Bearing the Torch: Elevating Through Innovation and Access
Inaugural Address, October 18, 2024
Dr. Jeff Stein, 10th President of Mary Baldwin
Welcome! Thank you for this incredible celebration of Mary Baldwin past, present, and future. I offer a warm Mary Baldwin welcome and my sincere thanks to each of you for generously sharing your time with us this morning.
We so appreciate the support of delegates, local and Commonwealth officials, Staunton City Council, Mayor Claffey, the NAACP, Council of Independent Colleges of Virginia President Chris Peace, VFIC, Heifetz International, American Shakespeare Center, members of the Staunton Rotary and Temple House of Israel, and so many more. To the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Board of Trustees 鈥 our new 香蜜影视 family 鈥 thank you for the honor and privilege of serving this community. A special thank you to all those who have worked tirelessly to make inauguration and homecoming events possible.
Friends and family, as Chrissy shared, our hearts are bursting with gratitude. To my parents watching online in Colorado, you made this possible. Lena and Benny 鈥 you are the lights of our lives and will always be our greatest loves. And, of course, thank you to my partner of more than three decades, my companion, my closest friend, and my greatest teacher, Chrissy.
Squirrel Nation is thrilled you are all here! Welcome to our home on the hill!
Elevation and Education
Over nearly two centuries, this institution has been a beacon of light on the hill, rising and showing courage to raise people up, to open the doors of learning and provide access to education that transforms lives and entire families. We began here … at the bottom of this hill, with the notion, in 1842, in collaboration with Presbyterian ministers and citizens, of founding Augusta Female Seminary to 鈥減rovide [women] with subjects similar and equal to those provided their brothers鈥 (Menk, 1995, p. 5).
While imperfect, the intentions were bold. Looking back, it should be no surprise that it was Mary Julia Baldwin who became our namesake. An orphan and member of the first class of the seminary, who returned to lead the institution for decades, who fought tenaciously to grow and keep the school open, who started the drive for bringing potential to life. A former student described Mary Julia鈥檚 keen ability 鈥渢o see and believe the best of all of us [which] educated us to a higher standard of right and honor … to be believed better than we are鈥 (Menk, 1995, p. 13).
The torch in the stained glass window of Grafton Library behind us and re-created by Phoebe West in your program represents that light of Mary Baldwin and how we are torch bearers with the power of elevation and education. This light of Mary Baldwin 鈥 to believe and educate to a higher standard 鈥 is alive and well in the faculty and staff here today who understand, as Plutarch wrote, 鈥淭he mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled鈥 (n.d.).
Earlier this month, a teary eyed mom, approached me at convocation offering gratitude for the fire ignited in her daughter, saying, 鈥淔our years ago, she was shy and quiet, unsure of her abilities. But relationships with faculty and staff 鈥 their challenging and supporting 鈥 propelled her to an even stronger version of herself,鈥 which neither mother nor daughter had imagined possible.
I鈥檝e heard this mantra again and again from thousands of alumni across the country, who did not think they were smart enough, or good at reading or math, or belonged in college, and who today chair the Atlanta Fed Board, who train on nuclear subs, who teach in classrooms and serve in hospitals across the country, who run the boys and girls clubs, who created the first over the counter post-partum depression medication, who lead fortune 500 companies.
For example, Stori Ayers of the Class of 2009 finished high school thinking she couldn鈥檛 afford college, until Mary Baldwin made it possible. Her friends here were the first to see that Stori could excel on stage. After being dragged to the script library in Deming, Stori performed poorly at best for her first audition, but in classic Baldwin fashion, she returned to ask Faculty Emerita Terry Southerington, 鈥淐an I do that again? I know I can do it better.鈥 And from there, Stori took off.
