July 4, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Brian Baker Speaks at IEDC Annual Conference

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Brian Baker, Executive Director for Entrepreneurship at the University of Mary Washington presented at the International Economic Development Council Annual Conference in Houston, Texas on October 1.  His topic covered approaches for business assistance employed at the UMW Office of Entrepreneurship.  Following the presentation, Baker led a discussion titled “Empowering Entrepreneurs.”  The group discussion enabled colleagues in economic development to explore best practices on approaches to encouraging innovation, small company incubation, support services for business owners, and financing.

The UMW Office of Entrepreneurship is a division of the Center for Economic Development and hosts the UMW Small Business Development Center, the EagleWorks Accelerator and Innovation Program, the Engagement Council, and the Virginia Business Incubation Association.

Stephen Farnsworth & Students Appear on C-SPAN

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UMW political science students pose in front of the U.S. Capitol building.

Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, took a group of political science students to Washington, D.C., on Monday, Oct. 22. During the trip, the students met with recent UMW graduates about making the transition from college to work and met with Brian Lamb and Steve Scully of C-SPAN.

The students were able to ask questions about the debates and the election from a variety of panelists live on C-SPAN on Monday afternoon. Farnsworth provided commentary and analysis, along with professors from other universities.

Keith Mellinger Publishes Research Article

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Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics Keith Mellinger recently had his article “The de Bruijn–Erdős theorem for hypergraphs” published in the journal Designs, Codes and Cryptography.  The article was co-authored with mathematicians from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of California in San Diego, and Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Stephen Farnsworth Presents in Finland

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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

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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.