The American Red Cross will be sponsoring a blood drive at the Stafford Campus on Thursday June 13th.  The drive will take place in the University Hall from 1:30-6:30.  All those who donate will be entered into a raffle to win a Movie Treat basket (Regal Cinema Gift Card, Microwave popcorn, M&Ms, etc.).  To make an appointment to donate, please contact Kevin Caffrey at kcaffrey@umw.edu or 540-286-8008.

The following has been sent on behalf of the Human Resources Department and CVC:  

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign has a process for employees wanting to donate to a fund to aid victims and their families of the devastating storms that wiped out entire neighborhoods in the Moore and South Oklahoma City neighborhoods.

Any and all donations made by check or money order through CVC to help the people who suffered losses in the recent tornados in Moore and South Oklahoma City will go directly to those people.

After a discussion with the Oklahoma state charitable workplace campaign (SCC) staff, we have a process by which employees of the Commonwealth of Virginia can donate to a fund to assist victims of the tornados.  Many of the victims are also state employees within Oklahoma government offices.  Some of you asked how we might serve these brave people most directly.  By making out a check or money order to “CVC-OK Relief” we will process a check through the CVC account to go directly to their human resources offices to be disbursed quickly to state employees in need.

To apply your gift to your agency’s 2013 CVC totals, please use the attached form. Save one copy for your records and send the form to:

CVC/DHRM (Oklahoma)
101 N. 14^th Street – 12^th Floor
Richmond, VA  23219

If you want to donate via a credit card, you may go online to either redcross.org or salvationarmyusa.org and complete your donation at that site.

Please send questions to CVCStaff@dhrm.virginia.gov

On Thursday, April 25, the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication inducted 17 people into the Eta Chapter of Lambda Iota Tau, the international honor society for students of literature. Inductees are majors in English who had completed at least 12 credit hours in literature and with a GPA of at least 3.5 in those credit hours.

Inductees included: Ana Rebecca Bice, Taylor Rae Chadman, Colleen D. Clark, Theresa Davidson, Danielle Paige DeSimone, Chelsea J. Dicus, Ellen R. Dreher, Michaela P. Godfrey, Catherine S. Kellogg, Gabrielle Kuhn, Catherine R. LeBouton, Danica Leninsky, Joseph Samuel Deitell Pugach, Charlotte Rodina, Bryanne Elise Salazar, Brittany Anne Vitner, and Amanda K. Wikle.

Danny Tweedy, Assistant Professor of English, gave the Taddesse Adera Memorial Address.

The induction ceremony was part of the Ninth Annual William Kemp Symposium for Majors in English, Linguistics, and Communication at which approximately 100 students in upper-division courses in English, linguistics, and communication presented original research and creative works. This year’s symposium featured 18 panel sessions and ran April 25 and 26.

from left to right: Patrick Byrne, Christophe Perdu, Benjamin Brown, Anthony Seippel, Andy Leonard and Seamus Hooban

Imagine an app where users could access an interactive map of the University of Mary Washington to determine whether any treadmills are available in the Fitness Center, check the menu at Seacobeck Dining Hall, or find events on campus. This enterprising idea already brewing in the heads of senior Seamus Hooban and recent graduate Andy Leonard may soon become a reality.

In a nod to the popular TV show Shark Tank, UMW students recently pitched their business plans to a panel of judges as part of the Eagle Start-up Challenge. The brainchild of the student-run UMW Entrepreneurs Club, the Center for Economic Development’s EagleWorks, and the Small Business Development Center, the challenge encourages start-up businesses among students.

Hooban, an economics major, and Leonard, an English major, received a cash prize of $350, provided by the Rappahannock Economic Development Corp. They plan to create a mobile app, called Campus Connect, where campus information can be aggregated in one centralized place to maximize students’ time.

The first place winners also earned access to a virtual office through the Small Business Development Center’s latest project EagleWorks, paid admission to a BluePrint business class and free consultations with the Small Business Development Center.

Eventually, Leonard and Hooban hope to expand beyond UMW to other colleges and universities. They believe that this app would save colleges and universities money because it would help them determine how to allocate resources.

The second place prize of $150 went to junior Anthony Seippel for his company Ruiner Wear. An artist, Seippel plans to build an artist brand where he creates commissioned designs and other artwork. He has already sold designs, logos, and T-shirts. Other presentations included a micro-brewing company and a legal services portal.

By Melina Downs

Six computer science students, with Professor of Computer Science Jennifer Polack, presented their Apple iTouch/iPhone research at the Eighteenth Annual Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeastern Conference held April 12 and 13. The student programming team from UMW placed seventh place out of 33 teams at the conference.

The University of Mary Washington is accepting donations to support the victims of the Boston Marathon attacks and to stand as one with Boston. One hundred percent of donations from two UMW initiatives will be given to One Fund Boston, a charity set up to help the victims of the bombings.

Student donations will be collected at UMW’s Devil-Goat Day on Thursday, April 25 as classes compete to see who can raise the most money. Devil-Goat Day is an annual UMW tradition where classes that will graduate in even years (“goats”) compete against classes that will graduate in odd years (“devils”).

Students in the “Training for a Half Marathon” course, taught by women’s soccer coach Corey Hewson, will run a half marathon on Saturday, April 27 in solidarity with Boston. Members of the community can sponsor one of the students as they run the marathon, with all donations going to the One Fund Boston.

Donations will be collected at Devil-Goat Day on Ball Circle and throughout the week in Goolrick Hall, room 106A to Kathleen Flanagan or Dana Hall. Checks should be made payable to the One Fund Boston, Inc.

All donations will be mailed on Wednesday, May 1. More information about the fundraiser can be found in a recent article published in the Free-Lance Star. For any questions contact Corey Hewson at (540) 654-1871 or Megan Higginbotham at (540) 654-1061.

On April 6, more than 200 donors and students gathered at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center for the annual Donor Appreciation Luncheon. (Click below to see video highlights.)

Guests enjoyed a special Student Showcase in the Mayo Courtyard. The lunch program featured speeches by UMW Foundation Chair Kathy Mehfoud ’70, UMW President Richard Hurley, Robert Strassheim ’96, Sarah Strassheim ’01, and Karmel James ’13. Anissa Felix ’13 entertained guests with two musical performances, and Haley Campbell ’13 brought most everyone to tears as she read a special poem about her upcoming graduation.

Keepsake photos of donors and recipients were taken in front of Kalnen Inn. Hosted by the Office of University Advancement, the annual event honored scholarship donors and members of the Heritage and Washington Societies

UMW Students and Margaret Ray at the ESP Conference

Six University of Mary Washington economics majors recently participated in the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Economics Scholars Program hosted in Dallas, Texas.

Seniors Marissa Yoder and Matt Cronin both participated on the peer review board for the conference. Cronin also presented  his research. Juniors Taylor Knight and Luke Mendelsohn presented their research papers.

Junior Nicole Nunez served as a paper discussant, and junior Roxette Sklavos  as a session chair.  Margaret Ray, professor of economics and director of the UMW Center for Economic Education, served as the faculty sponsor.

The Economics Scholars Program, ESP, is designed to foster the involvement of undergraduate economics students in all facets of economic research. The cornerstone of the ESP is the annual ESP Conference. Since 2007, student scholars and faculty from institutions across the U.S. and Canada have come together to share undergraduate student-initiated or student–faculty co-authored works, ideas about the role of undergraduate research in the curriculum and the challenges and concerns of undergraduates who conduct research.