State of the University
From President Katherine A. Rowe
From 2018 to 2023
In 2018, newly arrived as president at William & Mary, I launched “Thinking Forward,” a university-wide conversation on the future of knowledge, work and service. I was coming to know this community and wanted to use that understanding to shape W&M’s future strategic planning efforts. In one of our first gatherings, I asked W&M faculty, “What is changing in your fields?” The resounding answer: “Everything.”
None of us understood then how prescient this response was. Six years later, our community has learned firsthand that we can adapt much more quickly than we knew. Moving through pandemic with total focus on our mission and values has sharpened our sense of purpose. And it has deepened our commitment to making the highest-quality education in the country accessible to all who can flourish here.
The pace of transformation continues to accelerate in all industries and fields. We have asked ourselves what W&M will be known for in decades to come. What principles will ensure continuity and shared purpose as we lead the evolution of the arts and sciences? Our throughline is very clear. William & Mary will continue to ensure that our students receive the most personal education — the highest-quality learning experiences — of any public university in the nation.
The “Quintessential Public Ivy”
W&M occupies a unique and distinctive position in higher education. We provide the close mentoring and teaching experiences of a private institution. Yet our funding model reflects a public university’s dedication to affordability. The range of our liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with professional schools, ensures our graduates have the broad human understanding and flexibility to flourish in careers in which everything will continue to change.
Our position is strong:
- William & Mary holds the lowest student/faculty ratio among nationally leading public universities (13:1). An estimated 80% of undergraduates participate in faculty-mentored research.
- W&M is the No. 6 best public university for undergraduate teaching. We remain the nation’s top public university for internships three years in a row, and the No. 1 public university for annual alumni giving for the eighth consecutive year. We lead the nation in career outcomes for alumni in finance, management and law.
- W&M’s total consolidated endowment is valued at $1.36 billion. Donors contributed more than $70 million in FY23 — with nearly $20 million designated for scholarships, our top fundraising priority.
- We are closing out our $55-million All In campaign for W&M Athletics, providing robust scholarship support for student-athletes, state-of-the-art facilities, enriching student-athlete experiences and enduring financial stability in athletics.
- Our community celebrated 10 years of One Tribe One Day by setting a new fundraising record, with over $4 million raised for nearly 800 designations across campus.
- Over the past decade, our in-state Pell Grant recipients have increased by 30%. Students continue to graduate with debt well below the national average, and we continue to afford opportunities for our out-of-state students through generous scholarship support.
The kindness of our entire community propels this success. Financial strength has been hard won, through careful planning and sustained effort over the course of a decade. As we look ahead, if we are smart in the way we evolve, we can continue to claim this precious, competitive position.
An Uphill Climb
The challenges higher education faces today are significant; indeed, they are the most pronounced I have seen in my career. It is wise to acknowledge them candidly and prudent to prepare with care.
- Nationally, study after study indicates that the perceived value of higher education is at an historic low. In Virginia, by contrast, we find ourselves on solid ground. Robust relationships among the business community, the legislature and higher education have built trust. Strong majorities on both sides of the political aisle express confidence in Virginia’s institutions of higher education.
- The approaching “demographic cliff” will dramatically shrink the nation’s traditional college-aged population, starting in 2026. We have seen impacts already in the Northeast. Here again, Virginia shows more robust trends; yet every selective national institution will need to differentiate itself to retain strength in applications.
- Around the country, public discourse attests to the increasing polarization of our society and mistrust of institutions. Attacks on free speech are frequent.
- Rankings that had long served as proxies for institutional quality (by providing external validation of preeminence) have become both volatile and increasingly irrelevant. As publishers seek to retain influence in a fragmenting media market, most have scrubbed key measures of quality from their metrics.
All of these trends make it clear why leaning into our university’s long-standing values matters so much today. At W&M, we are passionately committed to creating an environment in which respect and belonging are paramount in our learning community. We focus on reducing student debt and increasing access because talent can be found everywhere. We ensure all students can take advantage of funded and paid internships, without extending time to degree; applied and work-based learning are important pathways into successful, fulfilling careers. And we graduate incredible alumni who remain deeply engaged in supporting the generations that follow. These are the commitments that have mattered and that will continue to matter to us as the Alma Mater of the Nation.
Plus … Innovation Is In Our DNA
W&M’s success in adapting to challenging conditions is not new. It is a distinction earned over more than three centuries of defying gravity. The strategy we pursue today continues that tradition. Many of the near-term goals set under pandemic, in Vision 2026, are reaching key milestones:
Data
In November, the Board of Visitors approved a plan bringing together the departments and programs in Computer Science, Data Science, Applied Science and Physics as a new school (a first at W&M in more than half a century). This new school will meet blossoming student demand, priming our graduates to think critically with data, at scale — as part of a broad liberal arts preparation in the 21st century.
Water
This fall, W&M announced a director of the new Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative, a university-wide collaboration driving actionable research and training for policymakers.
Democracy
W&M earned national headlines with the Bray School move in February. Civics education has become part of how we welcome students to the Alma Mater of the Nation. A new podcast from W&M tackles pressing issues such as AI and elections.
Careers
This year, we were able to guarantee a funded internship to every undergraduate who sought one. Since 2021, W&M has quadrupled the number of students who receive support for unpaid internships, and funding to support students in unfunded internships has tripled.
Celebrating the Arts
The Year of the Arts in 2023-24 honors the creative talents of students, faculty, staff and alumni. It also amplifies arts education in the 21st century and the vital role that the arts play in all facets of W&M’s educational experience. W&M received funding from the commonwealth to the tune of $138.8 million for a state-of-the-art Arts Quarter. Private support affirms the state’s extraordinary investment. Glenn Close ’74, D.A. ’89, H.F. ’19 led our cherished Homecoming Parade as grand marshal while talented current students bring to life Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall’s new mainstage, freshly dedicated in her honor. The Music Building’s halls ring out with a thunderous chorus. Meanwhile, construction on The Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts, which houses the Muscarelle Museum of Art, rolls on.
In these celebrations, we elevate the arts as core to W&M’s distinctive human-centered, multidisciplinary education. Through the study, creation and appreciation of art, students learn the core skills of freedom: the ability to look and listen closely; the recognition that people can come away from the same experience with different, equally valid perspectives and interpretations.
Long-term Planning for Our Beloved Campuses
For the first time in W&M’s modern history, we are developing a comprehensive framework for living, learning and working on our iconic campuses. Our Campus Master Plan — the living document that guides how W&M stewards our multiple campuses to support our educational mission — will be expanded to a Campus Comprehensive Plan. This year, work is ongoing on two new sections of the plan: the Learning Spaces Planning Committee and the Landscape Planning Committee. These frameworks will drive investments in physical environments of teaching, learning and research at W&M.
For centuries, W&M has brought curious, community-minded students together with world-class faculty to inspire lifelong learning. Donors to every part of this university elevate W&M’s preeminence, ensuring this talented next generation finds unmatched experiences and opportunities here. I am proud to count myself part of this incredible community and grateful to work with you to build on our legacy in the years ahead.
Katherine A. Rowe
President
