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In the News

Highlighting the news about our members and our organization.

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Chief Cheesebro to lead VACLEA

William & Mary Police Chief Deborah Cheesebro elected president of the Virginia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

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Get to know Provost Peggy Agouris

Peggy Agouris became William & Mary’s sixth provost on July 1. W&M News checked in with the Athens, Greece, native to get her thoughts on everything from first impressions to goals for the year.

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Aceto Award honors Zuber’s service to students’ writing

Sharon Zuber, senior lecturer of English and film and media studies and director of the Writing Resources Center at William & Mary, will receive the 2018 Shirley Aceto Award for exceptional commitment to excellence in service to the campus community.

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Obasanjo's book more than a memoir

Assistant professor of kinesiology and health sciences Iyabo Obasanjo’s book, African President's Daughter, details her experiences and offers her expert opinion on how to improve women's health in poor countries, international development, corruption in government and the perils of being in a political family.

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2018 Plumeri Award recipients announced

As William & Mary celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence, these are just a few of the distinguished professors to receive that honor.

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It's no joke: Sheila Johnson wins Duke Award

The preschool teacher at the Williamsburg Campus Child Care Center, a 26-year employee there, will be honored on April 23 at 4:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Wren Building.

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Losh separates news from fake news

In her Tack Faculty Lecture on March 22, Associate Professor of English and American Studies Elizabeth Losh described the history of fake news (it's been around longer than many think) and delved into its many nuances.

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Natural and computational sciences escape island in annual Raft Debate

Armed with his tousled wig, bountiful box of donuts and distinctly fervent enthusiasm, Associate Professor of Chemistry Doug Young bore the attire of Buddy the Elf as he claimed his hard-fought victory for the natural and computational sciences at William & Mary’s annual Raft Debate.

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Jaime Settle is W&M's latest 'Rising Star'

The State Council for Higher Education in Virginia will honor her as such on March 1 as part of its annual Outstanding Faculty Awards presentation.

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William & Mary announces Katherine Rowe as 28th President

William & Mary’s Board of Visitors today unanimously elected Katherine A. Rowe, currently provost of Smith College and a leader in digital innovation of the liberal arts, as the 28th president of the university. She will begin on July 1.

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'Transformational' teacher Braxton wins Jefferson Award

Joanne Braxton, the Francis L. and Edwin L. Cummings Professor of the Humanities and director of the W&M Middle Passage Project, will be honored at Charter Day for her 37 years of service to the university.

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Campus dietitian offers tips for healthy holiday eating

Julie Nance, William & Mary’s campus dietitian, has been leading workshops on healthy eating for members of the university community throughout the fall semester, including sessions on healthy holiday eating.

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Historical archaeology: Speaking truth to long-lived cultural narratives

Written history doesn’t always get it right. Audrey Horning is one of a group of scholar-scientists that use multiple sources — written history, remembered history and material culture — to work toward assembling a more accurate picture of the past.

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William & Mary librarian serves as judge on Chinese talent show

This summer, Carrie Cooper, dean of university libraries, represented William & Mary as a judge on the "Star of Outlook English Talent Competition," the largest, most influential English-speaking competition in China.

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In their words: Preserving William & Mary’s history through oral storytelling

William & Mary’s oral history collection, preserved in Swem Library’s Special Collections Research Center, will gain exciting new additions in the coming years as the university celebrates the 50th anniversary of African-American students in residence and the 100th anniversary of co-education.

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Five faculty receive Alumni Fellowships Awards

Every year, the W&M Alumni Association honors a select group of outstanding young faculty members who represent William & Mary at its very best.

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Save Oct. 4 for the Tack Lecture

“Brain Dance” is the 12th Tack Faculty Lecture and one in a yearlong series of events at the university to commemorate the 50th anniversary of William & Mary’s first African-American residential students.

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Campus living at William & Mary gets a new leader

Maggie Burkhart Evans, who previously served as executive assistant to the president of James Madison University, started as W&M’s associate vice president for campus living and director of residence life Aug. 14.

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New book features W&M librarian

William & Mary librarian Kathleen DeLaurenti has been featured in the book "This is What a Librarian Looks Like."

