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The College of William and Mary in Virginia is a public, liberal-arts university located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The College currently enrolls 5500 undergraduate and 2000 graduate students and is considered to be among the best institutions of higher learning in the United States.
William and Mary traces its roots to the seventeenth century and considers itself the second-oldest post-secondary school in the United States and the third oldest in North America. In 1691 the Virginia Colony's House of Burgesses sent the Reverend James Blair to England to secure a charter for a proposed college. Blair was ultimately successful, and the College was founded on February 8, 1693, under royal charter from the English Monarchs, William and Mary. The charter named James Blair as the College's first President.
The three original College buildings (the President's House, Brafferton, and the main building, a precursor to today's Wren Building) were built between 1693 and 1699 upon 330 acres (1.3 kmē), ten miles (16 km) north of Jamestown, Virginia, in a placed called Middle Plantation (later renamed Williamsburg, Virginia). The College building was often subject to catastrophe, being partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt three times (in 1705, 1859 and 1862) with further portions demolished and rebuilt during the late 1920s. The building now standing was named the "Wren Building" after the prominent English architect Christopher Wren, who once was credited with designing an earlier iteration. As an interesting point of history, the descendants of the original ivy grown on the building has been kept in a preservation from which all ivy on the building during its many incarnations has been planted.
In 1779, William and Mary became the first U.S. college to achieve the status of University with the addition of the College of Law and School of Modern Languages. However, it retains the word "college" in its name because the original charter specified that it always and forever be named "the College of William and Mary in Virginia." William and Mary closed from 1881 to 1885 due to funding problems. The Commonwealth of Virginia granted the University a formal charter during the early twentieth century, turning William and Mary into a state university, and adding the College of Education.
William and Mary is notable for several academic firsts. Under the guidance of Virginia's then Governor Thomas Jefferson, the College adopted the nation's first elective system of study and also introduced the first student policed Honor System. In 1779, also at the request of Jefferson, the College made Jefferson's friend and mentor, George Wythe, the first Professor of Law in America.
The Phi Beta Kappa honor society was founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, establishing chapters at other schools before collapsing within a few years. The society since has been reestablished at the College. The Bishop James Madison Society, a secret society that remains active today, was also founded there. A number of other secret societies exist at the school, including the Flat Hat Club (FHC), the Alpha Club, the 7 Society, and the 13 Club.
In 1993, William and Mary opened Tercentenary Hall to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the charter. This building would later be renamed under a flurry of protest to McGlothlin Street Hall, in recognition of the McGlothlin and Street Families contributions to the institution. The building currently houses the Applied Sciences department, the Geology department, and the Computer Science department.
Despite student protest and the disapproval of some alumni, Henry Kissinger was appointed Chancellor to the college in 2001. Protest was focused on what some consider war crimes committed by Kissinger during his political career.
In 2004, Timothy J. Sullivan, the 25th President of the College, resigned from his position, effective at the end of the 2004-2005 academic year. The Presidential Search Committee is currently looking for qualified candidates to fill the position at the start of the 2005-2006 academic year.
Famous alumni
- George M. Bibb, United States Secretary of the Treasury 1844-1845
- David M. Brown, pilot / astronaut, (died aboard the space shuttle Columbia)
- Mike "Pinball" Clemons, Canadian Football League football player/coach
- Glenn Close, actress (Broadway, TV, film)
- James Comey, government (Deputy U.S. Attorney General)
- Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., MD , Physician (ex-Director NCI, Pioneer in Oncology)
- Perry Ellis, fashion designer (Perry Ellis International)
- Robert Gates, government (ex-Head of the CIA)
- Scott Glenn, actor (Hunt for Red October, Silence of the Lambs)
- Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, founder of the University of Virginia
- Linda Lavin, American actress (starred as the title character on the television show Alice)
- Bill Lawrence, television producer (Scrubs)
- John Marshall fourth Chief Justice of the United States
- Mark McCormack, business (Int'l Mgmt Group Founder)
- James Monroe, fifth President of the United States
- Michael Powell, government (Head of the FCC)
- Curtis Pride, Major League Baseball outfielder
- William Barton Rogers (attended), academic (Founder of MIT)
- Darren Sharper, National Football League, safety for the Green Bay Packers
- Jon Stewart, comedian (Daily Show)
- John Tyler tenth President of the United States, former Chancellor of the College
- George Washington (received his surveyor's certificate), American Revolutionary War general, first President of the United States, former Chancellor of the College
- Mary Jo White, government (ex-U.S. Attorney for Southern N.Y. District)
Famous friends of the College
Notable Professors - Robert Maximilian de Gaynesford, Professor of Philosophy
- Clayton Clemens, Professor of Government
- James Axtell, Professor of History
- Nwando Achebe, Professor of History
- Hans Tiefel, Professor of Religion
- Alfredo Pereira, Professor of Economics
- Adam Potkay, Professor of English
- Kris Lane, Professor of History
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