July 1, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Director of National Alumni Engagement Named

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Torre Meringolo, Vice President for Advancement and University Relations, has announced a reorganization of Alumni Relations that is in line with feedback received at regional alumni events across the country and supportive of a key recommendation of the UMW Strategic Plan to “actively recruit alumni to participate in . . . the life of the University, and maintaining a strong, active relationship with the alumni as invested and on-going partners in the institution’s identity and future.”
The position of Director of National Alumni Engagement has been created following the model found in other leading universities and colleges. The primary purpose of this position will be to develop local alumni networks in regions of the country with large UMW alumni populations. Core groups of alumni volunteers will be identified in these areas in order to build a strong, national network. The impact of the initiative will be multiplied by this volunteer network as new opportunities for alumni engagement are identified in areas such as admissions, career services, and fund raising.
Cindy Snyder has agreed to serve as the University’s first Director of National Alumni Engagement. She brings to this position a deep appreciation and knowledge of the UMW alumni community. A national search will be commenced early in the new year for a new Director of Alumni Relations, and Cindy will remain in her current position until the search process is complete.
Additionally, in order to gain greater organizational efficiencies and support for the totality of alumni responsibilities, both positions will report to Ken Steen, Associate Vice President for Advancement.

The Battlefield Yearbook Goes Digital! library;

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The Battlefield

UMW Libraries is pleased to announce the digitization of the university’s yearbook The Battlefield. Volumes from 1913-2010 are now in full color and searchable from cover-to-cover. The public can view the digital format of The Battlefield online through the Internet Archive.

Alumni and the campus community will have ready access to former college days through these online volumes with pages relating to sports, clubs, faculty members, advertisements, and Mary Washington traditions. Campus and historical events affecting students and the local community can now also be easily researched online. Only editions for 1908-1912 and 1918 are unavailable online as The Battlefield was not published during those years.

The site allows for multiple methods of researching the history of the university. The user can page through a book choosing the “read online” option, download the entire yearbook in PDF format, and search the full text version.

This exciting project was made possible through the LYRASIS Mass Digitization Collaborative, a Sloan Foundation grant-subsidized program, LYRASIS’ scanning partner Internet Archive, and UMW Libraries. LYRASIS is the nation’s largest regional non-profit membership organization serving libraries. Through this collaborative partnership, digitization is easier and affordable for libraries and cultural institutions across the country.

Faculty Brass Quintet to Perform Holiday Shows

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On Saturday and Sunday, December 18 and 19, the UMW Faculty Brass Quintet, led by UMW Philharmonic Director Kevin Bartram, will perform two free holiday shows. The Saturday performance is from 1-2 p.m. at the Spotsylania Towne Centre Food Court. The show will be repeated on Sunday outside of Joseph-Beth Booksellers also at the Towne Centre.

Anthropology and Egalitarianism by Eric Gable is now available at the UMW Bookstore

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Anthropology and Egalitarianism is a provocative and accessible introduction to key ideas in cultural anthropology, focusing on the experience of fieldwork and the concept of culture.  Writing in a deeply personal style and using material from his field work in three dramatically different locales–Indonesia, West Africa and Monticello the historic home of Thomas Jefferson–Eric Gable shows why the ethnographic encounter is the core of the discipline’s method and the basis of its unique contribution to understanding the human condition.  Gable weaves together vignettes from the field and discussion of major works as he explores the development of the idea of culture through the experience of cultural contrast, anthropology’s fraught relationship to racism and colonialism, and other enduring themes.

Indiana University Press

Martin Luther King Day Art Workshop at Belmont

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Martin Luther King Day Art Workshop
Drawing for the Rest of Us:  An Introduction to Drawing
Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sixth grade through adult

gari sketch
pencil sketch by Gari Melchers

This workshop is an introduction to basic drawing tools, warming-up exercises, and techniques that can be used to help build a foundation to experience the joy of drawing.

Cost:  $20 members and UMW staff/students; $25 non-members.  To register, contact Education Coordinator Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851.

Give From the Heart

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The 2010 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) is in full swing and you still have time to participate.  Your gift, of any size, will go to the Virginia charity of your choice out of 1300 different options – go to http://www.cvc.vipnet.org/donors/directorylist.htm to see the list.

Congratulations to Judy Singleton, the winner of the Giant gift card!

We are encouraging everyone to donate ONLINE through EmployeeDirect by visiting the CVC website and clicking on the “Give Now” green button in the middle of the home page: http://www.cvc.vipnet.org/index.html.  Donations can also be made by completing a pledge card and returning the completed card to the Administration and Finance Office in George Washington Hall, Room 105.

Please note: Donations DO NOT automatically roll over.  You must complete a new pledge card or make your donation online each year. For pledge cards or questions please contact a CVC team member: Priscilla Sullivan, Rick Pearce, and Anika Wilson.

Thank you.

“New Reality” Opens Dec. 4 at Gari Melchers Home & Studio

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“The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century”
December 4 through February 27, 2011
Organized by the International Guild of Realism, The New Reality not only showcases the latest developments in Realist painting around the world, but compares those artworks with their historical predecessors.   Fifty-six artists are represented from the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Korea, Russia, France, Iceland, Romania, Norway and Finland with close to 60 paintings in a wide variety of media.

 

Join Weight Watchers at Work

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As we approach the holidays and a new year, weight loss looms heavy. Nothing could be easier than joining Weight Watchers for a discount, attending meetings right on campus, and having your colleagues encourage you! If you haven’t already noticed, UMW coworkers are disappearing . . . pounds at a time through Weight Watchers at Work (WW@W) held weekly on the Fredericksburg campus. UMW participants have shed nearly 900 pounds since the program began in October 2009.

You can join them. Get a jump on your New Year’s resolution and SAVE! A new WW@W session starts Wednesday, December 8.

  • Receive 20 weeks membership for the price of 18
  • 50 percent reimbursement for UMW WW@W members*
  • WW@W members receive free eTools** online resource for tracking progress
  • Payment options are available

Check out a meeting for free on Monday, November 22 at noon in the Red Room of Woodard Campus Center.

Can’t make the meeting, but would like more information?

Contact:  Pam Taggert (ptaggert@umw.edu <mailto:ptaggert@umw.edu> ) 654-1018 or Joan Greco-WW leader (joangreco65@yahoo.com <mailto:joangreco65@yahoo.com> )

*reimbursement is available to employees eligible for state employee medical benefits.  Reimbursement is NOT contingent on weight loss.
**must enroll at the start of the session to receive free eTools