Fundraiser Makes Indelible Mark on UMW Play Lab Who would have had any inkling that UMW’s new Play Lab, which offers play-based learning for children with autism, would get a financial boost from a tattoo parlor? The weekend of Sept. 11 and 12, 100 percent of the proceeds from tattoos purchased at Jack Brown’s Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg were donated to the Play Lab, which is run by UMW students and assists children with autism spectrum disorders. It was the shop’s fourth annual charity event for a Fredericksburg-area grass-roots group. The turnout on the first Nicole Myers
Mary Washington Gets Rave Reviews National independent evaluations give UMW high marks for both quality and value. The Princeton Review called UMW a public bastion of the liberal arts in Virginia, saying it is “not too big and not too small” and that Mary Washington offers “a private school education at half the cost.” The highly selective Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011 named UMW one of the top 21 “Best Buys” in public education in America – the only institution of higher education in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, D.C., to make the list. The guide praised the school’s fine education, reasonable price, and lovely campus. “Strolling among the university’s elegant buildings of red brick with white columns has led more than one pleased parent to declare, ‘Now this is what a college should look
day of the event was the largest the shop has ever had for a charity fundraiser. “It was unbelievable. We were packed. We had probably 20 people waiting from 10:30 on in the morning,” Brown told the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. When he opened on Saturday morning, a $20 donation had already been slipped under the door. Nearly $10,000 was raised during the weekend. Several customers requested a tattoo of a puzzle piece, a symbol that has become associated with autism. Nicole Myers, UMW associate professor of education, oversees the Play Lab. Proceeds from the fundraiser will provide scholarships for families who are unable to afford the Play Lab or who are already overwhelmed by expenses from other autism-related therapies. Myers said she hopes the Play Lab will provide therapy in the Fredericksburg area for local children whose parents have had to drive to Northern Virginia or Richmond for assistance.
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like.’ The University of Mary Washington offers a first-rate liberal arts education. It has the feel of a private school with a public school price tag, and is an option that should be explored.” Here’s a sampling of more of the national buzz about UMW: – U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 Best Colleges, the most widely read annual college guide, ranked UMW 13th in the South among master’s-granting institutions and fifth among public institutions. – Forbes.com 2010 listing of America’s Best Values ranked UMW the 13th best public college and 58th among all universities in America. Of the 600 undergraduate institutions that the magazine considers the nation’s best, UMW placed in the top 20 percent, ranking No. 121. – The Peace Corps’ 2010 list of Top Producing Colleges and Universities ranked UMW No. 2 among small colleges and universities. As of February 2010, 23 alumni were Peace Corps volunteers.
– Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s 100 Best Values in Public Colleges named UMW to the 2010 list. The magazine ranked UMW the 38th best value for in-state tuition costs and 42nd when comparing out-of-state tuition. – Princeton Review included UMW in its list of the 100 Best Value Colleges for 2010, which featured the top 50 public and the top 50 private U.S. colleges and universities. It also featured UMW in its 2010 edition of The Best 371 Colleges. – Shine, an online Reader’s Digest magazine, called Mary Washington A Top Financial Find. – The American Enterprise Institute’s national Diplomas and Dropouts survey found that UMW had the thirdhighest graduation rate among “very competitive” Southern schools. – Parade magazine’s College A-List for the 2010-2011 academic year said UMW “combines the very best personalized community qualities of a liberal arts college with the diversity and curricular breadth of a university.”
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