC at https://my.valic.com/seminarregistration/availableseminars.aspx?csr=5Z+W3eE3VrKv+JZUmCqhzu0Xuziu2zZlrA7ZStd70LE=

Thursday, August 30: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., GW Hall, 215B

Please contact Denise Frye at dfrye2@umw.edu for additional assistance.

 

Encore Interview Features McClurken

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Jeff McClurken will be featured in an encore interview on With Good Reason, July 7-13. In the segment called “The Ghost in the MP3,” McClurken says while movies often get the facts wrong, there’s history to be learned from the way the stories are told. McClurken, who serves as chief of staff for President Troy Paino, is a historian whose research focuses on the Civil War, veterans, families, the Pinkertons, mental institutions, the 19th-century American South, and the digital humanities.

The program airs in Fredericksburg on Sundays at 2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital.  More information about the show can be found at https://www.withgoodreasonradio.org/episode/the-ghost-in-the-mp3-2.

 

UMW Grad Named to Governor’s Fellows Program

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Chris Cassingham has been named to the Virginia Governor's Fellows Program.

Chris Cassingham ’18  has been named to the Virginia Governor’s Fellows Program.

When Chris Cassingham collected his political science degree from the University of Mary Washington, earlier this month, he already knew what was next.

The swimmer from Plano, Texas, had learned just days before that he’d earned one of just 23 coveted spots in the 2018 Governor’s Fellows Program, selected among rising college seniors and graduates from around the country.

Beginning Monday, Cassingham will go to work in the Office of the Governor, what he calls “real-world, on-the-job experience” in the highest levels of state government.

He’s ready.

Read more.

Community Values Statement Drafts – Final Feedback Opportunity

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Thank you to everyone who attended the open forums, spoke with us during our meetings with campus constituency groups, or submitted online feedback. We are happy to receive additional feedback through Wednesday, April 4th – please use the online comment form  or contact a member of the committee. You can find copies of the three draft statements of community values and two options regarding the Statement of Guiding Principles on Diversity and Inclusion online at http://www.umw.edu/diversity/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2018/03/Community-Values-Drafts-March-2018.pdf.

Sincerely,

Anand Rao and Cedric Rucker, co-chairs

Committee to Review the Statement of Community Values

  • Cedric Rucker (Dean of Student Life), co-chair
  • Anand Rao (Professor of Communication), co-chair
  • Janet Asper (Associate Professor of Chemistry)
  • Bianca Hightower (Staff Advisory Council Representative)
  • Ekta Kapoor (student representative)
  • Marion Sanford (Director of Multicultural Affairs)
  • Holly Schiffrin (Professor of Psychology)
  • Alda White (community representative)

UMW Names Mellinger College of Arts and Science Dean

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Keith Mellinger has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the University of Mary Washington. The announcement was made today by Provost Nina Mikhalevsky in an email to the UMW community.

Keith Mellinger has been named dean of UMW's College of Arts and Sciences.

Keith Mellinger named dean of the University of Mary Washington’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Mellinger has served as interim dean since June, 2017, but his history of service and leadership at the University extends over the past 15 years. He started at UMW in 2003 as a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics, where he served six years as chair. In addition, he has held positions as director of Academic and Career Services and director of UMW’s Quality Enhancement Plan, and he was instrumental in the development and success of the First-Year Experience program for incoming freshmen.

“Dr. Mellinger brings the necessary experience, skills, knowledge and genuine commitment to our students and faculty to provide the kind of leadership that will enable us to address our current challenges, strengthen and enhance our academic programs, and ensure the central and critical role of the College of Arts and Sciences in implementing our strategic vision and moving UMW forward,” according to Mikhalevsky.

A talented scholar and professor, Mellinger has a long record of accomplishments that includes encouraging and mentoring students in their research. More than a dozen undergraduate students have published research under his guidance. Author of nearly 40 peer-reviewed articles, Mellinger received a national writing award from the Mathematical Association of America and a research grant from the National Security Agency.

The University recognized him with the UMW Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award in 2008, and Millersville University honored him with its Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2013.

In addition to his B.S. from Millersville, Mellinger received an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. He is an avid musician who has participated in the local music scene for many years.

Farnsworth Publishes Book on Presidential Communication

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Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is author of a new book, Presidential Communication and Character: White House News Management from Clinton and Cable to Twitter and Trump, published earlier this week by Routledge Press.

The publisher’s description is below:

Presidential Communication and Character

Presidential Communication and Character, written by Stephen Farnsworth

This book traces the evolution of White House news management during America’s changing media environment over the past two decades. Comparing and contrasting the communication strategies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, it demonstrates the difficulty that all presidents have in controlling their messages despite a seemingly endless array of new media outlets and the great advantages of the office. That difficulty is compounded by new media’s amplification of presidential character traits for good or ill. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube notwithstanding, presidential power still resides in the “power to persuade,” and that task remains a steep challenge. More than ever, presidential character matters, and the media presidents now employ report on the messenger as much as the message.

The book also looks at the media strategies of candidates during the 2016 presidential campaign, puts presidential media use in global context, and covers the early phase of the Trump administration, the first true Twitter presidency.

Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom Conference, March 22-23

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The Department of Classics, Philosophy, & Religion is gearing up for its fifteenth annual celebration of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. Nine speakers have been invited to this year’s two-day conference, which will be held on March 22 and 23. Speakers will address the theme “Religious Freedom in a Fractured America.”

Winners of the 2018 Religious Freedom Essay Contest will be announced.  The student writers of the three winning essays on the topic of “How has freedom changed in America since the 2016 election?” will each receive a check of $200, and will present their essays on March 23, during the last session.

The conference is free and open to the UMW community and the public.

Literary Award Recipient Jon Pineda to Launch Novel at UMW, March 20

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Virginia Literary Award winner and UMW Assistant Professor of English Jon Pineda will debut his new novel Let’s No One Get Hurt on the Fredericksburg campus Tuesday, March 20. The 6 p.m. event, held at Ridderhof Martin Gallery, is the first leg of a book tour that stretches throughout the commonwealth. Appearances also are scheduled […]