Senior Vice President for Student Affairs & Public Safety Ginger Ambler sent the following message to students on Oct. 24, 2026. – Ed.
Dear Campus Community,
Last night, a number of William & Mary students were injured after a porch on an off-campus residence collapsed. We are grateful that none of the injuries were life-threatening. While we are still working to gather information about what happened, we know that 13 people were transported by local emergency services to the hospital and 15 more transported themselves. Additional students may have sought care later last night or this morning.
We recognize that such an experience may affect our students deeply and in different ways. They will need our help in the coming days as they recover and maintain momentum at William & Mary. Colleagues in health & wellness, academic wellbeing, public safety, care support, student leadership development, residence life, and more are working to assist our students. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at studentaffairs@wm.edu or in our individual areas if you need help or if you see someone struggling.
We also want to thank the Williamsburg Police and Fire Departments and the James City County Fire Department for their quick and thoughtful response and the City of Williamsburg for its continuing investigation.
William & Mary is a deeply caring community. I know all of us are saddened that this happened and will do everything we can to support the affected students.
Yours,
Ginger Ambler