College of William & Mary

The College of William & Mary

Latin: Collegium Gulielmi et Mariae
Type	Royal college (1693–1776) Private college (1776–1906) Public research university
Established	February 8, 1693 (1693-02-08)
Accreditation	SACS
Religious affiliation	Nonsectarian, formerly Church of England and Episcopal Church
Academic affiliations	ORAU SCHEV URA Sea-grant Space-grant
Endowment	$1.5 billion (2024)
Chancellor	Robert Gates
President	Katherine Rowe
Rector	Charles Poston
Academic staff	738 full-time, 183 part-time (2020)
Students	9,818 (fall 2024)
Undergraduates	7,063 (fall 2024)
Postgraduates	2,755 (fall 2024)
Location	Williamsburg , Virginia , United States 37°16′15″N 76°42′30″W
Campus	Small suburb, 1,200 acres (490 ha)
Other campuses	Gloucester Point Newport News Washington, D.C.
Newspaper	The Flat Hat
Colors	Green and gold
Nickname	Tribe
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS – CAA CAA Football
Mascot	The Griffin
Website	wm.edu

The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the ninth-oldest in the English-speaking world. William & Mary is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university is among the original nine colonial colleges.

The college educated American Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler. It also educated other key figures pivotal to the development of the United States, including the first President of the Continental Congress Peyton Randolph, the first U.S. Attorney General Edmund Randolph, the fourth U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, Speaker of the House of Representatives Henry Clay, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Winfield Scott, sixteen members of the Continental Congress, and four signers of the Declaration of Independence. Its connections with many Founding Fathers of the United States earned it the nickname "the Alma Mater of the Nation". George Washington received his surveyor's license from the college in 1749, and later became the college's first American chancellor in 1788. That position was long held by the bishops of London and archbishops of Canterbury, though in modern times has been held by U.S. Supreme Court justices, Cabinet secretaries, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Benjamin Franklin received William & Mary's first honorary degree in 1756.

William & Mary is notable for its many firsts in American higher education. In 1736, W&M became the first school of higher education in the future United States to install a student honor code of conduct. The F.H.C. Society, founded in 1750, was the first collegiate fraternity in the United States, and W&M students founded the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society in 1776, the first Greek-letter fraternity. It is the only American university issued a coat of arms by the College of Arms in London. The establishment of graduate programs in law and medicine in 1779 makes it one of the first universities in the United States. The William & Mary Law School is the oldest law school in the United States, and the Wren Building, attributed to and named for the famed English architect Sir Christopher Wren, is the oldest academic building still standing in the United States.

History

Main article: History of the College of William & Mary

Colonial era (1693–1776)

King William III and Queen Mary II, the college's namesakes

James Blair, founder of William & Mary

A school of higher education for both Native American young men and the sons of the colonists was one of the earliest goals of the leaders of the Colony of Virginia. The college was founded on February 8, 1693, under a royal charter to "make, found and establish a certain Place of Universal Study, a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good arts and sciences ... to be supported and maintained, in all time coming." Named in honor of the reigning monarchs King William III and Queen Mary II, the college is the second-oldest in the United States. The original plans for the college date back to 1618 at Henrico but were thwarted by the Indian massacre of 1622, a change in government (in 1624, the Virginia Company's charter was revoked by King James I and the Virginia Colony was transferred to royal authority as a crown colony), events related to the English Civil War, and Bacon's Rebellion. In 1695, before the town of Williamsburg existed, construction began on the College Building, now known as the Sir Christopher Wren Building, in what was then called Middle Plantation. It is the oldest college building in America. The college is one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. The charter named James Blair as the college's first president (a lifetime appointment which he held until he died in 1743). William & Mary was founded as an Anglican institution; students were required to be members of the Church of England, and professors were required to declare adherence to the Thirty-Nine Articles.

In 1693, the college was given a seat in the House of Burgesses, and it was determined tobacco taxes and export duties on furs and animal skins would support the college. The college acquired a 330 acres (1.3 km²) parcel for the new school, 8 miles (13 km) from Jamestown. In 1694, the new school opened in temporary buildings.

Williamsburg was granted a royal charter as a city in 1722 by the Crown and served as the capital of Colonial Virginia from 1699 to 1780. During this time, the college served as a law center, and lawmakers frequently used its buildings. It educated future U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler. The college has been called "the Alma Mater of a Nation" because of its close ties to America's founding fathers and figures pivotal to the development and expansion of the United States. George Washington, who received his surveyor's license through the college despite never attending, was the college's first American chancellor. William & Mary is famous for its firsts: the first U.S. institution with a royal charter, the first Greek-letter society (Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776), the first collegiate society in the country (F.H.C. Society, founded in 1750), the first student honor code and the first collegiate law school in America.

Revolution and transition

See also: History of the College of William & Mary § Slavery and William & Mary

U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe were educated at William & Mary.

During the American Revolution, Virginia established a freedom of religion, notably with the 1786 passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Future U.S. President James Madison was a key figure in the transition to religious freedom in Virginia, and Right Reverend James Madison, his cousin and Thomas Jefferson, who was on the Board of Visitors, helped the College of William & Mary to make the transition as well. In 1779, the college established graduate schools in law and medicine, making it one of the institutions that claimed to be the first university in the United States. As its president, Reverend Madison worked with the new leaders of Virginia, most notably Jefferson, on a reorganization and changes for the college which included the abolition of the Divinity School and the Indian School and the establishment of the first elective system of study and honor system.

The College of William & Mary is home to the nation's first collegiate secret society, the F.H.C. Society, popularly known as the Flat Hat Club, founded on November 11, 1750. On December 5, 1776, students John Heath and William Short (class of 1779) founded Phi Beta Kappa as a secret literary and philosophical society. Other secret societies known to exist at the college currently include: The 7 Society, 13 Club, Alpha Club, Bishop James Madison Society, The Society, The Spades, W Society, and Wren Society.

Thomas R. Dew, professor of history, metaphysics, and political economy, and then president of William & Mary from 1836 until he died in 1846, was an influential academic defender of slavery.

In 1842, alumni of the college formed the Society of the Alumni which is now the sixth oldest alum organization in the United States. In 1859, a great fire destroyed the College Building. The Alumni House is one of the few original antebellum structures remaining on campus; notable others include the Wren Building, the President's House, the Brafferton, and Prince George House.

Civil War, Reconstruction, and the early 20th century

The College Building as it appeared from 1859–1862 with Italianate towers

At the outset of the American Civil War (1861–1865), enlistments in the Confederate States Army depleted the student body. On May 10, 1861, the faculty voted to close the college for the duration of the conflict. General Charles A. Whittier reported that "thirty-two out of thirty-five professors and instructors abandoned the college work and joined the army in the field". The College Building was used as a Confederate barracks and later as a hospital, first by Confederate, and later Union forces. The Battle of Williamsburg was fought nearby during the Peninsula Campaign on May 5, 1862, and the city was captured by the Union army the next day. The Brafferton building of the college was used for a time as quarters for the commanding officer of the Union garrison occupying the town. On September 9, 1862, drunken soldiers of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry set fire to the College Building, purportedly in an attempt to prevent Confederate snipers from using it for cover.