Perhaps Stori Ayers, who made her debut on Broadway last spring and now studies at the #1 film school in the country, explained it best when she made this gesture sharing, 鈥淚 went to Mary Baldwin; I have gained leadership and confidence. I could do anything … I could be anything … I could know anything … Mary Baldwin gave me the confidence to go for it.鈥
So … join me now by placing your hand in front of you, palm facing down. Come on, let鈥檚 all give it a try. Ready? Ok, we鈥檙e going to rotate our palms upward. Everyone got it? Now let鈥檚 start again. Place your hand in front of you, palm facing down. Now, as you rotate your palm upward towards your heart and mind, straighten your spine and resolve, raise your eyes and your expectations. This is the elevation of hearts and minds Baldwin builds, this is how we bring the pieces together.
Bringing the Light Back Together: Innovation and Inclusivity
Mystical scholar Isaac Luria spoke of these pieces. To explain our purpose … He envisioned sacred clay vessels that stored divine light. At the beginning of the world, those vessels shattered, scattering shards across the universe and into each of us imbuing us with celestial light. Thus, our job, throughout our lives, … is to repair the world by reconnecting. Piece by piece, person by person, we bring light back together in the world, recognizing how the fractured and divine co-exist in each of
us, our uniqueness enhanced when we come together, our connections illuminated where cracks once separated.
In this way, Baldwin 鈥 and the world 鈥 began imperfectly and separate, and our community is stronger and brighter because of our differences coming back together. As Leonard Cohen wrote in the lyrics of 鈥淎nthem,鈥 鈥淩ing the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything … That鈥檚 how the light gets in鈥 (Cohen, 1992). From this lens, we can see that Mary Baldwin is imperfect, that the vision of inclusion for the Augusta Female Seminary was imperfect. For even amid the shift to bring the light of learning to women … in 1842 … this town of grist mills, mines, and manufacturing, also included local farms that used the labor of enslaved African
Americans (Madden, 2020).
With hindsight, we can see the terrible irony and violent contradiction. It would be more than 100 years before the first African American student enrolled at Mary Baldwin College. We cannot spare ourselves this painful truth or the responsibility to reckon with it and work urgently in all we do to get better, to let more light in, the desire to always become more 鈥 more inclusive, more innovative 鈥搈ust remain at the heart of this place.
Consider a few examples from the past 50 years alone … President Ginny Lester in 1977 opened ADP, the Adult Degree Program, which invited adults to start or complete degrees 鈥 introduced credit for prior learning and led directly to our leading online programs, for students aged 17 to 70 in programs ranging from social work to education to business. President Cynthia Tyson welcomed gifted and talented students, and in 1998 created VWIL, the Virginia Women鈥檚 Institute for Leadership, the only female cadet corps in the country, which has graduated more than 500 women into all six branches of the military and leadership roles far and wide. President Tyson and President Pamela Fox welcomed first-generation students, and lower income students. President Fox opened Mary Baldwin to men, and 鈥 founded Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences, to meet regional healthcare needs 鈥 through PA, PT, OT, CRNA, DNP, RN to BSN, MSN, and MHA degrees, with 100 percent pass and placement rates.
Over and over, the people of Mary Baldwin have endeavored to be better, to be more equitable, to take on new challenges for the Commonwealth and nation, and to empower students who don鈥檛 yet believe in themselves, and who have been told they didn鈥檛 belong. And today, in great contrast to our origins 鈥 while knowing that we still have more work to do 鈥 we stand on one of the most diverse campuses in the nation,
known for openness to the LGBTQ+ community, and with an undergraduate population that is 40 percent first in their family to go to college, 50 percent students of color, and 60 percent Pell eligible students. These students know, as Christian Peele of the Class of 2005 has shared, 鈥淚 can confidently be whoever I want to be. I can do whatever I want to do … and all of that comes from Baldwin.鈥
Like many of you, I was drawn here by the students you see around you, by this powerful launchpad for students. I was drawn here because my own family鈥檚 trajectory was transformed by education and freedom. My grandparents were refugees, fleeing the Holocaust on one side of the family and the Russian Pogroms on the other, slipping out of Europe in search of freedom, democracy, and education. The miracle of this country 鈥 of education, of course 鈥 is that in the span of just two
generations my family went from refugees (my grandparents) to first-generation college students (my parents) to me standing before you as the 10th President of 香蜜影视. And this is the debt I owe, to pay forward the power of education, to transform the trajectories of entire families, to let more light in.
