Cate Brewer, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, presented her paper “Process vs. Performance: The Work of Creating Theatre in a Results Driven Realm” at The Mid-America Theatre Conference in early March.
Steve Farnsworth Featured in D.C.-area Media
Steve Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the university’s Center for Media and Leadership Studies, published an op-ed in The Washington Post on Friday, March 2. The piece, “Virginia Belongs at the Top of the Presidential-Election Calendar,” argues that Virginia should be more integral to the presidential nomination process, since the Commonwealth more closely resembles a microcosm of the U.S.
On Monday, March 5, Farnsworth was quoted in the Associated Press article “Limbaugh Controversy Casts a Fresh Light on Conservative Media Stars’ Impact on GOP Politics.”
In the article “Romney’s Virginia Faceoff with Paul not Overwhelming” in the Tuesday, March 6 edition of The Washington Times, Farnsworth discusses Virginia’s “Super Tuesday” race.
Stephen Hanna Publishes Article about Former Slave’s Map
Dr. Stephen Hanna, professor and chair of the Geography Department at the University of Mary Washington published “Cartographic Memories of Slavery and Freedom” in Cartographica, a leading journal in the fields of cartography and geovisualization. This piece examines a map drawn by John Washington, a Fredericksburg slave who escaped bondage in April 1862 as the Union Army approached the town. As a part of Washington’s memoir, Memorys of the Past (written in 1873 but not published until 2007), this map represents the Fredericksburg Washington experienced as a slave and remembered as a free man.
Andrew Dolby to Present “Bird Song: No Idle Chatter” at Belmont
Bird Song: No Idle Chatter
Sun, March 11, 2 p.m.
Illustrated Presentation
Dr. Andrew Dolby, University of Mary Washington Biology Department Chair and Virginia Society of Ornithology President will introduce the anatomy, physiology, and ecology of bird song and will explain the modern tools that biologists are using to decipher their hidden messages. Bird song may sound like nature’s pleasant background music to our ears, but for the birds, singing is serious business. The lecture will be held at Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont and is free for members of Friends of Belmont or included with regular museum admission.
Keith Mellinger Publishes in College Mathematics Journal
Keith Mellinger
Keith Mellinger, associate professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics, together with a colleague from Kean University in N.J., recently published “The Spider and the Fly” in the College Mathematics Journal, a publication of the Mathematical Association of America.
The Spider and the Fly puzzle, originally attributed to the great puzzler Henry Ernest Dudeney, and now over 100 years old, asks for the shortest path between two points on a particular square prism. The authors explore a generalization, find that the original solution only holds in certain cases, and suggest how this discovery might be used in the classroom.
Six College of Business Faculty Presented at Conference
Six University of Mary Washington faculty members in the College of Business presented papers at the 2012 International Conference on Global Management Studies on Monday, March 5 and Tuesday, March 6 in Cambridge, Mass. The conference, held at the Harvard Faculty Club, was organized by the Association of Global Management Studies.
Faleh Alshameri, visiting assistant professor of accounting and management information systems, and Debra Hockenberry, visiting instructor of management, presented “The Map is Not the Territory: The Missing Patient in the Electronic Medical Record.” Raul Chavez-Negrete, chair of management and marketing and associate professor of leadership, presented “Leading Multinational Teams in Global Projects: A Total Quality Management (TQM) Perspective Using Quality Circles and Internal Audits.”
Wei Chen, assistant professor of management and marketing, presented “Differences in Future Time Orientation and Team Performance.” Louis Martinette, associate professor of leadership, and Mukesh Srivastava, associate dean of the College of Business and associate professor of accounting and information systems, presented “Instrument Development: Perceived Customer Value.”
Of the 72 papers submitted, 26 from nine countries – Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, Pakistan, Taiwan, Tunisia and the U.S. – were accepted for presentation.
Association of Global Management Studies (AGMS) promotes research and advances the knowledge of global management educators, researchers and practitioners. Founded in 2009 by Srivastava, it publishes two journals, the “International Journal of Global Management Studies” and the “International Journal of Global Management Studies Professional.”
For more information about the conference and the Association of Global Management Studies, visit http://www.association-gms.org.
