A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Professor of Mathematics Larry Lehman
Professor of Mathematics Larry Lehman has published a new book, Quadratic Ideal Numbers: A Computational Method for Binary Quadratic Forms with De Gruyter, a German publishing house. This book studies quadratic ideal numbers, introduced as a notational device in Lehman’s previous book, Quadratic Number Theory, as objects in their own right, with applications to quadratic forms and other topics in elementary and algebraic number theory.
Associate Professor of German Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich
Associate Professor Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures has published a new book entitled German Memorials, Motifs, and Meanings: A Cultural History in Bronze, Wood, and Stone with University of Massachusetts Press (2025).
The book offers a unique cultural history of German memorialization by focusing not on a single, isolated era, but rather on enduring memorial motifs—enchanted stones, magical trees, raised fists, stone circles, and similar evocative symbols derived from myth, folklore, Christianity, national iconography, and post-Holocaust imagery. It thus takes a long-duration perspective to explore abiding themes such as death, rebirth, and redemption; violence and reconciliation; and sacrifice, identity, and community. Along with a consideration of the historical and social circumstances of each memorial and its motifs, the book seeks to answer the questions of why and how these cultural markers survive the passage of time and how they endure amidst cultural, social, and political upheavals that include the rise and fall of empires, catastrophes of war and occupation, and genesis of new national identities.
A Waple Professorship (2023-2025) generously supported the publication of this book by providing funds for travel.
Cover for The Importance of Being Different: Disability in Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales.
Professor of English Chris Foss
Professor of English Chris Foss participated in a Recent Books Showcase as part of the program for the The Incredible Nineteenth Century: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Fairy Tale annual conference, held on Zoom early in May. This small but international meeting featured two days of presenters hailing from nine different countries. Foss talked about his new book, The Importance of Being Different: Disability in Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales, published in April by the University of Virginia Press.
Foss was also featured in an Author’s Corner interview for the University of Virginia Press’s website. He answered five questions related to his recently published book. The interview may be found at: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/author-corner/authors-corner-with-chris-foss-author-of-the-importance-of-being-different/
Assistant Professor in the College of Education Danielle Springston
Academy of Technology and Innovation at UMW Director Rebecca Towery
Danielle Springston, assistant professor in the College of Education and Rebecca Towery, director of the Academy of Technology and Innovation attended the “Innovation Summit: Transforming Learning and Teaching for the Future Across Virginia” on April 22-24. This summit was part of the Virginia College Partnership Lab Schools Learning Exchange and was hosted by the Center for Educational Innovation and Opportunity at Old Dominion University.
The Summit attendees represented higher education professionals, K12 partners, Lab School Leadership, and representatives from the Virginia Department of Education. The Summit provided opportunities for networking, problem solving, success sharing, and collaborative learning.
Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds
Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and UMW student Viktor Newby (majoring in sociology with a minor in digital studies) shared research and perspective on the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in data center development. The two sent Freedom of Information Act requests to every Virginia locality with a proposed or existing data center project. They found that the vast majority (25 out of 31 localities) have at least one NDA with a data center company. The story, titled “Data centers, non-disclosure agreements and democracy,” can be found via this link and on the Virginia Mercury website.
Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Studies Anand Rao
Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies Stephen Farnsworth
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is co-author of a book chapter, “Ridicule in Late-Night Political Humor in the United States: Contours and Consequences,” published in the Wiley Handbook of Social and Political Conflict.
Other recent media mentions for Farnsworth include:
Future of retail marijuana market in Virginia likely depends on gubernatorial election (WHRO Public Media)
Political expert Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington and the director of its Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is skeptical that cannabis policy alone will drive voter turnout. However, he predicts Democrats will retain their majority in the House.
