Rucker was emotional after this morning’s unanimous Board of Visitors vote to rename the University Center in honor of him upon his June retirement. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

His big laugh and bowties may not be present at the University of Mary Washington much longer, but a decision at today’s Board of Visitor’s meeting ensures that Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker’s legacy will live on in the heart of campus.

The UMW Board voted today to name the University Center – the four-story hub of student activity on bustling Ball Circle – the Cedric Rucker University Center.

Rector Heather Mullins Crislip ’95 said of the decision, “Cedric Rucker has had an indelible impact on thousands of Mary Washington students and alumni. He made us better people and inspired us to live lives that are authentic, pursue justice and seek to deeply understand each other. I can think of no other person who perfectly defines the Mary Washington ideal than Cedric.”

The renaming goes into effect upon Rucker’s official retirement on June 24, 2022, more than four decades after he arrived on Marye’s Heights in 1977 as an undergraduate who’d go on to study sociology and weave himself into the fabric of Mary Washington.

The first African-American male graduate to live in the residence halls, Rucker soaked up campus life, joining the anthropology club, working at the library and radio station, and forming unbreakable bonds with his classmates.

“Mary Washington just felt like mine,” he said during a recent interview. Read more.

UMW senior Steven DeVerteuil is the first to take advantage of a ‘4+1 pathway’ in computer science that allows students to receive early admission to grad school and spend less time earning a master’s degree. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Goalkeeper Steven DeVerteuil expects the unexpected on the soccer field. A startling score. A fortuitous save.

It’s what happened in the classroom that threw him off guard. A course he took to fulfill a University of Mary Washington liberal arts and sciences requirement peeled back the layers of a technology – and a world – he had taken for granted.

“It kept opening up my mind and pushing me in ways that I thought I could never be pushed,” DeVerteuil, a UMW senior, said of his major, a subject he discovered by chance. Now the first to pursue a Mary Washington partnership program in computer science and applications, he’s positioned to earn a master’s degree in less than two years and perhaps a career in the big leagues.

“I expect Steven will be very successful,” said Associate Professor of Computer Science Ian Finlayson, who was department chair when the program, part of Virginia’s Tech Talent Pipeline, was formed. Read more.

2019 graduates Jalen Brown and Maria Dubiel majored in French and international affairs at UMW. The couple, now engaged, are pursuing master’s degrees in France and reaching French-loving followers through their blog and accompanying YouTube channel, The Francofile. Photo courtesy of The Francofile.

Maria Dubiel has always had a passion for French. So, when she met fiancé Jalen Brown, he knew he had to immerse himself in her love language.

The high school sweethearts came to the University of Mary Washington as teens, excited for independence and college life, Dubiel said. “We left an engaged couple with bachelor’s degrees, jobs waiting for us in France and four amazing years to hold close.”

Now, the 2019 alums are vivent le rêve – living the dream – together as one. After teaching English abroad, they’re completing graduate work at a university in Reims, a bustling city in France’s Champagne region. When they aren’t exploring the country, visiting museums or having romantic picnics in the park, the couple is sweeping tens of thousands of French-loving folks along on their journey with The Francofile, an online hub they launched after graduating from UMW.

“We were scouring the internet for information about moving to France,” Brown said. Finding none, they combined their photography and writing skills to create a blog and YouTube channel, featuring everything from travel tips to an essay on how Mary Washington prepared them for life in France. “We’ve grown a community of followers and are grateful to know the posts we share are helping others.” Read more.

*2025 UPDATE: See the newly updated UMW Brand Toolkit (which now combines the original 2022 Brand Toolkit and Supplemental Guide into one streamlined, easy-to-use document.)

We are pleased to announce the completion of the University of Mary Washington Brand Toolkit and Supplemental Guide. These documents provide campus communicators the elements they need to communicate UMW’s institutional brand correctly and consistently. It is important to create and maintain a consistent visual identity to strengthen our image, increase public awareness, and demonstrate a spirt of excellence across the University.

In addition to providing access to approved fonts and logos, the toolkit addresses the appropriate ways to incorporate the brand into your correspondence and promotional collateral. The supplement addresses guidelines for printed materials like business cards, stationary, and secondary logos. These are living documents that are updated periodically to reflect revisions, additions, and changes. Our goal is to keep them current, relevant, and useful.

Your support is critical to our success in maintaining the UMW brand. We ask that you phase out the usage of old materials with the column logo by the end of March 2022. In a few weeks, all University employees will receive a new nametag. Orders for new business cards may be placed through the eVA punch-out catalog (see your department buyer for assistance). Stationary orders may be placed through Design Services.

For your convenience, the toolkit can be accessed here: go.umw.edu/logo. If you have questions about UMW style and usage, please call or email us.

Malcolm T. Holmes
Director, University Marketing​
540-654-1617
mholmes3@umw.edu

AJ Newell
Director of Design Services, Brand Coordinator
540-654-1934
anewell@umw.edu

The William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series continues this evening, Feb. 24 with Eric Jay Dolin sharing swashbuckling stories of American pirates. The Community Bank of the Chesapeake Lecture. This lecture can be livestreamed here: America’s Pirates Lecture Livestream.

Lectures are open to the public free of charge and begin at 7:30 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium, George Washington Hall, on the Fredericksburg campus of the University of Mary Washington. The auditorium opens at 6:30 p.m. Video recordings of the lectures will be uploaded to this website and will be available in the weeks following the live lectures.

Additionally, all lectures will be live-streamed throughout the remainder of the season. After delivery, lectures will be posted on the website as soon as possible after they have been edited (including addition of captions), a process that may take a week or more to complete. Once lectures are uploaded, this will be indicated by an icon in the “Media” column in the lecture listings below.

Please note the following with regard to attendance at the lectures:

• All persons in attendance must present proof of vaccination and booster (if eligible) or a negative Covid-19 test and must wear a mask upon entering the auditorium. Negative test results for a PCR test must be within 72 hours  and for a Rapid Antigen test must be within 24 hours before attending event. Proof will be checked upon arrival to Dodd Auditorium. 
• Persons experiencing flu-like symptoms should not attend. 
• Those considering attending should first check the program website (umw.edu/greatlives) or call the hotline (540-654-1065) in advance for possible changes in schedule or protocols.

We are beginning the next round of reading in our online literary group, the Mother of All Book Clubs! This club is open to anyone with a connection to Mary Washington—alumni, parents, donors, faculty, and staff. Join us!

Our next selection is 11/22/63: A Novel, by Stephen King. This book was named one of the Ten Best Books from The New York Times and also won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

From Amazon: “On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back?

In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.”

Pick up a copy of the book and start reading—we will begin posting discussion questions on Monday, February 28. You might consider supporting an independent bookstore, or you could try your local library system.

We look forward to reading with you!

All the best,
The Alumni Relations Team

Dear UMW Faculty and Staff,

President Paino invites you to join him for Conversations with President Paino, formerly known as Coffee with the President.  These sessions will offer informal opportunities to share insights and engage in candid discussions that are aligned with our community values and in support of making University of Mary Washington the best it can be.  Occasionally, the sessions may focus on a particular issue facing us or may include other leaders who represent areas critical to institutional progress.

Sessions will be offered at the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, February 23              10:30-11:30 a.m.
• Monday, March 21                         1:30-2:30 p.m.
• Monday, April 11                            3-4 p.m.

Thank you.

Office of the President