The University of Mary Washington’s Stafford Campus has earned regional honors, being named the best college or university in Stafford Magazine‘s annual survey of readers. This year the publication received a record number of votes at more than 20,000. Nominations reached a peak, as well, with the number of businesses, organizations and individuals nominated totaling more than 1,000.

UMW’s Stafford Campus stood out as the top for higher education.

“This honor reflects the dedication of our faculty, staff and students, as well as our commitment to providing high-quality, accessible professional educational opportunities to our community. We are immensely proud of the entire Mary Washington Stafford Campus community for making this achievement possible,” said UMW Associate Provost of Career & Workforce Kimberly Young.

Offering a wide variety of programs and courses year-round, the University’s Stafford Campus caters to diverse interests and career aspirations. Some of this year’s educational offerings included Professional Educator courses, the Museum Enterprise Leadership (MEL) Program, BSN in Nursing, Craft Beverage Exploration courses, and the highly successful Business Acumen Series which has received support and accolades from local government agencies and regional businesses.

The UMW Stafford Campus boasts state-of-the-art instructional technology systems, video conferencing capabilities, and wired and wireless internet access, providing an ideal learning environment for students. Additionally, the campus hosts over 150 professional events annually, further enriching the educational experience and offering valuable networking opportunities. With a strong commitment to professional development, UMW’s regional efforts continues to empower educators and business professionals alike.

For more information about programs and partnerships offered at UMW’s Stafford Campus,  https://www.umw.edu/cps/ or https://www.umw.edu/stafford/.

President Joe Biden (D) is tied in Virginia with former President Donald Trump (R) in a possible 2024 presidential election rematch, according to a new statewide survey from the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington.

Each candidate received 37 percent in the 1,000-person poll of Virginia adults, which was conducted by Research America Inc. Sept. 5-11. Other respondents said they were undecided.

Biden defeated Trump by a ten-point margin in Virginia in 2020, the latest in a string of four consecutive Democratic Electoral College wins in the commonwealth. George W. Bush was the last Republican presidential candidate to win in Virginia, and he did so in both 2000 and 2004. Read more.

Studio art faculty at the University of Mary Washington are passionate about teaching, but they are also talented and dedicated artists themselves. Selected works from faculty artists are on display through Oct. 8, 2023, at the duPont Gallery on campus.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays, and admission is free. There will be an artists’ lecture at 5 p.m. Oct. 5, 2023, at the duPont Gallery. Read more.

Despite soggy weather, 121 student volunteers – including the entire swim team – turned out for COAR’s annual Into the Streets service event on Saturday, Sept. 23. Each volunteer earned three service hours.

Many projects were moved indoors or cancelled due to the rain, but the students’ volunteer spirit shone through.

“All the preparation we did for weeks was redone in the last couple of days before the event,” said UMW student Sarah Hybl. “It was not easy, but the dedication and passion of our staff, members and volunteers really shined.”

Mostly indoor projects made up the day. Participants helped Operation Gratitude, making cards and paracord lanyards for deployed troops. They created cards for seniors in nursing homes, decorated tote bags for care packages for children in Fredericksburg City Schools, and made no-sew fleece blankets to donate to children in Fredericksburg City Schools. Volunteers also made bookmarks and friendship bracelets, as well as holiday ornaments for an Old Dominion Humane Society fundraiser.

Other projects included

• Shelving food, cleaning, and working on mural for Gwen Hale Resource Center
• Drove to Fredericksburg Area SPCA; cleaned and socialized with the animals (pet cats)
• Drove to the library; dusted, reshelved books, other tasks like cutting and folding brochures

“Into The Streets was a major success. With 120 volunteering students, we made a huge impact in the Fredericksburg community,” said Mary Washington student Knox McKinley. Despite the rainy conditions, community engagement at UMW has never looked better!”

Watch a video of the day!

A photographer will be on campus on Tuesday, Oct. 17, and Wednesday, Oct. 18, to take professional headshots of faculty and staff for use in University publications, on the UMW website and more. No appointments are needed for the free photo sessions, which will take place on the Woodard Patio, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 17, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 18.

All faculty and staff who need a new or updated professional photo are encouraged to take advantage of this annual opportunity!

Call or email Christie Pugh at ext. 1055 or cpugh@umw.edu with questions.

Dr. David T. Mitchell is a founder of Disability Studies in the Humanities. His work along with his partner, Sharon Snyder, serves as a cornerstone of what has come to be known as cripqueer studies. Cripqueer studies foregrounds not only disability as an identity seeking inclusion and rights, but as an active verb exposing the necessity of structural critiques of normativity. Without disability we cannot fully know how marginalized bodyminds understand it, navigate it, critique it, and expose the cracks that define normativity as forms of docility instrumental to belonging. His academic and creative filmwork pursues alternative pathways on which the designation of incapacity often turns into an unexpected capacity. Thus, the marginalization, exclusion, erasure, and destruction of cripqueer lives results in fissures of our cultural knowledge base that must be crossed by intimacies that only disability experience, theory, and the arts can provide. In their first film, “Vital Signs: Crip Culture Talks Back” (1995), Mitchell and Snyder unveiled the alternative interdependencies that inform what they call, crip culture, and deployed those non-normative practices as a critique of the Western myth of independence that is central to liberal humanist formulations of the Human. The film also demonstrated how disability queers all forms of being. Join Dr. David T. Mitchell on October 12th at 6:30 in the Digital Auditorium for a chance to hear him elaborate on these topics and be a part of the conversation.

The University of Mary Washington is once again among the top 100 schools, earning regional accolades, recognition for its liberal arts and sciences mission, and top marks from students via annual surveys.

Washington Monthly, known for guiding students and families toward institutions that contribute to the common good, included Mary Washington in rankings released this month, September 2023. UMW ranks 78th of 199 institutions in the Best Liberal Arts Colleges listing, which rates schools on contributions to social mobility, research and providing opportunities for public service. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington will host two public debates next month between candidates for local elected office.

Tara Durant (R), Monica Gary (I), and Joel Griffin (D) will vie for the District 27 Virginia State Senate seat on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The debate will take place at 7 p.m. in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium. On Wednesday, Sept. 13, in the Weatherly Wing of UMW’s Seacobeck Hall, Joshua Cole (D) faced off against Lee Peters III (R) for Virginia’s 65th District House of Delegates seat.

“I am delighted that the local candidates have agreed to participate in this important community service,” said Professor of Political Science and Center for Leadership and Media Studies Director Stephen Farnsworth, who will moderate the hourlong debates. “Candidates standing side by side to discuss current policy challenges provides vital opportunities for voters to compare the alternatives offered on the ballot.” Read more.

Virginia Business magazine has announced the Virginia 500: The 2023-24 Power List, naming University of Mary Washington President Troy Paino among the commonwealth’s most powerful and influential leaders in business, government, politics and education this year.

“When I give my elevator speech about the Virginia 500, it usually starts this way: It’s like the Fortune 500, but instead of companies, it’s about people,” Virginia Business Editor Richard Foster said in his opening letter. “There is an aspirational joy to reading about the career journeys of the leaders in these pages.”

Paino’s career journey has included the presidential role at two of the nation’s top public liberal arts and sciences universities. He joined the University of Mary Washington in 2016 after serving as president of Truman State University in Missouri. This year proved to be a “big year for Paino and the public liberal arts university he oversees,” once again earning recognition by Virginia Business. Read more.