Associate Professor of French, Scott Powers co-authored the 9th edition of Interaction: Langue et Culture. Published by Heinle, Interaction is an intermediate-level textbook of French language and Francophone cultures used in university classrooms across the United States and abroad.
Ben LaBreche’s Article Accepted for Publication
Assistant Professor of English, Linguistics and Communication Ben LaBreche’s journal article “‘The Wheat From the Tares’: Areopagitica and the Limits of Pluralism” has been accepted for publication by Milton Studies. The article will appear in volume 53 in 2013.
Stephen Farnsworth Presents in Finland
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, delivered a lecture entitled, “The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign: Polls, Money and the Media,” at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki, Finland on October 16.
In addition, Farnsworth was recently quoted in a Washington Post news article regarding high levels of absentee voting in Republican counties in Virginia.
Courtney Clayton Presents at VATESOL Conference
Courtney Clayton, assistant professor of education, presented her research at the annual VATESOL conference. The presentation was entitled “Using Action Research to Improve Instruction for English Language Learners”. She presented with one of her former M.S. in Elementary Education students whose action research project focused on improving writing skills for English Language Learners using dialogue journals through EduBlogs.
VATESOL is a professional organization dedicated to promoting professional development, strengthening instruction, and supporting research opportunities at all levels for teachers and administrators of ESL/EFL/ESOL.
Grymala Presents Four Times in Five Days
Curtiss Grymala, the University Webmaster, attended and presented at two conferences in the past week. He started by heading out to Detroit, MI for WordCamp Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 6, where he presented a 45-minute session explaining the WordPress Multi-Network concept used on the UMW website.
After that, he traveled to Milwaukee, WI, where he attended the national HighEdWeb conference. At HighEdWeb 2012, he presented the same WordPress Multi-Network talk on Monday, Oct. 8; he helped lead a 45-minute panel discussion on using WordPress as a Web content management system with colleagues from Maryville University and Allegheny University on Tuesday, Oct. 9; and he led a three-and-a-half hour workshop teaching attendees how to develop their own WordPress plugins on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Over the past 12 months, Grymala has attended a total of 13 different conferences (two of which were online, or virtual, conferences). He presented at 11 of those events, and led a total of 15 separate presentations, workshops and organized discussions.
Jason James Publishes Book on Eastern Germany
Palgrave-Macmillan recently published “Preservation and National Belonging in Eastern Germany: Heritage Fetishism and Redeeming Germanness,” by Jason James, associate professor of anthropology. The book explores the ways in which everyday citizens grapple with a difficult past through heritage. It seeks to shed new light on the everyday politics of heritage and memory by highlighting the dynamics of longing, fantasy, fetishism, and local performance.
Chad Murphy is Featured Guest on NPR
Chad Murphy, assistant professor of political science, was a featured guest on National Public Radio during the October 6th segment “Does Early Voting Prompt Hasty Choices?”
Murphy’s op-ed “The Sooner People Vote, the Better” appeared in USA Today on Sunday, Sept. 30.
Matthew Johnson Publishes Article on History News Network
Matthew Johnson, James Farmer Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil Rights and Social Justice, published the article “Affirmative Action’s Unlikely Allies” on George Mason University’s History News Network. The History News Network publishes op-eds by prominent historians each week.
Stephen Farnsworth Reaches an International Audience
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, discusses the importance of voter registrations to the presidential election in “Obama Steps Up App War to Woo Wavering Voters.” The article appears in the Wednesday, Oct. 10 issue of The Times of London.
Farnsworth also was a featured guest on National Public Radio during the segment “Virginia Senate Candidates Square Off in Debate” on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
A Bittersweet Farewell
My name is Cathy Finn-Derecki and I have had the privilege of working at UMW for the past 12 years, most of the time in the capacity of managing our public web presence. Other opportunities beckon, and it’s time I move on to a position closer to home in Charlottesville. I leave with a full heart and enormous gratitude for what was given to me here. The people here had faith in me, guided me and followed along with me on a ride that was truly exciting, creative, at times infuriating, but never, ever boring.
UMW gave my life a new direction that I had not anticipated when I first arrived. As John Lennon says, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” No phrase defines my life at Mary Washington more succinctly than that. And the life that has happened here, for me, is far beyond any plans I could have hatched.
Thank you, UMW, for giving me a home. Keep up with my steady stream of unsolicited opinions as I move out of UMW Blogs and into my new domain, http://transparentuniversity.org. Twitter: http://twitter.com/@saracup, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cathy.finnderecki.
One parting thought: If I could change the UMW tagline in one way, it would be this: “Where great minds get to play.” When work is play, you truly have something to be grateful for.