August 11, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Contribute COVID-19 Stories to Special Collections and University Archives

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Archival materials detailing the University of Mary Washington’s history are used in many research projects. Photo provided by Simpson Library.

Archival materials detailing the University of Mary Washington’s history are used in many research projects. Photo provided by Simpson Library.

Today, we are all finding our way through a crisis that future students and scholars will be studying in the years ahead. We know that it is important to preserve as much of the record as possible for future researchers. Staff in Special Collections and University Archives are archiving the University’s response to COVID-19. However, there are important materials that we cannot collect without your help: individual stories. If you’re a UMW community member and have been keeping a record of these events and how they’ve impacted your life, please consider donating them to University Archives in the future. If you haven’t, please consider this a call to write and help us document this unprecedented global crisis. Read more.

Physical Distance & Social Solidarity: Greetings from Center for Community Engagement

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A message from the Center for Community Engagement. 

Hi UMW colleagues,

How are you doing? We wanted to reach out, even during this confusing, unsettling, rapidly changing time – because we wanted to share ideas for you – and your students – about staying engaged with community & civic life. Believe it or not, there’s a lot going on that we can still attend to that can help strengthen our communities.

a. Social distancing: Of course the big one, the one on all of our minds, is complying with social distancing recommendations. We aren’t the public health experts – and we are confident you’re already getting this info other places. But as many a circulating Facebook post indicates, doing this work is a powerful form of solidarity.

b. Volunteering, just not in person: There are virtual volunteering opportunities, we’ve attached a document Volunteering in the Time of COVID 19 with some ideas & links on this front. And we have also been collecting suggestions for people who could use some kind words right now. For example – we are still gathering best contact information, but our social networks tell us that some of our residents at the Falls Run Nursing Home would like letters or cards, and there are efforts to send supporting words to our local hospital workers. (Please stay in touch with me or with Sarah if you want updates on this, as we get it.)

c. Supporting our community institutions: Many of our community institutions, including nonprofits and small businesses, need our help. In Fredericksburg:

• Micah Ministries has requested gift cards from grocery stores or cash donations: https://micahfredericksburg.networkforgood.com/projects/95553-covid-19-support. You can mail them gift cards for grocery stores (Giant is best) or donations to purchase them, they are doing that instead of community dinners. Mail them to Micah/Amy Ridderhoff, 226 Princess Anne Street, Fred VA 22401

• You can buy gift cards to support local restaurants: Just google the restaurant, and see if they have online gift cards. For example, to help Orofino, visit: https://www.toasttab.com/orofino/giftcards.

d. THE CENSUS!!! As many of you know, Census mailers are arriving at homes right now – in the midst of a lot of change and confusion. We have a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help guide people. And in general, you can go to www.2020census.gov and complete the census on any computer, smartphone, or tablet (click on “If you do not have a Census ID, click here” if needed). Encourage your students, and their parents, to do so, following the guidelines outlined in the Frequently Asked Questions. The most important message: Students are counted where they reside on April 1, 2020 AND spend most of their time, which means that the majority of students should be counted in their college community.

e. Voting: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, voters are being asked for vote using an absentee ballot. If you are voting in the City of Fredericksburg, please follow these steps. For other voting districts, you can follow these directions, but choose your locality when filling out the online form.

f. Community partners, resilience, the awesome power of working together: I just wanted to share some info with you also about how some of our community partners are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. These are amazing groups, struggling with such challenging circumstances. This is in no way representative, but rather a snapshot of a corner of our communities:

*Our local emergency food systems have had to refocus & redirect. Many food pantries have had to close (but please check with the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank as they post a weekly schedule of operating pantries.) And I’m sure you seen the news of how school districts throughout our region – and our country – have worked to provide food to students in need while school is closed.

*People who are homeless – or at risk of becoming so – face particular challenges with social distancing. (Where can you go to be distant, and safe?) There’s been a concerted effort by our local homeless service providers, the Continuum of Care, and the State Department of Housing and Community Development to try to assist efforts to get the most vulnerable people without housing into motels; and to try to keep those only tenuously housed in their places until we come through this crisis.