Following the restoration of the Union, Virginia was destitute. The college's 16th president, Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, finally reopened the school in 1869 using his funds, but the college closed again in 1882 due to insufficient funding. In 1888, William & Mary resumed operations under an amended charter when the Commonwealth of Virginia passed an act appropriating $10,000 to support the college as a teacher-training institution. Lyon Gardiner Tyler (son of US President and alumnus John Tyler) became the 17th president of the college following Ewell's retirement. Tyler and his successor J. A. C. Chandler expanded the college. In 1896, Minnie Braithwaite Jenkins was the first woman to attempt to take classes at William & Mary, although her petition was denied. In March 1906, the General Assembly passed an act taking over the college grounds, and it has remained publicly supported ever since. In 1918, it was one of the first universities in Virginia to admit women. Enrollment increased from 104 in 1889 to 1269 students by 1932.

The Wren Building, c. 1902

W. A. R. Goodwin, rector at Bruton Parish Church and professor of biblical literature and religious education at the college, pursued benefactors who could support the restoration of Williamsburg. Goodwin considered Williamsburg "as the original training and testing ground" of the United States. Goodwin persuaded John D. Rockefeller Jr. to initiate the restoration of Williamsburg in 1926, leading to the establishment of Colonial Williamsburg. Goodwin had initially only pursued Rockefeller to help fund the construction of Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall, but had convinced Rockefeller to participate in a broader restoration effort when he visited William & Mary for the hall's dedication. While the college's administration was less supportive of the restoration efforts than many others in Williamsburg–before the Colonial Williamsburg project, the William & Mary campus was Williamsburg's primary tourist attraction–the college's cooperation was secured. Restoration paid for by Rockefeller's program extended to the college, with the Wren Building restored in 1928–1931, President's House in 1931, and Brafferton in 1931–1932.

1930–present

The Brafferton c. 1907

In 1930, William & Mary established a branch in Norfolk, Virginia called The Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary; it eventually became the independent state-supported institution known as Old Dominion University.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt received an honorary degree from the college on October 20, 1934. In 1935, the Sunken Garden was constructed just west of the Wren Building. The sunken design is from a similar landscape feature at Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

In 1945, the editor-in-chief of The Flat Hat, Marilyn Kaemmerle, wrote an editorial, "Lincoln's Job Half-Done..." that supported the end of racial segregation, anti-miscegenation laws and white supremacy; the university administration removed her from the newspaper and nearly expelled her. According to Time magazine, in response, over one-thousand William & Mary students held "a spirited mass meeting protesting infringement of the sacred principles of freedom of the press bequeathed by Alumnus Thomas Jefferson." She was allowed to graduate, but future editors had to discuss "controversial writings" with faculty before printing. The college Board of Visitors apologized to her in the 1980s.

Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved was dedicated in 2022 to commemorate enslaved persons owned and used by the college.

The college admitted Hulon Willis into a graduate program in 1951 because the program was unavailable at Virginia State. However, the college did not open all programs to African-American students until around 1970.

In 1960, The Colleges of William & Mary, a short-lived five-campus university system, was founded. It included the College of William & Mary, the Richmond Professional Institute, the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, Christopher Newport College, and Richard Bland College. It was dissolved in 1962, with only Richard Bland College remaining officially associated with the College of William & Mary at the present day.

In 1974, Jay Winston Johns willed Highland, the 535-acre (2.17 km²) historic Albemarle County, Virginia estate of alumnus and U.S. President James Monroe, to the college. The college restored this historic presidential home near Charlottesville and opened it publicly.

Jefferson Hall, a student dormitory, was destroyed by fire on January 20, 1983, without casualties. The building, including the destroyed west wing, was rebuilt and reopened.

On July 25, 2012, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), in nearby Norfolk, Virginia, made a joint announcement with William & Mary that the two schools were considering merging, with the prospect that EVMS would become the William & Mary School of Medicine. Any such merger would have to be confirmed by the two schools and then confirmed by the Virginia General Assembly and Governor. Both universities subsequently agreed upon a pilot relationship, supported by a $200,000 grant in the Virginia budget, to examine this possible union in reality.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, William & Mary has retained its historic ties to the United Kingdom and that state's royal family. In 1954, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited William & Mary as part of her tour of the United States, becoming the first member of the royal family to visit the college. In 1957, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited the college to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the landing at Jamestown. Queen Elizabeth gave a speech from the balcony of the Wren Building that drew over 20,000 people, the largest crowd ever seen in the city. In 1981, Charles, Prince of Wales, visited to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown. In 1988, the United States Congress selected William & Mary to send a delegation to the United Kingdom for the 300th anniversary of the ascension of King William III and Queen Mary II. Prince Charles would return to the college in 1993 for the 300th anniversary of William & Mary. William & Mary sent a delegation to meet with Queen Elizabeth II that same year. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would be made the Chancellor of the College of William & Mary that same year. In 2007, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip would visit the college for a second time to recognize the 400th anniversary of the landing at Jamestown. In 2022, a beacon was lit in front of the Wren Building to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Campus

Main article: Campus of the College of William & Mary

The Sir Christopher Wren Building is the oldest college building in the United States.

The college is on a 1,200-acre (490 ha) campus in Williamsburg, Virginia. In 2011, Travel+Leisure named William & Mary one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.

The Sir Christopher Wren Building is the oldest college building in the United States and a National Historic Landmark. The building, colloquially referred to as the "Wren Building", was named upon its renovation in 1931 to honor the English architect Sir Christopher Wren. The basis for the 1930s name is a 1724 history in which mathematics professor Hugh Jones stated the 1699 design was "first modelled by Sir Christopher Wren" and then was adapted "by the Gentlemen there" in Virginia; little is known about how it looked since it burned within a few years of its completion. Today's Wren Building is based on the design of its 1716 replacement. The college's alum association has suggested Wren's connection to the 1931 building is a viable subject of investigation.

Two other buildings around the Wren Building compose an area known as "Ancient" or "Historic Campus": the Brafferton (built within 1723 and originally housing the Indian School, now the President and Provost's offices) and the President's House (built within 1732). In addition to the Ancient Campus, which dates to the 18th century, the college also consists of "Old Campus" and "New Campus". "Old Campus", adjacent to Ancient Campus, surrounds the Sunken Garden.

