Save the date: June 25, 2015! Your S.A.C. will be hosting an end of orientation (almost) mixer from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Home Team Grill in Eagle Village. Plan to take a few minutes and visit with fellow staff and faculty with happy hour prices until 6 p.m. for drinks and some appetizers.
Students Raise Money for Memorial Endowment
The University of Mary Washington community recently came together to raise more than $30,000 to create an endowment in honor of Robert Ericson, a student who passed away in 2014.
“This [endowment] serves the purpose of helping a student who loves to study what Bob studied, but it also acts as an eternal memorial in his name at UMW,” states the donation website. “With the advent of this [endowment], Bob’s name, and everything that he stood for as an upstanding role model in the community, [will] be remembered forever.”
The endowment, which was started by The One Note Stand, a student a cappella group at UMW, and Bob’s parents, will be distributed beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year. Details are still being developed.
“We felt that he deserved this type of memorial at UMW. We knew that people cared enough to make it happen, too,” said student and The One Note Stand member Ian Spangler. “It seemed logical and right that his legacy as a compassionate, genuine man would continue for years to come, especially since it would come in the form of money for future students.”
Ericson was a member of The One Note Stand, captain of the Crew Team and an active member of the Student Government Association.
“Each person within One Note contributed a great amount of time and care, and it never would have happened without their constant dedication,” said Spangler. “It was also largely a community effort. Organizations and individuals across campus were eager to support the cause, and once the memorial fund picked up some momentum, the donations simply soared in; Crew, UMW Performing Arts Club, Association of Residence Halls, Class Council, Student Senate, and many more contributed.”
The memorial fund is still accepting donations on a rolling basis. To donate or find out more about Bob’s story, visit the Robert Ericson Memorial Fund website.
News from HR
New State Discounts
New state discounts including Kings Dominion, Cirque Du Soleil (Virginia Beach) and more. Please visit the Virginia Department of Human Resources Management for details.
Premium Rewards Information for COVA Care or COVA Healthaware Health Insurance
For more information on premium rewards please see the flier: Earning Premium Rewards
Individual Counseling Sessions for Deferred Compensation, Cash Match Plan and/or VRS Hybrid – Defined Contribution Component on June 11
Don’t Forget to schedule an appointment for your 457 Deferred Compensation and 401 Cash Match Plan. Our representative is offering individual counseling sessions on June 11, Sept. 14 and Dec. 1 in GW 106. Also, any VRS Hybrid retirement participant may also set up an individual counseling session for their Defined Contribution component or to discuss voluntary contributions. See “What’s New” for event registration.
UMW Names Vice President for Student Affairs
Juliette Landphair, dean of Westhampton College and associate dean in the School of Arts and Sciences for the University of Richmond, has been named vice president for student affairs at the University of Mary Washington.
Landphair will be responsible for the planning and direction of all of UMW’s student engagement programs in the offices of student activities, residential life, health and counseling services and athletics; and will administer the university’s student-run honor system. She will begin work Aug. 10.
“I am delighted that Dr. Landphair will be joining the UMW administration,” said President Richard V. Hurley. “She brings a wealth of very relevant experience at a critical time in the history of the institution.”
Landphair replaces Douglas N. Searcy, who will become the 12th president of Barton College in Wilson, N.C.
Landphair has been affiliated with the University of Richmond since 1999. In her current position, she leads the Westhampton College dean’s office in serving 1,600 undergraduate female students. She oversees the administration of new student orientation, residence life and the Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL) program. In addition, she administers academic policy for arts and sciences majors; works with faculty, staff, parents and students to respond to students in crisis; and oversees the dean’s office crisis and threat management systems, among other duties. Previously, Landphair served as interim and assistant director for the WILL program.
Among her initiatives at the University of Richmond, Landphair led institution-wide retention efforts, chaired the Westhampton College strategic planning process, co-wrote the University’s sexual misconduct policy and led the creation and implementation of the University’s women and philanthropy initiative.
A recipient of the Influential Woman of Virginia Award presented by Virginia Lawyers Media, Landphair also received the Bob E. Leach Award for Outstanding Service to Students presented by the NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. A frequent presenter at academic conferences, she has written numerous articles for academic journals and newspaper opinion pieces. She is a book reviewer for the Journal of American History, a peer reviewer of The Journal of Southern History and panel proposal reviewer for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
She holds a master’s degree and doctorate in history from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in history and French from Tulane University.
UMW and Germanna Partner for Business Transfer Agreement
The University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College established a new direct transfer agreement for business administration on Tuesday, June 2.
The agreement will allow the transfer of credits by students with the Associate of Arts and Sciences degree in Business Administration at Germanna into the Bachelor of Science degree program in Business Administration at UMW, should they complete the five designated courses and meet the GPA requirements. The agreement also allows the transfer of credits by students with General Studies and Liberal Arts degrees at Germanna as long as the specified required courses are completed before the application is submitted.
