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Retired and Thriving

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Local residents plan ahead to support Great Lives at UMW

Sue and Al Roth enjoy the Great Lives lectures at UMW.

When Al and Sue Roth were looking for a retirement home, they landed in Fredericksburg, Virginia. “After living in the Pocono Mountains for 17 years, we wanted to move somewhere with better weather,” says Al. “We were fortunate to find a retirement community that had everything we wanted. A bonus turned out to be the many programs offered through the University of Mary Washington.”

Al and Sue have lived in the Celebrate by Del Webb community for 11 years and are on campus often for concerts, plays, ElderStudy programs, and lectures. They specifically have become fans and supporters of the William B. Crawley Great Lives Lectures Series.

“We enjoy having a wonderful program like this so close to us,” says Sue. “I find it thought-provoking and really without equal. The speakers are very engaging, and we can attend any of the programs of interest to us.”

Al agrees, “The Great Lives program is very unique, and some of our neighbors join us. We usually meet for dinner somewhere beforehand and then go hear the lectures. It makes a great night out, as we are entertained and often learn something new at the same time.”

Al and Sue recently became members of the UMW Heritage Society when they transferred funds from their traditional IRA to create a charitable gift annuity. This estate planning option first offered in 2023 allowed them to satisfy a portion of their required minimum distribution (RMD), while offering future support to the Great Lives lecture series.

“We are the first to make this type of gift to UMW through our IRA,” says Al. “What’s great is that we can get money back while spreading our tax liabilities over the next several years, and the charitable gift annuity will support a program we enjoy and appreciate.”

Married for 52 years, Al and Sue first met at a mixer in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. Al has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business management. Sue has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in elementary education.

After they were married, they moved around quite a bit due to Al’s service in the Air Force and his expertise in design engineering. His specialty was designing air pollution control equipment for refineries, electrical generating plants, coke ovens, and steel mills. Sue taught third grade up through eighth grade at schools in nearby towns.

Now that they are permanently situated in Fredericksburg, they have time to participate in a few hobbies. Al loves visiting historic sites, hiking battlefields, and soaking up the local culture. Sue has her quarter horse, Max, boarded near their home. She says it is therapeutic to be able to ride again, an activity she has enjoyed since childhood. They also are now close enough to visit with their two children: Adam, a teacher in Virginia Beach; and John, a restaurant owner in Rochester, New York.

The couple looks forward to future Mary Washington activities and events. “From our past work experiences and all the places we’ve lived, we’ve seen many educational institutions focused inward,” says Al. “I think it’s fantastic that Mary Washington reaches out with so many wonderful programs to connect with the  community at large.”

For more information about gift annuities, contact Jan Clarke at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

 

Article by Donna Harter, University Advancement

Update your Beneficiary Information

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Review all account forms for accuracy

Now is a great time to check all financial account and insurance policy information and to consider the use of transfer and payable on death designations.

Types of accounts or policies that may allow for a beneficiary designation for Transfer on Death (TOD) include checking or savings accounts. Those eligible for Payable on Death (POD) beneficiaries include investment and retirement accounts, mutual funds, stocks and bonds held in a brokerage account, life insurance policies, and some types of personal property. Assets in these accounts can pass directly to the person or charitable organization you designate without going through the probate process or being counted as part of your taxable estate.

Heritage SocietyBeneficiary information for UMW may be listed as:
University of Mary Washington Foundation
1119 Hanover Street
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Phone: 540-654-2064
Tax Payer ID (TIN) 54-0169-627

For more information, contact jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

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Use your IRA now to fund a gift annuity and support UMW in the future

If you are 70½ or older, you have an opportunity this year to transfer up to $53,000 from your traditional IRA to fund a charitable gift annuity. This giving option allows you to satisfy a portion of your required minimum distribution (RMD),  create a fixed rate of income for yourself, and support students and programs at UMW.

This option can be used only once in each person’s lifetime. Here are a few guidelines:
• Your IRA administrator must transfer the funds directly to the University of Mary Washington Foundation.
• You will not pay income tax on the transfer of funds, nor will you receive an income tax deduction for the gift.
• Once established, you can begin receiving regular annuity payments at a fixed rate from the UMW Foundation.
• Since the funds in your IRA had not previously been taxed, you will need to pay taxes on the annuity payments. The upside on this form of income and related tax liabilities is that all will be spread out over several years.
• If two spouses are of the qualifying age, each may be able to transfer up to $53,000 for a charitable gift annuity, and each may receive annuity payments.
• At the time you create a charitable gift annuity, you may request any residuals from your gift benefit the Fund for Mary Washington, an academic department, or other University programs.

To learn more about creating a charitable gift annuity through your IRA, contact Jan Clarke in the Office of Gift Planning at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064. As always, please consult with your financial advisor and plan administrator.

A Love of All Things French

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Scholarship offers essential support to French and international business major

As a child, Hadley Mantia began learning simple French phrases from her grandmother, a long-time French teacher in Kentucky. “I just loved hearing my dad’s mom speak the language,” says Hadley. “I thought it was the coolest thing on the planet.”

Hadley enhanced her vocabulary through French classes during both middle and high school. When embarking on her college search, she stumbled upon a unique opportunity at UMW: a combined French and business course.

Hadley Mantia ’24 enjoys the sights and sounds of France.

“I thought the French business class was great, but then I fell in love with the small campus and the entire community,” says Hadley.

An unexpected change in her family’s financial situation complicated Hadley’s college plans, but it did not stop her. She immersed herself in campus life, became a resident assistant, and began working in Dodd Auditorium. She also applied for and received the A. Haskin Jackson and Edith Nunnally Jackson Scholarship funded by Heritage Society member Judith Jackson Jones ’68.

“This scholarship has been a huge help in paying my way, and I actually met Mrs. Jones last year at a luncheon,” says Hadley. “She was such a bright light, telling me stories and motivating and inspiring me to go for my goals.”

In addition to her classes and campus employment, Hadley also joined the UMW Performing Arts Company (PAC) to pursue her interest in dance, and she and a friend helped restart UMW’s French Club. In the summer of 2023, Hadley went abroad to work as a marketing intern for Opened Mind JPA in Aix-en-Provence, France.

“Getting a glimpse into the French business world gave me a lot of insight,” says Hadley. “I now have a greater appreciation for the country and the people.”

With graduation near, Hadley is busy scheduling interviews. Her ideal job is one that effectively merges her international business education with her proficiency and love for the French language.

For information about becoming a member of the Heritage Society, contact Jan Clarke at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

Article by Donna Harter, University Advancement

 

 

Alumna, Author Uncovers Hidden Black History in Great Lives Lecture, Feb. 8

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An archaeological dig revealed the remnants of a notorious slave jail in Richmond. The groundbreaking discovery led journalist and Mary Washington graduate Kristen Green ’95 to use different tools to unearth information about Mary Lumpkin, a formerly enslaved woman who began her family’s quest for freedom on that site.

Kristen, an award-winning reporter and author, utilized the writing, critical thinking and rigorous research skills she honed through her college journalism courses to piece together a riveting portrait in her 2022 book, The Devil’s Half Acre (the jail’s nickname). Documents, deeds, death certificates, and more weave a tale of a woman all but erased from the American narrative.

Journalist and author Kristen Green '95 will share the story of enslaved woman Mary Lumpkin as part of UMW's Great Lives Lecture Series on Feb. 8.
Journalist and author Kristen Green ’95 will share the story of enslaved woman Mary Lumpkin as part of UMW’s Great Lives Lecture Series on Feb. 8.

“We know figures like Harriet Tubman, but most enslaved women didn’t try to escape because they wouldn’t have left their children behind,” Kristen said. “Instead, Mary Lumpkin used her agency … to secure an education and freedom for her children, nearly a decade prior to the Civil War.”

Kristen will shed light on Lumpkin’s story – including how she became known as the mother of Virginia Union University, one of the country’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities – on Thursday, Feb. 8, for the William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series. A part of UMW’s 2024 Black History Month Celebration, Mary Lumpkin: Enslaved Woman, Liberator will be held in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by LINKBANK, the lecture is open to the public and free of charge and will be posted online shortly after the event.

The lecture reunites Kristen – a member of UMW’s inaugural Alumni of Distinction class – with series founder and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History William Crawley. She cites him as the reason she chose to attend Mary Washington, after a chance encounter when she was working at her high school job in a furniture store.

“I naturally followed Kristen’s progress with great interest, while she was a student and in her journalism career,” Dr. Crawley said. “I’m so proud of what she has accomplished.”

Kristen said taking courses in history, religion, historic preservation, and English pointed her toward the interdisciplinary American studies major. She also registered for every class with Steve Watkins, who taught journalism at UMW for over two decades.

“I came from a small town and had never encountered anyone like him,” said Kristen, who joined the student newspaper, then called The Bullet. “He encouraged me to question everything.”

With that curiosity, she earned a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and wrote for the Boston Globe, San Diego Tribune, and Richmond Times-Dispatch. Covering other communities inspired her to take a closer look at her own hometown.

Her New York Times bestseller, Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, investigated how the Virginia community shuttered public schools, rather than admit Black students, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Kristen Green pieced together the story of Mary Lumpkin using letters, court documents, slave manifests, census and city directories, and more, as well as interviews with formerly enslaved people from the early 20th century.
Kristen Green pieced together the story of Mary Lumpkin using letters, court documents, slave manifests, census and city directories, and more, as well as interviews with formerly enslaved people from the early 20th century.

“I had only been told parts of the story,” said Kristen, who explored her own family’s role, learning that her grandfather helped open the segregated private academy that she herself attended as a child. “That’s what my books have become – this history hidden in plain sight.”

That’s what drew her to Mary Lumpkin, who was forced to bear the children of a brutal slave trader, Robert Lumpkin, but used her limited resources to help them have a better life. And Kristen wanted to share the stories of other enslaved women who were exploited during the domestic slave trade.

She used the Library of Virginia and Ancestry.com to trace Mary Lumpkin’s journey through personal correspondence, court documents, wills and deeds, census and city directories, slave manifests, advertisements, news articles, and birth, marriage and death certificates.

“There are so many little records that seem like nothing, but when you put them together, a story starts to form,” said Kristen, who also used recorded interviews with formerly enslaved people from the early 20th century to round out what Mary Lumpkin’s life might have looked like.

Mary Lumpkin saw a different future after Robert died, Kristen said. “She … found freedom, mobility and love and carved out a life of her own.”

A complete lineup of Great Lives lectures, including dates, speakers and sponsors, can be found at umw.edu/greatlives. Learn more about Kristen Green’s work at kristengreen.net. Read more about UMW’s inaugural Alumni of Distinction class.

– Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04