Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, will be known as Mary Baldwin University as of August 31, 2016. The college enrolls about 1,450 women in the undergraduate women’s college and approximately 270 graduate students.
Under the reorganization plan the undergraduate Residential College for Women will be called the Mary Baldwin College for Women.
Mary Baldwin College was founded in 1842 as the Augusta Female Seminary. It was renamed to honor Mary Julia Baldwin in 1895. Baldwin became head of the seminary in 1863 and was instrumental in its growth and success.
Current president of Mary Baldwin College Pamela Fox stated that Mary Baldwin “was a courageous, enterprising, and inspiring leader. She left a lasting legacy through her insistence on high academic standards, her focus on helping each student succeed, her talent for making lasting personal connections, and her entrepreneurial spirit. We retain her name with pride.”
Dr. Fox has been president and a professor of music at Mary Baldwin College since 2003. Previously, she was a professor and administration at Miami University of Oxford, Ohio. President Fox holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Cincinnati.