Mason Media Blog

Marjorie Merriweather Post wedding portrait. Photo courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Kicking off the wedding season in style, the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens in Washington, D.C., is launching a new exhibition titled “Wedding Belles: Bridal Fashions from the Marjorie Merriweather Post Family: 1874 – 1958.”

The exhibition was developed by Howard Kurtz, associate professor in Mason’s Department of Theater and associate curator of costumes and textiles at Hillwood.

The exhibition will run from June 18, 2011 to January 1, 2012. Revealing how three generations of Post family women celebrated weddings, the exhibition will feature wedding and bridesmaid dresses worn by members of the Post family spanning more than 80 years, as well as a variety of wedding-day accessories.

“This exhibition is important because it focuses on Mrs. Post as a woman rather than on her collections,” says Kurtz. “The “Wedding Belles” exhibition goes a step further to follow the evolution of Mrs. Post’s style from a young bride to an accomplished businesswoman.”

“The decisions she made and the fashion trends she set have endured for decades and are continuing to inform today’s American brides.”

Drawn mainly from Hillwood’s extensive costume collection, the exhibition begins with an elegant satin gray dress that was worn by Post’s mother in 1874. It continues with all four of Post’s wedding gowns and one gown from each of her three daughters’ weddings.

To put the time period into perspective, Kurtz conducted hours of research to acquire historical documents from the Hillwood archives such as photographs, newspaper articles and oral histories.

Hillwood is the former home of Post cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, who lived from 1887 to 1973. Post created a place for herself in American history as one of America’s first businesswomen and an avid art collector, philanthropist and socialite.

Now a museum, Hillwood is known primarily for its collection of Russian imperial art and French decorative art, as well as its extensive collection of twentieth century apparel.

More information about the exhibition can be found on the website.

George Mason University professor Eden King has taken her years of research examining workplace dynamics, discrimination and diversity and turned it into a readable, helpful and science-based guide to help women in all stages of their career “survive and thrive” at their jobs.

Her new book, “How Women Can Make It Work: The Science of Success,” co-written with Jennifer Knight, is the first book to use real science to help real women in their careers.

“Many of the books that are out there are based solely on anecdotes or personal experiences, or interviews with a few women. Ours is based on real social science findings that we tried to describe in understandable and engaging ways,” says King.

The book—which covers everything from how to create a resume and nail a job interview to how to balance work/life responsibilities and move up the corporate ladder—is aimed at women who are finishing college and starting  new jobs and careers or making changes in those jobs or careers.

King, who is a professor of psychology at Mason, cites her own research as well as other studies in the field to highlight areas of concern, overcome obstacles and create success for women at work.

In “How Women Can Make It Work,” King and Knight discuss:

• The workplace equivalent of eHarmony—how to find a company that fits just right with your work values.

• The upsides and downsides of your Blackberry—how being “plugged in” might be helpful to your career but affecting your personal relationships.

• Smiley face email correspondence—studies have shown that using emoticons in emails to your new boss just might reduce your starting salary rate.

• You’re good enough; you’re smart enough—how having a positive attitude can lead to more leadership opportunities.

• The “bump” in the road—when to reveal your pregnancy at work and how to avoid negative perceptions of moms in the workplace.

The book also includes special chapters focusing on workplace issues that might arise for women with disabilities, minority women, lesbian and bisexual women and single moms.

“Although women have overcome many barriers at work, research indicates that we still encounter subtle obstacles that can have a huge impact on the careers and lives of the youngest generations of women. We hope to point out some of those potential problems and offer strategies for their resolution,” says King. “As a whole, we hope the book will help serve as a guide to achieving personal and professional success.”

Public health officials say they are eager to communicate the health consequences of climate change but readily admit they need help. To address this issue, the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University has recently unveiled a primer designed to help public health professionals communicate effectively about climate change.

In a survey the center conducted with local public health officials in 2008, more than half of the nation’s public health departments reported they were already experiencing health effects from climate change, yet fewer than 10 percent were taking steps to educate members of their communities about the risks. Furthermore, they found that most survey respondents felt they would need guidance to create effective climate change communication plans.

So with financial support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the center conducted research on how to effectively communicate the public health implications of climate change over the past two years. The product of that research – a communication primer designed to help public health professionals communicate effectively about climate change – is now available here at no cost.

“Many public health officials are eager to explain the health risks posed by climate change, and the opportunities to reduce those risks, to members of their communities,” says Ed Maibach, director of the project. “But because the issue has become so politicized, they don’t know how to get started.

“We’re pleased because public health officials who had a pre-release copy of our communication primer felt that it was exactly what they needed to get them started.”

For more information on the center’s research and reports, visit the website.