Earl Gregg Swem Library on New Campus

Adjoining "Old Campus" to the north and west is "New Campus". It was constructed primarily between 1950 and 1980, and it consists of academic buildings and dormitories that, while of the same brick construction as "Old Campus", fit into the vernacular of modern architecture. Beginning with the college's tercentenary in 1993, the college has embarked on a building and renovation program that favors the traditional architectural style of "Old Campus", while incorporating energy-efficient technologies. Several buildings constructed since the 1990s have been LEED certified. Additionally, as the buildings of "New Campus" are renovated after decades of use, several have been remodeled to incorporate more traditional architectural elements to unify the appearance of the entire college campus. "New Campus" is dominated by William and Mary Hall, Earl Gregg Swem Library, and formerly Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall. It also includes the offices and classrooms of the Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry Departments, the majority of freshman dormitories, the fraternity complex, the majority of the college's athletic fields, and the Muscarelle Museum of Art. The newest addition to "New Campus" is Alan B. Miller Hall, the headquarters of the college's Mason School of Business.

The recent wave of construction at William & Mary has resulted in a new building for the School of Education, not far from Kaplan Hall (formerly William and Mary Hall). The offices and classrooms of the Government, Economics, and Classical Language Departments share John E. Boswell Hall (formerly "Morton Hall") on "New Campus". These departments have been piecemeal separated and relocated to buildings recently renovated within the "Old Campus", such as Chancellors' Hall.

The vast majority of William & Mary's 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) consists of woodlands and Lake Matoaka, an artificial lake created by colonists in the early 18th century.

Following the George Floyd protests and associated movements, as well as student and faculty pressure in 2020 and 2021, several buildings, halls, and other entities were renamed. Maury Hall (named for Confederate sailor Matthew Fontaine Maury) on the Virginia Institute of Marine Science campus and Trinkle Hall (named for Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle) of Campus Center were renamed in September 2020 to York River Hall and Unity Hall respectively. In April 2021, three buildings were renamed at following a vote by the Board of Visitors: Morton Hall (named for professor Richard Lee Morton) to John E. Boswell Hall (for LGBT advocate and alum John Boswell), Taliaferro Hall (named for Confederate General William Taliaferro) to Hulon L. Willis Sr. Hall (Hulon Willis Sr. was the first Black student at the college), and Tyler Hall (named for President John Tyler and his son) to its original name of Chancellors' Hall (the hall had been renamed in 1988).

Organization and administration

See also: List of presidents of the College of William & Mary and Chancellor of the College of William & Mary

Katherine Rowe was named the twenty-eighth president of William & Mary in 2018.

The Board of Visitors is a corporation established by the General Assembly of Virginia to govern and supervise the operation of the College of William & Mary and of Richard Bland College. The corporation is composed of 17 members appointed by the Governor of Virginia, based upon the recommendations made by the Society of the Alumni, to a maximum of two successive four-year terms. The Board elects a Rector, Vice-Rector, and Secretary, and the Board meets four times annually. The Board appoints a president, related administrative officers, and an honorary chancellor, approving degrees, admission policies, departments, and schools and executing the fiduciary duties of supervising the college's property and finances.

The Chancellor of the College of William & Mary is largely ceremonial. Until 1776, the position was held by an English subject, usually the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Bishop of London, who served as the college's advocate to the Crown, while a colonial President oversaw the day-to-day activities of the Williamsburg campus. Following the Revolutionary War, General George Washington was appointed as the first American chancellor; later, United States President John Tyler held the post. The college has recently had several distinguished chancellors: former Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger (1986–1993), former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1993–2000), former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (2000–2005), and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (2005–2012). Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, himself an alumnus of the college, succeeded O'Connor in February 2012.

The Board of Visitors delegates to a president the operating responsibility and accountability for the college's administrative, fiscal, and academic performance, as well as representing the college on public occasions such as conferral of degrees. W. Taylor Reveley III, 27th President of the college, served from 2008 to 2018. In February 2018, The Board of Visitors unanimously elected Katherine A. Rowe as Reveley's successor. Rowe is the first female president to serve the college since its founding.

Faculty members are organized into separate faculties of the Faculty of Arts and Science as well as those for the respective schools of Business, Education, Law, and Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Each faculty is presided over by a dean, who reports to the provost, and governs itself through separate by-laws approved by the Board of Visitors. The faculty is also represented by a faculty assembly advising the president and provost.

The Royal Hospital School, an independent boarding school in the United Kingdom, is a sister institution.

Academics

The Tyler Garden recognizes the link between William & Mary and the Tyler family of U.S. politics.

The College of William & Mary is a medium-sized, highly residential, public research university. The focal point of the university is its four-year, full-time undergraduate program which constitutes most of the institution's enrollment. The college has a strong undergraduate arts & sciences focus, with many graduate programs in diverse fields ranging from American colonial history to marine science. The university offers multiple academic programs through its center in the District of Columbia: an undergraduate joint degree program in engineering with Columbia University, as well as a liberal arts joint degree program with the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

The graduate programs are dominant in STEM fields and the university has a high level of research activity. For the 2016–17 academic year, 1,591 undergraduate, 652 masters, and 293 doctoral degrees were conferred. William & Mary is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

William & Mary Law School

William & Mary contains several schools, academic departments, and interdisciplinary research institutes, including:

• Arts and Sciences
• Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences at VIMS
• Raymond A. Mason School of Business
• William & Mary Law School
• William & Mary School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics
• William & Mary School of Education

William & Mary offers exchange programs with 15 foreign schools, drawing more than 12% of its undergraduates into these programs. It also receives U.S. State Department grants to expand its foreign exchange programs further.

Admissions and tuition

Admissions statistics
2023 entering classChange vs. 2018
Admit rate	32.7% ( −4.2)
Yield rate	28.2% ( −0.4)
Test scores middle 50%
SAT Total	1365–1510 (among 45% of FTFs)
ACT Composite	32–34 (among 17% of FTFs)
High school GPA
Average	4.4

William & Mary enrolled 7,063 undergraduate and 2,755 postgraduate students in Fall 2024. In 2018, women made up 57.6% of the undergraduate and 50.7% of the graduate student bodies.

Admission to W&M is considered "most selective" according to U.S. News & World Report. For the undergraduate class entering fall 2024, William & Mary received 17,789 applications and accepted 6,063, or 34.0%. Of accepted applications, 1,614 enrolled, a yield rate of 26.6%. Of all matriculating students, the average high school GPA is 4.4. The interquartile range for total SAT scores was 1400–1530, while the range for ACT scores was 32–34.

Undergraduate tuition for 2024–2025 was $18,709 for Virginia residents and $43,442 for out-of-state students. W&M granted over $20.9 million in need-based scholarships in 2014–2015 to 1,734 undergraduates (27.5% of the undergraduate student body); 37% of the student body received loans, and average student indebtedness was $26,017. Research of William & Mary's student budy published in 2016 and 2017 showed students hailed overwhelmingly from wealthy family backgrounds, even as compared to other elite public institutions. The college is need-blind for domestic applicants.

