Following is the text of an electronic letter dated Dec. 17 by Gene Nichol, president of the College of William and Mary, to the campus community concerning the announcement of the recommended state budget by Gov. Timothy Kaine.

Freshmen at the College of William and Mary next fall will begin their first year participating in a long-term biology research project, part of an initiative to reform science education by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Construction of William and Mary's new School of Education building would be fully funded according to a proposal by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine that provides more than $38 million to complete the project.

Know it or not, your life is probably impacted by the technology of sensors on a daily basis. From security and fire suppression systems to research on bay erosion and storm surge, sensors are playing an ever increasing role in today's world.

As the Michael Vick dog-fighting saga captured the attention of the nation, two professors from William and Mary's School of Law provided some of the country's top media outlets with expert insight into the legal proceedings that recently landed the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback a 23-month prison term.

A professor at the College of William and Mary's School of Education recently earned National Board Certification for early and middle childhood literacy education, according to an announcement made Dec. 4.

Residents of Amazonia could find that their rain forests generate more income with the trees standing than when cleared for logging or agricultural development, according to an incentive program outlined in a leading scientific journal.

Following is the text of an electronic letter dated Dec. 17 by Gene Nichol, president of the College of William and Mary, to the campus community concerning the announcement of the recommended state budget by Gov. Timothy Kaine.

In what is more of an evolution than revolution of its trademark symbol, the College of William and Mary unveiled a new logo design Thursday that is intended to simplify and unify its visual image across campus.

For the third time in history -- and the first time in 15 years -- a student at the College of William and Mary has been awarded the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.

The William and Mary Board of Visitors will meet on Dec. 5-7, 2007, in Williamsburg, Va., in Blow Memorial Hall located on Richmond Road.

Smart, athletic, generous, handsome, funny, irreverent, competitive, loving and loyal. A brother, son, teacher, student and friend. In his 18 years, Ben Gutenberg was all of these things and more.

Chris Lettich was the boy his grandfather always wanted, but the two never had a chance to meet. Because of an HIV-positive blood transfusion, Lettich's grandfather died before his grandson was born.

A short section of Ukrop Way on the campus of the College of William and Mary will be closed temporarily due to construction work at the future home of the Mason School of Business. During the closure, Landrum Drive will be opened to through traffic from Ukrop Way to Jamestown Road.

The Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy at the College of William and Mary reported today that people in the greater Williamsburg area with Medicaid or no health insurance are the most likely to have problems with access to a doctor.

The William and Mary family is mourning the loss of one of its own today. Freshman and fencing team member Ben Gutenberg passed away Tuesday as the result of injuries suffered in a Nov. 10 car accident near Richmond. College President Gene R. Nichol notified the campus community about the sad news in a message Tuesday afternoon.

According to a study conducted by the Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy at the College of William & Mary, Virginia will need up to three new care centers to meet the projected long-term care needs of Virginia veterans.

The College of William and Mary's Athletics Department showed a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 96 percent among its student-athletes who entered school on athletics scholarships in the 2000-01 athletics year in data recently released by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).

In keeping with the evolving digital age, the Earl Gregg Swem Library is providing more of its research and reference resources online. Recently, Swem added 11 new digital databases, including Academic Search Premier and Education Research Complete.

The Phoenix Project, a statewide nonprofit organization, is now accepting applications for its 2008 Nonprofit Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship program, June 15th to July 26th in Petersburg, VA.

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Michael Leavitt, has appointed College of William and Mary faculty member, Louis F. Rossiter, Ph.D., to the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).

When Daniel Key got the Sharpe Community Scholars Program brochure in the mail before starting his freshman year at the College of William and Mary, he threw it away.

Two graduate students in William and Mary's biology program received external grants totaling $42,900 to continue their work on environmentally sensitive projects.

The College of William and Mary Law School will host a talk by Jay Alan Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, titled "De-Constructing the Constitution: Privacy, Security, and the State in the 21st Century" on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

The Human Rights and National Security Law Program at the College of William and Mary Law School will present an address by Michael Scharf Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. in room 124 of the Law School.

