Category: What’s New @ UMW

At the Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership’s College Leaders Program, party lines are set aside. Participants are not allowed to disclose their political affiliations to each other.

“It bonds everybody together,” Brendan Oudekerk said. “It is really refreshing to get along with everybody…and know we are working toward common goals. Each person brings different qualities to the table.”

Oudekerk, a 2012 graduate of the University of Mary Washington, and UMW seniors Meghan Hobbs and Sean Simons are among 18 college students or recent graduates who were selected for the four-week-long summer program held at the University of Virginia.

The College Leaders Program, now in its eighth year, brings together youth leaders from across Virginia with a focus on ethics, bipartisanship, public policy and civic engagement. The Sorensen Institute was founded as the Virginia Institute of Political Leadership in 1993 in hopes it would identify and bring together Virginia’s emerging political leaders. More than 1,200 Virginian students have graduated from the Institute.

For Oudekerk, who is working toward a career in economic development, the program is a chance to network and learn more about Virginia politics.

“As a graduate, I’m using it to be more well-rounded,” he said. “It helps to come together with people from different backgrounds.”

The 18 program participants are divided into three groups – economics, higher education or transportation – to develop policy proposals. The groups will present their findings at the end of the program, in hopes a Virginia legislator will want to adopt the proposal.

One of last year’s groups actually got a bill passed, Hobbs explained.

“That’s everyone’s aspiration,” she said.

Hobbs, an international affairs and political science major, plans to attend law school after graduation, but also is interested in politics.

“I have been wanting to get a look into state politics,” she said, “so this program is really helping me with that.”

On Tuesday, June 12, the students met with Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Jim Webb at the U.S. Capitol Building.

Simons, chair of UMW’s Legislative Action Committee and an intern in President Richard V. Hurley’s office, got to introduce the senators to the group: “It was an honor to have that privilege,” he said.

When the program ends on June 23, Simons says the experience of a respectful, bipartisan atmosphere will stick with him.

“A lot of issues are played in the media as being very polarizing, but people, especially my age, are much more willing to compromise and come together to find solutions,” he said. “I have a greater appreciation for what I think our generation can do.”

UMW’s Economics of Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector course was featured in the June edition of Virginia Business magazine in the article “Philanthropy’s Next Generation.”  On the cover, left to right and front row to back, are Gretchen Houser, assistant director of annual giving and a student in the fall 2010 class, Robert S Rycroft, professor of economics, and Kate Gibson and Will Zebian, students from the fall 2011 class.

The University of Mary Washington will host its 13th annual Operafest on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium. The performances are free and open to the public.

Operafest, directed by UMW voice instructors Kathy Ahearn and Jane Tavernier, is the culmination of an intensive five-week course. The 12 performers auditioned for the course in April and have rehearsed six hours per week since mid-May in preparation for the performances.

The program will include scenes from Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Don Pasquale,” Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” Mozart’s “The Abduction of the Seraglio,” Puccini’s “La Rondine” and Lehar’s “The Merry Widow.”

For more information about Operafest, contact the Department of Music at (540) 654-1012.

On Saturday, June 16, the UMW Faculty Brass Quintet will perform the first UMW-sponsored concert of the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center’s American Music Concert Series. The program will include the music of John Philip Sousa, Leonard Bernstein and George M. Cohan, as well as a performance of “West Side Story.” The concert begins at 7 p.m. in Fredericksburg’s Market Square and is free and open to the public.

Founded in 2009, the Faculty Brass Quintet features Bartram and UMW adjunct instructors Jim Ford and Gary Carper, along with musicians David Mersiovsky and Jeremy Cucco.

Other UMW concerts in the series include a performance by the UMW Philharmonic Orchestra on Tuesday, July 3 and by the UMW Faculty Jazz Quintet on Saturday, August 25. For more information, visit http://www.famcc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=201&Itemid=124 or call (540) 654-1012.

Carol Quinn has been back in the United States for less than a week and she is already thinking of her next trip to Europe.

The University of Mary Washington senior was one of nine students who visited London, Amsterdam, Wurzburg, Munich and Vienna with the Psychology in Europe study abroad trip. The students, led by Associate Professor of Psychology Dave Kolar, spent two weeks at historical and cultural sites relevant to the study of psychology.

“The trip inspired me to return and do some of my own traveling in Europe,” Quinn, a psychology and sociology major, said. “I’m eager to go back. I wasn’t ready to leave at all!”

This summer, more than 100 students are studying abroad, either as part of UMW faculty-led trips, or through programs at other universities or organizations. Members of the UMW field hockey team recently traveled to Italy with Coach Lindsay Elliot to train and compete on an international scale.

Some trips have become UMW staples, like “European Capitals – London, Paris, Berlin, Prague and Vienna,” now in its 20th year, “Spain for All,” celebrating its 10th anniversary and “Psychology in Europe,” in its fifth year.

Denis Nissim-Sabat, professor of psychology, developed the Psychology in Europe trip to expose students to the history of psychology they learn about during the year.

“History comes alive for them,” he said, noting the students’ opportunities to visit sites from a Holocaust concentration camp to Sigmund Freud’s house.

For Jose Sainz, director of the Center for International Education and associate professor of Spanish, the Spain for All program’s success is due to its emphasis on academic, cultural and personal experiences and its ability to adapt to students’ needs. Although the program started 10 years ago solely with Spanish courses, now it offers courses across disciplines, as well as service learning opportunities and internships.

“After a decade leading students, we still get messages on Facebook and emails from students who are now long gone from campus indicating that attending the program was one of the highlights of their time at UMW,” Sainz, leader of the trip, said.

Sainz and Associate Professor of Spanish Marisa Martinez-Mira will take 34 students to Spain this summer, from June 24 through July 27.

For two decades, the European Capitals program has been going strong. This year’s group of 16 students, led by Jack Kramer, distinguished professor of political science, and Porter Blakemore, associate professor of history, will return on Friday, June 8 after four weeks of travel.

According to the political science department’s newsletter, the trip includes a briefing with a member of the British Parliament, a private tour of the Palace of Westminster, a tour of Versailles, a concert of classical music provided by the Imperial Orchestra in Vienna and a briefing at the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin.

According to Kate Jordan, study abroad program assistant in the Center for International Education, summer study abroad programs like Spain for All and European Capitals are appealing for students because they require less time commitment than a semester-long or full-year program, while offering unique coursework.

“Not only do short term faculty-led study abroad programs give students flexibility in their course choices, but they have the opportunity to have an amazing intercultural experience at the same time,” she said. “Summer study abroad is also less expensive than many semester abroad programs, making it more attractive for some students.  In today’s increasingly competitive job market, students with international experience definitely have an edge.”