UMW Ranked Among Best Colleges by Forbes & Princeton Review
The University of Mary Washington has been named to The Princeton Review’s 2016 edition of “The Best 380 Colleges” and Forbes’ 2016 list of “America’s Top Colleges.”
The Princeton Review is a New York City-based education services company that annually publishes guidebooks ranking colleges, business and law schools. The annual college guide includes detailed profiles of the colleges with school rating scores in eight categories, including admissions selectivity, academics and quality of life.
In its profile, The Princeton Review says UMW students applaud the university’s commitment to academics and the strong sense of community that pervades the campus body.
Students say that UMW is about “finding what you’re passionate about and studying it through multiple disciplines and perspectives while building strong relationships with faculty and peers,” according to UMW’s profile. “Students rave about the ‘small, beautiful campus’ and ‘strong sense of community.’”
UMW was ranked 260th out of 650 colleges and universities in Forbes’ 2016 list of “America’s Top Colleges,” which is now in its eight year. It also is listed 52nd among schools in the South.
According to Forbes, the list of 650 schools is unique to competitors in the way it focuses on ‘output’ over ‘input.” According to the magazine, “We’re not all that interested in what gets a student into college, like our peers who focus heavily on selectivity metrics such as high school class rank, SAT scores and the like. Our sights are set directly on ROI: What are students getting out of college?”
The full lists are available at www.PrincetonReview.com and http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/.
Governor Announces Appointments to UMW Board of Visitors
Heather M. Crislip
Heather Mullins Crislip of Richmond has been president and CEO of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia Inc., since 2012. Prior to that position, she oversaw bipartisan policy projects for the Miller Center at the University of Virginia for former Governor Gerald Baliles and served as the staff director of the Goode National Transportation Policy Project, which was honored by President Obama in a Rose Garden ceremony in 2010, and led the Center’s higher education policy work, including the report Front and Center: Critical Choices for Higher Education. Currently she serves on the board of directors for Housing Virginia, a statewide partnership of public and private organizations devoted to affordable housing. A 1995 graduate of Mary Washington, she received a juris doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Before returning to Virginia, she served as the chief of staff to a Hawaii state senator, and chief of staff and executive assistant to the chancellor of the University of Hawai’i. Previously, she directed New Haven, Connecticut’s welfare to work one-stop center and served as assistant to the mayor for policy analysis.
Davis C. Rennolds
Davis Rennolds, also of Richmond, is assistant vice president of McGuireWoods Consulting, where he has worked since 2011. There he represents the interests of clients, including SeaWorld, Walton Group International, Virginians for the Arts, the Virginia Federation of Food Banks the statewide Share Our Strength “‘No Kid Hungry” campaign, , before the Virginia General Assembly. A 2006 alumnus of Mary Washington, he served as a special policy analyst for the Virginia Department of Transportation. He also was a coordinator for former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s inaugural committee and a legislative aide for Del. Christopher Saxman in Staunton. Named to the “Top 40 Under 40,” by Richmond Style Magazine in 2011, Rennolds serves on the Virginia Foundation of Health Youth Board of Directors, the First Tee of Chesterfield and Richmond-Leadership Advisory Board.
Rhonda S. VanLowe
Rhonda VanLowe of Reston has served as legal counsel to Rolls-Royce North America Inc. since 1999. Previously, she provided counsel for the U.S. operations of Reebok International Limited in Stoughton, Massachusetts; was a shareholder and associate with Ginsburg, Feldman & Bress, Chartered; and an associate with Swidler & Berlin, Chartered, in Washington, D.C. An alumna of Cornell University, VanLowe received a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She has taught at American University where she received the 2005 North Star Award for contributions to the Washington College of Law. She also has worked in finance with Central Fidelity Bank and First American Bank of Virginia. VanLowe is a member the Governor’s Task Force on Improving Mental Health Services and Crisis Response.
UMW to Award Emeritus Status at Commencement
Six longtime professors will be awarded emeritus status during the University of Mary Washington’s undergraduate ceremony on Saturday, May 9.
Six professors will be given emeritus status at the UMW Commencement ceremony on May 9.
The ceremony is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Ball Circle on the university’s Fredericksburg campus. Galen F. deGraff will be named Professor Emeritus of Management; Martha V. Fickett will be named Professor Emerita of Music; Stephen W. Fuller will be named Professor Emeritus of Biology; Suzanne G. Houff will be named Professor Emerita of Education; D. Stan Soper will be named Professor Emeritus of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education; and Gary W. Stanton will be named Associate Professor Emeritus of Historic Preservation.
The title of emeritus is bestowed on faculty members who have served the university for at least 15 years and who have attained the rank of professor or associate professor.
Galen F. deGraff
Galen F. deGraff has been a business professor at the University of Mary Washington since 1994 and has taught the Strategic Management capstone seminar for 20 years. deGraff earned his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate Business School and his doctorate in strategic management and international business from George Washington University.
deGraff flew in Vietnam as a combat assault helicopter aircraft commander in the 1968 TET invasion with the 173 Assault Helicopter Company (nicknamed the Robin Hoods) and on the staff of the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion. In 1991, deGraff wrote the book International Strategic Business Environments: A Comparative Empirical Assessment of the United Kingdom and the United States, which was published by George Washington University. In addition, deGraff’s doctorate dissertation was judged a finalist for best dissertation internationally by the Academy of International Business.
deGraff’s research and consulting interests are in the areas of strategy formulation, strategic management, international business, and the management of family and closely-held firms.
