May 18, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Grothe Quoted in Article on New Sea Levels Study

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Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Pamela Grothe

Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Pamela Grothe

Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Pamela Grothe was quoted in an article in Meaww.com on a new study that predicts that global sea levels will rise by more than 2 meters – or 6.6 feet – by the end of the 21st century if emissions continue unchecked. Experts have said this will be catastrophic and that major cities such as New York City and Shanghai would be submerged, displacing approximately 187 million people. The study showed that sea levels will rise much faster than earlier estimates because of the rapid rate that ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting. Grothe said, “This new estimate is astonishing, which is about twice as high as what we previously thought. It would displace millions of more people living in low-lying coastal regions.” Read more.

Farnsworth Comments on State Primaries, President’s Japan Visit and Medicaid Expansion

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Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science

Stephen Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science

Political Science Professor Stephen Farnsworth has been quoted in several current news stories, including Democrats flock to state primaries (Chesterfield Observer);  U.S. President Continues Visit to Japan (CTV News Channel); and Trump Country sees majority of new enrollees under Va.’s Medicaid expansion.

Richardson Column Focuses on Social Media

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Read the latest column in The Free Lance-Star written by Lynne Richardson, Dean of the College of Business titled Social Media is not Reality:

Social media is where a lot of us spend a lot time. Sometimes minutes, but more likely hours, a day. Whether your platform of choice is Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, much of our daily life seems to be spent checking out what others are doing.

Lynne Richardson, Dean of the College of Business

Lynne Richardson, Dean of the College of Business

But is what you’re seeing on the social media accounts of your friends or colleagues real?

Many people only post positive images of themselves or share only exciting news that makes those reading the messages go “wow.” And maybe there are those folks out there who lead charmed lives and only have sunshine in their world.

But for many, the posts do not explain the full picture or the realities of life.

The problem this causes is that those reading the enhanced or unrealistic version of someone’s life sees their own life as lacking something. Perhaps they’re lacking good looks, or upward mobility in their work, or an amazing social life. In reality, the reader may not be lacking in any of those areas, but because they are comparing themselves to what they see on Instagram or Facebook, they think they are. It may cause that reader to change their life to be more like those they see on social media. Read more.

McClurken Presents Multi-day Workshop on Digital Liberal Arts Pedagogy in Beirut

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McClurken leading off the workshop with a set of shared resources

From May 3rd to 5th, UMW’s Chief of Staff and Professor of History and American Studies Dr. Jeffrey W. McClurken ran a workshop on Collaborative Digital Liberal Arts Pedagogy: Integrating Projects and Methodologies into Your Course at DHI-B (Digital Humanities Institute — Beirut) held at the American University of Beirut. The participant group of 25 faculty, librarians, and instructional technologists came from AUB or other AMICAL schools with the goal of collaborating on using Digital Humanities tools in a course, in particular in the undergraduate context of international liberal arts institutions. Participants brought syllabi (or at least the idea for a syllabus) and left with clear plans to integrate digital projects and/or methodologies into their courses.

Whalen Publishes Essay of Media Archaeology in Digital Studies

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Associate Professor of English, Linguistics, and Communications Zach Whalen

Associate Professor of English, Linguistics, and Communications Zach Whalen

Zach Whalen, Associate Professor in the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communications, recently had his article “Teaching with Objects: Individuating Media Archaeology in Digital Studies” published in The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy: https://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/teaching-with-objects-individuating-media-archaeology-in-digital-studies/.

Abstract: “Media archaeology presents a framework for understanding the foundations of digital culture in the social histories of technological media. This essay argues that a pedagogy focused on individual, physical artifacts of technological media involves students in constructing a constellation of insights around technology’s mineral, global, and human history as well as its ecological future. By describing and reflecting on a series of assignments and exercises developed for my “Introduction to Digital Studies” class, I show how the intimacy of specific devices can connect to the exigencies of technological media through the lens of media archaeology. The core of this experience is a group project where students take apart an artifact like an old smartphone or game console, attempt to locate the origins of each component in that artifact, and present those origins in a map and timeline. The risks and rewards of this assignment sequence actively engage students in designing their own learning and encourage them to think critically and ethically about the media they consume, the devices that provide the foundation for that consumption, and the global economy of human labor that makes it all possible. In a step-by-step consideration, I consider how the practical and logistical challenges of this assignment sequence support the learning goals I identify as crucial to Digital Studies.”

