We will hold our seventh Mary Wash Day, previously known as Mary Wash Giving Day, April 4. This 24-hour celebration brings the UMW community of alumni, faculty, staff, parents, students and community members together to support areas across campus. We’ve set ambitious goals this year: 2,500 gifts, including 1,000 alumni donors and 250 first-time donors. Throughout the day there will be chances to unlock over $300,000 in sponsored challenges and matches, including a faculty and staff participation challenge to benefit the Gwen Hale Resource Center (see details below).

There are  many ways to help celebrate #MaryWashDay:

• Sign up to be a Mary Wash Day ambassador to help spread the word and inspire others to give. Make a gift with your unique ambassador referral link and get two other gifts and we’ll send you a UMW bento box!
• Access the Mary Wash Day toolkit to download social images and exclusive Zoom backgrounds.
• Wear your Mary Wash gear on April 4.
• Stop by the CRUC patio from 7:30-9 a.m. April 4. Pick an Eagle and win a prize! The first 50 faculty/staff will also receive a free grab-and-go breakfast.
• Visit the MWD Headquarters from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 4 on the patio of the CRUC to take part in the fun with students.
• Increase your impact: If 200 faculty and staff members make a gift of $5 or more to any area of the University on April 4, you will unlock a $1,000 gift to the Gwen Hale Resource Center from faculty and staff members Anand Rao, Kashef Majid, Sarah Dewees, and Miriam Liss.

Questions about Mary Wash Day? Contact Director of Annual Giving Shelby Orlando ’14 at sorlando@umw.edu or 540-654-1361.

Rachel Greszler ’03 and Dr. Christopher Newman

The Virginia Governor’s Office announced on Friday the appointment of two new members of the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors. Christopher Newman, executive vice president, system chief operating officer and chief medical officer for Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC), and Rachel Greszler ’03, senior research fellow for workforce and public finance in the Roe Institute of The Heritage Foundation will join the board this spring.

Dr. Newman has served as the executive vice president, system chief operating officer and chief medical officer for Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Virginia since 2019. He is responsible for managing the delivery of safe, high-quality healthcare in the fully integrated, regional not-for-profit medical system that provides emergency, inpatient and outpatient care through more than 40 facilities in the greater Fredericksburg region. The primary campus is a neighbor to University of Mary Washington’s Fredericksburg campus and a vital regional partner. Read more.

UMW senior Jordan Carpenter spins her magic on the court.

When Jordan Carpenter started her collegiate basketball career at the University of Mary Washington in 2020, she focused on the next point, the next game, the next step. And her parents were there each step of the way, coming from their home in Richmond, Virginia, to attend each game and cheer her on.  

Now a senior approaching graduation in May, she heard their familiar voices in the stands of the Anderson Center arena counting down the points needed to 1,000 in a memorable game on January 27, 2024.   Read more.

From left to right: UMW senior Brooke Prevedel, UMW Professor of Geography Steve Hanna and Fredericksburg Area Museum’s Gaila Sims

University of Mary Washington senior Brooke Prevedel and Professor of Geography Steve Hanna spent more than 100 hours making the map at the center of a new Fredericksburg Area Museum exhibit.

“I spent most of my time hunched over my drawing tablet looking at it in extra blown-up proportions,” said Prevedel, a historic preservation and classical archaeology double major who’s earning a certificate in GIS.

High-tech tools like her tablet, and computer programs and apps, helped the pair create the map, which shows the 1824 journey of the Marquis de Lafayette through America’s 24 states. But meticulous attention to detail – like the mountain ranges Prevedel cranked out by hand for a fountainpen feel – tell a story they hope will take visitors back to the 19th century. Read more.

Ayla Zook (fourth from left, sitting) works with her teammates at UMW’s Dahlgren Campus during the third annual High School Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren. The team, from King George County High School, took top prize, claiming $3,500 for STEM learning at their school. Photo by Dave Ellis.

Brainstorming, creativity and teamwork are some of the tactics that led a group of King George County high-schoolers to the top. “We overcame it together,” student Ayla Zook said of the last-minute coding issues that threatened to deter the team’s win at this month’s High School Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren.

More than 100 students from public and private schools, from Stafford to the Northern Neck, turned out for the third annual robotics-style competition at the University of Mary Washington’s Dahlgren Campus on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2. The winning team from King George walked away with a cash prize of $3,500, a giant trophy and bragging rights … at least until next year’s event.

Westmoreland High School took second place, winning $2,500, and Fredericksburg Christian School came in third, claiming $1,500. The teams battled it out in lightning rounds, completing an “ENRG” mission that required them to engage by assembling robots to navigate challenging terrain on a quest to recover critical hardware while gathering intel and maintaining mission awareness. In addition to cash, winners took home robotics kits for their schools. Read more.

The seventh annual Mary Wash Day will be held April 4 with the theme of #TogetherUMW. The 24-hour celebration of philanthropy and engagement supports UMW students and faculty, as well as academic, arts, athletics, leadership, service, career and cultural programs.

UMW graduates Matt and Sarah Balenger Good ’19 land on the exact same word to describe their experience at the University of Mary Washington, where they met, fell in love and earned degrees in political science and psychology, respectively.

