{"id":108832,"date":"2026-01-16T15:08:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=108832"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:30:11","slug":"umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"UMW Spring Events Commemorate VA250 Through Great Lives and Student-Focused Public Square Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Mary Washington will participate in Virginia250, the Commonwealth\u2019s official commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, with a series of events beginning Tuesday, Jan. 20, with a lecture on Paul Revere\u2019s midnight ride.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/\">William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/paul-revere\/\">Paul Revere<\/a> presentation featuring Kostya Kennedy, author of <em>The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night that Saved America<\/em>, takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall\u2019s Dodd Auditorium. It will examine the complex reality behind one of America\u2019s founding legends, revealing that multiple riders participated in the crucial intelligence mission of 1775.<\/p>\n<p>Two additional Great Lives lectures \u2013 one in February and one in March \u2013 will also honor the Revolutionary War era and U.S. independence.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Feb. 26, author Matthew Pearl will discuss the 1776 kidnapping of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/jemima-boone\/\">Jemima Boone<\/a>, daughter of frontier pioneer Daniel Boone, and its impact on westward expansion during the war\u2019s early days. Historian Brooke Barbier will give a lecture on Tuesday, March 17, about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/john-hancock\/\">John Hancock<\/a>, examining the merchant-turned-patriot who helped unite ambivalent colonists behind independence.<\/p>\n<p>All Great Lives lectures are held at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall\u2019s Dodd Auditorium. They are free, open to the public and typically include question-and-answer sessions and book-signings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{&quot;blog_id&quot;:7,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 554px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"554\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 364px; height: 554px;\" data-original-width=\"364\" data-original-height=\"554\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/paul-revere\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"360\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"550\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"108835\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere.png\" data-orig-size=\"1148,1754\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere-196x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere-670x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere.png?w=360&#038;h=550&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere.png 1148w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere-196x300.png 196w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere-670x1024.png 670w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere-768x1173.png 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Paul-Revere-1005x1536.png 1005w\" width=\"360\" height=\"550\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"360\" data-original-height=\"550\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Photo of the book &quot;The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night that Saved America&quot; by Kostya Kennedy\" style=\"width: 360px; height: 550px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 365px; height: 554px;\" data-original-width=\"365\" data-original-height=\"554\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/jemima-boone\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"361\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"550\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"108834\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone.png\" data-orig-size=\"1156,1758\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone-197x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone-673x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone.png?w=361&#038;h=550&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone.png 1156w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone-197x300.png 197w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone-673x1024.png 673w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone-768x1168.png 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/Jemima-Boone-1010x1536.png 1010w\" width=\"361\" height=\"550\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"361\" data-original-height=\"550\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Photo of the book &quot;The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap that Shaped America&quot; by Matthew Pearl\" style=\"width: 361px; height: 550px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 371px; height: 554px;\" data-original-width=\"371\" data-original-height=\"554\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/image-3-3\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"367\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"550\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"108833\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-scaled.png\" data-orig-size=\"1708,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-200x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-683x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-scaled.png?w=367&#038;h=550&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-scaled.png 1708w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-200x300.png 200w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-683x1024.png 683w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-768x1151.png 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-1025x1536.png 1025w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/image-3-1366x2048.png 1366w\" width=\"367\" height=\"550\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"367\" data-original-height=\"550\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Photo of the book &quot;King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father&quot; by Brooke Barbier\" style=\"width: 367px; height: 550px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>UMW also will host a <a href=\"https:\/\/academics.umw.edu\/communityengagement\/umw-votes\/public-square-debate\/\">Public Square Debate<\/a> on what it means to live in a democracy on March 11, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Cedric Rucker University Center\u2019s Chandler Ballroom. Hosted jointly by Mary Washington and Germanna Community College, the debate will follow a Braver Angels format \u2013 where the goal isn\u2019t to win but to understand, encouraging civil discourse on civic questions. Students are invited to <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/Pages\/ResponsePage.aspx?id=E8mlZpm3iEqGBkHQQRdiZ5F1Ct9p74FPnB1qNJboe_xUOUo2SjVOTExDQU1UUEk4R0YyRzIxME5VTC4u\">register online<\/a> to attend the debate and help choose a debate resolution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s done in a way that gets people to come together to consider their own positions in the spirit of others,\u201d said Associate Provost for Community Relations and Compliance Shavonne Shorter. \u201cIt aligns perfectly with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/about\/our-principles-and-values\/\">UMW\u2019s ASPIRE values<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/jamesmonroemuseum.umw.edu\/\">James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library<\/a>, an administrative unit of UMW dedicated to the life and times of the fifth president of the United States, will also present a slate of public programs throughout the year to observe the 250th anniversary of the founding of the nation.<\/p>\n<p>These UMW events help mark Virginia250 and America250 ahead of the nation\u2019s semiquincentennial celebration this summer. Virginia250 is part of America250, an initiative commemorating U.S. independence ahead of the nation\u2019s 250th birthday on July 4. The Commonwealth\u2019s effort explores Virginia\u2019s foundational role in forming the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this fall, the University hosted \u201cAdaptation, Innovation and Tradition: Art from the Patawomeck Community,\u201d an exhibition celebrating the creative traditions of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia as part of Virginia250 programming.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/america250.org\/\">America250<\/a> is led by the nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission established by congress in 2016 to unite Americans through educational and community programs. <a href=\"https:\/\/va250.org\/\">Virginia250<\/a> runs through 2031 and aims to inspire renewed commitment to citizenship through events, education and civic engagement.<\/p>\n<p><em>Watch for UMW-hosted Virginia250 events by following UMW on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\"><em>Facebook<\/em><\/a><em> and #MaryWash on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marywash\/\"><em>Instagram<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Mary Washington will participate in Virginia250, the Commonwealth\u2019s official commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, with a series of events beginning Tuesday, Jan. 20, with a lecture on Paul Revere\u2019s midnight ride. Part of the University\u2019s William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series, the Paul Revere presentation featuring Kostya Kennedy, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":108836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[15640,15641,748,15642,15228,15639],"topics":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-108832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-america250","9":"tag-braver-angels","10":"tag-great-lives","11":"tag-public-square-debate","12":"tag-sshorter","13":"tag-virginia250","14":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UMW Spring Events Commemorate VA250 Through Great Lives and Student-Focused Public Square Debate - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UMW Spring Events Commemorate VA250 Through Great Lives and Student-Focused Public Square Debate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The University of Mary Washington will participate in Virginia250, the Commonwealth\u2019s official commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, with a series of events beginning Tuesday, Jan. 20, with a lecture on Paul Revere\u2019s midnight ride. Part of the University\u2019s William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series, the Paul Revere presentation featuring Kostya Kennedy, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-16T20:08:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-16T20:30:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/NewRelease_VA250-Celebration.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"413\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"University Communications\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"UMW Spring Events Commemorate VA250 Through Great Lives and Student-Focused Public Square Debate\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-16T20:08:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-16T20:30:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/\"},\"wordCount\":537,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/NewRelease_VA250-Celebration.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"America250\",\"Braver Angels\",\"Great Lives\",\"Public Square Debate\",\"sshorter\",\"Virginia250\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Top Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/16\/umw-spring-events-commemorate-va250-through-great-lives-and-student-focused-public-square-debate\/\",\"name\":\"UMW Spring Events Commemorate VA250 Through Great Lives and Student-Focused Public Square Debate - 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