A couple people have asked me about William and Mary so I thought I share some of the school's history (and learn something myself so I can answer people's questions). I got this information from their website- www.wm.edu/vitalfacts I'm just offering some highlights.
The College of William and Mary is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the US (Harvard is the oldest). It is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. I believe it is the first school to become a university in the US- but it kept its traditional name.
Land was set aside for the school in 1618, but plans for the school were abandoned in 1624 after an Indian uprising left 347 colonists dead. The school didn't get its start until 1693 when King William III and Queen Mary II granted a charter for the school.
Thomas Jefferson attended in the 1760s and James Monroe in the 1770s. George Washington was the first American to be Chancellor of the College- he served as such from 1788 until he died in 1799.
In 1861 the College Building served as a Confederate barracks and almost all the students joined the Confederate Army. In 1862 federal troops occupied the campus (and the rest of Williamsburg). The school suffered a lot of damage in the war and had to close in 1881 because of lack of funds and was revived in 1888.
In 1918, it became the first co-ed state college in Virginia.
Jon Stewart graduated from William and Mary in 1984 and received an honorary doctor of arts degree in 2004.
It is 1 of 8 schools to be deemed a "public ivy," a public ivy is a "state-assisted institution which offers a superior education at a cost far below that of Ivy League schools."
Enrollment- the school has about 7,500 students- 5,500 of them are undergraduates. (I believe the U's enrollment is about 25,000).
I'm headed there next week to find housing I'll post some pictures of the campus after my visit.
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