November 22, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Money Magazine Rates UMW Among the Nation’s Best

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The University of Mary Washington has been ranked among the nation’s top colleges by Money Magazine’s 2015 list of top colleges, released on Monday, July 13.

Photographed April 20, 2010. (Photo by Norm Shafer)UMW is ranked sixth among Virginia public schools and 119th overall among the 736 four-year colleges and universities named to the list out of more than 1,500 four-year schools in the country. UMW’s ranking also places it on the Magazine’s list of the 50 best public colleges.

Money Magazines looks at educational quality, affordability and alumni earnings to determine the rankings for its list.

Earlier this year, UMW ranked 18th on the magazine’s list of the nation’s top 25 public colleges with the best record of graduating students on time, with 66 percent of UMW’s student population graduating in four years.  Approximately 74 percent of UMW’s students graduate in six years.

For more information and to view the full list of best colleges, visit https://best-colleges.time.com/money/full-ranking#/list.

UMW Board of Visitors Announces Presidential Search Advisory Committee

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Holly Cuellar, Rector for the University of Mary Washington’s Board of Visitors, announced at the May 8 meeting the formation of the presidential search advisory committee for selection of the 10th president of the University of Mary Washington. “Appointment of a president is the most important duty of the Board of Visitors.” Cuellar said. “And we take our role very seriously.” President Richard V. Hurley announced his plan to retire, effective June 30, 2016. Hurley has served as UMW’s ninth president since July 1, 2010. The selection committee will do initial screening, vetting, and interviewing of candidates, then recommending to the full Board a select group of finalists. The committee includes: Chair: Holly T. Cuellar ’89, Rector, Board of Visitors Members: Tara C. Corrigall ’82, Board of Visitors Theresa Y. Crawley ’77, Board of Visitors & UMW Foundation Board Rita F. Dunston, University Registrar Christopher J. Garcia, Assistant Professor of Quantitative Business Methods Joseph W. Grzeika ‘83, Board of Visitors Mark S. Ingrao ’81, Board of Visitors Sabrina C. Johnson,  Associate Vice President for Human Resources & AAEEO Officer Kenneth J. Lopez ’92, Board of Visitors Venitta C. McCall, Professor of Education & Dorsey Scholars Program Mentor Kathleen S. Mehfoud ’70, Chairman, UMW Foundation Board Timothy M. O’Donnel, Professor of Communication & Associate Provost for Student Success and Engagement Anand Rao, Associate Professor of Communication & Speaking Center and Speaking Intensive Program Director Fred Rankin, Board of Visitors Kelli M. Slunt ‘91, Professor of Chemistry & Director of the Honors Program Jay Sinha ’07, UMW Alumnus Hannah P. Tibbett, ’16, 2015-2016 Student Government Association President Kenneth D. Tyler, Director of Athletics Martin A. Wilder, Jr., Chief of Staff

News from HR

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Fall Gathering for all UMW staff

Plan on attending the Fall Gathering Oct. 14, from 9:30 – 11:30 am.

Service Awards

Congratulations to those employees who have reached milestone years! Check out the list of October Service Award Recipients.

Classified Evaluation Process Training

Classroom training on the classified evaluation process is scheduled for: Thursday, Oct. 9 from 1-3 p.m. inLee Hall – 412.

An additional training session has been scheduled for:  Thursday, Oct. 16 from 9-11 a.m. in Trinkle – 204

Free Flu Shots

Free flu shots are available again this year at pharmacies participating in your health plan’s network – COVA Care, COVA HDHP and COVA HealthAware. Additional 2014-2015 Flu Shot information is located at: http://adminfinance.umw.edu/hr/employee-relations/worklife/whats-new-2/

State Employee Discounts

A number of discounts are available through the Department of Human Resource Management: http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeediscounts.html

UMW Launches $50 Million Fundraising Campaign

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The University of Mary Washington has publicly launched its $50 million Mary Washington First fundraising campaign. The announcement was made at a news conference on Friday, April 25, in the Jepson Alumni Executive Center. The Mary Washington First campaign aims to secure private funds for various initiatives, including for student scholarships. The goal of the comprehensive campaign is to raise funds to advance President Richard V. Hurley’s vision: for University of Mary Washington to become one of the nation’s premier public liberal arts and sciences universities. “The pace of change in higher education accelerates daily, and the fiscal challenges faced by colleges and universities are daunting,” Hurley said. “In order to remain at the forefront of our competitors, affordable for our students and families, and able to attract the best and brightest minds, it is imperative for UMW to have the resources necessary for success.” Among the fundraising initiatives, the university strives to secure private funds for endowment of scholarships, restoration of the campus amphitheater, support for the university’s three colleges, enhancement of the Fund for Mary Washington, and development of key program initiatives. These initiatives are: the arts, athletics, leadership, study abroad, the Chappell Great Lives lecture series, libraries and instructional technology. A rendering by Train & Partners Architects shows what the amphitheater might look like after renovation. The amphitheater, located in a grove of trees near Sunken Road on the Fredericksburg campus, has been home to many significant UMW traditions since it was constructed in 1913. The planned $3 million restoration would return the site to its 1952-1953 appearance by repairing and reconstructing damaged and missing pieces. It would provide seating for approximately 600 people on weather-resilient benches and chairs while incorporating accommodations for ADA accessibility. Over the past three years, in the non-public phase of the campaign, the university has raised a total of $29.2 million. Represented in that amount are seven gifts and pledges of $1 million or more. Out of a total of about 13,000 donors, more than 120 have made campaign commitments of $25,000 or more. Significant gifts include:
  • More than $7.5 million in estate gifts for student scholarships, including one full-tuition Washington scholarship and one Alvey Scholarship, which covers tuition costs for an  out-of-state student
  • More than $3 million in estate gifts to support students studying abroad
  • Nearly $1.4 million in gifts to support restoration of the amphitheater
  • A $1 million estate gift to create special professorships in the three colleges
  • More than $600,000 in pledges and gifts to support the unrestricted Fund for Mary Washington
  • More than $500,000 to support the Great Lives Lecture Series.
The campaign will secure funds for the development of key program initiatives, including for study abroad opportunities. Anne Marie Thompson Steen ’83 and Daniel K. Steen ’84 of Arlington, Va., serve as national campaign chairs. Both said they are eager to move the campaign forward. “We are fortunate to be able to partner with other Mary Washington alumni, parents, and friends,” said Dan Steen, a former rector of the UMW Board of Visitors. The Steens join members of a Campaign Cabinet, membership of which represents a cross-section of UMW constituents from varying career paths, affiliations and locations across the country. “Together,” Steen added, “we all are committed to the $50-million campaign goal.” For more information about the campaign or to donate, visit http://marywashingtonfirst.umw.edu. The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 5,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers. In recent years, the university has seen its academic reputation garner national recognition in numerous selective guidebooks, including Forbes, the Fiske Guide to Colleges and the Princeton Review’s 2012 edition of 150 “Best Value Colleges” and the 2014 edition of “The Best 378 Colleges.”

