Three longtime professors and a veteran administrator will be awarded emeritus status at the University of Mary Washington’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 7.
Roy M. Gordon will be named Professor Emeritus of Athletics, Health and Physical Education; Lorene C. Nickel will be named Professor Emerita of Art; Joan T. Olson will be named Associate Professor Emerita of Sociology; and John N. Pearce will be named Director of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library, Director of the James Monroe Presidential Center, and University Liaison for the Enchanted Castle Site Emeritus.
The title of emeritus is bestowed on faculty members who have served the university for at least 15 years and who have attained the rank of professor or associate professor.
Roy M. Gordon
Roy M. Gordon began his career at Mary Washington in 1977 when he founded the university’s soccer program. Ranked as a top head coach in men’s college soccer, Gordon led the Eagles to 386 victories in his 34 years coaching the team. Combined with the 46 victories he achieved as head coach at the University of Maine-Farmington, Gordon’s teams accomplished a 432-253-53 career record under his guidance.
One of only eight coaches in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III history to achieve 400 wins, Gordon has received several awards. He is an eight-time Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, five-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America Regional Coach of the Year and four-time Virginia State College Division Coach of the Year. In 2009, he received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s Honor Award, the organization’s highest honor.
Gordon also founded the Mary Washington men’s tennis program in 1978. In his 22 years of leadership, the team won 171 matches, claimed five Capital Athletic Conference championships and four VITA state championships and appeared in its first NCAA Tournament in 1997.
Dedicated to student athletes and the UMW community, Gordon has been involved in more than 65 service and professional activities on and off campus.
He is the former president of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and served as the Capital Athletic Conference men’s soccer chairman from 1991 to 2000.
As associate director of athletics and as a professor of health and physical education, Gordon was a member of several campus committees, including the faculty senate, faculty budget advisory committee, academic affairs committee, administrative search committees and building and renovation committees.
Gordon earned a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in health, physical education and recreation from Springfield College.
Lorene C. Nickel
Lorene C. Nickel joined the University of Mary Washington faculty in 1981. Through her continual creation and modification of courses at UMW to match student interests, Nickel has encouraged students to study the arts for more than 30 years.
Active in many university pursuits and causes in the local community, Nickel has mainly focused on art, teaching ceramics and fiber courses, and producing works for exhibition. Her artwork appears in many public and private collections across five continents. In addition to being displayed at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Nickel’s art has been exhibited in countries around the world, including New Zealand, Italy and Japan. A participant in the Fredericksburg-Frejus Sister Cities Exchange Exhibition, Nickel’s work also was on display in Frejus, France.
Her art has appeared in publications that include Ceramics Monthly, House and Garden, Museum and Arts Washington, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and The Free Lance-Star.
An expert in ceramics, contemporary crafts, mosaics and textile design, Nickel studied traditional tapestry technique in Paris and traditional Byzantine mosaic technique in Ravenna, Italy. More recently, she was selected through the Virginia Consortium for a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris where she studied classical technique at the Gobelins Manufacture Nationale de Tapisserie.
In addition to receiving four Mary Washington Faculty Development Grants and the Mary Washington Jepson Fellow Award, Nickel received a Fellowship for Outstanding Work in the professional category from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 1998.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Goshen College and a master’s degree in ceramics from the University of Florida.
Joan T. Olson
Joan T. Olson came to Mary Washington in 1979. An associate professor of sociology, Olson has a range of knowledge in criminology, family sociology and social issues that has inspired students over three decades.
An accomplished scholar and practitioner of public sociology, Olson developed and taught numerous courses in criminology, juvenile delinquency, family and social problems, and women’s and ethnic studies.
In addition to serving as a mentor, academic advisor and career guide to students, Olson participated in several academic roles and service projects throughout her career. She was a department chair for three years and participated on several search committees within her department and across campus. She also worked with many standing committees, including faculty organization, curriculum, admissions and Bachelor of Liberal Studies.
A champion of race and gender equality, Olson was a founder of the James Farmer Scholars Program. She served as a board member for the program for 22 years. In addition, Olson advocated for and contributed to the James Farmer Multicultural Center. She also has been a member of the board of the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence for 11 years.
Olson received a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, a master’s degree from Michigan State University and a doctorate from Northwestern University, each in sociology.
John N. Pearce
John N. Pearce began his career at Mary Washington in 1984. His 27 years of service to the university included positions as a professor in the department of historic preservation and as director of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library, the James Monroe Presidential Center and the Center for Historic Preservation. Pearce also directed the Germanna site of the Enchanted Castle, home of the royal Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood. In addition to teaching courses in the historic preservation department, he played a key role in developing the department’s museum studies curriculum.
An expert on the life, times and influence of James Monroe and decorative arts, Pearce became director of planning and programs at the James Monroe Museum in 1989, and he was named director of the museum in 1996. During Pearce’s tenure, the museum expanded and enhanced its programs, increased its scholarly activity, improved its facilities and strengthened connections to the University.
He has held memberships in several campus committees, including faculty affairs, special programs and exhibit spaces. Within the community, Pearce also served on several boards of directors of history and preservation organizations, including the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center, the Memorial Foundation of Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc. and the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation.
A recipient of several fellowships, Pearce was named a Winterthur Fellow and a National Society of Interior Design Fellow at the National Trust Summer School in England. In addition, he received the Governor of Maryland’s Award and the Trustee of America Award at Mary Washington.
His articles have been published in numerous publications, such as the Dictionary of American History, the Encyclopedia of World Art, and the Local History Encyclopedia. He is the author of “American Painting 1560-1913.”
Pearce earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Yale University and a master’s degree in early American culture from the University of Delaware.
