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Claude Lupton and Lee Richardson reinstall a Mary Washington College sign Wednesday, shortly after it was taken down. |
Dori Eglevsky, former rector of the Mary Washington College board of visitors, says she was surprised by University of Mary Washington President William Anderson's decision to remove the college name from use. Eglevsky's statement came amid news that the current board will revisit Anderson's decision in September.
During the run-up to the university name launch, college officials--including Eglevsky in a Free Lance-Star opinion column--had said the Fredericksburg campus would retain its Mary Washington College moniker.
"I think people are just absolutely shocked with what seems to be such an about-face, and I have to say that it surprised me. I would've never represented something that I didn't believe was what we intended," Eglevsky said.
Her term ended June 30, a day before the school's state-recognized university name took effect.
Eglevsky said she didn't learn about the new name for the Fredericksburg campus until after the July 1 press conference. That's when Anderson announced new campus names for the undergraduate and graduate colleges: College of Arts and Sciences for the Fredericksburg campus and College of Graduate and Professional Studies for the graduate school on U.S. 17 in Stafford County.
A college press release announced the new campus names later the same day.
Campus names should go to the board for approval, Eglevsky said, unless it opts out of the decision.
"If the board sees it as a policy decision, and the board feels like they need to be involved in that determination, ultimately the board is the highest authority and I would assume that this issue will go to the board of visitors, and I would certainly encourage that so they can appreciate and weigh the merits of any suggestion of change," she said.
The board's current vice rector, Mona Albertine, agrees.
Campus names are a policy matter, Albertine said, and therefore fall under the board's purview.
"It will definitely be on the table" at the next meeting, which is scheduled for September, Albertine said.
The issue is also the subject of an online petition, which asks the General Assembly and Gov. Mark Warner to change the undergraduate-campus name back to Mary Washington College. By yesterday afternoon, 162 names had been added.
The division of power between university presidents and boards can be a gray area, said Robert M. O'Neil, who was president of the University of Virginia from 1985 to 1990. O'Neil currently teaches law at the university.
State law broadly outlines a board's duties, but doesn't specify what's considered policy and what's considered an administrative decision.
For instance, state law regarding Mary Washington's board states: "The board shall make all needful rules and regulations concerning the college and generally direct the affairs of the college."
O'Neil said that a long-term president is typically given greater authority to make decisions than a more recent hire.
"Over the years, what may well have happened, is the Mary Washington board simply delegated to [President Anderson] a range of responsibilities that might not have been similarly delegated to those who had been in office a shorter time," O'Neil said.
Also, university presidents may make controversial decisions unilaterally to spare board members from controversy.
"A president might feel that something has to be done, and doesn't want to put the board in the position of having to take the heat, or knowing it might be quite contentious with the board. Under those circumstances, a president might simply take it on himself, even knowing the board may not have been willing to take that step," O'Neil said.
A new university logo was also unveiled on July 1.
Created by marketing firm Barton, Matheson, Willse & Worthington, the logo was approved by the board of visitors.
BMW&W is working on a final report that will address the marketing of the university.
"Nobody has gotten any written document from BMW&W. They're still working on their formal reports, but everything they've done so far has been verbal," said Teresa Mannix, spokeswoman for the University of Mary Washington.
Finalizing a school logo by July was important so admission materials could be printed using the new design, said vice rector Albertine.
The school intends to spend $100,000 in private money to change MWC-related materials to reflect the university name.
Items to be changed include banners, bookstore products, stationery, maps, parking decals, athletic team uniforms, and police uniforms.
The bronze plaques displaying the name Mary Washington College at entrance gates will remain, said Richard Hurley, executive vice president of UMW.
"The thinking is that stuff would be left in place," Hurley said.
The plaques were briefly taken down Wednesday after a miscommunication between Hurley's office and the facilities office.
Hurley and campus police had discussed the possibility of removing the plaques, fearing they were vulnerable in the wake of the name change.
The facilities office took the initiative to remove them without being asked, Hurley said.
When he learned they had been taken down, he asked that they be reinstalled.
To reach KELLY HANNON: 540/374-5436 khannon@freelancestar.com
