La Ceiba is an entirely student-run microfinance organization here at UMW. We offer small loans that are used for both income-generating and consumption purposes for the men and women in El Progreso, Honduras. Our loans are offered with low interest rates, no collateral, and no penalties. We pride ourselves on being a client-centered organization by offering education and artisan programs. Our monthly events with our clients and our Constant Client Contact program allows us to stay in touch with our clients and gives them an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns. Please join us on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. in Monroe 116 for our premiere event. We hope to see you there.
Comden Named January Wagner Wealth Management Athlete
Junior Brianne Comden is the January Wagner Wealth Management Student Athlete of the Month. She is pictured here with Aric Wagner, senior vice president, investments, of Davenport & Company LLC
Junior women’s basketball star Brianne Comden has been named as the UMW Wagner Wealth Management Athlete of the Month for January.
Comden led UMW to an 8-1 month, scoring 14.9 points per game as the Eagles improved to 16-3 on the season. She scored a career-high 28 points in a win against Frostburg State, and also scored 25 at Wesley College in another CAC victory for UMW.
She leads the team with 14.7 points per game for the season, with a 56.2 shooting percentage and adds 5.5 rebounds per game.
UMW Wagner Wealth Management Athletes of the Month:
September – Emma Olson (volleyball)
October – Jenna Steele (field hockey)
November/December – T.J. Jones (men’s basketball)
January – Brianne Comden (women’s basketball)
WAGNER WEALTH MANAGEMENT WEBSITE
For more than 150 years, Davenport & Company has been a trusted financial adviser to generation of families. Senior Vice President of Investments Aric Wagner can help you with a range of investment services including: stocks and bonds, financial planning, investment management, insurance and more. Call Aric today to set up a complimentary consultation, (540) 373-1863 or awagner@investdavenport.com
Davenport & Company LLC Member: NYSE FINRA SIPC
Rogol Receives Athletic Trainer Service Award
UMW Head Athletic Trainer Ian Rogol was awarded the 2016 Athletic Trainer Service Award by the National Athletic Trainers Association. This prestigious award recognizes Ian for his many contributions to the profession and the Association. It also recognizes his long record of service at the state and national level. Well done, Ian, and congratulations!
Ken Tyler
COAR’s Variety Show
Support UMW’s Community Outreach and Resource’s office by attending the Variety Show on Feb. 19 beginning at 7 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium. We will have raffles and will be auctioning off various items. All proceeds will go to supporting the Habitat for Humanity Alternative Break Trips. This is a family-friendly event.
Henrietta Lacks Great Lives Lecture Postponed
The Chappell Great Lives lecture on Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 28, in the University of Mary Washington’s Dodd Auditorium has been postponed due to the speaker’s illness. The lecture has been rescheduled for April 7, 2016, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Flurry of Gifts Benefit Mary Washington First Campaign
During the final two weeks of December, the University of Mary Washington received $667,544 in campaign gifts from 805 donors. Pledges totaling more than $450,000 were also received during this time period, bringing the Mary Washington First Campaign total to nearly $45 million. Below are just a few examples of gifts and pledges:
- An alumnus from the Class of 1987 gave $100 to the Fund for Mary Washington.
- An alumni couple from the Classes of 1982 and 1984 gave $500 to support a scholarship program for veterans.
- An alumnus from the Class of 1974 gave $5,000 to support the amphitheatre restoration initiative.
- An alumna from the Class of 1970 made a generous $25,000 gift to the Fund for Mary Washington.
- An alumna from the Class of 1959 contributed an additional $50,000 to an endowment that supports research for chemistry students.
- An alumna from the Class of 1954 and her husband gave an additional $140,000 to the Dorsey Scholars program.
- An alumna from the Class of 1969 pledged $325,000 to create a new scholarship for theatre students.
All gifts and pledges count toward the $50 million goal for the Mary Washington First Campaign. Visit MaryWashingtonFirst.umw.edu or call 540-654-2059 for more information.
