Monroe Hall on the campus at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg VA.
The University of Mary Washington, a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia, has received the largest gift in its 115-year history - a $30 million estate gift from alum Irene Piscopo Rodgers. In announcing the gift last week, the university indicated that the donation would be used to fund more scholarships and support undergraduate research.
The Rodgers gift will create four new Alvey scholarships, which provide full tuition, fees and room and board for out-of-state undergraduates for up to four years. Rodgers had previously created eight Alvey scholarships.
The gift will also help further develop the university’s undergraduate research program. Students in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, Earth and environmental sciences, computer science and math will have more opportunities to explore their research interests throughout the academic year and at the university’s Summer Science Institute, working under the direction of faculty mentors.
“Students who benefited from Irene’s generosity welcomed her into their lives, so she was able to observe firsthand the transformative power of her gifts,” said UMW President Troy Paino in the university’s news release. “This unprecedented donation guarantees that exceptional students will continue to have access to a UMW education that delivers the kind of high-impact learning experiences that Irene valued so much.”
Rodgers, who died in 2022, earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the university in 1959 when it was called Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia. She went on to earn a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan. Over her career, she worked at the American Cyanamid Co. and Philips Electronic Instruments where she became one of the few women working in the field of electron microscopy at the time.
With this most recent gift, Rodgers’s donations to the University of Mary Washington total nearly $39 million. Included in her previous gifts was a transmission electron microscope that she gave to the university in 2004 and then trained students and faculty how to use it.
To date, 85 students have earned awards through Rodgers’ generosity, including 15 who’ve been awarded Alvey scholarships and 28 who’ve won research fellowships funded by Rodgers. Seven students received other scholarships, and 35 students received grants to make presentations at professional conferences.
“The university is so grateful to have been the beneficiary of Irene’s generosity during her lifetime and now as a lasting part of her legacy. This gift was made possible through relationships built over decades by numerous members of the Mary Washington community,” added UMW Vice President for Advancement Katie Turcotte in the university’s announcement of the gift. “Everyone who knew Irene knows how much she loved Mary Washington and helping our students pursue opportunities to conduct research.”
In 2014, the University of Mary Washington awarded Rodgers with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for her service and contributions to the institution.