*And partly to that end, there’s recognition that evictions & foreclosures are especially dangerous right now. The Supreme Court of Virginia declared a judicial emergency, calling for the postponement of non-emergency cases until at least April 6. This means we should not see new eviction filings, notices, etc. – hopefully preventing further vulnerability to homelessness.

This was way too long – please excuse me for carrying on! But these are times when the strength of our communities really shines through – and times when it is even more important to be sure our communities stay strong. Please let us know how we can help.

Best,
Leslie Martin & Sarah Dewees
Center for Community Engagement

C-Span’s American History TV to Air Great Lives Lecture

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C-Span’s American History TV will air the Great Lives lecture from Tuesday, March 10, “Female Internet Inventors,” by Claire Evans, author of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet. Titled “Women and Computers,” the program will air at the following times:

  • Saturday, March 28 at 10:30 p.m. EDT
  • Sunday, March 29 at 4:30 p.m. EDT
  • Monday, March 30 at 2:45 a.m. EDT

Description: The history of technology you probably know is one of men and machines, garages and riches, alpha nerds and brogrammers – but female visionaries have always been at the vanguard of technology and innovation. In fact, women turn up at the very beginning of every important wave in technology. They may have been hidden in plain sight, their inventions and contributions touching our lives in ways we don’t even realize, but they have always been part of the story. In Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet (Penguin Random House), Claire L. Evans finally gives these unsung female heroes their due with her insightful social history of the women who made the Internet what it is today.

Speaker: Claire L. Evans is a writer and musician. She is the singer and co-author of the conceptual pop group YACHT, a founding editor of Terraform, VICE’s science-fiction vertical, and the author of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women who Made the Internet (Penguin Random House, 2018). She is the former Futures Editor of Motherboard, and a contributor to VICE, Rhizome, Quartz, The Guardian, WIRED, and Aeon. She is an advisor to graduate design students at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and has taught and lectured about science fiction, art, and technology around the world, at places like Walker Art Center, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, CalArts, Arizona State University, UC Berkeley, General Assembly San Francisco, La Gaité Lyrique, the Hirshhorn Museum, and the Riverside Museum of Art in Beijing, among many others. She lives in Los Angeles, where she runs the beloved LA-centric culture app 5 Every Day.

Contribute COVID-19 Stories to Special Collections and University Archives

by

Archival materials detailing the University of Mary Washington’s history are used in many research projects. Photo provided by Simpson Library.

Archival materials detailing the University of Mary Washington’s history are used in many research projects. Photo provided by Simpson Library.

Today, we are all finding our way through a crisis that future students and scholars will be studying in the years ahead. We know that it is important to preserve as much of the record as possible for future researchers. Staff in Special Collections and University Archives are archiving the University’s response to COVID-19. However, there are important materials that we cannot collect without your help: individual stories. If you’re a UMW community member and have been keeping a record of these events and how they’ve impacted your life, please consider donating them to University Archives in the future. If you haven’t, please consider this a call to write and help us document this unprecedented global crisis. Read more.

UMW Receives ‘Tree Campus USA’ Recognition

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University of Mary Washington has earned recognition as a 2019 Tree Campus USA® by the Arbor Day Foundation. The honor goes to colleges and universities, and their leaders, for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

To obtain this distinction, University of Mary Washington met the five core standards for effective campus forest management: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project.

“Tree Campuses and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but the surrounding communities showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Arbor Day Foundation President Dan Lambe. “Because of University of Mary Washington’s participation air will be purer, water cleaner and your students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty the trees provide.”

Feeling Alone? Phone a Mary Washington Friend

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A Mary Washington student using a hall telephone in 1965.

A Mary Washington student using a hall telephone in 1965

The Alumni Relations Team has reached out to alumni who may be feeling isolated due to social distancing with the following letter.

Mary Washington Alumni,

It seems that each day we are waking up to a world of uncertainty as the impact of the novel coronavirus (or COVID-19) spreads across the globe. Millions of people are being encouraged to distance themselves from others, creating a prolonged period of isolation.

