January 21, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

UMW-Dahlgren Partnership Addresses Critical Needs

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And a handshake makes it official. President Troy Paino and Capt. Casey Plew finalize the partnership after signing documents of agreement. To the left is UMW Provost Nina Mikhalevsky, and NSWCDD Acting Technical Director Darren Barnes is on the right. Photo by Robert A. Martin.

And a handshake makes it official. President Troy Paino and Capt. Casey Plew finalize the partnership after signing documents of agreement. To the left is UMW Provost Nina Mikhalevsky, and NSWCDD Acting Technical Director Darren Barnes is on the right. Photo by Robert A. Martin.

Individuals who work at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) contribute toward a lofty goal: develop technology that improves the U.S. military’s ability to fight, win and bring troops home safely.

The institution of higher education located in closest proximity to Dahlgren – University of Mary Washington (UMW) – wants to contribute toward NSWCDD’s goal.

The first step has been taken.

NSWCDD employees – 40 percent of whom have advanced degrees – now have a chance to improve their skills and, possibly, achieve yet another degree. All they have to do is leave the office and drive across Highway 301 to Mary Washington’s Dahlgren Campus.

UMW’s College of Business, in collaboration with Continuing and Professional Studies, has enrolled its first cohort of Dahlgren leaders in a project management certificate program. Those admitted for the program are qualified, if interested, to pursue a master’s in business administration after December 2021 when they earn their certificates. Read more.

Etan Thomas to Give Black History Month Keynote, Feb. 12

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Former Washington Wizard, activist, author and motivational speaker Etan Thomas will deliver UMW's Black History Month keynote address on Feb. 12.

Former Washington Wizard, activist, author and motivational speaker Etan Thomas will deliver UMW’s Black History Month keynote address on Feb. 12.

Former Washington Wizard, activist, author and motivational speaker Etan Thomas will deliver UMW’s Black History Month keynote address on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in the UC’s Chandler Ballroom.

Thomas is a prolific author of poetry, nonfiction books and articles. His 2018 work, We Matter: Athletes and Activism, is one of Book Authority’s Top Ten best activism books of all time. The African-American Literary Awards named it a best nonfiction book for 2018. Thomas received the 2010 National Basketball Players Association Community Contribution Award for social justice and the 2009 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation Legacy Award. He writes for The Guardian and is seen on MSNBC and ESPN as a special correspondent. He also co-hosts a radio show, The Collision, where sports and politics intersect.

Hosted by the James Farmer Multicultural Center, the event is part of Farmer Legacy 2020, a yearlong celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of the civil rights icon and late Mary Washington professor Dr. James L. Farmer Jr., who orchestrated the Freedom Rides in 1961 to desegregate interstate transportation and bus terminals. UMW is committed to advancing Farmer’s work in social justice and civic engagement, and like Thomas, is preparing young people to address our society’s greatest challenges. Read more.

Great Lives Continues with The Beach Boys, Dr. Seuss

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The 17th season of the William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series continues this evening, Feb. 6, with a look at the quintessential American band, The Beach Boys, as well as the artistic genius and downward spiral of its leader, Brian Wilson. Biographer Peter Ames Carlin will talk about his book, Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. This series is open to the public free of charge and no admission tickets are required. Programs begin at 7:30 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium in George Washington Hall. Each lecture concludes with an audience Q&A session with the speaker and a book-signing. The Davenport & Company Lecture.

This is the story of The Beach Boys in the context of American history and the two sets of ideals, faith and money, that have defined our society since the Pilgrims sailed the ocean blue. In both music and the five Beach Boys, brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their first cousin Mike Love and neighbor Al Jardine, presented a dreamy vision of California as Eden: a place filled with, sun, surf and beautiful girls. The group turned towards art music in the mid-sixties, but Brian Wilson, the group’s resident genius, was as troubled as he was brilliant, and as his visions became more avant-garde the group turned away, choosing to become a perpetual motion nostalgia machine that continues to fill casino showrooms and state fair venues across the country. And so here we are again: Art vs. commerce, faith vs. finance. The fact that the legendarily lost (for nearly 40 years) Smile album, a psychedelic masterpiece Brian recorded in 1966 only to lose his way and vanish for the better part of the next thirty years, was about Manifest Destiny’s impact on the nation, tells us something. In both their beauty and their ugliness the Beach Boys are truly the most truly American band that has ever existed.

