Statement from Mary Baldwin University
The university recognizes that recent months have been challenging for members of our campus and surrounding community. Leadership transitions, academic decisions, and broader pressures facing higher education have created uncertainty, concern, and strong feelings among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners.
Earlier this week, the Mary Baldwin University Board of Trustees affirmed what it is calling The Legacy Commitment — a recommitment to the university’s undergraduate residential experience on its historic Staunton campus. This commitment reflects the Board’s responsibility to steward the institution thoughtfully, preserve what makes Mary Baldwin distinctive, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Mary Baldwin is more than a collection of programs or buildings. It is a relationship-rich academic community rooted in place — where close faculty mentorship, intellectual exploration, and meaningful engagement with the City of Staunton shape how students learn and grow. The historic campus between Frederick and Academy streets remains central to that identity.
Stewardship of the Campus
The Legacy Commitment includes a renewed focus on stewardship of the physical campus. The Board has directed the university to align its physical footprint with how students live, learn, and gather today, including exploring the sale or repurposing of university-owned properties that are no longer central to the residential undergraduate experience. This approach allows the university to concentrate care and investment in a more cohesive residential core, preserve historic buildings, and strengthen spaces that most directly support academic and student life.
Academic Direction and Student Outcomes
As part of The Legacy Commitment, the Board reaffirmed its belief in academic breadth, intellectual exploration, and faculty stewardship. Following additional review, four academic minors that were discontinued in October have been reinstated, along with four faculty lines.
The Board also reaffirmed continued investment in the Mary Baldwin Signature, an integrated undergraduate model developed over the past two and a half years that connects academic pathways, interdisciplinary skill development, cohort-based learning, centralized student support, and preparation for life after graduation. This work reflects the university’s commitment to ensuring that students graduate with both deep knowledge and viable pathways beyond Mary Baldwin.
Leadership and Continuity
The Board also wishes to share an update regarding President Todd Telemeco.
When the Board appointed President Telemeco, it did so with a clear understanding of the moment Mary Baldwin was facing — and with confidence that his experience, judgment, and leadership were exactly what the university needed. In the months since his arrival, the Board’s confidence has been reinforced.
President Telemeco has led a rigorous and candid assessment of the university’s financial position and long-term sustainability. His work provided the Board with the clarity and analysis necessary to understand the depth of the challenges before us and, critically, to identify a path forward that preserves the institution for the benefit of current and future students. The direction the Board has now affirmed — prioritizing the Staunton campus, strengthening the undergraduate residential experience, and reinvesting in the academic core — is grounded in that work.
He has also played a central and stabilizing role at the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences during a period of significant complexity, helping position the school for long-term viability while honoring its mission and legacy.
For family and personal reasons, President Telemeco has shared with the Board that he needs to step back from the presidency. The Board has accepted his resignation with deep appreciation for his leadership and for the transformative work he has undertaken in a short period of time. We are grateful that he has agreed to remain through June to continue leading the university, ensure continuity through the end of the academic year, and support the transition ahead.
Looking Ahead
The Legacy Commitment is a statement of what the Board believes is worth protecting and strengthening: a residential undergraduate education rooted in place, purpose, and relationships, supported by academic innovation and responsible stewardship.
Mary Baldwin University remains focused on supporting its students, faculty, and staff, and on strengthening the undergraduate residential experience that has been central to its mission for nearly two centuries.