Humans are social beings, and isolation can be extremely difficult with potential health implications. As UMW President Troy D. Paino recently said, “Mary Washington stands for so much—education, empowerment, integrity, caring, and compassion. But most of all, people. At Mary Washington, it’s always about people.”

In an effort to support our alumni, students, and community, the Alumni Relations team is excited to launch the “Phone a Mary Washington Friend” program. During program hours, anyone feeling isolated from the world and craving some human interaction may call to speak with a caring and friendly member of the UMW team.

Phone A Mary Washington Friend
10am-8pm (Eastern)
Monday through Saturday
(540) 654-1173

Tell us about your favorite professors or places on campus, the friends you met, and the career path you took. Or, share your ideas of what we can do in the future. While right now it might feel like it, no one in our community is alone. Someone who is happy to connect is just a phone call away.

Together, we will get through this challenging time and emerge stronger and more resilient than ever. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or would like further information. We appreciate your support as we navigate this unprecedented situation.

 

Sincerely,

The Alumni Relations Team

Letter from the President: Remote instruction continues through end of semester

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To all members of the Mary Washington community,

It would be difficult to overstate how unprecedented the last several days have been. Our lives and institutions have been disrupted in ways that we never could have imagined when the semester began. Like many of our colleagues across the Commonwealth and around the country, our decision to temporarily suspend face-to-face classes last week was done with the hope that such an interruption would be brief and that normal operations would return in a short period of time. It is now clear that this will not be the case as a more concerted national social distancing effort is needed.

Guidance from public health officials tells us that we should limit gatherings for several additional weeks as we all do our part to take the necessary steps to limit the spread of COVID-19. As a result, we have reached the very painful conclusion that we will not be returning to normal operations this semester. So, UMW will continue remote instruction through the end of the semester and final exams. In addition, all campus-based or sponsored events at Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Dahlgren are cancelled through May 15.

Remote instruction, academic advising and all other instructional support activity going forward will be done remotely through the end of the semester, with grades still being due on May 5. All current academic support areas, including the Teaching Center, Digital Learning Support, Library, Office of Disability Resources, Academic Services, Financial Aid, Registrar, etc. will continue at their current levels and hours.

Faculty and Staff

Thank you for your ongoing commitment and patience during this complicated time. Although we’re being challenged to alter the way in which we deliver instruction and conduct business, it is our intention and desire to keep our employees working and paid. Supervisors have been urged to make every effort to identify telework opportunities, even for positions that do not typically lend themselves to telework. These opportunities may include alternative duties, training and professional development, or both. We are also continually researching options for various types of leave and other resources that may become available as the state responds to the unique challenges employers are facing as a result of the spread of COVID-19. If teleworking faculty or staff need to return to their offices to pack up and take home additional materials, we encourage them to do that as soon as possible. When on campus, please observe social distancing and minimize interactions.

Students

Students will soon be receiving an email from Vice President for Student Affairs Juliette Landphair about the timeline and process for residential students to move their belongings out of their rooms and, for the students whose only option is to remain on campus, about the petition-to-remain process. Given CDC and Virginia Department of Health advisories and emergency actions and other advisories issued by the state and federal governments, we strongly encourage any student who can get home to do so as soon as possible. Public health officials are strongly recommending that people of all ages stay at home with limited outside contact with others.

Housing and Dining

UMW intends to give a credit or refund for housing and dining due to this announcement. However, we ask for your patience as we determine the appropriate amount of credit or refund for each student. With many of our employees working remotely and the variety of meal plans and housing fees to consider, this will take a little time to analyze.

Commencement

We are aware that Virginia’s prohibition, as of today, of gatherings of 10 or more people and the CDC’s recent recommendation on gatherings over 50 people for the next eight weeks will affect UMW’s commencement. We are exploring potential options and alternatives. As we know more, we will reach out about how we can best and safely celebrate our amazing graduates.

Community Programming

UMW regrets that it must cancel all remaining community special events and programming through the remainder of the academic year.  Through at least May 15, University and privately sponsored arts, cultural, and general special events and functions will be cancelled, including exhibitions, performances, and lectures. This action will include the UMW Philharmonic performances, Great Lives and ElderStudy lectures, and other fee-based or complimentary services and gatherings.

