Edward Albee’s “Seascape,” by UMW Department of Theatre and Dance; duPont Hall, Klein Theatre; February 10-12 and 17-19, 8 p.m., February 13 and 20, 2 p.m.; AfterWords post-performance discussion, February 13; $10 general admission, $8 students and seniors; (540) 654-1111.
Revolution and Change in the Middle East
The University of Mary Washington invites the community to a panel discussion featuring UMW scholars of revolution, the Egyptian government, Islam, security and international relations. This event, “Revolution and Change in the Middle East,” will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 16 in Room 109 of Annex A, next to George Washington Hall.
The panel will include Jack Kramer, professor and chair of political science and international affairs and an expert on the study of revolution; Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of philosophy and religion and an expert on Islam, politics and the Iranian revolution of 1979; and Ranjit Singh, associate professor of political science and international affairs, who will discuss the Egyptian government and its opposition. The moderator will be Jason Davidson, associate professor of political science and international affairs, who teaches security and international relations.
Admission is free. For more information, contact Ranjit Singh at rsingh@umw.edu or (540) 654-1496.
Islam in the Modern World, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Now in stock at the UMW Bookstore & faculty and staff receive 20% off. The world’s fastest-growing religion is also the most misunderstood in the West. In Islam in the Modern World, Seyyed Hossein Nars, on of the world’s leading experts on Islamic thought, explains why traditional Islam exists in tension with modern Western culture while at the same time it is also opposed by many currents of Islamic “fundamentalism.” Nasr explains all the major points of tension–politics, philosophy, education, art, the role of women, and more–for how traditional Islam, rooted in the Qur’an and the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, differs from both modernism and Islam’s extremest factions.
“Nasr’s writing is lucid and conciliatory in spirit” –Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Congratulations to Claudia Emerson
The UMW Bookstore wishes to congratulate UMW Professor, Claudia Emerson, Arrington Distinguished Chair, English, Linguistics and Communications on publication of best new poets 2010.
UMW Web Site Update
We are making much behind-the-scenes progress on the UMW Web site redesign, and are looking to launch upper levels of the new site this summer. The site migration will continue throughout the fall semester and early spring 2012. Here are a few FAQs about the project:
What will we use instead of Macromedia Contribute?
We have chosen WordPress as our University’s Content Management System to replace Macromedia Contribute. This is good news to users of UMW Blogs (esteemed hosts of EagleEye) who will have a familiar interface to work with. A development environment has been built and work is underway to purchase and “stand up” new servers to support WordPress for all of our official University sites.
Why don’t we just use UMW Blogs?
UMW Blogs is a teaching and learning environment that allows for unlimited domains and personal Web publishing. The new environment will support URLs in the “umw.edu” domain, have official University templates, and be tied in with our existing Active Directory authentication system. In English (!), that means that you need not request an account, or install a “key.” Any faculty or staff member can login with your regular UMW Net ID and password, and the system will instantly create an account and give you access to those sites you need to have access to based on your role at the University. By keeping UMW Blogs separate, we are allowing the personal Web publishing environment to remain unchanged and function as it needs to. By using WordPress for both environments, we are taking advantage of skills and knowledge already cultivated on campus, so can share expertise and hit the ground running.
Isn’t WordPress just a blogging environment?
WordPress was first developed as a blogging tool. It has grown a lot, and the current version of WordPress is now a seasoned content management system, while retaining remarkable ease of use and customization. There is a huge community of support and consultants, and it can be set up more easily to scale for our heterogeneous environment better than other systems like Drupal or Joomla.
When will my site be migrated?
The sites are being migrated in stages. For the summer, we are looking to migrate the home page, upper levels, college/division upper levels, and admissions in preparation for the fall admissions season. Once that is complete, we will assist departments in migrating new sites into the WordPress environment in the following order:
- Cabinet-level Division Sites and the President’s Site
- Academic Departments and Administrative Departments
- Committees and Organizations
- Events and Conferences
- Special Projects and Initiatives
- University-level external publications (e.g., Catalogs, Mary Washington magazine)
- Libraries
- Non-Standard Sites (e.g., James Monroe Museum)
What about forms, policies, and procedures that are on my department site?
We are currently working with the President’s office to improve how we organize, search, and retrieve online policies, procedures, publications and forms. The SACS Self-Study mandates that we do a better job with this, and we are going to help folks migrate these materials in a way that they still have access to editing them, they will still be linked to from their sites, but that they are easily searched in a central location at the University level. Guidelines and details will be made available to assist folks in making this needed change.
What does the new design look like?
That is not yet determined. Anyone familiar with the Web design process knows that the graphics are the last step, and they can be hard to wait for. Right now, we are working with the University-wide Web Advisory Committee in completing our “wireframe” layouts and site architecture. We are soliciting bids from web design firms familiar with WordPress and higher education. Following our acceptance of the final branding recommendations by the Educational Marketing Group, the designers will work with us to turn our wireframe layouts into a compelling Web presence. At that point, we will solicit input from the University community and hopefully arrive at a design that meets as many needs as we can.
