Honorable Mentions

Stephen Farnsworth,
professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, gave a lecture, “Virginia Votes 2013: The Ever-changing State of Virginia Politics” to the Candidate Training Program of the Sorensen Institution of the University of Virginia. The institute uses training programs for young professionals and college students to help prepare the next generation of political participants.

Kevin Caffrey,
senior associate registrar, was featured as part of the Fredericksburg Songwriters’ Showcase on Jan. 31. The Fredericksburg Songwriters’ Showcase is a monthly concert series featuring original acoustic music, now in its 20th year.

Janusz Konieczny,
professor of mathematics, co-authored a research article, “Conjugation in Semigroups,” which was published in the Journal of Algebra.

Tony Leger,
an area coordinator with the Office of Residence Life, joined the Executive Board for the Virginia Association of College and Housing Officers (VACUHO) as a member at large. The VACUHO is dedicated to the education and professional development of housing and residence life staff at higher education institutions in Virginia.

Marissa Miller,
an assistant director for the Office of Residence Life and Commuter Student Services, will serve on the ACPA Next Generation Conference Planning Committee, an opportunity for undergraduate students to explore the student affairs profession, for the second year. Next Generation participants meet and learn from current graduate students, graduate preparation program faculty and seasoned student affairs professionals who work at a variety of colleges and universities.

Christine Porter,
director of residence life and students, joined the Virginia Student Services Conference Planning Committee, (VSSC). The VSSC is a services conference in Virginia, which offers students and professionals the chance to engage in professional development sessions, networking and other activities.

Jangwoon Lee,
assistant professor of mathematics, presented his latest research through his lecture, “An Optimization Based Domain Decomposition Method for PDEs with Random Inputs” at the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings in January, held in Baltimore.

Julius Esunge,
assistant professor of mathematics, attended the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings in January, held in Baltimore. Esunge participated in a mini-course and served as a judge for the annual MAA undergraduate research poster session.

Mehdi Aminrazavi,
professor of classics, philosophy and religion and co-director of the Leidecker Center for Asian Studies, received an award for outstanding service from the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute of International Education for facilitating the hosting of Leila Asadi at UMW from 2011 to 2012.

Ben Odhiambo Kisila,
associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, and his former UMW research students, Elyse Clark, class of 2013 and Matthew Ricker, class 2006, published their research paper, “Comparative Analysis of Metal Concentrations and Sediment Accumulation Rates in Two Virginian Reservoirs, USA: Lakes Moomaw and Pelham,” in the February issue of the peer-reviewed journal Water, Air, and Soil Pollution.