The 2023-24 academic year stood out for the University of Mary Washington as one full of major accolades – both for individual scholars and for the institution.

Read more in the digital edition of UMW’s 2023-24 Year in Review.

UMW achieved reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for another decade, and the College of Business achieved an extension of its accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), an honor earned by only 6% of the world’s business schools.

Major rankings from U.S. News and Princeton Review polished Mary Washington’s academic reputation and recognized efforts in affordability, with students sharing their experience directly in the pages of the national guidebooks.

New students started their studies with advice from seniors, while graduates pursued careers and further degrees, with nearly 90% employed, in service, or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.

Faculty, staff and students put Fredericksburg on the map through community partnerships and projects, while digging deep into their academic pursuits, earning awards and making an impact. New this year were Impact Grants from the Fund for Mary Washington and major milestones for the Beyond the Classroom Scholarship. Alumni returned to campus for Reunion and their gifts inspired students to study around the world.

Beloved traditions circled back around to Ball Circle. Student-athletes went for their goals, including more than 1,000 points in basketball and making it to the Parapan Olympic Games. The Dahlgren Campus continued to advance innovation with annual challenges at multiple grade levels. The Academy of Technology and Innovation at UMW opened its doors to high school students on the Stafford Campus.

Faculty and alumni showcased their talents in the classroom, earning teaching awards and honors. Gifts and grants bolstered high-impact programs such as undergraduate research, first-year experiences, internships, with enriching programs extending through the summer.

Take a look back as we showcase a few of the major stories from 2023-24 in the annual publication.

[caption id="attachment_257744" align="alignright" width="160"] Career Coloring & Activity Book created by students at the University of Mary Washington made possible through a Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) grant.[/caption]

A teacher, baker, artist or engineer – these are just a few of the careers that students can imagine themselves in within the first few pages of the Career Coloring & Activity Book created by students at the University of Mary Washington.

“As kids, we all dreamed of what we would be when we were older,” said Lexi St. John a junior majoring in studio art at Mary Washington, who can now add coloring book author and illustrator to her resume. “Whether we wanted to explore space or the deep sea, these dreams grew and helped shape our childhoods to be what they were. This coloring book uses art to prove that these dreams can become reality.”

Throughout the 40-page publication, the UMW students sketch a variety of possible professional pathways, many unique to the region and surrounding areas, from the UMW campus to the City of Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Caroline and King George counties through Westmoreland, Richmond, Northumberland, Lancaster, Essex, King and Queen, King William, Middlesex, Gloucester and Mathews. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington has received a $24,994 grant from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to refocus work-study jobs to internship experiences. The one-year grant provides start-up funding for a transformational process, one which starts with student feedback and aims to better understand the data and insights around student employment on campus.

UMW’s Center for Career and Professional Development leads the grant-funded project, in collaboration with the University’s Student Employment Work Group, which aims to find the best ways to enhance the student employment experience by convening the people, process and technology needed to support career development for students. The insights discovered in the process of completing this grant project will enhance on-campus employment experiences, particularly for students who rely on federal work-study as part of their academic funding.

“This grant funds an important part of our strategic effort to prepare our students for Life After Mary Washington,” says Kimberly Young, associate provost for career and workforce. “We know that students who participate in internships have the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and reflect on their experiences which in turn builds their competence as they approach their careers in our regional economy and beyond.” Read more.

As favorite fall traditions of homecomings and festivals fill up calendars for high school seniors, there are a few important dates to save and steps to take to complete college applications. For those seniors looking to get a head start on their search, October is the perfect time to apply early.

Starting Oct. 1, UMW reviews early applications and begins awarding decisions, which may be available at upcoming regional receptions or fall open houses for students who register in advance.

Sign up for a regional reception for high school seniors.

UMW experts in admissions share their tips, from building a list of colleges to checking off first-choice schools and getting top consideration for scholarships. Check out their ideas for getting started this fall. Read more.

Now that school is in session this fall, Saturday Open Houses on Sept. 21, Oct. 19 and Nov. 9 are the perfect opportunity to get to know the University of Mary Washington. With an early Open House event date in September, UMW can be a family’s first visit on their college search, the first choice for students, and for many, the first to let students know they are in.

UMW Open Houses are free for students and families to attend and recommended for high school juniors and seniors as well as transfer students. High school seniors who have applied early to UMW can also sign up for an expedited application review and on-the-spot admission decision during any of the Open House dates. Read more.

