Honorary Degrees

Ken Burns, award-winning documentary filmmaker

Kenneth Lauren Burns, you embrace America's complexity with integrity and insight. Your award-winning documentaries about our country's past illuminate our present so that we can shape the future. As you have said, "there is as much drama in what is, and what was, as anything the human imagination dreams of."

Your interest in the history of our country ignited during your college years at Hampshire. You filmed your senior project — an award-winning documentary about rural Americans after the Revolutionary War — at Old Sturbridge Village. Then you founded an independent production company, Florentine Films, together with college friends.

In the history of American public media, your films define documentary in the 21st century. Their themes range from baseball to warfare, to Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Your camera and microphone travel history's byways, in the field and the archive, across oceans and continents — and often to William & Mary's own backyard. Your most recent series, "The American Revolution," explores the competing claims on liberty and dominion that fractured the early American republic. The film makes vivid the labor required for a pluralistic democracy to flourish — and why our institutions remain worthwhile today.

The New York Times has hailed you as "the most accomplished documentary filmmaker" of your generation, with seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations for the landmark series "The Civil War". The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored you with a Lifetime Achievement Award. And you have been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. These laurels fuel your commitment to other artists — particularly aspiring filmmakers. By co-founding the Better Angels Society to preserve American voices through documentary film, you help cultivate the next generation of moral storytellers.

Kenneth Lauren Burns, during this Year of Civic Leadership, at the turn of the U.S. quarter millennium, William & Mary proudly honors your commitment to our country. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Visitors and the Ancient Royal Charter of The College of William & Mary in Virginia, I hereby confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Arts, Honoris Causa.

Abigail Spanberger, Virginia Governor

Abigail Davis Spanberger, you have dedicated your career to public service. In 2025, you were elected the 75th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Last month, you made history as the first woman to hold Virginia's highest office. At your inauguration, you swore "faithfully and impartially" to execute duties incumbent upon this office. The Alma Mater of the Nation honors your oath of service.

You learned the value of service early from your parents. Your mother put herself through nursing school. Your father, a U.S. Army veteran, attended school on the G.I. Bill and became a career law enforcement officer. Your parents' faith in civic engagement inspired your own civic-minded growth — from a bachelor's degree at UVA to an international MBA from Purdue and the GISMA business school in Germany.

You began your career at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, where you investigated narcotics and money laundering — often the only woman on the arrest team. From 2006 to 2014, you served as a case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, investigating and averting threats to the United States.

In 2018, you brought this formidable track record to Congress, where you were elected as the first woman to represent Virginia's Seventh Congressional District. Over three consecutive terms as a lawmaker, you earned a reputation for collaboration and consensus-building. Your bipartisan leadership bolstered infrastructure, agriculture and public education in Virginia.

As governor, you have already identified public education and support for veterans as key imperatives. William & Mary — our country's first university — applauds your commitment to these public goods. The Alma Mater of the Nation ranks among the most military and veteran-friendly universities in the country. We stand ready to support your efforts to advance our Commonwealth and all its citizens.

Abigail Davis Spanberger, your abiding sense of duty to others will serve you well as the 75th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Visitors and the Ancient Royal Charter of The College of William and Mary in Virginia, I hereby confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Public Service, Honoris Causa.

Todd A. Stottlemyer '85, P '16, P '21

Todd Andrew Stottlemyer, you are a leader of uncommon vision. You have served so many in this Commonwealth: as William & Mary Rector, as a W&M Foundation Trustee, a business executive and a champion for your communities. In your own words, you "think big, act big" — and boldly. Your commitments to excellence, service and belonging make you a model for generations of our graduates.

You credit William & Mary with instilling the skills essential to your career: thinking critically, writing well and leading. An offensive lineman for the Tribe, you attended William & Mary on an athletic scholarship. You studied government and earned Phi Beta Kappa laurels. Your freshman roommate and fellow William & Mary Rector Michael K. Powell '85, D.P.S. '02 once said, "I have never known a more other-centered leader — always quick to accept the call of duty to make the lives of people and institutions like our university better."

After graduating from William & Mary, you earned your law degree from Georgetown University. You parlayed an internship at BDM International Inc. into a full-time position, launching an illustrious career in the technology sector. A visionary professional, you proceeded to guide technology organizations through rapid transformation. In 2018, you took the helm as CEO of Acentra Health. You lead a passionate team that pioneers health solutions for over 140 million people.

You have brought the same dedication and entrepreneurial spirit to leadership roles at your alma mater. In 2011, you were appointed to the university's Board of Visitors. You were elected rector in 2013. You were re-elected in 2015 and served another three years as rector — unprecedented in modern Board history.

Your tenure saw the development of a creative new funding model in the William & Mary Promise, strengthening the university's financial foundation through a decade of change. You oversaw the launch of the For the Bold campaign, the university's largest comprehensive campaign to date. Under your leadership, William & Mary hired the university's 28th president, Katherine A. Rowe.

You have invested generously in the Alma Mater of the Nation. You currently serve as a Trustee of the William & Mary Foundation, in addition to your service on the Global Research Institute Board. You and your wife, Elaine T. Stottlemyer P '16, P '21, honor your athletic career by supporting Tribe football. You established the Stottlemyer-Coyne Football Scholarship. You have generously invested in the Powell Leadership Scholarship and the Global Research Institute, among other funds. You supported the completion of two graceful campus landmarks for the 21st century: the Reveley Garden and Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved. In 2024, the William & Mary Alumni Association awarded you its highest award: the Alumni Medallion.

Virginia Business Magazine and the Washington Business Journal recognize you as among the Commonwealth's most influential leaders. In June 2023, No Kid Hungry recognized your longstanding effort to end childhood hunger. You have held leadership roles with organizations such as the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Todd Andrew Stottlemyer, you exemplify the spirit of servant leadership. Your alma mater honors your commitment to strengthening our communities by leading change with grace and insight. By the virtue of the power vested in me by the Board of Visitors and the Ancient Royal Charter of The College of William & Mary in Virginia, I hereby confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Public Service, Honoris Causa.

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary to the Smithsonian Institute

Lonnie Griffith Bunch III, you have transformed both our capital’s landscape and our understanding of this nation’s identity and history. You set out to create “a place that would make America better,” a source of civic power, bringing people together across differences. In realizing James Baldwin’s famous words “history is literally present in all that we do,” you have redefined the role of museums in this republic.

Raised in Belleville, New Jersey, you discovered from your parents and grandparents the value of education. You learned not only from the history books your grandfather read to you but also by listening in on the adult conversations in your backyard. In those discussions, you have recalled, “there was always a moment of optimism.” That sense of promise inspired your “belief that all things are possible” and conviction to confront wrongs.

After completing studies at American University, you launched a renowned career, with appointments at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, the National Air & Space Museum and the National Museum of American History. In 2001, you became president of the Chicago Historical Society. You have served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, with bipartisan appointments from Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

You were named founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2005. You began with only one staff member, no funding and no home for your museum. A 2019 Harvard Business Review case study wrote, you “made a way out of no way.” Your fundraising efforts yielded more than $250 million. In 2016, the 400,000-square-foot museum opened to international acclaim. Speaking at the dedication ceremony, then-President Obama said, “It is an act of patriotism to understand where we’ve been. And this museum tells the story of so many patriots.”

Today, the museum is a model for how truth can overcome partisan divisions. It houses a collection of 40,000 objects. It is distinguished as the first “green building” on the National Mall and ranks among the Smithsonian’s most visited sites.

In 2019, you became the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. You have said, “I want to reach new audiences, shape education and have the Smithsonian become more of a forum for ideas.” Through discovery and expansive storytelling, you position museums as catalysts for community engagement and civic growth.

Your achievements have been widely recognized throughout the country and world. Your contributions to American culture and history have been celebrated with the Freedom Medal from the Roosevelt Institute, the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University’s Hutchins Center and the National Equal Justice Award from the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. In 2020, you received the Dan David Prize from Tel Aviv University, the world’s largest history prize. Just one year later, you received France’s highest award, The Legion of Honor.

Lonnie Griffith Bunch, your patriotism in sharing the stories of our country’s history and people is inspiring. The Alma Mater of the Nation proudly honors you in our Year of the Arts. By the virtue of the power vested in me by the Board of Visitors and the Ancient Royal Charter of The College of William & Mary in Virginia, I hereby confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa.

Jeffrey B. Trammell '73, former Rector of the W&M Board of Visitors

Jeffrey Bevis Trammell, you are distinguished by courageous leadership in public affairs. An alumnus and former Rector of William & Mary, you exemplify the very best of this university.

You recall growing up in a small town in Florida that your family had two passions: basketball and politics. Both would play a role in bringing you to William & Mary in 1969 as a transfer student.

You knew you had found your academic home when you visited the university and discovered a close-knit community of engaged faculty and students. “That,” you would later say, “is one of the differentiators about William & Mary … It allows its alumni to have that sense of ‘I’m supposed to do something with this. I’m not just going to sit on the sidelines.’”

You received a basketball scholarship at William & Mary and rose to become team captain. In 1972, you were named all-conference. You studied history and served as president of the university’s chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

After graduation, you played basketball internationally and earned your law degree before launching an illustrious career in public affairs. For years you worked on Capitol Hill, including as counsel to the chair of the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. You became senior managing director of public affairs for Hill & Knowlton and then founded Trammell and Company, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. You have dedicated your working life to bettering opportunities for your fellow citizens.

Your expertise has been widely sought by Fortune 500 companies, political campaigns and boards. From 2000 to the present you have advised six presidential campaigns. You have served on the boards of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Human Rights Campaign and the LGBTQ Victims Remembrance Project for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

So too, Alma Mater is fortunate to benefit from your insight. You were appointed to William & Mary’s Board of Visitors in 2005 and reappointed in 2009. In 2011, you were elected rector, becoming the country’s first openly gay board chair at a major university. Your tenure sharpened William & Mary’s focus on our mission: to provide preeminent learning experiences while maintaining a public university’s commitment to affordability.

In 2022, you were instrumental in creating the Archive of American LGBTQ Political and Legal History at William & Mary. Established in memory of historian John Boswell ’69, the archive is a first in the United States and affirms this university’s commitment to telling a fuller account of U.S. history. The archive collects hundreds of pages of original, declassified materials critical to the movement for civil equality.

Jeffrey Bevis Trammell, never content to sit on the sidelines, you have played an active role in strengthening our democracy for future generations. For your leadership and service, Alma Mater proudly honors you now and for all times coming. By the virtue of the power vested in me by the Board of Visitors and the Ancient Royal Charter of The College of William & Mary in Virginia, I hereby confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Public Service, Honoris Causa.