Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently gave a lecture entitled, “Virginia Votes 2013: The Ever-changing State of Virginia Politics,” to the Candidate Training Program of the Sorensen Institute of the University of Virginia. The institute helps prepare the next generation of Virginia political leaders through training programs for young professionals and college students that emphasize ethics in public service and the nonpartisan study of public policy challenges in the Old Dominion.
Sheckels Presents on Flipped Classroom
On Jan. 18, 2014, Marie Sheckels gave the presentation “Lessons Learned: A First Attempt at Using a Flipped Classroom Model” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore, Md. Dr. Sheckels described course modifications she made to “flip” one of her classes and the course outcomes.
Denhere Presents at Joint Mathematics Meetings, Serves as Poster Judge
On Jan. 15, 2014, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Melody Denhere gave the presentation “Robust Penalized Functional Logistic Regression” at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in Baltimore, Md. This paper is continuing work from her doctoral dissertation and was coauthored by Nedret Billor, her dissertation adviser at Auburn. Dr. Denhere also served as a judge for the annual Student Poster Competition at the Joint Meetings.
Hydorn Presents Paper, Has Artwork in Mathematical Art Exhibition
On Jan. 16, 2014, Dr. Debra Hydorn, Professor of Mathematics, gave the presentation “Infographics Activities to Promote Graphical and Quantitative Literacy” at the 2014 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore, Md. The presentation described activities from her First-Year Seminar on Infographics. Dr. Hydorn also had the artwork “Gnomon Board” accepted for the Exhibition of Mathematical Art of the Joint Meetings and she served as a judge for the annual Student Poster Competition.
Britten’s “On This Island” Concert Recording Released
On Feb. 22, 2014, UMW Music Department Adjunct Instructor of Piano Andrew Kraus released a concert recording of Benjamin Britten’s beautiful and intriguing “On This Island” with soprano Jennifer Paschal on the CD Baby label.
“On This Island”, a collection of five songs spanning baroque, romantic and cabaret styles, is Britten’s setting of five poems from W. H. Auden’s previously published collection by the same name. Britten and Auden worked closely together on the cycle, and their compositional mastery shines in this work.
The recording is available as a digital download from CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jenniferpaschalandandrew, and is scheduled to be released on iTunes, Amazon.com and other internet streaming services later this month.
Parnell Named SBDC Director
Mary Parnell
The University of Mary Washington announces the selection of Mary Parnell as the UMW Small Business Development Center Director in the Fredericksburg office. In that role she will direct consulting, management training, business research services and provide general client support for companies using the Fredericksburg office. A 10 year veteran consultant for the center, she served roles as senior consultant and assistant director during that tenure.
The University of Mary Washington Small Business Development Center is an SBA program hosted by the VASBDC at George Mason University. The SBDC has been at UMW since 1992 and provides small company owners and startup entrepreneurs with consulting, management training, and demographic and industry research that supports their launch, sustainment, and growth. The Fredericksburg office of the SBDC is located in the Eagle Village Executive Offices. A second office is located in Warsaw, Va. and serves the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula planning districts.
Formerly, Parnell held controller positions at a local business development company and a Maryland community college. Other professional experience includes public accounting, banking and insurance. She is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Fredericksburg and founder of Talent Financial and Accounting Services. Mary Parnell earned an MBA from Sanford University and a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Her affiliations include membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Business Women Association.
Whalen Presents at MLA Conference
Zach Whalen, Assistant Professor of English, participated in three events at the recent Modern Language Association conference in Chicago. On Friday, Jan. 10, he was part of a reading of electronic literature, where he and colleagues read from twitter bots in a “Bot Choral.” On Saturday, Jan. 11, he was a panelist on the roundtable discussion “Electronic Literature after Flash.” His remarks were titled “Lexia to Perplexia (2000-2013)” and addressed the obsolescence of a key piece of second-generation electronic literature. Finally, on Sunday, Jan. 12, he presented the paper “Ebooks, Typography, and Twitter Art” in the session “Lit Misbehavin.” This paper addressed the poetics of twitter bots.
Foss Contributes to Essay Collection
Chris Foss, Professor of English, recently published a chapter entitled “Building a Mystery: Relative Fear and the 1990s Autistic Thriller” in Bloomsbury Press’s Kidding Around: The Child in Film and Media, a collection of essays edited by Alexander N. Howe and Wynn Yarbrough.
McClurken Discusses Digital Humanities
Jeff McClurken, professor and chair of history and American studies, lead a daylong workshop at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. on Friday, Jan. 10. He spoke to faculty, librarians, and administrators about the wide-ranging aspects of digital humanities.
Read more here: Jeffrey McClurken Workshop at Dickinson.
Gaines Publishes Translation of “Moving In”
Professor Jim Gaines of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures has published a translation of Alphonse Daudet’s tale “Moving In” in the December 2013 issue of Eerie Digest/TAEM, an online journal originating in Washington with a large worldwide readership. The story, one of a series translated by Gaines from the book Letters From My Mill, deals with Daudet’s description of his home and the return of local shepherds from their summer pastures in the late 19th century.