Category: What’s New @ UMW

The Great Lives program is sponsoring a contest to see which student can identify the greatest number of famous faces on a display in Monroe Hall. “These are all people of the past, who will each by the subject of a biographer or historian’s lecture during our 2012 season,” said Charles J. Shields, associate director.

The Great Lives/Chappell Lecture Series features approximately 18 biographers, scholars, and historians each spring to talk about the lives of influential persons from all walks of life. The student who can identify the greatest number of famous faces on the display will have his or her choice of dinner for two at a Fredericksburg restaurant, or dinner for two with a guest speaker this spring. Entries must be submitted to Shields (cshield2@umw.edu) by Wednesday, October 26 at 5 p.m.. In case of a tie, the first entry received with the highest number of correctly identified faces will be the winner.

“This is the perfect opportunity,” said Shields, “for a student to impress someone special with his or her outstanding grasp of history.”

Join the newly formed Eagle Business Book Club on Friday, November 11 at 7:30 a.m. in the Minor Board Room of the Jepson Alumni Executive Center.

The club was formed to give UMW faculty and staff an opportunity to read books that pertain to our work environment—our goal is to learn and share best practices in the workplace!  To that end, each month we will read a different ‘business book’ and then discuss it.

The first book selected is a classic.  Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” written in 1936, is one of the most widely read and impactful books worldwide.  Pick up a copy, read it and join us on November 11 for a discussion on how we can use Carnegie’s ideas at UMW.

The Eagle Book Club Steering Committee members are Rosemary Arneson, Erma Baker, Donna Mejia, Fred Pierce, Lynne Richardson, Doug Searcy and Justin Webb.  If you have specific questions, please contact a member of the Steering Committee.  And we hope to see you on November 11th.  Oh, and it’s BYOC (Bring Your Own Coffee)!

— Lynne Richardson, Dean, College of Business

Dr. Stephen Solomon, the award-winning author of “Ellery’s Protest” and a professor at NYU, will deliver the lecture titled “God in Classroom: The Misunderstood Conflict Dividing America” on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m.
in the Woodard Campus Center, Red Room. The free lecture is sponsored by the Department of Political Science and International Affairs, Campus Academic Resources Committee and the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion. For more information, contact Emile Lester at elester@umw.edu or 540/654-1146.

STAND OUT! SPEAK UP!

If all people are to get the same opportunities and rights, then everyone must Stand Out! Speak Up! Societal norms seem to be shifting, queer rights and other GLBTTQQIAAP issues are becoming more prevalent in American politics. There have been legal victories, but there’s still a long way to travel on the road to egalitarianism. Join PRISM – People for the Rights of Sexual Minorities – and the James Farmer Multicultural Center to celebrate the courage to stand out and speak up for one’s beliefs and values.

GLBTTQQIAAP Kickoff Celebration
October 19
4-6 p.m., Ball Circle
(Rain location: Great Hall,Woodard Campus Center)

PRISM welcomes the entire campus community to share in a kickoff celebration that fuses food, live music, and fun. Read “PostSecret” style coming-out stories and be inspired by the experiences, struggles, and victories of your peers.

In this corner….. Fight for Your Rights Panel Discussion
October 20
6 p.m., Lee Hall, Room 411

Join faculty, staff, and students as they discuss the many issues facing queer students at UMW. Learn about resources and tools that encourage positive change so you’ll be equipped to Speak Up!

PRISM Prom – Rio Carnival
October 22
8 p.m., Great Hall,Woodard Campus Center
Cost: $3
(Formal attire strongly encouraged)

Standing out at the high school prom might have made for a bad memory, but the memorable PRISM Prom can help undo all that. Look great and proudly stand out while you enjoy all the prom’s trappings – music, dancing, photos, and refreshments.

Changing Time, Changing Policies?
Debate on Protected Classes
October 24
6 p.m., Lee Hall, Room 411

UMW students debate whether sexual orientation and gender identity should be protected classes in Virginia and whether they should be included in the non-discrimination policies of Virginia’s colleges and universities. Stand out and speak up on the issues that affect your community.

GLBTTQQIAAP Cultural Celebration Keynote Performer: Andrea Gibson
October 26
7 p.m., Lee Hall, Room 411

A powerful live performer, Andrea Gibson is the winner of the 2008 Women’s World Poetry Slam and has placed third in the world on two international poetry slam stages. With Gibson, the personal is political. Her themes deconstruct gender norms, sexuality, class, patriarchy, and white-supremacist capitalist culture.

Queer Film Festival
Featuring Milk and The Birdcage
October 27
6 p.m., Great Hall, Woodard Campus Center
(For mature audiences)

Milk tells the story of American gay rights activist Harvey Milk and his struggles as the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California.

The Birdcage illustrates how standing out and speaking up can be difficult. A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to their son’s request to put up a straight front when his fiancée’s anti-gay, moralistic parents come to call.