Longtime partners, the University of Mary Washington and the City of Fredericksburg, have teamed up once again. This time, in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus in the local community.

When in-person classes resumed at UMW on Sept. 14, after a three-week delay prompted by the pandemic, the University enforced a strict “MMDC” – monitor, mask, distance and clean – policy, with reminders and precautionary measures set up across campus. With large numbers of college students headed back to the Fredericksburg area, a COVID-19 Joint Task Force, comprised of city officials and university administrators, began meeting weekly in August, even before their return, to ensure guideline compliance both on and off campus.

“The open dialogue of this task force between the City and UMW is very helpful for tracking the efforts and effects of COVID-19 both on campus and elsewhere in the City,” said Fredericksburg Fire Chief Michael Jones. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.