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| Motto | Pro deo domo patria |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1908 |
| President | Dr. William Frawley |
| Academic staff | 206 |
| Students | 5,068 |
| Undergraduates | 4,039 |
| Postgraduates | 1,029 |
| Location | Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States |
| Campus | Small town, 176 acres (712,000 m²) |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Gray |
| Nickname | UMW, Mdub, Mary Wash |
| Mascot | Eagles (Official), Terrapins (Synchronized Swimming), Mothers (Men's Rugby), Sadie (Geography Department) |
| Website | UMW.edu |
The University of Mary Washington (formerly Mary Washington College) is a coeducational, state-funded, four-year liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia about 55 miles (88 km) north of Richmond and 45 miles (80 km) south of Washington, DC. U.S. Route 1 borders the western side of the campus. The university's undergraduate campus has 4,039 students and its graduate campus has 1,029 degree-seeking students.
History
Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women, the college was renamed Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washington, mother of the first president of the United States of America, George Washington. Most of the architecture on the Mary Washington campus can be described as neo-classical, Georgian, or Jeffersonian (because of its similarity to Thomas Jefferson's design of the University of Virginia). This architecture is part of the reason the Princeton Review previously ranked Mary Washington as one of the top 20 most beautiful campuses in the nation.
In 1944 the college became associated with the University of Virginia as that institution's undergraduate liberal arts college for women. Following the university's transition to coeducational status in 1970, the Virginia General Assembly reorganized Mary Washington College in 1972 as a separate, coeducational institution.
Effective July 19, 2004, the institution legally became the University of Mary Washington, after approval by the General Assembly of Virginia. The institution sought university status to reflect the addition of master's degree programs and increasing enrollment at its College of Graduate and Professional Studies, formerly the James Monroe Center for Graduate and Professional Studies, located in nearby Stafford County. Students can earn an MBA, M.Ed., BPS or other graduate certificates or professional certifications. The original undergraduate campus is now Mary Washington College of Arts and Sciences.
On June 30, 2006, Dr. William Anderson retired after 23 years as the institution's president. On February 17, 2006 the UMW Board of Visitors had selected William Frawley, Dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University, as the next president of the University. Dr. Frawley's presidency began on July 1, 2006. He was officially inaugurated on September 30, 2006.
The University is currently undergoing construction of the Carmen Culpeper Chappell '59 Centennial Campanile. This belltower will finish construction in December of 2006. Another new addition to the campus this year is a parking deck that will help ease the commuter parking problems in and around the UMW Campus.
Academics
Academic departments at UMW's undergraduate campus include:
- Art and Art History
- Biological Sciences
- Business Administration
- Chemistry
- Classics, Philosophy, and Religion
- Computer Science
- Economics
- English, Linguistics, and Speech
- Education
- Geography
- Geology and Environmental Science
- Health and Physical Education
- Historic Preservation
- History and American Studies
- Mathematics
- Modern Foreign Languages
- Music
- Physics
- Political Science and International Affairs
- Psychology
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Theatre and Dance
New to UMW in the 2006-2007 academic year is a Middle East Studies Certificate. In this program, students take five Middle Eastern-related classes as well as two semesters of Arabic. They also must prepare a special thesis.
Notable alumni
- Judy Muller, journalist
- Marion Blakey, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator
- Rose Likins, diplomat, former US Ambassador to El Salvador
- Judge Reinhold, actor
- Jason Caddell, musician, sound engineer
- Eric Axelson, musician
- Joe Bernik, Banker
Notable faculty
- James L. Farmer, Jr., Civil Rights Leader
- Gregory Stanton, founder of Genocide Watch
- Claudia Emerson, poet, 2006 Pulitzer Prize Winner
- Stephen Farnsworth, political scientist, author, Fulbright Scholar
- Bulent Atalay, physicist and author of "Math and the Mona Lisa"
- Matyla Ghyka, author, academic, diplomat