A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Monday, November 11th from 12-12:45pm
UC Colonnade Room (314)
Open to all Students, Faculty, and Staff with light refreshments!
There are several ways that you can increase your levels of happiness in your everyday life. Learn several proven techniques to increase happiness and then practice one of the techniques during the session.
Sponsored by PCOW & the Department of Psychological Science.
Associate Director for Residence Life and Housing Hunter Rauscher with Gov. Ralph Northam.
Governor Ralph Northam announced today that the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) has awarded $675,000 of federal State Opioid Response grant funding to Virginia Commonwealth University to expand substance use recovery programs at eight universities across the state, including the University of Mary Washington. UMW received a $50,000 grant earlier this year for its Eagles in Recovery program, putting UMW among only a handful in Virginia – and relatively few across the country – to offer support services for students recovering from substance use and addiction.
With weekly meetings, support groups and a dedicated safe space called the “clubhouse,” where those in recovery can escape the pressures of college life, Eagles in Recovery has served at least 10 students since its launch in 2017. These grant funds allow administrators to maintain and expand meetings and resources, bring on other facilitators and more, said Associate Director for Residence Life and Housing Hunter Rauscher, who started the program.
“I am thrilled that UMW is getting this opportunity to work with other Virginia institutions and the DBHDS to have access to these funds in order to offer additional services to our students in recovery from substance use disorder,” said Rauscher, who met with Gov. Northam earlier this week. “These funds have the potential of having a huge impact in helping students get to graduation without having to choose between their education and their recovery.”
Cosmo Fujiyama
For our 26th Annual Women’s Leadership Colloquium @ UMW, we will encourage you to Be Your Own Hero!
Featured is a keynote presentation from dynamic speaker Cosmo Fujiyama. In a world of constant change, what will be the most important skill of the future? Learn how to put learning at the center of your growth. The daylong event also includes a variety of enriching seminars and networking opportunities.
Cosmo is a coach, non-profit strategist, and experienced facilitator. She’s a first generation Japanese American immigrant who learned from her parents that anything is possible when leading with kindness, openness, and a curiosity for learning.
The daylong event also includes a variety of enriching seminars and panel discussions. *NEW this year!* Upon check-in, all attendees will have the opportunity to sign up for 1:1 coaching sessions throughout the day with professional career coaches. A limited number of sessions will be available on a first come, first served basis.
The University of Mary Washington Stafford Campus hosts the Colloquium.
Address: 125 University Blvd, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22406
From Interstate 95, take Exit 133, Route 17 North. Travel about 3 miles north on Route 17. Turn left onto Village Parkway at traffic light. Turn right onto University Boulevard.
For more information, e-mail colloquium@umw.edu.
$199 Oct. 1 to 31
$219 Nov. 1-7
You can also register a group of five or more people from the same organization at the discounted rate of $179 per person through October 21.
We welcome and encourage students at this event. The student rate is $30.
The Rappahannock Scholars Program is a proud recipient of a $20,000 AT&T grant that will be used to fund scholarships to a new and revamped summer residential program at UMW in the summer of 2020. The program is designed to provide both enrichment in certain subject areas like science, and also provide students with a taste of what college life and classes are really like.
“Our students have a hard time understanding what life and classes are like on a college campus,” said Rappahannock Scholars Program Director Gayle Mitchell. “This gives them the opportunity to live on campus, experience the Fredericksburg community, and work side-by-side with professors, just as they would as a student here.”
Students will have the opportunity to select from a variety of courses with topics that are relevant as they approach college and career selection. Topics include digitally intensive courses, media production, chemistry and cooking, science and augmented reality, and environmentally-focused courses. They will also participate in local field trips and fun games and activities on campus as well.
Scholars are part of a four-year college admissions and financial aid training and support program focused in six high schools on the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia. A Program Counselor works monthly with high performing but underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students from 9th – 12th grades at member high schools as they prepare to apply to and attend college. Summer programs like this are a valuable tool in exposing students to college curriculum materials and real-world applications of coursework. The program hopes to support as many as 20 students in attending this summer’s program. AT&T’s contribution of $20,000 helps make Rappahannock Scholar participation possible.
