Warren Rochelle recently gave a reading from, and a presentation on, his novel, The Werewolf and His Boy, at the Popular Culture Association conference in San Diego.
Alumna Named VP of Advancement, University Relations
I am pleased to announce the newest addition to UMW’s leadership team. On August 1, Lisa Jamison Bowling will become the University’s Vice President for Advancement and University Relations. A 1989 graduate of Mary Washington, Lisa has served for the past seven years as Roanoke College’s Assistant Vice President for Resource Development. In that capacity, she was part of the senior advancement team, which ran a $200 million comprehensive campaign and led a strategic assessment of Roanoke College’s positioning and branding.
I believe you will find Lisa to be an exceptional leader, who has proven strengths in all facets of external relations and fundraising. She was identified in a highly competitive national search, and I am delighted that she has chosen to return to her alma mater. She will bring a unique combination of experience, vision, and commitment to help move UMW forward in achieving its public liberal arts mission.
Previously, Lisa spent 10 years at Ferrum College, starting as public relations director and advancing to Associate Vice President of Development. Immediately after graduating from Mary Washington with a double major in English and political science, she worked in marketing and public relations for various companies and non-profits. She earned her MBA from Wake Forest University in 2009. In addition, she has received certificates in fundraising management and planned giving.
“Few people have the opportunity to help shape the place that was most formative to them.” Lisa said. “Mary Washington placed me on a path of success, and I hope to parlay my experiences into a powerful impact for the University and its students.”
She added, “UMW already has an incredible leadership team, faculty, and staff in place, and I look forward to serving with them and the accomplished members of the University Relations and Advancement division.”
Lisa and her husband, Kevin Bowling, have a son, Satchel, and a daughter, Claire.
UMW Presents on Anonymous Social Media at NASPA
How do today’s students use social media? What happens when tweets and yaks take a bad turn? And most important, how can today’s administrators use social media to build a positive online community?
These trending questions posed by higher education professionals across the country were front and center during the University of Mary Washington’s presentation on anonymous social media at the national NASPA conference this past March. In a session co-presented with colleagues from Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and titled “Yik Yak, Attacks and Focusing Back on Inclusion: The Many Facets of Social Media on College Campuses,” UMW staff members shared real-world experiences interlaced with social media research on how to strategically build community on social media during crisis situations.
The four-person presentation panel included Mary Washington representatives Dr. Juliette Landphair, Vice President for Student Affairs; Erika Spivey, Assistant Director of Marketing; and Colin Coleman, Assistant Director of Residence Life. Joining the group from Lewis & Clark College was Dr. Anna Gonzalez, Dean of Students.
Young is Exec. Dir., Continuing & Professional Studies
President Troy Paino and Acting Provost Nina Mikhalevsky are very pleased to announce the appointment of Kimberly C. Young as Executive Director of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of Mary Washington. In this position, she will be responsible for expanding the University’s credit and non-credit programs for adults, including new certificate and other professional development opportunities. She will start work at UMW on July 25.
Kimberly is currently the Executive Director of Executive Education and Executive MBA programs at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is responsible for oversight of all executive education programs, the executive MBA, international customized programs, and customized corporate education programs, and she leads a team in marketing, sales, development, and delivery of programs that serve adult learners.
Kimberly has nearly 20 years of experience in education, consulting, and hospitality. Her expertise is in building and leading high performance teams, strategic innovation, and project management. She received her B.A. in Public Policy Studies from Duke University, and she earned both a Master’s of Management in Hospitality and an MBA from Cornell University.
UMW’s Office of Continuing and Professional Studies will be based at the Stafford campus, where most of its courses and programs will be offered, with additional offerings at the University’s Dahlgren and Fredericksburg campuses.
Rucker, Dean of Student Life, Honored by Colleagues
Dean Cedric Rucker has been chosen as the recipient of the NASPA Region III Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award. This award, given by a national student affairs professional organization, “honors a senior student affairs professional or faculty member who has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion throughout their administrative or academic tenure.”
