MRG | Great Minds at Work

Pursuing Preservation

December 10, 2012 By Marty Morrison Leave a Comment

Michael Spencer demonstrates use of the borescope to Jen Sustar, Krysha Snyder, Linda Eckley and Victoria Leonard.

Aaron Caine has a new appreciation for the old white clapboard cottage a stone’s throw from the stately Belmont mansion in Stafford County. “I can’t believe I never noticed this house,” said Caine, a senior historic preservation major at the University of Mary Washington who grew up in the area. “I’ve driven by here many times and never realized that it was here.” Assistant Professor Michael Spencer understands the oversight. The tenant house is dwarfed by Belmont, the impressive Georgian estate on the hillside once owned by 19th century artist Gari Melchers. Very little archival information is available about the Falmouth cottage referred to in historical documents only as “the house across the road.” The building, which is part of the Melchers estate administered by UMW, makes an ideal study for Caine and the seven students in Spencer’s “building forensics” class who have spent the semester building on previous research and documentation skills, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: Belmont, HISP, historic preservation, Michael Spencer, MRG

Homework Helpers

December 3, 2012 By Brynn Boyer 2 Comments

Math homework stumped one local Fredericksburg second-grader. She was puzzled by the number sequence problem in the evening assignment, and the more she tried to work the problem, the more exasperated she became. UMW senior Ciara Norquist sensed her frustration and convinced her to take a break from her studies. They built charts and focused on finding patterns. Within minutes, the student returned to her homework and completed it with ease “For the kids, it’s like having a second teacher. The one-on-one time is important,” said Norquist, who is among 31 UMW tutors who have volunteered with the Hazel Hill Homework Club. The club, which started fall semester, began as a way to help UMW students fulfill their service-learning requirement in an “Elementary Social Studies Methods” class, taught by John Broome, assistant professor in the College of Education. Students in Broome’s class are required to complete 10 hours of service and many opt to volunteer as tutors … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: College of Education, EDUC, John Broome, MRG

Culturing Independent Inquiry

October 1, 2012 By Brynn Boyer Leave a Comment

In the tissue culture lab in the University of Mary Washington’s Jepson Hall, Chloe Fusselman donned a white lab coat, put on gloves and carefully picked up a beaker of liquid. She was practicing her sterile lab techniques with her adviser, Professor of Biology Deborah O’Dell, since the methods are critical to her research project this semester. Fusselman and fellow senior biology major Kara Arbogast are both researching the chemical bisphenol A, known as BPA, in separate projects. Both students received undergraduate research grants from UMW for their work. Fusselman’s project looks at the effect of BPA, a chemical found in many everyday household products, on healthy prostate cells. BPA, O’Dell explained, mimics the hormone estrogen and is frequently linked to breast cancer. “In the literature, there are some references that BPA could be linked to prostate cancer, too,” O’Dell said. Research like Fusselman’s will help scientists find out. As Fusselman … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: BIOL, dodell, MRG, undergraduate research

Growing a New Generation of Educators

August 6, 2012 By Brynn Boyer 2 Comments

Grades aren’t foremost on the mind of Laurie Abeel. The College of Education associate professor focuses more on the journey for her graduate-level students. “My approach in every single class deals with growth, not grades,” said Abeel, who teaches gifted education courses. “I’m more concerned with ‘do they understand what I’m trying to teach’ and ‘have they shown growth by the end of the course?’” Some of her students have gone on to use her strategies and methods in their own classrooms. Abeel credits much of her classroom philosophy to her involvement with Destination Imagination, known as DI, an international program focused on the creative process, critical thinking, leadership and team work. For almost the past decade, she has served as Virginia affiliate director of DI, volunteering to coordinate Virginia’s programs and the state tournament. “It influences almost everything I do. All the skills we try to teach the kids [in DI], I use in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: College of Education, EDUC, labeel, MRG, undergraduate research

Seeking Feathered Friends

July 27, 2012 By Brynn Boyer Leave a Comment

For Andrew Dolby, a stressed-out bird is a big deal. Dolby, professor and chair of the biology department, is researching the stress response in birds, specifically, the Tufted Titmouse. During the spring semester he worked with three students to catch birds on UMW property and at sites in southern Stafford County. They took their measurements and vital signs and collected small blood samples for fellow biology professor Deborah O’Dell to perform heat shock protein analysis in the Jepson Hall labs. Heat shock proteins, similar in function to stress hormones, are indicators of chronic stress. Sources of chronic stress for a bird might be habitat deterioration, parasitism, or long-term food shortages. Dolby and O’Dell received a grant from the Virginia Society of Ornithology for the unique project. “Only two other laboratories in North America are using heat shock proteins to study stress in free-ranging birds,” Dolby said. Since the proteins are found in almost every … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: adolby, Andrew Dolby, BIOL, biology, MRG, orthinology

