College of William and Mary (Campus History)

It educated future U. The college has been called "the Alma Mater of a Nation" because of its close ties to America's founding fathers. A year-old George Washington received his surveyor's license through the college and would return as its first American chancellor. Society , founded in , the first student honor code and the first law school in America. The college became a state-supported school in and became coeducational in In , John D.

During the period of the American Revolution, freedom of religion was established in Virginia notably with the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. In the college became the first American university with the establishment of the graduate schools in law and medicine. The College of William and Mary is home to the nation's first collegiate secret society , the F. Society , popularly known as the Flat Hat Club , founded November 11, Other secret societies known to currently exist at the college include: In , alumni of the college formed the Society of the Alumni [19] which is now the sixth oldest alumni organization in the United States.

In , a great fire caused destruction to the College Building. The Alumni House is one of the few original antebellum structures remaining on campus; notable others include the Wren Building, the President's House, the Brafferton, and Prince George House. At the outset of the American Civil War — , enlistments in the Confederate States Army depleted the student body; and on May 10, , the faculty voted to close the college for the duration of the conflict.

The College Building was used as a Confederate barracks and later as a hospital, first by Confederate, and later Union forces. The Battle of Williamsburg was fought nearby during the Peninsula Campaign on May 5, , and the city was captured by the Union army the next day. The Brafferton building of the college was used for a time as quarters for the commanding officer of the Union garrison occupying the town.

On September 9, , drunken soldiers of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry set fire to the College Building, [20] purportedly in an attempt to prevent Confederate snipers from using it for cover. Much damage was done to the community during the Union occupation, which lasted until September Following restoration of the Union, Virginia was destitute from the War. The college's 16th president, Benjamin Stoddert Ewell , finally reopened the school in using his personal funds but the college closed in due to lack of funds. Tyler, along with 18th president J. Chandler , expanded the college into a modern institution.

In March , the General Assembly passed an act taking over the grounds of the colonial institution, and it has remained publicly supported ever since. Largely thanks to the vision of a William and Mary instructor, Reverend Dr. Goodwin , the College Building, the President's House and the Brafferton originally the Indian School were restored to their 18th century appearance between and with substantial financial support from John D. Together, they led the establishment and beginnings of Colonial Williamsburg.

This extension would eventually become the independent state-supported institution known as Old Dominion University. Significant campus construction continued under the college's nineteenth president, John Stewart Bryan. Roosevelt received an honorary degree from the college on October 20, The college has a history of supporting freedom of the press dating back at least to the s.

In , for example, the college administration sanctioned the student Marilyn Kaemmerle for an article she had written in The Flat Hat supporting the end of racist policies of segregation , anti-miscegenation laws and white supremacy. The college admitted Hulon Willis into a graduate program in because the program was unavailable at Virginia State. However, the college did not open all programs to African-American students until around In , Jay Winston Johns willed Highland , the acre 2. President James Monroe , to the college. The college restored this historic presidential home near Charlottesville and opened it to the public.

The basis for the s name is a history in which Hugh Jones stated the design was "first modelled by Sir Christopher Wren" and then was adapted "by the Gentlemen there" in Virginia; little is known about how it looked, since it burned within a few years of its completion. Today's Wren Building is based on the design of its replacement. The college's alumni association has suggested that Wren's connection to the building is a viable subject of investigation.

Two other buildings around the Wren Building complete a triangle known unofficially as "Ancient Campus": In addition to the "Ancient Campus", which dates to the 18th century, the college also consists of "Old Campus" and "New Campus. Located directly to the west of the Wren Building, the majority of "Old Campus" was constructed during the s and s and is dominated by the Sunken Gardens and the college's football stadium, Zable Stadium.

Adjoining "Old Campus" to the north and west is "New Campus. Beginning with the college's tercentenary in , the college has embarked on a building and renovation program that favors the traditional architectural style of "Old Campus", while incorporating energy-efficient technologies. Several buildings constructed since the s have been LEED certified. Additionally, as the buildings of "New Campus" are renovated after decades of use, several have been remodeled to incorporate more traditional architectural elements in an effort to unify the appearance of the entire college campus.