Rankings

Academic rankings
National
Forbes	55
U.S. News & World Report	54 (tie)
Washington Monthly	109
WSJ/College Pulse	79
Global
QS	901–950
THE	601–800
U.S. News & World Report	1049 (tie)

USNWR Undergraduate Rankings
Program	Ranking
Biological Sciences	159
Computer Science	68
History	27
U.S. Colonial History	1
Physics	71
Public Affairs	94
Undergraduate Teaching	4 (tied)

USNWR Graduate Rankings
Program	Ranking
Biological Sciences	158
Business	45
Computer Science	70
Earth Sciences	83
Education	70
History	26
Law	45
Physics	78
Public Affairs	108

In the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings, W&M ranks as tied for the 23rd-best public university in the United States, tied for 54th-best national university in the U.S., and tied for 1049th-best university in the world. U.S. News & World Report also rated William & Mary's undergraduate teaching as 4th best (tied with Princeton University) among 73 national universities and 13th best for Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects in its 2021 rankings. In 2025, Forbes ranked William & Mary #43 among research universities. In 2025, College Raptor ranked William & Mary's median SAT score #2 of public colleges and universities in the United States. William & Mary is ranked 3rd for four year graduation rates among public colleges and universities.

In his 1985 book Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities, Richard Moll included William & Mary as one of the original eight "Public Ivies". The university is among the original nine colonial colleges.

For 2019 Kiplinger ranked William & Mary 6th out of 174 best-value public colleges and universities in the U.S.

According to the National Science Foundation, William & Mary is ranked 1st among public institutions for percentage of alumni who earn doctoral degrees in humanities fields.

In the 2024-25 "America's Top Colleges" ranking by Forbes, W&M was ranked the 17th best public college and 55th out of the 500 best private and public colleges and universities in the U.S. W&M ranked 3rd for race and class interaction in The Princeton Review's 2018 rankings. The college was ranked as the public college with the smartest students in the nation according to Business Insider's 2014 survey.

The undergraduate business program was ranked 12th among undergraduate programs by the 2016 Bloomberg Businessweek survey. Also in 2020, was W&M ranked 4th for "Colleges with the Happiest Students" by The Princeton Review and 9th in a list of the public universities that "pay off the most", according to CNBC. In 2022, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce ranked William & Mary's undergraduate business program #21 in value nationally. In 2025, Poets & Quants ranked William & Mary's undergraduate business program #20 nationally.

Publications

The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture publishes the William and Mary Quarterly, a scholarly journal focusing on colonial history, particularly in North America and the Atlantic World, from the Age of Discovery onward.

In addition to the Quarterly, W&M, by its mission to provide undergraduates with a thorough grounding in research, W&M also hosts several student journals. The Monitor, the undergraduate journal of International Studies, is published semi-annually. The Lyon Gardiner Tyler Department of History publishes an annual undergraduate history journal, the James Blair Historical Review.

Non-academic publications include The William & Mary Review – William & Mary's official literary magazine – Winged Nation – a student literary arts magazine, Acropolis – the art and art history magazine, The Flat Hat – the student newspaper, The Botetourt Squat – the student satirical newspaper, The Colonial Echo – William & Mary's yearbook, The DoG Street Journal – a daily online newspaper, and Rocket Magazine – William & Mary's fashion, art, and photography publication.

Student life

Student body composition as of February 2024

Race and ethnicity	Total
White	59%	59
Asian	10%	10
Hispanic	9%	9
Black	6%	6
Other	10%	10
Foreign national	5%	5
Economic diversity
Low-income	11%	11
Affluent	89%	89

The college enjoys a temperate climate. In addition to the college's extensive student recreation facilities (which include a large gym, a rock-climbing wall, and many exercise rooms) and programs (facilitating involvement in outdoor recreation, as well as club and intramural sports), the largely wooded campus has its own lake and outdoor amphitheater. The Virginia Beach oceanfront is 60 miles (97 km) away, and Washington, D.C. is a 150-mile (240 km) drive to the north. Also, the beaches of the Delmarva Peninsula are just a few hours away via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

The college's Alma Mater Productions (AMP) hosts concerts, comedians, and speakers on campus and in the 8,600-person capacity Kaplan Arena, as well as putting on many smaller activity-based events. Students produce several publications on campus, including the official student newspaper The Flat Hat, arts and fashion magazine Rocket Magazine, and the satirical newspaper The Botetourt Squat. The school's television station, WMTV, produces content in the categories of cuisine, comedy, travel, and sports. Everyday Gourmet, the former flagship production of the station, was featured in USA Today in 2009. WCWM, the college's student-run public radio station, transmits 24 hours a day on 90.9 FM locally and online and features student-curated and created content; they also put on an annual concert, WCWM Fest, featuring local and touring musicians.

The college also hosts several prominent student-run culture- and identity-based organizations. These include the Black Student Organization, Catholic Campus Ministry, Hillel (the college's official Jewish student group), Asian American Student Initiative, Latin American Student Union, Lambda Alliance and Rainbow Coalition, and the Middle Eastern Students Association, among many others.

The college's International Relations Club (IRC) ranked eleventh of twenty-five participants in the 2020–2021 North American College Model U.N.

Traditions

The Crim Dell bridge, found in the wooded center of campus

William & Mary has several traditions, including the Yule Log Ceremony, at which the president dresses as Santa Claus and reads a rendition of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", the Vice-President of Student Affairs reads "Twas the Night Before Finals", and The Gentlemen of the College sing the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Christmas is a grand celebration at the college; decorated Christmas trees abound on campus. This popular tradition started when German immigrant Charles Minnigerode, a humanities professor at the college in 1842 who taught Latin and Greek, brought one of the first Christmas trees to America. Entering into the social life of post-colonial Virginia, Minnigerode introduced the German custom of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas at the home of law professor St. George Tucker, thereby becoming another of many influences that prompted Americans to adopt the practice at about that time.

Incoming first-year students participate in Opening Convocation, at which they pass through the entrance of the Wren Building and are officially welcomed as the newest members of the college. During orientation week, first-year students also have the opportunity to serenade the college president at his home with the Alma Mater song. The Senior Walk is similar in that graduating seniors walk through the Wren Building during their "departure" from college. On the last day of classes, Seniors are invited to ring the bell in the cupola of the Wren Building.

W&M also takes pride in its connections to its colonial past during Charter Day festivities. Charter Day is technically February 8, based on the date (from the Julian Calendar) that the Reverend James Blair, first president of the college, received the charter from the Court of William III and Mary II at Kensington Palace in 1693. Past Charter Day speakers have included former US President John Tyler, Henry Kissinger, Margaret Thatcher, and Robert Gates.

Another underground tradition at W&M is known as the "Triathlon". As reported by The Flat Hat, the tradition - normally performed before graduation - involves completing three activities: jumping the walls of the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, streaking through the Sunken Garden, and finally swimming in the Crim Dell. The tradition has been referred to as an underground one and is not sanctioned by the college but is still widely practiced.