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Haskins joins Dickter to lead WMSURE

Natoya Haskins will become co-director of the William & Mary Undergraduate Research Experience program in July.

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Grover caps career of service to W&M with Aceto Award

Susan Grover has served the university in several capacities: – law professor, director of equal opportunity and vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. She will retire in June.

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‘Political chameleons’ conform to avoid discomfort

Around one group of people, he seems to be a Democrat. Around another, a Republican. In yet another, a Libertarian. He’s a political chameleon, someone who engages in a type of social shape-shifting in order to blend in with those he is surrounded with, and his behavior is not unusual, according to researchers at William & Mary.

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Renaissance Woman Zuber wins Jefferson Award

Since arriving at W&M in 1986, Zuber has quietly been pivotal to the teaching of writing, the pursuit of collaborative and interdisciplinary inquiry, internationalization and international students and to teaching of film and video production.

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Cate-Arries' class opens the world to Spanish Civil War

Fifteen students in Professor of Hispanic studies Francie Cate-Arries translation course just subtitled a documentary on the murderous first three days of Gen. Francisco Franco's 40-year dictatorship.

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The cure for the creativity crisis

W&M professor KH Kim’s latest book The Creativity Challenge: How We Can Recapture American Innovation may provide the antidote for the nationwide epidemic of declining creativity.

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VIMS team embarks on expedition to Arctic seas

A research team from William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science has embarked on a month-long expedition to the coastal seas of northern Alaska, sailing aboard the nation’s newest icebreaker to study the role of nitrogen in Arctic food webs.

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Chen, Ramer awarded for service work

Jiajia Chen '18 and Debbie Ramer, an instructor in special education at the William & Mary School of Education, will receive the 2016 President’s Awards for Service to the Community.

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VIMS professor wins international recognition

Professor Elizabeth Canuel of William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science was awarded the honorary title of Geochemical Fellow at the annual Goldschmidt Conference.

W&M professor addresses new Virginia marriage law

A new law, which took effect on July 1, has raised the minimum age at which young people in Virginia may marry. Prior to this month, 16- and 17-year-olds were free to marry in the Commonwealth with parental consent; those even younger could marry with parental consent if there was a pregnancy.

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Two faculty projects receive Creative Adaptation funding

The provost's Creative Adaptation Fund is awarded annually to faculty members pursuing innovative projects that improve the quality of educational programs by reducing costs or generating new revenues.

Old collection, new relevance

The W&M Herbarium is part of a global effort digitizing natural history collections. More than half of its roughly 81,000 specimen records are available for free online.

W&M professor talks about helping homeless schoolchildren

According to statistics provided by the Department of Education, the number of homeless students in public schools across the nation has doubled since before the last recession. In Virginia alone, there are over 18,000 enrolled students identified as homeless.

W&M announces 2016 Plumeri Award recipients

From a globally recognized leader in international criminal law and a leading linguistic scholar to a widely published neuroscientist, the 2016 Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence will be bestowed to 20 talented and visionary professors across William & Mary's campus.

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On location in Cuba: Fostering creativity and forging connections

Reporter David Culver ’09 and Ann Marie Stock, professor of Hispanic studies and film and media studies, teamed up to report the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana this summer in an example of a uniquely W&M collaboration.

In with the Greeks, out with the Greeks

"The Oresteia" marks the final production for retiring theatre professor and director Richard Palmer. But the choreographer for the show, Denise Damon Wade, was a student actor in Palmer’s first production at W&M, 36 years ago. And that, too, was a Greek tragedy.

W&M Counseling Center hires psychiatrist

Dr. Patricia Roy, medical director of the Virginia Hospital Center's behavioral health department, will begin her work at William & Mary near the end of February.

Making a serial killer

Adjunct Lecturer of Sociology Deborah Basket joined William & Mary News to discuss the traits of both male and female serial killers.

W&M Hispanic studies professor wins grant for international class

Ann Marie Stock, a professor of Hispanic studies and film and media studies at William & Mary, has been selected to receive funding totaling $14,000 to create a course that will bring student researchers to Cuba over spring break in 2016.

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Ambler receives AFA Gardner Award

The Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors has honored Ginger Ambler with the 2015 Dr. Kent L. Gardner Award.

