Category: Professional Notes

Courtney Chapman Thomas, director of leadership and coordinator of strategic initiatives, recently graduated from the Leadership Fredericksburg program. Thomas was one of 28 graduates who completed the eight-month leadership program through the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The program, started in 2008, teaches participants about the businesses, issues, government, history, resources and challenges that impact the economic and community dynamics of the Fredericksburg region.

Past UMW participants include Allyson Moerman, Mary Parnell, Leah Cox, Susan Knick and Donna Mejia.

For more information about the program, visit http://www.fredericksburgchamber.org/leadership/index.htm.

Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson’s essay “Assessing NATO’s Experience in Libya” appears in the journal Aspenia. The journal is a publication of the Aspen Institute Italia.

The HUB Theatre in Fairfax, Virginia will present a staged reading of Kristen LePine’s new play, “Dire Wolves,” on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at the Greater Reston Arts Center. The reading starts at 7:30pm, admission is free, and the Center is located at 12001 Market Street, Reston, VA.

“Dire Wolves” was commissioned by the HUB Theatre, and examines how quick changes impact personal identity as six people must either adapt and evolve or face the possibility of extinction.

LePine holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing from Humboldt State University. Her works have been presented various venues, including Active Cultures, Inkwell, Pinky Swears Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts.

More information about this event can be found at www.thehubtheatre.org/performances_staged.html

More than 100 faculty and staff came together for the 17th annual Faculty Academy at UMW’s Fredericksburg campus on Wednesday, May 16 and Thursday, May 17. For the participants, Faculty Academy was an opportunity to share efforts and accomplishments in the classroom, especially in the area of teaching and learning technologies.

The program, “Under Disruption,” featured presentations and panel discussions by dozens of UMW faculty and staff members, as well as keynote speeches by David Darts, Giulia Forsythe and Grant Potter. Topics ranged from 3-D printing to digital history to technology in the classroom.

UMW’s Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies hosted the event, with sponsorship from the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning and the Department of Information Technology.

For more information about Faculty Academy, visit http://blog12.facultyacademy.org/.

Holly Schiffrin presented during a four-hour workshop at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Architects National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, May 16. The workshop, “Happiness and Architecture: Linking Design to Positive Psychology,” also featured Charles First, an architect with HEERY that has been working on the Dahlgren campus. Other co-presenters included Tim Bachman and Connie Hom of Buckingham Greenery.