At the University of Mary Washington’s 2014 commencement ceremony, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger heard something he knew he’d never forget. A patch of garbage, estimated to be twice the size of Texas, is floating in the Pacific, Mellinger said, and is the largest of five offshore zones accumulating in the world’s […]
UMW Presents a Palette of Pandemic-Era Arts
Soon after the University of Mary Washington Chamber Choir performed live in the James Farmer Hall atrium last March, UMW went totally online, and singing was deemed a “super-spreader” activity. Last fall, UMW Choirs sang together again – virtually – performing In Te Domine Speravi. The new piece by composer Sarah McDonald focuses on isolation, […]
Mary Washington Trio Brews Guinness World Record Opportunity
As children, Ray Parrish ’91 and his brother were obsessed with the Guinness Book of World Records, devouring the new, hardbound volume they unwrapped each Christmas morning. It was a lifelong dream, Parrish said, to see their own names among the recordholders. Fast-forward to last December, when Parrish, now co-owner of the firefighter-founded Maltese Brewing […]
Students Stand Together for MLK Day of Service
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. often appears on social media around the anniversary of the civil rights leader’s birth. Charlotte Russell, a first-year student at the University of Mary Washington, reflected upon those words, which were also emblazoned on the […]
Alumni Trio Adapts to Teaching in Madrid, Pandemic Style
When quarantine began in March 2020, Chloe Morton ’19 decided to improvise, creating virtual scavenger hunts to engage her middle and high school-aged students. It’s a typical assignment in the age of COVID-19. But she also had to add English subtitles. After all, she is teaching in Spain. One third of each graduating class at […]