Martha V. Fickett
Martha V. Fickett is a professor in the music department at the University of Mary Washington. Fickett received her bachelor’s degree from UMW, her master’s degree in music from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and her doctorate in musicology from The Catholic University of America.
Fickett joined the music faculty at Mary Washington in 1968. She has done extensive research on Beethoven and received several grants to study the sketches for his Fifth Symphony. Fickett also completed a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar on Beethoven, which was held at Harvard University. In addition, Fickett is an expert on Gregorian chants and has received Faculty Development Grants from Mary Washington to study chants for the Feast of St. Martin of Tours.
Fickett’s introduction and edition of the Historia Sancti Martini (the Divine Office for the Feast of St. Martin of Tours) was published by the Institute of Medieval Music in 2006.
Stephen W. Fuller
Stephen W. Fuller is a professor of biology at the University of Mary Washington. Fuller received a bachelor’s degree in science from Cornell University and a doctorate from the University of New Hampshire. Fuller, who has been a professor at the university since 1972, teaches courses on biology, botany, plant physiology and tropical ecology.
An expert on phytoplankton and the ecology of estuaries, Fuller taught the department’s plant biology courses. In addition, he established Tropical Ecology, the department’s first course with an international field trip component. Since 1991, he has been wowing students with spring break trips to destinations such as Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Belize, and St. John.
Fuller served as chair of the Department of Biological Sciences for 12 years and as the University’s President of the Faculty Senate. Additionally, he was president of the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society and maintains a position on its governing board. Fuller has also been Chairperson of the Botany Section in the Virginia Academy of Science, and he has sponsored many student research projects throughout his career.
Suzanne G. Houff
Suzanne G. Houff is chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Houff taught multiple classes at the University of Mary Washington beginning in the year 2000, including education classes focused on elementary and secondary school students. Houff received a master’s in education from Virginia Commonwealth University, an Education Specialist degree in administration and supervision from George Washington University, and her doctorate in urban services/curriculum and instruction cognate from Old Dominion University.
Houff wrote 4 books focused on education. Her most recent book, an essay collection that she edited, is titled The Classroom Facilitator: Special Issue Questions and was published in 2010 by Rowman & Littlefield. Her other 3 books, Instructional Alignment (2012), The Classroom Manager: Procedures and Practices to Improve Instruction (2009) and The Classroom Researcher: Using Applied Research to Meet Student Needs (2008), were also published by Rowman and Littlefield.
Houff won the annual Outstanding Faculty Award for the Stafford campus in 2010. A past governing council member of the Virginia State Reading Association, she is past president of the association’s Virginia College Reading Educators Council. She also is a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and the Association of Teacher Educators in Virginia.
Stan Soper
Stan Soper is an associate professor in the Athletics, Health and Physical Education department. Soper received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Frostburg State University, where he was a member of the track and field team from 1970-1972. He was later inducted into the Frostburg Athletic Hall of Fame.
Soper is the longest tenured coach at UMW after joining the athletic department as the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field coach in 1984. His teams have captured 48 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championships, and he has received CAC Coach of the Year honor 42 times in addition to having 49 All-American performances during his tenure. Soper served four years on the NCAA Cross Country/Track and Field Committee, and has taught both Contemporary Health Issues courses and physical education courses over his 31 years.
Soper coached 49 All-Americans and won a combined 48 conference titles. Soper also spent four years, on NCAA Division III Cross Country/Track & Field committees. He teaches courses focused on intercollege track and field for both men and women and contemporary health issues.
Gary W. Stanton
Gary W. Stanton is the chair of the historic preservation department and an associate professor of historic preservation at the University of Mary Washington. Stanton received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and both a master’s and doctoral degree in American folklore from Indiana University. Stanton began teaching classes at UMW in 1989 and became chair of the historic preservation department in 1995.
Stanton has done fieldwork in Idaho, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, South Carolina, St. Pierre, Utah and Virginia.
Stanton’s extensive knowledge of folklore and architecture has made him an important member of numerous groups, including the American Folklore Society, the National Council for Preservation Education, and the Vernacular Architecture Forum. Stanton has also served on He has served on the Fredericksburg Architectural Review Board, the Executive Board of the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation and the Executive Board of the Vernacular Architecture Forum.
UMW Student Wins Naval Academy Essay Award
The essay, “Conflict and Water Scarcity,” was recognized out of more than 150 delegates’ papers representing universities from around the world. This is the seventh time that a political science or international affairs major from UMW has won the competition, and UMW is the first university worldwide to achieve this distinction, according to Jack Kramer, chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations.
“The Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference brings together many of the ‘best and brightest’ students to examine pressing contemporaneous issues in international relations,” said Kramer. “For Christian to win the highly competitive essay contest is a singularly prestigious honor both for Christian himself and the UMW academic community.”
Reflecting the conference’s theme of sustainability in a resource-restrained world, Perkins’ essay explores how water scarcity exacerbates conflict in states and regions experiencing extreme drought.
“I began looking at this issue of water scarcity and realized it was a growing global problem,” said Perkins. “It has received relatively little attention until recently.”
The senior looked to experts on water scarcity, including Thomas Homer Dixon, for information to support his research. He also explored data from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United States Agency for International Development.
“Water scarcity is not particularly likely to cause wars,” said Perkins. “But it will worsen existing internal conflicts. A country is going to have a harder time suppressing a revolution if its people are dying of thirst.”
The political science major will graduate this May with experience as a media intern for the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus and plans to pursue a career in education, law enforcement or government work.