Assistant Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds’ research has spurred public discussions of U.S. military pollution in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars in various media sources. Bonds was invited to discuss his research on the Nov. 15 radio show of “Middle East in Focus.” This research was also covered in separate articles run by Environmental Health News and Common Dreams Media.
Martinette Featured in Ultimate Subaru Spotlight
Each month, a UMW Athletics Faculty Liaison will be featured in the Ultimate Subaru Spotlight. The faculty liaison program partners a UMW faculty member with every UMW intercollegiate athletic team to strengthen support networks and increase resources for student-athlete success. Ultimate Subaru is committed to the growth and education of UMW Eagles, their hometown team and strives to foster the same values of community as the UMW Faculty Liaison program. Faculty Liaisons will serve as mentors and role models to student-athletes while being involved in team activities. For more information about the program contact Faculty Athletic Representative, Dr. Lynne Richardson.
Faculty Liaison’s Name: Louis Martinette
Sport: Men’s Basketball
Years at UMW: 11 years
Position/Title: Faculty—College of Business
What was your favorite sport growing up? Briefly describe your favorite memory playing or watching it. My favorite sport growing up was, and still is, basketball. I was privileged to play basketball in high school but my favorite memories came as a spectator and an observer of the sport in general. I have many favorite memories including my high school basketball team coming from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to win the state championship and my college (Old Dominion University) winning a Division II National Championship (1975). But each year when the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship begins I often get two or three new favorite moments on the first day but none as personal and special as the two mentioned above.
Where is your favorite place around town to get a bite to eat? My schedule does not permit me much time to enjoy the finer eateries in Fredericksburg but my restaurant of choice in Richmond is Deep Run Roadhouse.
If you could pick one super power to have, what would it be and why? I do not know if Marvel or DC have ever come up with this one but I would like to have the ability to read and retain information at lightning speed and to be able to organize and share that knowledge effectively and efficiently.
Other than the sport you partnered with, what is your next favorite sport and why? Football, because it requires both brute strength and an in depth knowledge of strategy in motion. And let’s not forget about tailgating!
If you were a Head Coach and could pick three words to motivate your team and hang in their locker room which words would you choose? To borrow from Bill Russell’s (former Boston Celtic great) description of Red Auerback as a coach: “His methods were thoughtful, innovative, and fluid, and always geared to the team over any one player. Yet he found ways to inspire trust and confidence in each of us separately. He could talk to a player two or three times and he would know how to talk to him from then on.”
Each coach must be their own person with their own style but the three words I would chose to motivate a team (from Russell’s description of Auerback) would be for them to be “thoughtful, innovative, and fluid” with the caveat that it was “always the team over any one player.” In my view, this applies to most successful organizational settings. Anyone purporting to be a leader who does not inspire teamwork is not a leader.
What does a great leader look like to you? Leaders come in all shapes and sizes and “greatness” is often determined by an individual’s reaction to circumstance. Greatness in a leader, in my view, goes back to the three words noted above: “thoughtful, innovative, and fluid” with the caveat that it was “always the team over any one player.” Most importantly, it is the team over the leader because successful leadership is more often than not selfless.
What is a must read for UMW Student-Athletes? I would recommend several books for student athletes (as well as all other students) to read:
a. “Red and Me: My Coach and Lifelong Friend” by Bill Russell;
b. “Second Wind” by Bill Russell and Taylor Branch
c. “My Losing Season” by Pat Conroy
d. “Let Me Tell You A Story” by John Feinstein and Red Auerbach
e. “When The Game Was Ours” by Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson with Jackie MacMullan
f. “The Innovators” by Walter Isaacson
What is the best advice you have ever heard given to a college graduate? Dr. Marcia Brand, Executive Director of NIIOH, said this in her 2015 commencement address at ODU: “Be kind to each other in the workplace. It is important to be a trusted, respectful, and supportive colleague. Listen, be kind, and model the behavior you want to see in your colleagues. The result is a more collaborative and productive workplace.”
Finally, if you were hanging out on Ball Circle picking the brains of four professional/famous athletes (living or deceased), who would they be? Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and John Wooden (I’ll take the fifth and also name Vince Lombardi). From what I know of these individuals, they are very different in terms of their personalities. I would like to discover the common trait that made them all winners.
Ultimate Subaru, celebrating 10 years of service to the Fredericksburg community, is proud to be a supporter of UMW athletics. Call Ultimate Subaru today at (540) 898-6200 or come on in and visit us at 5160 Jefferson Davis Hwy, near Four Mile Fork. Find us online at www.driveultimatesubaru.com.
Harris Presents Paper at the University of Zürich
Associate Professor Steven E. Harris from the Department of History and American Studies was recently invited to present his paper, “The Martyrdom of Nadezhda Kurchenko: Murder of an Aeroflot Stewardess and Cold War Displacement,” at the conference “Verschiebung/Displacement/Вымещение im Kalten Krieg,” at the Slavic Department of the University of Zürich, on Nov. 6-7, 2015. Harris’ paper is based on a chapter for his current book project, Wings of the Motherland: Soviet and Russian Cultures of Aviation from Khrushchev to Putin.
