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'''The College of William and Mary in Virginia''' is a public, liberal-arts university located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The College currently enrolls 5500 undergraduate and 2000 graduate students and is considered to be among the best small public schools in the country. William and Mary traces its roots to the seventeenth century and considers itself the second-oldest post-secondary school in the United States and the third oldest in North America. In 1691 the Virginia Colony's House of Burgesses sent the Reverend James Blair to England to secure a charter for a proposed college. Blair was ultimately successful, and the College was founded on February 8, 1693, under royal charter from the English Monarchs, William and Mary. The charter named James Blair as the College's first President. The three original College buildings (the President's House, Brafferton, and the main building, a precursor to today's Wren Building) were built between 1693 and 1699 upon 330 acres (1.3 km²), ten miles (16 km) north of Jamestown, Virginia, in a placed called Middle Plantation (later renamed Williamsburg, Virginia). The College building was often subject to catastrophe, being partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt three times (in 1705, 1859 and 1862) with further portions demolished and rebuilt during the late 1920s. The building now standing was named the "Wren Building" after the prominent English architect Christopher Wren, who once was credited with designing an earlier iteration. As an interesting point of history, the descendants of the original ivy grown on the building has been kept in a preservation from which all ivy on the building during its many incarnations has been planted. In 1779, William and Mary became the first U.S. college to achieve the status of University with the addition of the College of Law and School of Modern Languages. William and Mary closed from 1881 to 1885 due to funding problems. The Commonwealth of Virginia granted the University a formal charter during the early twentieth century, turning William and Mary into a state university, and adding the College of Education. William and Mary is notable for several academic firsts. Under the guidance of Virginia's then Governor Thomas Jefferson, the College adopted the nation's first elective system of study and also introduced the first student policed Honor System. In 1779, also at the request of Jefferson, the College made Jefferson's friend and mentor, George Wythe, the first Professor of Law in America. The Phi Beta Kappa honor society was founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, establishing chapters at other schools before collapsing within a few years. The society since has been reestablished at the College. The Bishop James Madison Society, a secret society that remains active today, was also founded there. A number of other secret societies exist at the school, including the Flat Hat Club (FHC), the Alpha Club, the 7 Society, and the 13 Club. In 1993, William and Mary opened Tercentenary Hall to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the charter. This building would later be renamed under a flurry of protest to McGlothlin Street Hall, in recognition of the McGlothlin and Street Families contributions to the institution. The building currently houses the Applied Sciences department, the Geology department, and the Computer Science department. Despite student protest and the disapproval of some alumni, Henry Kissinger was appointed Chancellor to the college in 2001. Protest was focused on what some consider war crimes commited by Kissinger during his political career. ==Famous alumni== * George Washington, American Revolutionary War general, first President of the United States (received his surveyor's certificate), former Chancellor of the College * Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, founder of the University of Virginia * Linda Lavin, American actress (starred as the title character on the television show ''Alice'') * James Monroe, fifth President of the United States * John Marshall fourth Chief Justice of the United States * John Tyler tenth President of the United States, former Chancellor of the College * Glenn Close, actress (Broadway, TV, film) * Jon Stewart, comedian (''Daily Show'') * Perry Ellis, fashion designer (Perry Ellis International) * Bill Lawrence, televison producer (''Scrubs'') * Scott Glenn, actor (Hunt for Red October, Silence of the Lambs) * William Barton Rogers, academic (Founder of MIT) * Michael Powell, government (Head of the FCC) * James Comey, government (Deputy U.S. Attorney General) * Mary Jo White, government (ex-U.S. Attorney for Southern N.Y. District) * Robert Gates, government (ex-Head of the C.I.A.) * David M. Brown, pilot / astronaut, (died aboard the space shuttle Columbia) * Mark McCormack, business (Int'l Mgmt Group Founder) * George M. Bibb, United States Secretary of the Treasury 1844-1845 * Mike "Pinball" Clemons, Canadian Football League football player/coach * Curtis Pride, Major League Baseball outfielder ==Famous friends of the College== * Henry Kissinger, current Chancellor, former US Secretary of State * Margaret Thatcher, former Chancellor, former UK Prime Minister * Warren E. Burger, former Chancellor, former US Chief Justice ==External links== *College of William and Mary: Official Site *The Charter of the College *Tribe Athletics *Earl Gregg Swem Library *Virginia Institute of Marine Science