Wednesday, Feb. 5 to Friday, Feb. 7, the College of William and Mary’s board of visitors convened for its third quarterly meeting of the 2024-25 academic year and first meeting of the calendar year. In a change from November, the board returned to Blow Memorial Hall after renovations finished.
Seven of the board’s eight committees met individually to discuss matters pertinent to the College’s functioning, and the full board gathered Friday morning to report back on discussions and vote on resolutions proposed in the committees. The committee on Institutional Advancement did not meet this cycle but will reconvene again in April.
Student Experience
The committee on student experience met on Thursday morning to discuss developments related to student engagement and athletics on campus.
Director of Athletics Brian Mann emphasized the continued academic success of student-athletes at the College, noting they achieved the highest graduation rate among Division 1 public universities.
“For the 19th time in 20 years, we led all Division 1 public institutions in federal graduation rates. Another tremendous, tremendous accomplishment by our student-athletes with the support of our coaches and staff,” Mann said.
Mann further highlighted the attention the College received with the Feb. 3 nationally televised men’s basketball game against the College of Charleston through Fox Sports commentator John Fanta’s viral tweet about the game.
This tweet showed a video of enthusiastic cheering students in Kaplan Arena, with the caption, “This is what college basketball is about: bringing a campus together!!!”
Mann was especially proud this tweet generated over 200,000 views, spreading a positive message about the students of the College.
With the recent success of the College’s basketball teams, the board focused most of its discussion on how to use athletics as a way to achieve national prominence and preeminence. However, board members like C. Michael Petters MBA ’93 emphasized the importance of maintaining high standards for its student-athletes.
“I think William and Mary would do itself a disservice if we go down a path where we are more interested in the win than we are in the opportunity for a William and Mary caliber student to compete,” Petters said.
Financial Affairs
The committee on financial affairs met on Wednesday afternoon to discuss developments regarding the college application process and competition in academics and public access.
The board reviewed prior discussions from November, emphasizing the unique position the College is in compared to other elite public institutions and private universities. They noted that while the College is smaller than many public Ivy League schools, it is less academically rigorous than most private Ivies.
Many board members viewed this unique position in comparison to other colleges as unstable and underlined the need to grow the College.
College President Katherine Rowe emphasized the need to expand without physical disruption and the subsequent objective of preserving an intimate learning process. Rowe also repeated the goal of “National Preeminence” that the board wishes to bring to the image and ranking of the College.
“We must be more attractive,” Rowe said. “We need more demand.”
The board also discussed the financial advantage of degree specialization, as it improves the College’s academic diversity and draws in more applicants. The new Batten School of Coastal and Marine Science was particularly positively noted, as the College is one of the only universities in the commonwealth of Virginia to offer a degree in marine science.
The College is a tuition-dependent university, as more than 60% of the budget comes from tuition. Currently, the College receives 13-15% of its budget from state support and that percentage is unlikely to change with upcoming legislation.
As the College continues its Vision 2026, construction costs continue to increase compared to past years. Many board members opposed a major tuition increase, instead determining that a focus on reimagining philanthropy structures and cutting unnecessary costs would be more effective.
Academic Affairs
The Committee on Academic Affairs convened Wednesday afternoon, passing a resolution to officially rename the kinesiology department to the department of Health Sciences. The change follows the board’s previous approval of new bachelor of arts degrees in human health and physiology, as well as public health.
This decision also comes in response to an external board review which recommended the department’s name change to match industry standards and include newer elements from the growing academic discipline. The resolution specifies that no faculty positions will be lost due to the renaming; only the internal organization will shift accordingly.
The committee also reviewed responses to a student survey conducted in fall 2024 to ascertain areas for growth in refining the academic experience. Students highlighted four main themes as their foremost priorities: solving real-world problems; commitment to learning; curiosity and critical thinking; rigor and high standards and faculty engagement and support.
Rowe reaffirmed the College’s continued engagement with the four pillars of Vision 2026: data, water, democracy and careers. She also encouraged students to utilize the College’s wide alumni network to gain professional opportunities.
