Washington and Lee University students Kelli Jarrell and Stephen Deyarmin will be recognized at the Generals of the Month presentation on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at noon in the Marketplace in Elrod Commons. Jarrell, a senior from Dry Creek, W.Va., is a biochemistry (pre-med) major with a minor in poverty and human capability studies. She is […]
A recent edition of the Greenville, S.C., News reported on the cool gig that Washington and Lee alumna Angie Littlejohn, of the Law Class of 2009, enjoys on fall weekends. Angie's day job is as Furman University's legal adviser. On the weekends (and some weeknights) she can be found in Atlantic Coast Conference football press boxes, where […]
Bryan Stevenson, executive director and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and a professor of law at New York University, will deliver this year's Tucker Lecture at Washington and Lee University School of Law on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The title of Stevenson's lecture is "Politics, Punishment and Reconciliation." The lecture is scheduled to begin […]
Edward Wasserman, Knight Professor of Journalism Ethics at Washington and Lee, appeared on NPR affiliate WMRA’s “Virginia Insight” show on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, to discuss political journalism as the current presidential campaign continues to heat up. Wasserman writes a bi-weekly column for the Miami Herald and McClatchy Newspapers and blogs at ewasserman.com. Mike Grundmann, […]
The student political research team for Washington and Lee University’s 2012 Mock Republican Convention has given a narrow nod to Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney in predicting the winner of tomorrow’s South Carolina Republican primary. Writing on the Mock Convention’s blog last night, Connor Danielowski, a senior from Charleston, S.C., and chair of the Mock […]
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review has named Margaret Mackinnon the winner of the 2011 Graybeal-Gowen Poetry Award for her poem, “Writing on the Window.” The 2011 Graybeal-Gowen Poetry Award, a $500 prize, is awarded to a poet born or living in Virginia. This year’s award was judged by the Poet Laureate of Virginia, […]
Andy Lark, a 1982 graduate of the Washington and Lee School of Law, won a 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service’s Keeper of the Dream Award, in Summit, N.J., on Jan. 17. The awards are given annually to Summit residents who honor the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. Andy was one of four honorees. He has a solo practice […]
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow discussed George Washington's leadership at Washington and Lee's Founders' Day/ODK Convocation.
Washington and Lee University's Alpha Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa recognized four honorary initiates in addition to 31 student initiates at the Founders Day/Omicron Delta Kappa Convocation.
Two of Washington and Lee's most distinguished alumni shared a special moment on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when the Virginia House of Delegates honored its longest-serving member. Lacey Putney, of W&L's Classes of 1950 and 1957 Law, this month began his 51st legislative session as an independent delegate, from Bedford, Va. To recognize Lacey's service, his former […]
Washington and Lee Director of Athletic Jan Hathorn announced that Scott Abell has been promoted to head football coach effective immediately. Abell had previously served as the program’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. “It's not often that an institution is in the position of having the right person for the job already on our […]
The Internet is being disrupted today as several of the major websites, including Wikipedia and BoingBoing, have essentially gone on strike to protest anti-piracy legislation that Congress is considering. Other sites, like Google, are making their protest known by graphically blacking out the name. Washington and Lee University business administration professor David Touve, who created […]
Rebecca Connelly, a 1988 graduate of Washington and Lee's School of Law, has been appointed a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge for the Western District of Virginia. Appointed by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after being recommended by a merit selection panel, Rebecca is the first woman to serve as a bankruptcy judge in the district, […]
Washington and Lee’s Frank Miriello has announced his retirement as the school’s head football coach effective immediately. Miriello will remain as an instructor of physical education through the remainder of the current term. "A few weeks ago I celebrated my 67th birthday and on that day I found myself pausing and reflecting on my life’s […]
Randy Rouse, of the Washington and Lee Class of 1939, is the subject of a nice profile in the Jan. 16–23, 2012, issue of the Chronicle of the Horse. Titled “Randolph Rouse Has Ridden into Virginia History,” the piece, by Meghan Blackburn, describes him as a “sporting legend” for his career as an amateur steeplechase […]
A recent CBS News story that highlighted the national trend declared: “It’s true and it’s shocking. Just one in every 10 computer science graduates is a woman.” At Washington and Lee, however, the drive to recruit more women to study computer science has resulted in females comprising 31 percent of the University’s computer science majors […]
Virginia's largest solar-energy system is now up and running at Washington and Lee University, and visitors to the University's website can watch it working in real time. "We've been generating electricity from the two solar photovoltaic arrays since late last month, when we flipped the switch," said Scott Beebe, director of facilities and energy management […]
