Letter From the President

Dear Students,

Welcome back. It’s inspiring to see you make the campus come alive again after a relatively quiet summer. For those of you who are entering freshmen as the class of 2014, or who are transfers from other colleges, we welcome the diversity and fresh perspectives you bring to UMW. I’m predicting an exciting year filled with learning, living and the development of what will become lifelong friendships.

Many changes occurred over the summer. We opened Eagle Landing as our newest residence hall, we provided the new meal plans you asked for, we established new colleges of business and education, and we welcomed new deans, faculty and staff.

With new facilities and new people will come new traditions, but even so, we will maintain the culture, spirit and honored traditions that make Mary Washington such a special experience.

Let me use this opportunity to update you on a couple of the other projects underway on campus.  First, you probably noticed the construction fence around Randolph and Mason Residence Halls.

The opening of Eagle Landing has enabled us to begin the much-needed renovation of all of our residence halls, and we are beginning with these two.  This project will take close to two years to complete.

The Anderson Center, our new gymnasium, will be completed by next spring as will the renovation of Monroe Hall.  Finally, our Dahlgren campus is under construction and will open in January of 2012.  For those of you unfamiliar with Dahlgren, it is about twenty-seven miles east of here and is a Navy military base.

We are building this campus to meet the workforce development needs of the workers on the base and the surrounding region.

I look forward to engaging with you throughout the year. Please say hello when we see each other on campus walk, in Seacobeck, at sporting events or at social occasions.

I’m interested in what you think, and welcome your ideas about how to make our university better. My intention is to ask the Bullet to include a note from me to you periodically.

I will try to keep it real–and brief–so that you will find it worthwhile. Please feel free to provide feedback, suggestions or ask questions about topics you would like me to address.

This is a great time in all our lives and an adventure that we will share together.

Sincerely,
President Rick Hurley