Nov. 18-19, the College of William and Mary’s Board of Visitors convened, discussing issues of COVID-19 progress, campus renovations, pass-fail, and the Vision 2026 plan.
Vision 2026 is the College’s new strategic planning, which will cover the five year span from 2021-2026. Its three goals — “expand W&M’s reach,” “educate for impact,” and “evolve to excel” — prioritize achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, modernizing campus, increasing diversity of the student body, expanding engineering and computational sciences, and promoting community engagement.
In terms of COVID, Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring said cases are low and she does not expect a post-Thanksgiving break rise. Furthermore, she is working on advertising booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, for which all adults are now eligible.
The Board also recieved updates on campus-wide construction. The finish date for the Memorial to the Enslaved, which is currently under construction, has been pushed back to sometime in early 2022. The performing arts center is on schedule and the Sadler West expansion will be complete by next summer, though supply chain issues due to the pandemic have slowed progress across the board. The Muscarelle Museum of Art expansion and Kaplan Arena are in design phases, while renovations have been proposed for Monroe and Old Dominion residence halls.
The proposal from the pass/fail task force was also discussed, giving students four options for pass/fail starting during a student’s junior year. The proposal will be voted on by faculty at the end of the semester.