The journey to adulthood is a road of peaks and valleys. All of us share the experience of what it means to grow up in an uncertain world, to search and stumble along the path, and to forge our way to a meaningful future. In a refreshingly honest, gorgeously conceived, and exceptionally innovative musical based on Alison Bechdel’s heartbreaking graphic memoir, Fun Home reminds us of the life-affirming joy that comes from facing our fears to become the person we were meant to be.
“ . . . dazzling musical . . . a wonderfully funny, mischievous account of family life and a touching memoir about growing up.”
—Financial Times
For information or questions about tickets, please contact the Klein Theatre Box Office during operating hours at 540-654-1111.
UMW students listen as Women’s and Gender Studies faculty and alums gather together to celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
Six years after graduating from the University of Mary Washington, Sam Carter ’14 still draws daily on some of the lessons she learned as an undergrad.
“Everyone has a different cultural experience,” said Carter, a Women’s and Gender Studies major who’s now a digital director for the House Budget Committee majority staff. “It’s important that we understand that.”
Carter was back on campus yesterday to celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary. Through this interdisciplinary major, students explore the intersections of gender, race, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation to gain an understanding of the breadth of human experience. Graduates use the perspectives they acquire in the classroom to inform careers in such fields as media, law, health, education and social work, and to influence and inspire future generations. Read more.
November/December 2019 Wash Post
The President’s Council on Wellness (PCOW) puts out a newsletter called the Wash Post which can be found across campus on bulletin boards and in campus bathrooms. An objective of the Wash Post is to educate all of us on wellness and encourage our students to attend campus wellness events and help them form good habits.
The November/December theme of the Wash Post is “Grattitude is Everything.” Being grateful and positive helps to improve our wellbeing emotionally and is contagious to others. Are you present in your surroundings and grateful for the little things in life? For some fun facts and ideas, check out the Wellness Website for the Wash Post, Volume 11.
Everyone is welcome to attend the PCOW’s next open meeting on Tuesday, November 12th at 8:30am in the UC Colonnade Room. President Troy Paino will be our guest speaker this month and we will be sharing updates from each of our committees. If you or your colleagues are interested in learning more or serving on the President’s Council on Wellness, please email wellness@umw.edu.
UMW’s Jazz Ensemble has joined the Fredericksburg Area Bar Association and Legal Aid Works℠ (formally Rappahannock Legal Services) to present a special concert, Jazz 4 Justice™, on November 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium. General admission tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For more information, please visit https://umwmusic.com or call (540) 654-1012.
Planned by the Office of Student Activities and Engagement, Unwind @ Mary Wash helps students de-stress before exams. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
Every semester during finals week, the Office of Student Activities and Engagement participates with other offices on campus to put together Unwind @ Mary Wash. A program that brings together free snacks, arts and crafts, and therapy dogs to help students unwind as they go through finals. This year, we are looking to expand to more departments on campus! If you are interested in participating this year, or if you have any questions, please reach out the Assistant Director of SAE, Crystal Rawls, at crawls@umw.edu.
Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman performed with the UMW Philharmonic on Saturday. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.
Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman opened University of Mary Washington Philharmonic’s 49th season with a sold-out concert on Saturday, Oct. 26. Nearly 1,300 people packed Dodd Auditorium for the show, which was part of the Philharmonic’s annual Celebrity Concert Series. Perlman was the first artist to return to campus in the series’ 15-year history.
Perlman performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Philharmonic, which was met with a standing ovation. The program also included Jonathan Bailey Holland’s The Party Starter, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Aram Khachaturian’s Three Dances from “Gayneh Ballet.” In addition, Perlman surprised concertgoers with an encore featuring his violin solos from the film Schindler’s List, written expressly for Perlman by celebrated composer John Williams. UMW Philharmonic Conductor Kevin Bartram described it as “hauntingly beautiful” and “a real treat for the audience.” Read more.