Gene Nichol, president of the College of William & Mary, will address the George Wythe Society Nov. 7, 2007 at 1 p.m. at the William and Mary Law School, Room 120.

Students at the country's oldest law school are now enjoying one of the world's newest libraries as construction on The Wolf Law Library at the College of William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe Law School is completed.

The trek down Duke of Gloucester Street at Homecoming will be a short one for Jane Thompson Kaplan '56 and Jim Kaplan '57. As grand marshals of the 78th edition of William and Mary's annual Homecoming Parade, these longtime friends and benefactors of the College will be the center of attention at a place which they have supported so much.

Sam Sadler, vice president for student affairs, sent the following note to the campus community Tuesday afternoon regarding reported incidents of MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphyloccoccus aureus) in the Hampton Roads region, including one case this year involving a William and Mary student.

About 400 students from the College of William and Mary will contribute more than 2,000 hours of service to the Williamsburg community Oct. 20 as a part of the 9th annual Make-A-Difference Day.

Michael Blakey's work as lead scientist at the New York African Burial Ground led to the designation of the site as a national monument. A memorial at the site was dedicated Oct. 5.

The College of William and Mary will be conducting a test of its new emergency campus-wide siren Monday, Oct. 15, 2007 at 12:15 p.m.

More than 86 percent of respondents to an employee survey at William and Mary are proud to say they work at the College, according to the results of a report released Friday. In addition, more than 95% believe their job gives them a sense of personal satisfaction.

Mason School faculty ranked #3 by Princeton Review

Each fall for the last 20 years participants have gathered at the William and Mary Law School for its annual Supreme Court Preview. Legal experts, scholars and journalists who cover the Court come to examine its upcoming session and dissect its rulings from the previous term.

The College of William and Mary and The Mason School of Business recognized two longtime friends and supporters, Hays T. Watkins Jr. LLD '82 and his son H. Thomas Watkins III '74, for their leadership and support to the College totaling more than $4.5 million over three decades.

The William and Mary Board of Visitors approved the appointment of Paul Marcus as the first Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching Sept. 28.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine released a plan Monday to reduce state spending by about $300 million across the Commonwealth-including $3 million at William and Mary-in an effort to make up a $641 million revenue shortfall this biennium.

Michael K. Powell, rector of the College of William and Mary, sent the following message to members of the College community following the Board of Visitors meeting on Sept. 28.

The endowment at the College of William and Mary increased 19.2 percent, or $94.2 million, during the 2006-7 fiscal year. As of June 30, 2007, endowment funds that support William and Mary totaled $585.9 million, an increase from $491.7 million the previous year.

A successful test of the College's siren system was conducted Wednesday morning. As expected, the new audible siren system sounded across campus for one minute.

The William and Mary Board of Visitors will meet on September 27-28, 2007, in Williamsburg, Va., in Blow Memorial Hall located on Richmond Road.

Sam Sadler, vice president of student affairs and chair of the College's emergency management committee, sent the following e-mail to faculty, staff and students regarding Wednesday's test of William and Mary's new emergency sirens system.

The College of William and Mary will be testing its new emergency alert system and campus-wide siren Monday, Sept. 24 at 10:30 a.m.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, a member of the William and Mary Class of 1965, will return to Williamsburg next week to deliver a major address during the World Forum on the Future of Democracy.

The College of William and Mary and New Town will partner to host students at a fun-filled event Thursday, September 20 featuring door prizes, live entertainment by Snackbar Jones, extended store hours and special discounts for William and Mary students, faculty and staff (W&M ID is required for discounts).

The College of William and Mary Law School will host the 20th annual Supreme Court Preview Sept. 14 -15 at the Law School.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced recently that state agencies-including public institutions of higher education-would be asked to make budget reductions to help fill in the state revenue shortfall of $641 million over the next biennium.

