WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary students and faculty greeted Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger with cheers and applause Friday as the new governor took the podium during the university’s annual Charter Day celebration.
It’s a longstanding tradition to invite the newly elected governor to speak on Charter Day, which marks the school’s founding by a British royal charter on Feb. 8, 1693. Spanberger joined filmmaker Ken Burns as one of the event’s two speakers.
The ceremony also launched “The Year of Civic Leadership,” which celebrates the university’s commitment to service, public stewardship and leadership for the common good.
The university has spent 333 years preparing “brilliant” minds to lead, William & Mary President Katherine Rowe told the crowd gathered Friday at Kaplan Arena. In her opening remarks, she reflected on the university’s recent achievements, such as the opening of the School of Computing — William & Mary’s first new school in half a century.
In this landmark year, as the country celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “we are exploring what it means to be the Alma Mater of the Nation in the 21st century,” she said.
“We persistently pursue excellence,” Rowe said. “We evolved to meet the needs of the present and the future so we can remain the dream school of the 21st century — the best place for every graduate to launch their career, whatever path they choose.”
William & Mary President Katherine Rowe speaks to the audience during the university’s 333rd Charter Day celebration. (James W. Robinson/The Virginia Gazette)
During the ceremony, Robert M. Gates was reinvested as William & Mary’s 24th chancellor. This is the third term for the former secretary of defense, who served former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He is the longest serving chancellor in the university’s history.
Gates pointed to the caliber of William & Mary’s leadership and his optimism of their future as reasons he chose to serve a third term. It was also for the students, he said, calling their ideas and passion for serving others “truly extraordinary.” Gates said the university gives him hope, inspiring a sense of duty to serve the country and community.
“Here, students learn about the rights and privileges of citizenship,” Gates said. “But they also learn about the obligations and duties we have as citizens.”
Chancellor Robert M. Gates was reinstated for his third term on Friday, Feb. 6. The former U.S. Secretary of Defense has served presidents from both parties and is the longest-running chancellor in William & Mary history. (James W. Robinson/The Virginia Gazette)
Burns and Spanberger were both given honorary degrees, the first being given to Benjamin Franklin in 1756, said Rowe. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Burns — sometimes called “America’s Storyteller,” last year debuted a portion of his latest documentary, “The American Revolution,” on the lawn of the Governor’s Palace in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.
With 50 years of creating documentaries, the New York native said it’s his job to try to discern patterns of the past to interpret the “confusing” and “dismaying” present. He reflected on his first PBS film, 1981’s “Brooklyn Bridge,” and interviewing playwright Arthur Miller for the project.
Burns shared Miller’s final remarks in the film on the bridge’s designer, John A. Roebling: “He really aspired to do something gorgeous. … Maybe, you too could add something that would last and be beautiful.” Burns encouraged the audience to do the same, whether they were young or old.
“It doesn’t have to be a bridge or a symphony or a book or a business,” Burns said. “It could be the look in the eye of a child you raise with love or in the simple garden you tend. But above all, do something that will last and be beautiful.”
“But above all, do something that will last and be beautiful,” said documentary filmmaker Ken Burns during William & Mary’s Charter Day celebration on Friday, Feb. 6. (James W. Robinson/The Virginia Gazette)
Spanberger, Virginia’s first woman governor, received a much warmer welcome than her predecessor. When he spoke at William & Mary in 2022, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin was met with boos and some audience members who walked out.
Spanberger, who took classes at William & Mary before transferring to the University of Virginia, had a long career in law enforcement and public service before being elected to Congress in 2018. She served three terms before being elected governor in November.
On Friday, speaking on the nation facing past division and hardships, Spanberger said that America has always found a way forward. And that way, she said, requires something much stronger than political leadership: people.
“It takes civic leadership. It takes engaged, informed citizens choosing service to one another over self-interest,” Spanberger said. “Everyday Americans choosing community over chaos and division … choosing the pursuit of our common good.”
The university’s three-century legacy is something to celebrate, she said, while noting that the nation’s history is not all celebration. Virginia’s story, she said, includes issues it is still reckoning with, including slavery, the struggle for civil rights and women’s equality.
Spanberger noted that she signed her first piece of legislation as governor that morning: a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee marriage equality in the state. The amendment, which would remove the ban on same-sex marriage that was placed 20 years ago, will go before Virginia citizens for a vote this year.
“Sometimes progress can come quickly and sometimes it takes a long time,” Spanberger said. “But it requires that civic engagement and leadership.”
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
