The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has announced a $10 million gift from an alumna who wishes to remain anonymous in support of a program that will prepare military veterans for civilian leadership roles.

Building on interdisciplinary offerings in business, law, international affairs, education, health management, and entrepreneurship and the university's online degree offerings, the Veteran-to-Executive Transition program (W&M VET) will provide comprehensive support for student veterans, including cultural adjustment and holistic wellness efforts, as well as support for the Office of Student Veteran Engagement which was launched in 2019 as a pilot project with a grant from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund. Programs currently offered by the university that will be  brought together under the W&M VET umbrella include the Law School's Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic and the School of Education's Troops to Teachers Virginia Center and Military and Veterans' Counseling Program. In addition, the Raymond A. Mason School of Business will establish a Military and Veterans Affairs Center to coordinate its military and veterans programs and facilitate access to resources and co-curricular initiatives for student veterans. The university is located in a region, Hampton Roads, with the highest concentration of military personnel outside the Pentagon.

"We extend our enthusiastic thanks to our alumna for her generosity and inspiration," said William & Mary president Katherine Rowe. "She challenged William & Mary to think transformatively about how we approach veterans' education as a nation and to innovate in the way we support those who serve this country. We see our new program as an opportunity not only to accelerate the professional transitions of highly skilled and experienced men and women but also to approach holistically W&M's wide array of programming for military students and veterans."

"The establishment of the W&M VET program reaffirms the university's long-standing military tradition and commitment to veterans," said Brigadier General (ret.) James R. Golden, who serves as a volunteer senior consultant to  Rowe and played a leading role in coordinating the project. "It is a game changer for William & Mary. The initiative will significantly expand our capacity to bring campus partners together to support our exceptional veterans."

(Photo credit: College of William & Mary)