Mary Baldwin receives $1M gift to endow building

University celebrates anniversaries of gifted, cadet corps programs

Published April 7, 2021 by Kate Andrews

Mary Baldwin University has received a $1 million gift from the Robert Haywood Morrison Foundation to endow the building that houses the university’s Program for the Exceptionally Gifted for girls age 13 and older seeking college degrees, MBU announced Wednesday.

The building will be named in honor of President Emerita Cynthia Haldenby Tyson at a ceremony Thursday, as the Staunton women’s university celebrates PEG’s 35th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL), the only all-women corps of cadets in the United States. Tyson was instrumental in supporting both programs during her tenure as president from 1985 to 2003.

Tyson serves as president of the Morrison Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that supports higher education, arts and culture, and the natural environment.