A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Vice President for Advancement Katie Turcotte
Vice President for Advancement Katie Turcotte was featured in Prince William Living for being named to the Workhouse Arts Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors. Read more.
UMW President Troy D. Paino
UMW President Troy Paino wrote an op-ed, which ran in The Free Lance-Star as “Commentary: First check is no measure of a successful college education.” Paino wrote: Earlier this month, the University of Mary Washington welcomed back over 1,300 alumni during reunion weekend. It was a huge event—our largest reunion to date, and three times the typical size since we haven’t held the annual tradition since 2019. Our alumni came from as far away as France and Hong Kong to be here for this joyous occasion, and each one has a Mary Washington story. Read more.
Al-Tikriti, far right, joins the panel
Professor of Middle East History Nabil Al-Tikriti presented a paper entitled “All My Children – Assessing the Ego Documents of Bayezid II’s (d. 1512) Family” on Wednesday, June 15. Following a brief statement in Turkish, Prof. Al-Tikriti continued in English, surveying the available “Ego-Documents” covering the family of the Ottoman Empire’s 8th ruler, Bayezid II. This presentation was offered as part of the “Ottoman Ego Documents/Ben-Anlatıları” Symposium hosted by a number of public and private Turkish institutions, including Istanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi, TÜBİTAK, İSTEV, Eyüpsultan Municipality and Tuzla Municipality. The conference, which took place on June 15 to 17, after twice being postponed due to the recent pandemic, was held in a hybrid format and included a number of scholars presenting remotely from Europe, as well as an in-person keynote address by Harvard University’s Cemal Kafadar.
In the course of his presentation, Prof. Al-Tikriti advocated for use of the term “family corpus” of ego-documents, while clarifying that such documents are specific forms of “life writing,” as nearly all surviving 16th-century Ottoman documents are in effect public statements, as opposed to private musings.
The symposium website includes further information, and the complete symposium program. Prof. Al-Tikriti would like to especially thank the UMW Finance Department for facilitating such conference travel right before the end of the current fiscal year.
Department of Music Senior Lecturer Doug Gately
Department of Music Senior Lecturer Doug Gately performed in the musical Nunsense starring Sally Struthers, June 3 to 12, at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Stafford, Virginia. Alto sax, clarinet and flute were the required instruments.
As an artist/clinician, Gately also adjudicated and rated band performances for Music in the Parks/Busch Gardens on June 3 and for Kings Dominion on May 13, 14 and 20. During this spring semester, Doug was also selected to adjudicate bands on Feb. 26 at the George Mason Jazz Festival, along with Jim Carroll in Jazz Studies at George Mason and Shenandoah University Director of Jazz Studies Matthew Niess.
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson penned an article in The National Interest entitled “European Strategic Autonomy Is Dead. The war has increased the stakes and made apparent the risk involved in forming an alternative to NATO.” Davidson wrote: “On the eve of NATO’s Madrid Summit, one fact of European security has become increasingly clear: NATO is the only feasible guarantor of the security of European states and, thus, the European Union’s (EU) objective of achieving strategic autonomy is unlikely to become a reality anytime soon.” Read more.
Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth
Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth spoke to The Washington Post for an article entitled “Virginia voters to pick GOP nominees in races that will shape midterms.” In the competitive six-way 7th District race, three candidates have broken out as top contenders who each represent an opportunity for Republicans, Farnsworth told the Post. Read more.
Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker
Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker caught some media attention centered around the naming celebration to recognize the University Center’s new name – the Cedric Rucker University Center – upon Rucker’s retirement next week. During his decades-long career, Rucker’s big personality, strong standards and compassionate demeanor have led him to leave a bit of a legacy on campus. Read more:
Trailblazing Dean to Be Honored at the University of Mary Washington (NBC 4)
Walking around the campus of the University of Mary Washington with Cedric Rucker is like walking around with a celebrity.
University of Mary Washington renames campus hub to honor trailblazing dean (The Free Lance-Star)
University of Mary Washington renames campus hub to honor trailblazing dean (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
Watch Now: UMW University Center renamed in honor of ’81 grad (Roanoke Times)
A 1981 University of Mary Washington graduate who never ventured far from his alma mater was honored Sunday morning during a ceremony in which the school’s bustling University Center was renamed in his honor.
From humble beginnings in Richmond to a stellar career–and a university building named in his honor (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
The grand, four-story hub of student activity at the University of Mary Washington has a new name: the Cedric Rucker University Center.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics Randall Reif
Associate Professor of Chemistry Randall Reif spoke on the With Good Reason radio show about his research on the potential of over the counter heartburn drugs in revolutionizing the way we treat certain cancers. Listen to: “Can Heartburn Drugs Fight Cancer?” The segment also aired on radio station WHRV.
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson talked with Voice of America News for the feature, “Ukraine Faces Challenges as Russian Forces Advance.” “At this moment what we are really seeing is primarily an artillery war, particularly from the perspective of Ukraine,” Davidson said. “What Ukraine can do…is mostly artillery as a means to counter the Russians.” Hear more.