March 28, 2024

Faculty Members Receive Emeritus Status

The 2020-21 school year will start with five noticeable voids as long-serving faculty leave the University of Mary Washington with emeritus status. The College of Education will say goodbye to professors George R. Meadows and Leslie Jo Tyler, the Department of Theatre and Dance will do the same with Professor Helen M. Housley, and two Jacks – Kramer and Bales – are departing the College of Arts and Sciences.

Professor of Education Emeritus George Meadows

Professor Emeritus of Education George Meadows

George Meadows came to Mary Washington in 1997 not only with an Ed.D. from West Virginia University, but also with a wealth of teaching experience. After earning degrees in geology – a bachelor’s from Marshall University and a master’s from Emory University – the West Virginia native served more than two years with the Peace Corps as a lecturer in geology at the National University of Malaysia, where he taught in the local language.

Meadows was an early adapter to technology. Known today for his instructional technology skills, he was already teaching online in the 1990s when he was research instructor for a National Science Foundation-funded project to support K-12 science teachers across a large geographic area. At Mary Washington, he was as likely to help faculty as students on use of technology, said longtime colleague Professor of Education Marie Sheckels.

She said that Meadows’ students loved his classes and appreciated the opportunities he gave them to explore new technologies, instructional equipment and hands-on material. She said his career demonstrated “he is a generous person who enjoys sharing his knowledge, expertise and excitement for learning with others.”

Meadows has focused in recent years on community outreach in the development of technology and makerspaces in local schools and libraries. He volunteers to support environmental education and STEM studies for the Fredericksburg area’s diverse, low-income children, and he plans to continue both in retirement.

Professor Emeritus of Education Leslie Jo Tyler

Professor Emeritus of Education Leslie Jo Tyler

Leslie Jo Tyler was hired in 1999 for a new master of education post-baccalaureate program in what was then the Mary Washington College of Graduate and Professional Studies. She “single-handedly directed the development” of UMW’s program to prepare classroom teachers to support English language learners – just when the need was taking off in the Fredericksburg area, according to Professor of Education Jane L. Huffman in a tribute to her colleague.

A linguist with a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, a master of education from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Florida, Tyler taught linguistics, sociolinguistics, cross-cultural communication, phonetics, phonology and other courses.

Huffman said that Tyler’s students recognized her demanding standards, just as they recognized her excellence. She became known for hosting annual gatherings so graduates and area professionals could get to know one another and share knowledge and best practices.

“Jo embodies the standards of quality, principles of innovation, and collaboration that are at the core of our programs,” Huffman said.

Professor Emeritus of Theatre Helen Housley

Professor Emeritus of Theatre Helen Housley

In her two decades at Mary Washington, Helen Housley directed 29 productions and was the department’s primary vocal instructor and coach. She taught an impressive variety of theater courses and stepped forward to develop a first-year seminar, which she taught every fall since its inception, according to Gregg Stull, department chair and professor of theater. An example of Housley’s devotion to her craft is that she volunteered over the years to watch thousands of high-schoolers audition for UMW Theatre.

An expert in the Lessac technique of voice, speech and movement training, Housley holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, a master of arts from Western Illinois University, and a bachelor of arts from St. Mary’s College.

In a tribute to Housley, Stull said the department in 2019 scheduled Much Ado About Nothing just so his colleague could direct her favorite Shakespeare comedy before retiring. Rehearsals were under way when the pandemic hit, and the production seemed doomed.

But Housley’s show went on. She innovated and directed the performance via Zoom. More than 1,500 people in 37 states and five countries watched a livestream of the performance, and thousands more saw it on YouTube.

“I never would have imagined when we left campus on March 12 that this semester, in all of its uncertainty, would reveal to me, yet again, Helen’s gifts as a teacher, director and colleague. But it has,” Stull said. “Helen ends her career at UMW in the same way she has lived it for the last 20 years – by giving tirelessly to our department and selflessly to our students, demanding as much from all of us as she does from herself. Such is her hallmark of excellence.”

Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jack Kramer

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs Jack Kramer

Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jack Kramer is retiring with numerous distinctions after half a century at Mary Washington. During his long tenure, Kramer served as visiting professor of strategy and policy at the United States Naval War College, research fellow for the Russian Research Center at Harvard University, senior fellow for the National Defense University, and Fulbright-Hayes Fellow in the former Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

After earning an undergraduate degree at LaSalle College and a master’s at the University of Virginia, Kramer received a doctorate in political science and Soviet area studies from U.Va., where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a DuPont Fellow and a University Fellow. In 2002, the Virginia Social Science Association named him the “Outstanding Political Scientist of Virginia,” and UMW awarded its 2006 Grellet C. Simpson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching to Kramer. He wrote The Energy Gap in Eastern Europe (D.C. Heath, 1990) and numerous articles and professional papers on political life in Communist and Post-Communist polities in Europe. In addition, he was the longtime co-leader of Mary Washington’s unique study-abroad program called European Capitals.

“I’m a happy camper,” Kramer declared on the eve of his retirement. “I’ve had a good run [having] been blessed with many fine colleagues and wonderful students and been paid to teach and write about a subject I still find fascinating and gripping.”

His colleague and current department chair, Professor Elizabeth Freund Larus, said Kramer, longtime chair, “has been the cornerstone of the department … building a collegial environment in which we all appreciate what each of us contributes to the department and the discipline.”

Kramer added: “I had never heard of Mary Washington – or Fredericksburg, for that matter – before I came here; I took the job because we were dead broke and desperately needed money.”

He used that experience as a life lesson for his students, many of whom have gone on to fill high-ranking government positions. “It’s good to plan,” Kramer said, “but don’t obsess about it.” He added, “Life works in funny ways and much of what happens in it is purely serendipitous so be open and receptive to unanticipated opportunities and seize the moment to exploit them.”

Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus Jack Bales

Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus Jack Bales

After four decades at Mary Washington, Reference and Humanities Librarian Emeritus Jack Bales has retired from the University of Mary Washington. But the meticulous researcher and expert on the history of baseball won’t quit studying and writing about his beloved Chicago Cubs.

“What am I going to do without Jack?” asked University Librarian Rosemary Arneson, his friend and colleague. Bales has led about 100 research sessions for students annually, she said, and his Citing Sources is UMW Libraries’ most popular guide, with over 6,000 hits. Faculty depend on him for support, too, including some of his former students who now teach at their alma mater.

“He is happiest when he is in the library early on a Saturday morning, poring over the microfilm of early Chicago newspapers, and he loves nothing else so much as a good footnote,” Arneson said in a tribute to Bales.

The Positivity Post, a UMW student-led weekly newsletter designed to spread good news during the gloomy COVID-19 days, recently described Bales as a UMW “institution.” The article went on to say that Writing Center director Gwen Hale once hailed Jack Bales as “the Mick Jagger of librarians.” A student countered, according to the article, ‘‘Mick Jagger is the Jack Bales of rock and roll!”

In 2019, Bales released Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team, published by McFarland & Co. A book about the life of Violet Popovich, the woman who shot Cub Billy Jurges, will be published later this year by The History Press. Bales’ books include literary studies on American authors Horatio Alger Jr., Kenneth Roberts (Northwest Passage), and Esther Forbes (Johnny Tremain).

In addition, he’s written extensively about the late Southern author Willie Morris, who is best known for his award-winning North Toward Home and the memoir My Dog Skip, which was made into a popular film. Morris and Bales became friends, leading to Morris’ memorable guest lectures at Mary Washington in 1998, during which he captivated students, faculty and community members.

“Jack is much more than a great teacher and researcher,” Arneson said. “He is a generous colleague, always willing to take an extra shift on the reference desk or to offer words of praise. We will all miss him greatly. And we hope he doesn’t have to wait another 100 years to see the Cubs win the World Series again.”

Housley Presents Workshop at Conference

Helen Housley, Associate Professor of Theatre, presented a workshop at the annual Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) conference. The workshop, titled “Performing Shakespeare’s Buzz: Lessac’s Tonal NRG and the Shakespearean Actor,” was presented on August 14, 2016, in Chicago.

Housley Hosts Lessac Workshop

Helen Housley, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance, hosted the Lessac One-Week Introductory Workshop at UMW, June 19-24, 2016. Under the sponsorship of the Department of Theatre and Dance, Housley has coordinated this workshop since 2007 with the focus on Lessac Kinesensic, a voice and body training program. Participants came from Texas, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Lessac Master Teacher Barry Kur, Professor Emeritus, Penn State University, conducted the workshop.