Al-Tikriti Discusses MSF Experiences at D.C. Events
Over a four week period, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern History Nabil Al-Tikriti discussed roles and policies of MSF/Doctors Without Borders USA in three separate D.C. area events. On the evenings of Oct. 14 and 21, he joined Athena Viscusi to discuss his field experience at the El Tamarindo restaurant in Adams Morgan.
On both nights, after Ms. Viscusi discussed her role volunteering for MSF during last year’s Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Prof. Al-Tikriti described his role this past May and June serving as a cultural mediator on the SS Bourbon Argos, which engaged in rescuing refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast.
For those interested, there will be an additional event led by other MSF field volunteers at the same restaurant on Nov. 23. Here is a link to the second event’s announcement: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/face-to-face-in-dc-2nd-night-registration-18928590925?aff=ebrowse.
On Nov. 5, Prof. Al-Tikriti offered a guest lecture at Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs, in Alexandria, Va. In the course of this lecture, Al-Tikriti discussed MSF’s values, philosophy, and policies, particularly in the area of military-NGO cooperation.
Broome Presents at National Social Studies Ed Conference
John P. Broome, assistant professor and program director of preK-12, middle and secondary education in the College of Education, co-presented his paper “Discussing Ferguson in the Social Studies Classroom” to the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) conference in New Orleans, La. During this conference, he also served as a paper session chair and an elected Delegate in the NCSS House of Delegates, the governing body of the national organization.
His survey research, co-authored with Dr. Jason Endacott from the University of Arkansas, explores how middle and high school teachers discussed the events in Ferguson, Mo. in their classrooms across the United States. Focus was placed on the active role of the agency of schools in student political socialization and attention was given to the methods of instruction, teacher decision-making and the barriers for those who chose not to or “could not” teach the topic.
This research extends to the spring 2016 America Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in Washington, DC with a paper presentation entitled, “How Social Studies Teachers View the ‘Lessons’ of Ferguson.” This paper uses discourse analysis to analyze what teachers viewed as the “lessons” of the events in Ferguson.
Farnsworth and Hanna Published in Washington Post
A map by Stephen Hanna, professor of geography, and a column by Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, which both discussed the recent state legislative elections were published in “The Fix” blog of The Washington Post. The column was entitled “The 2015 Election in Virginia: A Tribute to Gerrymandering.”
Brewer Performs in Women’s Voices Theater Festival
Cate Brewer, lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance, performed in a world premiere production for the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. Hootenanny, written by Monique LaForce, is a two-person production about two actors backstage during a bluegrass musical version of Macbeth. As the backstage story between these two actors unfolds, life mirrors art.
The Women’s Voices Theater Festival included more than 50 world premiere plays by women and took place this fall in the Washington area. The festival is described as “The professional theaters of the Washington, DC region have joined together to produce the Women’s Voices Theater Festival in the fall of 2015. The companies will each present a world premiere production of a work by one or more female playwrights, highlighting both the scope of plays being written by women and the range of professional theater produced in and around the nation’s capital.” www.womensvoicestheaterfestival.org.
An article about the festival in American Theatre Magazine can be accessed here.
The Washington Post review of the production can be found here.
Richards Leads Discussion at Louisiana Book Festival
Gary Richards, associate professor and chair of the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication, led the discussion of the common read at the Louisiana Book Festival on Oct. 31 in Baton Rouge. This year’s selection was Harper Lee’s controversial and, to many readers, disappointing Go Set a Watchman.
He was also a participant on the panel “Louisiana State University Press: 80th Anniversary,” where he spoke on the press’ publications in fiction and southern literary studies and reputation within those fields.
McCall, Hydorn and Clayton Receive Grant
Dr. Venitta McCall, professor of the College of Education, Dr. Debra Hydorn, professor of mathematics and Dr. Courtney Clayton, assistant professor of the College of Education have received a $35,600 grant from the Virginia Department of Education. The purpose of the grant is to train 30 teachers from critical teacher shortage areas in Spotsylvania County, Stafford County and Fredericskburg City to become Clinical Faculty members for the College of Education.
Selected teachers will be trained in effective mentoring practices, in best practices for instructing English Language Learners and in using learning analytics – the appropriate collection, use and analysis of data to facilitate instructional improvement. Research has shown that having highly skilled Clinical Faculty is a key component in enhancing teacher retention.
Wade Publishes Flash Pieces, Essay
Elizabeth Wade, adjunct instructor in the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication, has two flash pieces “Tympanoplasty” and “Exposure” in the inaugural issue of Weirderary, which can be accessed here. Her essay “The Rising” appeared earlier this year in The RS 500, which can be read here.