Donations
We are celebrating Giving Day 2023 – the latest in a series of phenomenal Giving Day events, where we raise funds for the Geography Alumni Scholarship. Thanks to your generosity, the scholarship will cover more than one semester of in-state tuition! Thank you!
We are incredibly grateful to alumni and friends of the Department of Geography, who donate time, expertise, networking connections, job opportunities, internship announcements as well as money to our funds! Thank you so much for EVERY donation.
We have two endowed funds, the Geography Alumni Scholarship, and the Rountree Endowment for Geography. We also have a general Geography account (if you make a gift to Geography but don’t specify a fund, that’s where it goes!).
The Geography Alumni Scholarship goes to a rising junior or senior Geography major in recognition of their achievement and contributions to the department. It was created in honor of the four founding members of our department, Drs. Emory, Gouger, Palmieri, and Bowen. Thanks to a major push and generous alumni, the scholarship now covers one full semester of tuition! The list of awardees is on this page.
The Rountree Endowment for Geography is used throughout the year for awards up to $1000 to support student research (perhaps to buy equipment or data or access to a field site), travel (to a conference, a field location, a study abroad opportunity), or registration at a conference. Undergraduates and Graduates may be supported. We consider any reasonable request! This award is named for Jeff and Lisa Rountree, who are generous supporters of the department. Read about supported projects here.
We use our general fund to help pay for the Awards Banquet and for supplies that for some reason cannot be covered by the regular budget.
Geography regularly raises more funds at events like Giving Day than departments with many more majors. We attribute that to our culture, instilled by the “four founders”, our close working relationships with students, and our ongoing close relationships with alumni. We want to interact with alumni, parents and friends – be it online through social media, at reunion events, in career panels or guest lectures. Recent alumni regularly speak to graduate-level courses about specific professional skills. Our new “career” classes had 18 individual speakers this semester (spring 2022), giving resume, cover letter, interview, and general job advice. Most of the postings on the Bulletin Board come from alumni! Please let us know if you have something you’d like to contribute!
Social Media links:
- Facebook in a private Mary Washington Geography Alumni group – please ask to join!
- Linked In: Mary Washington Geography Group and as individuals, search by name!