A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Greetings,
UMW Galleries is pleased to announce the opening of the 2021 UMW Studio Art Senior Exhibition!
The exhibition, located in duPont Gallery, features the work of 23 seniors. It will open Monday, April 26th, and will run through May 9th.
We encourage you to schedule your visit in advance as the Galleries are operating under limited capacity. To schedule your visit, click here.
Sincerely,
UMW Galleries
Mary Wash Giving Day gifts will benefit students and programs across the University. A goal of 3,000 gifts has been set, and with a $5 gift minimum, participants are asked to help unlock additional challenge amounts by meeting participation benchmarks throughout the day.
More than $130,000 in challenges and matches are waiting to be unlocked on Mary Wash Giving Day, Tuesday, April 13. With a goal of 3,000 gifts in 24 hours to benefit students and programs across the University of Mary Washington, the emphasis on participation is reflected in this year’s theme of #AllTogetherUMW.
Several of the University’s most loyal supporters have committed to double (and sometimes triple) gifts made on April 13 at givingday.umw.edu. With a $5 gift minimum, all who love Mary Washington are asked to help unlock additional challenge amounts by meeting participation benchmarks throughout the day:
More than 200 Giving Day ambassadors – alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends of UMW – have signed on to help spread the word on social media. Their enthusiasm is a key ingredient in the day’s success; data from past Giving Days shows that each social post by an ambassador inspires three additional gifts. Anyone can sign up online as an ambassador (and receive a digital toolkit and unique referral link). Read more.
Nehemia Abel ’20 has secured a highly competitive Payne Fellowship, which covers most of the cost of graduate school and provides a “unique pathway” toward a future career with USAID.
Securing a free ride to grad school, in large part, through a highly competitive Payne Fellowship was the easy step for Nehemia Abel ’20.
The hard step is deciding among the six prestigious schools to which he has been accepted for his pursuit of a master’s degree in international development: Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, George Washington, Howard and American.
Abel is a believer in paying it forward – and giving back.
Born in Tanzania, he escaped the east African nation of Burundi with help from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “During my time in a refugee camp, USAID – along with UNICEF – helped my family tremendously by providing us daily necessities and other vital support. I would like to give back by assisting others living in crisis situations globally,” Abel said.
The Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program is described as a “unique pathway” towards gaining employment with USAID. According to the Payne Fellowship website, “If you want to work on the front lines of some of the most pressing global challenges of our times — poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and violent extremism – the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development provides such an opportunity.” Read more.
At the University of Mary Washington’s 2014 commencement ceremony, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger heard something he knew he’d never forget.
A patch of garbage, estimated to be twice the size of Texas, is floating in the Pacific, Mellinger said, and is the largest of five offshore zones accumulating in the world’s oceans. That fact, which he called “truly alarming,” was shared by Rebecca Rubin, who gave that year’s commencement address to UMW graduates eager to make their mark on the world – while also reducing their carbon footprint.
“You don’t have to be a scientist or an academic to help save nature,” Rubin told them. Everyone plays a part in protecting and preserving the planet.
Just in time for Earth Day on April 22, UMW and Marstel-Day, the Fredericksburg-based environmental consulting firm Rubin founded, are teaming up to present A Climate of Change. This three-part series of public discussions with local leaders, held on Tuesdays in April on Zoom, aims to amp up critical dialogue about climate change and issues like environmental justice, clean energy and conservation. Following each discussion, Mellinger and Rubin will moderate a public question-and-answer session.
“UMW is sort of the anchor of the region,” said Mellinger, whose childhood experiences camping and hiking cultivated an interest in environmental and sustainability issues. “We pull together folks and facilitate conversation and collaboration.” Read more.
UMW students, faculty and staff, and alumni from the classes for 2014-2020 were surveyed in October 2020 (at the bequest of the Campus Advisory Panel). There were over 2250 responses. This forum, hosted by the students of Sociology 371 (The Invention of the Police: Policing and Social Control), examines the results of that survey. Questions included those on general attitudes about the American policing, attitudes about the UMW Police Department, safety on campus, comments about improving interactions between students and campus police. Data will also be broken out by various demographic categories, as relevant.
The April 1 and 5 forums, for students, faculty and staff have already occurred. The April 14 forum is for alumni; however, other groups may attend.
April 14th
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Apr 14, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Here's What You Said! Presentation on Alumni Data from Campus Police Survey
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://umw-sso.zoom.us/j/82493649383?pwd=bnVtVXRtMjlUdWZ6MVZSdGkyQmlRdz09
Passcode: 420418
Or One tap mobile :
US: +13126266799,,82493649383# or +16465588656,,82493649383#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
Webinar ID: 824 9364 9383
International numbers available: https://umw-sso.zoom.us/u/kcaoNTGWm0
Study for The Nativity, wash drawing, by Gari Melchers
Fourteen preliminary sketches and studies executed by local painting legend, Gari Melchers, are on view at Belmont, the Gari Melchers Home and Studio until June 1, 2021.
