Board of Visitors minutes :: June 11, 1948 :: University of Virginia Library

The Act of February 22, 1944 (Acts 1944, Chapter 54, page 55) having become effective on
June 24, 1944, provides that Mary Washington College shall be converted into a liberal arts college
for women, the title of which shall be Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, with
the same standards of admission and graduation as obtain for male students in the College of Arts
and Sciences of the University located at Charlottesville . . . and that this conversion shall be
effected during a period not to exceed four years.

The Committee herewith presents a brief report as to the status of the conversion of Mary
Washington into a liberal arts college according to the Act, and according to the plan approved by
the Rector and Board of Visitors on December 9, 1945.

CURRICULUM CHANGES:

All of the specialized programs or curricula have been discontined except those courses
necessary to permit students to complete major programs under the old plan. In accordance
with the Act, no new students were accepted for the session 1944-45 for programs in technical
education. However, since other specialized curricula were not eliminated by Board
action until after the beginning of the 1944-45 session, these latter programs will not be
completed until next year.

Two elective courses in education have been retained in the curriculum to enable graduates
to qualify for the Collegiate Professional Certificate with the stipulation that credit for
courses of this nature may not exceed 10% of credits required for the degree. (By action
of the Board, September, 1947.)

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION:

The college is now organized on a semester basis and the departmental type of organization
has been completed. A number of new courses and instructors have been added to replace
those eliminated through the conversion of Mary Washington into a liberal arts college.

New majors in Economics and Business Administration, Philosophy, Political Science,
Sociology, and in Home Economics have been inaugurated during this four year period. The
latter major leads to a degree of Bachelor of Science in Home Economics, but its courses
do not have a vocational aim. For non-majors, only twelve hours of work in this field
may be counted toward a liberal arts degree. It is further understood that a maximum of
twelve hours credit, only, in these, and in practical education courses may be counted as
electives for the B.A. or B.S. degrees. A program of Honors Work was introduced for the
1947-48 session and will be extended.

DEGREES:

The degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science (by action of the Board, March 26, 1946)
and Bachelor of Science in Home Economics (by action of the Board, November 22, 1947) are
offered. Degree requirements have been strengthened as stipulated in the plan of conversion
and basic requirements are equal for the degrees.

FACULTY:

The faculty is having regular monthly meetings and its Committee on Academic Standards and
Legislation has carried on a number of studies, the results of which were reported back to
the faculty with recommendations for action.

It is significant that of the eighty-seven faculty members there remain only six who were
members of the State Teachers' College faculty of 1928. These six are considered among the
most valuable and loyal of the entire teaching staff and are still rendering invaluable service
to the College. Of the faculty members listed in the current catalogue, 74% have been
at Mary Washington for ten years or less.

During the four year period faculty salaries were increased three times. The first increase
was made for the session 1945-46 in accordance with the so-called "Tuck Formula," paid, however,
from college funds. The other two general increases were by action of the Board. There
have, of course, been individual merit increases.

The Committee is of the opinion that as to training and experience this whole group represents
a faculty of college calibre in the true sense. The President and Dean of the College
commend the faculty also for competence in teaching and for loyalty.

LIBRARY:

The Committee on the Consolidation, aware of the importance to an educational institution
of an adequately equipped and staffed library, recommended an annual library appropriation
for Mary Washington of at least $50,000 to be used for increases in library personnel, for
the purchase of books and magazines, for binding, equipment and etcetera, under the direction
of the librarian. As of May 1st, the college treasurer reports library expenditures of
$43,389 for the year 1947-48. Two new professional staff members have recently been added -
a full time reference librarian and one full time person to take charge of documents. It
is most gratifying to see that the number of volumes in the library has been increased from
30,776 in 1944 to 65,000 in 1948, representing, according to the librarian, not only quantitative,
but also qualitative progress.

PLANT:

While it has been impossible to carry out the building program as planned on account of
scarcity of materials and excessive costs, the college plant has been increased substantially
by the purchase of several properties; i.e., "Brompton" (which has been restored),
"Framar" (the Reichel home), "Trench Hill," the Jenkins property, and the Benoit property,
a strip of land joining the new highway on the north.