May 20, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Ribbon-Cutting Marks New Chapter for Willard Hall

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The ribbon is cut during the Willard Hall dedication. The group includes BOV members and student representatives, along with Assistant Dean of Residence Life and Housing Dave Fleming and BOV Rector Heather Mullins Crislip ’95 (far left), UMW President Troy Paino (front) and senior Maggie McCotter (with scissors). Photo by Matthew Brooks.

The ribbon is cut during the Willard Hall dedication. The group includes BOV members and student representatives, along with Assistant Dean of Residence Life and Housing Dave Fleming and BOV Rector Heather Mullins Crislip ’95 (far left), UMW President Troy Paino (front) and senior Maggie McCotter (with scissors). Photo by Matthew Brooks.

UMW senior Maggie McCotter loves the sunlight that streams into her third-floor Willard Hall room. She likes the rustic gleam of the refurbished hardwood floors under her feet, her view of the bubbling fountain, the building’s proximity to the post office and Vocelli Pizza.

“I take pride in being one of the first to live here” after an extensive renovation, she told students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends gathered in the structure’s main living area for a dedication on Friday.

A Willard Hall resident assistant, McCotter joined 156 first-year students who moved in at the start of the spring semester in January, but last week’s event, part of a daylong Board of Visitors meeting, makes it official. Generations have made their home at Mary Washington’s oldest residence hall, built in 1911. But McCotter and her charges are among the first to enjoy a new type of turn-of-the-century splendor, where modern touches – a media room, “teaching” kitchen and transformable spaces – mingle with prized pieces from the past.

Architects worked tirelessly to preserve the elegance of the building, which originally housed dining, offices and classrooms, plus a post office, infirmary and gift shop, according to History of Mary Washington College by Edward Alvey Jr. The $19.3 million renovation salvaged brick walls, maple hardwood floors, ornate iron banisters, molding and trim, and original skylight shafts, along with parts of the building’s open floorplan. Read more.

UMW Goes Global as Peace Corps Top Producer

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Teenage boys can be a handful, no matter which country or culture they come from.

Amal Hajjami (front row, far right), who graduated from UMW in 2019, is among the dozen Mary Washington alumni currently serving in the Peace Corps. The University was just named a Peace Corps Top Producer.

Amal Hajjami (front row, far right), who graduated from UMW in 2019, is among the dozen Mary Washington alumni currently serving in the Peace Corps. The University was just named a Peace Corps Top Producer.

Amal Hajjami learned that fact within her first few weeks of Peace Corps training in Morocco, when the 2019 alumna encountered a young man who refused to participate or follow the rules – when he even bothered to show up – but she wouldn’t give up on him.

“During training, we’re taught that we shouldn’t push these individuals away,” she said, “but instead, give them leadership responsibilities.” Soon the teen was stepping up and helping out. “He showed me that once you start encouraging people, the outcome will change.”

Hajjami is among a dozen Mary Washington graduates serving worldwide in the Peace Corps, to which the University of Mary Washington has once again been named a top contributor. UMW jumped to number seven – up from 15th last year – among small schools on the 2020 Top Volunteer-Producing Schools list, released this morning.

Securing this prestigious ranking is a longstanding tradition for the University, which has earned a spot on the list since 2005. For 12 consecutive years, UMW has been included among the top 25 colleges and universities with fewer than 5,000 students. A total of 270 alumni have joined the Peace Corps since its 1961 inception.

“Mary Washington’s culture of service keeps fueling students’ interest in continuing their commitment to populations served by the Peace Corps,” said José A. Sainz, director of UMW’s Center for International Education (CIE). “It pushes their boundaries and offers many opportunities for them to become better global citizens.” Read more.

Great Lives Continues with Frederick Douglass on Feb. 27

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The 17th season of the William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series continues on Thursday, Feb. 27, with abolitionist, orator and author Frederick Douglass, with David W. Blight, author of The New York Times bestseller Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. 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 Synergy Periodontics and Implants Lecture.

