Evolving to Excel
These fundamentals form the basis of W&M’s ambitious strategic plan, Vision 2026. Over the next four years, we will evolve to excel in new arenas so that we can maximize the impact of a W&M education.
Four key initiatives aim to address urgent global issues in arenas where we have competitive strength. In these areas of pressing local, national and international impact, W&M can be the best in the world.
The integration of data fluency with the liberal arts and sciences
The World Economic Forum underscores the expansion of computational modeling and statistical analysis, noting that nine out of 10 jobs will require digital skills. At W&M, demand for these fields has tripled over the past decade. STEM majors now represent 40% of our graduating classes, and W&M graduates more students, per capita, with computer science degrees than most leading universities in Virginia.
In response to a campus planning prompt in 2021, faculty members have been considering how we might form a computing, data science and applied science unit at the university. Provost Agouris will be working with leadership in Arts & Sciences, constituents across campus and the Faculty Assembly to explore how we might establish such a unit, to meet workforce demands in our commonwealth, nation and world.
Robust collaborations that ensure waterway resilience
As an estuarine campus, W&M is keenly attuned to the vulnerabilities of coastlines around the world. In Virginia’s Hampton Roads region alone, water levels are a foot and a half higher today than a century ago, and they are expected to rise another 5 feet by the year 2100, while the land sinks as much as 7.5 inches. W&M will lead in educating the next generation of industry, conservation and policy professionals to address these challenges to coastal communities, economies and ecosystems.
W&M’s School of Marine Science is a world leader in coastline resilience. And W&M’s other schools bring depth in policy, law, economics, environmental science, geoscience and more. Collaboration across these domains of expertise will position the university at the forefront of water-related scholarship, education, outreach and engagement. Expect to see growth in undergraduate programming in these areas, to complement our world-class graduate programs.
The national destination for understanding the history of U.S. democracy
As our nation prepares for its 250th anniversary in 2026, W&M is strengthening our partnership with Colonial Williamsburg and our city. Together, we aim to elevate Williamsburg’s foundational role in our nation’s origin story, to tell that story in fresh and unifying ways, and to advance democratic principles for the 21st century.
W&M strongly affirms the importance of free expression and a free press in our pluralistic democracy. This year, new students and student leaders developed capacities to engage diverse perspectives and experiences openly and respectfully using the Constructive Dialogue Institute — a partnership that we hope will expand in the commonwealth. A presidential conversation on democracy and the media during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend in October featured distinguished alumni journalists representing CNN, CBS News and The New York Times, and a photojournalist based in Ukraine.
Still ahead, the newly discovered Bray School will be resituated during Charter Day weekend, as part of an ambitious partnership between Colonial Williamsburg and W&M to restore the oldest extant schoolhouse for African American children in the United States. The 300th anniversary of the Brafferton Indian School will build on nearly 20 years of collaborative research to convene leaders from federally and state recognized Indian tribes.
Career pathways
A W&M education prepares graduates to be agile, multi-dimensional and adaptable critical thinkers. Under the leadership of W&M’s first Chief Careers Officer, new platforms will create robust career engagement and experiential learning and credentialing aligned with talent pathways, supporting graduates throughout evolving careers.
The importance of funded internship experiences is clear. Research in our region shows that paid interns receive 32% more job offers than unpaid interns and 75% more job offers than non-interns. An academic credit-bearing internship course will grow W&M’s existing strength to guarantee a funded internship to every eligible undergraduate student who seeks one.
I encourage you to help us grow our alumni network, mentor students, build internship pathways and fund internships via philanthropy and corporate partnerships.
At 330 years and counting, W&M is fortunate to have strong ties in our community — with the world’s largest living history museum as our neighbor and collaborative leaders in our city. Our students, faculty and staff bring creative solutions to the challenges our world faces. Friends of W&M and parents and families cultivate a community of care. And our alumni — more than 100,000 strong — raise W&M’s profile for the next generation.
It is an honor to work with you, as we ink the next chapter of this university’s 330-year-old story. I look forward to your continued partnership in the year ahead.
Katherine A. Rowe
President
