Category: Professional Notes

Torre Meringolo, vice president for advancement and university relations, announced that Anna Billingsley has been named associate vice president for university relations.

An administrator at UMW since 2004, Anna Billingsley previously oversaw the university’s editorial and design staff and edited University of Mary Washington Magazine. Since July 2011, she served as interim AVP during which time she successfully guided the university’s launch of its new branding campaign.  Prior to her arrival at Mary Washington, Billingsley was editor of the University of Richmond alumni magazine. She also  taught journalism at Mary Washington and Richmond. She previously held positions as a reporter and editor at several Virginia newspapers, including The Ledger-Star in Norfolk, the Richmond News Leader and Richmond Times -Dispatch, and The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg. She also worked for the Associated Press.

Billingsley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from American University.

Steve Watkins, professor of English, is a recipient of a 2011-2012 Artist Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

The Virginia Commission of the Arts awards fellowships annually to artists residing in Virginia in recognition of creative excellence and to support their pursuit of artistic excellence. Watkins is one of four Virginia artists honored in the field of fiction. Each artist will receive a fellowship of $5,000.

For more information about the fellowship or the VCA, read the Dec. 19 press release.

On December 15, Associate Professor of Middle East History Nabil Al-Tikriti participated in a panel discussion about the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq.  The discussion was hosted by the Voice of Russia radio program, and the other participants included Mohammed Ahmed, Executive Director of the Ahmed Foundation for Kurdish Studies and Phebe Marr, historian and author of The Modern History of Iraq.  The two-part program can be accessed here.

Emile Lester, assistant professor of political science, has an article in the December issue of Kappan. In the article, “Teaching for Religious Tolerance in Modesto: Just Enough, But Not Too Much,” Lester argues that the Modesto school district’s required world religions course should be a model for schools across the country.

In addition, Lester’s research on religion in public schools is the focus of the article “Teaching Religious Literacy in California’s Bible Belt” in a recent issue of Miller-McCune.

Mary Beth Mathews, associate professor of religion, wrote an op-ed that appeared in the Friday, Dec. 9 issue of The Free Lance-Star. The article, “U.S. Voters Do Care What Candidates Believe,” argues that American voters are interested in political candidates’ religious beliefs and practices.