Kelly Evans, the 2007 Washington and Lee alumna and Wall Street Journal columnist, will be one of the panelists tonight (Monday, Jan. 16), when the five remaining Republican presidential candidates take the stage in Myrtle Beach, S.C., for their latest nationally televised debate. Co-sponsored by the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, it will be […]
Fans of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" know that Thursday was a big night on that satirical news show. Host Stephen Colbert announced that he is forming an exploratory committee for a possible candidacy for president of the "United States of America of South Carolina." Moments after he made that announcement, Mike Allen, the Washington […]
Washington and Lee alumnus James W. Haley Jr., a member of the Class of 1964, will step down from the Virginia Court of Appeals in March after seven years. The Virginia General Assembly appointed him to a vacancy on the appeals court in 2005. He had been a judge on the Stafford Circuit Court for […]
Blog posts on developments with the Affordable Care Act authored by Washington and Lee law professor and health law expert Tim Jost captured three spots on Health Affairs 2011 Most-Read List. Jost's analysis of the arguments before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals over the Affordable Care Act's constitutionality was the most-read post. His posts […]
Two members of Washington and Lee's Athletic Hall of Fame — Lisa Dowling Costello, of the Class of 1993, and the late Rob Lindsey, of the Class of 1976 — have been elected to the Hall of Fame of US Lacrosse's Greater Baltimore Chapter. The induction ceremony will be held Jan. 21. Lisa held 10 school records […]
By William F. Connelly John K. Boardman Professor of Politics (Reprinted from the Jan. 9, 2012, edition of The Roanoke Times) Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich once dubbed himself "the most professorial politician since Woodrow Wilson." Like Wilson, Gingrich is a man both of theory and practice, an intellectual and a politician. These […]
Fifty years ago this week, Washington and Lee was embarking on a new venture in intercollegiate athletics when the formation of the College Athletic Conference (CAC) was announced. Given both the recent shuffling of conference memberships on the NCAA Division I level and the serious conversations about paying D-I athletes $2,000 a year for "cost of […]
With polls in New Hampshire showing Mitt Romney with an insurmountable lead in the Republican presidential primary, the student researchers for Washington and Lee University's Mock Republican Convention are predicting that he will win between 38 and 42 percent of the vote, followed by Ron Paul in second place and Jon Huntsman in third. The […]
Washington and Lee alumnus Dr. Burke Steele, of the Class of 1955, loves to talk about history — especially the history of Petersburg, Va., where he has lived for 73 years, and worked in the same office, on South Market Street, for nearly 50 years. While he majored in history at W&L and had planned on […]
At Howard University in 1908, sisters Beulah and Lillie Burke helped to found Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority. At Washington and Lee University 103 years later, sisters Devin Cooper ’11 and Amber Cooper ’12 helped to found a W&L chapter of that Greek organization. “We tease them and call them the Burke sisters,” said Tamara […]
Alex Wachi, a Washington and Lee University junior from Honolulu, is one of 20 undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the United States to win a Bridging Scholarship for study abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Wachi is the first W&L student to win the scholarship. He will receive up to $4,000 to […]
Washington and Lee law alumnus Terence F. Flynn was in the news this week, when President Barack Obama named him to a recess appointment on the National Labor Relations Board. The controversial announcement from the White House came almost one year to the day that Terry, a 1990 graduate of the School of Law, had been nominated to […]
Roland S. Martin, an award-winning journalist, author and political analyst, will present the keynote address for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Washington and Lee University on Monday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. in Lee Chapel. A reception will follow in Evans Dining Hall. Martin’s address, which is free and open to the […]
Songs and Wars and Wolves: Recent Photographs by Washington and Lee University Visiting Professor of Art Maury Gortemiller will be on view in Wilson Hall from Jan. 9 – Feb. 4. The exhibit features works from two series of color photographs. Both projects explore the medium’s unique capability to simultaneously communicate and obfuscate, shifting in […]
Washington and Lee economics professors Arthur H. Goldsmith and Timothy M. Diette appeared on NPR affiliate WMRA’s “Virginia Insight” show Thursday, Jan. 5, to discuss their research about the hidden costs of unemployment. Goldsmith recently reported on his and Diette's findings during a congressional briefing on the psychological benefits of employment and the impact of joblessness, sponsored by […]
Andy Warhol was a prolific photographer, creating tens of thousands of images over the course of his lifetime as he documented the people, places and things around him. To commemorate their 20th anniversary, the Warhol Foundation donated nearly 30,000 photographs by the legendary pop artist to educational institutions across the country. Washington and Lee University, […]
Jim Gabler, a Washington and Lee alumnus of the Classes of 1953 and 1955L, has recently published two new e-books, and they could hardly be more different — a guidebook to wine and a novel about the first American pope. Be Your Own Wine Expert promises readers that in less than three minutes, they will learn to […]