The collection at Belmont is the largest Gari Melchers inventory of its kind, including hundreds of sketches and studies that document his personal creative methodology. When working out a conceptual plan, the artist considered one or more design elements at a time, such as composition, proportion, form, light, color and perspective. Many of his experimental drawings eventually found their culmination as easel paintings, and the comparison of preliminary to finished works gives one the sense of looking over the artist’s shoulder as he gains new insights, eliminates undesirable pictorial effects and discovers better solutions. What’s also apparent is that his sketches and studies can have so strong a visual appeal due to the spontaneity of the effort that many of his examples can stand alone as works of art.
UMW Theatre and Studio 115 has teamed up with Fairfax County Public Schools to present Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up) by Ed Monk.
Dad is determined to make bedtime a smashing success. How hard could it be?! Just read a few books and then . . . REST AND RELAXATION! Little does he know that the kids have impossibly high standards and, as he begins to dive in, Dad quickly realizes he doesn’t remember the classics as well as he thought. As his retellings teeter off the rails, he weaves unforgettable stories from familiar, yet fractured, tales.
Please visit http://www.broadwayondemand.com/signup to register for an account prior to the performance. To attend the performance, visit: http://www.umwtheatre.org/bedtime.
If you would like to share information about the performance with parents of young children (aged 4-11) or any educators in your life you may share this linked PDF.
We are excited about this opportunity for our students to share this story with our community. We hope you will join us and spread the word. Should you have any questions, please email jreynol2@umw.edu.
Dear UMW Colleagues,
April 5-11 marks the NCAA’s Division III week, a national celebration of Division III student-athletes and their commitment to academic and athletic excellence. Division III student-athletes receive no athletic scholarships whatsoever. Like all of our students, UMW student-athletes learn valuable lessons in the classroom and in their chosen activities. I’d like to highlight what two UMW alumni have told me about how athletics influenced them after Mary Washington and into their careers.
Jin Wong ’97
In order of graduation from UMW, Jin Wong (Business, Class of 1997, Baseball) currently works as Assistant General Manager for Baseball Operations for the Kansas City Royals.
Being a student-athlete at UMW, I came to understand the importance of time management and prioritization. Sports encourages teamwork, nurtures leadership skills, satisfies our competitive natures, and helps us understand how we cope with pressure and expectations. I firmly believe that these skills I developed while a member of the baseball team proved extremely valuable for me in life after UMW.
Shelby Harris, (Economics, Class of 2016, Tennis) is the Private Events Manager at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Shelby Harris ’16
Being a student-athlete at UMW prepared me in multiple ways for life post-college. I learned the importance of time management and organization from when I had to balance school work with practices. These skills have transferred over to my career where I have to multitask and adhere to deadlines. Being a captain of my collegiate team taught me leadership and communication skills which have been key throughout my personal and professional life. The early morning workouts and the late nights traveling for matches instilled in me the importance of working hard and not being afraid of long hours. Especially when I started my career right out of college, I was always willing to come in as early or stay as late as needed to get the job done.
Most importantly, being a part of a team at UMW gave me a family that I am still close with years after we have all graduated. Having a strong support system and network post-college has really been beneficial for all of us as we have journeyed through different careers in all regions of the country. For these reasons, I am super grateful for my time at UMW as a student-athlete!
I hope you’ll join me in applauding our student-athletes, as well as their coaches and trainers, as they continue to develop life-long skills here at UMW.
Best wishes,
Mary Beth Mathews, Faculty Athletics Representative, Professor of Religious Studies
Get ready for a FUN RUN! Hybrid 5k on April 10th at 1 p.m. All participants will receive a Freddy’s gift card AND and Amazon gift card will be given for top times. Winner will receive an IM CHAMP t-shirt. Link to register here.
Campus Rec is now hiring interns for Fall 2021. Positions include: Graphic Design, Videography/Photography, and Communications. Apply here.
Preschool Palette offers classes both onsite at Gari Melchers Home and Studios and online.
The “Young Life” column in The Free Lance-Star’s Weekender section recently highlighted “Preschool Palette,” a program for young visitors, aged 2-5, at Gari Melchers Home and Studio, which is being offered both on-site and online.
“I feel that art galleries are for people of all ages, and children shouldn’t be intimidated by them. Exploring art can inspire them to create something, too!” said Michelle Crow–Dolby, education and communications manager.
One of the most popular programs for children that was launched nearly 10 years ago is “Preschool Palette,” with sessions that include a story-reading, colorful garden stroll and a related art project.
“I realized that the children in that age bracket of 2 to 5 were underserved in the art world. This was one of the first regional art programs that targeted preschoolers,” said Crow–Dolby. Read more.
The column also recently highlighted UMW Theatre’s upcoming virtual children’s performance of ““Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up),” staged by the student-led Studio 115.
Playwright Ed Monk wrote “Bedtime Stories” when he had young children, and the script speaks to parents as much as the younger demographic. The show follows a father telling his kids bedtime stories, but he doesn’t quite remember the tales, and invents twists, turns and endings on the fly.
Junior theater majors Oscar Leon and Cate Puglia are co-directing the piece. And while they’d prefer to perform in person, the experience—like a bedtime story—has taught them valuable lessons. Read more.