Please stop by the University Relations Office on Wednesday, June 25 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Eagle Village Executive Offices, Suite 300, for a farewell reception for Brynn Boyer. A 2010 alumna, Brynn has adeptly served as assistant director of Media and Public Relations for the past three years. She will take on a new role in the communications office at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. We wish her the best of luck in her new venture.
News from Human Resources
Meet our New Employees
Please join us in extending a warm UMW welcome to our newest employees:
Melissa Jones joined the Student Affairs Department as an Assistant Dean for Student Involvement on June 10.
Carl King joined the James Monroe Museum as a Docent/Museum Guide on June 3.
Dorian Lemasters joined the Advancement Department as a Campaign Stewardship and Donor Relations Assistant on June 10.
Service Awards
Congratulations to our service award recipients for the month of June. Please click the link below for the list.
http://adminfinance.umw.edu/hr/employee-relations/worklife/whats-new-2/
Employee Discounts
Find information on discounts you receive as a state employee: http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeediscounts.html
#1 F.A.N Program
Have you received Fantastic service from a fellow employee? Make sure you fill out a #1 Fan form for him/ her so that they can choose a UMW spirit ware gift as a token of appreciation.
Faculty/Staff Mixer, June 27
The next UMW Employee Mixer will be Friday, June 27, 5-7 p.m. at Home Team Grill. We have reserved the bar and outside overflow area for this event. The happy hour special is half-price draft beers, half-price shelf liquor, and half-price wine from 5-6 p.m.
Seacobeck Lunch Service Changes
As part of our New Student Orientation program, Campus Dining will serve lunch in both the Washington Diner and the Smart Market on Thursday, June 19 and Monday through Thursday of next week (June 23 – 26). We hope you will enjoy the additional menu options that will be available due to this change. Our lunch serving times will remain 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please check the Campus Dining web site (www.umwdining.com) periodically for updates on our serving times and locations, or call Rose Benedict at 540-654-2169 if you have questions.
UMW Philharmonic Launches New Children’s Concert Series
The University of Mary Washington Philharmonic Orchestra is launching a new major concert series for children, the “Fiddlestix Summer Concert Series.” The series will bring world-class children’s entertainment to Fredericksburg each summer as a part of Fiddlestix, the Philharmonic’s outreach program dedicated to enriching the musical lives and education of children.
The Fiddlestix Summer Concert Series will kick off with a performance by the Laurie Berkner Band.
The series will kick off on Saturday, August 9 in the William M. Anderson Center with a performance by the Laurie Berkner Band. The Laurie Berkner Band has become one of the leading groups in the world of children’s entertainment. Tickets for the Laurie Berkner Band concert will go on sale at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 26 at philharmonic.umw.edu.
“With young children of my own, I have been frustrated with having to travel long distances for great kid’s entertainment,” said Kevin Bartram, director of the Philharmonic. “Since the Philharmonic has experience with concert production with our annual Celebrity Series, we wanted to offer similar opportunities for area children and their families.”
Critics widely acknowledge the band’s major contribution toward launching what is now dubbed the progressive “kiddie rock” movement. Laurie Berkner was the first recording artist ever to perform in music videos on Nick Jr., and appeared regularly on the network’s series “Jack’s Big Music Show.” Her latest television project is a new short-form animated musical preschool series, “Sing It, Laurie!” which debuted in the spring of 2103 on 24-hour preschool television channel, Sprout. “Sing It, Laurie!” stars Berkner’s voice and features her original music written for the series.
The series will continue in the summer of 2015 with concerts by Nickelodeon’s The Fresh Beat Band and Disney’s Imagination Movers, as well as events for older children from middle school through high school.
The UMW Philharmonic is partnering with Fredericksburg Parent & Family Magazine to promote the series. The concert promoters are currently seeking corporate sponsors as well as dedicated volunteers who are able to assist with production.
The UMW Philharmonic, conducted by Dr. Kevin Bartram, is comprised of both UMW students as well as talented community musicians. The group achieved national acclaim in 2009 with the American Prize, an award given to the top nine collegiate orchestras in the nation. In 2012, the group was featured on a national PBS fundraising show, “A Fiddler’s Holiday.”
For more information about the Fiddlestix Summer Concert Series, contact (540) 654-1324 or email philharmonic@umw.edu.
Historic Preservation Alumna Named Museum Director
The Board of Directors of the Washington Heritage Museums (WHM) is pleased to announce that Anne Darron will become the first Executive Director of the organization effective July 15, 2014. Darron brings 16 years of experience in working with local non-profits including Boy Scouts of America and Washington Heritage Museums. Having served in leadership capacities over the years she brings a wealth of knowledge on working with volunteers and experience in the fields of fundraising, marketing and event planning.
