November 13, 2023

Dear colleagues,

I’m proud to share that W&M’s iGEM team won gold and ranked among the top 10 out of 400 undergraduate teams at the iGEM Grand Jamboree. The students saw a gap in the scientific community’s understanding of soil synthetic biology, so they researched and developed a soil bacterium that can help address degradation that is happening across the globe. Their interdisciplinary work also earned them first prize for measurement.

Looking ahead, this week is filled with exciting activities and celebrations, including William & Mary Education Week, which features virtual and in-person opportunities to honor and learn from educators in our community.

Additionally, Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Thomasina E. Jordan Director of the American Indian Resource Center, will deliver the Fall 2023 Tack Lecture“Reconnecting Native Narratives to the Brafferton Indian School” at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Commonwealth Auditorium of Sadler Center. I hope to see many of you there (please RSVP) and at Education Week events.

Here are this week’s Top 5 Things to Know:

President Katherine A. Rowe will host a campus-wide Vision 2026 forum today at 3:30 p.m. in Miller Hall, Brinkley Commons. In an effort to provide insight into our shared progress toward the strategic plan’s near-term goals, leaders of initiatives in data, water, democracy and careers will give updates on key milestones. I hope you can join us.
The Board of Visitors will consider a resolution for a new school comprising the departments of Computer Science (including Data Science), Applied Science, and Physics on Friday, November 17. Both the pre-read (pdf) and the resolution (pdf) are publicly available. I thank the four academic units for their vision and enthusiasm, the Faculty Assembly, and the steering committee alongside all those who shared thoughts on the future of these departments at William & Mary over many months of exploration.
Information Technology, the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation and W&M Libraries are hosting the workshop “Teaching, Technology & Accessibility” at 3-4 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the Ford Classroom in Swem Library. Please RSVP if you’re interested in attending this opportunity to bolster your knowledge and skills around accessibility in teaching. Please note, too, that additional information can be found at Accessibility at W&M.
Every year, colleagues across campus work to ensure we are reporting accurate census data through the Faculty Verification process. This is a heavy lift for many within Arts & Sciences, the schools and central units. The critical and timely information acquired and submitted ensures the precision and quality of our faculty data as an institution. The data serve as the official data set for a wide range of reporting purposes, including submissions to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), rankings by U.S. News & World Report and to the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Additionally, any official (internal or external) inquiries W&M receives about faculty are answered using this precise data set. I appreciate deeply these efforts and the amount of care and time that many devote to ensure this process is completed successfully.
This week’s shoutout goes to the research groups and attendees who participated in the Interdisciplinary Innovation Research Symposium last Wednesday. I thoroughly enjoyed the research updates and being part of insightful conversations focused on exciting new research partnerships. With this being our first funded cohort focusing on the arts and humanities, I could not be more excited about the level of excellence already reflected in the research and the positive momentum behind these interdisciplinary efforts.

Finally, I hope you are all able to enjoy remote teaching on the University Recognition Days, Nov. 20–22, in advance of Thanksgiving, as well as a wonderful, restful holiday.