The University of Mary Washington rolled out the red carpet for “America’s coolest college president.”
The premiere screening of The New Guy, featuring UMW President Troy D. Paino, drew cheers from students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community.
Released this afternoon in advance of the April 21 inauguration, the six-part YouTube video series follows the University’s 10th president as he discovers uniquely Mary Washington experiences.
Shot over the past several months by Enterprise Screen Video Communications (ESVC), the production took Paino across campus, into the Fredericksburg community and to nearby Washington, D.C., just a train ride away.
“The best thing about working on this project was the community support we received,” said Assistant Director of Design Services Maria Schultz, who served as lead series producer. “Every single person, inside or outside of UMW, went above and beyond to help.”
Part of a panel of people, including Paino, who worked on the series either on- or off-camera, Schultz answered questions from the crowd and spoke of the hurdles – special permits, police escorts, handling horses – involved in filming. Other panelists included Wade Bedell of Adventure Brewing, UMW Professor of Historic Preservation Michael Spencer and ESVC Executive Director Jamie Smith.
“What stood out was UMW’s willingness to be creative and try new, bold approaches,” Smith said of the production. “The New Guy is a truly collaborative project about storytelling and authenticity.”
The camera loves Paino, who grabbed attention in T-Pain Misses You, a humorous film about a lonesome university president on a student-less campus during holiday break. The 2013 YouTube sensation, filmed when Paino was president of Missouri’s Truman State University, garnered thousands of views and won him a spot among “America’s coolest college presidents.”
Now, at UMW, Paino’s YouTube return comes from the context of all first-year students.
“In filming The New Guy, I had a unique perspective from which to see how special Mary Washington is,” Paino said. “At times, I felt like I was 18 — until, that is, I went by a mirror.”