Thinking outside the pill box: a prescription for parks

The Greater Williamsburg Area Park Prescriptions Program provides local healthcare providers with the tools and training to prescribe their patients time in local parks to promote physical and mental health.

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King expands our knowledge of animal emotions

Chancellor Professor of Anthropology Barbara J. King captivates an overflow audience in delivering the recent Tack Faculty Lecture on “Wild Grief/Untamed Love."

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VIMS professors chosen as inaugural AFS fellows

Professor Mary Fabrizio and Emeritus Professor Jack Musick of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science were named fellows of the America Fisheries Society (AFS) at the society’s 145th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon in August.

Slevin one of first non-psychologists to win APA award

The American Psychology Association recently announced that Kathleen Slevin is the 2015 recipient of the Florence L. Denmark Award for Contributions to Women and Aging.

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Narrative medicine examines charts and hearts

Collaborative program between W&M and Eastern Virginia Medical School is teaching that the stories behind the illness are important for good healthcare, too.

Study finds Asian men, black women underrepresented in magazines

Researchers examined photos in six popular, American magazines and found that Asian men and black women were underrepresented, potentially due to stereotypes that associate femininity with Asian people and masculinity with black people.

A handbook for changing the world

Melody Porter recently helped write a book about how to create and sustain alternative break programs, which allow students the chance to work with community partners on social justice issues.

National grants let Root explore ‘Tillett Tapestry’

With a National Endowment for the Humanities and Center for Craft, Creativity and Design grants in hand, Associate Professor of Hispanic studies Regina Root is continuing research on what is known as the “Tillett Tapestry,” an embroidery chronicling the conquest of the Aztecs.

Patricia Popp named for state award

Patricia A. Popp was a recipient of the National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators (NAFEPA) State Leadership Award, representing the State of Virginia.

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It’s not all in your head — it’s in your gut, too

William & Mary researchers found that young adults who eat more fermented foods have fewer social anxiety symptoms, with the effect being greatest among those at genetic risk for social anxiety disorder as measured by neuroticism.

In 'Science': 'Background extinction' for the world's oceans

William & Mary paleontologist Rowan Lockwood is a member of a group that has examined 23 million years of the fossil record of marine organisms and mapped out a set of extinction patterns in a pre-human world.

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Braxton put her stamp on one honoring Maya Angelou

Braxton, Frances L. and Edwin L. Cummings Professor of English and Africana Studies and director of the Middle Passage Project, served as the lone consultant on the Postal Service's commemorative stamp.

King speaks on the Hill on behalf of baby monkeys

Barbara J. King spoke at a recent Capitol Hill briefing, part of a panel seeking an ethics-based review of ongoing psychological research at a National Institutes of Health laboratory that uses monkeys in experiments.

Steinberg receives Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award

Professor Deborah Steinberg of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science has been selected as one of the Commonwealth's outstanding faculty members by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

A thousand years of environmental change in Polynesia

A William & Mary archaeologist has been studying 1,000 years of the islanders’ methods of coping with life amid some rapidly changing ecosystems atop geologically unstable islands.

Expert panel demystifies Ebola myths

An interdisciplinary team of William & Mary experts gathered Wednesday night hoping to dispel fears through understanding.

Bradford named to state sexual violence task force

Fran Bradford, associate vice president for government relations at William & Mary, was named Monday to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s new Task Force on Combating Campus Sexual Violence.

W&M professor, alumna Susan Kern to direct Historic Campus

History Professor Susan Kern has been named the executive director of William & Mary’s Historic Campus, a position charged with the preservation and interpretation of the university's most historic buildings.

Geologist Heather Macdonald wins a pair of national awards

Heather Macdonald, Chancellor Professor of Geology at William & Mary, has been recognized by her fellow scientists and educators for her contributions to the advancement of education in the earth sciences.

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Cottrell retiring as EVP of Alumni Association

Karen Cottrell is retiring as Executive Vice President of the William & Mary Alumni Association and assuming a new, part-time role providing programming and assistance to alumni families with children going through the admission process.

W&M announces 2014 recipients of Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence

An international leader in the field of neuroscience, one of the country's foremost legal thinkers on children's rights and family law, and an internationally renowned ethnomusicologist whose latest work focuses on the music of Oman are among this year's recipients of the Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence at William & Mary.

