DR. WILLIAM B. Crawley Jr. considers
He's been at the school for 39 years,
So it's fitting that Crawley, UMW's institutional historian and distinguished history professor, wrote an 834-page book titled "University of Mary Washington:
His wife, Theresa, is a Mary Washington College alumna who has been president of UMW's alumni association.
"It's sort of been our life," said Crawley, whose office wall is covered with pictures
Crawley doesn't have anything bad to say about UMW, but his book touches on sensitive subjects, including disagreements among administrators and faculty and a controversial column in UMW's student-run newspaper, The Bullet, called "Sexclamations."
"The man on the street is never going to care about reading this," Crawley acknowledged.
But UMW employees, alumni and students told him they've found it interesting, he said.
Long-term project
Crawley began working on the book in 1988, when he interviewed Lewis Walker, who was MWC's first rector after the
He said he really picked up the pace during a sabbatical in 2005.
UMW Rector Nanalou Sauder recently e-mailed Crawley, telling him she started with the book's account of William Frawley, who was fired as president after being charged with drunken driving twice in two days.
"I think you have been very fair and accurate in your assessments of events that I know about," she wrote. "That tells me that those qualities pertain to the coverage of those events I don't know about."
It wasn't easy writing about Frawley, Crawley said, but he needed to tell the story.
"It was very tough to deal with because, obviously, it was a very sad time," he said. "But I felt like it was significant, certainly
He said he read every Bullet from about 1968 to the present to get a sense of what happened on a weekly basis.
"That sort of formed the backbone of it," he said.
Dr. Edward Alvey Jr., a former dean of MWC, wrote a history of the college from
However, he said he added information beginning with the Vietnam War, when
"I felt that needed more extensive treatment," he said. "That's where I really start my own narrative."
Marine wives
Mary Washington College students often married men from Quantico Marine Corps Base, according to the book. In fact, Crawley has heard that Mary Washington had more war widows at the time than any college in the country.
He said he implies in the book that the widows took part in antiwar protests. In hindsight, he thinks that might be misleading.
"They viewed it as a patriotic duty to support the war," he said. "They were probably more supportive than the rank
Crawley said he was surprised to find that The Bullet didn't include much coverage
"I figured The Bullet would be filled with comments," he said, noting the campus was more insular at the time.
Years later, the newspaper devoted an entire issue to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he said.
Unlike other college histories, his includes the campus's reaction to broader issues. Sometimes, he said, they treat colleges as if they're in a bubble.
Humorous stories
The book includes plenty of anecdotes, some of which Crawley said could be eliminated without anyone knowing.
"The things that could've been taken out are the things that, I think, gave some life to the book," he said.
For instance, Crawley writes about a debate over the distribution of condoms on campus. In 1998, the school installed dorm-room vending machines with 50-cent condoms.
He includes a humorous editorial from a professor who suggested that condoms be put in candy.
"Instead of being mature and saying, 'I would really love to have sex with you,' you could just casually note, 'Hey, a bag of those Famous Amos cookies would really hit the spot right now,'" wrote professor Steve Hampton.
And he writes about the "Wo-Man Contest" established in the 1970s, in which men participated in a beauty pageant. They wore evening gowns and swimsuits.
Among the many serious on-campus events in the book is a debate between a gay professor and one who argued that homosexuality is sinful. Crawley said he considers both friends and hopes they were OK with his reporting.
"I don't have any axes to grind," Crawley said. "I don't have too much trouble, generally, with objectivity. I think I'm often right but always in doubt."
Crawley did find it hard
"I think writing about that was one of the most emotional things," said Crawley, who worked as Anderson's executive assistant for four or five years in the 1980s.
Crawley experienced many of those emotions alone. On some weekends, he'd spread his material in a seminar room at Monroe Hall and work for hours.
"Quite a few days, I appeared to be the only person on campus," he said.
His love for UMW is apparent every semester, when he invites freshmen interested in history to his home on Sunken Road. He also hosts a champagne and dessert reception prior to the annual Graduation Ball.
Crawley, a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, who holds master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Virginia, says he loves UMW's emphasis on a liberal-arts education and its close-knit environment.
That passion comes out
"I never for a moment wanted to go anywhere else or be anywhere else," Crawley said.
Jeff Branscome is a staff writer with The Free Lance-Star. Contact him
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com.