Twice a year, Holly Chichester-Morby peruses the University of Mary Washington’s Fredericksburg campus – from one end to the other – taking inventory of its more than 8,000 trees. She looks for broken branches, hanging limbs, climbing ivy, insect damage and signs of disease.

“UMW is known for its tree canopy and parklike setting,” said Chichester-Morby, who directs University Landscape and Grounds and is in constant communication with the grounds crew about specific needs. “This proactive approach saves us money – and many trees – down the road.”

It also helps earn honors for Mary Washington, one of only 10 Virginia schools to receive recognition as a 2023 Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation last month, marking the ninth consecutive year the University has made the cut. So, ahead of National Tree Day on Sunday, July 28, UMW is celebrating its white oaks and redbuds, its cedars and spruce, its poplars and persimmons, and the care that goes into keeping them all healthy and flourishing. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington’s Summer Science Institute (SSI) has given UMW students the chance to conduct trailblazing undergraduate STEM research – analyzing cancer cells, carbon dioxide reduction and complex computer coding – for a quarter of a century.

Many of these young scientists had access to their summer studies because of the scholarships, research fellowships and scientific presentation grants funded by Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59.

“Irene had a long history of supporting STEM majors in pursuing their passion through research,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger, who outlined the history of SSI and recognized the more than 500 students who have participated in research with UMW faculty since its inception. The transformational $30 million estate gift she left the University has resulted in noticeable growth for the program, especially in the last couple of years, he said, from 14 students in the late 1990s to 30 students this summer. “And this trajectory will continue. More faculty, more students, more projects, more lives changed.” Read more.

One of senior Kate Green’s favorite activities this summer was wading in the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Swimming in the cool, chin-deep waters, she collected specimens to study how parasites differently impact male and female freshwater snails.

“From biodiversity to human recreation, aquatic ecosystems play an important role in the lives of many different species,” said Green, a University of Mary Washington conservation biology major, who pursued a completely novel research topic this summer. “My studies will help us obtain a fuller picture of how healthy our beloved rivers are.”

Green was one of two students who took home the top prizes this year during UMW’s 25th annual Summer Science Institute (SSI), which engages undergraduate STEM students in a 10-week intensive research experience alongside their professors and peers. At a public symposium held July 24 in UMW’s Hurley Convergence Center, Green and her lab partner, biology major Morgan Hicok ’25, earned scholarship awards through the John C. and Jerri Barden Perkins ’61 College of Arts and Sciences Student Research Endowment. The funds will help them continue their research during the upcoming academic year. Read more.

For a quarter of a century, UMW’s Summer Science Institute (SSI) has been a defining student experience. It’s in-the-lab, in-the-field, in-the-code, in-the-dataset kind of work. Students are fully funded during the 10-week program, earning a stipend, living on campus and staying on top of their research.

“The thing that stands out the most is that research is a learning process. The answer to your questions is not always exact, and sometimes it comes with a lot of trial and error, but that is how you learn,” said Ally Fletcher, a senior from Severna Park, Maryland, majoring in biomedical sciences with a neuroscience minor.

Fletcher studies the effects of environmental pollutants on neurotransmitters in the brain, specifically in fish. During the academic year, she focused on zebrafish – the subject of her senior capstone – and during the summer, it’s Japanese medaka fish. Both are model organisms for her project, which she works on with research partner Ashlyn Peszko ’26 during the Summer Science Institute under the guidance of Professor of Biology Dianne Baker.

Fletcher and research partner Peszko will join other SSI participants who will share their research at the Summer Science Institute Symposium on Wednesday, July 24, a full-day event with presentations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Hurley Convergence Center.

For many students and faculty, the program has been a primary part of their experience on campus. Read more.

From mixing paint pigments to mixing music, high school students in UMW’s Summer Enrichment Program signed up for a week of college-level learning paired with outdoor activities in the Fredericksburg area. By day three in the week-long program, they had visited Ferry Farm and Kenmore, picked up litter along the Rappahannock River and tied flies for fishing, but it’s the in-classroom experience that kept them fired up.

In a chemistry lab, Fredericksburg Academy sophomore Enoch Huffman partnered up with Towson High School junior Liam Hill to investigate the energy in biopolymers in carbohydrates and proteins by setting food on fire. Under the instruction of Associate Professor of Chemistry Leanna Giancarlo, teams of students lit popcorn or cheese puffs on fire to measure the increasing temperature of a container of water positioned carefully above it. The effect was illuminating and an extension of chemistry classes Huffman and Hill experienced in their high schools, but even more hands-on, and it followed lessons on making slime and extracting DNA.

