This year’s conference theme is “Changing the Face of Learning in the Digital Age,” featuring keynote speaker Jim Groom, executive director of teaching and learning technologies at UMW and guest speakers such as Margaret Stout, self-contained autism classroom teacher (K-3). The conference offers educators, education leaders and anyone interested in education the opportunity to learn more about how technology impacts teaching and learning.
Conference attendees will work alongside colleagues and educational leaders to explore innovative teaching methods, familiarize themselves with emerging technologies for learning, work with digital literacies in the classroom and offer discourse about the shifting role of educators in the profession.
All interested K-12 teachers, pre-service teachers, administrators, university educators and technology specialists and parents, are welcome to attend the event.
The event begins at 9 a.m. in the North Building of UMW’s Stafford campus, and ends at 4 p.m. Registration for the event is $50 and includes the choice of concurrent sessions, workshops, the keynote session, guest speakers, exhibitor presentations and a catered lunch. All participants must preregister, including presenters.
Proposals for presentations and showcase exhibits are due by March 3, and general registration closes March 10.
For more information or to register, visit http://2014umwedtechconference.umwblogs.org/ or contact education faculty members Teresa Coffman or Tamie Pratt-Fartro.UMW Hosts Fourth Annual EdTech Conference, March 14
January 27, 2014 by
The University of Mary Washington will host the fourth annual EdTech Conference, supported by the College of Education, on Friday, March 14 at UMW’s Stafford campus.
This year’s conference theme is “Changing the Face of Learning in the Digital Age,” featuring keynote speaker Jim Groom, executive director of teaching and learning technologies at UMW and guest speakers such as Margaret Stout, self-contained autism classroom teacher (K-3). The conference offers educators, education leaders and anyone interested in education the opportunity to learn more about how technology impacts teaching and learning.
Conference attendees will work alongside colleagues and educational leaders to explore innovative teaching methods, familiarize themselves with emerging technologies for learning, work with digital literacies in the classroom and offer discourse about the shifting role of educators in the profession.
All interested K-12 teachers, pre-service teachers, administrators, university educators and technology specialists and parents, are welcome to attend the event.
The event begins at 9 a.m. in the North Building of UMW’s Stafford campus, and ends at 4 p.m. Registration for the event is $50 and includes the choice of concurrent sessions, workshops, the keynote session, guest speakers, exhibitor presentations and a catered lunch. All participants must preregister, including presenters.
Proposals for presentations and showcase exhibits are due by March 3, and general registration closes March 10.
For more information or to register, visit http://2014umwedtechconference.umwblogs.org/ or contact education faculty members Teresa Coffman or Tamie Pratt-Fartro.
This year’s conference theme is “Changing the Face of Learning in the Digital Age,” featuring keynote speaker Jim Groom, executive director of teaching and learning technologies at UMW and guest speakers such as Margaret Stout, self-contained autism classroom teacher (K-3). The conference offers educators, education leaders and anyone interested in education the opportunity to learn more about how technology impacts teaching and learning.
Conference attendees will work alongside colleagues and educational leaders to explore innovative teaching methods, familiarize themselves with emerging technologies for learning, work with digital literacies in the classroom and offer discourse about the shifting role of educators in the profession.
All interested K-12 teachers, pre-service teachers, administrators, university educators and technology specialists and parents, are welcome to attend the event.
The event begins at 9 a.m. in the North Building of UMW’s Stafford campus, and ends at 4 p.m. Registration for the event is $50 and includes the choice of concurrent sessions, workshops, the keynote session, guest speakers, exhibitor presentations and a catered lunch. All participants must preregister, including presenters.
Proposals for presentations and showcase exhibits are due by March 3, and general registration closes March 10.
For more information or to register, visit http://2014umwedtechconference.umwblogs.org/ or contact education faculty members Teresa Coffman or Tamie Pratt-Fartro.UMW Commemorates Religious Freedom with Lecture, Jan. 30
January 17, 2014 by
The University of Mary Washington will commemorate the enactment of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom with a lecture titled, “Whose Freedom? Islam, Gender, and the Politics of Representation,” by Amina Wadud, professor emerita of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.
Wadud is an internationally distinguished scholar on Islam and gender, traveling the world as a consultant on Islam, human rights and women’s issues. A visiting scholar at the Starr King School for the Ministry in California, she is the author of “Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective” and “Inside the Gender Jihad: Reform in Islam.”
The UMW Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion has sponsored the annual Jefferson Lecture on Religious Freedom since 2002, bringing scholars and public figures to the stage to enlighten students and visitors about religious freedom and the significance of Jefferson’s impact.
