Wednesday, Sept. 25 to Friday, Sept. 27, the College of William and Mary’s board of visitors is set to meet and discuss matters concerning the College. According to the College’s website, the board will consider new changes to the bylaws, including allowing the rector — who serves as chair of the board — to appoint a student other than the president of Student Assembly as the board’s student representative.
Appointed in 2019 by former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam D.P.S.’18, Charles E. Poston J.D. ’74, P ’02, ’06 serves as rector of the College.
Previously, the SA president was guaranteed an appointment by the rector. Under the proposed bylaws, the representative would be nominated by the president of the College and the SA president, then officially appointed by the rector.
“The proposed change related to appointing a student representative to the Board represents an alignment of that process with the process of appointing a faculty representative,” the College’s Director of Media Relations Suzanne Clavet wrote in an email to The Flat Hat.
According to Clavet, the board periodically conducts these reviews. Clavet described it as a healthy practice for governing bodies.
The last review was conducted in 2020.
The proposed bylaws primarily reflect changes in statutory language and the organizational structure of the College, Clavet wrote.
SA President Terra Sloane ’25 said while she was not consulted in the decision, she believes the new precedent would likely still result in the SA president being appointed to the position, depending on their goals within the role.
“I think that the Bylaw switch allows Student Assembly leadership the opportunity to nominate another impactful student leader to the position, which I think opens up a lot of possibilities that were previously thought impossible!” Sloane wrote in an email to The Flat Hat.
In addition to serving as this year’s student board representative, Sloane also serves as the student representative on the Finance Committee. Sloane, as SA president, made all student representative nominations to the rector.
“When it comes to serving on Finance Committee, I am excited to see the ways that we see the effect of the tuition increase and the recent news regarding the Batten School (along with our approved School of Computer Science going through early stages). I want to be as transparent as possible about the Finance Decisions being made through the Board, and I therefore believe that Finance is the best Committee for our Student Representative to sit on,” Sloane added.
Student representatives do not get voting privileges but may speak at the meetings. The main student representative also writes a quarterly report and presents it to the board on the last day of each session.
Currently, the other student representatives are Courtney Maynard ’25 (Academic Affairs), Diana Kim ’25 (Administration, Buildings, and Grounds), Isabella Esposito ’25 (Institutional Advancement) and Momen Zahid ’25 (Student Experience).
Maynard, a Data Science major, hopes to share her thoughts on the new School of Computing, Data Sciences and Physics. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approved the College’s plan for the school in July.
“I am heavily involved in research and in mentorship spaces inside the Data Science community,” Maynard wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. “However, I was hesitant about joining computer science as a woman in a male-dominated field, and I remember being a freshman and sophomore in my classes of mostly men, thinking that I didn’t belong.”
She shared that with the help of an influential professor, she was able to navigate the process of studying computer science. Maynard also reiterated her commitment to ensuring the liberal arts curriculum and humanities-based courses continue to receive adequate support and attention from the institution.
She laid out her plan to effectively share students’ concerns with the board.
“To faithfully represent the interests of the William and Mary student body, I’m hoping to hold some kind of open office hours or drop-in sessions, where students can come talk to me about their academic experiences here at W&M – whether it’s about certain classes or programs that they love, opportunities they want, or any other aspect of their academic life here,” Maynard wrote.
Zahid also shared his goals as a student representative.
“As a representative, I aim to help bridge any disconnect between the realities of our student body experience and our BOV. I want those who have felt unheard to use me as a resource, and I’ll be vocal both in working with the committee and during BOV meetings to ensure that student concerns are heard and addressed,” Zahid wrote in an email to The Flat Hat.
Zahid said he was chosen for this role for his work as a varsity athlete, in addition to his diverse experiences as a student and campus leader.
Kim wrote in an email to The Flat Hat that she did not want to answer questions regarding her position at this time, as she is still getting situated in her role. Esposito did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Additionally, the board will also consider a name change for senior assistant to the president and secretary to the board of visitors Michael J. Fox’s position. His new title would be clerk of the board of visitors. Jessica Walton currently serves as deputy secretary to the board.
The board will also welcome five new members at the upcoming meeting. Appointed by Youngkin, the new members are John Brownlee J.D. ’94, P ’22, Rob W. Estes ’74, P ’06, W. Taylor Franklin, Jennifer Tepper Mackesy ’91 and Jill Holtzman Vogel ’92.
Brownlee, a lawyer, served as the U.S. attorney for the western district of Virginia. His investigation into a pharmaceutical company for misbranding the addictive drug OxyContin was featured in the Hulu miniseries “Dopesick.”
Estes serves as chairman and CEO of Estes Express Lines, the largest privately-owned freight transportation carrier in the United States. Franklin is CEO and co-founder of The Franklin Group, a multi-family development and property management firm based in Virginia Beach.
Mackesy played soccer at the College and is a co-owner of NJ/NY Gotham FC, who recently won the National Women’s Soccer League title. Along with her husband, she is part of Chelsea FC’s ownership group in London. She also serves on the advisory board for the College’s Global Research Institute.
Vogel, who served as a Republican in the Virginia Senate for 16 years, currently works as a managing partner at Holtzman Vogel, the law firm she founded in 2001. She was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of the commonwealth in 2017, losing to Democrat Justin Fairfax in the general election.
She will join former senate colleague Thomas Norment Jr. J.D. ’73 on the board. Norment served as the Republican leader in the upper chamber of Virginia’s legislature.
The departing board members are S. Douglas Bunch ’02, J.D. ’06, Cynthia E. Hudson J.D. ’87, Anne Leigh Kerr ’91, J.D. ’98, Brian P. Woolfolk J.D. ’96 and former College Rector John E. Littel P ’22, who now serves as Youngkin’s chief of staff.
The board will convene Wednesday, Sept. 25 at the College’s School of Education. All meetings will be open to the public without opportunities for public comment.
