December 5, 2025

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Porter Receives NASPA-Virginia Outstanding Professional Award

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Assistant Dean of Students CJ Porter

Assistant Dean of Students CJ Porter

Porter received the Outstanding Professional Award from NASPA–Virginia, the state chapter of the national association for student affairs professionals.

Porter received the Outstanding Professional Award from NASPA–Virginia, the state chapter of the national association for student affairs professionals.

Assistant Dean of Students Chris “CJ” Porter has been recognized by NASPA–Virginia, the state chapter of the national association for student affairs professionals, with its Outstanding Professional Award. The honor was presented at the chapter’s annual November conference, which brings together student affairs practitioners from colleges and universities across the Commonwealth.

NASPA is the leading professional home for the field of student affairs, supporting evidence-based, student-centered practices nationally and globally. Its Virginia chapter annually celebrates professionals who demonstrate significant leadership, innovation and impact on student success.

Porter was honored for her work developing and advancing UMW’s pre-arrival and support programs for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a model now recognized by colleagues statewide. Her nominator wrote, “while the program itself is impressive, it is the obvious care and concern for her students and the effort she had to make to ensure its success that really stood out.”

Porter shared on social media that the surprise award “felt pretty good” after hearing her own program being described during the announcement. Congratulations to Assistant Dean Porter on this well-deserved recognition!

Ellard and Porter Participate in Emergency Exercise by VDH and VDEM

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Assistant Dean of Students CJ Porter

Director of Emergency Management/Safety Brandy Ellard

Director of Emergency Management/Safety Brandy Ellard and Assistant Dean of Students CJ Porter participated in a Hybrid Tabletop Exercise facilitated by Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) recently. The topic was a local drinking water emergency.

The exercise provided a platform to openly discuss actions the City of Fredericksburg would need to take should they encounter such a situation,. There was an emphasis on communication and messaging, collaboration across many agencies and private stakeholders, identifying and addressing gaps, and broadening their network to ensure they can best serve the City of Fredericksburg.  The City was one of over 20 localities across the Commonwealth taking part in the exercise, providing participants an opportunity to gain perspectives from the various regions.

Ellard and Porter participate in emergency exercise with the City of Fredericksburg on a local drinking water emergency.

Also participating were members from City Public Works, Deputy City Manager, UMW Emergency Management, UMW Housing and Dining, MWH, City Communications Office, the Rappahannock Area Health District and City Emergency Management.

Stop Hunger Campaigns Launch

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Junior Caitlin O'Leary helps at last year's food drive.

Junior Caitlin O’Leary helps at last year’s food drive.

Stop Hunger University Dining/Sodexo, the University Staff Council, UMW Athletes, and local businesses and churches are partnering together to host our annual Stop Hunger Food Drive, from October 13 through November 1, and they are looking for your support. All of the food and monetary donations will go to benefit the UMW Eagle Resource Closet and the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.

Anyone wishing to support the drive with food, monetary, or meal plan/Flex donations will find details on the University Dining web site.

Swipe Out Hunger Meal Plan  University Dining/Sodexo has donated 3,600 meals to create a new Swipe Out Hunger meal plan for the benefit of UMW students experiencing food insecurity. This new plan will be administered by the University Host, Chris Porter, with assistance from Leslie Martin, who coordinates the Eagle Resource Closet, Patty Land in the EagleOne Card office, and with Rose Benedict, the University Dining/Sodexo Swipe Out Hunger champion. Chris has established a Google nomination form that students can use to apply for meals through the Swipe Out Hunger meal plan. When approved, these students will have meals loaded onto their EagleOne cards, and they will be able to swipe in at the Top of the UC in the same way all other students who are on meal plans swipe in. There will be nothing in the process that identifies these students as being recipients of meal assistance. All information is kept confidential.

Everyone who has been working to bring this new assistance option to UMW is eager to have any and all students who need nutritional support apply for these meals. Please help spread the word about the availability of this new dining plan to your friends, colleagues and students.

For more information about applying for meals, contact Chris at cjporter@umw.edu. For more information about the Swipe Out Hunger program and Sodexo’s partnership with that organization, contact Rose Benedict at rbenedic@umw.edu.

If you, or a student you know, would like to apply for meals, please use this LINK.  It will take you directly to the application form.

Veteran Appreciation Luncheon

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All UMW veterans – faculty, staff and students – are invited to join us for the Veteran Appreciation Luncheon on Monday, November 11, 2019 to be held at 11:30 a.m. in the Chandler Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Veterans Resource Center, The Office of Transfer and Off-Campus Student Services, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Please RSVP to Chris Porter at cjporter@umw.edu if you plan to attend.

Director of Residence Life Joins VSSC Planning Committee

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Christine “Chris” Porter joins the Virginia Student Services Conference Planning Committee.  VSSC is the premiere student services conference in Virginia! A blending of the annual meetings of the Virginia Association of Student Personnel Administrators (VASPA) and the Virginia Association of College and University Housing Officers (VACUHO), this event is the place to be for those involved in working with students in higher education. The conference offers students and professionals the chance to engage in professional development sessions, networking, and fun activities.