The College of William and Mary Law School will host a discussion on "Prosecutorial Abuse and the Duke Lacrosse Case," Sept. 14 sponsored by the Institute of Bill of Rights Law.

The session, "The Future of Democracy: Why does it matter?" will be hosted by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of the The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.

Alan Goldman and Melvin Patrick Ely, both William R. Kenan Jr. Professors of Humanities, will use the fellowships to conduct research and produce major pieces of scholarly work during the 2007-08 academic year.

The Center for Excellence in Aging and Geriatric Health (CEAGH) was awarded a grant this month by The Virginia Department for the Aging to offer free driver evaluations (a $295 value) to people in the greater Williamsburg area.

The College of William and Mary Class of 2011 and entering graduate and transfer students will be welcomed August 31 by alumna Dr. Michelle Whitehurst-Cook ('75) at the annual Opening Convocation.

Members of the group One-in-Four left Williamsburg last week for a nine-month national tour that will continue bring sexual assault prevention education to more and more college campuses across the country.

The College of William and Mary once again fared well in a national ranking of universities. In the recently released Washington Monthly rankings, the D.C.-based magazine listed William and Mary as 23rd in the country-second in terms of the percentage of students who go on to serve in the Peace Corps, according to the magazine.

Demolition work of the former Sentara Williamsburg Community Hospital on Monticello Avenue will begin on Sept. 4, 2007.

The Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary announces a significant leadership change in its top-ranked Executive MBA Program.

As the W&M in Washington Program begins its second year, program administrators have discovered a welcome result of having William and Mary students living, studying and working in Washington, D.C. during the school year-namely, that nearly 30 percent of spring 2007 semester students parlayed their internships into summer or full-time jobs.

There is always a touch of anxiety as College freshmen (and their parents) prepare for the big move to dorm life. For the first time, William and Mary students and their families can preview their residence halls remotely-and before they ever arrive-via podcasts.

For the ninth straight year, the College of William and Mary remains sixth among the nation's public universities-and it is the best small public university, according to the 2007 annual undergraduate rankings of colleges and universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Eleven students and alumni from the College of William and Mary will study or teach abroad on Fulbright U.S. Student scholarships during the coming academic year.

The College of William and Mary's Student Health Center recently achieved national accreditation status for the second time and received an award for excellence for its laboratory.

The College of William and Mary will welcome a class with more recorded international and first-generation students than ever before when the Class of 2011 arrives on campus at the end of this month.

The College of William and Mary's School of Education has received a grant for $152,500 from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia to help fund middle-school literacy efforts.

The College of William and Mary has signed a contract with The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI), for an emergency alert system that will provide rapid communication to the campus community.

Prospective students and their families are getting a fresh first look at the College of William and Mary campus through the doors of the new undergraduate admission building.

The Board of Visitors at the College of William and Mary will hold a summer retreat on July 15-16, 2007 at the Conference Center at Upper Brandon in Prince George County, Va.

Alumna Kathy Hornsby '79, a Williamsburg businesswoman, philanthropist and advocate for the arts, has been appointed to the College of William and Mary's Board of Visitors, Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced today.

Dr. Mark Patterson of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, has been chosen as mission leader for a coral-reef research project that will be broadcast live worldwide to thousands of students and ocean enthusiasts from the Aquarius Underwater Laboratory, America's "Inner Space Station."

he College of William and Mary has announced that it has surpassed the goal of its seven-year Campaign for William and Mary, with $508 million raised before the initiative's official close on June 30.

As the featured guest told them during a special ceremony in the Wren Chapel just hours before William and Mary's commencement ceremony, the new Army lieutenants were about to join a proud legacy of ROTC graduates from William and Mary.

State Sen. Tommy Norment (R-3rd) has been named the recipient of the College of William and Mary's 2007 Prentis Award. College President Gene R. Nichol presented the award at a reception honoring Norment May 16.

The Rev. William H. Willimon, Bishop of the United Methodist Church and a nationally known pastor and author, will serve as keynote speaker for the baccalaureate service this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at William and Mary Hall.

