Mary Wash Day Celebrates Philanthropy, Engagement and UMW Pride

When life threw Christine Exley ’09 a challenge during her senior year of college, University of Mary Washington friends and faculty got her through it.

“I was so excited for the next phase of my life, then everything was turned upside down,” said Exley, who praised the support she found at UMW after she was diagnosed with a condition that causes progressive blindness. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University and became an associate professor at Harvard Business School and at the University of Michigan, where she currently teaches economics.

On Mary Wash Day, held one week from today, Exley is challenging fellow 2000s graduates to give to the unrestricted Fund for Mary Washington, which underpins every aspect of the UMW experience. Each gift will help students take giant leaps intellectually, socially and personally, just as Exley did. She and UMW Executive Director of Development Beth Waters Hunsinger ’01 will match donations from $5 to $250 to the Fund, up to $2,000, on Thursday, April 4.

Mary Wash Day donations help keep UMW’s class sizes small and provide undergraduate research opportunities for students to work alongside faculty mentors. Here, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Ranjit Singh speaks one on one with junior Shadwick Yoder, a political science major and environmental sustainability minor.

Service and volunteer experiences give UMW students the chance to make a difference on campus and in the community while exploring leadership roles and potential careers. Here, junior Celia Golden spreads mulch on Good Neighbor Day. Gifts on Mary Wash Day support COAR and the Center for Community Engagement, the James Farmer Multicultural Center, and other entities that provide meaningful experiences for students. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Donations on Mary Wash Day to Friends of Athletics or to a specific sports program provide critical support to help enhance the UMW student-athlete experience, supporting recruiting, professional development and training, team travel, athletic facilities, equipment and uniforms, and more. Here, senior UMW Men’s Basketball guard Cameron McCravy holds off a player on the opposing team. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Gifts on Mary Wash Day support student scholarships and help UMW students make groundbreaking discoveries in their fields. Here, junior Rachel Walker, who earned the Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59 and James D. Rodgers Student Research Fellowship II, conducts hands-on research in the Jepson Science Center. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Contributions to UMW Theatre on Mary Wash Day will help students learn to create plays and musicals that encourage conversations with their audience. Here, senior Maddie Baylor performs in Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’ Gifts can also be made to UMW Galleries, UMW Philharmonic, Gari Melchers Home and Studio, the James Monroe Museum and the William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series. Photo by Geoff Greene.

Generous alumni, families, friends, faculty and staff have stepped up this year to sponsor more than $400,000 in challenges and matches, exceeding totals from previous years, Director of Annual Giving Shelby Orlando ’14 said. Their commitment will double and even triple the impact of each gift, she said, helping the University reach its goal of 2,500 gifts from 1,000 alumni donors and 250 new supporters in 2024.

Challenges and matches support the Fund for Mary Washington, student scholarships, academic departments, leadership and service organizations, arts and athletics, campus beautification and more.

Learn about this year’s challenges and matches at Giving.umw.edu.