The College of William & Mary has tapped a former rector as the keynote speaker for its 2015 Charter Day ceremony.
James Murray, who served as rector of the college’s Board of Visitors from 1994 to 1996, will deliver remarks during the Feb. 6 event, which recognizes King William III and Queen Mary II of England’s granting of the college’s royal charter in 1693.
Former college president Thomas Graves and former Virginia Commonwealth University provost Grace E. Harris will receive honorary degrees during the ceremony. Murray received an honorary doctor of laws degree at the college’s commencement ceremony in 2000.
William & Mary chancellor and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is also scheduled to speak at the Charter Day event.
Murray is a general partner with Court Square Ventures, a venture capital firm, and is a founding partner of Columbia Capital.
He graduated from the University of Virginia and attended the William & Mary Law School, receiving a juris doctor degree in 1974. After law school, he began working in venture capital, including a two-year stint as CEO of North Coast Cellular.
Murray has previously received several honors from the college, including Outstanding Alumnus recognition from the law school in 1975 and the Alumni Medallion in 2001.
He also served as president of the William & Mary Law School Alumni Association and is a founding trustee and treasurer of the School of Law Foundation.
He was appointed to the William & Mary Board of Visitors in 1991 by then-Gov. Doug Wilder, and served as vice rector from 1993-94. In 2000, he was named chairman of the seven-year “Campaign for William & Mary,” which raised more than $500 million for the college.
Murray and his wife, Bruce, donated funds to establish the 1693 Scholars program, the college’s most selective merit-based academic award.
Most recently, Murray chaired the Monroe Commission, which worked to recognize the contributions of James Monroe to Virginia and American history.
“Jim Murray’s professional success is rivaled only by his service to William & Mary,” college president Taylor Reveley said in a news release. “He has excelled as a venture capitalist, philanthropist, and leader. In countless ways, Jim has contributed time, creativity and resources to W&M. With his wife, Bruce, he established the original 1693 Scholars Program, which attracts the best and brightest students to the College, and his leadership of our Monroe Commission brings long overdue attention to one of William & Mary’s most influential alumni, President James Monroe.”
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