College of William & Mary welcomes former defense secretary
The College of William & Mary will have a new chancellor in 2012 — former defense secretary Robert Gates!
As the college details on its site, Gates will become the College of William & Mary’s 24th chancellor. Gates is an undergrad alum of William & Mary, graduating in 1965. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the college.
Gates remarked on his new role, saying, “I am deeply honored to have been asked to return to the College of William & Mary, my alma mater, to serve as Chancellor. The time I spent at William & Mary as an undergraduate student shaped my life and I look forward to working with the students, staff, faculty and the William & Mary community. It is a privilege to follow such outstanding leaders as Sandra Day O’Connor, Henry Kissinger and Margaret Thatcher. William & Mary is known around the world as an exceptional school which produces up and coming national and world leaders. In addition to an outstanding education, William & Mary instills in its students a sense of duty to community and country. I look forward to doing all that I can to continue and build on these traditions.”
Gates will be assuming the role from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who will end her term in February 2012.
President Barack Obama has commented on Gates’ new appointment at William & Mary, saying in a press release, “I congratulate Robert Gates on his selection as the twenty-fourth Chancellor of the College of William & Mary. In Bob, one of our nation’s oldest colleges has found one of our nation’s finest public servants. I’m confident that Bob will bring to this new role the same sense of duty and personal integrity that I and other Presidents valued during his distinguished career in government. As he did at Texas A&M and the Department of Defense, Bob will again help lead an institution devoted to our nation’s most precious resource—our young men and women. I wish Bob the very best as he begins this new chapter at his alma mater, which helped to inspire his commitment to public service five decades ago.”
Read more about Robert Gates’ new position at the College of William & Mary here.