A graduate of the University of Mary Washington with a BA in historic preservation, Darron focused on primary record research for historic structures. She has served WHM in several positions as Manager of the Mary Washington House, Administrative Assistant to the local branch of Preservation Virginia and more recently as the Administrator for Washington Heritage Museums.
The Washington Heritage Museums formed in 2013 was formerly known as the Mary Washington Branch APVA (Preservation Virginia). Its mission is to preserve, promote and maintain the four 18th century properties in Fredericksburg and develop dynamic educational resources and programs to engage and inspire the interests of everyone. The sites include the Mary Washington House, the Rising Sun Tavern, the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop and the St. James’ House.
Darron will lead the staff and volunteers in support of the organization’s annual programs including County Fair, Our Living Legacies, History Camp, Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the Mary Washington House, free school tours for area fourth grade classes, and other regularly scheduled programs. In 2015 there will be a special event to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the saving of the Mary Washington House.
Gail Braxton who has been the volunteer leader for the Mary Washington Branch Preservation Virginia and the Washington Heritage Museums for over 30 years said she is “thrilled to have Anne Darron take on the responsibilities of promoting and protecting these sites for the community and nation.” Braxton will continue with the organization as a member of the Board of Directors and as a volunteer.
For more information on Washington Heritage Museums, please contact them at 540-373-1569, or visit them at www.WashingtonHeritageMuseums.org.
Press Release courtesy of the Washington Heritage Museum.
Staff Advisory Council Updates
Next Meeting:
The Staff Advisory Council will meet on Thursday, June 19 in Eagle Village, Suite 480 Conference Room to hear from Director Pamela McCullough on the new bachelor of science in nursing completion program, which is slated to begin this fall. All S.A.C. meetings are open to the UMW community. Please join us!
Faculty/Staff Mixer:
The next UMW Employee Mixer will be Friday, June 27, 5-7 p.m. at Home Team Grill. We have reserved the bar and outside overflow area for this event. The happy hour special is half-price draft beers, half-price shelf liquor, and half-price wine from 5-6 p.m.
Latin Alumni Win Awards
Donna Dollings ’80 and Mark Keith ’87, who majored in Latin at the University of Mary Washington, were both recipients of prestigious awards for their teaching last year.
Donna Dollings ’80 (right) holds her award.
Dollings received the Angela Lloyd Book Award from the Classical Association of Virginia. The
Mark Keith ’87 won two awards for his teaching.
James River High School teacher won the award for dedication to her students. Here is what her nominator said about her, “Her genuine compassion is obvious and she quickly puts all at ease. I have known her to tutor with great success students that others have given up on.”
Keith received the 2013 Foreign Language Association of Virginia David Cox Award for Excellence in Foreign Language Teaching for his demonstrated excellence in foreign language instruction and the 2014 Jane Harriman Hall Award for Outstanding Service to the Classical Association of Virginia.
Student Abstract Accepted for Pi Mu Epsilon National Council
Senior mathematics student Kimberly Hildebrand’s abstract titled Using Independent Bernoulli Random Variables to Model Gender Hiring Practices has been accepted for presentation at the 2014 National Pi Mu Epsilon Conference from August 6 to 8 in Portland, Ore.
Here is the abstract:
Gender bias is a problem in the workforce at large. In order for society to progress it is important that hiring practices do not use gender as a competitive factor. Hiring practices based on gender can be represented statistically using Bernoulli Random Variables and the Beta and Binomial Distributions. Using the moment generating function (MGF) of the Bernoulli and Binomial Distributions, it is possible to calculate the expected value (mean) and variance for the number of women hires for n positions. The probability generating function (PGF) of a sample size n can be used to find the probability of hiring a specific number of women (X). A computer program was used to run trials to simulate different male/female distributions using recent data on the proportion of women earning a PhD in a variety of disciplines. The simulations were used to represent hiring results for seven faculty positions. Situations where the female proportion is centered at 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 were studied. Trials that included random proportions of women for each position were run as well. Results revealed that it is actually unusual for employers to hire one or fewer women for seven positions, which could provide evidence of gender bias.
Summer Fire System Testing
Convergint Systems will begin summer testing of all fire alarm systems between Tuesday, June 17 and Monday, July 28. Testing will occur during daylight hours. If you know of events occurring during this time period, please contact the Office of Emergency Management and Safety as soon as possible. The testing schedule can be altered so that it will not interfere with scheduled events. Our office already is aware of the Orientation schedule, which will not be affected. Questions or concerns may be directed to Fire Safety Officer Briant Atkins at batkins@umw.edu or 654-2108, or Emergency Management and Safety Director Ruth Lovelace at rlovelace@umw.edu or 654-2096.