Jim Groom, director of teaching and learning technologies, is featured in the November 2011 newsletter of Educause. The newsletter, “7 Things You Should Know About MOOCs,” mentions Groom’s leadership with the “Digital Storytelling” course. Read the full article.
Jeff McClurken to Moderate Civil War Program
Jeff McClurken, associate professor of history, will moderate the Years of Anguish Sesquicentennial speakers’ forum on Saturday, Nov. 12. The forum, held in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium from 1 to 5 p.m., will feature acclaimed historians Gary Gallagher and Peter Carmichael.
The Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center, the National Park Service and the University of Mary Washington are sponsoring the program, which is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the presentations in the Dodd Auditorium Foyer.
Gary Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia, will present the lecture, “Devoted to Union.”
Peter Carmichael, director of the Civil War Institute and Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies at Gettysburg College, will explore how the generation of 1861 understood the war and why they fought.
Pre-registration is not required, but is requested. Register on-line at www.famcc.org, or 540-371-3037 ext. 400.
Charles Shields Featured in Three Newspapers
Charles Shields, associate director of the Great Lives lecture series, is featured in an article in the Nov.10 issue of The Free Lance-Star. The article discusses Shields’ new biography, And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life and the upcoming book discussion in Fredericksburg on Thursday, Nov. 17. Read the full article.
A question-and-answer session with Shields is in Reuters‘ Book Talk. Shields answers questions about Kurt Vonnegut’s life and legacy. Read the full article.
The biography also is featured in an article in USA Today, calling Shields’ work “engaging and surprising.” Read the full article.
Anne Timpano’s Work Showcased in Two Exhibitions
Artwork by Anne Timpano, Director of UMW Galleries, has been chosen for inclusion in two current exhibitions, “Gendered Images: The Feminine Divine” (Sept. 8-Dec. 16, 2011) at the Doug Adams Gallery of the Bade Museum in Berkeley, CA, and “Coming Out of the Closet: Clothing Art as an Emergent Form” (Nov. 5, 2011-Feb. 26, 2012) at the Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee, FL. The latter exhibition is accompanied by an exhibition catalog, which includes images and curatorial commentary.
Timpano’s work borrows the figure of Venus from Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (ca. 1485) and reinvents it in a modern context. The works on exhibit include Venus as Paper Doll, a linocut print that explores the role of women in society, and the Consumermania Series, six individual mixed-media paper dolls that are intended as commentary on our consumer-oriented society and the ease with which consumers can be manipulated.
Curtiss Grymala Speaks at HighEdWeb Conference
Curtiss Grymala speaks to HighEdWeb about WordPress plugins
On Oct. 25, 2011, Curtiss Grymala, the University Webmaster at UMW, presented at the 2011 HighEdWeb conference in Austin, Texas. HighEdWeb is a national conference of nearly 500 Web developers, designers, content managers and marketing professionals in higher education. Grymala was invited to make a 45-minute formal presentation, in addition to a “poster session” at the conference. [Read more…]
Charles Shields’ Biography Reviewed in The New York Times
Today’s issue of The New York Times features a review of “And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life” by Charles J. Shields, associate director of the Great Lives lecture series. The full review is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/books/charles-j-shieldss-and-so-it-goes-on-vonnegut-review.html?_r=1.
Jennifer Batson Named Excellent Eagle Employee
Congratulations to Jennifer Batson, academic information specialist in admissions, who has been selected as an Excellent Eagle Employee by the Staff Advisory Council. To thank her for such a wonderful job, Jennifer will have a reserved parking spot of her choosing through Wednesday, November 30.
Here is what one of Jennifer’s co-workers said about her:
“I think that Jennifer Batson is an excellent eagle employee. She has taken on several additional duties with no complaints. She is the information person for the Stafford Campus, if you need to know about any program UMW offers, location of classes, UMW faculty communication to students, she is the security guard of communication if problems occur, emergency information person, vending machine problems, etc…she is the person to go to. If Jennifer doesn’t know the answer she finds out for you and gets back to you right away.”
To nominate someone who you believe is an Excellent Eagle Employee, just send an email to Dre Anthes (aanthes@umw.edu) with Excellent Eagle Employee in the Subject Line. In your email, be sure to include the person’s name, department, work location (with the most convenient parking lot), and of course, the reason why you believe they should be recognized. Please spread the word to other employees about this wonderful opportunity to recognize a co-worker(s).
Courtney Clayton, John Broome and Adria Hoffman to Present at Conference in British Columbia
Courtney Clayton, assistant professor in curriculum and instruction, will be presenting in a panel at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her panel presentation, “Preparing Social Justice Teachers: Rethinking Action Research Curriculum for Transformation” is part of Division K – Teaching and Teacher Education/Section 5: Preservice Teacher Education Coursework: Practices to Improve Teacher Knowledge, Understanding, and Application of Subject Matter, Content, and Pedagogical Practices.
John Broome, assistant professor in curriculum and instruction, will be presenting his paper, “From the Field: What Social Studies Teachers Say They Do in the Classroom,” as part of the Research in Social Studies Education Special Interest Group.
Adria Hoffman, director of clinical experiences and partnerships for the College of Education, will present her paper, “I Don’t Want To Sound Racist, But…:” Race, Ethnicity and Identity Construction Among Music Teacher Candidates as part of Division G – Social Context of Education.
AERA is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and evaluation and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results.
AERA is the most prominent international professional organization, with the primary goal of advancing educational research and its practical application. Its more than 25,000 members are educators; administrators; directors of research; persons working with testing or evaluation in federal, state and local agencies; counselors; evaluators; graduate students; and behavioral scientists.
The broad range of disciplines represented by the membership includes education, psychology, statistics, sociology, history, economics, philosophy, anthropology, and political science.
UMW Music Students and Professors Showcased; Mark Snyder to Perform in Richmond
Last weekend, students from the Electronic Music class at Mary Washington helped with tech at the First Annual Electroacoustic Barn Dance, a three-day festival of electronic music and art. UMW students Rebecca Brown, Paul Espino, Malcolm Moore, Paige Naylor, Joshua Roberts, Mary Thompson and Meredith Wylegala all had their works performed during the festival.
Electroacoustic Barn Dance performers at UMW
Doug Gately, senior lecturer and director of the Jazz Ensemble, and Michael Morley, orchestra manager, also performed. The festival featured composers from 32 colleges and universities across the country. Mark Snyder, director of the festival and assistant professor of music, premiered his piece Angriest Tangerine for processed double bass, electronics and video.
Snyder will perform at the eleventh annual Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival at the University of Richmond this weekend. He will perform on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. and the concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://thirdpractice.org/3p11/index.html.
Virginia Mackintosh to be Featured on Public Radio Program
Virginia Mackintosh, assistant professor of psychology, discusses her extensive work with incarcerated single mothers and their children during an interview on the “With Good Reason” public radio program. The interview originally aired in April 2011 on public radio stations across Virginia.
Her interview will be re-aired during the week of November 26 and is available online at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2011/11/behind-bars-2/.