The Mary Baldwin Signature Takes Shape
This fall, first-year students in residential undergraduate programs will join the university through the inaugural Mary Baldwin Signature: a curated undergraduate living and learning program that blends academics, human connection, and skill-building experiences.
“We’ve designed the entire undergraduate experience — from the classes students take to our career services — to balance a classical education with professional preparation,” said Provost Paul Menzer. “So while students pursue their academic interests, we’re working to accelerate them to the next step: be it industry, service, or graduate school.”
MB Signature packages and elevates long-standing strengths
The MB Signature takes the high-quality education, personal connections, and strong outcomes Mary Baldwin is known for, and ensures that they are accessible and available to all students, from day one all the way to graduation, across the following four pillars:
- Career-Focused Academics
- Experiences that Build Skills
- Network of Support
- Diverse and Engaged Community
It’s Mary Baldwin’s way of making sure every student gets the full value of college — in the classroom, and through real-world experience, mentorship, and community, so students build skills, make connections, and stay focused on where they’re headed after graduation. The overall goal is to make sure students’ time and investment at MBU pay off faster, and more fully, than they expected.
By scaling what’s best about a Mary Baldwin education and embedding it across every year of the student journey, the university helps ensure every student and their family receive the full value of the MBU experience.
Signature elements
The MB Signature brings together majors and minors into academic Neighborhoods: four living-learning communities where students grow and explore together in the areas of
- Business and Technology
- Health and Science
- Education and Society
- Creativity and Design
Students in a Neighborhood live together during their first year, study and take classes together, enjoy special experiences and field trips, all while connecting with faculty mentors and advisors.
Signature is the university’s commitment to graduating students who are not only well-educated but workplace-ready. Skill-building from the shared common curriculum and outside-the-classroom experiences like global engagement, service learning, and internships will result in each student developing a skills portfolio that they can use to communicate their workforce readiness to future employers.
MB Signature is personal and powerful. A tightly-knit university like Mary Baldwin prides itself on individualized mentorship, close faculty support, early career planning, and community-building. Signature pulls together these benefits into a streamlined, accessible offering — and ensures every student’s investment in college translates into confidence, competence, and career mobility.
Health & Science Neighborhood Pilots Programming
Last fall, students in the sciences were invited to participate in a pilot program for the Health and Science Neighborhood, with Dr. Paul Deeble serving as director to bring the Neighborhood concept to life.
Energized by curiosity, collaboration, and community, students participated in workshops with EMTs, group dinners with professors, visits from MBU alumni, and more experiences to enrich their coursework.
Students who participated in the pilot say it not only brought their learning to life — it also made them feel truly seen and supported.
“I think the connection to teachers has been one of the most valuable things I’ve gotten from the Health and Science Neighborhood,” explained Abigale Jones ‘28, a health sciences major interested in becoming a physician assistant (PA). “It made me feel more comfortable signing up for hard classes in the fall, and I especially enjoyed connecting with some professors from Murphy Deming.”
Another student, exercise science major Chloe Fender ‘28, shared how the Neighborhood helped them build meaningful connections. “When you get to sit down with your professors over dinner and talk about life and your goals, it changes the relationship. They’re not just grading your papers or sending you assignments. I felt like I was getting to know them, and also bond with other students who are just as motivated as you are.”
That combination of mentorship and community helped clarify long-term goals for both students — including the decision to stay at MBU for graduate school.
Being in the Health and Science Neighborhood made me feel more confident about that next step, because I’ve already started building relationships with people who know what it takes to succeed there.
Chloe FenderClass of ’28
Left: Chloe Fender (left) and Abigale Jones (right) in downtown Staunton
“I want to apply to the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program at Murphy Deming,” Fender said. “It always fit in with my interest in early childhood education and health sciences, but being in the Health and Science Neighborhood made me feel more confident about that next step, because I’ve already started building relationships with people who know what it takes to succeed there.”
“And I’m hoping to go straight into the PA program at Murphy Deming,” followed Jones. “This experience has helped me realize how achievable my goals actually are. Especially after spending some time with current Murphy Deming students.”
And best of all? They’ll be doing it together.
The Neighborhoods were designed with camaraderie and peer support in mind, and that dynamic is already having an impact. Fender and Jones initially met through a mutual interest in dance — they’re both dance minors who consider it an important part of their academic journey — and after getting to know each other better, they realized just how similar their goals were.
“Sometime in the fall I remember Abigale pushing me to join the Health and Science Neighborhood,” Fender recalled. “I had seen the opportunity when I was visiting MBU over the summer, but I wasn’t sure it was right for me. But I’m so glad now that Abigale was there to make sure I didn’t miss it!”
As the MB Signature prepares to officially launch, the early success of the Health and Science Neighborhood pilot underscores the power of personal connection, real-world exposure, and a shared sense of purpose in transforming the undergraduate experience.
(Some of) The Pilot Year in Photos