Nabil Al-Tikriti Co-Publishes Chapter with UMW Alumna on Syrian Kurdish History
On Nov. 16, 2015, London’s Gingko Library released its first publication, a scholarly volume edited by T.G. Fraser and titled The First World War and its Aftermath: The Making of the Modern Middle East. 2014 UMW graduate Laila McQuade and Prof. Nabil Al-Tikriti co-authored the 15th chapter of this volume, titled “The Limits of Soft Power: Why Kurdish Nationalism Failed in the French Mandate of Syria.” This chapter was based on an independent study that McQuade completed under the supervision of Prof. Al-Tikriti in the spring of 2014. Ms. McQuade collected the chapter’s primary sources in the course of a research visit she conducted to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives in Nante, France, supported by the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The abstract for the chapter is as follows: “By 1936, the borders of Syria were set by the Franco-Syrian Treaty. Under the treaty, mandatory Syria remained unified, with the exception of Lebanon, and with no provision for Kurdish autonomy. While some have argued that this resulted from the lack of a viable Kurdish independence movement or unity among the Kurds, the Kurds in Syria appear to have had a structured and cohesive nationalist movement. Rather, Kurdish nationalists failed to achieve their primary goal due to their friendly relations with the French and the consequences of that relationship in light of France’s shifting priorities in the 1920s and 1930s. As their relationship with France was based on a marriage of interests rather than affinity or ideals, when their interests were no longer aligned, the Kurdish nationalists were ill-equipped to promote their goals through the soft power they had accrued, and lacked the hard power they desperately needed to forcibly achieve them.”
Access to this chapter is available on this link: https://www.academia.edu/20024351/The_Limits_of_Soft_Power_Why_Kurdish_Nationalism_Failed_in_the_French_Mandate_of_Syria
Farnsworth and O’Brien Published in Richmond Times-Dispatch
A column by Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, and Ellen O’Brien, a senior political science major at UMW and a research associate at the Center, was published recently in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The column focused on the results of a new Virginia public opinion survey from the center showing widespread public support for deploying police body cameras in the Old Dominion. The column was titled “Survey says….Body Cameras.”
Keith Lands Key Role in HighEdWeb
The Higher Education Web Professionals Association this month tapped UMW Director of Digital Communications Shelley Keith as co-chair of its membership committee. In her new role, Keith, an avid advocate for positive technology user experience, will head the group’s technical side.
HighEdWeb brings Web experts and like0minded professionals together to map the future of digital communications and services in the country’s colleges and universities, and to advance the people, technologies and standards behind it. The group hosts regional events across the U.S. and an annual international conference.
The membership committee is charged with implementing and expanding ideas to benefit affiliates, developing a research- and feedback-driven vision for the program, leading discussions at national conferences, and representing members to the Board of Directors.
“The HighEdWeb community is amazing – unlike any other profession or professional organization,” said Keith. “The goal of the membership committee is to reflect the extraordinary nature of the members of this association. It’s an honor to have been chosen to support this initiative.”
Before coming to UMW, Keith managed Web communications and marketing at Southern Arkansas University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She holds a master’s degree in information quality from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In addition to more than 20 years of Web experience and more than 10 in higher education, Keith has worked with HighEdWeb since 2007, serving as conference track chair and special event chair, and in vendor support. A frequent presenter, she has chaired three HighEdWeb regional conferences and served as communications manager for the group’s Regional Conference Committee. She also is a 2013 graduate of the HighEdWeb Leadership Academy.
Read more in Link, the Journal of Higher Ed Web Professionals.
Presidential Search Advisory Committee Discusses Candidates
The Presidential Search Advisory Committee met on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. in a closed meeting to discuss prospective candidates for the presidency. The committee remained in closed meeting until shortly after 11 p.m., when it reentered open meeting. The committee then briefly discussed the next steps in the search process, including the format for interviews that will be held at an undisclosed time and location, as permitted by Virginia law.