Welcoming students back to campus is the right decision for Mary Washington. That’s what UMW President Troy Paino said in a video released late yesterday, in which he announced that, following a three-week delay of in-person classes, students will begin returning to campus on Sept. 10 and to limited in-person learning on Sept. 14. “I […]
Leigh Penn Selected for Statewide Panel
Leigh Penn, Accounts Payable Manager, was selected by the Department of Accounts to serve on a non-voting panel for the Statewide Charge Card Program Services request for proposals. She was chosen as a subject matter expert to represent higher education needs/wants and her former service as a Pcard analyst.
News from HR
Fall Gathering for all UMW staff
Plan on attending the Fall Gathering Oct. 14, from 9:30 – 11:30 am.
Service Awards
Congratulations to those employees who have reached milestone years! Check out the list of October Service Award Recipients.
Classified Evaluation Process Training
Classroom training on the classified evaluation process is scheduled for: Thursday, Oct. 9 from 1-3 p.m. inLee Hall – 412.
An additional training session has been scheduled for: Thursday, Oct. 16 from 9-11 a.m. in Trinkle – 204
Free Flu Shots
Free flu shots are available again this year at pharmacies participating in your health plan’s network – COVA Care, COVA HDHP and COVA HealthAware. Additional 2014-2015 Flu Shot information is located at: http://adminfinance.umw.edu/hr/employee-relations/worklife/whats-new-2/
State Employee Discounts
A number of discounts are available through the Department of Human Resource Management: http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeediscounts.html
UMW Launches $50 Million Fundraising Campaign
The University of Mary Washington has publicly launched its $50 million Mary Washington First fundraising campaign. The announcement was made at a news conference on Friday, April 25, in the Jepson Alumni Executive Center.
The goal of the comprehensive campaign is to raise funds to advance President Richard V. Hurley’s vision: for University of Mary Washington to become one of the nation’s premier public liberal arts and sciences universities.
“The pace of change in higher education accelerates daily, and the fiscal challenges faced by colleges and universities are daunting,” Hurley said. “In order to remain at the forefront of our competitors, affordable for our students and families, and able to attract the best and brightest minds, it is imperative for UMW to have the resources necessary for success.”
Among the fundraising initiatives, the university strives to secure private funds for endowment of scholarships, restoration of the campus amphitheater, support for the university’s three colleges, enhancement of the Fund for Mary Washington, and development of key program initiatives.
These initiatives are: the arts, athletics, leadership, study abroad, the Chappell Great Lives lecture series, libraries and instructional technology.
The amphitheater, located in a grove of trees near Sunken Road on the Fredericksburg campus, has been home to many significant UMW traditions since it was constructed in 1913. The planned $3 million restoration would return the site to its 1952-1953 appearance by repairing and reconstructing damaged and missing pieces. It would provide seating for approximately 600 people on weather-resilient benches and chairs while incorporating accommodations for ADA accessibility.
Over the past three years, in the non-public phase of the campaign, the university has raised a total of $29.2 million. Represented in that amount are seven gifts and pledges of
$1 million or more. Out of a total of about 13,000 donors, more than 120 have made campaign commitments of $25,000 or more.
Significant gifts include:
- More than $7.5 million in estate gifts for student scholarships, including one full-tuition Washington scholarship and one Alvey Scholarship, which covers tuition costs for an out-of-state student
- More than $3 million in estate gifts to support students studying abroad
- Nearly $1.4 million in gifts to support restoration of the amphitheater
- A $1 million estate gift to create special professorships in the three colleges
- More than $600,000 in pledges and gifts to support the unrestricted Fund for Mary Washington
- More than $500,000 to support the Great Lives Lecture Series.
Anne Marie Thompson Steen ’83 and Daniel K. Steen ’84 of Arlington, Va., serve as national campaign chairs. Both said they are eager to move the campaign forward. “We are fortunate to be able to partner with other Mary Washington alumni, parents, and friends,” said Dan Steen, a former rector of the UMW Board of Visitors.
The Steens join members of a Campaign Cabinet, membership of which represents a cross-section of UMW constituents from varying career paths, affiliations and locations across the country. “Together,” Steen added, “we all are committed to the $50-million campaign goal.”
For more information about the campaign or to donate, visit http://marywashingtonfirst.umw.edu.
The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 5,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers. In recent years, the university has seen its academic reputation garner national recognition in numerous selective guidebooks, including Forbes, the Fiske Guide to Colleges and the Princeton Review’s 2012 edition of 150 “Best Value Colleges” and the 2014 edition of “The Best 378 Colleges.”
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UMW Names Associate Provost for Enrollment Management
Kimberley Buster-Williams has been named to the position of associate provost for enrollment management at the University of Mary Washington. Buster-Williams has spent nearly 20 years in higher education admissions, most recently as acting associate vice president for enrollment management at Northern Illinois University.
