He only expected to stay at the College of William and Mary for a short period of time. Instead, he finished his 15th year at the College this August. He transitioned from dean of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law to College president in 2008. And, after eight years in the position and anticipating three more to come, the College is recognizing President Taylor Reveley’s service to the College.
“When I first came, I said to myself, this will last six weeks, six months, a few years, at the most. I was at a very large law firm before, so I didn’t know if being apart of the law school would be a good match,” Reveley said.
Feb. 7, the College Board of Visitors approved Reveley’s first merit-based raise, two months after the BOV voted to extend Reveley’s contract for three more years.
With the raise, Reveley’s salary increases from $335,245 to $425,000. Funded by both private and public dollars, the private portion of Reveley’s salary will increase from $174,851 to $264,606, and the state portion will remain at $160,394.
According to a press release, , the near $90,000 salary increase almost compensates Reveley for the salary raises he would have received if consistent pay raises had occurred throughout the last six years.
“President Reveley has repeatedly refused to accept merit increases until we could do something more comprehensive for all William & Mary employees,” Rector of the College Todd Stottlemyer ’85 said in a press release. “Thanks to his leadership that has begun to occur. This is long overdue.”
Up until this year, the College froze the salaries for a majority of faculty and staff, due to a lack of state funding. In his upcoming years at the College, Reveley hopes to make financial development a top priority, along with alumnae relations and strategic planning.
“We have some big, hairy goals that are rooted in the strategic plan in large party,” Reveley said. “These are the most frisky sort of endeavors.”
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Executive Director for Career Development Mary Schilling has worked at the College since June 1999, when Reveley worked in the School of Law.
“Though the President’s presence alone adds dignity to virtually any occasion in the community, his deep voice, dry wit and playful use of language continue to amaze me,” Shilling said.
Vice President of University Development Matthew Lambert started working with Reveley in April 2013, when he returned to the College as the vice president for University Development.
“President Reveley is the hardest working man at William & Mary and treats each member of the community as a valued person,” Lambert said in an email. “He works tirelessly to respond to every letter, e-mail and call from students, faculty & staff, alumni, parents, and donors. He is beloved by the students and goes out of his way to attend as many events as humanly possible to greet the many constituents. Finally, he is an uncommon leader.”
After 16 years at the College, Reveley is still excited to get out of bed in the morning.
“What’s kept me here is a good respect for the institution, a belief that the institution could get better and better and the people,” Reveley said. “If you don’t like the people or enjoy the people, then go somewhere else. Finally, I felt I could make a meaningful commitment for the better. It did matter, and I felt I was making a difference. It has to matter that you’re getting out of bed every morning and you have to care.”