W&M chancellor to appear on 'The Daily Show'
Chancellor Gates W&M Chancellor Robert M. Gates '65 will be on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Wednesday night. Stewart is also an alumnus of William & Mary. Photo by Steven Biver
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” will have plenty of William & Mary connections when the university’s Chancellor, Robert M. Gates ’65, visits fellow alumnus Jon Stewart ’84 Wednesday night to discuss his new book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.
Gates’ appearance on the Comedy Central show is part of national media tour on the new memoir, which was released today by publisher Alfred A. Knopf. The book explores in candid detail Gates’ experience serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Early news accounts of the book have generated national press – and a lot of commentary in Washington D.C. and beyond -- for its unfiltered look at politics in the nation’s capital and the White House.
Gates is the only secretary of defense to serve under presidents from different political parties. He served as the 22nd secretary from 2006 until his retirement in 2011. Gates, a history major at William & Mary, was invested in 2012 as the university’s 24th chancellor. He is the first alumnus to hold the honorary position in the institution’s modern era.
Since 1999, Stewart has been host of the popular show that uses satire and comedy to poke fun at national news and politics. The nationally known comedian and actor graduated from W&M with an undergraduate degree in psychology.
Both men are well-known to Tribe faithful. Both have honorary degrees from William & Mary. In 1998, Gates spoke at W&M’s Charter Day and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He returned in 2007 to deliver the commencement address, and the chancellor served as keynote speaker of 2012 and 2013 Charter Day ceremonies. Stewart gave W&M’s 2004 commencement address and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
“The Daily Show” broadcasts weeknights at 11 p.m. on local (Cox Cable) channel 32. Episodes are rebroadcast the following day at 7:30 p.m.
