William & Mary
Close menu Resources for... William & Mary
Popular Topics
Suggested Results
News Events
Apply Visit Request Info
W&M menu close William & Mary
Office of the Provost

March 18, 2024

Dear colleagues,

Campus is vibrant with activity this week ahead. Today marks the kick off of the 2024 Ampersand International Arts Festival, with an abundance of programming, from film screenings to workshops to theatrical performances. Current students, faculty and staff are well represented, including a theatrical play written and directed by undergraduate Ella Jo Nguyen. Saturday, March 23, will feature two impressive W&M alumni, Oscar award-winning writer/director Cord Jefferson ’04 and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Walter Hickey ‘12. I’m also looking forward to tomorrow’s lecture from Muscarelle artist-in-residence Delita Martin, who while on campus is creating an imaginative portrait of one of the documented enslaved women at W&M. 

In other good news, I’m pleased to share that the Williamsburg Bray School is featured in Southern Living. 

Here are the Top 5 Things to Know this week:

  1. My office, in partnership with W&M Libraries, will host the inaugural Celebration of the Book reception at Swem Library on Wednesday, April 10, from 4-5:30 p.m. This event recognizes the hard work and dedication of faculty & staff who have recently published or edited a book or book chapter. I salute our accomplished researchers, writers and editors, and look forward to exploring the displayed works at the reception. If you have work to share, please submit your book title by the end of today . Please register for the event if you plan to attend. 
  2. Beginning this spring, all students, including graduate students, will register for courses via the PATH registration system. This new system improves the functionality and experience for all users, and will give W&M valuable insight on how students choose coursework. Between March 27 and April 2, undergraduate students will build their fall schedules in a registration cart, with opportunities to prioritize options and select alternative courses. Carts will then close, and students' registration will be processed. Schedules will become available to students on April 15, and add/drop will begin in PATH on April 18. Additionally, the university is implementing an automated waitlist for undergraduate Arts & Sciences courses (already in use for law courses) and is disabling max-capacity overrides. Detailed information about PATH, including a registration timeline, how-to guides for cart building and automated waitlist, and a schedule of both in-person and virtual help sessions are now available on the University Registrar PATH webpage. 
  3. W&M is partnering with Hillel International on a campus climate review to assess experiences and belonging for Jewish students, faculty and staff through hour-long, virtual focus groups conducted by researchers at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research organization. Focus groups may discuss topics such as sense of welcome, cross-cultural interactions, attitudes and treatments of Jewish employees and students at W&M and expressions of Jewish identity. The faculty session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, with the staff session noon on Wednesday, April 3. Jewish student focus groups are conducted separately, with undergraduate sessions on March 26 and March 27, and a graduate student session on March 27. If interested, please complete the NORC team’s online questionnaire and registration form. 
  4. March 22 marks two major events on campus. The Whole of Government Center of Excellence and campus partners are hosting the 4th Annual National Security Conference on March 22 from 8 a.m. -5 p.m. I’m pleased to provide introductory remarks for the conference, entitled “Data & Democracy: AI, Cyber Defense, and National Security,” and to hear from impressive experts, including many of W&M’s own. Although in-person registration is closed, livestream access and a waitlist option are available. Beginning the same day and continuing all day Saturday, March 23, is the 14th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium, “Taking Our Time: Healing Through Black History, Family, and Communities.” Register now or on-site to attend a wide range of fascinating and critical topics, including illuminating the experiences of the first fully integrated graduating class in the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools. 
  5. The shout-out for this week goes to all W&M faculty, staff and students honoring Women’s History Month with creative programming. From the School of Education’s March 8 all-day hybrid event tackling topics like breaking barriers and creating affinity spaces to upcoming women’s wellness and salary negotiation events, plus SADA’s Disabled Women’s Weekend (which will feature faculty research talks), your persistence in nurturing spaces for issues important to this community is admirable. 

Recently, I met with student leadership for a conversation about academic stress and wellness. This is a truly student-driven dialogue and I anticipate progress on this priority as the semester continues. Additionally, W&M Associate Vice President for Health & Wellness Kelly Crace was featured in the news discussing wellness initiatives focusing on faculty and staff. In Dr. Crace’s words, “Our students can’t be fully well unless their faculty and staff are well.” I agree, and in addition to encouraging you to focus on your own health & well-being, I recognize faculty members who have participated in Dr. Crace’s research studying mindfulness and stress resilience.