UMW’s Summer Science Institute Inspires Grads, Faculty for 25 Years
Ally Fletcher ’25 checks on the fish that are part of her research during this year’s Summer Science Institute at UMW. A long line of Mary Washington alumni have benefitted from experience gained through the 10-week program, now in its 25th year. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.
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.
UMW’s Summer Enrichment Program Mixes College-Level Learning With Fredericksburg Fun
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. The session, ‘Polymers, Plastics and Me,’ was one of several providing hands-on learning opportunities to high-schoolers during UMW’s Summer Enrichment Program. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.
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.
UMW Awards Six Full-Ride Alvey and Washington Scholarships
Two Washington Scholars and four Alvey Scholars will be among the thousand incoming Eagles at the University of Mary Washington this fall 2024. These students have earned full-ride scholarships, which are renewable for four years of undergraduate studies with GPA and residential requirements. In addition, they are admitted to the Honors Program and have access to funding for experiential learning opportunities such as study abroad and undergraduate research.
The Washington Scholarship is available for Virginia residents, with priority given to those who apply for admission to UMW by Nov. 15. UMW’s Alvey Scholars program recognizes out-of-state students, again with priority for applying by Nov. 15. Several Alvey Scholarships focus on STEM majors, with generous support from Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59, who funded 12 Alvey Scholarships during her lifetime and through a transformational estate gift, leaving $30 million to the University of Mary Washington to fund scholars in science, technology, engineering and math through scholarships and undergraduate research. Applicants are automatically considered for UMW scholarship opportunities, including these top awards, which are equal to full tuition, fees, room and board.
This year’s scholars demonstrate a deep commitment to research through their academic excellence, as well as leadership experience as captains of athletics teams or community organizations, all while balancing their high school studies with service projects.
Meet the 2024 Washington and Alvey Scholars at UMW … Read more.
UMW 2024-25 Budget Bolsters Investments in Academics, Campus Experience and Employees
The University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors has approved the budget for 2024-25 academic year.
The University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors approved the budget for 2024-25 academic year at the June 7 meeting, following approval of the Virginia state budget in May. Both the statewide budget and UMW budget plan advance higher education by focusing on details critical to student success, the campus experience, and human resources.
“The state through the General Assembly was very generous again to higher education generally and to Mary Washington specifically,” said Vice President for Administration and Finance Craig Erwin.
Among the highlights of the state allocation to UMW are $2.5 million in permanent funding to offset operating cost increases, following $2.1 million provided in the 2023-24 budget addendum. UMW’s state-supported need-based financial aid for Virginia residents will increase to just over $7 million, thanks to additional general fund support of $283,860 in 2024-25.
UMW’s annual budget totals approximately $160 million. About 38% of UMW’s budget comes from general funds allocated by the state, with another 38% from tuition and fees, and approximately 24% from a combination of auxiliary programs including housing, dining, parking, federal aid and other sources. The 2024-25 tuition and fees for UMW were announced in April 2024. While delays from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have created uncertainty for families in the enrollment process, as well as uncertainty in university budgets, the release of financial aid packages in late April and through May have provided the needed information and certainty to move forward with the budget and to provide more information and a plan for the campus community.
This year’s state budget factors in a 3% pay increase for faculty and staff, as well as a 6.3% increase in health insurance premiums, both effective June 10, 2024, and both partially funded by the state. UMW must fund the remainder and has kept human resources as a priority in the upcoming year, with plans for new staff in HR and the budget office to aid in employee recruitment and retention and an allocation for a staff compensation study.
These mandated increases, inflationary pressures, and increased expenses have been key cost drivers in recent years, balanced by efforts such as the faculty early retirement incentive program and a strategic focus on enrollment and retention through all areas of university operations. With a positive enrollment outlook leading into the 2024-25 year and a continued conservative fiscal approach in conjunction with state investments, UMW has a stable and sustainable budget plan with opportunities to re-invest in areas critical to the campus experience.
“We are going into this fiscal year in a very strong position,” said UMW President Troy Paino. “Students and their families continue to choose Mary Washington, and we’re maintaining strong enrollment and retention of students. It’s a credit to the hard work of many on our campus, from the personalized approach in the admissions process and financial aid through the expert faculty leading each class taught and extended through life after Mary Wash. We will continue to work to find ways to reinvest within fiscal practices and approaches in conjunction with the state.”
For more information on the 2024-25 budget plan, see the June 7 board agenda online.
Collaborative Humanities Grant Expands AI Initiatives at UMW
The University of Mary Washington is part of a $25,000 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant aimed at helping public colleges and universities navigate the world of artificial intelligence.
The project, “Developing a Public Liberal Arts Humanities Curriculum: Empowering Students to Navigate an AI World,” is led by five public liberal arts institutions representing distinct regions of the country. Collaboratively, faculty from each school will develop classes, units or short modules in humanities courses focused on the positive and negative aspects of generative AI.
The funding was awarded to Miriam Wallace, dean of the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and Emily Todd, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Connecticut University, through a partnership with the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC).
The grant will support collaborative curricular design by humanities faculty at UIS, Eastern Connecticut State University, the University of Mary Washington, Northern State University and Evergreen State College. Participants will form learning communities and share progress first on their own campuses, and then meet in the summer of 2025 to share insights and experiences during a COPLAC workshop at Innovate Springfield, UIS’ business incubator in downtown Springfield.
As part of the grant, the institutions will also create open-access AI teaching resources, such as syllabus modules, readings, activities and assignments for all COPLAC institutions to utilize. UMW’s Center for Teaching, directed by Victoria Russell, associate professor in the College of Education, will lead the effort at UMW.
UMW Board of Visitors Sets Tuition and Fees for 2024-25
The UMW Board of Visitors has set tuition and fees for the 2024-25 academic year.
The University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors has set tuition and fees for the 2024-25 academic year, as approved at their quarterly meeting in April.
Tuition will increase by 2% for undergraduate and graduate students. The auxiliary comprehensive fee at UMW will increase by 3%. This decision follows several years of keeping undergraduate in-state tuition flat, but a small increase, still below the rate of inflation, is needed to support state-mandated compensation actions for faculty and staff and the continued success of academic programs and the campus experience.
UMW stands out among Virginia schools, known for smaller class sizes, dedicated faculty who work side- by-side with students, and a smaller price point that still encompasses this personalized approach. Starting this fall, UMW will offer a tuition promise for Pell-eligible Virginia students, closing any gap in tuition funding for in-state students who qualify for Federal Pell Grants. Pell-eligibility is determined when students and their families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). UMW encourages families with an annual gross income (AGI) of $100,000 or less to complete the application process and add UMW to their list as an affordable option. Read more.