Students in the Science of Paint session gathered in an art studio instead of the lab, but also considered the chemistry of their process, learning how paint is made from a variety of techniques and perspectives. Co-taught by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Smith and Assistant Professor of Theatre Bridgette Dennett, the session combined the chemical composition of paint with color theory – providing all the ingredients for a masterpiece. Read more.

Five markers unveiled this week at the University of Mary Washington tell the story of a college campus – and the perseverance of its community members – following the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s. The signs represent a portion of the second part of the  Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail, “Freedom, a Work in Progress,” which launched last year during Black History Month and includes 16 stops throughout the city.

“There is nothing more important than to touch and see and connect and walk in the steps that others have forged,” Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine ’84, said of the impact the signs are meant to make on future UMW students on their way to class and on all who observe them.

Nearly 100 people gathered – first seated inside UMW’s air-conditioned Dodd Auditorium, then making their way into the 90-plus-degree day – for the reveal of two of the markers outside Combs Hall. The signs reveal stories of activism, desegregation and camaraderie in the face of discrimination, including some of the first Black residential students who formed a friendship and dubbed themselves the “Big Five” in homage to the civil rights movement’s “Big Four” changemakers.

The five new panels span campus, beginning with the first two at Combs and progressing to two more on the rim of Ball Circle, one of which leads to the Cedric Rucker University Center, home of student activities and the James Farmer Multicultural Center (JFMC). The final Mary Washington sign marks Monroe Hall, which housed the second-floor office of Farmer, the late civil rights icon and Freedom Rides leader who taught history at Mary Washington for more than a decade. Read more.

When Abby Tank ’24 graduated from the University of Mary Washington, her grandmother had one of the best seats in the house.

“I missed out on my high school graduation four years ago, so having her there made it even more special,” Tank said. As a member of the 1908 Society, Ruth Ann Foiles Brunet ’62 processed onto Ball Circle and watched the ceremony with other alumni who graduated 50 years ago or more. Seeing her granddaughter earn a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Spanish, she said, was “absolutely one of the highlights of my life.”

Brunet attended Mary Washington over six decades ago, before transferring to another institution. She was a constant presence on campus throughout Tank’s four years of college, cheering on her granddaughter in UMW women’s volleyball games, including the team’s conference championship win, and attending departmental events for families. She even bonded with her granddaughter’s friends and roommates.

“They were all so excited to hug her and take photos with her at Commencement,” said Tank, who was surprised to learn of her grandmother’s ties to the University when she first visited campus for a high school volleyball camp. When Tank applied to Mary Washington, her mother told her that her grandmother had studied dietetics there in the late 1950s. Read more.

Jaylyn Long ’24 thought she’d made it to her most magical Mary Washington moment this past May – graduation! But Dean of Students Melissa Jones had a secret to share. As she straightened the soon-to-be grad’s regalia on that sunny Saturday morning, she asked a question: “Have you checked your email?”

“I was thinking, ‘no, of course not, I’m graduating,’ ” said Long, last year’s SGA president and Class of 2024 vice president, who spent her college career digging deeper and deeper into student affairs. Now, as she peered at her phone, just before crossing the stage at Commencement, she saw a message that brought her to tears. She’d won the Undergraduate Rising Star Award from NASPA, the national organization for the field of student affairs in higher education. Better yet, the people behind it were the Mary Washington administrators she most admired.

“This award is a reflection of the mentorship that these three phenomenal women have poured into me as a student leader,” Long said of Jones, Vice President for Student Affairs Juliette Landphair and Associate Provost for Equity and Inclusion Shavonne Shorter, who each penned a nomination letter to NASPA on Long’s behalf. “I felt like all the work I had done over my four years at Mary Wash was truly complete.”

She picked up the prize in person last month at the NASPA Region III Summer Symposium in Orlando. It gave her, she said, access to pros in the field, networking opportunities and inspiration. She’ll head to Boston College this fall to pursue a master’s degree in higher education administration. Read more.

Earlier this summer, alumni authors assembled their latest publications during 2024’s Reunion Weekend at the University of Mary Washington. More than 40 books were displayed during the event, covering poetry, short stories, novels, essays, biographies, travelogues, self-help books, children’s stories and more.

Pick up these pages by classmates with a few summer reading recommendations below. Copies can also be found in Simpson Library or through online vendors. Kick back and read on …

The Virginia Governor’s Office announced Friday the appointment of three new members of the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors.

Each board member will serve a four-year term. They succeed Charles Reed ’11, Robert Strassheim ’96, and Princess Moss ’83 on the UMW Board of Visitors. Read more.