THE
BLUE &GRAY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER
September 15, 2016
VOLUME 90 | ISSUE 2
PRESS
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE
1922
Mortar Board recognized for scholarship, leadership and service
News & Media Relations / News
MEAGHAN MCINTYRE Staff Writer
This past summer the University of Mary Washington’s Cap and Gown Mortar Board Chapter received the 2015 to 2016 Most Improved Chapter award. President of the UMW Cap and Gown Mortar Board Chapter, senior biology major Grace Henry, attended the 2016 Mortar Board National Conference in Indianapolis where she was presented the award, on behalf of the chapter. Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for their outstanding scholarship, leadership and service. The first chapters of the Mortar Board organization were founded on Feb. 15, 1918 at Cornell University, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and Swarthmore College. UMW’s chapter became a chartered member of Mortar Board in 1959. As found on the national Mortar Board website, the official description of the award that Mary Washington’s chapter received states that it both encourages the development of a chapter and recognizes how the chapter has achieved success throughout the year. The award also recognizes a chapter’s ability to reestablish and reinvigorate programing and membership. One of the major accomplishments of the 2015 to 2016 Mortar Board chapter was the creation of the Support our Students Fund. Previous president of the UMW Cap and Gown Mortar Board Chapter, Angela Dixon, was a leading force in getting the fund created. Dixon’s inspiration came when she had a personal experience that led her to learn about how certain students at the university are in rough financial situations. “I found out that there are homeless students on campus who have basic needs that their families cannot afford to provide,” Dixon said. In order to make this fund available, the UMW Mortar Board Chapter partnered with the Office of Student Life
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and the Young Alumni Association, which played a key role in fundraising. The fund is “a one-time emergency grant to students in financial need,” Dixon said. Dean of Student Life, Cedric Rucker, explained how people often have surface interactions with one another and do not realize how financially diverse the university really is. “We often find ourselves engaging with students who are in a financial tight spot,” Dean Rucker said. “Students sometimes are working three jobs, living from their cars, and others are unable to pay their rent. And these are exceptional students.” The Support our Students Fund provides help for these students who may not have money for books, cannot pay their rent, or even need a plane ticket home because of a family emergency that may have come up. Last year the UMW Mortar Board raised $1,000 to help students in these types of situations. The creation of the Support our Students Fund is an example of how UMW’s Mortar Board chapter has worked to administer the principle of service throughout the campus community. All three ideals of the Mortar Board are taken to heart for the chapter’s members. Mary Washington’s Mortar Board secretary, senior Ariel Paulk who is a Business Administration major with a concentration in marketing, feels passionately about service, leadership and scholarship. “The great thing about being a part of Mortar Board is that it ties together leadership, scholarship and service,” Paulk said. “These three pillars have great importance to me, and I want to strive to fulfill these pillars to the best of my capability. Being a part of Mortar Board has already added a substantial amount of responsibility to my plate,” Paulk said. “This causes me to use my time more strategically to ensure I am
Tax revenues influence faculty salaries DEBORAH NGANGA Staff Writer
Throughout the past five years, according to Provost Jonathan Levin, many University of Mary Washington faculty and staff have been unhappy with their static salaries. The biggest contributing factor as to why they have not received any raises is due to the Commonwealth’s lack of support for faculty raises. However, Levin mentioned that the Commonwealth recently brought up the topic of raises, though it was quickly shut down because its tax revenue estimates were not met. “This year, the Commonwealth held out to prospect of an increase, only to
pull it because tax revenues did not meet the projections upon which they had built the Commonwealth’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget,” Levin said. Sophomore Emma Baumgardner feels that university presidents are under a lot of pressure to do something about the salaries of faculty and staff, especially new presidents, such as President Troy Paino, who has only held this position for 10 weeks. Some might believe that the president has a lot of say in salary decisions. However, there are plenty of factors that go into those decisions, such as, state classifi
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