The University of Mary Washington’s annual Homecoming happens this week, with a calendar full of fan favorites, from student-led events to alumni activities.

The fun and games began with Bingo Oct. 24, hosted by the Campus Programming Board. On Oct. 25, the Big Ash Bonfire and S’mores was hosted on Jefferson Square by Campus Recreation and the Residence Hall Association. The whole campus will celebrate Friday, Oct. 27, with Mary Wash spirit day, an occasion for sporting blues and grays, and all things UMW, including this year’s custom Homecoming T-shirt available for purchase throughout the week. See the full schedule of student events from the Office of Student Activities and Engagement.

Mary Rock – the annual Homecoming concert – will feature Broke Royals and Wylder, also on Friday, from 7 to 9 p.m., on Jefferson Square. All current students and alumni are invited to attend! The Historic Preservation Club’s Ghostwalk tour starts Friday evening, as well. Sign up for the kid-friendly tours beginning at 5 p.m. or go into the fright of the night with tours through 10 p.m. Tours leave every 15 to 20 minutes from the James Monroe Museum, and run again Saturday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 10 p.m. Registration is requested in advance, and tickets can be reserved online.

Also on Saturday, a showcase of UMW athletic events and alumni gatherings will get Mary Wash graduates together #BackInTheBurg. The pregame starts at 10 a.m., with a brunch buffet for alumni and special welcome back gathering for recent grads from the Class of 2018. The Athletics Tailgate also starts at 10 a.m. and extends through the games that day. Cheer on the home team in alumni games in men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s tennis, and baseball, and in NCAA games in women’s soccer, field hockey and men’s soccer. Note that parking in the UMW Athletics Battlegrounds will be reserved for tailgating, with street parking available for free. Traffic along Hanover Street may be heavy during peak game times. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington will host a community forum called “The Middle East Crisis: Extending Compassion and Recognizing Grief in Our Own Community” on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m., in George Washington Hall, Dodd Auditorium. The forum is open to the public and features experts from UMW’s faculty and staff, as well as community leaders, who will discuss their thoughts on dealing with the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Israel.

Speakers will include Dr. Melissa Palguta, a staff therapist from the University’s Talley Center for Counseling Services; Imam Sherif Shehata from the Masjid Aliya Islamic Center; Rabbi Ronda Young, now retired, longtime member of the greater Fredericksburg Jewish community; and the Rev. Ethan Lowery, campus and young adult missioner at Trinity Episcopal Church.

“This forum aims to go beyond politics or history, and we’re not focused on who’s wrong or who’s right. It’s about community,” said Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Ranjit Singh, who organized the event. “Each panelist will speak about how their tradition or profession deals with reconciling trauma and grief with compassion.” Read more.

Applications for admission to the University of Mary Washington are now open for the incoming class of fall 2024 and transfer students. Students can choose to complete UMW’s application directly on the website with no fee or submit the Common App.

“One of our best tips is to start early! Apply before your senior year ramps up. You don’t want to miss senior year activities because you are working on applications,” says UMW Director of First-Year Admission Sarah Lindberg. “Know the short list of schools you are applying to, and write your essay outside of the application so you can easily edit and save it.”

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 captivates them. Each is an opportunity for students 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. Read more.

High school students and their families can get an early start on their college search with enhanced summer visits at the University of Mary Washington. Prospective students also can interview for a “Taking Flight” scholarship opportunity starting July 1.

This summer, UMW is offering three types of college campus visit experiences. Tours and info sessions are offered weekdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; weekend tours are available on Saturdays at 9:30 and 11 a.m.; and summer enhanced visits are offered on July 11 and 20, and Aug. 10. The summer enhanced visit offers a more hands-on and specialized tour experience allowing students and their families to hear from academic leaders from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education.

Summer college campus tours at UMW are designed to fit all schedules. Prospective students can sign up for preferred dates on the “Visit UMW” webpage.

For those who prefer a virtual option to get to know UMW, online interviews can provide the first opportunity for students to share what matters to them and get ahead on their application for admission. Plus, students who complete an application and an interview between July 1 and Feb. 1 are automatically considered for a “Taking Flight” scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. Read more.

University of Mary Washington has a long commitment to community and civic engagement, encouraging students to get involved in the broader community through service, volunteerism, community-engaged classes, and civic learning. In fact, civic engagement is a leading goal in UMW’s strategic vision and a realization of the public purpose on our mission. A statewide conversation brought these topics to the forefront on June 5, 2023, as the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) hosted the “Day of Dialogue” at Mary Washington.

“We appreciate the work that each and every one of you do,” said UMW President Troy D. Paino. “Civic learning and student engagement are where our schools live their public purpose, while offering our students a chance to explore what gives their lives meaning and purpose.”