Renowned biographer Ron Chernow, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2010 biography of George Washington, Washington: A Life, will address Washington and Lee University's annual Founders' Day/Omicron Delta Kappa Convocation on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at 11:45 a.m. in Lee Chapel. The speech, also titled "Washington: A Life," is free and open to the […]
Washington and Lee alumnus Howard S. Kaylor, Classes of '50, '52L, has been named Hagerstown, Md.'s 2011 Person of the Year by the Hagerstown newspaper, the Herald-Mail. In the story announcing the honor on New Year's Eve, Howard was praised for his support of the local community — through both generous donations and service to […]
Greer Johnson, a 2005 Washington and Lee alumna, is one of the eight men and women featured by Charlottesville's news and arts publication, C-ville Weekly, because they are "making waves in their fields." As a way of looking to 2012, C-ville's editors decided to focus on young leaders and to give their readers "a look at the […]
Early Decision I applications to Washington and Lee University increased by 20 percent this year, representing one of the highest totals in memory, according to statistics released this week by the University's Office of Admissions. W&L has two Early Decision deadlines. Both programs are binding, which means that applicants who choose to apply under Early […]
Lesley M. Wheeler, professor of English at Washington and Lee University, will give the Henry S. Fox Jr. Professorship Inaugural Lecture on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 4:30 p.m. in Northen Auditorium of Leyburn Library. Wheeler was named to the professorship at the beginning of this past summer. Wheeler’s illustrated talk, which is free and open […]
Student organizers of Washington and Lee University’s Mock Republican Convention are predicting that Mitt Romney will win the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 with Ron Paul and Rick Santorum finishing second and third, respectively. On a blog post announcing the prediction, Zach Wilkes, a senior politics major from Farmerville, La., and the convention’s political chair, […]
A little more than a year ago we blogged about Washington and Lee alumnus Matt Bevin, of the Class of 1989,and his family business — Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company, maker of 200 varieties of bells. We noted then that bells were especially relevant given the time of year. National Public Radio apparently agrees. Earlier this […]
Anyone who has made the move to Google+ can now find Washington and Lee's official presence there now. Search for Washington and Lee and add us to one of your circles or go directly to our custom URL: gplus.to/wlu. We've begun adding stories, videos and photos to Google+ page and hope that you'll join us […]
Nora V. Demleitner will be the new dean of Washington and Lee University's School of Law. She becomes the first woman to hold that position and is the 17th dean in the 145-year history of W&L's law school. She will also hold the Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professorship in Law. A highly respected scholar on […]
A blog entry on the Roanoke Times' "So Salem" site today features the career of Washington and Lee law school alumna Llewellyn Hedgbeth of the Class of 1980. And quite a career it's been, too. A Salem native, Llew was a drama major at Hollins and then earned both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in […]
In an interview for the website JustLuxe earlier this month, Washington and Lee alumnus and trustee Robert Balentine, of the Class of 1979, repeats a motto that his father used: "If you listen to your clients, they will tell you how to run your business." That, Robert tells the interviewers for JustLuxe, remains a guiding […]
Washington and Lee alumnus and trustee emeritus John Klinedinst, CEO and shareholder of Klinedinst P.C., has been named Most Admired CEO by the San Diego Business Journal. John, a member of the undergrad Class of 1971 and the law school Class of 1978, won the award in the Journal's private company/medium category. This marked the […]
The steady downward trend in the use of the death penalty in the United States represents a "fairly irreversible decline" and suggests a time when the death penalty will be abolished, says David Bruck, a Washington and Lee University law professor. Statistics released this week by the Death Penalty Information Center indicate that the number […]
Businesses targeting college students and young professionals figured prominently among the business plans presented at the fall semi-final round of Washington and Lee University's Business Plan Competition (BPC). Teams of W&L seniors presented their ideas to a panel of judges, mostly University alumni, with experience as entrepreneurs, in private equity or venture capital. The students’ […]
A New York Times piece this week extols the "unconventional taste" of Washington and Lee alumna Hollister Hovey, of the Class of 2000, and her business partner and sister, Porter Hovey, who have recently established Hovey Design. As the story in the Home & Garden section of the Times notes, Hollister and Porter had been considering […]
In This Issue: Higher Education: The Cost, The Price, The Value; From Words to Windows: Elizabeth O'Byrne ’00, By Campbell Massie, Photos By Kevin Remington; Welcome Home: Five-Star Generals, Homecoming, Young Alumni, Awards
Throughout the country this month, emotional homecomings are occurring every day as members of the United States military return from Iraq. Although it did not involve Iraq, one homecoming this week caught our eye. A story in the Statesville, N.C., Record & Landmark is about the celebration in that town when an Army officer, Maj. […]
Imagine that you've been working a jigsaw puzzle for 50 years—and you can't find the one piece that will allow you to finish at least one portion of the puzzle. The possibility that this piece might have finally been found is why physicists are so excited about this week's announcement that scientists believe they are […]
