From corporate greenwashing and the cultural power of fairy tales to sustainable farming in Cuba and detective fiction in Spain – University of Mary Washington faculty and staff shared their expertise with broad audiences this year. They spoke not only in the classroom but also on Virginia Humanities’ With Good Reason radio program, bringing knowledge and insight to listeners across the national airwaves.
Through its collaboration with the program, UMW reached more than 100,000 listeners on 133 radio stations across Virginia, Washington, D.C., and 38 states, with thousands more tuning in online and through iTunes. Since last summer, several Mary Washington faculty members were featured on With Good Reason, illustrating the depth and range of UMW scholarship.
Some of the thought-provoking topics UMW faculty explored:
Education for Everyone (Literacy in Special Education) – Sean McDonald, assistant professor of education, reveals the lesser-known cultural and psychological factors that have a big impact on reading comprehension. (Aug. 22, 2025)
Corporate Greenwashing (Greenwashing) – Kimberley Kinsley, senior lecturer in business, breaks down how misleading “green” claims can shape consumer behavior, using one company’s “clean diesel” deception, and the resulting “Dieselgate” scandal, as a case study. (July 11, 2025)
Brightness (Our Stories, Ourselves) – Margaret Meehan, adjunct instructor of art, remixes and explores classic nursery rhymes and fairy tales in ceramics to ask who we are taught to fear – and to respect. (June 20, 2025)
Beyond the Embargo (La Picadora) – Krystyn Moon, professor of history and American studies, examines La Picadora, a Cuban farming community whose sustainability practices were born out of economic crisis. (May 30, 2025)
The Game’s Afoot (The Pact of Forgetting) – Antonia Delgado-Poust, associate professor of Spanish, explains how Spanish women’s detective fiction of the 1990s and 2000s wrestled with the country’s political legacy of injustice. (March 21, 2025)
Christmas Stories (Bah Humbug) – Eric Lorentzen, professor of English, discusses how Dickens’ focus on childhood in A Christmas Carol has echoed across popular culture. (Dec. 20, 2024)
Baby Babble (Bring Your Family to School) – Melissa Wells, associate professor of education, shares children’s books that invite minority families into schools to celebrate their cultural strengths. (Aug. 9, 2024)
As National Podcast Day on Sept. 30 highlights the power of on-demand listening, With Good Reason continues to showcase UMW faculty voices to thousands of podcast subscribers nationwide. Hear the program in Fredericksburg Sundays at 2 p.m. on Radio IQ, Saturday mornings on WAMU in Washington, D.C., or anytime at the With Good Reason website and on iTunes.
UMW voices are also part of the local airwaves. Three academic deans – Pete Kelly (College of Education), Keith Mellinger (College of Arts and Sciences), and Filiz Tabak (College of Business) – appeared recently on NewsTalk 1230 WFVA’s Town Talk to outline new majors, highlight growing community and industry partnerships, and share how each college is preparing students for life after college. Listen to the episode.
Media interested in connecting with UMW faculty – or faculty interested in appearing on With Good Reason – may contact UMW Director of Media and Public Relations Lisa Chinn Marvashti at lchinn@umw.edu.
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