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When students moved into Virginia Hall in August 2021, they were treated to a series of historic markers that highlight the numerous transitions in the building’s construction, its purpose, and its residents. Click the linked photos below to learn more.
Alumna offers tributes through new UMW scholarships.
Catherine Elwell ’73 turned her penchant for languages into a course of study, a successful career with the International Monetary Fund, and a life filled with travel and adventure.
It all started in rural Illinois where Cathy says her mom and dad were just two farm kids with high aspirations for themselves and their family. After service in the military, Cathy’s dad attended the University of Illinois through the GI Bill. “I remember we often had international students over to the house,” says Cathy. “I knew at a young age, that I had one gift, and that gift was foreign languages.”
In 1966, Cathy’s family moved 800 miles east to Springfield, Virginia, where her dad commuted to D.C. to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmer’s Home Administration (FHA). Her mom was fully engaged in guiding Cathy and her three brothers through life and school, and was quick to volunteer in the community as needed.
Cathy continued saving her nickels and dimes for college and soon began considering her choices. “Mary Washington was in-state, had a strong modern foreign language department, and a number of possibilities to study abroad,” says Cathy.
So, Cathy arrived on campus with plans to major in French. During her four years at Mary Washington, she also found herself drawn to theater, and soon was able to combine many of her interests into an unforgettable three-semester study abroad experience in France.
“This past June was the 50-year anniversary of my first arrival in Paris,” says Cathy. “I loved living in the center of Paris and tried to organize as many ‘dirt-cheap’ excursions as possible. I went to Italy, Scandanavia, the U.K., and more, but I always focused on my academics because I wanted my credits to count so I could graduate when I returned home.”
Cathy remembers one very exciting moment in Paris when she was stirring a pot on the stove in a cooking class, and in through the door walked a tall, striking woman everyone now knows as Julia Child.
A few years earlier, Cathy’s suitemate, Patricia Mavine Sauls ’71, had suggested Cathy consider applying at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “When I returned from Paris, I was oozing with confidence,” says Cathy. “I knew my French and I was ready. I applied in the spring of 1973, was hired, graduated from Mary Washington in May, and walked into the door of IMF that June.”
During the next 35 years, Cathy supported IMF economists in a variety of roles and says she traveled on more than 30 missions to nearly all the French-speaking countries in Africa, the Comoros Islands and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean region, and parts of Asia.
“Once I got into this job track, I liked it so much that I could have done it forever,” says Cathy. “It was a daily thrill to be able to speak, read, write, edit, and translate in French while interacting with a staff representing over 100 different nationalities. I truly put my studies at MWC and at La Sorbonne at the University of Paris, to full use every day.”
Following the passing of her mom in 2020 at the age of 92, Cathy began examining her own estate plans. “I became aware that I am living the life that some of my female ancestors could only dream of,” says Cathy. “This includes higher education; my own income and with it, economic independence; interesting professional work; the ability to travel the world; and the privilege of living in an interesting environment.”
To honor those who came before her and one special friend who offered great advice, Cathy is planning to create two scholarships at Mary Washington. She will establish a study abroad scholarship in memory of her parents, Bernice and L.D. Elwell, Jr., as well as a UMW theater scholarship in honor of her suitemate, Patty Sauls.
“I truly have been blessed,” says Cathy. “Everything I see out my window and everything I touch is a product of where I came from and the choices I made. This is my legacy.”
For more information about bequests or designating Mary Washington as a beneficiary of your retirement or banking accounts, contact Jan Clarke at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.
Watch the first episode of our new Leading Lives series:
Reflections, featuring the story of John and Phyllis Newby Thompson ’69
Originally from South Boston, Virginia, Phyllis’s first home-away-from-home was Willard Hall. As she continued to pursue her studies, a boy from her hometown began visiting on a regular basis – and Mary Washington soon became an important part of both their lives. Phyllis became a teacher and John launched a successful business career. Now married 51 years and living on the West Coast, the couple recently made a significant gift to support the Mary Washington student experience.
Leading Lives
For more than a century, Mary Washington alumni have taken lessons learned in the classroom out into the real world to become leaders in their communities and in their fields of study. They have remained connected to their classmates, roommates, and professors while staying actively engaged in networking and mentoring to share their experiences and successes.
Mary Washington alumni lead lives of distinction and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Through the years, many have found ways to pay it forward through their philanthropic support of UMW students and programs. Leading Lives is a new series that showcases the personal stories behind the decision to give back.
The Class of 1970 makes student mental health a giving priority.
In the late 1960s, college students emerged as activists for positive change within their communities. During that same time, the Mary Washington Class of 1970 forged strong bonds of friendship and long-lasting connections.
To celebrate their 50th reunion in 2020, members of the class chose to invest in on-campus mental health services, specifically at the Talley Center for Counseling Services.
