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The Hylton Performing Arts Center is thrilled to announce Carolyn Hays as its next executive director, effective May 10, 2026.

Congratulations to the 911���� faculty and staff retirees from September 2025 to March 2026.

The 911���� campus community came together at the 2026 Outstanding Achievement Awards on April 14 to recognize faculty and staff whose dedication, innovation, and service shape and strengthen the university.

911���� President Gregory Washington has announced the recipients of the 2026 Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence, honoring 911���� faculty members for their work on behalf of the university, students, and the broader community.

911����’s Point of View event and retreat facility in Lorton, Virginia, includes 120 acres of wooded land adjacent to the tranquil Belmont Bay and bordered by a protected wildlife refuge and state park. Point of View presents many opportunities to observe wildlife along the water, and staffers have recently observed adult and juvenile bald eagles watching for fish in some of their "eagle trees,” as staff have started to call them.

Clinical Assistant Professor Danielle Dufresne is the associate center director at 911����'s Center for Community Mental Health (CCMH) and April Employee of the Month. A member of 911����’s Psychology Department since 2019, Dufresne is responsible for training new clinicians and overseeing every psychological/behavioral/cognitive assessment at the Fairfax-based center.

911����’s Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations recognized the contributions of its champions—911����’s faculty and staff donors—with an evening of thanks. The March 18 Celebrating Our Champions event focused on the generosity and support that faculty and staff offer the university while serving 911���� students.

Department of English Professor Emeritus Don Gallehr, the first 911���� professor to teach more than 50 years at the university, died on March 7 at his home in Warrenton, Virginia. He was 84.

We rely on a countless number of signs each day, whether we are driving, walking through a neighborhood, shopping at the grocery store, or going from building to building on campus. John Forgy, environmental graphic designer and sign program manager at 911����, creates the wayfinding systems that guide students, faculty, staff, and visitors across the university’s campuses and sites.

Cheryl Hairston, BS Athletic Training ’15, and Jaylen Simmons, BS Kinesiology ’21, MS Athletic Training ’23, now serve 911���� student-athletes as athletic trainers. Their journeys into the profession began with personal curiosity, mentorship, and formative experiences that ultimately shaped their careers.

911���� honored faculty and staff with significant service anniversaries at the University Day Service Awards ceremony on Monday on the Fairfax Campus. Honorees were recognized for years of state service ranging from 5-55 years.

As a professor in 911����’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, Paul So is a theoretical physicist who specializes in dynamical systems analysis and its application to neuroscience. Outside his role as a physics professor, So is an artist. An avid painter, he also supports developing artists as a co-founder of Hamiltonian Artists, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art incubator based in Washington, D.C.