The annual event, just in its second year, brought together some 75 higher education leaders to share ideas.  The goal was to explore best practices for community and civic engagement, including ways to foster respectful dialogue on campus. Participants also explored issues related to evaluating civic engagement and strategies for engaging students in this important work. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors approved tuition and fees for the 2023-24 academic year at its May 18, 2023, meeting. Undergraduate tuition will remain the same in the coming year. Graduate tuition will increase 3%, and the auxiliary comprehensive fee and housing and dining fees for all students will increase by 5%.

UMW’s tuition and fee rates are one part of the equation to begin the year with a balanced budget, a requirement for public colleges in Virginia. In addition, the University relies on the state budget, and in recent years has pulled in reserve funding, particularly during the pandemic when enrollment varied.

All three strategies will once again result in a balanced budget to start fiscal year 2024, overcoming a deficit of nearly $7 million. The total is due to inflationary cost increases and changes in base expenses, primarily in energy and dining charges; state-mandated increases in salaries and health insurance premiums as well as minimum wage and administrative system charges for financial, human resources and information technology services; and adjustments to revenue sources from enrollment. Read more.

First-year University of Mary Washington student Tonia Attie has been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as part of the 2023 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll. This roster highlights college students doing outstanding work to advance nonpartisan democratic engagement at participating campuses.

Attie joins a group of just 175 students recognized for their voter registration, education and turnout efforts ahead of last year’s midterm elections, which saw a sizable number of young people weighing in at the polls.

A double major in political science and philosophy with a pre-law focus, Attie quickly established herself at UMW. “Having grown up in Fredericksburg, I’ve genuinely always wanted to go to Mary Washington and give back to my hometown,” she said. “As I started looking into college, I just knew that UMW would be the perfect fit for me.” Read more.

As more than 1,000 Class of 2023 graduates crossed the stage at UMW’s Commencement to the applause of hundreds of faculty and thousands of family and friends, two students and two faculty received top-of-class honors.

Graduates Hannah Harris and Riley Smith earned the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award for Academic Achievement for completing their degrees with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in the undergraduate program. Both finished with a perfect 4.0 GPA and are members of the UMW Honors Program and Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society.

In addition, Associate Professor of Chemistry Randall Reif was recognized with the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award, for having had the greatest impact on the lives of the members of the Class of 2023, and Professor and Chair of Theatre and Dance Gregg Stull was named the first Anderson Distinguished Professor. Read more.

The newest Eagles have landed at the University of Mary Washington, as May 1 marked the annual college decision day.

For the incoming cohort in fall 2023, UMW has named two Washington Scholars and three Alvey Scholars, offering full scholarships to these exceptional students. In addition to earning the scholarships, which are renewable for four years of undergraduate studies with GPA and residential requirements, the students are admitted to the Honors Program and have access to funding for experiential learning opportunities such as study abroad 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.

The Washington Scholarship is available for Virginia residents, with priority to those who apply for admission to UMW by Nov. 15. UMW’s Alvey Scholars program recognizes out-of-state students, again with priority by Nov. 15. Several Alvey Scholarships focus on STEM majors, with generous support from Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59, who has 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.

Many are finalists or semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition, valedictorians and salutatorians, and show promise for providing service and leadership to the University community through extracurricular activities.

Meet the 2023 Washington and Alvey Scholars at UMW. Read more.

Bagpipe music will fill the air and graduates will don their brand-new blue regalia, as the University of Mary Washington prepares for its 112th Commencement, scheduled for May 6, 2023. About 1,000 graduates and their families will celebrate their academic accomplishments and student success in person on Ball Circle during the Saturday ceremony.

A livestream will be available to watch from home, as well as in several indoor viewing locations on campus, including Dodd Auditorium, Lee Hall Room 414 and the Colonnade Room in the Cedric Rucker University Center.

This year’s class includes more than 100 first-generation students who will be recognized with a white stole. Graduates in the Honors Program – celebrating its 10th anniversary this year – will don a light blue stole.

UMW students also customize their regalia by decorating their mortarboards and wearing colorful cords to signify their induction into various honor societies. These include the national senior honor society Mortarboard; the oldest national honor society, Phi Beta Kappa; the international honor society in education, Kappa Delta Pi; and an international honor society for business, Beta Gamma Sigma. Students top off their graduation-day style with academic hoods in colors that correspond to particular degrees worn over the traditional commencement gown. And while the gowns are now blue, they are also “green” – made from recycled water bottles by Virginia-based company Oak Hall.

Friends and family from the commonwealth, across the United States and around the world will be able to watch this year’s graduates make the iconic Mary Washington procession from the Bell Tower at the tip of Double Drive to the ceremony site at the center of campus. And viewers can share congratulations with all the graduates who cross the stage on Ball Circle using #UMWGrads on social media, with well wishes broadcast on site prior to the ceremony start at 9 a.m. EST.

Tune in on the livestream starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 6.