Last week was Washington and Lee's second edition of Dancing with the Professors. Not only is it a good fund-raiser for the W&L dance program, but it's proven a big hit with the audiences, too. In fact, it was voted best new event on campus by students last year. Eleven professors participated in 10 dances this […]
The programs go by various names. Green Dot. Red Flag. Some don’t have a name yet. They all share one important trait, however: the education of bystanders about when, and how, to intervene and therefore prevent sexual violence and alcohol abuse in the Washington and Lee community. “Bystander education is an important part of our […]
Chris Gavaler, visiting assistant professor of English at Washington and Lee, is the author of two novels as well as numerous award-winning short stories and plays. He's also got one of the more intriguing blogs that you'll find, particularly if you grew up, as he did, reading comic books. Every Monday, Chris posts a new […]
For more than 29 years The Legend of Chris Moose was stuck away in one of Allen Northcutt's drawer. Allen, a 1963 graduate of Washington and Lee, had conceived of his character on Christmas Eve in 1982. Although he'd never written a book before, he was looking for a way to supplement his income and […]
Harrison Claud, a Washington and Lee University junior from Richmond, has been named a winner of the 2011-12 VMIC/Norfolk Southern Scholarship. Claud, a graduate of Collegiate School in Richmond, is majoring in economics and is a Deans List student. He is also a member of Kathekon, the student-alumni organization, and is on the White Book […]
WILL, the Wilderness Leadership and Learning Program headed by Washington and Lee alumnus Steve Abraham, was recognized this week on WJLA-TV in Washington as one of Harris' Heroes, a special segment from anchor Leon Harris. WILL helps D.C. teens grow and learn in order to help them become leaders and achieve their goals. Or, more simply, […]
A debate between Democratic strategist James Carville and GOP pundit Ann Coulter will be followed by a speech from former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, on the opening night of Washington and Lee University's Mock Republican Convention, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012. That event will be open to the public and held in […]
It seems like an easy decision. Grant political asylum to a Congolese man or send him back to the country where he suffered unspeakable abuse in prison, where his family members were attacked and forced into hiding. The reality, says Aaron Haas, who directs the Immigration and Citizenship program at Washington and Lee School of […]
Letters to the editors of Rockbridge County's newspapers–200 years' worth–was the subject of conversation when Washington and Lee journalism professor Doug Cumming appeared on NPR affiliate WMRA's "Virginia Insight" program on Dec. 8, 2011. He discussed the new book that he edited, The Lexington Letters: Two Centuries of Water Under the Bridge. Cumming, a former […]
The millions of readers of the major Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta can now turn to the “Lifestyle” column to read essays by Anna Brodsky, associate professor of Russian at Washington and Lee University. Brodsky, who is Russian and immigrated to the United States in her early 20s, began writing her column this summer and said […]
The intense media coverage of the allegations of child sexual abuse at Penn State and Syracuse universities has raised questions about various ethical issues that media must confront. For Edward Wasserman, the Knight Professor of Journalism Ethics at Washington and Lee University, one of the most interesting questions concerns the proper relationship between media and […]
This year, children taking part in the annual Rockbridge Area Shop for Tots program received a little something extra. They got to eat a full dinner provided by Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee University (CKWL) at the American Legion in Buena Vista before they set out to do their Holiday shopping. More than 145 […]
Washington and Lee’s Mock Trial team won first place at the Sixth Annual Tobacco Road Invitational Tournament in Durham, N.C., earlier this month. The Tobacco Road Invitational, one of the biggest invitational tournaments in the Southeast, was hosted by Duke University this year. Washington and Lee competed head-to-head against Furman, Emory, and Columbia. Abbie Caudill […]
Four Washington and Lee University geology majors presented their research at the world's largest geoscience meeting to be held in San Francisco this week (Dec. 5-9). Makenzie Hatfield, a senior from Charleston, W.Va., Elizabeth Mann, a senior from Hamilton, Va., Maria Reimi, a senior from Caracas, Venezuela, and Lauren Schultz, a junior from California, Md., […]
At the same time that Washington and Lee alumnus Dave Freed, of the Class of 1992, has announced his candidacy for attorney general of Pennsylvania, another W&L alumnus, Mark Obenshain, a 1987 graduate of the School of Law, is considering a run for the same office in Virginia. Dave, who has spent 14 of his […]
His hometown newspaper, the Lynchburg News and Advance, featured Washington and Lee alumnus Robin Wood a few weeks back, when he announced he was leaving the board of the YMCA there. A 1962 graduate of W&L, Robin is an attorney with Edmunds & Williams and has worked with numerous local organizations, ranging from United Way to Legal […]
In the margins of a nearly 300 hundred year old map Washington and Lee law professor Jill Fraleyhas studied during one of her many visits to library and government archives, she finds a note that tells when the Kanawha River was discovered by the French. This note, says Fraley, is not merely a statement of […]