The Statute for Religious Freedom, enacted by the Virginia General Assembly on Jan. 16, 1786, legally established the right to full freedom of worship in the Commonwealth of Virginia, completing a significant step towards the addition of the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
For more information about the lecture, call (540) 654-1342.
Wadud is an internationally distinguished scholar on Islam and gender, traveling the world as a consultant on Islam, human rights and women’s issues. A visiting scholar at the Starr King School for the Ministry in California, she is the author of “Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective” and “Inside the Gender Jihad: Reform in Islam.”
The UMW Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion has sponsored the annual Jefferson Lecture on Religious Freedom since 2002, bringing scholars and public figures to the stage to enlighten students and visitors about religious freedom and the significance of Jefferson’s impact.
The Statute for Religious Freedom, enacted by the Virginia General Assembly on Jan. 16, 1786, legally established the right to full freedom of worship in the Commonwealth of Virginia, completing a significant step towards the addition of the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
For more information about the lecture, call (540) 654-1342.Family Ties
January 16, 2014 by
Senior Sam Partonen keeps the basketball team together, on and off the court.
“Spring Awakening” Opens Tonight at Klein Theatre
November 6, 2013 by
The University of Mary Washington’s Department of Theatre & Dance will continue its 2013-2014 season with a production of the rock musical “Spring Awakening.” Performances will be Nov. 7-9, Nov. 13-16 and Nov. 21-23 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 10, 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 2 p.m. in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre. Tickets are $24 for general admission and $20 for students, senior citizens and military.
“Spring Awakening,” with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, revolves around the lives of school children in 19th-century Germany who are struggling to comprehend the changes in their bodies and the consequences of searching for the answers on their own.
“The truth of ‘Spring Awakening’ is as relevant today as it was over a century ago,” said Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Music. “I know our production will touch our audience and leave them pondering the musical’s questions about what it means to grow up in our complex and uncertain world.”
The play, by Frank Wedekind, first opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006. The original Broadway cast starred Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher, Jr. in the lead roles. The musical won eight Tony Awards, including for best musical, direction, book, score, and featured actor in a musical. The collaboration between Steven Sater and American singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik, also brought the show a Grammy for its cast album.
Stull is the director of the show, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert and choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Scenic design is by Associate Professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey. Lighting and sound design are by guest artists Jason Arnold and Christopher Husted.
The show explores provocative ideas with explicit language, sexual situations and nudity. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://cas.umw.edu/theatre/.
News release prepared by: Jamie Wilson
“Spring Awakening,” with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, revolves around the lives of school children in 19th-century Germany who are struggling to comprehend the changes in their bodies and the consequences of searching for the answers on their own.
“The truth of ‘Spring Awakening’ is as relevant today as it was over a century ago,” said Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Music. “I know our production will touch our audience and leave them pondering the musical’s questions about what it means to grow up in our complex and uncertain world.”
The play, by Frank Wedekind, first opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006. The original Broadway cast starred Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher, Jr. in the lead roles. The musical won eight Tony Awards, including for best musical, direction, book, score, and featured actor in a musical. The collaboration between Steven Sater and American singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik, also brought the show a Grammy for its cast album.
Stull is the director of the show, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert and choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Scenic design is by Associate Professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey. Lighting and sound design are by guest artists Jason Arnold and Christopher Husted.
The show explores provocative ideas with explicit language, sexual situations and nudity. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://cas.umw.edu/theatre/.
News release prepared by: Jamie WilsonArt Historian, Alumna Visited UMW
November 4, 2013 by
The University of Mary Washington’s Department of Art and Art History and the Wendy Shadwell ’63 Program Endowment in Art History sponsored a two-day visit from Allison Stagg ’02, a 2012 Jane and Morgan Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow of Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, on Nov.7 and 8.
Stagg presented a public lecture, “James Akin: The First American Caricaturist,” on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. in Lee Hall, Room 411. Stagg’s upcoming book and the basis for her lecture, “The Art of Wit: American Political Caricature,” is the result of her extensive research on U.S. political caricature between 1780 and 1830.
James Akin was an American artist who, in 1804, published a visual satirical attack against President Thomas Jefferson through a caricature. Akin was the most infamous caricaturist of his time period. Politicians, contemporary artists and newspaper editors cautioned him that his prints would have a negative impact on his career, but his work influenced many popular caricaturists of the 19th century.
On Friday, Nov. 8, Stagg held an informal group talk about her career at 9:30 a.m. in Melchers Hall, Room 107. She also had individual appointments with interested students.
Stagg has roots in museum experience through curating exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York and University College in London. She also organized exhibitions at the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery in London and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
A 2002 graduate of Mary Washington, Stagg has received many fellowships and grants from institutions such as the American Philosophical Society, the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Yale University.