Always Meeting the Moment
The flame of opportunity has been burning here for one hundred and eighty three years, across Augusta Female Seminary, Mary Baldwin Seminary, Mary Baldwin College, 香蜜影视, plus the Staunton Military Academy, online, at Murphy Deming, in Staunton, across 21,643 alumni of poets, professors, healthcare professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, public servants, and more …
we are one Mary Baldwin.
Those of you who know this place, who call this place home, know that the story of Mary Baldwin has never been about what is, but rather … what … can … be.
We must continue to welcome all who want an education and ask hard questions that will quell the urge to become complacent, or stop innovating.
Now, there are those who would argue Mary Baldwin should remain what it was 100, 50, or 20 years ago. But the issue is not whether we should be a liberal arts college or focus on professional studies. The question is not whether we should be women or coed. The matter of consequence is not whether we should be online or in person, graduate, or undergraduate. No, it鈥檚 not about how we stay the same. That has never 鈥 that has never been the question here.
Mary Baldwin must continue to challenge the past, argue with assumptions, and reframe how we think about our beloved institution 鈥 not simply whether we are women or men, black or white or Hispanic/Latin茅, X or Y. The central question for Mary Baldwin must always be, how can we meet the moment, lighting the way with innovative pathways for all students. As Christy Howell, Class of 1993, shared with me, 鈥淭he gift I received from Mary Baldwin during my time as a student, is different from the gift that Mary Baldwin gives students today … But it鈥檚 still the gift of a Mary
Baldwin education and all that entails.鈥 From many backgrounds to one Mary Baldwin offering pathways for all. This is the lantern we fight to keep lit.
Elevate: The Next Summit
Some of you may be thinking … private higher education is struggling. Enrollments, endowments, and public confidence are down. Mary Baldwin has a small endowment, aging historic buildings, and overwhelming needs for investment, infrastructure development, and more. Facing these challenges requires us to draw upon the power of the entire Mary Baldwin community to move mountains.
How do I know we can move mountains? We鈥檝e been bucking the trends and beating the odds for 183 years. Nationally, we are turning away from the big box, Harvard and the elites, massive endowments and legacy admissions. Small and mighty is in!
Let鈥檚 just consider a few initiatives this campus, this community, has accomplished in just the past year.
- We鈥檝e redesigned the undergraduate experience, including a 10-course multi-disciplinary liberal arts common curriculum, enhanced by a skills portfolio of six durable skills.
- We鈥檝e designed a new academic portfolio consisting of four academic neighborhoods each with a residential house.
- We began a complete redesign of enrollment management and a completely new brand: Made For you!
- We are balancing the budget.
- We launched a new Center for Teaching and Learning.
- We partnered with school districts around the Commonwealth on a new licensure program to grow teacher ranks in the midst of a teacher shortage.
- We built our first efficient pathway program so undergraduates can finish their degree in three years and earn a PT or OT degree in two and a half years 鈥 cutting a year and a half from their tuition bill and time to launch.
- We were invited by Gardner Institute to join a five-year Gates, ECMC, Kresge, and Lumina funded partnership to raise retention and graduation rates.
- And we created an alumni advisory council, re-created alumni chapters, and doubled the alumni giving rate.
And this morning let鈥檚 officially add fundraising milestones. In just one year, we are up 36 percent in total number of donors and have raised $5.5 M to support initiatives in the next strategic plan, creating an auspicious runway for our next comprehensive campaign this spring to support academic innovation and growth, scholarships, and renovation of our campus home. Additionally, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation has awarded 香蜜影视 $1M to renovate Carpenter Hall, one of our main undergraduate academic buildings. Please view Kahler Slater鈥檚 project drawings
posted in Grafton Library, and let me know how you would like to help us raise the additional $1.5M in matching funds or to support our next campaign!
