Senior Madeline Killian, seen here on a previous study-abroad trip to Spain, received funds from UMW’s Beyond the Classroom Endowment to travel to Madrid this winter to conduct research on Spain’s first civic organization for women.

Senior Madeline Killian isn’t just hitting the books to study female scientists in 18th century Spain. In December she will travel to Madrid to delve into discoveries made by Junta de Damas de Honor y Mérito, the country’s first civic organization for women.

“They conducted groundbreaking medical experiments to improve infant health, and the group still exists today,” Madeline says. A physics and Spanish major at the University of Mary Washington, she plans to write her thesis on the topic.

This unique opportunity to explore Spain’s national archives and historical sites – and many other high-impact learning experiences for students – were made possible by UMW’s Beyond the Classroom Endowment (BTC). Established two years ago, the initiative supports student experiential learning, including independent research, internships, travel to academic conferences, and study abroad. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington is getting a big boost from Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC), which has committed to a sponsorship that will provide support for Campus Recreation (CREC) over the next five years.

“Mary Washington Healthcare exists to improve the health of all people in the region,” said MWHC Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Eric Fletcher. “Part of that commitment is to promote wellness, so partnering with UMW in these efforts is a natural connection. We hope our sponsorship helps students, faculty and staff stay healthy and enjoy life to the fullest.”

A portion of the funds will go toward campus events that encourage wellness, exercise and outdoor activities, like last week’s Big Ash Bonfire and Campout with Residence Life, and November’s Largest Gratitude Meditation.

But Director of Campus Recreation Kelly Shannon said the sponsorship will mainly help expand operating hours for the fitness center. More than 70 percent of the student body takes group classes, works out or participates in other activities such as intramural or club sports, she said. “MWHC’s sponsorship is helping us better serve our mission of promoting student success, learning and personal wellness.” Read more.

A new sponsorship by Mary Washington Healthcare will provide $100,000 in funding to Campus Recreation throughout the next five years.

Lavar Edmonds ’14 discovered an interest in economics at UMW, where he received a bachelor’s degree in the subject. Now a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University, his research and opinions on housing, economic and educational inequality have made headlines.

The Mayor of Mary Washington. That’s what one professor called then-student Lavar Edmonds ’14 as he strolled down Campus Walk, stopping to chat with everyone along the way.

“I’ve always been a curious person,” said Edmonds, who discovered a passion for social science research at the University of Mary Washington. Majoring in economics was “a whole new way to ask and answer my own questions about the world, which is a huge part of what I do now.”

A Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University, Edmonds engages in conversations with his students like he did with his professors a decade ago, describing his time at UMW as “an unparalleled experience.” He’s still asking important questions, such as how economic and housing inequality can impact learning, recently as a research specialist at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.

At the start of the pandemic, Edmonds penned a Washington Post opinion piece that asked: Want to help kids weather this school year? Keep them from getting evicted. His expertise drew national attention, landing him interviews on PBS Newshour and NPR. Read more.

Betty Emrey of Mindpower Inc. contributed to the reporting and writing of this story.

Two years ago, Jake Kelly received a humorous text from his friend and former University of Mary Washington roommate, Phil Smith. But, just a week later, Jake and friends Jonathan Wigginton and Jeremy Wood, all 2010 alums, were shocked to learn that Phil had taken his own life.

2010 graduates Jeremy Wood, Jonathan Wigginton, Phil Smith, and Jake Kelly. When Phil took his life in 2020, his friends worked with Mary Washington to establish the Phil Smith ’10 Talley Center Endowment to provide more mental health and suicide prevention resources to UMW students.

“It totally hit us out of the blue,” says Jake, who returned to UMW with Jonathan to speak to incoming freshmen during Orientation, right before September’s Suicide Prevention Month. “We asked ourselves questions we couldn’t answer. Why did he do it? What did we miss?”

What they did know is that they wanted to memorialize Phil at Mary Washington, where their friendship began during their first week of classes. And they wanted his death to help spark discussions about mental health and suicide prevention.

With the blessing of Phil’s family, they began working with UMW’s Office of Advancement to establish the Phil Smith ’10 Talley Center Endowment, which will provide more counseling services, education and training, and other resources for current and future Mary Washington students. The endowment is on the verge of being fully funded, thanks to many generous donors, including Betty Dobbins Talley ’68 – her significant gift gave the Talley Center for Counseling Services its name – who gave $5,000 on Giving Tuesday in 2021 as part of a dollar-for-dollar match.

UMW also announced this week the rollout of an after-hours and weekend service through ProtoCall. Students now can access critical counseling care through the Talley Center as well as outside licensed professionals, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We have already seen an unprecedented volume of students coming in to see us, certainly in response to Jake and Jonathan’s presentation to freshmen,” says Talley Center Director Tevya Zukor. “As a firm believer that proactive treatment and intervention are the best way to prevent crises, it has been gratifying to see so many Eagles attending to their mental health needs.” Read more.