Congratulations to those employees who have reached milestone years! Check out the list of February Service Award Recipients
February Wellness Updates
Check out the Wellness team’s February events and classes!
Click this image to view the spring Group Fitness Schedule.
February 2014 Wellness Events
Mindful Eating
Wednesday, Feb. 12, Lee Hall 412, 1 – 2 p.m.
Presenter: Dr. Nicole Surething
Learn how to incorporate Mindfulness into your everyday eating habits. This workshop will: Introduce the topic of mindful eating, ways of reducing emotional eating, and how to take pleasure in the food that is nourishing you!
Mindfulness and the Brain
Wednesday, Feb. 19, Lee Hall 411,7 – 8:15 p.m.
Presenter: Dr. Christopher Lillis
Mindfulness and meditation are practices that have been a part of human society for centuries, but only in the last few decades have we begun to understand the science of mindfulness. Mindfulness has a direct impact on our physiology and neural plasticity that is measurable with modern day medical science. We continue to learn about the benefits of mindfulness in clinical outcomes, with a wide variety of beneficial health effects. This talk will explore the science of meditation and the brain.
Take 10 for You
Monday, Feb. 24, Lee Hall 412, 10 a.m.
Just 10 minutes each day can make a difference in your health. Come get practical tips to maximize the time you have to lower stress, reduce clutter, and improve your health. Everyone who attends will receive an incentive.
Check out this week’s fit tip video and be sure to like us on Facebook at UMW Campus Rec.
Employee Mixer at Home Team Grill
The Staff Advisory Council invites you to join your University of Mary Washington colleagues for a faculty and staff mixer on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Home Team Grill! Enjoy half-price wings until 8 p.m. and half-price cocktails, beer and wine until 6 p.m.
UMW Basketball – Last Two Home Games & Bookstore Sale
UMW BASKETBALL vs. SALISBURY – Feb. 8, 2014 – 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Come out to the Anderson Center this Saturday! The Women’s game tips off at 1 p.m. and the Men’s game tips off at 3 p.m. Wear white and help Eagle Nation “white wash” the bleachers! Don’t own a white UMW T-shirt? The UMW Bookstore is teaming up with Athletics and offering 15% off WHITE UMW apparel items Thursday, Feb. 6 – Saturday, Feb. 8! Offer good for in-store purchases.
Women’s hoops is coming off a huge win over 3rd place Marymount and will look to continue that success against 4th place Salisbury! As the team approaches the CAC Playoffs, each game has HUGE playoff implications! The Men’s team will again be fighting to stay on top of the CAC and improve their 10-1 Conference record!
Join Eagle Nation, get rowdy and lead the crowd once again in the most electrifying atmosphere on campus!
UMW BASKETBALL vs. WESLEY – Feb. 15, 2014 – 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Don’t miss Senior Night on February 15! There is a little bit of a switch, with the Men’s game tipping off at 1 p.m. and the Women’s game starting at 3 p.m. Not only will we honor the great contributions of the senior student-athletes but our teams will be helping two very significant and worth-while causes!
Wear Red to the Men’s game at 1 p.m. as we show our heart and support the American Heart Association – and prepare for HeartChase @ UMW on March 15. Learn more about HeartChase here! Don’t own a red UMW T-shirt? The UMW Bookstore is teaming up with Athletics and offering 15% off RED UMW apparel items Thursday, Feb. 13 – Saturday, Feb. 15! Offer good for in-store purchases.
Then, change into Pink for the Women’s game at 3 p.m.! Coach Applebury and the team “Play 4 Kay” on Senior Night to “raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.” Learn more about Play 4 Kay here! Don’t own a pink UMW Tshirt? The UMW Bookstore is teaming up with Athletics and offering 15% off PINK UMW apparel items Thursday, Feb. 13 – Saturday, Feb. 15! Offer good for in-store purchases.
HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE GAME! GO EAGLES!
Local High Schools Participate in UMW Workshop
The Speaking Center and the Office of Admissions co-sponsored the Public Speaking and Advocacy Workshop Feb. 1, 2014. The workshop included instruction on effective speaking, delivery skills, handling communication apprehension, and advocacy, given by Anand Rao and Tim O’Donnell. Students gave a three to five minute speech that they prepared in advance, and also participated in a town hall debate. Speaking center consultants observed those speeches and debates and provided feedback to the students. A total of 20 students participated, including students from Colonial Forge High School, Mountain View High School, Stafford High School, Spotsylvania High School, Riverbend High School, and the Fredericksburg home school speech and debate club. You can find more information about the workshop at: http://academics.umw.edu/speaking/speaking-intensive-program/public-speaking-advocacy-workshop-feb-1-2014/
UMW Awarded $18,000 Grant for Japanese Studies
On Jan. 29 the UMW Leidecker Center for Asian Studies was awarded a one-year $18,000 grant from the Japan Foundation for Japanese studies at the University. In 2014 it will fund a course in Japanese literature, nine visiting presentations, and $5,000 in books and films for the libraries. The presentations will include lectures on Japanese politics, society and culture, a performance of Japanese music, a tea ceremony demonstration, and a guided session of Zen meditation.
Alum Gives Back Through UMW Play Lab
H. Nicole Myers, left, coordinates the UMW Play Lab.
Rob Eidson ‘01 spends his free time raising awareness and funds for people who have autism spectrum disorder.