In recognizing Dean Rucker, the organizers noted that “this prestigious award…signifies that your fellow student affairs colleagues value the contributions you are making in the field. It also exemplifies your hard work within the profession and your institution. This year’s awards selection process received a record number of nominations, and the review committee commented on how strong and diverse the pool of nominations was this year.”
Several UMW faculty members, staff, and alumni wrote letters in support of Dean Rucker’s nomination, including Dr. Allyson Poska, Professor of History, who praised Dean Rucker as “a critical force on campus for equality, diversity, and inclusion, transforming student life through his remarkable ability to build strong organizations for underrepresented students, helping those students and their organizations become vocal, vibrant participants in campus life, and engaging with faculty to ensure a diverse, inclusive curriculum.” Dean Rucker will be presented with the award at the NASPA summer symposium in June 2017.
Lorentzen Gives Talk at Virginia Humanities Conference
Eric Lorentzen, Associate Professor of English, gave the talk “Interdisciplinary British Literature in the University Classroom: Teaching the Unbearable Humanities as Part of a Critical STEAM Pedagogy” at the annual Virginia Humanities Conference at Shenandoah University. Dr. Lorentzen’s paper argued for the efficacy and exigency of approaching the study of literature at the university level through what he has called a “cultural studies pedagogy,” a methodology that strives for a student-centered interdisciplinary connection, through a STEAM paradigm that resists the new Utilitarianism prevalent in higher education today.
Subramanian Interviewed on New Hampshire Public Radio
Sushma Subramanian, assistant professor of journalism in the Department of English, Linguistics and Communication, was interviewed on New Hampshire Public Radio recently about an article (“Worse Than Tuskegee”) she wrote for Slate magazine, published in February. The article was about American researchers who infected Guatemalans with syphylis and gonorrhea 70 years ago and left without treating them. To listen to the interview, visit http://nhpr.org/post/41117-gerrymandering-legacy-disease-experiments#stream/0
To read Subramanian’s article in Slate, visit http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2017/02/guatemala_syphilis_experiments_worse_than_tuskegee.html
Johnson-Young Presents Research at Conference
Elizabeth Johnson-Young, Assistant Professor of Communication, presented research at this year’s Southern States Communication Association conference in Greenville, South Carolina. The paper, presented in the Communication Theory division, presented the results of a theoretical model to predict intentions to breastfeed. Combining the theory of planned behavior and uses and gratifications theory, the research provides a first test of a more thorough understanding of the impacts on breastfeeding intentions.
Legacy, Music of James Monroe Highlighted at Arts Club of Washington
Scott Harris, director of the James Monroe Museum, and Heidi Stello, editorial assistant for the Papers of James Monroe, provided the program for the annual Monroe Dinner at the Arts Club of Washington on Saturday, April 8. Their presentation, titled “James Monroe: Theme & Variations,” explored Monroe’s half-century of public service, and was supplemented by music drawn from pieces found in the 1818 music book belonging to Monroe’s daughter, Maria. Featured pieces included “Washington’s March at the Battle of Trenton,” “President Monroe’s March,” “Blue Eyed Mary,” and Jean Latour’s “A Favorite Air with 6 Variations.”
The Arts Club of Washington is housed in the I Street townhouse where Monroe lived during his tenure as Secretary of State and War from 1811-1817, as well as during the early months of his presidency, as the White House was undergoing continued repairs from the British attack on Washington in August 1814. The original music book, as well as Monroe’s 1803 Astor pianoforte, are held in the collections of the James Monroe Museum at 908 Charles Street in downtown Fredericksburg.
Aminrazavi is Scholar in Residence, St. Joseph’s College
Mehdi Aminrazavi, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, spent three days in March at St. Joseph’s College in New York as the Distinguished Scholar in Residence. He taught a number of classes, led discussion groups with the faculty and students and gave a keynote speech titled “Violence and Peace in Islam.”