Jay Harper to Step Down as Provost
President Richard V. Hurley sent out the following message on Thursday, March 1:
I have been notified by Dr. Jay A. Harper that he has chosen to step down as provost at UMW, effective June 24, 2012. Given this decision, I feel it is in the best interests of the University to move quickly to effect a transfer of leadership responsibility within the Academic Affairs Division of the institution. Accordingly, we will begin the formal transition of provost duties on April 2, 2012 as detailed in this message.
In his notification to me, Dr. Harper stated the following:
“For the last three years I have had the honor of leading an outstanding faculty through significant reorganization. The creation of two new professional colleges linked with the core College of Arts and Sciences is consonant with my initial mission. I believe the division of Academic Affairs is well positioned to lead the university through our decennial reaffirmation process. I am confident that we are well on our way to becoming the best public liberal arts university in the nation.”
As president, and on behalf of the Board of Visitors, I want to thank Dr. Harper for his service as provost at the University of Mary Washington. He is to be commended for his efforts in leading the academic administration of UMW at a time of great transition and for laying the foundation for the upcoming SACS reaffirmation. Please join me in offering Provost Harper our sincere thanks for his contributions to the University.
As noted above, I am moving forward now to appoint an interim provost to serve through the 2012-2013 academic year. I will engage the services of a nationally recognized interim placement firm to assist in the hiring of an experienced and highly skilled administrator for this key position.
In early April, candidates for the interim provost position will be visiting UMW. During their visits, an opportunity will be provided for interested faculty and staff to meet each candidate. I soon will provide additional information about the candidates and their visits to campus.
The final executive decision to select the interim provost will fall to me as president. It is my intention to complete this process and have the interim provost in place not later than the end of April. Associate Provost John Morello temporarily will lead the Academic Affairs Division until the interim provost arrives.
Early in the fall 2012 semester, I will appoint and charge a provost search committee, comprised primarily of faculty members, to conduct a vigorous national search for highly qualified candidates. I will consult with the University Faculty Organization Committee and the University Faculty Council (UFC) regarding the composition of the committee. A national search firm will assist the provost search committee and the search process will provide ample opportunities for input from the University community. I anticipate that the new provost will be named by the spring of 2013 and will take office not later than July 1, 2013.
I want to assure all members of the University of Mary Washington community that our forward momentum will continue through the coming months. We are fortunate to have outstanding faculty and staff who are committed to academic excellence and dedicated to the goal of providing a high quality experience for our students. I look forward to working with you as we strive to achieve even greater success in the future.
John Broome to Present Research to Commonwealth’s History Education Consortium
John P. Broome, assistant professor in curriculum & instruction and director of undergraduate secondary and preK-12 education programs in the College of Education, will present his study on the state of Virginia history and social sciences instruction to the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators (VCSSSCE) in Richmond, Va., on March 16, 2012. This organization comprises stakeholders in Virginia history and social sciences education, including social studies specialists, college educators, museum professionals, social studies education non-profit professionals and representatives from the Virginia Department of Education.
Dr. Broome serves on a national research team studying the state of social studies education in the United States. The first study of its kind, this 50-state survey-based research sampled K-12 social studies educators in America. The team’s study focuses on the impact of high-stakes standards, use of instructional time, methods of instruction and assessment and application of technology in U.S. K-12 social studies classrooms.
This summer, Dr. Broome will continue his exploratory mixed-method study by conducting focus groups with K-12 Virginia social studies educators. Dr. Broome’s research is being used to inform school-, district- and state-level policy and instructional decisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Mehdi Aminrazavi Presents at International Conference
Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of philosophy and religion, spoke on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at a symposium on philosophy of the Middle Ages at the Leibniz University of Hannover in Germany. The title of his lecture was “Soul in Later Islamic Philosophy.”
On Sunday, Feb. 26, Aminrazavi spoke at the third annual Interreligious Learning Institute in Bethesda, Md. The plenary discussion was on “Peace and Violence: Perspectives from the Sacred Texts of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.”
Nine Faculty Members Author Op-Ed in The Free Lance-Star
The commentary “College: Will it still be (a) there and (b) good? A Mary Washington Bubble?” appeared in the Thursday, March 1 edition of The Free Lance-Star in conjunction with the March 1 Day of Action Occupy Education.
UMW faculty members Craig Vasey, Ernest Ackermann, Jason Davidson, Suzanne Sumner, Leslie Martin, Denis Nissim-Sabat, Steve Watkins, Eric Bonds and Jo Tyler co-authored the piece.