Category: What’s New @ UMW

The following information is provided by Human Resources and the UMW Weight Watchers at Work group:  

A quick Google search reveals that losing weight is the number one New Year’s resolution. Get a start on that resolution and join UMW friends who have already lost over 1,000 pounds! Read this testimonial from one of our members:

“There comes a time in one’s life when you are no longer comfortable in your own skin.  I got to that point last spring.  My clothes felt tight, I had trouble sleeping and my back and joints ached.  I was reluctant at first to join Weight Watchers.  After all, I wasn’t FAT and didn’t want to eat SPECIAL FOOD.  Plus, I wasn’t sure I would fit in.  I was wrong on all counts.  Weight Watchers is flexible and easy to follow.  The on-line tools make tracking what I ate a breeze.  I loved being able to enter my favorite recipes and restaurant entrees and find out how many points they are per serving – an eye opening experience!  I lost weight by making simple modifications  to my diet.  I didn’t have to buy special food or deprive myself of the foods I love.  The work support group provided encouragement , tips, and great camaraderie.  I really liked getting to know other people on campus.  The meeting time fit easily into my lunch hour and was very convenient.  I met my goal and enjoy the group so much I plan to keep coming.  I am truly grateful for this terrific benefit.”  (Catherine)

Weight Watchers is Ranked #1 Weight-Loss Diet by U.S. News & World Report. Inaugural rankings from U.S. News & World Report put Weight Watchers in the top slot for weight-loss diets. Read more here: http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=111661&sc=3046

The new Weight Watchers at Work session begins Wednesday, January 25. Join us and take advantage of special pricing for state employees. Check out a meeting for free; registration and information are available at these upcoming meetings:

Wednesday, January 11

Noon-12:30 p.m.

Red Room, Woodard Hall

Wednesday, January 18

Noon-12:30 p.m.

Red Room, Woodard Hall

Contact Pam Taggert (ptaggert@umw.edu) 654-1018 with any questions.

The University of Mary Washington is listed among Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2012.

The university ranks fifth among Virginia’s best values and 44th out of 100 four-year public institutions nationwide when comparing tuition costs, according to the February 2012 issue of Kiplinger’s. The list is available online at www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.

The magazine selects the best values from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, ranking them on academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid.

For more information, read the full press release.

UMW, and UMW Blogs in particular, is being heralded in Richard Demillo’s new book Abelard to Apple: The Fate of American Colleges and Universities as a space of great educational ferment, to quote from George Leef’s review of the book here. In fact, Leef’s review not only examines more popular open education mainstays like MIT’s Open Courseware, but spends a bit of time discussing the role of networked culture in re-imagining the future of higher education:

Open courseware is not the only way online learning is going to change higher education. DeMillo observes that whereas the traditional college class involves the broadcasting of information from the professor to (doubtfully alert) students, blogs involve rich connection networks where students and instructors interact and share their questions and information.

In that regard, DeMillo points to a little-known school where there is great educational ferment: “At the University of Mary Washington, learning takes place in the digital spaces engineered by Jim Groom and his band of Edupunks. At UMW, learning takes place in blogs.”

And when highlighting the importance of a networked culture for the future of learning at institutions UMW is highlighted as a model. UMW Blogs provides more than open resources and lectures on the internet, it also enables the ability to interact and share ideas and resources that helps bridge the gap between institutions of higher learning and the web.

James Bacon, proprietor of the Bacon’s Rebellion blog that focuses on all things Virginia, not only gave UMW kudos in for its work with UMW Blogs in his post on the DeMillo book, but also points out what remains the most important lesson of UMW Blogs. The open publishing platform is not remarkable because it is single-handedly transforming higher education (such an assertion would be absurd), but rather it is how this platform embodies “the process of experimentation” that is still in its infancy when it comes to the future of higher education. To Mary Washington’s great credit, it has been on the bleeding edge of innovation in this regard for more than seven years.

Image credit:  Ethan Hein’s “Hyperbolic orthogonal dodecahedral honeycomb”

Plans are moving forward for the University of Mary Washington Foundation’s construction of a $14 million-plus select-service hotel in the second phase of the Eagle Village mixed-use development across U.S. 1 from the Fredericksburg campus of the University of Mary Washington. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012.

The five-story hotel, to be located between Giant Food and the Eagle Village Executive Offices, will feature 93 studio rooms or suites, several meeting and conference rooms for public use, and a 24-hour food and beverage service for guests. The 66,500-square-foot facility also will include an indoor pool and a fitness center. In addition, the building will house approximately 1,600 square feet of retail space, possibly a day spa, according to Jeff Rountree, CEO of the UMW Foundation and President, Eagle Property Holdings, LLC.

Construction will begin when demolition of the shopping center north of Giant is complete. The hotel is expected to open by fall 2013. Currently, the Foundation is negotiating the franchise agreement for the hotel brand, which will be announced once the agreement is finalized in early May.

Congratulations to Jason Harrington, network analyst expert in Network and Communications Services, who has been selected as an Excellent Eagle Employee by the Staff Advisory Council. To thank him for such a wonderful job, Jason will have a reserved parking spot of his choosing from Tuesday, January 3 through Tuesday, January 31.

Here is what one of Jason’s co-workers said about him:

“Jason received his CCNA, or Cisco Certified Network Associate Certification in September 2011.  Typically, only 40 percent of test takers pass the CCNA on the first attempt.  Jason did. He continues to excel in his role here at UMW.  He is currently completing configuration of the router, switches, packet shaper, firewall, DNS/DHCP Appliance and Voice Over IP equipment for the Dahlgren Campus.  Professional services to configure these devices would be a major expense.  Jason’s excellence has saved us money and put us well ahead of schedule.”

To nominate someone who you believe is an Excellent Eagle Employee, just send an email to Dre Anthes (aanthes@umw.edu) with Excellent Eagle Employee in the Subject Line.  In your email, be sure to include 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).