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UMW Names Associate Provost for Enrollment Management

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Kimberley Buster-Williams has been named to the position of associate provost for enrollment management at the University of Mary Washington. Buster-Williams has spent nearly 20 years in higher education admissions, most recently as acting associate vice president for enrollment management at Northern Illinois University. Kimberley Buster-Williams. Photo courtesy of Northern Illinois University. Buster-Williams, who will begin work at UMW on May 25, will oversee all matters related to enrollment and recruitment for the university. As associate provost, she will be responsible for the Office of Admissions, the Office of the University Registrar, and the Office of Financial Aid.  She will also chair UMW’s Enrollment Management and Retention Committee, which includes representation from faculty and staff serving in offices across campus. Buster-Williams will take the helm from Carol Descak, who has served as associate provost for admissions and financial aid since June 2012. “Kimberley has had broad experience, both addressing significant enrollment challenges associated with the changing landscape of higher education and utilizing new systems and technologies similar to and, in some cases, the same as those we have begun to utilize at Mary Washington,” said Provost Jonathan Levin. Prior to her current position at Northern Illinois University, Buster-Williams served as director of admissions. In her seven years as director of admissions at the University of Michigan at Flint she oversaw enrollment growth of nearly 33 percent and an increase in high-achieving students. She also has served in the admissions departments at Old Dominion University and Johnson and Wales University, both in Norfolk. A native of Richmond, Va., Buster-Williams earned a bachelor’s in English, a master’s degree in educational administration and an educational specialist degree in educational leadership, all from Old Dominion. She also holds professional certificates from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

UMW Accreditation Reaffirmed by SACSCOC

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The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) reaffirmed the accreditation of the University of Mary Washington to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The reaffirmation was announced at a meeting of SACSCOC in Atlanta on December 10.

Nicole Crowder, assistant professor of chemistry works with Karmel James '13 (right) in the lab.

Nicole Crowder, assistant professor of chemistry works with Karmel James ’13 (right) in the lab.

“It is another milestone in UMW history,” University President Richard V. Hurley said from Atlanta. “I am extremely proud of this accomplishment, which validates our commitment to delivering the highest quality of education to our students.”

What the reaffirmation demonstrates, Hurley continued, “is that UMW meets and surpasses the highest standards of peer scrutiny in every operational area.” The success is attributable, he said, to “much hard work on the part of many administrators, faculty, and staff.”

SACSCOC is the regional accrediting body for higher education institutions in 11 U.S. Southern states.

Coming a decade after UMW’s last reaffirmation of accreditation, the action concludes a comprehensive three-year review of the University’s operations. During that time, UMW has had to prove its compliance with requirements of the federal government and the regional accrediting body. As part of this process, UMW submitted its Compliance Certification Report in September 2012 and its Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) in February 2013.  In April, a 10-member team from peer institutions spent three days at UMW to assess its programs and services.

The University of Mary Washington was first accredited by SACSCOC in 1930, and its accreditation was last reaffirmed in 2003.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 5,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers. In recent years, the university has seen its academic reputation garner national recognition in numerous selective guidebooks, including Forbes, the Fiske Guide to Colleges and the Princeton Review’s 2012 edition of 150 “Best Value Colleges” and the 2014 edition of “The Best 378 Colleges.”

Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call (404) 679-4500 for further information about the accreditation of the University of Mary Washington.

Message from the Office of Emergency Management and Safety

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With the recent power outages in the Fredericksburg area and at UMW we would like to revisit the purpose of emergency lighting.

  • Emergency lighting will operate for a period of 1 1/2 hours in the event of failure of normal lighting and are arranged to provide illumination for safety purposes only;
  • Emergency lighting systems are not capable of illuminating a building for occupancy.

These systems are only used for effective and efficient evacuation.

Feel free to contact the office of emergency management and safety with any questions.

Susan Knick and Ruth Lovelace Invited to Speak at Crowd Manager Symposium

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Susan Knick, director of conferences and scheduling, and Ruth Lovelace, director of emergency management and safety, were invited to speak at the July 16 Crowd Manager Symposium hosted by the Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office.  Attended by Virginia state fire marshals, other universities and colleges, and members of the private sector, the symposium was an interactive forum for discussion and learning of the best practices in implementing the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code’s requirements for crowd management.  Knick and Lovelace spoke on UMW’s program, its objectives, training tips, and the do’s and don’ts that came with implementing the program.

Ruth Lovelace

Ruth Lovelace

Knick-Susan12-(2)

Susan Knick