From Wednesday, Feb. 8 through Friday, Feb. 10, the Board of Visitors at the College of William and Mary convened to pass 17 resolutions, discuss progress in mental health initiatives and reaffirm protections to freedom of expression on campus.
The Board briefly discussed the potential separation of Richard Bland College from the William and Mary Board of Visitors. A bill granting RBC its own board of visitors and detaching itself from the College board passed in the Senate of the Virginia General Assembly and awaits consideration by the House Committee on Education.
During the Executive Committee meeting of the Board of Visitors, College President Katherine Rowe and Rector Judge Charles E. Poston J.D. ’74, P ’02, ’06 expressed dismay about recent General Assembly budget proposals for an additional 2% pay raise for public employees on top of a 5% increase set to begin in July. The state government would fund ⅓ of the additional mandate as it stands. Other members shared similar concerns.
“We also have a brief update actually on what is happening in Richmond,” Board member and Financial Affairs committee chair James A. Hixon J.D. ’79, M.L.T. ’80, P ’08, ’11 said. “Looks like the General Assembly does what they do so well, and are proposing an unfunded mandate on the university,” referring to the proposed pay raise.
Hixon told the Flat Hat that to pay for the mandate, the College might have to increase tuition fees. The Board of Visitors will vote on tuition increases at their next meeting in April.
On Thursday, Dr. Kelly Crace, the Assistant Vice President for Health and Wellness and Director of Center for Mindfulness and Authentic Excellence, joined the Committee on the Student Experience to give a presentation on recent mental health initiatives at the College.
“Over the last decade, William and Mary has been steadfast in its commitment to build a comprehensive, robust approach to supporting student wellbeing and mental health in particular,” Vice President for Student Affairs Virginia Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06 said.
Crace gave an overview of the College’s approach to improving mental health supports on campus since 2012, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He detailed the College’s focus on both individual and systemic wellness across campus. Crace gave an overview of the approach the College has taken since 2012 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with a focus on both individual and systemic wellness across campus. The College recently launched a partnership with mental health services WeBe and TimelyCare to promote health and wellness among the whole student body.
“Whether you work here, you learn here or live here, every building, every building at William and Mary is a place that is experienced as healthy, is experienced as flourishment and well,” Crace said.
Powell Outlines Career-Focused Future
During a joint meeting with members of the William and Mary Foundation Board of Trustees, the Alumni Association Board and the Annual Giving Board, President Rowe gave updates on Vision 2026 initiatives and Chief Career Officer and Associate Vice President for Advancement Kathleen Powell charted a career-focused course for the institution.
“This is our value proposition: that William and Mary will be known as the best university, I repeat, the best university for lifelong career engagement,” Powell said.
She announced plans to double the Career Center staff and emphasized the recent donations of two $1 million gifts for summer internship funding and applied internship opportunities.
“There will be $5,000 for every student who secures an unfunded or underfunded internship or applied learning opportunity,” Powell said. “We want the students to come back, we want them to share the work that they did, and what this does is it changes the culture for our students. We want them to think, ‘if I’m not participating in an internship or an applied learning experience, I must be doing something wrong’.”
Powell also discussed plans to create a website to enhance career advancement opportunities between students and alumni.
“We are builders. We build opportunities. We build culture. And we need to build a future,” Powell said, echoing the 2021 Convocation address of Judge John Charles Thomas HON ’18.
At the same meeting, Vice President of University Advancement Matthew T. Lambert ’99 discussed the status of the College’s All-In campaign to raise $55 million for William and Mary Athletics. The campaign has currently raised nearly $40 million. Summer 2023 initiatives include work on Kaplan Arena, including lower-level renovations as well as a new scoreboard, lighting and sound system.
“This is going to be instrumental in changing the gameday experience,” Lambert said.
Free Speech Reaffirmed
On Friday morning, the Full Board met to wrap up the meeting and hear updates from student, faculty and staff representatives ahead of Charter Day festivities in the afternoon.
