Category: What’s New @ UMW

On Friday, Feb. 17, the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library announced the acquisition of a significant artifact from the Revolutionary War. The museum has obtained a furlough signed by then-Major James Monroe on February 23, 1778, at Valley Forge. The furlough is believed to be the earliest-known official document bearing Monroe’s signature.

Support from the Friends of the James Monroe Museum was instrumental in purchasing the furlough from a nationally recognized documents dealer. The effort involved several weeks of negotiation and fundraising.

“Securing such a rare and interesting artifact as this furlough for the museum’s collection would be good news under any circumstances,” said Scott Harris, director of the James Monroe Museum. “To do so with the help of so many supporters is especially gratifying.”

The furlough, or military pass, was issued to Second Lieutenant John Wallace, Jr. of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, an infantry unit in the division of Major General William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling. At the time, 19-year-old James Monroe served as Stirling’s aide-de-camp.

Donations made specifically for the purpose of buying the document came from the following: Paul M. Jones Revocable Trust; Stewart Jones Charitable Trust; Clan Munro Association, USA; Champe and Mary Randolph Corbin; Mrs. Mary Alice Regier Hoes; Charles and Mary Wynn McDaniel; Mrs. Rita M. Stone; and Judge Jere M. H. Willis, Jr. and Mrs. Barbara Willis.

Community Outreach and Resources (COAR) will host a variety show on Saturday, March 24 to support Habitat for Humanity and Alternative Break trips. The show will begin at 2 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium and will feature various UMW performing arts groups, including the UMW Dance Team, the UMW Breakers and BellA’capella. Tickets are not required, but donations will be accepted.

On Sunday, April 1, COAR will host the annual Spring Forward Festival at the President’s residence at Brompton. The festival, from 1 to 4 p.m., will include crafts, games, food and egg hunts. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact COAR at coarumw@gmail.com or (540) 654-1802.

Starting Friday, Feb. 24, high-definition presentations of all 2012 lectures in the Chappell Great Lives Lecture series will be available online.

Every Friday, another presentation will be released in chronological order, starting with Charles J. Shields’ talk on the life of American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, which was the first lecture on Jan. 24. The release dates will run into the end of June, the last being James “Bud” Robertson’s lecture on the Civil War soldier. After that, several years’ worth of lectures will be available.

Each presentation will begin with a short introduction summarizing the life of person written about, followed by background about the lecturer. Subscribers to updates about the series will automatically receive a reminder e-mail that a new presentation is available. Each presentation is full-length, about an hour, which includes questions from the audience at the end. The series is being filmed and edited by UMW’s Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies.

The videos will be accessible for viewing online under “Archived Lectures” on the homepage of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series. A link to the schedule of releases will be there, too. The series will also be posted on YouTube and a number of other social media outlets.

The schedule of the lectures, and the release dates of the videos is here: http://www.umw.edu/greatlives/2012/02/20/great-lives-videos-to-be-released-weekly-beginning-march-24/.

UMW’s 2012 Executive-in-Residence Thomas P. Nerney will visit the Stafford and Fredericksburg campuses on Thursday, March 22 and Friday, March 23 as part of the Executive-in-Residence program. The program gives UMW students the opportunity to interact with prominent leaders of the corporate world and to enhance their knowledge about the free-enterprise system.

Nerney has been the chairman, president and CEO of the A++ rated United States Liability Insurance Group for more than 15 years. During his visit to UMW, Nerney will interact with students, faculty, staff, alumni and local business leaders.

While on the Fredericksburg campus, Nerney will give several presentations for students, faculty and staff. No registration is required to attend.

On Friday, March 23 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. and from 11 to 11:45, Nerney will present “Driving Success Through a People-Focused Organization” in Monroe Hall, room 116.

He will present a career forum, “Planning Career Development and Understanding the Importance of Corporate Culture,” at 2 p.m. in the Jepson Alumni Executive Center. The career forum is open to UMW alumni, as well as students, faculty and staff.

During his visit, Nerney also will participate in several invite-only receptions, presentations and discussions with UMW alumni, students and regional business leaders. More information about the Executive-in-Residence program and schedule details can be found at http://business.umw.edu/eir/.

The Galleries and the UMW Department of Art and Art History traditionally host three student exhibitions during the spring semester: two for senior art students and one annual student exhibition, open to all interested students in the department.

“Markers’ Make,” the first senior student exhibition opens Thursday, Feb. 16 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 26 at the duPont Gallery.

The exhibition features the work of Kyle  Anderson, Alanna Betts, Lauren Gottschlich, Erin Kenderish, Erin Kohler, Claire McKinley, Minta Smith, Suzanne Stewart and Emilia Sanchez.

The duPont Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact the UMW Galleries at (540) 654-1013.