They were inspired by a 2014 gift made by Mary Washington alumna Betty Dobbins Talley ’68 to support and rename the facility. “I decided that this is what I want my legacy to be, because these services were not available to me and my peers,” says Betty. A counselor for more than 40 years, Betty specifically requested that ‘psychological services’ be removed from the name to reduce any perceived stigma of seeking out mental health services.
“Mental health, and seeking out help was once an invisible struggle, but it is now a major priority,” says Dr. Tevya Zukor, a licensed clinical psychologist and the director of the Talley Center.
Prior to the recent pandemic, students and young people were already experiencing mental health crises. According to Dr. Zukor, the onset of COVID-19 exacerbated existing anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and disordered eating.
“One of the biggest and most common challenges for Mary Washington students in the COVID age is navigating new-found social isolation and preparing for face-to-face interactions when they do happen,” says Dr. Zukor.
To continue the work begun by Betty Talley, the Class of 1970 initially set a fundraising goal of $50,000 to fund an additional endowment for the Talley Center. While they had to reschedule their anticipated celebration, they still were able to meet and even exceed the fundraising goal. In 2021, they announced their total gift to the University in support of the Talley Center was $56,018.
This new endowment will support a more diverse counseling staff featuring more women of color and non-English speaking and bilingual professionals to meet the needs of students. It also will assist in enhancing the Talley Center’s large training program, providing professional development for future mental health professionals.
In addition, the perpetual fund will enable the Center to continue hosting numerous student groups, including the LGBTQIA support group, the sexual assault survivor group, and the grief and loss group.
A student who wishes to remain anonymous says she found the Talley Center very helpful. “I came in with many issues that I knew I couldn’t solve myself. I found peace through new techniques provided by my counselor, and I’ve started to regain love for myself. Everyone is extremely welcoming and understanding.”
For more information about the Talley Center, visit https://students.umw.edu/counseling.
For information about making a gift, visit https://giving.umw.edu or contact the Office of Advancement at 540-654-1024 or advance@umw.edu.
Article written by Advancement Intern Callie Jordan ’23
Award named for former biology professor continues to promote excellence.
Prior to this year’s commencement, the Class of 2021 chose Associate Professor of Marketing Kashef Majid as the 23rd recipient of the Mary W. Pinschmidt Teaching Award. “It was totally unexpected, ” says Majid. “It’s an individual award, but I think there’s really so much more. Your work in the classroom is a reflection of so many other people. It really is a team effort—it’s not that I hold something magical.”
Majid might not hold a magical power, but his commitment to students during a pandemic year makes him stand out as a dedicated professor – just like Dr. Pinschmidt.
Named in memory of a beloved and longtime biology professor, the Mary W. Pinschmidt Teaching Award was established to annually recognize one faculty member selected by graduating seniors to have had the greatest impact on their lives. The late Mary Pinschmidt was one such exemplary professor.
Posthumously promoted to Distinguished Professor of Biology, Pinschmidt was committed to her students. She was heavily involved in Chi Beta Phi, pioneered several graduate and continuing education programs, and worked for many years on the HIV-AIDS Education Committee. In 1982, she became the eleventh recipient of the Grellet C. Simpson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the highest faculty award at Mary Washington.
Pinschmidt also helped restructure Mary Washington’s general education program, including more core learning experiences for students of all levels. She even taught a class two days before her sudden illness and unexpected death in 1998. Perhaps most importantly, she left an enduring impact on the faculty and students who knew her.
Students quoted in the December 3, 1998, issue of The Bullet fondly remembered Pinschmidt as a “friendly, kind professor who was always there to help and never in a bad mood.” Her colleague at the time, Professor of Psychology Roy Smith, remembered her as “a wonderful presence in the classroom. She was an ultimate teacher. That’s who she was.”
Pinschmidt taught at Mary Washington for 37 years, often serving in high-level administrative roles. Her husband, Bill Pinschmidt, also taught biology at Mary Washington. Immediately following her death, those who knew her were determined to keep Mary Pinschmidt’s legacy alive by making gifts in her memory. Ultimately, those memorial gifts from caring family, friends, faculty, staff, and students helped create the teaching award that bears her name.
In 1999, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Stephen Farnsworth was selected as the award’s first recipient.
“I’m one of the dwindling number of faculty members whose time at Mary Washington overlaps with Dr. Pinschmidt,” says Farnsworth. “I was honored to receive the award because she was an extraordinary faculty member, so committed to student excellence. It’s a wonderful tribute to her that this award exists. It’s great that it keeps her memory alive in a generation of students who now weren’t even born when she taught here.”
While today’s UMW students do not have the opportunity to learn from Pinschmidt, they continue to benefit from her legacy through lectures inside the Mary W. Pinschmidt Lecture Hall in Jepson Science Center and through the faculty who continue to share her commitment to student excellence.
For information about making a gift to support students and faculty, visit giving.umw.edu or contact the Office of Advancement at advance.umw.edu.
Article written by Advancement Intern Tabitha Robinson ’24