It also includes the offices and classrooms of the Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry Departments, the majority of freshman dormitories, the fraternity complex, and the majority of the college's athletic fields. The newest addition to "New Campus" is Alan B. Miller Hall , the headquarters of the college's Mason School of Business.

The recent wave of construction at William and Mary has resulted in a new building for the School of Education, located not far from William and Mary Hall. Additionally, new facilities have freed up space in existing structures. The offices and classrooms of the Government, Economics, and Classical Language Departments, which share a building on "New Campus" Morton Hall , could potentially be separated and some relocated to vacant buildings recently renovated within the "Old Campus".

The vast majority of William and Mary's 1, acres 4. The college also has property and buildings not contiguous to campus, including the William and Mary School of Law and the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center , both located on a piece of property approximately four blocks southeast of the Wren Building. Additionally, approximately a mile northwest of "New Campus" is the Dillard Complex located across from the modern campus of Virginia's Eastern State Hospital , which is home to several offices, two former dormitories, and Plumeri Park , the college's baseball stadium.

The Chancellor of the College of William and Mary is largely a ceremonial role. Until , the position was held by an English subject, usually the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Bishop of London , who served as the college's advocate to the crown, while a colonial President oversaw the day-to-day activities of the Williamsburg campus. The college has recently had a number of distinguished chancellors: Secretary of State Henry Kissinger — , and former U.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates , himself an alumnus of the college, succeeded O'Connor in February The Board of Visitors delegates to a president the operating responsibility and accountability for the administrative, fiscal, and academic performance of the college as well as representing the college on public occasions such as conferral of degrees. Faculty members are organized into separate faculties of the Faculty of Arts and Science as well as those for the respective schools of Business , Education , Law , and Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

The faculty are also represented by a faculty assembly that serves to advise the president and provost.

The Royal Hospital School , an independent boarding school in the United Kingdom, is a sister institution. The college offers four academic programs in its Washington, DC office , an undergraduate joint degree program in engineering with Columbia University , as well as a liberal arts joint degree program with the University of St Andrews in Scotland. The graduate programs are dominant in STEM fields and the university has a high level of research activity.

State Department grants to further expand its foreign exchange programs. News and World Report. William and Mary is the highest-ranked national university for placement of its graduates in public or government service according to Washington Monthly Magazine. The undergraduate business program was ranked 12th among undergraduate programs by the Bloomberg Businessweek survey.

1. ?
2. From Out Of The Sea….
3. Boomers and Geezers (Almost) Survival Guide..

The Monitor is the undergraduate journal of International Studies which publishes on a bi-annual basis. Several members of the socially elite and politically influential Tucker family, including Nathaniel Beverley , St. George , and Henry St. Susan Wise Bauer is an author and founder of Peace Hill Press who teaches writing and American literature at the college.

The college enjoys a temperate climate. The school's television station, WMTV , produces informational content in the categories of cuisine, comedy, travel, and sports. The college has a large number of student run dance organizations including Swing and Ballroom Dance. These organizations hold events to promote the spread and awareness of different cultures from around the world. I understand that such acts violate the Honor Code and undermine the community of trust of which we are all stewards. The college's Honor System is codified such that students found guilty of cheating, stealing or lying are subject to sanctions ranging anywhere from a verbal warning up to expulsion.

William and Mary considers the observance of public laws of equal importance to the observance of its own regulations. William and Mary's Board of Visitors delegates authority for discipline to its president. The President oversees a hierarchy of disciplinary authorities to enforce local laws as it pertains to William and Mary's interest as well as its internal regulatory system.

Our Historic Campus

This popular tradition in fact started when German immigrant Charles Minnegerode, a humanities professor at the college in who taught Latin and Greek, brought one of the first Christmas trees to America. Entering into the social life of post-colonial Virginia, Minnigerode introduced the German custom of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas at the home of law professor St.

George Tucker , thereby becoming another of many influences that prompted Americans to adopt the practice at about that time. Incoming freshmen participate in Opening Convocation, at which they pass through the entrance of the Wren Building and are officially welcomed as the newest members of the college. Freshmen also have the opportunity, during orientation week, to serenade the president of the college at his home with the Alma Mater song.