Young Graduates from Leadership Fredericksburg

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Kimberly Young, executive director for Continuing and Professional Studies

Kimberly Young, executive director for Continuing and Professional Studies

Kimberly Young, executive director of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of Mary Washington, recently graduated as part of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 12th Leadership Fredericksburg class. The ceremony was held on May 17 at UMW’s Stafford campus. Young was among the 31 fellows who began the program in September 2018.

Since 2017, Young has been responsible for expanding Mary Washington’s credit and non-credit programs for adult learners. She earned her B.A. in public policy studies from Duke University, and earned both an MBA and a Master of Management in hospitality from Cornell University. She has nearly 20 years of experience in education, consulting and hospitality, and previously served as the executive director of Executive Education and Executive MBA programs at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri-Kansas City.

According to a Chamber press release, the class started with a personality profile assessment and continued each month as community, business, nonprofit, political and educational leaders in the Fredericksburg area offered the fellows insights about their own personal leadership journeys. Fellows were also paired with mentors who supported their progress in the program, which culminated with presentations of their Community Action Projects at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, and later, at Lifepoint Church’s Spotsylvania campus for a team prize.

The Chamber is now accepting applications for Leadership Fredericksburg’s 2020 Class. The class of 2020 will be Leadership Fredericksburg’s 13th class. Since 2008, the program has graduated over 300 fellows.

An application can be obtained online at www.fredericksburgchamber.org or by calling the Chamber office at (540) 373-9400. There is a $25 application fee. Applications must be received at the Chamber office by 5 p.m. on July 1.

Harris Comments in Los Angeles Times on Housing Development in Ukraine

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Associate Professor of History and American Studies Steven Harris

Associate Professor of History and American Studies Steven Harris

Associate Professor of History and American Studies Steven Harris was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in an article about a new housing development in a residential area of Kiev, in Ukraine. The article, entitled “Soviet housing was famously drab. This Ukraine complex is all about color,” states, “‘Scholars say housing is one realm where the Soviet Union did what the United States could not: provide cheap, reasonably decent housing for everyone.’ ‘They actually did solve the housing question,’ said Steven Harris, a historian at the University of Mary Washington and author of Communism on Tomorrow Street: Mass Housing and Everyday Life After Stalin.”

Waters Featured in Inside Higher Ed on Technology-Enabled Learning

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Assistant Professor Biology Parrish Waters

Assistant Professor Biology Parrish Waters

Assistant Professor of Biology Parrish Waters was featured in an article in Inside Higher Ed entitled “Looking Back on this Year’s Classroom Experiments.” In a previous article from last fall, professors across the country shared the technologies they were planning on testing in the classroom; now they reflect on their successes and shortcomings. According to the recent article, Waters said that he tried “encouraging student engagement with help from a formative assessment tool, which he’d used in the classroom previously, but without a cohesive strategy.” Read more. 

Wilson Comments on the Psychological Effects of Mass Shootings

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Assistant Professor of Psychology Laura Wilson

Assistant Professor of Psychology Laura Wilson

Assistant Professor of Psychology Laura Wilson recently commented in the national media on the psychological effects on survivors of mass shootings.

Wilson, the co-author of the The Wiley Handbook of the Psychology of Mass Shootings, said the following to Buzzfeed News in an article entitled “If You Graduate Right After A Mass Shooting, Good Luck: You’re On Your Own”: “The biggest concern I would have for them is the disconnect from people who have gone through similar things.”

She also said, “Simply by definition, mass shootings are more likely to trigger difficulties with beliefs that most of us have, including that we live in a just world and that if we make good decisions, we’ll be safe,” in an article entitled “An Anniversary We Would All Like to Forget-But Never Will,” in the Post Newspaper in Texas.

In an article entitled “The Long Reach of Grief After Gun Violence” on yr.media, she said, “A lot of what we see among survivors is that they struggle to understand why they survived when others didn’t, because they made the same decisions everyone else made.” She explained that each survivor and their recovery is unique and cautioned against generalizing survivor experiences or regarding them as “typical.”

Schiffrin Quoted on Parents Excessive Involvement in College Course Choices

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Professor of Psychology Holly Schiffrin

Professor of Psychology Holly Schiffrin

A study completed by Professor of Psychology Holly Schiffrin was cited in an article in The News Minute entitled “How Much Freedom do Students have while Choosing their Undergraduate Course?”

“One study in the Journal of Child and Family Studies found that parents’ excessive involvement in their children’s lives yields unfavourable results. The lead author Holly Schiffrin argues, ‘Parents are sending an unintentional message to their children that they are not competent.’ This is in turn, could result in feelings of depression and dissatisfaction.”

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/how-much-freedom-do-students-have-while-choosing-their-undergraduate-course-101901