William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe sent the following message to the campus community on Feb. 18, 2026. – Ed.
Dear William & Mary Community,
Fresh on the heels of a joyful Charter Day celebration, I write to preview the year ahead. As has been the W&M way for nearly a third of a millennium, Charter Day put new flourishes on cherished traditions. During this year’s festivities, we reinvested Chancellor Robert M. Gates ’65, L.H.D. ’98 for a historic third term. Student-athletes rejoiced at the dedication of the Mackesy Sports Performance Center — the Mack. W&M conferred honorary degrees to Ken Burns D.A. ’26 and Gov. Abigail Spanberger D.P.S. ’26.
In 2026, W&M will conclude our current strategic plan. Grounded in four cornerstone initiatives — data, water, democracy and careers — Vision 2026 elevated key areas of excellence at W&M. In a short five years, the impact is palpable:
- Our new School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics blends technical excellence with human insight.
- W&M’s Batten School & VIMS launched a new bachelor’s degree in coastal & marine sciences.
- A focus on internships has helped ensure that the Alma Mater of the Nation remains the best place for every graduate to launch a career. As of today, every undergraduate is guaranteed funding for unpaid or underpaid internships.
- Our Better Arguments curriculum is a national model for ensuring that all our graduates learn to cultivate community across differences.
- At Charter Day, we launched a Year of Civic Leadership, honoring the foundational role W&M played in establishing U.S. democracy — steered by Assistant Provost Roxane Adler Hickey M.Ed. ’02, Ed.D. ’23 and a university-wide leadership committee.
This spring, our community will begin the university’s next strategic planning effort. I invite you to join us in thinking generatively about how we might seize opportunities in four key areas that will remain evergreen over the coming decade: student demand, high-impact research, academic excellence, graduate outcomes. The foundation of these four imperatives will be our fifth area of focus: the professional well-being of W&M’s talented faculty and staff.
This new strategic planning effort will unfold over the coming year, focused on these key components of preeminence, the second word in W&M’s mission statement. I am grateful to Provost Peggy Agouris and Chief of Staff Carlane Pittman-Hampton Ph.D. ’03 for leading this vital process. Please stay tuned for invitations to participate as planning efforts get underway.
Best regards,
Katherine A. Rowe
President