August 11, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

UMW Theatre reimagines Dear Evan Hansen’s “Anybody Have a Map?”

by

A message from UMW Theatre.

We’ve started our last week of classes. We have all stretched ourselves. We have stepped into uncharted waters as we gather new ways to teach and learn. We have pushed beyond the bounds of what we thought was possible.

The University of Mary Washington is a special place, distinguished by the strong connections our faculty build with our students as they grow and learn together. COVID-19 has not changed that. In many ways, it has strengthened our work with each other.

There have been real challenges. And there have also been moments of real joy. One thing is certain, today more than ever before, we relish the moments of success and connections we find even when apart from one another.

And to celebrate that joy, this is a gift from UMW Theatre to you—”Anybody Have a Map?” from the blockbuster musical Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson reimagined by our students for today. Stay safe and well.

 

Gregg Stull signature

Gregg Stull
Producing Director

Gari Melchers Home & Studio Offers Digital Learning for All Ages

by

Gari Melchers Home & Studio (GMHS) is one of the best-preserved artist homes and working studios in the country. Although it is currently closed to the public in an effort to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, it is looking for new ways to engage the public.

GMHS is responding to rapidly changing times by compiling existing online material and creating new experiences under their new LEARN webpage found here at garimelchers.org/education/learn, which was featured in a recent Free Lance-Star article.

Included on LEARN are links to Preschool Palette and Picturing New Connection lesson plans, activities based on the museum’s collection, videos, printable coloring pages, popular blog posts, and a virtual tour of the museum’s wedding and reception event space.

Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby, inspired by the global #MuseumfromHome movement, ramped up the museum’s social media presence by sharing posts meant to educate, stimulate, and inspire. Gari Melchers’ many floral still life paintings star in #MuseumBouquet while the artist’s atmospheric paintings star in #MuseumMomentofZen.

Assistant Director and Curator Joanna Catron practiced proper social distancing while recording her Facebook private studio tour.

“Our mission is founded on preservation and education,” adds Scott Harris, executive director of University of Mary Washington Museums. “During this virus emergency, as we ensure the safety and integrity of our museum and its collections, we’re striving to fulfill our educational mission creatively online.”

Gari and Corinne Melchers lived through another worldwide virus crisis, the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919. The couple was familiar with quarantines, the wearing of protective gear, social distancing, and other aspects of life during a pandemic we face today. Watch the video.

Follow GMHS on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest.

College of Business Holds Honors Night Via Zoom

by

The College of Business held its Honors Night on April 16, via Zoom.

The College of Business held its Honors Night on April 16, via Zoom.

The College of Business held a virtual Honors Night on Thursday, April 16. Students were inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, and four were surprised with Outstanding Student Awards in each of COB majors/programs, and one was named the Rappahannock Rotary Ethical Student of the Year.

The recipients were:

Carley Vaughn, Patricia Lacey Metzger Memorial Award:  Accounting
Savannah Powers, Outstanding Student in Business Administration/International Business
Quintin Ricci, Outstanding Student in Marketing
Eric Boynton, Outstanding MBA Student
Dennis Ferry, Rappahannock Rotary Ethical Student of the Year

Uniquely UMW Tradition – Devil Goat Day – Lives On

by

The uniquely UMW tradition of Devil Goat Day continues this year. With classes online due to COVID-19, contests are being held virtually.

The uniquely UMW tradition of Devil Goat Day continues this year. With classes online due to COVID-19, contests are being held virtually.

The name might sound odd to some. But for University of Mary Washington students and alumni, “Devil Goat Day” is tradition – one that’s been around for nearly a century.

And this year, as always, it’s on!

With courses turned virtual and campus cleared out due to COVID-19, Senior Class Council (SCC) couldn’t bear to give up this uniquely UMW event – where students who graduate in odd years, called “devils,” compete with those who graduate in even years, called “goats.”

“We couldn’t let that day slide by without acknowledging the tradition that we care so much about,” said SCC President Eleanor Kilmon, who’s worked with her clubmates to take it online for a week instead of a day.

Launched Sunday, this year’s event is packed with as much Eagle pride and well-meaning rivalry – seniors and sophomores vs. juniors and freshmen – as ever. But instead of on Ball Circle, competitions take place on Instagram, with #umwdgd. Traditional matches of corn hole, cup-pong and bull-riding give way to virtual challenges unofficially measured by re-posts and tags. Read more.

Alumnus Shelters in Honduras to Save UMW-Born Nonprofit

by

2007 alumnus Shin Fujiyama inaugurates a school built by his nonprofit, Students Helping Honduras, which he started at UMW. SHH has built 55 schools in the impoverished country, which is currently on lockdown. While much of his staff have been evacuated, Fujiyama stayed behind in Honduras to care for 24 orphaned children. Photo courtesy of SHH.

