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Mary Washington College&o=10616

University of Mary Washington

The University of Mary Washington (formerly Mary Washington College) is a coeducational, state-funded, four-year liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The university is located between Richmond and Washington, DC. The university's undergraduate campus serves 4,271 students and its graduate campus has 730 degree-seeking students.

History

Founded in 1908 as a women's college, the school was originally called the State Normal and Industrial School for Women. It was renamed Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washington, mother of the first president of the United States of America, George Washington.

In 1944 the college became associated with the University of Virginia as its coordinate women's college. Following the university's transition to coeducational status in 1970, the Virginia General Assembly reorganized Mary Washington College in 1972 as a separate, coeducational institution. Today UMW is the nation's only public, coeducational college named after a secular woman.

The General Assembly of Virginia enacted legislation changing the college's name to University of Mary Washington on March 19, 2004 The institution sought university status to reflect the addition of master's degree programs and increasing enrollment at its College of Graduate and Professional Studies, formerly the James Monroe Center for Graduate and Professional Studies, located in nearby Stafford County. Students can earn an MBA, M.Ed., MSMIS, MBA-MSMIS dual degree, BPS or other graduate certificates or professional certifications at this campus. The Carnegie Foundation reclassified the college to university status based on its graduate programs.

On June 30, 2006, Dr. William Anderson retired after 23 years as the institution's president. On February 17, 2006 the UMW Board of Visitors had selected William Frawley, Dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University, as the next president of the University. Dr. Frawley's presidency began on July 1, 2006. He was inaugurated on September 30, 2006.

On April 11th, 2007, Dr. Frawley was arrested on DUI charges for two consecutive offenses. After a unanimous vote from the Board of Visitors, he was dismissed. Richard V. Hurley served as Acting President. The Board of Visitors published an announcement on March 10, 2008 naming Dr. Judy G. Hample as the new President of UMW.

Campus

Most of the Fredericksburg campus is located on Marye's Heights, a steep hill which, like Sunken Road (the campus' northeastern boundary), played an important role in the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg. The campus itself is a short distance from Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Brompton, a prominent house near the campus, served as a field hospital during the battle and is the home of the university's presidents.

Most of the architecture on the Mary Washington campus is neoclassical, Georgian, or Jeffersonian (because of its similarity to Thomas Jefferson's design of the University of Virginia). In past years, the Princeton Review has ranked Mary Washington as one of the top 20 most beautiful campuses in the nation.

Several buildings are named for notable women from American history. Frances Willard Hall is named for the famous temperance leader and crusader for women's rights. Ann Carter Lee Hall honors the mother of Robert E. Lee. Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, is acknowledged by Randolph Hall. While the university no longer refers to the buildings by their full names, one can find them on those buildings that have dedication plaques.

The university also maintains athletic facilities both on campus and within walking distance of the Fredericksburg campus. Goolrick Hall servers as UMW's primary venue of varsity volleyball, men's and women's swimming, and men's and women's basketball. The Battleground athletic facility is few blocks away from the main campus. Several multipurpose fields, an outdoor track, a baseball stadium, and indoor and outdoor tennis complex are also there.

The University is currently engaged in a number of construction and renovation projects. The Carmen Culpeper Chappell '59 Centennial Campanile was completed in May 2007, and was heard for the first time ringing in the 2007 commencement procession. Ringing twice a day, the campanile can be heard over a mile away. Lee Hall is currently being overhauled as well as adding a new addition to the rear of the building. When it opens, it will house all student services under one roof. Once construction on Lee is finished, Monroe Hall, the oldest academic building, will begin renovation. A parking deck was recently completed in the fall of 2006 and has helped to ease the parking situation on campus.

Graduate Campus

The University’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies is located in nearby Stafford County. At this campus, working adults are able to take classes at night or on weekends to complete a bachelor’s degree or earn a master’s degree. Opened in 1999, the College of Graduate and Professional Studies now has more than 1,000 students enrolled in degree programs and other credit-bearing courses.

Academics

Academic departments

Undergraduate campus

Also, several new certificates have been added:

Graduate campus

Degree Programs

Honor System

Mary Washington prides itself on its honor system, one of its proudest traditions. The system is run entirely by students and creates a sense of trust and mutual respect on the campus. All entering students must agree to abide by and support the Honor System.