Student Assembly

The Student Assembly is the student government organization serving undergraduates and graduates. It allocates a student organization budget and funds services, advocates for student rights, and is the formal student representation to the City of Williamsburg and William & Mary administration. It consists of Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The president and vice president are elected jointly by the student body to lead the Executive Branch, and each class elects one class president and four senators who serve in the Senate (the Legislative Branch). The five graduate schools appoint one to two senators. The Cabinet consists of 10 departments managed by secretaries and undersecretaries.

Honor system

The Sunken Garden is the central element of the Old Campus.

William & Mary's honor system was established by alumnus Thomas Jefferson in 1779 and is widely believed to be the nation's first. During the orientation week, every entering student recites the Honor Pledge in the Great Hall of the Wren Building pledging:

As a Member of the William & Mary community I pledge, on my Honor, not to lie, cheat, or steal in either my academic or personal life. I understand that such acts violate the Honor Code and undermine the community of trust of which we are all stewards.

The basis of W&M's Honor Pledge was written over 150 years ago by alum and law professor Henry St. George Tucker Sr. While teaching law at the University of Virginia, Tucker proposed students attach a pledge to all exams confirming on their honor they did not receive any assistance. Tucker's honor pledge was the early basis of the Honor System at the University of Virginia. At W&M, the Honor System stands as one of the college's most important traditions; it remains student-administered through the Honor Council with the advice of the faculty and administration of the college. The college's Honor System is codified such that students found guilty of cheating, stealing, or lying are subject to sanctions ranging from a verbal warning to expulsion.

W&M considers the observance of public laws of equal importance to the observance of its particular regulations. William & Mary's Board of Visitors delegates authority for discipline to its president. The President oversees a hierarchy of disciplinary authorities to enforce local laws as it pertains to William & Mary's interest as well as its internal regulatory system.

Fraternities and sororities

Main article: College of William & Mary fraternity and sorority system

Sorority Court, situated on "Old Campus"

William & Mary has a long history of fraternities and sororities dating back to 1750 and the founding of the F.H.C. Society, the first collegiate fraternity established in what now is the United States. Phi Beta Kappa, the first "Greek-letter" fraternity, was founded at the college in 1776.

Today, various Greek-letter organizations play an important role in the college community and other social organizations such as theatre and club sports groups. Overall, about one-third of undergraduate students are active members of one or another of 16 national fraternities and 13 sororities. William & Mary is also home to several unusual fraternal or similar organizations, including the Nu Kappa Epsilon music sorority and its male counterpart, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia; the Alpha Phi Omega co-ed service fraternity; gender-inclusive Phi Sigma Pi and other honor fraternities.

Secret societies

Main article: College of William & Mary secret societies

Several student secret societies exist at the college, including the F.H.C Society or Flat Hat Club, the Seven Society, the 13 Club, the Bishop James Madison Society, and the Wren Society.

The Queens' Guard

The Western Union Building in Sorority Court, site of the college's Army ROTC offices

The Queens' Guard was established on February 8, 1961, as a special unit of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps and was affiliated with the Pershing Rifles. The Guard was described by former President Davis Young Paschall as "a unit organized, outfitted with special uniforms, and trained in appropriate drills and ceremonies as will represent the College of William & Mary in Virginia on such occasions and in such events as may be approved by the President." The uniform of the Guard loosely resembles that of the Scots Guards of the United Kingdom. The baldric is a pleated Stuart tartan in honor of Queen Mary II and Queen Anne. Following a hazing citation in fall 2019 by the college's Community Values & Restorative Practices organization, the Queens' Guard was suspended until at least spring 2022.

Music

William & Mary Pep Band members in 2009

William & Mary has eleven collegiate a cappella groups: The Christopher Wren Singers (1987, co-ed); The Gentlemen of the College (1990, all-male); The Stairwells (1990, all-male); Intonations (1990, all-female); Reveille (1992, all-female); The Accidentals (1992, all-female); DoubleTake (1993, co-ed); The Cleftomaniacs (1999, co-ed); Passing Notes (2002, all-female); The Tribetones (2015, all-female); and the Crim Dell Criers (2019, co-ed). Sinfonicron Light Opera Company, founded in 1965, is William & Mary's student-run light opera company, producing musicals (traditionally those by Gilbert & Sullivan) in the early spring of each academic year. Music societies at the college include local chapters of the music honor societies Delta Omicron (co-ed) and Phi Mu Alpha (all-male) as well as Nu Kappa Epsilon (all-female). Nu Kappa Epsilon, founded in 1994 at William & Mary, is "dedicated to promoting the growth and development of musical activities at the college as well as in the Williamsburg community".

Large musical ensembles include a symphony orchestra, wind symphony, and four choral ensembles: The William & Mary Choir, The Botetourt Chamber Singers, The Barksdale Treble Chorus (formerly the William & Mary Women's Chorus), and Ebony Expressions Gospel Choir. The Botetourt Chamber Singers (1974, co-ed) are the student chamber choir. There are several musical ensembles at the college, from Early Music Ensemble to Jazz. Prior to 1996 the college had a marching band, which has since changed into the William & Mary Pep Band.

William & Mary's radio station, WCWM, has been on the air since 1959.

Comedy groups

William & Mary has multiple campus comedy groups. I.T. ("Improvisational Theatre") was founded in 1986 and is the oldest group on campus. The sketch comedy ensemble 7th Grade Sketch Comedy has been in existence since 1997. In 2012, Sandbox Improv was formed. Dad Jeans Improv, established in 2016, specializes in long-form improvisation and technical elements.

Athletics

Main article: William & Mary Tribe

Tribe football players celebrate a touchdown during a game at Zable Stadium in 2022

Formerly known as the "Indians", William & Mary's athletic teams are now known as the "Tribe". The college fields NCAA Division I teams for men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Also, there are women's field hockey, lacrosse, and volleyball squads, as well as men's baseball and football. In the 2004–05 season, the Tribe garnered five Colonial Athletic Association titles, leading the conference with over 80 titles. That same year, several teams competed in the NCAA Championships, with the football team appearing in the Division I-AA national semifinals. The men's cross country team finished 8th and 5th in Division I NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship in 2006 and 2009, respectively. The William & Mary men's basketball team is one of four original Division I schools that have never been to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

In May 2006, the NCAA ruled that the athletic logo, which includes two green and gold feathers, could create an environment offensive to the American Indian community. The college's appeal regarding using the institution's athletic logo to the NCAA Executive Committee was rejected. The "Tribe" nickname was found to be neither hostile nor abusive but rather communicates ennobling sentiments of commitment, shared idealism, community, and common cause. The college stated it would phase out the use of the two feathers by the fall of 2007. However, they can still be seen prominently painted on streets throughout the campus.

In 2018, athletic director Samantha Huge introduced a new brand kit for the department, officially retiring and de-emphasizing the script "Tribe" logo.