James Akin was an American artist who, in 1804, published a visual satirical attack against President Thomas Jefferson through a caricature. Akin was the most infamous caricaturist of his time period. Politicians, contemporary artists and newspaper editors cautioned him that his prints would have a negative impact on his career, but his work influenced many popular caricaturists of the 19th century.
On Friday, Nov. 8, Stagg held an informal group talk about her career at 9:30 a.m. in Melchers Hall, Room 107. She also had individual appointments with interested students.
Stagg has roots in museum experience through curating exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York and University College in London. She also organized exhibitions at the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery in London and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
A 2002 graduate of Mary Washington, Stagg has received many fellowships and grants from institutions such as the American Philosophical Society, the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Yale University.Research Rocks
October 25, 2013 by
Two geology professors are giving their students hands-on experience in the lab and in the field.
100-Plus UMW Students Volunteer for Annual ‘Into the Streets’
October 8, 2013 by
Bracing Saturday’s oddly humid October weather, more than 100 University of Mary Washington students gave up their weekend slumber to team with various community service organizations through “Into the Streets,” an annual event sponsored by Community Outreach and Resources (COAR).
The volunteers constructed rain barrels with Friends of the Rappahannock, packaged meals with Stop Hunger Now, built picnic tables with Habitat for Humanity, cooked meals at the Micah Respite Recovery house and spruced up the City Cemetery on William Street.
Christina Eggenberger, director of service at the Center for Honor, Leadership, and Service, was pleased with the student turnout.
“We mobilized more volunteers this year than in years past, and we were able to make a measureable impact on the Fredericksburg community as well as globally,” she said.
Eggenberger and the rest of COAR staff provided volunteers with Into the Streets T-shirts, a Chick Fil-A breakfast and Vocelli’s pizza for lunch after their hard work.
Through their morning of service, volunteers were able to see the difference they could make over only a few hours of labor.
“It shows students ways they can get involved in Fredericksburg, and it shows our community that students want to be a part of the larger community,” Eggenberger said. “They see themselves as Fredericksburg residents, not just UMW students.”
Students working with Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) on Saturday constructed 20 rain barrels, using power tools and listening to music on Ball Circle in the process.
UMW senior David Chambers, environmental educator at FOR, said the job of a rain barrel is to collect running water from roofs, storing the water for future use instead of letting it run off and eventually find its way to local streams and rivers.
This water runoff can lead to increased stream bank erosion, flooding and water pollution, according to the FOR website.
FOR sells the barrels for $75, a less expensive alternative to the barrels sold at retail stores. The barrels used also are economical since they would alternatively end up in a landfill.
Another group of about 60 students worked in Lee Hall with the Stop Hunger Now organization to ready some 10,000 meals to be sent around the world. Students spent the morning packaging the nutrient dense food packs of rice, dehydrated soy and dehydrated vegetables into cardboard boxes to be mailed.
Stop Hunger Now is an international food hunger relief organization that works with local partners to package food to be sent to about 65 different countries, according to Hannah Craddock, assistant program manager at the Richmond headquarters. Craddock led students through the process of packaging the meals throughout the morning.
Off campus, four students, including junior COAR council member, Sarah Arnold, worked at the Micah Ministries Respite Recovery house, a place for homeless individuals who need extra time for recovery after being discharged from the hospital.
The group prepared lunch for the residents, but gained much more than just a cooking lesson.
“I think that projects such as spending time at the respite house are an important aspect of community service, because it helps break down barriers,” Arnold said. “The valuable part of this project was the company, friendship and sense of community that we got a taste of for two hours. Just having a meaningful conversation can make a huge impact, for the students and the people at the respite house.”
The volunteers constructed rain barrels with Friends of the Rappahannock, packaged meals with Stop Hunger Now, built picnic tables with Habitat for Humanity, cooked meals at the Micah Respite Recovery house and spruced up the City Cemetery on William Street.
Christina Eggenberger, director of service at the Center for Honor, Leadership, and Service, was pleased with the student turnout.
“We mobilized more volunteers this year than in years past, and we were able to make a measureable impact on the Fredericksburg community as well as globally,” she said.
Eggenberger and the rest of COAR staff provided volunteers with Into the Streets T-shirts, a Chick Fil-A breakfast and Vocelli’s pizza for lunch after their hard work.
Through their morning of service, volunteers were able to see the difference they could make over only a few hours of labor.
“It shows students ways they can get involved in Fredericksburg, and it shows our community that students want to be a part of the larger community,” Eggenberger said. “They see themselves as Fredericksburg residents, not just UMW students.”
Students working with Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) on Saturday constructed 20 rain barrels, using power tools and listening to music on Ball Circle in the process.