2007 alumnus Shin Fujiyama inaugurates a school built by his nonprofit, Students Helping Honduras, which he started at UMW. SHH has built 55 schools in the impoverished country, which is currently on lockdown. While much of his staff have been evacuated, Fujiyama stayed behind in Honduras to care for 24 orphaned children. Photo courtesy of SHH.

Phoning it in isn’t an option for Shin Fujiyama ’07. At UMW, he threw himself into every assignment, task and responsibility – from serving hungry students in Seacobeck to organizing a thousand-person walkathon.

Now, living in Honduras in the midst of a global pandemic, Fujiyama is focused on rescuing the nonprofit he started at Mary Washington, Students Helping Honduras (SHH). While his American and European staff were evacuated due to the coronavirus threat, Fujiyama stayed behind to care for 24 orphaned kids at a children’s home he founded. To keep his dream alive of building schools across the impoverished country, he is relying on support from former professors and fellow alumni.

“My conviction to see this through has always been strong,” said Fujiyama, who started SHH 14 years ago with sister Cosmo, then a student at William & Mary. Since graduation from UMW, he’s lived in Honduras and oversees the nonprofit, which has over 50 chapters nationwide and has seen thousands of volunteers over the years.

Then came COVID-19.

“There’s a chance Honduras will face food shortages, civil unrest and massive outbreaks of the virus,” he said. “We need to confront those challenges together.” Read more.

Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer Vows to Continue Global Service

by

At their swearing-in ceremony last summer, Sebrine Abdulkadir, left, and fellow Peace Corps volunteers wear clothing handmade from traditional Botswanan fabrics. Abdulkadir’s service was cut short when the Peace Corps evacuated volunteers due to coronavirus.

At their swearing-in ceremony last summer, Sebrine Abdulkadir, left, and fellow Peace Corps volunteers wear clothing handmade from traditional Botswanan fabrics. Abdulkadir’s service was cut short when the Peace Corps evacuated volunteers due to coronavirus.

For Peace Corps volunteer Sebrine Abdulkadir ’19, posted in the southern African country of Botswana, the upheaval happened fast.

On a Monday morning in mid-March, she received an email saying she and other Peace Corps volunteers worldwide would be evacuated from their posts because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In three hours Abdulkadir packed what possessions she could from her house in the village of Good Hope, near the South African border. She left other belongings in the care of colleagues who had worked with her on projects to educate young people about HIV/AIDS.

By Monday evening, she was on her way to Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. And Wednesday morning she began her journey home, flying through South Africa and the United Arab Emirates before arriving in Washington, D.C.

“I didn’t really believe it till I was walking onto the plane,” Abdulkadir said. “It was stressful. I didn’t really have the chance to say goodbye.”

After a two-week quarantine upon returning to the United States, Abdulkadir has joined her mother and 7-year-old brother at home in Alexandria, Virginia. From her independent adult life and her own house in Botswana, the 22-year-old finds herself once again under a parent’s roof and contemplating her next steps. Read more.

UMW Celebrates Division III Week, April 13-19

by

UMW Women's Basketball participates in a read-aloud with local students.

UMW Women’s Basketball participates in a read-aloud with local students.

Dear UMW Colleagues,

Last week marked the NCAA’s Division III week, April 13-19, our student-athletes are not able to practice or compete. So rather than focus on what the student-athletes and their coaches accomplish on the field or court, I will take this opportunity to recognize their incredible devotion to a key part of our ASPIRE values—engagement through service.

As you may know, our student-athletes receive no athletic scholarships whatsoever. They chose the DIII model because it combines a love of the game with the chance to concentrate on academic achievement as well. Here at UMW, our varsity athletics teams pride themselves on not just their GPAs and win/loss records, but also how much and how often they can find opportunities to volunteer for a myriad of causes and groups in the Fredericksburg area. The Eagles have been working hard all year in a friendly competition to amass the most volunteer hours, and even though their Spring seasons and service events were abruptly ended, they managed to make substantial contributions.

UMW student-athletes participate in a clean-up of the Rappahannock River.

UMW student-athletes participate in a clean-up of the Rappahannock River.

For example, the men’s soccer team led all others in total service hours with 320.5. Off the pitch, they helped set up and break down equipment for the Make-a-Wish Foundation’s gymnastics event, served community dinners at the Fredericksburg Baptist Church, and assisted an elderly Fredericksburg resident with her move. The next closest team was men’s and women’s swimming, at 256 hours, followed by women’s basketball with 233. These teams participated in COAR Into the Streets and community dinners. But total service hours for a team is only one way the student-athletes compete. The women’s basketball team holds the record for most hours per individual student-athlete with an average of 15.52 hours. And the entire Athletics Department participated in a Capital Athletic Conference food drive during the Fall semester, collecting a whopping 6395 pounds of food to donate to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank. That total beat the nearest CAC competitor—CNU—by almost two tons.

All teams provided volunteers for special events like blood drives, reading clinics with grade school children, cleaning up the Rappahannock River, present wrapping for COAR, and assisting with Special Olympics events. These activities build camaraderie, but they also allow the volunteers a chance to learn about the needs of the local community and take an active role in helping others.

While we’re all anxious to get back to our usual routines, I hope you’ll join me in thanking the student-athletes and their coaches for their dedication to making our world just a little bit better.

Best wishes,

Mary Beth Mathews

UMW Faculty Athletics Representative, Professor of Religious Studies

Paino Addresses Faculty/Staff Concerns in Live Chat

by

President Paino spoke to faculty and staff yesterday in a live online forum designed to address questions and concerns that have surfaced throughout the past weeks as the University community has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic and worked to adjust to a “new normal.”

On the heels of a similar live student Q&A session, hosted on Zoom and YouTube, Paino answered more than 20 questions from employees in departments across the University. He covered a range of issues, from plans for students’ return to campus and admissions yield strategies to budget concerns and telework situations.

“Going through this, we’re going to learn a lot about ourselves and our operations moving forward,” Paino said. “I think that this will probably cause us to have a lot of deep conversations about our work in a variety of ways that we weren’t expecting just a month ago.”

Paino said he remains optimistic that students will be back on campus for the start of the fall semester and that he is putting together a task force to think through how that might work.

Provost Nina Mikhalevsky and Executive Director of Human Resources Beth Williams joined Paino in the live chat, answering questions related to their respective areas. Together, they addressed concerns about how altered operations have impacted students, how the overall UMW landscape could change, and the importance of community-wide contributions to admissions efforts.

Paino praised faculty for their ability to make a quick change from in-person to remote teaching and urged all employees to take time to care for themselves, both physically and emotionally.

“I think the thing that I’m most gratified by is that I get to work, even if it’s remotely, with such amazing people, and that has lifted my spirits,” he told Procurement Services’ Michelle Pickham, who joined the conversation to ask about Paino’s personal well-being.

“Even through the challenge and uncertainty of these times, I get to work with … people like yourself and others on campus who have given me such encouragement and such a sense of optimism that we’re going to meet this challenge and make it through.”

Hear the live Q&A session in its entirety on YouTube.

UMW Professor’s Online Initiative Attracts Tens of Thousands

by

The University of Mary Washington is among countless educational institutions worldwide that have switched to virtual classes due to the coronavirus threat, or COVID-19. Suddenly, students are at home, and so are their teachers. The transition has been daunting for many professors, especially those who have never taught online.

Higher Ed Learning Collective But one UMW faculty member saw it as an opportunity.

College of Education Professor John Broome launched the Higher Ed Learning Collective (HELC), a grassroots, we’re-all-in-it-together kind of Facebook group for sharing high- and low-tech remote-teaching tools, sprinkled with a dose of self-care. He never imagined the Collective would gain traction across the globe in just a few weeks, morphing into a worldwide movement with over 24,000 members in more than 100 countries … and counting.

HELC already has introduced a website and YouTube channel, and dozens of universities, libraries and online learning sites are recommending the group, as is UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Collective is creating a sense of community in a world that desperately needs one, and Broome hopes HELC will outlive the coronavirus pandemic, driving faculty to better address the diverse needs of students.

“Not everyone has access to good online or hybrid pedagogy,” said Broome, who – like so many fellow academics – was anxiously posting on social media. “We’re struggling as educators and as humans … so why not teach each other for free?” Read more.

UMW to Hold 14th Annual Research & Creativity Symposium Virtually, April 23-24

by

Over the past academic year our students have been hard at work on their individual or team research and creative projects. Some of them have completed these projects as part of a course, as a capstone project, or even to achieve departmental honors recognition. Given the limitations placed on us by the current COVID-19 crisis, the University has created a virtual site for students at the University of Mary Washington to showcase their work, and for the UMW community to give them feedback and encouragement. Please visit http://umwrcd.net/ for the online application and for a list of presentations and presenters.

Applications are through the Google form on this website under the tab Applications. Student submissions will be due by midnight April 17, 2020. The Virtual Symposium will begin, here on this site, on April 23, 2020 and continue through midnight April 24, 2020.