The "Tribe 2025" plan, a comprehensive plan for the athletics department to raise national prominence, undergo significant facilities upgrades, and achieve higher levels of student involvement and spirit, was presented in 2019. In 2020, William & Mary announced that due to financial concerns, they would be discontinuing seven varsity sports: men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's swimming, men's indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball. This decision prompted a petition entitled "save the Tribe 7" which received significant support. On October 19, the university reinstated women's gymnastics, women's swimming, and volleyball after notice of an impending lawsuit on the grounds of Title IX violations. President Rowe later announced that the decision to cancel the four men's programs would be put off until the 2021-2022 academic year.

Notable people

Faculty

4th Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall graduated from William & Mary under the tutelage of George Wythe.

Since the 17th century, many prominent academics have chosen to teach at William & Mary. Distinguished faculty include the first professor of law in the United States, George Wythe (who taught Henry Clay, John Marshall, and Thomas Jefferson, among others); William Small (Thomas Jefferson's cherished mentor); William and Thomas Dawson, who were also presidents of William & Mary. Also, the founder and first president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – William Barton Rogers – taught chemistry at William & Mary (which was also Professor Barton's alma mater). Several members of the socially elite and politically influential Tucker family, including Nathaniel Beverley, St. George, and Henry St. George Tucker Sr. (who penned the original honor code pledge for the University of Virginia that remains in use there today), taught at William & Mary.

More recently, William & Mary recruited the constitutional scholar William Van Alstyne from Duke Law School. Lawrence Wilkerson, current Harriman Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy, was chief of staff for Colin Powell. Susan Wise Bauer is an author and founder of Peace Hill Press, who teaches writing and American literature at the college. James Axtell, who teaches history, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a Fellow in 2004. Iyabo Obasanjo, a previous senator of Nigeria and daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, also serves as faculty in Kinesiology & Health Sciences.

Professor Benjamin Bolger – the second-most credentialed person in modern history behind Michael Nicholson – taught at W&M.

Alumni

Main article: List of College of William & Mary alumni

Although a historically small college, the alumni of William & Mary include influential and historically significant people. Among its alumni are four of the first ten presidents of the United States, four United States Supreme Court justices, dozens of U.S. senators, members of government, six Rhodes Scholars, and three Marshall Scholars.

• 
  3rd U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson (1762, attended)
• 
  10th U.S. President, John Tyler (class of 1807)
• 
  Commanding General of the U.S. Army, Winfield Scott (1805, attended)
• 
  9th U.S. Secretary of State, statesman, abolitionist, and Founder of the Whig Party, Henry Clay (class of 1797)
• 
  22nd United States Secretary of Defense and 24th Chancellor, Robert Gates (class of 1965)
• 
  34th White House Press Secretary under Joe Biden, Jen Psaki (class of 2000)
• 
  7th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey (class of 1982)
• 
  American singer-songwriter, Thao Nguyen (class of 2006)
• 
  American actress, Glenn Close (class of 1974)
• 
  American comedian, Jon Stewart (class of 1984)
• 
  Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jacob Frey (class of 2004)
• 
  American comedian Michelle Wolf (class of 2007)

See also

• Williamsburg Bray School
• William & Mary scandal of 1951
• History of education in the Southern United States

Further reading

• Allen, Jody L. "Thomas Dew and the rise of proslavery ideology at William & Mary." Slavery & Abolition 39.2 (2018): 267-279.
• Meyers, Terry L. "Thinking about Slavery at the College of William and Mary." William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal 21 (2012): 1215+.
• Thomson, Robert Polk. "The reform of the College of William and Mary, 1763-1780." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 115.3 (1971): 187-213.
• Wenger, Mark R. "Thomas Jefferson, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Virginia." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 103.3 (1995): 339-374. online

External links

• Official website
• Drone, Eaton S. (1879). "William and Mary, College of" . The American Cyclopædia.
• Transcript of the Royal Charter

Bell Media Inc.

Logo since 2011
299 Queen Street West, the former headquarters of CHUM Limited, serves as the headquarters of Bell Media, in 2022.
Formerly	CHUM Limited (1945–June 22, 2007) Telegram Corp. (1960–1971) Baton Broadcasting (1971–1998) CTV Inc. (1998–2001) Bell Globemedia Inc. (2001–December 31, 2006) CTVglobemedia Inc. (January 1, 2007–March 31, 2011)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Mass media
Founded	1960 (1960) (Telegram Corporation) 2001 (2001) (Bell Globemedia Inc.) January 1, 2007 (2007-01-01) (CTV globemedia) April 1, 2011 (2011-04-01) (Bell Media Inc.)
Headquarters	299 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario , Canada
Area served	Canada
Key people	Sean Cohan (president) Stewart Johnston (SVP, Sales and Sports) Karine Moses (SVP, Content Development and News) Nauby Jacob (SVP, Product Platforms)
Number of employees	5,000+
Parent	BCE Inc.
Divisions	Bell Media Radio Bell Media Television
Subsidiaries	CTV Specialty Television (joint venture with ESPN Inc.)
Website	www.bellmedia.ca
Footnotes / references

Bell Media Inc. (French: Bell Média inc.) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include national television broadcasting and production (including the CTV and CTV 2 television networks), radio broadcasting (through iHeartRadio Canada), digital media (including Crave) and Internet properties (including the now-defunct Sympatico portal).

Bell Media is the successor-in-interest to Baton Broadcasting (later CTV Inc.), one of Canada's first private-sector television broadcasters. Although the company was founded in 1960 as Telegram Corporation, the current enterprise traces its origins to the establishment of Bell Globemedia Inc. in 2001 by BCE and the Thomson family, combining CTV Inc. (which BCE had acquired in 2000) and the operations of the Thomson family's newspaper, The Globe and Mail. BCE sold the majority of its interest in 2006 (after which the company was renamed CTVglobemedia Inc. in 2007), but in 2011, BCE acquired the entire company (excluding The Globe and Mail) and changed the name to Bell Media Inc.

Origins

Baton Broadcasting

"Baton Broadcasting" redirects here. For the defunct television system owned by Baton, see Baton Broadcast System.

For all practical purposes, Bell Media is the successor to Baton Broadcasting Incorporated (/ˈbeɪtɒn/ BAY-ton), which by the late 1990s had become one of Canada's largest broadcasters.

Formed in 1960 as Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting Ltd., the company was originally created to establish Toronto's first private television station, CFTO-TV. The name of this company derived from its initial investors, including the Bassett and Eaton families (Baton), and Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting (owned by broadcaster Joel Aldred and Ted Rogers); Foster Hewitt was also an initial investor, but in a much smaller role. Aldred sold his shares in 1961, followed by Rogers by 1970, thereby relieving their names from the company title. With the Bassett and Eaton families firmly in control, the company went public in the early 1970s.

