April 20, 2025

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

UMW Students, Professor Route Efforts Toward New Stafford County African American Heritage Map

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Professor of Geography Steve Hanna spoke at the unveiling of the Stafford African American Heritage Trail at a recent ceremony at Stafford Hospital.

When University of Mary Washington junior Ethan Sweeny began a summer internship working alongside Professor of Geography Steve Hanna, he knew he’d signed up for something special.

“I immediately knew it was something I was going to really enjoy doing,” said Sweeny, a geospatial analysis major who worked with Hanna last summer and throughout the fall to help create the Stafford African American Heritage Trail. “Using what I’ve learned in class in a real-world project was really rewarding, but I think the most rewarding thing I took from it was being able to help tell these amazing stories that might have been lost.”

The trail, a 23-stop driving tour, highlights the strength and resilience of African American people in Stafford County throughout the past 300 years. Officially unveiled during a recent ceremony at Stafford Hospital, it also showcases the connection between UMW and the local community, and the power of professors to include students in research and other important endeavors.

“This is exactly what so many of my colleagues at Mary Washington strive to do,” Hanna said at the unveiling event, where he and Sweeny, who’s also pursuing a certificate in GIS, learned they’d been named in a House Resolution by the Virginia General Assembly in praise of the project. “We involve our students in projects with community partners to create works of consequence, projects that make a difference in this region and across the globe.” Read more.

Hanna Appears on WFVA Town Talk to Preview Stafford African American Trail Maps

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Ethan Sweeny, Sue Henderson and Steve Hanna (L-R) appear on News Talk 1230 WFVA’s Town Talk.

UMW Geography Professor Steve Hanna, UMW Intern Ethan Sweeny, and Sue Henderson with Discover Stafford appeared on News Talk 1230 WFVA’s Town Talk to preview the opening of the Stafford African American Trail: 31 stories at 23 sites.  You can explore history at home or by driving at discoverstafford.org. Listen to the episode.

 

 

 

Farnsworth, Hanna, Burkley Publish Chapter on Virginia Politics

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Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies; Stephen P. Hanna, professor of geography, and Sally Burkley, a 2022 UMW graduate who is now a student at William and Mary Law School, are coauthors of a book chapter, “Chuck Robb’s 1981 Gubernatorial Campaign and the Democratic Realignment.” The chapter was published by the University of Virginia Press in an edited volume, The New Dominion: The Twentieth-Century Elections that Shaped Modern Virginia.

Other recent media mentions for Stephen Farnsworth include:

Schapiro: Had Youngkin been on that stage… (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“If he were on that stage, he would be almost as visible as Governor Hutchinson,” said Stephen Farnsworth, the University of Mary Washington politics analyst, referring to Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, a back-of-the-pack candidate who — with Chris Christie, a former Trump loyalist — was front and center in refusing to back Trump as the 2024 nominee.
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/schapiro-had-youngkin-been-on-that-stage/article_ce8a76d8-4739-11ee-9104-27a862f25d00.html
We Are the League! (Crozet Gazette)
Dr. Steven Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, will address current Virginia politics, and how state actions are affecting policy in Charlottesville.
https://www.crozetgazette.com/event/we-are-the-league/

Commonwealth’s attorney candidates spar over rising crime, partnering with police, criminal justice reform (Prince William Times)

The candidates, both 52, answered a series of questions from moderator Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor and director of the University of Mary Washington Center for Leadership and Media Studies.
https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/news/commonwealths-attorney-candidates-spar-over-rising-crime-partnering-with-police-criminal-justice-reform/article_4dd40d7a-441d-11ee-be8d-7b661295ea0c.html
Trump to Surrender in Georgia Tonight (CTV News)
“This is absolutely the biggest legal threat that the former President faces,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2752535
Donald Trump expected to surrender in Georgia (CP24)
“Well, of course, this is the greatest threat of all of the legal cases that the former President faces,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=2752477
Republican Presidential Candidates, Minus Trump, Spar Sharply (Voice of America; Globe World News Echo)
“This is his moment,” Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said of DeSantis.
https://www.voanews.com/a/republican-presidential-candidates-minus-trump-spar-sharply/7239075.html
https://globeecho.com/news/north-america/united-states/republican-presidential-candidates-minus-trump-spar-sharply/
Trump to Skip First Republican Debate (CTV News)
“It’s without Trump on the stage but it won’t be without Trump in the conversation. The focus will be largely on the former president,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2751678
Trump Likely to Upstage Opponents Even as He Skips Debate (Big News Network)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, said the debate “creates a very, very difficult environment for the other Republicans, because they have their own ideas for what they want to do with respect to key issues like the economy or Ukraine or immigration. But that doesn’t mean they’ll have much of a chance to talk about it. They’ll be asked about Donald Trump.’
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/273941697/trump-likely-to-upstage-opponents-even-as-he-skips-debate
Trump Likely to Upstage Opponents Even if Absent from Debate (Voice of America; West Observer)
“It creates a very, very difficult environment for the other Republicans, because they have their own ideas for what they want to do with respect to key issues like the economy or Ukraine or immigration. But that doesn’t mean they’ll have much of a chance to talk about it. They’ll be asked about Donald Trump,” predicts Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.
https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-likely-to-upstage-opponents-even-if-absent-from-debate-/7234944.html
https://westobserver.com/news/united-states/trump-likely-to-upstage-opponents-even-if-absent-from-debate/
Why Democrats are struggling in rural Virginia (Cardinal News)
But Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said that it remains essential to a party’s fortune statewide that both parties are on the ballot everywhere, including in those districts where they are unlikely to win. “There are parts of Virginia where Democrats will always win, and places where they will always lose. The question is how big are the margins,” Farnsworth said.
https://cardinalnews.org/2023/08/23/why-democrats-are-struggling-in-rural-virginia/
Youngkin retools message for new elections with ‘Parents Matter’ talks (The Washington Post; Washington Dailies)
Youngkin “is wise to continue to talk about the parental agenda,” University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth said. “It allows him to present himself as a conservative …[while demonstrating that] the current version of the ‘parents matter’ agenda is more inclusive than the previous version.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/21/virginia-youngkin-parents-matter-elections/
https://washingtondailies.com/us-news/youngkin-retools-message-for-new-elections-with-parents-matter-talks/