Housley Presents Workshop at Conference

Helen Housley, Associate Professor of Theatre, presented a workshop, “Feeling Shakespeare’s Buzz: Tonal NRG and the Shakespearean Actor,” at the annual Lessac Training and Research Institute’s Conference in Denver, Colo., Jan. 5-7, 2016.

Housley Receives Volunteer Award

Associate Professor Helen Housley, Theatre and Dance, was recognized as an outstanding volunteer by the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital on April 25, 2015. Housley was presented with the Honor Pin for her work in organizing, under the sponsorship of the Department of Theatre and Dance, a series of Theatre Arts Week-ends for Girl Scouts. Since 2002, over 100o Girl Scouts (ages 11-18) and their leaders have visited the UMW campus, participating in theatre-related workshops led by theatre students, and enjoying a UMW Theatre production. Several of these Scouts have subsequently enrolled at and graduated from UMW.

Helen Housley Receives Award

Helen Housley, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance, received the 2015 Lessac Leadership Award on Jan. 10, 2015. The award, which is presented by the Lessac Training and Research Institute, honors a member ‘for years of service toward the growth and direction of the Lessac Institute.’ Housley has served as the Institute’s Treasurer since 2009.

Helen Housley Presents Paper at Conference

Helen Housley, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance, presented her paper, “Shakespeare’s Buzz: Lessac’s Tonal NRG and the Shakespearean Actor,” at the Annual Conference of the Lessac Training and Research Institute, Jan. 8-10, 2015, at the University of Memphis.

UMW Theatre Opens 2014-15 Season with “Doubt”

The University of Mary Washington Theatre opened its 2014-15 season with “Doubt,” a Tony Award-winning drama by John Patrick Shanley.   Photo Credit: Geoff Greene, Father Flynn, played by Stephen Nickens ‘15 Sister James, played by Catherine O’Meara ‘17, and Sister Aloysius, played by Catalina Ruiz de Gamboa ‘15 Father Flynn, played by Stephen Nickens ‘15 Sister James, played by Catherine O’Meara ‘17 Sister James, played by Catherine O’Meara ‘17, and Sister Aloysius, played by Catalina Ruiz de Gamboa ‘15 Sister Aloysius, played by Catalina Ruiz de Gamboa ‘15 Performances are taking place Sept. 25-27 and Oct. 2-4 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 28 and Oct. 4-5 at 2 p.m. in Klein Theatre, located in duPont Hall on the university’s Fredericksburg campus. Tickets are $18 for standard admission and $16 for students, senior citizens and military. Set in 1964, “Doubt” is a drama that takes place in a Catholic church and school in Bronx, New York. The play focuses on the confrontations between Sister Aloysius, the rigid school principal and Father Flynn, the charismatic parish priest. Tensions rise as Sister Aloysius becomes increasingly suspicious of Father Flynn’s interest in one of her students, and the seed of doubt is sown when the Father vehemently opposes the allegations. “Doubt” originally opened in 2004 off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club. In 2005, the production transferred to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway where it ran for 525 performances. In the same year, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and the Tony Award for Best Play. The drama toured nationally in 2007 and was subsequently turned into an Academy Award-nominated film that starred Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn. The university’s performance of “Doubt” is directed by Helen Housley, associate professor of theatre. Scenic and lighting designs are by visiting assistant professor Niffer Pflager and associate professor Julie Hodge, respectively. Costume design is by associate professor Kevin McCluskey. For further information and to purchase tickets, contact the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit umw.tix.com.

Helen Housley Presents Workshop at ATHE Conference

Helen Housley, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance, recently presented a workshop entitled, “Renewing Shakespeare’s Structure: Lessac’s Structural NRG and the Shakespearean Actor,” at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s (ATHE) conference held in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Helen Housley Presents Paper in Chicago

Helen Housley, associate professor of theatre and dance, presented a paper, “Playing the Consonants: Shakespeare’s Instruction to the Actor,” at the annual conference of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) held in August in Chicago, Ill.