The Great Lives series will continue on Tuesday, Feb. 11, with Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination, by Brian Jay Jones, The New York Times bestselling author of Jim Henson: The Biography. The JON Properties/Van Zandt Restorations Lecture.

With more than 600 million copies of his books sold worldwide, few names are as recognizable and beloved as “Dr. Seuss.” And yet, the man behind the pseudonym, Theodor Seuss Geisel, was more nuanced than his outsized legacy – and his journey to American icon was never preordained. In his early days as a magazine cartoonist in Prohibition-era New York and a successful career in advertising, and his later work as a progressive editorial cartoonist and dreams of a career as a Hollywood screenwriter, Geisel produced children’s books only sporadically, and not always successfully. Jones explores the artistic and intellectual trajectory that convinced Geisel that children’s books were “a good profession,” and that children deserved to be taken seriously as readers – a long and creative journey that transformed Theodor Geisel into Dr. Seuss.

Great Lives continues on Tuesday, Feb. 18 with Stephen Hawking, by Kitty Ferguson.

Coffee with President Paino, Feb. 13

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Mary Washington President Troy Paino. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Mary Washington President Troy Paino. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Dear UMW Faculty and Staff,

President Paino invites you to join him for coffee and conversation as we continue the series of coffee talks this semester.  Please plan to attend one of the following:

  • Thursday, February 13 3:30-4:30 p.m., Trinkle Hall, Room 140
  • Tuesday, March 17 9:30-10:30 a.m., Lee Hall, Room 412
  • Wednesday, April 1 4-5 p.m., Stafford Campus, South Building, Room 210
  • Monday, April 20 10:30-11:30 a.m., Monroe Hall, Room 111

Thank you.

Office of the President

One Note Stand Single Makes A Cappella Album

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UMW’s a cappella group, One Note Stand, recently learned its most recent single, ‘See Her Out,’ was among 20 songs chosen for 2020’s Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) album.

UMW’s a cappella group, One Note Stand, recently learned its most recent single, ‘See Her Out,’ was among 20 songs chosen for 2020’s Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) album.

Out of hundreds of national submissions, Mary Washington’s One Note Stand stood out.

The co-ed a cappella group started its year on a high note, with its most recent single, See Her Out, among 20 songs chosen for 2020’s Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) album. One Note Stand also made its fourth consecutive appearance at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Mid-Atlantic quarterfinals in Washington, D.C., last weekend.

The ensemble could barely contain its excitement, said President Kali Lassiter, who “jumped for joy” when she learned the song was selected. “We put in a lot of hard work and it paid off.” Read more.

UMW Theatre Presents ‘Ordinary Days,’ Feb. 13-23

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UMW Theatre presents ‘Ordinary Days,’ running in Klein Theatre from Feb. 13-23. Pay-What-You-Can Preview on Feb. 12.

Four young New Yorkers navigate the chaos of being alive in the city that never sleeps, in a world that is eternally shifting. While seemingly unconnected, their paths become entwined in the most unexpected of ways and at the most unlikely of moments. This simple, sweet musical by one of today’s most impressive musical theatre talents, Adam Gwon, reminds us that remarkable lives grow from weeks, months, and years of quite Ordinary Days.

“. . . a sad-sweet comment on the anonymity of life in the city, where it is possible to change other people’s fates without actually getting to meet them.” —The New York Times

“A fresh alternative to most of the overproduced stuff on Broadway.” —The Washington Post

Tickets are available online, over the phone and in person at the Klein Theatre Box Office, which is open Monday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Teacher of the Year: ‘It’s About Touching Their Hearts’

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National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson spoke of his quest to bring equity to the classroom last night at UMW’s Dodd Auditorium. Photos by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson spoke of his quest to bring equity to the classroom last night at UMW’s Dodd Auditorium. Photos by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Children need to feel safe, understood and loved in order to find success in the classroom. That’s the message 2019 National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson delivered last night in UMW’s Dodd Auditorium.

