MBU In The News: April 2023

A selection of news stories and media mentions featuring Mary Baldwin University alumni, faculty, staff, and students from the month of April.

Q&A with MBU’s 10th President Dr. Jeffrey Stein

Staunton News Leader reporter, Patrick Hite, sat down with Mary Baldwin’s 10th president, Dr. Jeffrey Stein, to talk about his career in higher education and future plans for MBU.

“At every stage of the interview process, getting to know the people of Mary Baldwin was really the reason that I was drawn to the institution,” Stein told Hite.

Obviously, Im drawn to Mary Baldwins history, to its mission of always empowering students social mobility, and always innovating, he continued. But it was the people I met and honestly, the students who really convinced me. Because when I met students on campus, I was blown away. And I think both my wife Chrissy and I realized that this is the place where we want to be.

Read more here.

Dean of MBU’s Gold College of Arts and Sciences releases new Shakespeare biography

Internationally revered scholar Dr. Paul Menzer, dean of MBU’s Gold College of Arts and Sciences, has released a new biography on William Shakespeare. 

William Shakespeare: A Brief Life seeks to separate man from myth, transporting readers into the mysterious life of one of — if not the — most revered authors in history.   

Read more here.

MBU recognized for top-tier gifted program

Virginia Living Magazine called Mary Baldwin home to “one of the nation’s most unique programs for gifted young girls” in its annual State of Education issue.  

The article cited National Association for Gifted Children specialist Jeff Daneilian, who praised MBU’s Program for the Exceptionally Gifted as exemplary.

Read more here.

A look at MBU’s new Trailblazer Awards and cutting-edge DEI program

WHSV-TV caught up with Mary Baldwin Chief Diversity Officer Andrea Cornett-Scott to talk about the university’s new Trailblazer Excellence in Diversity Awards and the DEI program that birthed them. 

“This is the culmination of the Office of Inclusive Excellence’s many programs and initiatives throughout the university, and is presented by the OIE in collaboration with Minority Clubs United,” Cornett-Scott told the interviewer. “These awards recognize individuals and groups who actively advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in transformative and sustainable ways at Mary Baldwin.”

Watch it here.

Interview with award-winning visual arts program alumna 

Virginia Living Magazine spoke with Suzanna Fields ’97 about her latest exhibition, Constant Anomalies, which is currently on display at Charlottesville’s Quirk Gallery.  

Fields is described as an artist playing with organic and artificial landscapes. Taking inspiration from Rockfish Gap and the Blue Ridge in general, she makes beautifully strange art that is almost hallucinogenic. It’s as if a colorful mildew and the frost-kissed surface of a river collided.

Read more here.

Alumna promoted to director of alumni relations at Virginia Tech

Tara Nepper 10 was recently promoted to director of alumni relations for Virginia Techs College of Natural Resources and Environment. She previously served as the assistant director of alumni relations at the universitys College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and studied marketing communications at Mary Baldwin.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to be a part of a college that is having such a worldwide impact,” said Nepper. “Our alums are doing work on issues that affect everyone, and they’re making a big impact on the world.”

Read more here.

Have news or achievements you’d like to share with the Mary Baldwin University Community? Reach outwe’d love to hear from you!