UMW senior David Chambers, environmental educator at FOR, said the job of a rain barrel is to collect running water from roofs, storing the water for future use instead of letting it run off and eventually find its way to local streams and rivers.
This water runoff can lead to increased stream bank erosion, flooding and water pollution, according to the FOR website.
FOR sells the barrels for $75, a less expensive alternative to the barrels sold at retail stores. The barrels used also are economical since they would alternatively end up in a landfill.
Another group of about 60 students worked in Lee Hall with the Stop Hunger Now organization to ready some 10,000 meals to be sent around the world. Students spent the morning packaging the nutrient dense food packs of rice, dehydrated soy and dehydrated vegetables into cardboard boxes to be mailed.
Stop Hunger Now is an international food hunger relief organization that works with local partners to package food to be sent to about 65 different countries, according to Hannah Craddock, assistant program manager at the Richmond headquarters. Craddock led students through the process of packaging the meals throughout the morning.
Off campus, four students, including junior COAR council member, Sarah Arnold, worked at the Micah Ministries Respite Recovery house, a place for homeless individuals who need extra time for recovery after being discharged from the hospital.
The group prepared lunch for the residents, but gained much more than just a cooking lesson.
“I think that projects such as spending time at the respite house are an important aspect of community service, because it helps break down barriers,” Arnold said. “The valuable part of this project was the company, friendship and sense of community that we got a taste of for two hours. Just having a meaningful conversation can make a huge impact, for the students and the people at the respite house.”UMW Philharmonic Starts Season with Masterworks Concert, Oct. 19
September 23, 2013 by
The University of Mary Washington Philharmonic Orchestra will begin its season of orchestral music on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. with a Halloween “Masterworks” concert entitled “Classical Music’s Bad Boys.” The concert will showcase the work of composers infamous for their personal escapes, including works from Wagner, Mussorgsky, Berlioz, Offenbach and Stravinsky.
The UMW Philharmonic Orchestra will kick off its 2013-2014 season on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The Fiddlestix Instrument Petting Zoo will precede the concert at 5:30 p.m., which will give children an opportunity to meet the musicians and try their instruments. The concert also will include a children’s costume parade to complete the Philharmonic’s first Halloween-themed event.
“We are dedicated to delighting our audiences both young and old with quality music and a little fun,” said Kevin Bartram, director of the 92-member orchestra.
The Philharmonic will continue its season with the holiday pops concerts on Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6, featuring for the first time, Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9 Ode to Joy.” UMW choirs will join the Philharmonic in the piece.
On March 29, 2014, the Philharmonic will feature Itzhak Perlman, the famous composer and violinist who performed at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Tickets for the celebrity series performance featuring Perlman are available to Philharmonic donors online beginning on Oct. 25 at 9 a.m. Tickets are available to the public on Nov. 15.
The Philharmonic will perform in its final appearance of the season on Friday, April 25 for its spring concert. The concert will feature Philharmonic soloists and music well known for its endings, like Bizet’s “Farandole,” Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5,” and Strauss’ “Champagne Polka.”
Advance tickets for the October, December and April concerts are currently available online at philharmonic.umw.edu. All concerts are held in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium and cost $10 general admission and $2 for UMW students.
UMW Hosts Annual Literacy Symposium, Oct. 10
September 18, 2013 by
The University of Mary Washington College of Education and Stafford County Public Schools will co-host the fourth annual Literacy Leadership Symposium: Reaching All Learners on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The event will be held at UMW’s Stafford campus in University Hall.
The symposium will focus on professional development through topics such as literacy leadership in K-12 schools, classroom strategies, networking, and Standard of Learning (SOL) updates.
Featured speakers at the event will include: Michael McKenna, the Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Reading at the University of Virginia; Richard Long, director of government relations for the International Reading Association; Tracy Fair Robertson, English coordinator for the Virginia Department of Education; and Elizabeth Sturtevant, a professor in the literacy program area at George Mason University.
Registration for the symposium is $50, which includes all materials, a continental breakfast and a buffet lunch. To register, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/umwliteracysymposium2013/ before Friday, Oct. 4.
The symposium will focus on professional development through topics such as literacy leadership in K-12 schools, classroom strategies, networking, and Standard of Learning (SOL) updates.
Featured speakers at the event will include: Michael McKenna, the Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Reading at the University of Virginia; Richard Long, director of government relations for the International Reading Association; Tracy Fair Robertson, English coordinator for the Virginia Department of Education; and Elizabeth Sturtevant, a professor in the literacy program area at George Mason University.
Registration for the symposium is $50, which includes all materials, a continental breakfast and a buffet lunch. To register, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/umwliteracysymposium2013/ before Friday, Oct. 4.