“It’s about relationships,” said Robinson, who teaches history at the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center’s Virgie Binford Education Center. “It’s about touching their hearts and making them want to change.”

He had one word for teaching, especially in the prison system: tough. Robinson believes teachers must meet students’ basic, social and emotional needs before tackling academics. He urged educators – many of whom were in the audience of about 200 – to get to know their students, empathize with them and create culturally responsive curricula that take into account the students’ interests and experiences as human beings.

“Every day, everything I do is viewed through a lens of equity,” Robinson said. “I believe that all students can learn and it’s everybody’s job to help teach the children.” Read more.

UMW to Offer Japanese Language Courses

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Japanese Minister of Public Affairs Takehiro Shimada (second from the left) and Takeshi Yoshida of the Japan Foundation (far right) visited UMW today to celebrate the announcement of the University’s new Japanese language program, funded by a grant from the Japan Foundation. From L-R: Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Betsy Lewis, Mr. Shimada, Provost Nina Mikhalevsky, Center of International Education Director Jose Sainz, Professor Steve Rabson, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger and Mr. Yoshida. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Japanese Minister of Public Affairs Takehiro Shimada (second from the left) and Takeshi Yoshida of the Japan Foundation (far right) visited UMW today to celebrate the announcement of the University’s new Japanese language program, funded by a grant from the Japan Foundation. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Spending a semester in Japan, UMW senior Kaitlin Viloria was in a shop when a young woman asked her a question. The woman spoke no English and Viloria’s Japanese was limited, but they still managed to strike up a conversation.

Viloria wishes she was more proficient, she said, “but in that moment, I was proud of my ability to overcome the language barrier.”

Future Mary Washington students who travel to Japan will be able to communicate with confidence, thanks to the Japanese language courses UMW will offer starting this fall. Earlier today, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger and Center for International Education Director Jose Sainz joined guests from the Japanese Embassy, faculty, administrators and city officials at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center to announce the new program. Japanese Minister of Public Affairs Takehiro Shimada gave a talk after the ceremony. Read more.

Coffee with President Paino

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Mary Washington President Troy Paino. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Mary Washington President Troy Paino. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Dear UMW Faculty and Staff,

President Paino invites you to join him for coffee and conversation as we continue the series of coffee talks this semester.  Please plan to attend one of the following:

  • Thursday, February 13 3:30-4:30 p.m., Trinkle Hall, Room 140
  • Tuesday, March 17 9:30-10:30 a.m., Lee Hall, Room 412
  • Wednesday, April 1 4-5 p.m., Stafford Campus, South Building, Room 210
  • Monday, April 20 10:30-11:30 a.m., Monroe Hall, Room 111

Thank you.

Office of the President

Alumni Relations Hosts Volunteer Leadership Summit, Jan. 31-Feb. 2

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The UMW Office of Alumni Relations is pleased to host their second biannual Volunteer Leadership Summit January 31 – February 2.  Nearly 90 alumni leaders from across the country are expected on campus to network, share ideas, and learn leadership strategies and best practices. Summit highlights include a presentation by Shin Fujiyama ’07, Founder and Executive Director, Students Helping Honduras, and a keynote address by Capt. Nizhonlii Robinson, of the United States Naval Academy, entitled “Leadership is a Relationship.” The summit will conclude with a “Spirited Social” at A. Smith Bowman Distillery. Representatives from the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Young Alumni Council, UMW Foundation Board of Directors, College of Business Executive Advisory Board, College of Arts & Sciences Advisory Board, College of Education Advisory Board, Regional Network Leaders, Affinity Group Leaders, Honors Program Advisory Board, Student Alumni Ambassadors, and others will be in attendance. A few spaces remain for faculty and staff to attend. Email Mark Thaden – mthad2zw@umw.edu if you would like to attend.