President Rowe presented Hand Carry Resolution 4, a statement affirming the BOV’s support for advancing freedom of expression on campus. The statement was drafted and approved by the Council of Presidents in December 2022 and was written by four presidents, including Rowe. The statement reads as follows:
“As presidents of Virginia’s public colleges and universities, we unequivocally support free expression and viewpoint diversity on our campuses. Free expression is the fundamental basis for both academic freedom and for effective teaching and learning inside and outside the classroom. Our member universities and colleges are bound to uphold the First Amendment. We are committed to promoting this constitutional freedom through robust statements and policies that are formulated through shared governance processes and through actions that reflect and reinforce this core foundation of education. We value a scholarly environment that is supported by a diversity of research and intellectual perspectives among our faculty and staff. We pledge to promote and uphold inclusivity, academic freedom, free expression, and an environment that promotes civil discourse across differences. We will protect these principles when others seek to restrict them.”
The statement comes during the anniversary of the protest at last year’s Charter Day opposing the honorary degree given to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Board member Stephen J. Huebner ’76, P ’09 previously supported the resolution, but criticized its scope, saying that it did not go far enough to affirm the College’s support for free speech for guest speakers.
“I support the resolution, but I don’t think it went far enough,” Huebner said. “I would have liked to see the state and the American Council of Presidents did not support any disruptions or interruptions of speakers.”
A full list of the resolutions passed during the Feb. 2023 BOV meeting can be found below:
Resolution 1: Appoints Isaiah Lucas to Director of Housing at the Richard Bland College of William and Mary.
Resolution 2: Approves the Uncrewed Aerial Systems Certificate program at the Richard Bland College of William and Mary.
Resolution 3: Recognizes the Richard Bland College’s women’s volleyball team after they won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national championship in a nail-biting final against the Scottsdale Artichokes.
Resolution 4: Approves designated professorships for Dorothea La “Chon” Abraham, Mansfield Associate Professor of Business, and Caroline Hanley, Mansfield Associate Professor of Sociology, effective beginning the 2023-2024 academic year.
Resolution 5: Awards academic tenures to the following faculty, effective beginning the 2023-2024 academic year:
- Elyas Bakhtiari, Department of Sociology
- Katherine Barko-Alva, School of Education
- Brian Castleberry, Department of English
- Carrie B. Dolan, Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences
- Amber Hardison, School of Marine Science
- S.P. Harish, Department of Government
- David S. Johnson, School of Marine Science
- Jeffrey Kaplow, Department of Government
- Nathanael Kidwell, Department of Chemistry
- Myrisha S. Lewis, William and Mary Law School
- Richard C. Marcus, Department of Music
- Adwait Nadkami, Department of Computer Science
- Janise Parker, School of Education
- Christopher J. Patrick, School of Marine Science
- Emily B. Rivest, School of Marine Science
- Daniel Runfola, Department of Applied Science
- Tate A. Twinam, Department of Economics
Resolution 6: Promotes the following faculty, effective beginning the 2023-2024 academic year:
Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
- Elyas Bakhtiari, Department of Sociology
- Katherine Barko-Alva, School of Education
- Brian Castleberry, Department of English
- Carrie B. Dolan, Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences
- S.P. Harish, Department of Government
- David S. Johnson, School of Marine Science
- Jeffrey Kaplow, Department of Government
- Nathanael Kidwell, Department of Chemistry
- Richard C. Marcus, Department of Music
- Adwait Nadkami, Department of Computer Science
- Janise Parker, School of Education
- Christopher J. Patrick, School of Marine Science
- Emily B. Rivest, School of Marine Science
- Daniel Runfola, Department of Applied Science
- Tate A. Twinam, Department of Economics
Associate Professor to Professor
- Myrisha S. Lewis, William and Mary Law School
Resolution 7: Approves the leaves of absence of Gérard Chouin and Francis Tanglao-Aguas.
Resolution 8: Modifies the faculty handbook.
Resolution 9: Acknowledges the retirement of Carla Buck.
Resolution 10: Acknowledges the retirement of Kate Conley.
Resolution 11: Acknowledges the retirement of Tomoko Kato.
Resolution 12: Acknowledges the retirement of Robert Kohl.
Resolution 13: Acknowledges the retirement of Laurie Koloski.
Resolution 14: Acknowledges the retirement of Henry Krakauer.
Resolution 15: Acknowledges the retirement of Michael Nichols.
Resolution 16: Acknowledges the retirement of Barbette Spaeth.
Resolution 17: Acknowledges the retirement of James Whittenburg.