{"id":46928,"date":"2026-07-07T14:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T18:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/president\/?p=46928"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:31:16","slug":"a-summer-message-from-the-president-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/president\/2026\/07\/a-summer-message-from-the-president-july-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"A Summer Message from the President – July 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
Office of the President<\/div>

A Summer Message from the President<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Dear UMW Campus Community,<\/p>

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>

I want to begin with my deep appreciation for all of our student leaders, staff and faculty who welcomed our newest Eagles and their families to campus for orientation sessions throughout June. You create the kind of first impression that matters, grounded in warmth, belonging, practical guidance, and genuine care, and you quickly make our students feel at home in our residence halls and throughout campus. To all our newest Eagles and our returning Eagles, we can’t wait to have you all back on campus this fall. <\/p>

The new fiscal year started July 1, and with it, we have a state-approved budget that includes significant funding for operations and initiatives at the University of Mary Washington. The Commonwealth has included a 3.5% salary increase each year of the biennium. More information will be coming from HR on the details of this increase for employees, as well as an increase in health insurance premiums, mandated by the state. UMW also received the next $2 million to continue our enterprise resource planning (ERP) transition to Workday which supplements the $3.5 million allocated in the previous state budget.<\/p>

In the biennial budget, which begins with year one of two this year, the General Assembly extended $1,171,300 in one-time funding into base support in our operating budget and maintained student financial aid funding. The Master of Science in Nursing program<\/a> received continued funding of $740,000 annually, following the start-up funding in the same amount, and we are excited to report that the first cohort is full for this fall 2026, with a waitlist and additional interest for future years. <\/p>

In addition, the state is investing $1.7 million in planning support for the proposed public-private partnership between the University of Mary Washington and Mary Washington Healthcare to launch a medical school that will impact the Fredericksburg region and benefit the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Many of you have been working for months on this transformational idea, and we appreciate your expertise, enthusiasm, and questions as we develop this plan and respond to a real need in our region to educate physicians who will offer primary care and stay close to the Fredericksburg region.  The community support and contributions have come in many forms, and we look forward to planning for the future of this project and bringing details back to the Virginia General Assembly and state leaders for continued discussions and next steps. <\/p>

Our existing facilities will benefit from just over $10 million from two funding sources: maintenance reserve and deferred maintenance funding.  Included in this category is funding for a feasibility study for Simpson Library to inform further renovations or future improvements.  <\/p>

We have many visible signs across the Fredericksburg campus of the work underway to prepare for the year ahead. From the accessibility project in Ball Hall to the new modular locker rooms at the Battleground Athletic Complex, we’re putting in the foundations for what’s to come. Interior accessibility projects are happening in lecture rooms in Combs Hall and Jepson Science Center, with a full roof replacement for GW Hall<\/a> that results in short-term closures to the building. Thank you for working around these spaces as we make needed improvements. Parking lot paving and striping are also planned for mid-July<\/a>, with traffic improvements happening along Double Drive. <\/p>

We continue to welcome prospective students and families to campus for summer visits, with upcoming Enhanced Summer Visits July 13 and July 24<\/a>. July brings more opportunities to welcome and encourage students, including the Summer Transition Program<\/a> for our incoming class, and the Summer Enrichment Program<\/a> for high school students. We have several innovative online classes available in the summer too, including a second summer for the Intro to AI class<\/a>, through our Center for AI and the Liberal Arts. The World on a Plate course<\/a> welcomes alumni and community members to public lectures. We also celebrate student internships<\/a> at the end of the month, and we love hearing from our students as they work on their internships, study abroad, or complete summer research. <\/p>

The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Summer Institute (AHSSSI)<\/a> showcased projects from communication and digital studies, linguistics, psychology, sociology and studio art. Each project pairs students and professors for five weeks of scholarly study, plus résumé- and career-building skills, and a paycheck, food and housing for participants. The Summer Science Institute continues this month<\/a>. Look for an invite to the July 22 symposium to learn more about the remarkable research happening right here on campus, in the field, and around our community. <\/p>

Fredericksburg abounds with opportunities for our students, including internships, service opportunities, and plenty of summer activities. This is an exciting place to live and learn, especially as the nation celebrates the 250th commemoration with so much history rooted here, and as our students continue to find hands-on opportunities in public service, business, healthcare, education, the arts, historic preservation, communications and more. We were excited to welcome alumni back to their college home during Reunion in May, celebrating the Alumni Association’s Alumni Awards<\/a> and College of Business Alumni Awards<\/a>, and we recognized area educators<\/a> in partnership with the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations to Kristina Peck and Rebecca Towery, who were recognized for their leadership in our classrooms as they inspire teachers throughout the region. And congratulations to the student-athletes who continue to earn accolades after their seasons are complete. Catch up with the honors on the UMW Eagles website<\/a>. <\/p>

I hope you all are finding moments this summer to rest, recharge, and enjoy the people and places that matter most to you. I look forward to seeing the energy build in July and, especially, to welcoming everyone back to campus in August, and for our employees, working throughout the summer, thank you for all you do to make Mary Washington such a wonderful place to be in any season.<\/p>

Sincerely,<\/p>

Troy Paino<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear UMW Campus Community,I want to begin with my deep appreciation for all of our student leaders, staff and faculty who welcomed our newest Eagles and their families to campus for orientation sessions throughout June. You create the kind of first impression that matters, grounded in warmth, belonging, practical guidance, and genuine care, and you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2592,"featured_media":46513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","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":"","_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-messages-from-the-president","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Summer Message from the President - July 2026 » Office of the President<\/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\/president\/2026\/07\/a-summer-message-from-the-president-july-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Summer Message from the President - July 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear UMW Campus Community,I want to begin with my deep appreciation for all of our student leaders, staff and faculty who welcomed our newest Eagles and their families to campus for orientation sessions throughout June. 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