https://www.whro.org/virginia-government/2025-04-30/future-of-retail-marijuana-market-in-virginia-likely-depends-on-gubernatorial-election
President Donald Trump tests executive power in first 100 days (United Press International; Yahoo)
“The courts have already made it pretty clear that people in the country are entitled to due process, whether they’re in the country legally or not,” Stephen Farnsworth, political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, told UPI.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/04/29/trump-first-100-days-immigration-education-tariffs/2081745948785/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/president-donald-trump-tests-executive-181348458.html
Trump marks 100 days in office of second term (CTV Canada)
“Well, nothing has been quiet at all in these 100 days. The Trump administration has reached across all kinds of policy areas, transgressed all kinds of lines in terms of the way Congress and the President usually work together and has so created an environment where there are a huge number of law suits and a huge number of questions about what happens to some of these policies going forward,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://review.bellmedia.ca/view/690263675
Youngkin asks John Reid to withdraw from Lt. Gov. race, could this impact the GOP in VA? (WJLA; Loudoun Times-Mirror)
University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth said Republicans are fighting a national tide, and party infighting may cost them.
https://wjla.com/elections/virginia-lieutenant-governor-race-candidates-gop-republican-john-reid-campaign-social-media-full-interview-glenn-youngkin-winsome-sears-primary-election-day-nominee-scandal-politics-commonwealth
https://www.loudountimes.com/0local-or-not/2state/in-deepening-va-gop-crisis-reid-accuses-youngkin-pac-of-extortion/article_1e05b2c8-312d-4f89-bf17-385b67f4aae3.html
Democrats clash over approaches as party still searches for an identity (The National Desk; Komo News; WPDE; CBS Austin; KATV; ABC 45)
Strategies Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, says, point toward the 2028 presidential election officially being underway. When you’re looking at the Democratic Governor’s in particular, they’re trying to make more of a name for themselves. They’re trying to reshape the vision of the party,” said Farnsworth.
https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/democrats-clash-over-approaches-party-still-searching-for-an-identity
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/democrats-clash-over-approaches-party-still-searching-for-an-identity
https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/democrats-clash-over-approaches-party-still-searching-for-an-identity#
https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/democrats-clash-over-approaches-party-still-searching-for-an-identity
https://katv.com/news/nation-world/democrats-clash-over-approaches-party-still-searching-for-an-identity
https://abc45.com/news/nation-world/democrats-clash-over-approaches-party-still-searching-for-an-identity
Swing state GOP in explosive disarray as Republican’s PAC is accused of extortion (MSN; Virginia Mercury; Yahoo; Royal Examiner)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said the turmoil surrounding Reid’s candidacy highlights deeper challenges for Virginia Republicans heading into a critical election cycle. “The biggest challenge that you have as a first-time statewide candidate is getting your name out there in the public,” Farnsworth said. “That’s not going to be a problem for John Reid.” But, he cautioned, the downside is significant: “This controversy won’t help Reid or the Republican ticket.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/swing-state-gop-in-explosive-disarray-as-republican-s-pac-is-accused-of-extortion/ar-AA1DNtBr
https://virginiamercury.com/2025/04/28/in-deepening-va-gop-crisis-reid-accuses-youngkin-pac-of-extortion-is-a-legal-battle-ahead/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/deepening-va-gop-crisis-reid-220037292.html
https://royalexaminer.com/in-deepening-virginia-gop-crisis-reid-accuses-youngkin-pac-of-extortion-is-a-legal-battle-ahead/
Could Lt. Gov. furor give Republicans a do-over on N.Va. candidate? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“Republicans need somebody to speak to Northern Virginia and this ticket doesn’t really have that,” said Steve Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. Youngkin’s effort to push Reid off the ticket could give Republicans a do-over with a candidate from Northern Virginia, but only if it works, Farnsworth said.
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/article_22e38b52-9a34-4b01-9d23-603afd1ce8ba.html
Schapiro: Virginia GOP betting on a DEI ticket? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“Filling in the diversity box is not particularly more important for Republicans than the state of the Virginia economy this fall,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington and director of its Center for Media and Leadership Studies.
