Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

, United States. It was founded in 1842 as "Augusta Female Seminary". Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a

residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship ...

and

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

with a focus on

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

and leadership, as well as

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

residential college for undergraduate programs within its University College structure. MBU also offers co-educational graduate degrees as well as undergraduate degree and certificate programs for working

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

s and non-traditional students. The university is the oldest institution of higher education for women in the nation affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

and it is home to the only all-female corps of cadets in the world.

History

Located in

within Augusta County, the university was founded as the "Augusta Female Seminary" in 1842 by Rufus William Bailey. Among the first students was Mary Julia Baldwin. In 1863, Baldwin was named principal and headed the school through the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, although most schools in the area had closed due to the war and economic hardship. In 1895, the school was renamed "Mary Baldwin Seminary" in honor of Baldwin. In 1923, the name changed to "Mary Baldwin College" when the school became a four-year institution. In 1963, Mary Baldwin became racially de-segregated, officially ending its policy of admitting only white women. In the mid-1970s, men began to be admitted as day students and graduate students. Four decades later, in 2017, the school began accepting residential male students, albeit not without some controversy at the time. In 1976, when

Staunton Military Academy Staunton Military Academy was a private all-male Military academy, military school located in Staunton, Virginia. Founded in 1884, the academy closed in 1976. The school was highly regarded for its academic and military programs, and many notable ...

(SMA) closed, its grounds and buildings were purchased by Mary Baldwin, expanding the campus from . In 1977, Mary Baldwin became the first college in Virginia to launch an adult degree program. Cynthia Haldenby Tyson was appointed as the eighth president in 1985. That same year, the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) was established to allow academically gifted girls to earn bachelor's degrees. In 1995, the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership was established as the only all-female cadet corps. In 2001, the university established the Shakespeare and Performance graduate program after the

American Shakespeare Center The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre company located in Staunton, Virginia, Staunton, Virginia, that focuses on the plays of William Shakespeare; his contemporaries Ben Jonson, Beaumo ...

opened the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. In 2003, after 18 years as president, Cynthia Haldenby Tyson retired and Pamela Fox, dean of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

's School of Fine Arts, was named the ninth president. In May 2015, the board of trustees voted unanimously to change the name of the institution to Mary Baldwin University, effective August 31, 2016, reflecting the school's range of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs. On July 1, 2023, Jeffrey P. Stein began his tenure as Mary Baldwin University's tenth president after two decades at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

Academics

Mary Baldwin University offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Social Work degrees in more than 30 majors. Undergraduate degrees are offered through the Mary Baldwin College for Women and two co-educational programs: University College and MBU Online. The school offers graduate degrees through the College of Education (Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Science in Higher Education, and Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis), Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences (Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Science in Physician Assistant, and RN-to-BSN), and the Shakespeare and Performance program (Master of Letters and Master of Fine Arts). Additionally, Mary Baldwin offers fast-track degrees, bachelor's-plus-master's-degree plans, professional school preparation and certificate programs. Community service and study-abroad opportunities are supplied through the Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement, which opened in 2007.

Institutional partnerships

The co-educational Master of Letters and Master of Fine Arts students in the Shakespeare and Performance program is partnered with the

, allowing the students to learn and perform in the Blackfriars Playhouse located a block away from campus. The Heifetz International Music Institute, founded by violinist

Daniel Heifetz Daniel Alan Heifetz (born November 20, 1948) is an American concert violinist and pedagogue best known as the Founder of the Heifetz International Music Institute. His career has been focused on education and the art of communication through perf ...

, was moved from its

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Wolfeboro is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,416 at the 2020 census. A resort area situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro includes the village of Wolfeboro Falls. History The town was grant ...

location to Mary Baldwin University in 2012. The institute accepts applicants annually from around the world and offers summer programs for classically trained musicians. MBU has also partnered with international organizations including the Clinton Global Initiative and Women for Women International to sponsor participants in Women for Women programs and raise awareness of human trafficking around the world. Mary Baldwin has partnerships with several women's colleges around the world including Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Japan,

Sungshin Women's University Sungshin Women's University () is a Private university, private women's college, women's university located in Seongbuk District, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was founded by Dr. Sook-Chong Lee in 1936. The university comprises ten colleg ...

in South Korea, and Lady Doak College in India.

Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL)

Founded in 1995 by request of the Commonwealth of Virginia, VWIL (pronounced "vee-will") is an all-female cadet corps and four-year program preparing participants for both military and civilian leadership through academics, fitness, military training, practical experiences and co-curricular activities. Cadets also participate in co-educational ROTC training. Commandant of the corps of cadets is Brig. Gen. Teresa "Terry" A. H. Djuric (USAF, Retired).

Program for the Exceptionally Gifted

The Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) at Mary Baldwin University is an early entrance college program for girls who have completed 6th-10th grade and have not yet completed, or in some cases not yet started, high school. Critically, the program accepts young women between the ages of 12 and 16. Applicants of later ages are encouraged to apply for early admission instead. The program was founded in 1985 with a class of 11 students and now enrolls up to 30 new students each year. Early success of the program was greatly boosted by the women-only residential campus, which eased parental concerns, as well as exceptionally strong participation and attention by faculty in providing extra challenges and opportunities to the gifted students. Participants ("PEGs") reside in a PEG-specific dorm building named for past president Cynthia Tyson, but attend classes with traditional-age students with the exception of a mandatory, PEG specific, introductory

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

course named "Knowing the Self" (Phil 112). PEGs typically earn a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in the normal four years.

Campus

The MBU main campus is located in Staunton, and its Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences is located in nearby Fishersville. The first building on Staunton campus was the Mary Baldwin University, Main Building, built in 1844. The building now houses administrative offices and has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP) since 1973. file:Mary Baldwin College Staunton VA Main.JPG, Main building file:Mary Baldwin College Staunton VA Rose Terrace.JPG, Rose Terrace file:Hilltop, portico view, Mary Baldwin.jpg, Portico File:Staunton Military Kable Hall 2009.jpg, Staunton Military Kable Hall file:C.W. Miller House near Mary Baldwin.jpg, Miller House file:Kable House at Mary Baldwin.jpg, Kable House

Traditions

MBU celebrates several annual traditions with the surrounding community. Every autumn, Mary Baldwin University commemorates Apple Day, during which students and faculty glean apples at a Virginia orchard. In recent years, the collected fruit has been distributed to area food pantries. The college also has marked Founders Day each October since 1898 to honor founders Mary Julia Baldwin and Rufus William Bailey. The "Mary Baldwin College Fight Song" is sung to the tune of "Blue and Gold." The song was used by

(SMA) until it closed in 1976. After Mary Baldwin purchased the SMA campus, the college began using the academy's athletic fields, adopted the melody of the SMA fight song in 2008, and still flies SMA flags during parades. VWIL continues to hold an annual SMA reunion weekend involving a parade, banquet, and awarding of several scholarships.

Athletics

left, Mary Baldwin athletics mark The Mary Baldwin athletic teams are called the Fighting Squirrels. The university is a member of the Division III ranks of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolin ...

(USA South) since the 2007–08 academic year. The Fighting Squirrels previously competed in the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference (AWCC) from 1995–96 to 2006–07, and in the

Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other ful ...

(ODAC) from 1984–85 to 1991–92. Mary Baldwin field

Mary Baldwin competes in 13 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Mary Baldwin began to sponsor men's sports when the university became co-educational, effective in the 2019–20 school year, beginning with cross country, soccer, tennis and track & field. Basketball and baseball were added for the 2021–22 school year.

Mascot

The original mascot of the Mary Baldwin athletics program was Gladys the Fighting Squirrel. Baldwin was introduced as the new athletics mascot in November 2019.

Notable alumni

Tallulah Bankhead Argentinean Magazine AD

* Cora Lily Woodard Aycock, First Lady of North Carolina *

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

, actress * Claudia Brind-Woody, IBM executive * Dorie Clark, author and executive education professor * Mary S. Cummins, educator * Judith Godwin, abstract painter * Caroline Rose Hunt, hotelier and philanthropist * Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother's Day * Louisa Venable Kyle, writer * Custer LaRue, musician * Lucille Foster McMillin, federal official * Jason Narvy, actor * Susan Schmidt, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist * Susan Swecker, chair of the Virginia Democratic Party * St. Clair Wright, historic preservationist

References

External links

*
Athletics website

Collection of scanned archival materials from MBC library hosted at archive.org
(Yearbooks, college newsletters, etc.) {{Coord, 38, 9, 16.8, N, 79, 4, 3.1, W, display=title Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Private universities and colleges in Virginia Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Universities and colleges established in 1842 Female seminaries in the United States Women in Virginia Sixth form colleges Tourist attractions in Staunton, Virginia 1842 establishments in Virginia