CFTO was one of the charter affiliates of CTV when that network formed in 1961, becoming the network's flagship. In 1966, Baton became a part-owner in the network when it was reorganized as a station-owned cooperative. The Board of Broadcast Governors was initially skeptical about the proposal to turn CTV into a cooperative. Since CFTO was by far the largest and richest station in the network, the BBG feared Baton would take advantage of this to dominate the network. However, it approved the deal after Baton and the other owners included a provision in the cooperative's bylaws stipulating that the eight station owners would each have a single vote regardless of audience share. Additionally, if one owner ever bought another station, the acquired station's shares would be redistributed among the remaining owners so that each owner would still have one vote out of eight.

In 1972, Baton began purchasing other CTV affiliates, starting with CFQC-TV in Saskatoon. This did not, however, give Baton a substantially higher investment in CTV, since its shares were redistributed among the other owners. As a result, Baton still had only one vote out of eight.

In 1987, Baton began a concerted effort to take over CTV. It started this drive with a further expansion into Saskatchewan, purchasing CKCK-TV in Regina, Yorkton twinstick CKOS-TV/CICC-TV, and CBC affiliate CKBI-TV Prince Albert. A twinstick CTV affiliate was soon launched in Prince Albert, CIPA-TV.

In the late 1980s, Baton applied for a high-power station in Ottawa on channel 60. The licence was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), appealed to federal cabinet by rival broadcasters, and ultimately sent back to the CRTC for review. However the license was surrendered when Baton was instead able to acquire the local CTV affiliate, CJOH-TV, from Allan Slaight's Standard Broadcasting.

In 1990, Baton purchased the MCTV system of twinstick operations in Pembroke, North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, and the Huron Broadcasting twinstick in Sault Ste. Marie. In 1993, Baton purchased CFPL-TV in London, CKNX-TV in Wingham and received a license for a new independent station, CHWI-TV, in Windsor.

In 1991, the company launched Ontario Network Television, a secondary affiliation carried by Baton's CTV and independent stations in Ontario. This was expanded in 1994 into the Baton Broadcast System (BBS), which included Baton's Saskatchewan stations. BBS was meant as a backup in case Baton's ongoing acquisitions did not translate into control of CTV itself. A year earlier, CTV had been recently restructured into a corporation, with each owner holding a 14.3% stake in the network. However, any future acquisitions by Baton would come with all of that affiliate's CTV shares. It was around this time that former CBC executive Ivan Fecan joined the company.

Baton-Electrohome alliance and CTV Inc. (1996–2000)

In 1996, the CRTC approved two major deals involving Baton. First was the acquisition of CFCN-TV in Calgary from Rogers Communications, which had recently purchased Maclean Hunter. Second, Baton and Electrohome—owner of CKCO-TV in Kitchener and CFRN-TV in Edmonton—formed an alliance, under which the companies would share ownership of CFCN; Baton's stations in Saskatchewan and its independent stations in southwestern Ontario; and Electrohome's CKCO. The deals doubled Baton's own interest in CTV to 28.6%. However, as part of the deal, Baton took control of Electrohome's CTV vote, allowing it to command 42.9% of CTV's shares.

In January 1997, Baton-Electrohome's "Vancouver Television" proposal emerged as the CRTC's choice for the new independent station in Vancouver, beating out four other competitors. The new station, CIVT-TV, would compete directly with Western International Communications's two CTV affiliates in the market when it was launched that fall.

On February 25, 1997, the Baton-Electrohome alliance and CHUM Limited announced that several stations would be swapped between them. Baton-Electrohome would acquire CHUM's Atlantic Television System (ATV), consisting of four CTV affiliates in the Maritimes, the Atlantic Satellite Network (ASN), and a further 14.3% in CTV. CHUM would receive Baton's independent stations in southwestern Ontario, as well as CHRO-TV in Pembroke, which had recently disaffiliated from CTV. The Baton-Electrohome alliance now held 57.2% of CTV.

Shortly thereafter, Electrohome announced it would sell its broadcasting assets—including CFRN, its interest in the alliance, and its CTV shares—to Baton in exchange for cash and shares in Baton. These two deals were approved by the CRTC in August. Baton now held controlling interest in CTV, triggering a put option that allowed the other owners to sell their stakes in the network while still keeping their stations. Accordingly, Baton acquired the remaining CTV shares from WIC and Moffat Communications (Newfoundland Broadcasting, owner of CJON-TV, had effectively relinquished its vote when CTV became a corporation) that fall.

The BBS television system was merged into CTV, with the company itself being renamed CTV Inc. the following year. The Eatons' remaining shares, representing 41% of Baton (estimated at CA$450 million), were sold off to the general public in early 1998. By the end of 2001, nearly all CTV stations were consolidated under network ownership (including one replacement).

In 1999, CTV Inc. acquired NetStar Communications, a company that was spun out from the broadcasting division of the Labatt Brewing Company after its acquisition by Interbrew in 1995. The sale was approved by the CRTC March 24, 2000, but CTV had to divest either Netstar's TSN or their own Sportsnet; they chose to sell the latter to Rogers.

Bell Globemedia (2000–06)

At the beginning of the 2000s, Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) acquired CTV Inc. (including the NetStar assets) and bought The Globe and Mail, folding the two into a new media venture, Bell Globemedia Inc (BGM).

This venture was masterminded by former Bell Canada chief executive Jean Monty, largely as a response to Canwest's purchase of the Southam newspaper chain as well as the trend of media convergence, particularly the AOL-Time Warner merger. Monty believed that to survive in a changing technological landscape, and in particular to drive subscriptions to satellite television provider Bell ExpressVu and internet service provider Bell Sympatico, BCE had to have control over content.

The transaction was structured as follows. In 2000, BCE acquired CTV Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at CA$2.3 billion. Soon after, Monty arranged to have Thomson Corporation transfer control of The Globe and Mail, the Toronto-based national newspaper, to BCE in exchange for a significant interest (20%) in the merged CTV/Globe entity. The Thomson family's holding company (The Woodbridge Company Limited) invested in the company directly to obtain an additional 9.9% interest, and it later bought Thomson Corporation's interest.

The resulting company (Bell Globemedia) consisted of CTV, The Globe and Mail, and the Internet portal then known as Sympatico-Lycos (Lycos was later replaced by MSN). Fecan was named the combined firm's president and CEO (a role he remained in for the duration of the BGM/CTVglobemedia era). After Monty resigned and was replaced by Michael Sabia in 2002, it became clear that Monty's vision was not producing anything near the desired results, notwithstanding the good results for the individual units, particularly the CTV network.

The following years provided a few cosmetic changes in BGM's assets. In 2001, CTV acquired CKY-TV in Winnipeg and CFCF-TV in Montreal, and moved the CTV affiliation in British Columbia to CIVT, replacing two affiliates that had been purchased by Canwest. That fall also brought the launch of the first digital specialty channels, including several owned by CTV.

