{"id":38831,"date":"2013-03-26T20:05:14","date_gmt":"2013-03-26T20:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/?page_id=38831"},"modified":"2026-04-08T10:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:19:55","slug":"simpson-circle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/simpson-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Simpson Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-umw-hero alignfull umw-custom-block umw-hero umw-hero--dark-text umw-hero--media-float-right umw-hero--white umw-hero--with-no-media\"><div class=\"umw-hero__inner\"><div class=\"umw-hero__media\"><\/div><div class=\"umw-hero__title\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__title__wrapper\"><div class=\"umw-hero__eyebrow\">board of visitors<\/div><h1 class=\"umw-hero__title__header\">Simpson Circle<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-umw-hero-ctas alignfull\"><div class=\"umw-hero__links\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__links__wrapper\">\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-simpson-circle\">Simpson Circle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Simpson Circle was established by a resolution of the Board of Visitors on April 26, 2012. The organization includes all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/past-members\/\">past members<\/a> of the University\u2019s Board of Visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Goals of the Simpson Circle are to foster connections among former Board members, to capitalize upon their collective institutional knowledge of Mary Washington, and to encourage their continued engagement in the University\u2019s activities, academic programs, and fundraising initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2012, all former members of the Board of Visitors were invited into the Simpson Circle. Going forward, as members complete their terms on the Board of Visitors, all will be inducted into the Simpson Circle in honor and recognition of their service to UMW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Simpson Circle is named for Grellet C. Simpson, the institution\u2019s fourth president. He served as Chancellor of Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia from 1956 through 1972. Legislation signed in 1972 established Mary Washington College\u2019s independence from the University of Virginia. That legislation also created a twelve-member governing board known as the Rector and Visitors of Mary Washington College and it changed Simpson\u2019s title to President. President Simpson retired in 1974. Several other programs and facilities have been named in his honor. These include: the Grellet C. Simpson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Simpson International Scholarship, the Simpson Program in Medieval Studies, the Grellet and Dorothy Simpson Chair in Medieval Literature, the Simpson Summer Institute, and the Simpson Library.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"710\" height=\"404\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2013\/03\/1767-copyright-K-Pearlman-Photography.jpg\" alt=\"In April 2012, former Rectors of the Board of Visitors gathered at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center to recommend the formation of the Simpson Circle.\" class=\"wp-image-38901\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2013\/03\/1767-copyright-K-Pearlman-Photography.jpg 710w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2013\/03\/1767-copyright-K-Pearlman-Photography-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In April 2012, former Rectors of the Board of Visitors gathered at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center to recommend the formation of the Simpson Circle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simpson Circle The Simpson Circle was established by a resolution of the Board of Visitors on April 26, 2012. The organization includes all past members of the University\u2019s Board of Visitors. Goals of the Simpson Circle are to foster connections among former Board members, to capitalize upon their collective institutional knowledge of Mary Washington, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-38831","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Simpson Circle - Board of Visitors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/bov\/simpson-circle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Simpson Circle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Simpson Circle The Simpson Circle was established by a resolution of the Board of Visitors on April 26, 2012. 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