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_6de8b963-64a4-4a06-918c-27b787663219.html
Virginia’s future retail marijuana market likely depends on gubernatorial election (Virginia Business)
Political expert Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington and the director of its Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is skeptical that cannabis policy alone will drive voter turnout. However, he predicts Democrats will retain their majority in the House.
https://virginiabusiness.com/virginia-marijuana-retail-veto-youngkin-2025/
Senator Durbin’s exit seen as chance for generational shift in Democratic leadership (The National Desk; Fox 4 Beaumont; Baltimore Sun; News 4 San Antonio)
What Durbin is doing is helping create that generational shift in the party,” said Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. Farnsworth believes a big challenge the Democrats face right now is an identity crisis.
https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/se-dick-durbin-d-il-not-seeking-reelection-could-accelerate-shift-in-democratic-party-david-hogg-joe-biden-younger-democrats-activist-dnc-leaders-we-deserve#
https://fox4beaumont.com/news/nation-world/se-dick-durbin-d-il-not-seeking-reelection-could-accelerate-shift-in-democratic-party-david-hogg-joe-biden-younger-democrats-activist-dnc-leaders-we-deserve
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/24/durbins-exit-seen-as-chance-for-generational-shift-in-democratic-leadership/
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/se-dick-durbin-d-il-not-seeking-reelection-could-accelerate-shift-in-democratic-party-david-hogg-joe-biden-younger-democrats-activist-dnc-leaders-we-deserve#
Va. future retail marijuana market likely depends on gubernatorial election (Virginia Scope; The Patriot; The Virginian-Pilot)
Political expert Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington and the director of its Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is skeptical that cannabis policy alone will drive voter turnout. However, he predicts Democrats will retain their majority in the House.
https://www.virginiascope.com/va-future-retail-marijuana-market-likely-depends-on-gubernatorial-election/
https://pcpatriot.com/earle-sears-spanberger-split-on-cannabis-as-youngkin-vetoes-retail-sales/
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/04/23/future-of-virginia-marijuana/
Professor of English Chris Foss
Professor of English Chris Foss has accepted an invitation to serve on the editorial board of Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture, which publishes interdisciplinary work, both scholarly and creative, authored by autistic people and allistic allies.
In addition, Foss published a new book with UVA Press titled The Importance of Being Different: Disability in Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales. See book.
Over the course of his remarkable career, Oscar Wilde published two volumes of fairy tales: The Happy Prince and Other Tales and A House of Pomegranates. Both collections feature numerous stories with protagonists who may be said to be disability-aligned, owing to their pronounced physical differences.
In Foss’s book he explores the way that Wilde’s stories problematically replicate many of the Victorian era’s typical responses to disability but also the ways they diverge, offering a more progressive orientation—both through more sympathetic identifications with disability-aligned characters and through a self-conscious foregrounding of the mechanisms of pity and the consumption of pain. The first ever monograph to examine Wilde’s work through a disability studies lens, this groundbreaking book encompasses all of his fairy tales as well as his writings during and after imprisonment. Even though Wilde unflinchingly represented the extent to which these peculiar bodies suffered rejection by society, he encouraged his readers to embrace them and to advocate for emotional responses that engage love and kindness toward both individual transformation and social change.
Foss will read from his newly published book on April 24 at 5:00 p.m. in Combs 139. He’ll talk about and read from the book for about 30 minutes and take questions from the audience. Refreshments provided.
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Jennifer Barry
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Jennifer Barry received the 2024 Summer National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Research Grant. Due to this highly competitive funding, she was able to develop materials to secure an advanced book contract for her third monograph, Scandalous Christian Histories, which will be published with the University of Edinburgh Press.
Barry was also recently quoted in the latest issue of Past Imperfect where she noted how much faculty, especially from teaching-focused institutions like Mary Washington, benefit from granting institutions like the NEH, which has been under increasing attack and many of its funding cut. There she noted that even smaller funds for the humanities allow faculty to use their summers to build research projects and how much the NEH has directly contributed to her productivity. Most importantly, this grant and other humanities focused funds help enrich the UMW classroom experience. To fund the humanities is to contribute to the core aims of a public liberal arts education.
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Tyler Frankel
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Tyler Frankel was featured by Bay Journal in an article titled: Elevated Metals Found in James River Sediment Near Coal Ash Pits. The article states, Frankel began testing waters near coal ash storage sites a few years ago to help fill gaps in the data, he said. An aquatic toxicologist, Frankel wanted to understand whether elevated levels of trace metals associated with coal ash might be found in the sediment or fish of nearby rivers, even if they are no longer present in the surface water. Read the article.
Other recent media mentions for Frankel include: