Mary Baldwin College

Mary Baldwin College
Motto	Non pro tempore sed aeternitate ("Not for time but for eternity")
Established	1842
Type	Private, 4-year, women's college
Endowment	$30.8 million[1]
President	Pamela Fox
Academic staff	79 full-time, 59 part-time, 54% female
Students	2542
Undergraduates	826
Postgraduates	197
Location	Staunton, Virginia, USA
Campus	Rural, 54-acre
Colors	White and gold Each class has its own colors respectively.
Nickname	Fighting Squirrels
Affiliations	Southern Association, Division III athletics
Website	mbc.edu

Mary Baldwin College is a private, independent, and comprehensive four-year liberal arts women's college in Staunton, Virginia. It was ranked in 2008 by US News & World Report as a top-tier, master's level university in the South.^[2] Mary Baldwin offers pre-professional programs in law, medicine, ministry, and ROTC. It also hosts the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership program for female cadets, affiliated with nearby Virginia Military Institute. Mary Baldwin is home to a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.^[3]

History

The Mary Baldwin College, Main Building, built in 1844, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1973. Hilltop, another building, is also NRHP-listed.

VWIL

VWIL was originally intended to allow VMI, which was then men-only, to satisfy federal non-discrimination laws without accepting women. In the early 1990s, the United States Government sued the state of Virginia to force compliance with the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution by allowing women to attend the publically funded Virginia Military Institute. (see United States v. Virginia). The state won in the district court trial and the United States appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The appellate court, in a decision which pleased neither side, stated that as long as the Commonwealth of Virginia provided an equivalent option for women, constitutional requirements would be satisfied. The appellate court therefore returned the case to district court to sort out how this could be done. The Commonwealth set up a program, the Virginia Institute for Leadership, at MBC, which was putatively intended to teach leadership to women in a way that was congenial to their supposed natural differences from men. The district court accepted this solution, but the United States appealed, partly on the grounds that VWIL was and could never be an equivalent to VMI. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed in a 7-1 decision, and women were admitted to VMI for the first time in the late 1990s.^[4] Ruth Bader Ginsberg, writing for the majority, stated that "The VWIL program is a pale shadow of VMI in terms of the range of curricular choices and faculty stature, funding, prestige, alumni support and influence."^[5]

Program for the Exceptionally Gifted

The Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) at Mary Baldwin College is a radical acceleration program designed for girls ages 12 to 16 who have not completed high school. The program was founded in 1985 with a class of 11 students and now enrolls approximately 30 new students each year. Participants ("PEGs") attend classes with traditional Mary Baldwin students and typically earn a bachelor's degree in four years.^[6][7]

Traditions

A few of the many traditions Mary Baldwin celebrates are: Apple Day, Charter day, Founders Day, Opening Convocation, Student Government, Commencement, and The passing on of Class Colors.

Each year, the week of orientation comes to a close with the Opening Convocation and the Candle Lighting Ceremony held on the terraces of Hunt Dining Hall and Grafton Library. During the candle lighting ceremony, the Hymn for Mary Baldwin is sung.

The Hymn for Mary Baldwin

To these halls where Wisdom reckons,

To these hills where Beauty dwells;

Where the search for Learning beckons,

Where its tumult never quells

Here we bring our childhood visions

Stirring in the quest for Truth;

Here we forge the mind’s decisions

Tempered by the faith of youth.

Friendship, honor, sorrow, laughter

Are the ways by which we learn.

Knowledge first, then wisdom after,

Love that seeks not for return.

When we reach the last tomorrow

Of our days in class, on field

We will know how we must borrow,

Mary Baldwin, from thy yield.^[8]

Charter Day gives the new students of Mary Baldwin a chance to sign the Honor Pledge, which says that they will uphold the laws of student governance and follow the Honor Code and Judicial Board Code.

Founders Day is held each year as close to October 4 (the birthday of Mary Julia Baldwin) as possible, to remember where the college got its start. This is the first time the seniors don their caps and gowns, and it is done in the presence of the whole student body.

Apple Day is one of Mary Baldwin College's most beloved holidays. On this day there are many opportunities for service, one of which is to go gleaning for apples at one of the apple orchards somewhat close to campus. After gleaning, students come back and enjoy the famous Apple Day Brunch, where apple is the main ingredient in every dish. In the afternoon, a carnival is held outside of the Student Center that is not only for the students of Mary Baldwin, but also for the community.

Mary Baldwin College is committed to upholding a program of student governance that is carried out through three boards: Honor Council, Judicial Board, and Student Advocates, as well as a Student Government Association. Students at Mary Baldwin "won't lie cheat or steal...you have their word on it, in writing" (Greene).^[9]

Commencement weekend is celebrated with a ball and Graduation. The commencement of 1992 saw the dedication of the new William G. Pannill Student Center as well as three honorary degrees in honor of the Sesquicentennial (150th) Anniversary of the College (Menk 38).^[10]

The tradition of passing on the class colors from year to year is one of great esteem. Each class has their own class colors, and the incoming first year class receives the class colors of the recently graduated senior class. The current colors are: 2012 - Purple and Gold, 2013 - Lavender and White, 2014 - Scarlet and Gold, and 2015 - Green and White. ^[11]

Notable alumni

• Tallulah Bankhead
• Anna Jarvis
• Custer LaRue
• Jason Narvy
• St. Clair Wright

See also

• Women's Colleges in the Southern United States

References

1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved February 17, 2010. 
2. ^ USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008: Universities-Master's (South): Top Schools
3. ^ "Phi Beta Kappa listing of Mary Baldwin chapter". http://www.pbk.org/interact/chapterdetail.aspx?name=MARY-L-VA. Retrieved 20 July 2011. 
4. ^ Strum, Philippa (2002). Women in the Barracks: The VMI Case and Equal Rights. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0700611649. 
5. ^ "United States v. Virginia hosted at justia.com". October term 1995. http://supreme.justia.com/us/518/515/case.html. Retrieved 2 August 2011. 
6. ^ Kleiner, Carolyn (12 September 1999). "The Littlest Freshman of All: Colleges recruit adolescent geniuses. But who benefits?". U.S. News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/990920/archive_001918.htm. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
7. ^ Glod, Maria (2 December 2007). "Young, Gifted and Skipping High School: Va. College Feeds Academic Cravings". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/01/ST2007120102004.html. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
8. ^ Page, Gordon. "A Hymn For Mary Baldwin". Mary Baldwin College. http://www.mbc.edu/about/mbchymn.php. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
9. ^ Greene, Robert (24 March 1997). "College students take vow not to lie, cheat or steal". The Toronto Star. http://proxy.mbc.edu:2380/hottopics/lnacademic/?. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
10. ^ Menk, Patricia H. (2006). Retrospect: The Tyson Years, 1985-2003. Dexter, MI: Thomson-Shore. pp. 38. 
11. ^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Mary Baldwin College. http://www.mbc.edu/about/traditions.php. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 

Further Reading

• Menk, Patricia H. (1992). To Live in Time: The Sesquicentennial History of Mary Baldwin College. Mary Baldwin College. ISBN 9780963348609. 
• Strum, Philippa (2002). Women in the Barracks: The VMI Case and Equal Rights. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0700611649. 

External links

• Official Web site
• Collection of scanned archival materials from MBC library hosted at archive.org (Yearbooks, college newsletters, etc.)

Coordinates: 38°9′16.8″N 79°4′3.1″W / 38.154667°N 79.067528°W / 38.154667; -79.067528