An international research team, including Dr. Robert Diaz of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, has found hundreds of new marine species in the vast, dark deep-sea surrounding Antarctica-the bottom of the bottom of the world.

When Ed Davis was pulled over for drag racing as a high school senior, he had no idea that he would be getting more than a fine from the experience.

The Executive Committee of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary has scheduled a brief meeting at 9:30 a.m., Sunday, May 20, 2007 to discuss Governor Kaine's amendments to the state budget approved by the General Assembly last month. The meeting will be held in the Board Conference Room in Blow Memorial Hall on Richmond Road.

Thousands gathered at the College of William and Mary today to welcome Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Virginia.

Work of William and Mary students and faculty figure prominently in "Pocahontas Revealed," an episode of the PBS program NOVA, to be broadcast Tuesday, May 8.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II will visit the College of William and Mary on May 4, 2007, and take part in a brief program Friday afternoon in the Courtyard at the Sir Christopher Wren Building.

State Sen. Tommy Norment (R-3rd) was presented the William and Mary School of Education's Jo Lynne DeMary Award at an Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership Alumni breakfast in the University Center yesterday.

Legum Professor of History Scott R. Nelson's acclaimed book, Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend has recently been awarded three significant book prizes, the Organization of American Historians' (OAH) Merle Curti Award for the best book published in American social/cultural history, awarded in March; the National Award for Arts Writing, which will be awarded in May; and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award which will be awarded in later this year.

A premiere showing of the NOVA/PBS documentary "Pocahontas Revealed," focusing on recent excavations of Chief Powhatan's capital at Werowocomoco and the English settlement of Jamestown will be held at the Kimball Theater Tuesday, May 1.

The following itinerary was released today by Buckingham Palace regarding the state visit next week of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. In addition to marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the Queen will visit the campus at the College of William and Mary on May 4, 2007.

The following resolution was passed today by the William and Mary Board of Visitors.

Governor Kaine has declared tomorrow, Friday, April 20, a statewide day of mourning for the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy and their families.

In-state undergraduates attending the College of William and Mary for the 2007-08 academic year will pay $5,595 annually for tuition, an increase of $415, according to a proposal adopted Friday by the William and Mary Board of Visitors.

The William and Mary Committee on Religion at a Public University announced at a public meeting Monday its recommendations regarding the location of the Wren Cross inside the Wren Chapel.

The William and Mary Board of Visitors will meet on April 19-20, 2007, in Williamsburg, Va., in Blow Memorial Hall located at 262 Richmond Road.

Steven W. Fitschen, Research Professor of Law at Regent University School of Law, will deliver a lecture May 1, 2007, on "Religion and Government: Accommodation, Encouragement, and Establishment."

The committee charged with developing a new logo for the College of William and Mary and its athletics program is seeking input from members of the College community.

College of William and Mary professor Nikos Chrisochoides has been awarded the 2007 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship on Medicine and Health.

The William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University will meet on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 2 p.m. The meeting with take place in the Board Room in Blow Memorial Hall on Richmond Road and will be open to the public. The Committee will not be entertaining public comment at this meeting. For questions about the meeting, please contact Cheryl Corvello, at 757-221-1159.

Author Os Guinness will deliver a lecture April 12, 2007 at the College of William and Mary on "World Safe for Diversity: living with our deepest differences in age of exploding pluralism."

The School of Education at the College of William and Mary was ranked among the nation's best graduate programs in the field by U.S. News & World Report's most recent survey.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, a member of the Class of 1965, is scheduled to deliver the 2007 commencement address at the College of William and Mary on May 20.

Kelly Hallinger and Ashwin Rastogi, students at the College of William and Mary, have been named 2007-08 Goldwater Scholars.

The University Center Activities Board (UCAB) brings to campus political satirist and best-selling author Christopher Buckley with "An Evening with Christopher Buckley."

A College of William and Mary alumnus was recently named a 2007 Gates Cambridge Scholar. Eric Koskinen ('01), currently a graduate student at Brown University, is one of two William and Mary graduates to have ever received the honor.