What is the reason for the absence of President Biden in the primary debates? (Voice of America)

“A sitting president is usually way ahead of his main rivals, and he doesn’t want to give them a chance to catch up with a sitting president,” Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington.
https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/por-que-presidente-eeuu-participa-debates-elecciones-primarias/7221286.html

Farnsworth Lectures on Virginia Elections

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Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Stephen Farnsworth, professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently presented an online lecture, “Comparing Mark Warner’s 2001 and 2020 Elections: the Declining Influence of Rural Voters in Virginia’s Statewide Elections,” for the Sorensen Institute of the University of Virginia. The lecture was drawn from a book chapter, co-authored with Stephen P. Hanna, UMW professor of Geography, and Kate Seltzer, a 2021 graduate of UMW, that was recently published in the edited volume, Vibrant Virginia: Engaging the Commonwealth to Expand Economic Vitality (Virginia Tech Publishing, 2022).

Other recent news mentions for Farnsworth include:

Prospects of Third-Party Candidates in 2024 (ARD German Public Radio)
“It is pretty clear that many of the leaders of the No Labels movement are Republicans hoping to torpedo Joe Biden’s re-election campaign,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.

In Prince William County, Data Centers Tangle Democratic Party Politics Ahead Of Fall Elections (DCist News)
But there’s a chance that frustration over the data center issue could chip away at Democrats’ advantage, according to Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “Every now and then, something like this comes along that really has the opportunity to scramble the more conventional politics,” he said, noting that land-use controversies often play that role in Northern Virginia.
https://dcist.com/story/23/07/27/as-an-example-of-the-prosperity-data-center-revenue-can-create/

This year’s legislative elections might be historically expensive (WVTF)
Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says that money will start flowing after Labor Day. “At that point, the parties will also know which candidates have raised a lot of money on their own, which candidates are showing real promise, which candidates may not be as good an investment,” Farnsworth says. “And so, when you start thinking about where to put your money, it really is a matter of triage. Where can that money do the most good?”
https://www.wvtf.org/news/2023-07-26/this-years-legislative-elections-might-be-historically-expensive

Why Virginia Is the State to Watch in the 2023 Elections (U.S. News)
“Youngkin is no longer the relatively unknown candidate of two years ago – he now has a conservative record that Democrats can run against,” says University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth. In addition, Trump’s legal cases could keep him in the public eye in a way he wasn’t in the fall of 2021, potentially scaring Democratic voters to head to the polls.
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2023-07-24/why-virginia-is-the-state-to-watch-in-the-2023-elections

With General Assembly up for grabs, disclosures show record amounts of campaign cash (WVTF)
The latest round of campaign finance disclosures saw a record amount of campaign cash for an off-year election, and Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says we’re just getting started. “Republicans have traditionally had the advantage in fundraising, but that has fallen away in recent years with Democratic gains in the legislature and in statewide offices,” Farnsworth says. “Youngkin gives Republicans a chance to fight in a very competitive way with respect to the amount of money that can be put into these campaigns.”
https://www.wvtf.org/news/2023-07-20/with-general-assembly-up-for-grabs-disclosures-show-record-amounts-of-campaign-cash

Hanna’s Research Featured in ‘Christian Science Monitor’

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Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna’s research on how presidential sites present Black history was featured in The Christian Science Monitor. The article, “Presidential plantation shifts telling of history to let all voices rise,” explains how Hanna’s research revealed that visitors to Montpelier reported learning more about and feeling more empathy for enslaved people than at similar sites. “It made them feel like they learned more about enslavement and were able to empathize with people who suffered, survived and endured being enslaved,” he says. Read more.

Hanna’s Research Shared By History News Network

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Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna was featured in “Why the Voices of the Enslaved’s Descendants Matter at Montpelier and Other Historic Sites” on History News Network. On May 17, after weeks of negative stories on Montpelier in the national press, the foundation that operates the Virginia plantation home of James Madison finally made good on its promise to share authority with descendants of people enslaved by the man known as “the father” of the U.S. Constitution. Read more.

Hanna Talks to Media About Montpelier

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Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen Hanna

Professor of Geography Stephen P. Hanna was quoted in several high-profile media outlets about his research on Southern plantations. On May 17, 2022, after weeks of negative stories on Montpelier in the national press, the foundation that operates the Virginia plantation home of James Madison finally made good on its promise to share authority with descendants of people enslaved by the man known as “the father” of the U.S. Constitution. The article, “Modern-day struggle at James Madison’s plantation Montpelier to include the descendants’ voices of the enslaved,” was published by the following sources: