WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary held a Charter Day event Friday at Kaplan Arena celebrating the founding of the university in 1693 by British royal charter.
This year’s Charter Day marked the 332nd anniversary of the awarding of the Royal Charter from King William III and Queen Mary II of England and included a special “happy birthday” performance.
“Throughout our ceremony, we can highlight more ways that William Mary is expanding our reach, looking for the long play in our region and worldwide,” said President Katherine A. Rowe.
The event also launched the “Year of the Environment,” which celebrates its estuarine campus and renews its commitment to healthy ecosystems and the communities that depend on them, the university said in an announcement ahead of the ceremony.
The yearlong observance will advance sustainability efforts on campus and expand William & Mary’s impact around the world, it added.
The university also highlighted the $50 million gift from Dr. R. Todd Stravitz ’82 and the Brunckhorst Foundations announced last week to provide full tuition support for students pursuing the new bachelor’s degree in coastal & marine sciences at W&M’s Batten School. It is the largest scholarship gift in the university’s history.
Former W&M Rector Todd Stottlemyer, Acentra Health CEO and board member, received an honorary degree, and commented it was “pretty cool to join a group that includes the esteemed Benjamin Franklin.”
“I first stepped on this campus in October of 1976 as part of an 8th-grade field trip from New York, and I immediately fell in love with the beauty and the history of this university. I was privileged to be admitted four years later and receive a football scholarship,” he said. “I had a terrific experience as a student-athlete, and, most importantly, made lifelong friends, many of who were here today.”
“Since graduating, it has been an exciting journey to stay engaged and serve the University. I’m particularly proud of leading the Board of Visitors to a presidential search that selected Katherine Rowe as our 28th President. I’m going to say this very loudly and clearly. She is a rock star president,” he added.
Derek Aday, director of VIMS and chair of the Year of the Environment committee, also offered remarks.
“I think it’s particularly appropriate to use this platform to launch the Year of the Environment. In doing so, our goal will be to highlight, emphasize and expand the influence that we have on environmental issues,” he said. “Very broadly speaking, we’ll do so through the innovative and creative, scientific and artistic endeavors we engage in and that enable us to better understand the world around us and tackle the challenges we face.”
“We also launched this year the environment as we celebrate the incredible generosity of Dr. Todd Stravitz and the Brunckhorst Foundations, and the commitment that this gift makes to future students that we just heard from — the problem solvers for generations to come,” he added.
Watch the event here.