How do I prepare?
If you are currently a manager of a Web site in Contribute, we recommend you take the following steps so you are ready to go:
- Take an inventory of content on your site and decide what’s going to the new environment so you can plan ahead.
- Make a separate inventory of policies, procedures, publications and forms that are within your department Web site now, or are published as stand-alone sites within the Contribute environment.
- Get a UMW Blogs account and contribute to EagleEye so you can get used to the WordPress interface and be an expert on the day we launch!
How do I follow the project?
Visit webredesign.umwblogs.org to follow the project.
Green Purchasing Webpage Promotes Sustainability
The UMW Purchasing Department has launched their “green” purchasing webpage devoted to promoting sustainability. The page lists various projects that the university is currently implementing to reduce costs and allow for a healthier environment. Also listed are eco-friendly practices that members of the university are encouraged to follow and green purchasing planning guidelines. The mission is to purchase materials that will decrease our ecological footprint on the Earth. Click on this link http://www.umw.edu/purchasing/green/default.php to check out the new site and find information on how the university is working to fulfill its sustainability goals.
Survey Closes Friday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m.
Dear UMW faculty, staff, students, and alumni:
The University of Mary Washington is undertaking an important process to update, refine, and reaffirm our reputation, with particular attention to how the University is perceived both externally and internally. I encourage you to participate by giving us your candid and confidential responses to a few important questions.
This process will help us enhance UMW’s visibility regionally and nationally; motivate community members and individuals to become involved and offer financial support; and ensure that the public understands what we stand for, what we offer, and why they should associate themselves with us.
The first step in preparation for a comprehensive reputation enhancement effort is to assess – and update when necessary – the messages we use when talking about the University. We need to define what makes us unique and special. This step is critical, and I need your help to make it successful.
It will take only a few minutes of your time to complete this survey. Please respond by February 4 to ensure that we include your thoughts. We’ve also established a web page at which you may track the project’s progress and add additional input to share in UMW Blogs.
Your confidential comments are critical in articulating UMW’s unique and compelling identity. Over the coming weeks, our entire community will have the opportunity to contribute thoughts and ideas. Once these messages are developed, we will be able to speak with a unified voice about the qualities that make the University of Mary Washington distinctive. This is one step on the path to becoming the best public liberal arts university in the nation.
Later this spring, those of you who are alumni will receive a separate survey that will help us gain a better understanding of who UMW graduates are. Not only will this help us know you better, it will allow us to celebrate and publicize your successes.
I urge you to complete this survey now. Thank you for your participation. If you have any questions, please contact Director of Communication George Farrar or Director of Marketing Sabrina Brown.
Sincerely,
Rick Hurley
President
Plenty of buzz about Burns
The UMW Bookstore still has a few copies of Jennifer Burns’ Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right in stock. UMW Faculty & Staff receive 20% discount.
IT Announces Organizational Changes Affecting User Services
In an effort to improve Information Technologies support and service delivery to our campus community, and to once again offer IT related training courses, the Information Technologies division has reorganized User Services into two separate departments: IT Support Services and IT Training and Communication.
The new department of IT Training and Communication will be directed by Pam Lowery who will head up our renewed training efforts and an overhaul of the IT website. More information regarding training opportunities will be announced in the coming months.
We are pleased to have Jerry Slezak, formerly the Director of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies, join us as Director of IT Support Services. As director, Jerry will provide oversight and management of the IT Help Desk operations, desktop support, lab and classroom technology support, the coordination of computer replacement initiatives, and other related functions.
For more information about the IT organization please visit: http://www.umw.edu/doit/organization/default.php.
Donations Welcome for Topher Bill Auction
The Department of Psychology is once again holding our annual Topher Bill Scholarship Auction. This year the auction will be on-line! This will change how we do business. We still would like your donations, and we’d appreciate your participation in our auction after it begins.
Any big items we auction will have to be picked up from us by the buyer. We will still pick items up from the seller. The delivery of any baked goods will be decided upon by the buyer and the seller. The dates of any outings (ballgames, picnics) or dinners will be decided upon by the buyer and the seller, as usual. The psychology department will mail gift certificates and small items. When the auction goes online, we will indicate in the item description whether the item can be shipped or not.
We hope that by going online, we will increase our participation in the auction, so please consider a donation! We can auction anything, just like in our past auctions. If you prefer, you may make a donation directly to the Topher Bill Memorial Scholarship Fund by sending a check payable to the UMW Foundation and noting that it is for the Psychology Topher Bill Scholarship.
Please plan to check us out online and bid on items at the auction! Once the auction is up and running, probably by the end of February, we will send out the web address.
Attached is the donation form which can be completed and returned via email, campus mail or regular mail to Jean Bennett (jbennett@umw.edu).
If you have any questions please contact Jean (540-654-1054) or me (540-654-1559).
Thanks for your help!
Debra Cowart Steckler, Chair, Department of Psychology