Rowe then reviewed notable campus events from last semester that received national coverage, such as the Bray School dedication ceremony and Jane Batten’s $100 million donation to establish the Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences, slated to open next fall.
Finally, Rowe identified common goals across the board’s eight committees, aiming to unify their objectives and work. These priorities included broadened student enrollment from every state, continued alumni engagement with the College’s development and growing the College’s reputation in regions like the West Coast and Northeast.
Audit, Risk and Compliance
The Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance met Thursday to discuss the College’s auditing procedure for the current fiscal year. The College’s audit will take place between January and May, with central goals of developing group financial statements, taking into account the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Richard Bland College.
The audit team is composed of 16 experienced professionals who have previously conducted audits and financial research for other Virginia universities as well as federal and state government departments.
The committee distinguished between two main components of the 2025 audit’s central objectives. These include the “required supplementary information” and “optional supplementary information,” both of which screen for errors in the College’s financial tabulations. The committee then laid out its methodologies, which combine quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as detect potential fraud and notify relevant parties.
The committee reviewed the College’s 2024 audit cycle, during which reviews of seven departments were submitted out of a possible 10. The other three, on human resources, athletics Title IX and the RBC IT security audit, were deferred or cancelled.
Committee members then provided a joint update of the progress toward implementing Workday, the College’s new internal management software expected to launch in July. The internal audit team is currently supervising testing to ensure smooth operation of the software, which is being conducted by the external advisory, tax and assurance firm Baker Tilly. Workday is undergoing its second full test of the development cycle.
Audit committee members then addressed changes to federal policy regarding affirmative action. They addressed President Donald J. Trump’s recent signing of an executive order, which revoked President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 order to prevent hiring discrimination on the basis of “race, creed, color or national origin.”
The College’s review determined that “affirmative action staffing has been adequate” and announced the College’s intentions to hire a human resources employee with experience in affirmative action. The hiring effort comes at a time when diversity, equity and inclusion programs are directly under attack by the federal government, signaling the College’s desire to maintain a diverse workforce and equal opportunity.
Finally, the committee reviewed the Hazing Prevention Consortium which groups 11 colleges and universities in an effort to increase hazing education on campuses. The review reaffirmed the College’s dedication to continuing anti-hazing training for students interested in joining high-risk clubs and organizations. The College’s anti-hazing faculty includes 15 trained professionals, who have so far delivered training to 4,776 students.
Full Board Meeting
Friday, Feb. 7, the board of visitors met for a final full board meeting. This served as a time for individual committees to update the full board on their meetings throughout the past few days. Rector Charles E. Poston JD ’74, P ’02, ’06 led the meeting, opening with a remark of gratitude.
“This weekend has been a $100 million weekend for us as well,” Poston said. “We learned about the $50 million gift for the tuition cost for the Batten School of Marine Science. We also celebrated last night the opening of the Muscarelle Museum reopening, which is a $46 million project. This afternoon, we’re going to celebrate again the gift from the Mackesy family, which will put us well over $100 million this month. This is a phenomenal time, and we’re grateful for all of this.”
The meeting continued with Rowe updating the board on the success of 2024’s Year of the Arts. She remarked on the Muscarelle Museum’s re-opening and the board’s approval of three new undergraduate majors: human health and physiology, public health and coastal and marine science.
“Transformations of our curriculum that take the breath of the liberal arts and sciences and direct them at leading areas of interest and employment in this country,” Rowe said about the newly available majors.
Vice-Rector Barbara L. Johnson JD ’84 addressed the board on behalf of the Committee of Academic Affairs. She highlighted the decision to rename the department of kinesiology to the department of health sciences.
Stephen J. Huebner ’76 P ’09, head of the Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance updated the board on their meetings, as did Petters, chairman of the Committee of Financial Affairs.
Similarly, Committees of Student Experiences, Student Interests, Faculty Representatives and Institutional Advancement all provided updates from their prior meetings that week.
The meeting concluded with the appointment of Huebner, Lincoln Saunders ’06 and Tawanda Johnson to a nominating committee that is tasked with finding a replacement for Johnson, as her eligibility on the board is at an end.
