Alumni College Descriptions Alumni College Descriptions

Session 4 (continued)

UMW Cares: Meeting the Needs of the Community, Leslie Martin, Ph.D., associate professor, sociology and anthropology

While not always obvious, there are members of the Mary Washington community who are in need. Some students might be temporarily homeless and food-insecure, while others have stable housing and food but struggle to pay for other necessities, like laundry. Staff might be going through hard times and having difficulty putting food on the table for their families. The desire to address these needs brought forth the Eagle Resource Closet, recently renamed the Gwen Hale Resource Center and managed by COAR (Community Outreach and Resources). In this session, you will tour the center and learn about its mission and its growth over the years. You will leave proud of how our alma mater continues to take care of our community.

Session 5 • 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.

18th Century Cooking in the Modern World, Heather Meadows, site interpreter, Mary Washington House and Rising Sun Tavern

Looking for an exciting new recipe? How about using a late 18th-century recipe instead?! Hop on a special trolley to Mary Washington’s house in Downtown Fredericksburg as we hear from Heather Meadows, site interpreter and author of a cookbook that adapts 18th-century recipes to modern cooking methods.

Rebirth of theThree Charles Robinson

Buildings, Christine Henry, Ph.D., associate professor and campus preservation officer, Department of Historic Preservation

What’s old is new again! Monroe, Willard, and Virginia Halls were designed by notable architect Charles Robinson. Together, they constitute the historic core of the UMW campus and are dear in the hearts of all alumni. In recent years, each of these remarkable Jeffersonian Collegiate-style structures has undergone a significant makeover for the 21st century. This richly illustrated lecture will highlight the innovative and inclusive preservation efforts that are enabling new generations of students to make memories here.

An Anthropology of Art: Images and Objects from a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Eric Gable, Ph.D., professor of anthropology

This lecture will focus on Dr. Gable’s current book project, examining anthropology's long-standing fascination with art and what it reveals about human equality and difference. The lecture is based on an ongoing study of Western art museums and how primitive art— particularly African—has been interpreted. It will include material on artistic practices among the people of West Africa and Indonesia, where Gable conducted field research.

Session 6 • 2:45 – 4 p.m.

Briefing from Academic Affairs Timothy O’Donnell, Ph.D., provost, University of Mary Washington Academic leadership will offer an overview of UMW’s academic programs and many of the initiatives and innovations that are occurring at the University and across the higher education sector generally. You will learn more about recent changes to the curriculum as well as new partnerships and opportunities.

Food Waste & the World’s Stupidest Problem, Kashef Majid, Ph.D., professor of marketing

Why is it that we squander one-third of all food? Households in the US waste thousands of dollars each year on uneaten food “because we’ve been tricked,” Dr. Majid says. In a new course called Alleviating Food Waste, Dr. Majid helps UMW students explore the root causes of unused food and how the issue can be remedied.

SATURDAY,

JUNE 4

Session 7 • 9 – 10 a.m.

It Takes a Village: Insight into the Governance of UMW, Jeffrey McClurken ’94, Ph.D., professor and UMW chief of staff and clerk of the Board of Visitors

See description on page 14.

Gilbert & Sullivan: Opera, or Something Else? James Brooks Kuykendall, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Music

The collaborations of playwright W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan have been popular theatre since first produced in the late 19th century, and they continue to be played around the world. Often regarded as precursors to the Broadway musical, the situation actually is much more complicated. Both Gilbert and Sullivan seem to have regarded their work as creations of opera —but neither seems to have understood what the other was doing. Maybe that’s why these works are still so compelling?

Session 8 • 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.

Picture Perfect: Social Media, Selfies, and Young Women’s Mental Health, Miriam Liss, Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of Psychological Science

Mindy Erchull, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Psychological Science

We live in a culture that objectifies women’s bodies, and women have learned to take a third-person perspective via which they frequently monitor and assess how they look. This process is known as self-objectification, and it has been linked to a wide variety of negative consequences. Social media—particularly sites that focus on posting pictures and selfies— exacerbate this objectification process. We will discuss how these dynamics affect young women today as well as share related research conducted by students at UMW.

Fifty Years on the Heights: The Lighter Side of My Half-Century at The Wash, William B. Crawley Jr., Ph.D., distinguished professor emeritus of history

From the perspective of five decades at Mary Washington, Professor Crawley looks back at some of the most memorable (and often humorous) events he observed during his lengthy career. Included will be anecdotes about various people—students, faculty, administrators, alumni—he has known through the years.