Let me close by telling each of you how much I appreciate the sacrifices you have made to be a part of the UMW community in the first place, and especially during the disruptive, even traumatic, changes of recent days and weeks. Know that I am proud of us and what we have done as a community to come together (even from a safe 6-foot distance). I am confident that we will survive these challenges, and UMW will be stronger than ever once the crisis passes.

Be well and stay safe,
Troy

University of Mary Washington Postpones 2020 Giving Day

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The University of Mary Washington has postponed its fourth annual day of online fundraising, Mary Wash Giving Day, originally set to take place Thursday, March 19.

In light of the unparalleled impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on UMW, the Fredericksburg community – and the nation, the University instead encourages its constituents to focus on each other, their loved ones, and their communities.

The generosity of UMW alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends during past Giving Days has made a vast impact on the University’s mission and ability to serve students. The University will consider rescheduling Giving Day at a future point in time.

Themed “Come Together,” Mary Wash Giving Day 2020 will be poised to do just that. It will bring together those who care about UMW and all it stands for – education, empowerment, integrity, caring and compassion.

In the meantime, the University of Mary Washington encourages its campus and community to work together for the common good and to “come together” in ways that reflect UMW’s commitment to humankind.

Watch the video message from President Troy Paino:

 

UMW Debate Takes Third at National Championship

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University of Mary Washington Debate Team

University of Mary Washington Debate Team

The University of Mary Washington Debate Team has wrapped up its competitive season with a phenomenal third place finish at the American Debate Association’s National Championship. Senior John Huebler, junior Jo Misker, and first-year students Andrew Hudgins and Ainsley Rucker remained on campus for most of spring break in order to prepare to compete at the National Championship held at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, March 6-8. The tournament fielded competitors from across the nation, including Harvard, University of California-Berkeley, and Dartmouth, as well as UMW’s frequent competitors from the region, including George Mason, Liberty and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Rucker and Huebler competed in varsity, with wins against an opponent from Indiana University and an opponent from the University of Michigan that reached the Sweet Sixteen. This was Huebler’s final competition as a member of UMW Debate, as all remaining competitions for the semester have been cancelled due to COVID-19.

Hudgins and Misker competed in the novice division and reached the Final Four at the championship, debating teams from Liberty, Monmouth, Emory, George Mason, Boston College, and Minnesota in the preliminary rounds. They finished the preliminary rounds as the 8th seed, with 4 wins and 2 losses. In the octafinals, they faced California State University-Long Beach, and won on a unanimous 3-0 decision. In the quarterfinals, they had a rematch with an opponent from the preliminary rounds, top-seeded George Mason. They won that debate on a 2-1 decision. In the semifinals, they had another rematch against Liberty, concluding with a 2-1 decision for Liberty.

“Jo and Andrew had their year of hard work produce competitive results. Each of these two highly talented individuals put in countless hours thinking, preparing, meeting and practicing, to achieve a semifinalist finish at the national tournament.  A remarkable achievement, every bit earned and deserved,” said Judd Kimball debate coach at UMW.

In addition to those accomplishments, Hudgins was awarded the 8th Speaker at the tournament, and Misker finished 11th. Adrienne Brovero, UMW’s Director of Debate, was recognized by the American Debate Association as the “Judge of the Year” based on student polling. Rucker was also recognized for having begun the season as a novice and moving up and competing in varsity for the second half of the season, which is a relatively rare feat.

Alumni coach Terrell Taylor (’11), summed up the experience, noting “Twelve years ago, I made it to the semifinals of the ADA novice division. It’s exciting to see a new generation playing the game with that level of heart and enthusiasm. Coaching is a labor of love, especially when the debaters bring both talent and effort to the table.”

The team, like many, is now gearing up for moving its operations online. The team is hoping to be able to host multiple virtual public debates later in the semester, which will be open to the public. Information about those events will be available via the team’s social media in later March.

To follow the team, follow @UMWDebate on Twitter & Instagram, and University of Mary Washington Debate on Facebook.