Marissa Miller wants University of Mary Washington students to know that when they disclose incidents of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking, they will be heard and supported.

“Many assume they’ll have to come in and share their story,” said Miller, who recently became the director of UMW’s Center for Prevention and Education, or CPE. That’s not required, she said, “but we want students to know they have lots of options and that we’re here to help them feel empowered with whatever decisions they make.”

With her new and vital position at Mary Washington, Miller stands as the first line of support and resources, offering direct services to students who experience sex- and gender-based violence. Her office will also oversee the continuation of a $300,000 grant, awarded by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), which will help expand CPE’s services and offer more programming focused on prevention, awareness and education, intervention and advocacy. UMW is among 52 institutions of higher education selected to receive these federal funds, which come as the University observes Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. Read more.

University of Mary Washington senior Desmoné Logan wields a rainbow of highlighters at the day planner displaying her dizzying schedule. RA duties get a splash of green. Pink’s for her off-campus job. And clubs? They’re listed – ubiquitously – in blue.

A biomedical major who also runs track, Logan is president of Women of Color, a Student Alumni Ambassador and a Farmer Fellow. And that’s just for starters. Because of her dexterity and dedication, she won this year’s Citizenship Award for Diversity Leadership. With it, she’s a role model, “planting a seed” of intersectionality she hopes will take root at Mary Washington and in her planned future – a career in trauma surgery with a humanitarian twist.

Born and raised in Brooklyn and Queens, Logan moved in middle school to Chesapeake, Virginia, where she found a scant mix of ethnicities and – often under the surface, sometimes above it – a sense of discrimination. “Desmoné is passionate about diversity and social justice because of her own lived experiences,” said James Farmer Multicultural Center (JFMC) Director Marion Sanford. “Her culture and race impact her work.” Read more.

Becca Winicour stands on her tiptoes to snag a soy yogurt off the top shelf, as Maggie Ellis, grocery scanner in hand, consults another classmate.

“I found three blueberry ones,” she said, “but they’re not even a month old.”

These University of Mary Washington seniors are enrolled in a new course called Alleviating Food Waste, which explores the root causes of unused food – a multi-billion-dollar problem in the United States – as well as ways in which it can be remedied. Hungry to learn more, students spend a few hours each week documenting expired products at the Fredericksburg Food Co-op, create tasty dishes with soon-to-be discarded items and cook up campaigns for saving imperfect produce.

“Around 40 percent of all food in our country goes to waste,” said Associate Professor of Marketing Kashef Majid, who teaches the class. Read more.

It is with great sadness we report that Writing Center Director Gwen Hale died this morning in southwest Virginia. She had been there since summer in hospice care near her family. Diagnosed at age 20 with cancer, Dr. Hale fought valiantly and overcame many hurdles. She accepted a position at UMW in 2011, serving as Writing Intensive Program Director as well as Writing Center Director. Dr. Hale received undergraduate and master’s degrees from East Tennessee State University, and she earned a Ph.D. from Middle Tennessee State University, where she discovered a passion for helping people put words to page.

A lover of animals, Dr. Hale was actively involved with UMW’s First-in-Family initiatives and the James Farmer Multicultural Center. She was one of the driving forces behind the Eagle Resource Closet. And she loved to have fun! She started the Pajama Writing Jam the Saturday before finals in order to help students finish their papers. Keeping the Writing Center open from noon till midnight, she offered coffee, soda, pizza – and pep talks – to pajama-clad students.

With writing being so important to her, Dr. Hale penned these words before she died: Please know that UMW was the first job I ever had that felt like home. Thank you all for allowing me to contribute to the university. The Writing Center and the students were the best parts of my working life. Please take care and be good to one another.

More information will be shared later, but a celebration of life for Dr. Hale will likely take place next spring.