Category: What’s New @ UMW

Election of officers was held Sunday, July 22, at the Board of Visitors retreat.  By unanimous vote, the following members were elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Visitors:

Rector:  Pamela J. White ‘74
Vice Rector:  Holly T. Cuellar ’89
Secretary:  Xavier R. Richardson

At Large Members:
Daniel K. Steen ‘84
Joseph R. Wilson

The Rector, Vice Rector and Secretary will serve two-year terms from 2012 to 2014. The at-large members will each serve one-year terms from 2012 to 2013.

By unanimous vote, President Hurley’s contract was extended through June 30, 2015.

When Lauren Kornacki performed CPR in the garage of her parents’ home in Glen Allen, Va., she was focused on one thing: saving her dad’s life. She never imagined that the story would later end up making national headlines.

Kornacki, a 2012 graduate of the University of Mary Washington, found her father in the garage, pinned under a car and unresponsive. She was able to lift up the car enough to free her father, and performed CPR to save his life. A nurse at VCU Medical Center, where Kornacki’s father is being treated, was so moved by the story that she contacted the local television station.

“It’s my dad,” Kornacki said, noting she doesn’t think she deserves the attention. “I would do anything for him.”

Instead she hopes to turn the new-found media attention from her own inspiring story to the importance of CPR.

“I’m trying to get people to realize CPR is such an important thing to know,” she said.

Now in her sixth year as a lifeguard, Kornacki has taken CPR training at least five times, including once last semester as part of her job as an intramural supervisor in the UMW campus recreation office.

All intramural supervisors are required to have current certifications in first aid, CPR and automated external defibrillators (AED), Director of Campus Recreation Mark Mermelstein, said.

“It’s so important for our programs because situations do happen and you have to know that our staff is prepared to handle them,” he said. “Lauren is a prime example.”

“We take pride in her work for campus recreation, but that means nothing compared to what she just did for her dad,” he said.

A physics major, Kornacki spent three years as a center for the UMW basketball team.

“Lauren is such a great young woman,” said Deena Appleberry, women’s basketball coach.  “She’s the type of person who thinks on her feet. It doesn’t surprise me at all that she would make the right decision in a minute or less.  She’s so courageous and heroic.”

Kornacki encourages everyone to have a familiarity with CPR, since as in her case situations often arise without warning. In fact, she said her family members intend to take refresher courses as soon as her dad is out of the hospital.

She said her family is grateful for the community’s outpouring of support since the accident.

“My former classmates, roommates and teammates have been checking on us,” she said. “Knowing those people are there for us is unbelievable.”

Congratulations to Michael Morley, office manager in the department of music and manager of the UMW Philharmonic Orchestra, who has been selected as an Excellent Eagle Employee for the month of August. A parking spot of his choosing has been reserved for him until the end of the month.

Here is what one of his co-workers said about him:

“Michael is the department’s ‘go to’ guy. He wears many hats and does so cheerfully, efficiently, and effectively. Michael continually displays a positive, can-do attitude. Never one to say no, he just digs in and finds a way to make things happen. He’s outstanding in all of his regular job requirements and never hesitates to lend assistance in situations that fall outside of his job description.

Michael is often the first impression students, parents and community members have of the music department. More than once I’ve been in the office while Michael is fielding a call from community members inquiring about an upcoming concert. He is knowledgeable, patient, and generous with the attention he gives each caller.”

To nominate someone who you believe is an Excellent Eagle Employee, send an email to Priscilla Sullivan (psulliva@umw.edu) with Excellent Eagle Employee in the subject Line.  In your email, be sure to list the person’s name, department, work location (with the most convenient parking lot), and of course, the reason why you believe they should be recognized.  Please spread the word to other employees about this wonderful opportunity to recognize a co-worker(s).

Construction for the new Convergence Center is underway, with an anticipated completion date of spring 2014. A detour behind Simpson Library, scheduled to open on Monday, August 6, will allow pedestrians to bypass the construction site. The detour configuration will remain in effect for the duration of the project.

For more information, contact Len Shelton, associate director of capital planning and construction, at lshelton@umw.edu, or visit the Convergence Center project website at provost.umw.edu/convergence-center/.

The ceramics kiln behind the fine arts complex of Melchers, Pollard and duPont halls on the Fredericksburg campus started showing its age. The wood had rotted in some places and the paint began chipping away from years of outdoor exposure.

Carole Garmon, professor of art at the University of Mary Washington, saw potential.

She and the 12 students in her installation art class this summer decided to give the kiln a makeover.  They brushed it with recycled paint, repaired the decaying wood and hung plants and flowers from the outside of the structure.

Even the plants were “recycled.”  When Director of Landscape and Grounds Joni Wilson heard about Garmon’s project, she harvested plants from the Dahlgren campus’ vegetative roof and delivered them to the class.

And that’s just for starters.

With the help of her student artists, Garmon plans to turn the art complex into an oasis for students, faculty and staff.

She calls it an exercise in “making art from nothing.”

The class, held during the first eight-week summer session, also transformed the Melchers Hall second-floor terrace into a more colorful space.

The students, including junior studio art major Robert Luther, painted the area in bright shades of pink, blue and green geometric shapes to play off the shadows.

Luther, who recently transferred to UMW from Germanna Community College, enjoyed his first class at Mary Washington so much he decided to stay on after the summer session ended to continue the work, spending six hours a day repainting the furniture and floor of the Melchers Hall terrace.

“This project helps us form a community in our department,” he said. “It reinforces our togetherness.”

While refurbishing the old, the artists are intent on preserving the past.

Artwork from former students–a mural on one of the terrace columns, miniature clay figurines perched on a railing and signatures of previous students–are incorporated in the new design. The garden and the terrace show how collaboration between departments and thinking out side of the box can work.

“We try to create spaces that promote creative thinking,” Garmon said. “This has been a really good lesson in going low-tech and making something cool happen.”