The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Jim Groom, director of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies, one of 12 “tech innovators who are transforming campuses.” Along with the distinction, Groom is featured in the Sunday, Feb. 26 issue. The article “Self-Described ‘EduPunk’ Says Colleges Should Abandon Course-Management Systems” explores Groom’s involvement with UMW’s digital-storytelling course and his ideas on learning management systems.
Claudia Emerson Releases New Poetry Collection
Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry Claudia Emerson’s new book “Secure the Shadow” is now available. Her book, published by Louisiana State University Press, is a collection of poetry.
Daringly realistic and artfully mediated by past and present, Claudia Emerson’s Secure the Shadow contains historical pieces as well as poems centering on the deaths of the poet’s brother and father. Emerson covers all aspects of the tragedies that, as Keats believed, contribute to our human collective of Soul-making, in which each death accrues into an immortal web of ongoing love and meaning for the living. Emerson’s unwavering gaze shows that loss cannot be eluded, but can be embraced in elegies as devastating as they are beautiful.
UMW Speaking Center Director Publishes Book
UMW Speaking Center Director Esther Yook co-edited a book on communication centers in higher education, published by Lexington Books. “Communication Centers and Oral Communication Programs in Higher Education” is a collection that examines the centers that support communication departments or across-the-curriculum programs as higher education focuses more attention on the communication field. The text addresses theoretical issues covering topics such as the importance of communication centers to higher education, and the effects of communication centers on retention, critical thinking in the center and ethics.
Mark Thaden Presents at Conferences
Mark Thaden, director of alumni relations, presented at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III conference in Atlanta from Feb. 19 to 22. Thaden’s talk focused on small shop alumni relations.
On Monday, March 26, he will present “Cost Effective Strategies for Reaching out to Alumni: Alumni Relations on a Shoe String” at the Institute of International Education’s Finnish Higher Education Experts USA Study Tour in Washington, D.C.
Jeopardy Question References Charles Shields’ Book
In an episode of the television program “Jeopardy” that aired on Friday, Feb. 24, the final question referenced Charles J. Shields’ biography “And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life.” Shields is associate director of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series.
The question, in the category of literary biographies, was:
“Quoting a famous line of his, a 2011 biography of this man was titled ‘And So It Goes’.”
Steve Farnsworth Featured in The Washington Post
Steve Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is featured in the Thursday, Feb. 23 issue of The Washington Post. In the article “McDonnell, Virginia Republicans Back Off Mandatory Invasive Ultrasounds,” Farnsworth comments on Gov. McDonnell’s decision to remove support from a bill.
Farnsworth discusses a similar topic in an interview on WAMU 88.5’s “The Kojo Nnamdi Show.” The Thursday, Feb. 23 segment, “Reversal in Virginia,” discusses the implications for Gov. McDonnell.
On Monday, Feb. 27, Farnsworth appeared on TBD NewsChannel 8’s program “News Talk with Bruce DePuyt.”
Emile Lester Gives Opinion in Fredericksburg Newspaper
Assistant Professor of Political Science Emile Lester’s op-ed “Mormonism and the Presidency: Don’t Worry” appeared in The Free Lance-Star on Sunday, Feb. 12. Lester argues that Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith need not be a point of contention for potential voters.
Lester presented on panels at a Renaissance Weekend in Santa Monica, Calif., from Feb. 16 to 20. Renaissance Weekends are private, invitation-only gatherings of innovative leaders, and their families, from diverse fields. Participants are selected on the basis of their professional experience, personal profiles and likely contributions to the program’s breadth and depth.
Charles Shields to Speak at Conferences
Charles J. Shields
Charles J. Shields, associate director of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series, will speak at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine, Texas. The conference will take place from July 20 to 22.
On Saturday, Feb. 25, Shields will speak to the Baltimore Science Fiction Society about Kurt Vonnegut, American author of a number of fantasy novels.
Eric Gable to Lecture on Jefferson at Sweet Briar
Eric Gable, professor of anthropology, will present the lecture “Jefferson’s Ardor: Sex, Race, and the Invention of Cultural Relativism” at Sweet Briar College on Thursday, March 1. While at Sweet Briar, Gable will attend classes and meet with anthropology and archaeology students.
According to an article in the New Era Progress (Amherst, Va.), “the lecture will explore Jefferson’s ideas about race and culture, and how these relate to American ideals of egalitarianism and present forms of inequality.”
George Meadows and Tim Owens’ Work Featured in Campus Technology
George Meadows, associate professor in the College of Education, and Tim Owens in the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies were featured in Campus Technology for their work with 3D printing in an article titled “Making Stuff: 3D Printing on Campus.” Meadows and Owens are in the process of exploring the technology and documenting the process at UMW Blogs in preparation to integrate the device as a curriculum component to a freshman seminar course in the fall. 3D printing technology allows students to build 3-dimensional models on a computer using free and easy-to-use software and then “print” them by extruding plastic in layers to create an object.