Admissions

UMW reviewed 4,475 freshman applications for the fall of 2007, offered admission to 3,187 candidates, and enrolled 977 first-time freshman for the 2007 fall semester. These students hail from 27 states and eight foreign countries. The average Mary Washington student has a GPA of 3.61 and combined SAT scores of 1789 or above. The strongest Admission factors include Standardized Tests scores, as well as the rigor of secondary school record.

Athletics/Sports

UMW is an NCAA Division III institution. The University plays in the Capital Athletic Conference, where it has won more conference championships than any other school. To date, the UMW "Eagles" have had more than 100 student-athletes achieve All-American status. Three UMW teams have won national championships (1982 AIAW champion women's tennis, 1988 NCAA Division III women's tennis, 1991 NCAA Division III women's tennis), and UMW athletes have won three NCAA individual titles (1993 - Shannon Hutcherson, 200 yard backstroke, swimming; 1996 - Myra Simpson, long jump, outdoor track & field; 2004 - Dan Uyar and Paul Bristow, doubles tennis). In recent years, the men's tennis team has advanced to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, finishing in the top eight four times, and the women's basketball team has advanced to three straight Sweet 16s, including a third place finish at the 2007 Final Four.

Men compete in the following 10 team sports: baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track and field. There are 12 NCAA women's sports: basketball, crew, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Both men and women compete on the IHSA riding team. The sports facilities are available in Goolrick Gym and outdoors on the Battleground Athletic Complex, and the school's home barn is Hazelwild Farm. These facilities are utilized for intercollegiate competition as well as for intramural and recreational activities. The University also features a number of very popular club teams, including tennis, synchronized swimming and men's and women's rugby. The women's rugby club recently made their fifth appearance at the national championship tournament.

Rankings

  • U.S. News & World Report's “America’s Best Colleges: 2008 Annual Guide,” ranked the University of Mary Washington's undergraduate program 9th among southern institutions in the “Best Universities – Master’s” category. The University also is 4th among “public” master’s-granting universities in the South and 2nd among Virginia schools.

  • Mary Washington has one of the preeminent debate teams in the country, having consistently ranked in the Top #20 over the past ten years. The University of Mary Washington Debate Team is currently ranked 9th according to CEDA rankings. The National Debate Tournament (NDT) ranks Mary Washington at 14th place.

  • The University of Mary Washington has one of the highest percentages of students volunteering in the Peace Corps. Mary Washington ties for the #6 rank among the top Peace Corps producing small schools in the United States in the midst of other prestigious schools as of September 2007. These universities include Dartmouth, Wake Forest, Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, and Wesleyan University.

  • The University of Mary Washington was ranked by Men's Fitness Magazine as being the #24 most fit college or university in the country.

  • The University of Mary Washington gained recognition from the Washington Post in 2006 for being one of the top 500 schools in the mid-atlantic region.

  • In its 2009 edition, The Fiske Guide to Colleges listed UMW as one of the nation’s 300 best colleges and universities, stating that “Mary Washington has gained a reputation as one of the premium public liberal arts colleges in the country". It was also listed in the 2007 and 2009 editions as one of the best buys in public higher education.

  • Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges’ 2007 edition placed Mary Washington in its “highly competitive” category, designating the University as one of the 171 top colleges and universities in the nation in terms of academic selectivity.

  • In the Voluntary Support of Education 2002 edition published by the Council for Aid to Education, Mary Washington ranked first in Virginia among public institutions for its alumni participation rate in fund raising.

  • In the 2004 edition of America's Best Value Colleges published by the Princeton Review, Mary Washington was listed as one of the nation's top 77 undergraduate colleges and universities.

  • Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine lists Mary Washington as the country's 14th best value for a public college (in state) and 12th best value for a public college (out of state).

  • The 2009 Fiske Guide To Colleges has listed the University of Mary Washington among the nation's top 300 colleges and universities, and among 23 public college "best buys."

  • Mary Washington is one of the 146 colleges named a Best Southeastern College by The Princeton Review.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

References

External links

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday October 10, 2008 at 12:06:46 PDT (GMT -0700)
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