“It was more impactful than I could have ever imagined,” said Sarah, who was on UMW’s Honor Council all four years, becoming its president as a senior, and currently works in autism services. Matt, who followed the same track in the Student Government Association and is now employed in public safety, agrees. “I wouldn’t be who or where I am today without Mary Washington.”

On Mary Wash Day, the couple is sponsoring a challenge to inspire graduates from the last decade to make their first-ever gift to their alma mater on Thursday, April 4, a day celebrating all contributions to the University. “We want to ensure that students today have the experiences we had and that young alumni get involved at Mary Washington,” Sarah said.

Eagles everywhere are encouraged to show off their Mary Wash pride during the 24-hour celebration of philanthropy and engagement, now in its seventh year, enjoying fun and festivities while making a difference in the lives of students for generations to come.

With a theme of #TogetherUMW, the event unites the entire Mary Washington community in support of students and faculty, as well as academic, arts, athletics, leadership, service, career and cultural programs. Donors will have the chance to give to more than 80 different areas across the University. Read more.

UMW will test its alert system during Severe Weather Awareness Week.

The University of Mary Washington will activate UMW Alerts and test its emergency notification system as part of the Virginia Statewide Tornado Drill on Thursday, March 7, at 9:45 a.m. The test may include text messages, emails, desktop alerts, phone calls and sirens or messages from the area warning system on campus. This spring semester test coincides with spring break and will reach devices on and off campus.

Students, faculty and staff are automatically enrolled in UMW Alerts with contact information registered with the University, including UMW email address and cell phone number. The University adds new community members weekly and resets the system with all current community members on the first day of classes for the fall semester. Community members can update their information at any time by visiting the Emergency Alerts website.

The March 7 exercise is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is designed to refresh, remind and educate everyone about the seasonal threats from severe weather and how to plan and prepare for them. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management partners with the National Weather Service to promote Severe Weather Awareness Week. Each day of the week covers a different topic, including preparedness tips and ways to stay safe during severe weather. More information is available from the National Weather Service at https://www.weather.gov/akq/SevereWeatherAwareness.

The third annual High School Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren took place March 1 and 2 at UMW’s Dahlgren Campus.

High school students from public and private schools from Stafford to the Northern Neck area will fill the halls of the University of Mary Washington’s (UMW) Dahlgren Campus with robots this week.

More than 100 students will compete in the third annual High School Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2, for a cash prize, trophy, robotics kits for their school and bragging rights.

“The thing I’m looking forward to the most is getting to watch the lightbulb moments on the students’ faces, where they get a sudden idea for how to solve one of the challenges or when the program that they’ve been tweaking for an hour or so finally works on the practice mat. I love watching their faces and eyes light up when they go ‘Guys, I’ve got it!’” said Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) K-12 STEM Coordinator Tyler Truslow.

University of Mary Washington, the Fredericksburg Regional Military Affairs Council, The MITRE Corporation and King George Economic Development Authority join NSWCDD in hosting the challenge. Read more.

See photos from the competition published by Fredericksburg Free Press.

Look for more coverage of the event coming soon on the UMW News site.

Efforts are underway to name UMW’s championship soccer field for Roy Gordon, founding coach of the men’s soccer team.

The University of Mary Washington’s championship soccer field has long been associated with Roy Gordon, founding coach of the men’s soccer team. Now efforts are underway to name the field in his honor, while funding future improvements for the competition field and soccer stadium as a whole.

Gordon served the University of Mary Washington and its intercollegiate athletics program, especially the men’s soccer program, with distinction, dedication, and loyalty for 34 years. His men’s soccer teams captured 386 total wins, won eight Capital Athletic Conference titles, and advanced to nine NCAA tournaments. Since the Eagles made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1985, their cumulative record under Gordon’s leadership was 329-133-33, for an outstanding .698 percent.

One of the most respected college soccer coaches in the nation, Gordon repeatedly earned regional and national awards. He was named the Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year eight times, selected as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Regional Coach of the Year on five occasions, and named Virginia State College Division Coach of the Year an impressive four times. Gordon became one of only eight head coaches in Division III history to surpass 400 career wins, in 2007. Gordon received the NSCAA’s prestigious Honor Award in 2009, and was named to the NSCAA Hall of Fame in 2023.

The City of Fredericksburg and the University of Mary Washington on Thursday, Feb. 8, announced that the Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail has been added to the national collection of landmarks that make up the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

The U.S. trail, which spans 15 states, includes churches, schools, museums and other locations that played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Fredericksburg’s Civil Rights Trail, “Freedom, A Work in Progress,” is the only one of the four sites inducted this year to the U.S. trail that is not a single entity, adding 21 stops to the national narrative.

Community members – many of whom had gathered at the trail’s official launch a year ago – attended an announcement event, held at Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), the first stop on the three-mile journey that winds through parts of historic downtown and the UMW campus. Prominent Black citizens and pastors of the church, including the Rev. B.H. Hester and the Rev. Lawrence Davies, played critical roles in the struggle for civil rights and social justice. Read more.