A little more than three years ago Rob Rain, of the Class of 2007, was conducting honor hearings as president as Washington and Lee's Executive Committee. Today he is leading weekly shuras with Afghan elders as part of his deployment in the Helmand Province. First Lt. Rain is a platoon commander with the 81 Millimeter […]
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Comedian, actor, author and art collector Steve Martin's new novel, "Object of Beauty," has an interesting Washington and Lee connection. The novel is set in the New York City art world. Martin is a renowned art collector in his own right. The W&L connection (actually, there are two) is the presence in the novel of […]
Today (Nov. 28) is Drive Safer Sunday, the sixth annual national observance of an event created in memory of Cullum Owings '03 by Road Safe America, an advocacy group founded by Cullum's parents and brother, Pierce '06. At the end of the 2002 Thanksgiving vacation, Cullum and Pierce were driving back to Washington and Lee […]
The following post is a reprise of the one we published on Thanksgiving two years ago, but we thought the story should be retold, and we invite you to forward it to W&L alumni, or others, who might not have seen it. Happy Thanksgiving! When you’re comfortably seated in front of your televisions on Thanksgiving […]
Tom Wolfe, of the Class of 1951, became the 20th recipient of the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation last week during the National Book Awards ceremony in New York last week. Previous recipients of the award included Joan Didion, Maxine Hong Kingston, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, John Updike, […]
At a news conference in Philadelphia later today, the results of a feasibility study to save one of the world's fastest passenger ocean liners will be unveiled. The SS United States, built in 1952 and withdrawn from service in 1969, set a transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage when it sailed from New York […]
A group of alumni and friends gathered at the Hotchkiss Alumni House earlier this month to honor two of their classmates, Adam Burchett '02 and Kristin Shelton '04, who died in a tragic automobile accident a decade ago. The accident inspired a student-led initiative that created the Traveller Safe Ride Program. Those who returned for […]
In 2008, Alex Baca started Alexander's Auction, a biannual event that raises money for Special Love's camps and outings for children with cancer who are being treated at hospitals in the mid-Atlantic region. Alex, a member of W&L's first-year class, from McLean, Va., knows firsthand what it means for these children to enjoy the kinds […]
A year after he was killed in Afghanistan, Washington and Lee alumnus Chris Coffland's story continues to resonate in several different ways. Chris was a member of the W&L Class of 1988 and co-captained the 1987 Generals' football team. He had joined the Army Reserve a month before he turned 42, the enlistment cut-off date. An […]
At halftime of last Saturday's football game between West Virginia University and the University of Cincinnati, in Morgantown, Judge Frederick P. Stamp, a 1956 Washington and Lee alumnus, was honored with his wife, Joan, as "Most Loyal West Virginians." The recognition was part of WVU's 63rd annual Mountaineer Week. Judge Stamp, who had a private practice in […]
We can identify at least four members of the Washington and Lee community among the finishers in Saturday's running of the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, plus 13 other W&L-connected runners in the event's half marathon and three more in the 8K. We undoubtedly have missed runners who work at W&L but may not have listed Lexington […]
For the past two years, Washington and Lee's Information Technology Services, in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, has surveyed incoming first-year students to find out what kinds of technology they are bringing to campus. Those of us in the manual-typewriter and clock-radio generation of college students can only look in awe at what we're seeing […]
Staff and faculty members of Washington and Lee University who have served in the armed forces commemorated Veterans Day today, Nov. 11, by gathering to note their service to the nation. They span all branches of the military and all ages. Larry Stuart, a senior sergeant in public safety, spent six years in the Marine Corps. […]
Christian Wiman, the editor of Poetry magazine, is the subject of an elegant profile, “The Resurrection and the Life,” in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. The occasion is the publication of Every Riven Thing, his fourth book and his third collection of poetry. Christian is a member of Washington and Lee’s Class of […]
An article in the Nov. 2, 2010, edition of Youngentrepreneur magazine refers to Washington and Lee alumnus Brent Beshore as "a 27-year-old serial entrepreneur." It's an apt description of the 2005 graduate, who has been cited in the What's News blog once before, after being profiled in the Columbia, Mo., Business Times. The Youngentrepreneur article […]
This past weekend, the North Carolina Museum of Art, in Raleigh, unveiled “Inverted Utopias,” an exhibition by Bob Trotman, a 1969 alumnus of Washington and Lee. The exhibition runs until March 27, 2011, in a new gallery that showcases North Carolina artists. Trotman’s exhibition comprises works from the NCMA, private collections and the artist himself. […]
Shortly after the news broke on Friday that Charles R. McDowell Jr., Washington and Lee Class of 1948, had died from complications of a stroke, several of his former colleagues on the Richmond Times-Dispatch were retelling stories about Charley and summing up his role as a newspaperman for almost half a century. One especially apt assessment in today's […]
Albert M. Orgain IV, a 1971 graduate of the Washington and Lee School of Law, may be known first for his success as a trial lawyer. He is a principal with the Richmond firm Sands Anderson, and is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers of Virginia, among others. But Al is equally […]
Back in May, we noted that a Washington and Lee alumnus, Bob Doll, of the Class of 1974, had just published his fourth New York Times crossword puzzle of the year. Now it turns out that we can boast of another, newer crossword constructor among the W&L alumni body. Neville Fogarty, who graduated in May, was the author […]
The Cummings' books — Joe's "Bylines" at left; Doug's "The Southern Press" at right. When Washington and Lee journalism professor Doug Cumming holds a book signing on Thursday, Nov. 4, at Lexington's Books & Co., he'll be joined by a fellow author and Southern journalist — his father, Joe Cumming. Joe Cumming will be signing and reading […]
Viewers of the Oct. 31 edition of “60 Minutes” enjoyed the profile of Zenyatta, the unbeaten racehorse who is aiming to win her 20th and final race on Nov. 6, at the Breeder’s Cup Classic. One of the CBS staffers who created the story, as much with her equestrian skills as with her journalistic talents, is […]
Students, staff and faculty gathered on Cannan Green the evening of Oct. 28 for 8 Minutes to Stop the Hate, a candlelight vigil to honor the memories of Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh, Asher Brown, Billy Lucas and Justin Aaberg. The suicides of these youths, who took their own lives reportedly because of bullying and harassment […]