The agreement was introduced following the creation of a B.S. in Business Administration degree offered at night by UMW’s College of Business. The partnership eases the transfer process and promotes coordination of academic courses, programs and degrees offered by both institutions.
“We expect that this will be an attractive option to traditional and non-traditional students,” said Lynne Richardson, dean of UMW’s College of Business. “Starting in Fall 2015, UMW’s College of Business will offer seven required courses and electives in each of the fall and spring semesters so students can get a B.S. in Administration by taking classes at night.”
This is the second partnership signed by UMW and Germanna within this year as the two institutions partnered with Mary Washington Healthcare for nursing education in August.
UMW already participates in co-enrollment and direct transfer agreements with Germanna that permit concurrent enrollment and automatic transfer for eligible students. The University also has a guaranteed-admission agreement with Virginia’s two-year colleges, including 23 branches of the Virginia Community College System and Richard Bland College. Students who graduate with an associate’s degree in arts, sciences, or arts and sciences and meet a minimum GPA requirement may obtain guaranteed admission to the University.
For more information about the agreements, contact the UMW Office of Admissions at (540) 654-2000 or Germanna’s Counseling Center at (540) 891-3021.
UMW Named Virginia’s Hidden Gem
The University of Mary Washington has been named as the top ‘hidden gem’ college in the state of Virginia by College Raptor.
College Raptor aims to help students find their best fit colleges, academically, culturally and financially. The platform named the top hidden gem college in each state to bring attention to small colleges around the country.
To determine the top college, College Raptor looked at every four-year college in the United States and found the highest ranked colleges based on factors like selectivity, graduation rate, average debt upon graduation and other factors. Colleges included in the search included those that receive fewer than 5,000 applications per year, but have an enrollment of more than 1,000 students.
College Raptor included a profile of UMW on its website detailing admissions, cost, academics, majors, campus life, safety and rankings. The full profile is available here.
Other regional colleges named to the list include St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Davidson College in North Carolina.
A full list of College Raptor’s hidden gem colleges in the United States is available online.
Melissa Jones Named Excellent Eagle Employee for June
Staff Advisory Council is pleased to recognize Melissa Jones as the Excellent Eagle Employee for June. The award for this honor is a designated parking space for the month.
In nominating Melissa, her champion wrote:
[Melissa] is the Assistant Dean of Student Involvement and I believe she’s brought nothing but great things to our campus since she was hired. She’s brought fresh ideas and a great attitude to anyone she’s come in contact with. She has taken on the leadership of three departments since her arrival: the James Farmer Multicultural Center, the Fitness/Wellness Center and the Office of Student Activities and Engagement. She has also been bestowed with the great responsibility of running the New Student Experience/Orientation, as well as advising the Student Finance Committee, and overseeing the construction and planning of our new University Center. There are countless other responsibilities on her plate, I’m sure, but her excellence has been shining through in these particular areas. I really admire her, her work ethic, and her spark.
Congratulate Melissa when you see her, and remember to send nominations for Excellent Eagle Employee to Excellent Eagle Employee nomination.
Golf Cart Driver Frank Powell Retires from UMW
Mary Washington students knew him affectionately as the “golf cart man,” the friendly gentleman who drove around campus in a golf cart greeting students while keeping the campus clean.
Frank Powell retired on Friday, May 15, after more than a decade on UMW’s grounds crew. According to Powell, when he first started in September of 2004, he was assigned to drive around campus in the golf cart to clean up the cigarette butts that littered campus walkways. The variety of trash collected expanded and changed over the years.
“Students always came up to me and thanked me,” said Powell. “They told me how much better I made the campus look.”
Although he is no longer present on campus, Powell says he will always remember his time at UMW. “All the grounds crew were so nice to me,” said Powell. And he certainly won’t forget the students.
“I felt like I was one of them,” he said. Driving around campus and saying hello to students made Powell feel not only younger but also proud. “I felt like I was doing something worthwhile, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was just an awesome time.”
Warm congratulations, Frank, from a less tidy campus that is missing a faithful friend!
Gari Melchers Receives Trip Advisor Award
Gari Melchers Home & Studio today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. Now in its fifth year, the award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. Certificate of Excellence winners include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a superior customer experience.
When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of reviews and opinions submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period as well as business’s tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.
“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at Gari Melchers Home & Studio and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” said Director David Berreth “There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our museum and our continued commitment to excellence.”
“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional hospitality businesses that have received consistent praise and recognition by travelers on the site,” said Marc Charron President, TripAdvisor for Business. “By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive increasing hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition.”
Identity Theft Seminar, May 27
BB&T will be presenting a seminar on Identity Theft on Wednesday, May 27 in Lee Hall, Room 412 at 3 p.m.