Because we鈥檙e just getting started and will need your help. You see, we can all strive to be a bit more like Eleanor Supple of the Class of 1942, our oldest living alumna, who has stood by this institution and donated every year since graduating 82 years ago. Like Eleanor, we must recognize, as Anais Nin wrote, that 鈥渢he risk to remain tight in a bud [is] more painful than the risk … to blossom.鈥
Therefore, today, we officially announce our shared vision. Shaped by the aspirations of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the local community, the Elevate 香蜜影视 strategic plan for 2030 aims to preserve and expand upon Mary Baldwin鈥檚 legacy. Today we release Elevate 香蜜影视 and set out on a course to go where we are needed, to elevate the diverse leaders of tomorrow through student-centered, career aligned pathways deeply rooted in the essential skills of a liberal arts education, to magnify our historic commitments to innovation and access.
In this plan:
- We will ADVANCE an aggressive agenda for student success, and launch a redesigned undergraduate experience.
- We will OPTIMIZE academic offerings aligned with workforce needs, expand online and healthcare programs, and modernize operations, facilities, technology, and infrastructure.
- We will CONNECT with community and industry partners; enhance alumni engagement and leadership; and foster an even more inclusive and diverse campus.
Most importantly, for the long term, Elevate positions Mary Baldwin:
- To be the destination for diverse talent,
- To dominate in healthcare and online education by being a premier regional partner for healthcare education and advancing adult and online students鈥 professional trajectories, and
- To accelerate degree pathways that launch students to lives of purpose and professional success.
Torches Require Torchbearers
Today, we are not merely staking our claim, we are calling on all alumni, students, faculty, staff, retirees, residents of Staunton and Augusta County, partners and employers to join us. We cannot do it without you. Let me say it plainly and directly. The work of elevation will be daunting and difficult and will take all of us, will require the entire Mary Baldwin community to bring the pieces together, to keep the flame lit, to serve as torchbearers.
Mary Baldwin can only navigate the very real headwinds facing private higher education and the financial challenges of small universities with strong partnerships across the Commonwealth; with talented, engaged, and dedicated alumni; with each of you here today and online. We can rise to the challenges of our time, if we engage, as Marge Piercy urges in her poem, 鈥淭o Be of Use鈥 by:
鈥渏ump[ing] into the work head first
without dallying in the shadows …
pull[ing] like water buffalo …
in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
[doing] what has to be done, again and again . . .
mov[ing] in a common rhythm鈥 (2017).
This is the work we were destined to do. And to get there, friends, will take all of us. It鈥檚 going to take a fight 鈥 something we are not afraid of and nothing new for this community. There is wood to be chopped and a fire to keep lit. We need you, and you must decide how you will help us to carry the torch. I promise, I will be calling on each and every one of you to do your part to keep the torch lit.
As our motto so urgently argues, 鈥淣on pro tempore sed aeternitate,鈥 not for time, but eternity, speaking to that ever striving forward … and how we come together not for the past 183 years but for the next … for the striving to climb the next summit, for … what … can … be.
We have much important work before us. There will always be those who count us out or think the hill is too steep. But we are Mary Baldwin! Together, we will boldly carry the luminous torch, opening the doors of learning to all who wish to enter. We will lean into innovation and access, and we will continue to rise.
ALL IN!
ALL IN FOR MARY BALDWIN!
Now let鈥檚 get to chopping!
References
Cohen, Leonard. (1992). Anthem: Vol. The Future [Audio recording]. Columbia Records.
Madden. (2020, October 28). African-American History in Staunton, VA. Visit Staunton.
Menk, Patricia. (1995). To live in time: The Sesquicentennial history of Mary Baldwin College 1842-1992. Mid Valley Press.
Plutarch. (n.d.). Moralia (F. Babbitt, Trans.; Vol. 1). Loeb Classical Library.
Piercy, Marge. To be of use. (2017, May 22). The Poetry Foundation.