When the University of Mary Washington graduate learned about the UMW Play Lab class, he combined his extracurricular activities with his alma mater.
Eidson works as a human resources director for Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., but in his free time the business major serves as a supervisory board member with the board of trustees for the Charitable Organization for Autism Spectrum Tech and Educational Research Studies or COASTERS. COASTERS mission is to raise awareness and funds for research into the aid and improvement of the lives of people who have autism spectrum disorders.
When Eidson read an article in UMW Magazine about the Play Lab, he knew this would the perfect venue to put the COASTERS mission to work.
Play Lab teaches College of Education and psychology students how to work with students with disabilities in real-world setting by pairing community children with UMW students for one semester.
“It is an authentic learning environment which allows UMW students to gain teaching experience and provide a much needed service to the community by providing educational activities to support children and train their parents in ways to help their child at home, school, and in the community,” said H. Nicole Frye Myers, associate professor of education and Play Lab coordinator.
Eidson’s organization is sponsoring the cost of two children to attend the Play Lab class in the fall with a $300 grant.
“Rob’s organization’s donation means a lot to the UMW Play Lab,” said Myers. “Not only will children get to go to Play Lab and receive assistance, their parents will receive training, and each of those teachers who participated in the class will be better equipped to teach children with disabilities. His gift is truly a gift that will keep on giving year after year in that future teacher’s classroom.”
News from Human Resources
Professional Development Month is January at UMW – due to the snow last week and this week, some seminars have been rescheduled to February – more information will be sent out in the next week with the new dates and times. Please mark your calendars for the Keys for Effective Leadership, brown-bag session RESCHEDULED for Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m. in Lee Hall 411. Presented by Dr. Lynne Richardson, Dean, College of Business (please rsvp to jcooper4@umw.edu)
Please join us in extending a warm UMW welcome to our newest employees
Patinya Ambuel joined the Campus Recreation Department as a Fitness Instructor on Jan. 17.
Ashley Ehlert joined the Admissions Department as an Administrative Assistant on Jan. 25.
Joshua Lawson joined the HVAC-Facilities Department as a HVAC Assistant on Jan. 25.
Jennifer Ludwig joined the Center for Honor, Leadership, and Service Department as an Administrative Assistant on Jan. 29.
Heidi Hunter-Goldsworthy joined the Financial Aid Department as a Director of Financial Aid on Jan. 29.
UMW Debate Seniors Place Third at Round Robin
Colin McElhinny ’14
University of Mary Washington Debate Team seniors Colin McElhinny (’14, Erie, Pa.) and Thomas Pacheco (’14, Baltimore, Md.) recently placed third at the Herbert L. James Round Robin held at Dartmouth College, Jan. 25 to 26.
Seven schools received invitations to the prestigious round robin, based on their performance at tournaments in the fall. The invitees included teams from UMW, Michigan, Northwestern, Georgetown, Harvard, Rutgers and Wake Forest. After six debates, UMW recorded four wins, including a win against the first place team from Michigan.
Thomas Pacheco ’14
“This award represents a significant competitive milestone in UMW Debate – it is the first time we’ve place in the top three at a round robin,” said Adrienne F. Brovero, director of debate at UMW. “We are looking forward to finishing our season strong.”
In early February, the UMW Debate Team will compete at the last tournament of the regular season at the University of Texas-Austin. After that, the team will compete at the district qualifying tournament, American Debate Association Nationals at Liberty University, and then the National Debate Tournament at Indiana University. Follow the team on Twitter @UMWDebate.
Announcing MediaCore
The Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies is pleased to announce that it has partnered with MediaCore to run a pilot installation of their media platform. MediaCore will give members of the UMW community the ability to control and curate their own media collections. It will be more than just a “campus YouTube”.
Students having their own media space is crucial for their experimentation and expression (kind of like “Domain of One’s Own“). What better way to do it than within an educational context and a platform that is specifically geared toward educational media hosting. MediaCore will serve that function and allow students to share their media work locally behind a login, or make their work public when they want/need to.
The other idea behind using MediaCore is the idea of curating “collections”. Youtube, Vimeo, and even content from TED Talks and Archive.org can be curated by a user to share unique combinations of media elements. It allows the viewer to go to one place to view media from disparate places. “Playlists” can then be easily incorporated into a WordPress site, or in Instructure Canvas – the university Learning Management System.
MediaCore is also “mobile ready”, from both a viewing aspect as well as an “ingestion” aspect. MediaCore’s Capture app for mobile devices allows a user to capture video and upload directly into their MediaCore space. However, it’s not limited to video. It might also include images, screenshots, screencasts, or other video produced in any app that saves to your smartphone.
Finally, what will make MediaCore special to the UMW community is the integration with WordPress (both UMW Blogs and the Domain of One’s Own initiative) and with Canvas. MediaCore makes available a WordPress plugin and Canvas integration that will allow users to post video to a WordPress post or page, and any Canvas area (pages, modules, etc.) that uses the visual text editor. You can also upload video to MediaCore through the WordPress or Canvas plugin interfaces.
The UMW instance of MediaCore will be located at http://mediahub.umw.edu. We will be limited to 100 accounts that will be able to view and upload content privately, but all of the UMW community will be able to see any video that is made public. For more information on the UMW MediaCore installation, visit the UMW New Media MediaCore page.