Each year, the University of Mary Washington surveys the newest graduates to learn about their first destination following Commencement. With results from 91% of the Class of 2023, an outstanding knowledge rate well above the National Association of Colleges and Employers benchmark of 65%, UMW knows recent grads are actively planning for the future and well on their way to life after Mary Washington.

“One very important way to assess our students’ outcomes is by looking at where they land after graduation and what their intentions were,” said Associate Provost for Career and Workforce Kimberly Young. The goal is to hear from new alumni within six months of graduation either by the survey or through social media updates, and within this time, nearly 90% of UMW graduates have secured employment, started graduate school or decided to serve in the military, AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps.

UMW students do great things in the region and across the nation and significantly contribute through non-profit and public service. For alumni careers, of the 67% who answer they are employed, about half go into for-profit organizations, about 21% work in the nonprofit sector, and a notable 23% choose public service professions. Read more.

Applications for admission to the University of Mary Washington are now open for the incoming class of fall 2025 and transfer students. Students can apply to UMW via the Common Application or apply directly to UMW online. Completing the application early gives students the greatest opportunity to earn scholarships, know their admission decision before the spring semester and maximize their senior-year timeline.

“Check it off early, so there’s more time to visit campus, plan your undergraduate experience and make Mary Washington your college home,” said Dean of Admissions and Associate Vice President Melissa Yakabouski.

Nearly 60% of incoming first-year students for fall 2024 applied via early action or early decision to UMW. With the Common Application, it’s even easier to add the University of Mary Washington to a college list early and complete the process.

Common App essay questions include several options, giving students a prompt to discuss an accomplishment, reflect on their thinking, recount lessons learned or define what matters to them. Each is an opportunity to share their experience and goals. In addition, students who complete a “Taking Flight” interview as part of their application process will also be considered for a $1,000-$2,000 scholarship. Registration for the “Taking Flight” interviews is open now and fills up quickly. Read more.

For a quarter of a century, UMW’s Summer Science Institute (SSI) has been a defining student experience. It’s in-the-lab, in-the-field, in-the-code, in-the-dataset kind of work. Students are fully funded during the 10-week program, earning a stipend, living on campus and staying on top of their research.

“The thing that stands out the most is that research is a learning process. The answer to your questions is not always exact, and sometimes it comes with a lot of trial and error, but that is how you learn,” said Ally Fletcher, a senior from Severna Park, Maryland, majoring in biomedical sciences with a neuroscience minor.

Fletcher studies the effects of environmental pollutants on neurotransmitters in the brain, specifically in fish. During the academic year, she focused on zebrafish – the subject of her senior capstone – and during the summer, it’s Japanese medaka fish. Both are model organisms for her project, which she works on with research partner Ashlyn Peszko ’26 during the Summer Science Institute under the guidance of Professor of Biology Dianne Baker.

Fletcher and research partner Peszko will join other SSI participants who will share their research at the Summer Science Institute Symposium on Wednesday, July 24, a full-day event with presentations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Hurley Convergence Center.

For many students and faculty, the program has been a primary part of their experience on campus. Read more.

From mixing paint pigments to mixing music, high school students in UMW’s Summer Enrichment Program signed up for a week of college-level learning paired with outdoor activities in the Fredericksburg area. By day three in the week-long program, they had visited Ferry Farm and Kenmore, picked up litter along the Rappahannock River and tied flies for fishing, but it’s the in-classroom experience that kept them fired up.

In a chemistry lab, Fredericksburg Academy sophomore Enoch Huffman partnered up with Towson High School junior Liam Hill to investigate the energy in biopolymers in carbohydrates and proteins by setting food on fire. Under the instruction of Associate Professor of Chemistry Leanna Giancarlo, teams of students lit popcorn or cheese puffs on fire to measure the increasing temperature of a container of water positioned carefully above it. The effect was illuminating and an extension of chemistry classes Huffman and Hill experienced in their high schools, but even more hands-on, and it followed lessons on making slime and extracting DNA.

Students in the Science of Paint session gathered in an art studio instead of the lab, but also considered the chemistry of their process, learning how paint is made from a variety of techniques and perspectives. Co-taught by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Smith and Assistant Professor of Theatre Bridgette Dennett, the session combined the chemical composition of paint with color theory – providing all the ingredients for a masterpiece. Read more.