University of Mary Washington President Troy Paino (at left) congratulates Cedric Rucker after the two conducted the ceremonial ribbon cutting at Cedric Rucker University Center. (Photo by Edward John Photography courtesy University of Mary Washington)
A Name to Remember
The University of Mary Washington honors Richmond native Cedric Rucker
In June, the University of Mary Washington announced that its University Center is to be renamed in honor of Cedric Rucker, the school’s newly retired associate vice president and dean of student life.
A Richmond native, Rucker, 62, was first hired at Mary Washington as a sociology professor in the 1980s. His journey at the university, however, began in 1977, when he became the first Black male to live on campus after the school went coed in 1972. He calls his time as a student transformative.
About having a building on campus renamed in his honor, Rucker says, “I am humbled and grateful. I love Mary Washington, and it’s good to be loved by your community.”
In retirement, Rucker remains dedicated to his community. He spends his time volunteering, and this winter he will begin serving in the Philippines with the Peace Corps. “To do this at this stage of my life, it’s truly everything to me,” he says. —Tayler Butters
A volunteer from Sweet Briar College’s Alumni Alliance helps prepare the campus for the arrival of students. (Photo courtesy Sweet Briar College)
Sweet Success
Sweet Briar College alumnae give back
In 2015, Sweet Briar College’s board of directors voted unanimously to close the private women’s school due to “insurmountable financial challenges.” Its students, faculty and alumnae rallied, forming Saving Sweet Briar Inc. and rescuing the Amherst County school through a combination of legal action, social media and a fundraising campaign.
Today, Sweet Briar is flourishing, with about 500 students, and its alumnae continue to be an integral part of the school’s success.
“We have a model that is utterly unique in American higher education,” says Meredith Jung-En Woo, Sweet Briar’s president since 2017. “We believe there is … a reasonable, honorable, dignified place for [alumnae] to be really important members of the college life in such a way that we mold our vision and future together.”
In addition to contributing $25.6 million in the last fiscal year — the most money raised since before 2015 — Sweet Briar’s rate of alumni engagement is 30%-33% yearly, well above the national average of 22.3%, says Mary Pope Maybank Hutson, senior vice president for alumnae relations and development and a 1983 Sweet Briar alum.
Each summer, members of the Alumnae Alliance spend three weeks on campus painting, weeding and doing other work to prepare the campus for students to return. “I don’t know how many institutions you’ve seen who actually have their alumnae come back to campus and paint the dorms,” Hutson says.
Other volunteers help recruit students across the country and abroad, help recent graduates find jobs and network, and implement other operations of the college. “No other college in America has this kind of deep engagement that is not solely financial, and it is a longstanding commitment to the institution,” Hutson says.
Sweet Briar’s near closure in 2015 was a galvanizing force that ultimately strengthened alumnae support. “[People] caricature us sometimes as all pink and pearls,” Woo says. “I just found this quote: ‘A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear from the injury of the oyster.’ … If we had not been wounded, then we would not produce the pearl. That kind of summarizes the pearl that is Sweet Briar College.” —Jessica Ronky Haddad
Educating Educators
New programs provide free tuition in an effort to help solve teacher shortages
The new teacher residency program at Virginia State University’s College of Education will allow graduate students to earn a Master of Education degree at no cost within one year while gaining real-world experience in Petersburg and Richmond city classrooms under the supervision of a teacher. Students must commit to teach full time for three years in their school division of residency after they earn their master’s.
The initiative is funded through an “I Too Teach” Grant for HBCUs from the Virginia Department of Education. It aims to increase the number of teachers of color — particularly males — and address teacher shortages in Richmond and Petersburg.
James Madison University’s College of Education will receive $4.2 million from the commonwealth over the next two years to develop partnerships with Virginia’s community college system and school systems to recruit high school students, teacher assistants and paraprofessionals to become teachers. Those selected to participate in the “Grow Your Own” program will receive 100% funding of tuition, fees and books at JMU. —Staff reports
Great Expectations
Illustration by Ina Gouveia via Adobe Stock
A nonprofit program helps foster youth receive a college education
In June, Virginia lawmakers approved a two-year spending plan that includes a $1 million grant for Great Expectations, a program that helps foster youth gain access to higher education.
Developed by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, Great Expectations provides participating students with mentors as well as financial assistance. Established in 2008, the program serves as a national model for supporting students who have been in foster care.
“Over the last six years, I’ve had the honor of advocating in the halls of power alongside youth who have aged out of the foster care system,” says Allison Gilbreath, policy and programs director at Voices for Virginia’s Children, in a release. “In every discussion, youth overwhelmingly say the Great Expectations program is the best thing that has helped them since aging out.”
More than 1,253 degrees, diplomas or certificates have been awarded to nearly a thousand students since the program’s inception. For more details or information on making a donation, visit vfcce.org/ways-to-give. —Staff reports
Holding Steady
Illustration via Getty Images
Many Virginia colleges put tuition hikes on pause
More than a dozen Virginia state colleges have abandoned plans for tuition increases and frozen tuition for in-state students for the 2022-23 academic year after a request from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The schools include Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Mary Washington, Virginia Military Institute, the College of William & Mary, Longwood University, and others.
However, in December 2021, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors approved a tuition increase for the next two years, voting for a 4.7% rise in base undergraduate tuition and fees for the 2022-23 academic year, bringing tuition for first-year students to $14,878. Tuition will rise an additional 3.7% for the 2023-24 academic year.
According to the Virginia State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the average total cost of attending a four-year Virginia institution for in-state students in 2020-21 was $25,112. —Staff reports