As a young man Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was taught to read by his slave-owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence, he bore witness to the brutality of slavery.

Initially mentored by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass spoke widely, using his own story to condemn slavery. By the Civil War, Douglass had become the most famed and widely travelled orator in the nation. In his unique and eloquent voice, written and spoken, Douglass was a fierce critic of the United States as well as a radical patriot. After the war he sometimes argued politically with younger African Americans, but he never forsook either the Republican Party or the cause of black civil and political rights.

In this “cinematic and deeply engaging” (The New York Times Book Review) biography, David Blight has drawn on new information held in a private collection that few other historians have consulted, as well as recently discovered issues of Douglass’ newspapers. “Absorbing and even moving…a brilliant book that speaks to our own time as well as Douglass’” (The Wall Street Journal), Blight’s biography tells the fascinating story of Douglass’ two marriages and his complex extended family. “David Blight has written the definitive biography of Frederick Douglass…a powerful portrait of one of the most important American voices of the nineteenth century” (The Boston Globe).

The Great Lives series will continue on Tuesday, March 10 with Female Internet Inventors, featuring Claire L. Evans, author of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet. Visit https://www.umw.edu/greatlives/ for more information.

Supplier Expo March 3, 10 AM – 2 PM

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UMW’s Procurement Services Department is hosting the Annual Supplier Expo on March 3, 2020 at 10 a.m.!

Featuring 50+ vendors – showcasing all sorts of goods and services!

Find Micro & Contracted vendors to fill your department needs!

Sample products and find services galore!

Free Event!

Sodexo snacks, Pepsi, vending companies, & more!

This is a work event! Bring your boss or coworkers!

Door Prizes every 30 minutes!

 

Nominate a Student for 2020 Eagle Awards!

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Looking for a way to recognize exceptional student leadership on campus?  Every year, the Office of Student Activities and Engagement (SAE) hosts the Eagle Awards gathering in partnership with the Center for Community Engagement.

The UMW Eagle Awards program highlights students, student organizations, staff, and faculty who have provided leadership on campus through involvement in activities and organizations. The Eagle Awards are an opportunity for the University community to recognize those who have made extraordinary contributions to the campus and greater community. There are over 15 awards for students, organizations, and programs.

Any member of the student body, faculty, or staff can nominate deserving students or organizations. Nominations are due by March 11, and the Eagle Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2020, at 6:00 PM in Chandler Ballroom. Winners will be announced at the ceremony. The event will offer light hors d’oeurves and is free and open to all students, faculty, staff, friends, and family.

UMW Chamber Music Festival Marks Third Year at Belmont

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U.S. Army Woodwind Quintet

U.S. Army Woodwind Quintet

Gari Melchers Home and Studio and the University of Mary Washington Music Department present a Chamber Music Festival on March 14 and 15 in the intimate setting of the Pavilion at Belmont.

The musicians will perform a richly varied program against the backdrop of Belmont, a late eighteenth-century estate picturesquely situated above the Rappahannock River in Falmouth, Virginia.

“Gari Melchers, the famed American who lived and painted here, enjoyed a friendship with the French composer Camille Saint-Saens, and I know he readily would endorse the making of music at his old haunts,” says Assistant Director and Curator Joanna Catron.

The Festival opens on Saturday evening, March 14 at 7 p.m. with a performance of New American Classics for Wind Quintet performed by the U.S. Army Woodwind Quintet under the direction of MSG Robert Aughtry. The performance will include works by Valerie Coleman, Arne Running, Charles Rochester Young, Lalao Schifrin, and Reena Esmail.

The Sunday, March 15 offering begins at 2 p.m. with an eclectic chamber program featuring works by Hayden, Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart and others, performed by the UMW Flute Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble and Woodwind Trio, comprised of faculty, students and guest musicians under the direction of Professors of Music Doug Gately and Bruce Middle.

Admission is free, but seating is limited. Pavilion, Gari Melchers Home and Studio.

Contact: Joanna D. Catron at jcatron@umw.edu or 540-654-1841

UMW Hosts FredNats Auditions for Singers, Mascot and More

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UMW to host auditions for FredNats performers.