Cool Facts | William & Mary

The Senior Walk is similar, in that graduating seniors walk through the Wren Building in their "departure" from the college. On the last day of classes, Seniors are invited to ring the bell in the cupola of the Wren Building. One unofficial tradition is the Triathlon, a set of three tasks completed by many students prior to graduation. These include jumping the wall of the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg after hours and if so inclined, running through the Boxwood Maze to the Palace itself , streaking through the Sunken Garden , and swimming in the Crim Dell pond.

William and Mary also takes pride in their connections to their colonial past during Charter Day festivities. A unique tradition at William and Mary is the annual Raft Debate. Described by the college as " Based on the volume of applause, the audience chooses the sole survivor as the professors cajole, plead, pontificate, and resort shamelessly to props and costumes. The Devil's Advocate, who argues sarcastically that none of the academic disciplines are worth saving, has on rare occasion emerged victoriously. Today, Greek organizations play an important role in the college community, along with other social organizations e.

Overall, about one-third of its undergraduates are active members of 16 national fraternities and 13 sororities. William and Mary has twelve collegiate a cappella groups: Nu Kappa Epsilon, founded in at William and Mary, is "dedicated to promoting the growth and development of musical activities at the college as well as in the Williamsburg community".

Large musical ensembles include a symphony orchestra, wind symphony, and choir. Other musical ensembles at the college include an Early Music Ensemble, featuring medieval, renaissance and baroque music, a Jazz combo ensemble, a Jazz ensemble, the Wham Bam Big Band, a Mixed Ensemble which features chamber music, an Opera workshop, a percussion ensemble, saxophone ensemble, string ensemble, viol ensemble and wind ensemble. William and Mary has multiple campus comedy groups.

The college fields NCAA Division I teams for men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field. In addition, there are women's field hockey, lacrosse and volleyball squads as well as men's baseball and football. In the —05 season, the Tribe garnered five Colonial Athletic Association titles, and it leads the conference with over 80 titles. There have been many recent notable athletes who competed for the Tribe. The track program has produced several All-Americans , including Brian Hyde, an Olympian and collegiate record holder in the meter run , and Ed Moran, a gold medalist in the meter run at the Pan American Games.

The football program has also produced numerous NFL players and coaches: In May , the NCAA ruled that the athletic logo, which includes two green and gold feathers, could create an environment that is offensive to the American Indian community, even though the Florida State Seminoles logo and Utah Utes logo were considered unoffensive. The President's House was restored to its 18th-century appearance by the removal of minor exterior additions, as part of the Rockefeller restoration project. President of the United States Herbert Hoover was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on the occasion of his visit to Yorktown to celebrate the th anniversary of the surrender of Cornwallis.

The Brafferton was restored to its original exterior design, also through Mr. The Society of the Alumni published the first edition of the Alumni Gazette. Appearing as a four-page tabloid, it went to nearly 6, alumni and was described in an editorial as "a new thing in an old atmosphere. Roosevelt attending the ceremony to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. The Society of the Alumni introduced the Alumni Medallion, the highest honor given alumni for service and loyalty.

President John Stewart Bryan presented 25 alumni with the award on the society's annual Homecoming Day. Earl Gregg Swem's two-volume Virginia Historical Index, the foremost bibliographic contribution in Virginia history, was published.

Navigation menu

The work had more than one million entries and was completed with the support of many friends of the College and a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The building was subsequently renamed James Blair Hall after the first president of the College. Cary Field, named for T.

Archibald Cary, alumnus, opened as the athletic stadium. The Sunken Garden was laid out on the mall directly west of the Wren Building. This landscape feature had been planned by Dr. Chandler, based on a similar treatment of grounds adjacent to Chelsea Hospital in London. The dormitory was built in with funds left by Mrs. On the th anniversary of the founding of the College, Dr. John Edwin Pomfret was formally installed as the 20th president, succeeding Dr. John Stewart Bryan who was named chancellor of the College. The Institute of Early American History and Culture was organized under the joint sponsorship of the College and Colonial Williamsburg as a center for research and publication in the field of American history through the Jeffersonian era.