A survey of Virginia voters designed by Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, has received extensive media attention, including reports in The Washington Post , Politico , Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Real Clear Politics, WUSA-TV, WJLA-TV, WRC-TV, WAMU-FM, The Richmond-Times Dispatch, The Daily Press of Hampton Roads and The Free Lance-Star.
UMW Student Chosen as Shawn Carter Scholar
Ebony Dixon, a University of Mary Washington political science and theater double major, was selected as a Shawn Carter Scholar for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Shawn Carter — better known as rapper Jay-Z — provides yearly grants from $1,500 to $2,500 to help college students pay for tuition and other educational expenses through his foundation.
“This scholarship means the world to me,” said Dixon, who is a senior from Alexandria, Virginia. “I am especially thankful because it was unexpected and I was selected from a competitive pool of applicants.”
According to the Shawn Carter Foundation website, this program was created to give individuals facing socio-economic hardships the opportunity to further their education. Dixon has personally overcome several obstacles while obtaining her degree, including the death of her father.
“I continued to go to school despite my financial and academic struggles,” Dixon said. “The largest tragedy I had to overcome, which I still haven’t fully recovered from, was the death of my father in 2012. Continuing my education showed them that I was very resilient and determined.”
All Shawn Carter Scholars are required to give back by conducting community service and by serving as mentors to younger, aspiring Shawn Carter Scholars.
Dixon plans to join the Peace Corps after graduation and eventually seek her master of fine arts degree. She has aspirations of becoming a playwright.
Communication Journal Honors UMW Political Science Professor
Chad Murphy, assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Mary Washington, was recently announced as the recipient of article of the year for 2014 by Communication Methods and Measures journal.
Chad Murphy (second from left), assistant professor of Political Science, was announced as the recipient of article of the year for 2014 by Communication Methods and Measures journal.
Murphy, along with Associate Professor of Psychology Chris Westbury at the University of Alberta, published “Expanding the scope of selective exposure: An objective approach to measurement of media ideology” in August 2013.
“The paper does an excellent job describing the methodological limitations of current approaches to selective exposure (i.e., blunt coding, assumption of neutrality, artificial unidimensionality),” said members of the committee who selected the winners. “Further, the cognitive psychology focus on word co-occurrence is interesting and innovative to selective exposure research.”
The winning paper was selected in a two-step process. Editors of the Communication Methods and Measures journal narrowed down the list of articles before members of an executive board serving on a special committee identified the winners.
Murphy and Westbury will be awarded during an annual conference in Montreal, Canada.
Speaking from the Heart
Tom Pacheco '14 uses his award-winning debate skills to help others.
Inside the Beltway
Internships in the nation’s capital provide real-world experience for students.
Rep. Wittman Visits American Government Class
Rep. Rob Wittman (right) addresses students in Professor Abby Jones’ class.
On Election Day, UMW students had the opportunity to hear from a member of Congress firsthand. Rep. Rob Wittman, who represents Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, visited Professor Abby Jones’ American government class.
Wittman, who was re-elected for his third full term in the House of Representatives in 2012, spoke to students about topics ranging from the government shutdown to immigration reform to education, and answered students’ questions for nearly an hour.
Professor Stephen Farnsworth in the Center for Leadership and Media Studies arranged the visit.
Students Participate in C-SPAN College Classroom
Photo by Stephen Farnsworth.
Students in Stephen Farnsworth’s political science classes participated in the C-SPAN college classroom program and met with recent UMW political science graduates during a day-long program in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28. The C-SPAN program, which featured Farnsworth discussing his book “Spinner in Chief” and answering questions about presidents and the mass media from UMW students and those at other universities, is scheduled to air on CSPAN3 at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1.
UMW to Host 88th District House of Delegates Debate
Candidates for the 88th District of the Virginia House of Delegates participated in a debate at the University of Mary Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The debate was held at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Hall, Room 411 and was free and open to the public.
Del. Mark Cole
The debate presented Republican Del. Mark Cole, who has held the seat since 2001, and Democratic challenger Kathleen O’Halloran. The 88th District includes parts of Stafford, Spotsylvania and Fauquier counties and the city of Fredericksburg.
O’Halloran, who was raised in Brooklyn, came to Virginia in 1978 and held multiple civil service jobs before retiring in 2011 in Fredericksburg.
A former member of the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, Cole worked for many years as a defense contractor before coming to work for Spotsylvania County as Deputy County Administrator.
For more information on each candidate, please visit their respective websites: ohalloranfordelegate.org and marklcole.com.
Kathleen O’Halloran
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, moderated the program. The candidates were questioned by Chelyen Davis, state government and politics reporter for the Free Lance-Star, Town Talk radio host Ted Schubel, and Dr. Farnsworth. The debate was co-sponsored by the Legislation Action Committee of UMW’s Student Government Association; the UMW chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society; the university’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies and The Free Lance-Star.
For more information, contact Stephen Farnsworth at sfarnswo@umw.edu.
Farnsworth Publishes in Washington Post
Stephen Farnsworth
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the university’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, published an opinion column in the June 30 issue of the Washington Post relating the more conservative shift in the Virginia Republican Party’s candidates for state office.
Farnsworth Lectures at Boys’ State of Virginia
Stephen Farnsworth
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, delivered a lecture entitled “Virginia’s Candidate Selection Process: Examining Recent Primaries and Conventions” to the roughly 800 high school students attending the American Legion Boys’ State of Virginia at Radford University on June 17.