Conundrum Challenge

July 15, 2012 By Brynn Boyer 1 Comment

The Spider and Fly Puzzle has mesmerized math buffs for more than a century. “You’re in a big room and there’s a spider on one wall and on the opposite wall is a fly,” said Keith Mellinger, associate professor and chair of mathematics. “The question is, if the spider wants to walk along the walls and get to the fly, what’s the shortest path?” The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is a spiral. Mellinger takes exception to that conventional solution. He recently discovered that the conventional answer doesn’t always hold true. His research appears in a recent issue of the College Mathematics Journal, a publication of the Mathematical Association of America. “If we tweak the conditions of the problem, the problem has a different solution,” he said, explaining that the dimensions of the room can change whether a spiral pattern or a straight line is in fact the shortest path. The complexities of the problem have served as an effective teaching tool for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: Keith Mellinger, kmelling, MATH, mathematics, MRG

In Search of Turtles

July 9, 2012 By Brynn Boyer 1 Comment

An uncommon turtle discovery has sparked detective work between a University of Mary Washington professor and student and will help shed light on the species in the Fredericksburg region. A little more than a year ago, Professor of Biology Werner Wieland asked students in one of his classes to bring in a local animal. Much to Wieland’s surprise, one student brought in a species of turtle – a yellow-bellied slider – that is not usually found in the Fredericksburg area. The find brought up questions for Wieland— was this turtle an isolated case or is there a bigger population established? With the help of junior Yoshi Takeda, Wieland is taking this summer to find out. Wieland’s project is one of dozens funded through UMW’s Summer Science Institute, a 10-week undergraduate research program started in 1999. The students and professors will present their work at an all-day symposium on Wednesday, July 25. Wieland and Takeda started their field work at the end of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: BIOL, biology, MRG, Summer Science Institute, undergraduate research, wwieland

Trotting the Globe for Business Education

June 15, 2012 By Brynn Boyer Leave a Comment

Mukesh Srivastava is a frequent flyer with a penchant for international travel and a mind focused on global business. Srivastava, associate dean of the College of Business, was noted for his research -- on how different groups within an organization interact with each other -- at a conference in Thailand in April. He will travel to Ireland at the end of June to present similar research. The 2012 recipient of UMW's Graduate Faculty Award, Srivastava founded the Association of Global Management Studies (AGMS) in 2009 and hosted the first AGMS conference in 2010. This year, nine countries were represented at the conference held in the Harvard Faculty Club. He aims to hold the conference in New Zealand in 2013. “AGMS has given me an enhanced perspective on global thinking,” said Srivastava, who also is associate professor. “That exchange that I am able to bring to the classroom is useful for my students.” Last October, Srivastava spent five weeks in Tunisia as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: BUAD, College of Business, MMIS, MRG, msrivast, Mukesh Srivastava

She’s Psyched (and Her Students are Too)

June 11, 2012 By Brynn Boyer 2 Comments

Miriam Liss, associate professor of psychology, leads her classes in role play exercises

Saying Miriam Liss likes psychology would be an understatement. Liss, a licensed clinical psychologist and one of the Princeton Review’s 300 Best Professors, is known for her energy in the classroom and her ability to engage with students. “I love getting students up out of their seats and getting them engaged with the material,” she said. For example, in her personality class she has students role play Erikson’s stages. “Students may forget a lecture about Erikson, but they will never forget the interpretative dance used to illustrate autonomy versus shame and doubt,” she said. In addition to her work in the classroom, Liss is passionate about the independent research projects of her students. She has published more than 10 articles with student co-authors in peer-reviewed journals and has presented with numerous students at national conferences. “Students can get such a unique experience with our faculty,” she said of UMW’s emphasis on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: merchull, Mindy Erchull, Miriam Liss, mliss, MRG, PSYC, psychology

Conversation Starter

May 24, 2012 By Brynn Boyer Leave a Comment

For Warren Rochelle, professor of English, a class is a conversation where knowledge goes both ways. “Classes are conversations between students and the professor. Knowledge isn’t static,” he said. “We make and discover meaning in conversation, whether it is a conversation with self, with a text, and in this case, in a classroom, with those who are participating in the class. Students bring knowledge to the table, as does the professor, and then through the give-and-take of a class discussion, through responses to a lecture, through blog posts, meaning is explored and developed.” His goal is for students to achieve mastery of the subject and feel engaged with the material. To make the coursework come alive for his students, Rochelle encourages discussions in small groups. An accomplished science fiction writer in his own right and one of the Princeton Review’s 300 Best Professors, Rochelle’s passion for fantasy and science fiction is evident in his classes. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Show on Great Minds Tagged With: creative writing, ENGL, English, MRG, Warren Rochelle, wrochell

Helpful Links

Customize Your Background:

Online Tools

Pursuing Preservation

Homework Helpers

Culturing Independent Inquiry

Growing a New Generation of Educators

Seeking Feathered Friends

Conundrum Challenge

In Search of Turtles

Trotting the Globe for Business Education

She’s Psyched (and Her Students are Too)

Conversation Starter

More Great Minds

Scaling New Heights

Teaching by Example

Bringing History to Life

Running With Purpose

Light the Night

Reinventing Ramen

Around the Globe in a Semester

Upcoming Lectures

Subscribe to the UMW Newsletter!

Master Teachers at Work