Kijanowska readies for China concert tour

William & Mary's renowned pianist and piano instructor Anna Kijanowska is gearing up for a concert tour across China that will take place Mar. 1-17.

Dickter to receive Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award

Lauded for mentoring student research, under Dickter’s supervision W&M students are co-authors on 16 papers that have been published or are currently under review.

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Recipient McLendon embodies the spirit of Jefferson Award

A central figure in the establishment of the black studies program and first associate chair of the English department, Jacquelyn McLendon has spent more than two decades positively influencing W&M, its students and faculty.

Un-beaching the whale

When the remains of Cornwallis, a fossilized baleen whale, were discovered on the bank of the York River, Paleontologist and Associate Professor in William & Mary’s Department of Geology Rowan Lockwood led excavation efforts to unearth the whale's evolutionary secrets.

Audience pumped up during Tack Faculty Lecture

Steinberg's presentation was the fourth installment of William & Mary's Tack Faculty Lecture Series, and the first by a professor in W&M's Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

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Heart and sole: Staff member Garrison leads shoe drive

Executive assistant to the dean of Arts & Sciences Trina Garrison, with help from Lydia Whitaker and Rosie Fox of Applied Science, has collected 6,750 pairs of shoes -- nearly 1,000 from W&M. They'll be sent to developing countries for rehab and re-sale.

Swem Library welcomes new associate dean

Swem Library recently welcomed Lisa Nickel as the associate dean of research & public services, a new position developed to integrate the library more fully into the research and instructional programs of the university.

Award named in honor of longtime residence life director Boykin

The Virginia Association of College and University Housing Officers (VACUHO) recently renamed its highest award the Deb Boykin Outstanding Professional Award, honoring her service to the housing profession across the state.

Bookstore manager receives leadership award

Cathy Pacheco, the store manager of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore, was recently awarded the prestigious Next Gen Leadership Award at the Barnes & Noble College annual conference in Orlando.

Marjorie S. Thomas named dean of students

Marjorie S. Thomas, associate vice president for student affairs at the College of Charleston, has been selected as William & Mary's next dean of students.

Ambler to dance with the (Williamsburg) stars

While Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler may be best known around campus for her emails to the student body, she has another talent up her sleeve: She can dance.

Karin Wulf named director of Omohundro Institute

Karin Wulf, associate professor of history and American studies, and book review editor of The William & Mary Quarterly, one of the oldest scholarly journals in the U.S., has been named the next director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.

University registrar recognized by SACRAO

William & Mary University Registrar Sara “Sallie” Marchello has been recognized for distinguished service by the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (SACRAO).

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O'Roark put the 'human' in Human Resources

Eleven years after taking over as associate vice president of Human Resources, Earleen O'Roark leaves behind a dramatically different department than the one she inherited.

Greene to keep cracking after 45 years

This "quiet spirit" has no plans of retiring anytime soon. She and dozens of other dedicated workers will be honored at Employee Appreciation Day on May 30.

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Dartmouth’s Katharine Conley named W&M Dean of Arts & Sciences

Katharine Conley, former Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Arts & Humanities at Dartmouth College and the school’s current Edward Tuck Professor of French and Comparative Literature, has been named the next Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at the College of William & Mary.

Initiative to support, empower women STEM faculty

A group of five William & Mary Psychology and Neuroscience professors recently received a $580,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to benefit women faculty in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) disciplines.

WMSURE to encourage research among underrepresented groups

Many of the students who have had the chance to participate in research at William & Mary describe it as an important or even life-changing part of their college careers. Now, a new program at William & Mary is seeking to make sure that everyone in the College's diverse population has the opportunity to have that experience.

Sylvia Stout: It's all about the people

Sylvia Stout, business manager for the Physics Department, is to be honored for 40 years of service at William & Mary's annual Employee Appreciation Day luncheon.

Ginger Ambler named vice president for student affairs

Virginia M. Ambler ('88, Ph.D. '06), who brings a deep connection to William & Mary as both an alumna and administrator, has been named vice president for student affairs, President Taylor Reveley announced today.

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Thomasine Lewis: A life calling

Thomasine Lewis was honored for her 45 years at the College during Employee Appreciation Day 2008.