Erwin Chemerinsky, the Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Political Science at the Duke University, will deliver a lecture April 5, 2007, on "Why Church and State Should be Separate."

The Mason School of Business at The College of William & Mary will have a ceremonial groundbreaking for its new building, Alan B. Miller Hall, March 30 at the building site at the intersection of Jamestown Road and Ukrop Way.

Did certain primates evolve good eyesight as a mechanism to deal with venomous snakes?

Due to scheduling conflicts, the meeting of the Committee on Financial Affairs of the William and Mary Board of Visitors scheduled for Monday, March 19, in Richmond has been cancelled. The meeting will be rescheduled in the coming weeks.

The William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University will meet on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 1 p.m.

Political scientist and author Thomas E. Mann has been named the 2007 Hunter B. Andrews Fellow in American Politics at the College of William and Mary.

Norfolk Southern Corporation, through its Foundation, has committed $150,000 to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, to help purchase a state-of-the-art laboratory instrument that will provide exciting new opportunities for addressing important questions in marine ecology and conservation.

The Committee on Financial Affairs of the William and Mary Board of Visitors will meet on Monday, March 19, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in the Shockoe Center Building, 11 S. 12th Street, Suite 202, Richmond.

For the next six months, the Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy will be focusing their attention on the health services required by Virginia's nearly 3/4 of a million veterans.

In its 2007 ranking of undergraduate business programs, BusinessWeek magazine ranked The Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary in the Top 30 of the 50 best undergraduate business programs in the U.S. With an overall ranking of 29, The Mason School is also a Top 10 school among public universities.

A physics professor at the College of William and Mary recently was awarded $500,000 to buy a new computer cluster to study the qualities of piezoelectrics-materials that convert energy from one form to another.

Following is a statement issued Tuesday by President Gene R. Nichol and the William and Mary Board of Visitors.

The William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University will meet on Monday, March 5, 2007 at 2 p.m.

A William and Mary Law School graduate was recently named a 2007 Gates Cambridge Scholar. Ian Ralby (JD '05), currently an associate with Hunton & Williams in Norfolk, Va., is the first William and Mary graduate to receive the scholarship.

The numbers are in-and almost all of them are higher than last year.

A recent survey conducted by researchers at the College of William and Mary ranked Franklin Roosevelt as the best president for U.S. foreign policy in the last 100 years.

The William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University will hold its first meeting on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

College of William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol has announced that the Campaign for William and Mary has surpassed its half-billion-dollar goal-the largest fundraising effort in the history of the College-six months ahead of schedule.

Two faculty members at the College of William and Mary have received the Commonwealth's highest honor for professors.

The following statement was issued Feb. 8, 2007 by the College of William and Mary Board of Visitors.

The William and Mary Board of Visitors will meet on February 8-9, 2007, in Williamsburg, Va., in Blow Memorial Hall located at 262 Richmond Road.

William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol will host a public forum on the future of the College-and discuss his goals and aspirations outlined during his State of the College address-during a conversation with faculty, staff and students on February 6, 2007.

The spirit of service that thrives in William and Mary undergraduate students doesn't end at graduation.

Poquoson City is the healthiest community in Virginia according to a study by the Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy at the College of William and Mary.

William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol will kick off the Spring semester with a new annual tradition at the College with his first State of the College Address on Jan. 25, 2007.

The College of William and Mary announced today that Mike Connolly has been named Director of University Relations. Connolly is an award winning PR professional who comes to the college with a broad background in both national news and communications.

United States Sen. Chuck Hagel, whose name has been mentioned as a Republican presidential candidate in 2008, will be the keynote speaker at the College of William and Mary's annual Charter Day Ceremony on Feb. 10, 2007.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has ranked the College of William and Mary the third best value in higher education, up one spot from last year's fourth place ranking.

Officials at the College of William and Mary will hold an informational meeting next week to discuss with community members plans for the new Alan B. Miller Hall, future home of the Mason School of Business.