UMW to host auditions for FredNats performers.

The Fredericksburg Nationals want the best of the best to perform at the new Minor League Baseball park when it opens for its first home game against the Frederick Keys in April. A FredNats sponsor, the University of Mary Washington is stepping up to the plate, hosting auditions this month and next for emcee and public address (PA) announcers, team mascots and National Anthem performers.

Emcee and PA try-outs will take place Saturday, Feb. 29, and National Anthem and mascot auditions will be held on Saturday, March 21. Both will take place in UMW’s Hurley Convergence Center Digital Auditorium from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Emcee auditions will include a script-read of game introductions and in-game entertainment segments. PA auditions will include script-reads of roster lineups and in-game sponsor advertisements. The FredNats also need dozens of performers of the National Anthem, sung prior to each of 70 home games. Hopefuls will sing the anthem in full, in a cappella-style, without musical accompaniment. Read more.

UMW to ‘Come Together’ for Fourth Annual Mary Wash Giving Day

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UMW is asking alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends to “Come Together” and spread the word about the fourth annual Mary Wash Giving Day on March 19.

UMW is asking alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends to “Come Together” and spread the word about the fourth annual Mary Wash Giving Day on March 19.

The University of Mary Washington is asking alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends to “Come Together” for its fourth annual giving day on Thursday, March 19.

On Mary Wash Giving Day, donors can make gifts to benefit students and programs across the University from midnight to 11:59 p.m. at givingday.umw.edu. Challenges and matches funded by generous donors will be “unlocked” throughout the day, multiplying the impact of the gifts. The University has set a goal of 3,000 gifts and 1,000 new donors, topping last year’s record, when 870 donors made their first-ever gift to Mary Washington. Each gift made on March 19 will be tracked on dynamic leaderboards on the website, providing real-time updates on progress toward the participation goal.

This year’s theme celebrates how the University community comes together to deliver an outstanding liberal arts and sciences education to Mary Washington’s 4,000-plus students, while inspiring them to pay it forward for future generations of Eagles. Read more.

Download the Mary Wash Giving Day graphic to share on social with #MaryWashDay. To download, right click and choose “save image.”

Download the Mary Wash Giving Day graphic to share on social with #MaryWashDay. To download, right click and choose “save image.”

Retired NBA Player Scores with Black History Keynote

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Retired NBA player, activist and motivational speaker Etan Thomas delivered the Black History Month keynote last Wednesday at UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Retired NBA player, activist and motivational speaker Etan Thomas delivered the Black History Month keynote last Wednesday at UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

It was a game-changing moment for Etan Thomas. Pulled over by the police, he sat silently on the road as an officer fixated on him. The policeman’s fingertips hovered over his holster, ready to grab his gun, while his partners tried to pinpoint why the black teen looked so familiar.

It must be from a mugshot, they said. When they demanded he pop his trunk, revealing high school basketball gear inside, they finally recognized the star athlete whose achievements were often splashed across the local newspaper.

The former Washington Wizard shared that story during his Black History Month keynote Wednesday at the University of Mary Washington. Packed into the UC’s Chandler Ballroom, students, UMW athletes and coaches, faculty, staff, university administrators, President Troy Paino and wife Kelly, and community members listened raptly as Thomas discussed systemic racism, police brutality, the school-to-prison pipeline, stop-and-frisk and more. Thomas’ appearance came as the University celebrates Farmer Legacy 2020, honoring Dr. James L. Farmer Jr., the civil rights icon and late Mary Washington professor, who would have been 100 this year.

Thomas’ activism was borne out of that teenage incident, he said, buoyed by his mother’s passion for social justice, and a speech teacher who encouraged him to channel his emotions into an oratory, which he delivered at regional and national competitions, garnering media attention.

“I realized I could use this basketball thing to speak for people who can’t speak for themselves,” said Thomas, whose advocacy work earned him prestigious awards from the National Basketball Players Association and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation. Read more.