Buster-Williams, who will begin work at UMW on May 25, will oversee all matters related to enrollment and recruitment for the university. As associate provost, she will be responsible for the Office of Admissions, the Office of the University Registrar, and the Office of Financial Aid. She will also chair UMW’s Enrollment Management and Retention Committee, which includes representation from faculty and staff serving in offices across campus. Buster-Williams will take the helm from Carol Descak, who has served as associate provost for admissions and financial aid since June 2012.
“Kimberley has had broad experience, both addressing significant enrollment challenges associated with the changing landscape of higher education and utilizing new systems and technologies similar to and, in some cases, the same as those we have begun to utilize at Mary Washington,” said Provost Jonathan Levin.
Prior to her current position at Northern Illinois University, Buster-Williams served as director of admissions. In her seven years as director of admissions at the University of Michigan at Flint she oversaw enrollment growth of nearly 33 percent and an increase in high-achieving students. She also has served in the admissions departments at Old Dominion University and Johnson and Wales University, both in Norfolk.
A native of Richmond, Va., Buster-Williams earned a bachelor’s in English, a master’s degree in educational administration and an educational specialist degree in educational leadership, all from Old Dominion. She also holds professional certificates from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
President’s Cabinet Meeting Minutes
The President’s Cabinet met on Wednesday, April 2 at 2 p.m. in George Washington Hall, Room 303. Minutes from the meeting are available here.
Message from the Office of Emergency Management and Safety
With the recent power outages in the Fredericksburg area and at UMW we would like to revisit the purpose of emergency lighting.
- Emergency lighting will operate for a period of 1 1/2 hours in the event of failure of normal lighting and are arranged to provide illumination for safety purposes only;
- Emergency lighting systems are not capable of illuminating a building for occupancy.
These systems are only used for effective and efficient evacuation.
Feel free to contact the office of emergency management and safety with any questions.
Susan Knick and Ruth Lovelace Invited to Speak at Crowd Manager Symposium
Susan Knick, director of conferences and scheduling, and Ruth Lovelace, director of emergency management and safety, were invited to speak at the July 16 Crowd Manager Symposium hosted by the Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office. Attended by Virginia state fire marshals, other universities and colleges, and members of the private sector, the symposium was an interactive forum for discussion and learning of the best practices in implementing the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code’s requirements for crowd management. Knick and Lovelace spoke on UMW’s program, its objectives, training tips, and the do’s and don’ts that came with implementing the program.
Ruth Lovelace
Susan Knick
UMW Names Executive Director for Center for Economic Development
The University of Mary Washington today announced that Brian Baker has been named executive director of the Center for Economic Development. Baker has spent the last decade as an administrator at UMW, most recently as executive director for entrepreneurship.
In his role as executive director, Baker will oversee the UMW Small Business Development Center, the EagleWorks Accelerator and Business Innovation Center, the Engagement Program, the operations for the Virginia Business Incubation Association, as well as several contract affiliations.
During his more than 10 years at UMW, Baker has served in various roles, including head of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). In his time as executive director of the SBDC, the center served more than 3,000 small company clients and yielded economic impacts of more than $70 million in new investments, more than $81 million in new sales growth and the creation and retention of 4,670 jobs. Baker also was instrumental in bringing the Virginia Business Incubation Association to the university where it will have an opportunity to engage students and faculty in both regional and statewide small company development initiatives. Baker also has collaborated with numerous UMW students on business-related projects pertaining to market research, small company analysis and revenue analytics.
Baker serves on the Board of Directors for the La Ceiba Microfinance program, the Leadership Fredericksburg program and the University Based Economic Development Council, and is president of the Virginia Business Incubation Association. He also is a general member of the Rappahannock Economic Development Corporation and a member of the Stafford County Economic Analysis Forum and the Germanna Community College Workforce and Community Education Advisory Board.
He has been a speaker at both the International Economic Development Council and Virginia Business Incubation Association conferences on small business. In 2010, he was recognized as the Virginia SBDC State Star for contributions in business development.
Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in business administration in management from Mary Washington. He holds a business analyst certification from the Virginia SBDC program hosted by George Mason University.
The Center for Economic Development, established in 2011, assists the regional jurisdictions in their efforts to promote economic development of the region. The center functions as a central point of contact to connect faculty and students with regional initiatives and businesses seeking their assistance. The center’s programs and initiatives include the Small Business Development Center, the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, the Virginia Business Incubation Association, and student and faculty engagement projects.
Eagle StartUp Finalists
The UMW Entrepreneurs Club, EagleWorks, and the University of Mary Washington Small Business Development Center joined together to encourage startups among members of the University of Mary Washington student community in a program called the Eagle Startup Challenge. The finalists are Anthony Seippel, Patrick Byrne and Chrophe Perdu (team), Seamus Hooban and Andy Leonard (team), and Daniel Shapiro. They will give pitch-style presentations and announce the winners on April 24, 2013.
The UMW Entrepreneurs Club is a partnership with the University of Mary Washington Office of Entrepreneurship and Business Development in suite 400 in the Eagle Village Executive Offices.Visit the web page at http://economicdevelopment.umw.edu/umw-entrepreneur-club/ for the latest updates.