The company acquired partial ownership in TQS in 2002, the Sympatico portal was sold back to Bell Canada, while a further investment from the Thomsons (whose ownership increased to 31.5%) funded the acquisition of 15% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. However, beginning in 2003, BCE management began to refer to BGM as a non-core asset; as a result, much attention was given to the likely sale of the company, and potentially a breakup into several different pieces.

On December 2, 2005, Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) announced that it would sell an 8.5% interest to The Woodbridge Company Limited (increasing their total ownership to 40%), a 20% interest to Torstar, and a 20% interest to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. BCE retained 20% of the group—a condition that ensured that Bell Satellite TV, Sympatico, and other Bell units continued to have access to Bell Globemedia (BGM) content. The transaction closed on August 30, 2006.

This deal put to rest any rumors about a possible breakup of the company. However, Torstar's involvement led to additional media concentration concerns, mainly from media unions. Torstar insisted it was committed to maintaining the editorial independence of the Globe and its own Toronto Star, and ultimately there were no major regulatory hurdles due to this.

On July 12, 2006, BGM announced a friendly bid to take over CHUM Limited for an estimated $1.7 billion. The acquisition would bring the secondary broadcast system (Citytv), other stations including CablePulse24, MuchMusic, Star!, Bravo!, and Space, and all of CHUM's radio stations, into the BGM fold. BGM originally announced that CHUM's A-Channel stations, Access, CKX-TV, MusiquePlus, MusiMax, Canadian Learning Television, SexTV: The Channel and BGM's own OLN would not be retained.

On September 7, 2006, in order to pay for the CHUM acquisition, BGM sold additional shares to its existing shareholders. BCE did not participate in the refinancing; the net effect was an increase in Teachers' ownership to 25%, while BCE's interest was reduced to 15%.

CTVglobemedia (2007–11)

The logo for CTVglobemedia since January 1, 2007.

As a result of BCE's reduced ownership in the company, Bell Globemedia was renamed CTVglobemedia Inc. on January 1, 2007.

In April of that year, Rogers Communications announced a tentative deal to purchase A-Channel, CKX-TV, Access Alberta, Canadian Learning Television, and Cooking Channel from CTVglobemedia, if its purchase of CHUM was approved. Astral Media made a similar deal for CHUM's 50% interest in MusiMax and MusiquePlus.

That June, the CRTC approved the CHUM takeover, on condition that CTV sell off the Citytv stations, because of the CTV network's owned-and-operated station stations serving the very same cities. CTV ultimately chose to keep the A-Channel stations along with the rest of CHUM Ltd. assets it had previously said it would sell, except for MusiquePlus/MusiMax. Rogers Communications was announced as the buyer of the Citytv stations on June 11, 2007, and the CHUM acquisition was finalized on June 22.

Subsequently, CTVglobemedia, Inc. sold off its interests in various non-core channels. Rogers purchased several of these assets, including CTV's 33% interest in OLN in late 2007, as well as radio stations CHST-FM in London, Ontario and CHBN-FM in Edmonton, Alberta in 2010. Corus Entertainment would acquire Canadian Learning Television, Cooking Channel, and Drive-In Classics for a combined $113 million. TQS entered bankruptcy protection and was ultimately acquired by Remstar (which renamed the network "V"). Meanwhile, Glassbox Television acquired Travel + Escape in late 2010. In two cases, the operations were closed down, specifically CBC affiliate CKX-TV in Brandon, Manitoba (which left the air in October 2009 after a deal to sell that station to Bluepoint Investment Corporation fell through) and the A station in Wingham, CKNX-TV (which left the air one month prior to CKX and is now a rebroadcaster of the A station in London, CFPL-TV).

CTVglobemedia acquired Toronto station CFXJ-FM from Milestone Radio in 2010.

On September 10, 2010, BCE announced plans to re-acquire 100% of the company's broadcasting arm, including CTV Inc. Under the deal, Woodbridge, Torstar, and Teachers' would together receive $1.3 billion in either cash or equity in BCE, while BCE would also assume $1.7 billion in debt (BCE's existing equity interest was $200 million, for a total transaction value of $3.2 billion). Woodbridge would also regain majority control of The Globe and Mail Inc., with BCE retaining a 15% interest. The overall deal was expected to close by April 2011. However, the sale of The Globe, which did not require CRTC approval, was completed in late December 2010. The deal was approved by the CRTC on March 7, 2011, and the company was officially closed on April 1, 2011. It was renamed as Bell Media Inc.

Post-2011 developments

Expansion (2011–13)

On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to BCE and its rival, Rogers Communications, in a deal valued at around $1.32 billion. Additionally, Larry Tanenbaum increased his stake in the company to 25%. The deal closed in August 2012.

On March 16, 2012, BCE announced that it had entered in an agreement to acquire Montreal-based broadcaster Astral Media for an estimated value of $3.38 billion; the assets of which were to be incorporated into Bell Media. The acquisition was primarily centered on Astral's premium services (such as The Movie Network and its stake in HBO Canada) and its French-language radio and television stations. Bell planned to use Astral's premium offerings to enhance its own multi-platform services to compete against the likes of services such as Netflix, and its French media outlets to better compete against the dominant Québecor Média. The merger was notably opposed by a coalition of competing cable providers (which included Cogeco, EastLink, and Vidéotron—the last of which is also owned by Québecor Média, who felt that Bell's control of a majority of Canadian media would harm consumer choice, and lead to increased carriage fees which could cripple smaller cable companies.

BCE's first proposal was denied by the CRTC in October 2012; the commission believed that the combined company would have had too much market power. Soon afterward, Bell and Astral began to negotiate a second proposal that would involve selling most of Astral's English-language television channels in order to quell fears by the CRTC. On March 18, 2013, the Competition Bureau cleared the revised proposal. Unlike the previous deal, which would have given Bell a 42% share of the English-language television market, the new deal would only give Bell a total market share of 35.7%, but still increase its French-language market share to 23% (in comparison to 8% before). Following hearings by the CRTC in May 2013, the CRTC approved Bell's acquisition of Astral Media on June 27, 2013. The deal is subject to conditions, including the requirement to provide fair treatment to its competitors, to not impose "restrictive bundling practices" on Astral's premium movie channels, invest $246.9 million over the next seven years on Canadian-produced programming, and to maintain the operation and local programming levels of all of its television stations through 2017. The CRTC also approved Bell's proposed exemptions for maintaining ownership of Montreal's CKGM. Bell put Family, Disney XD, the two Disney Junior services, MusiMax, MusiquePlus, and five radio stations up for sale, while Corus Entertainment acquired Historia, Séries+, and Teletoon from Astral and competitor Shaw Media.

On June 6, 2013, Bell announced that Bravo would be its first network to implement a TV Everywhere service, which would allow subscribers to Bravo on participating television service providers to stream video on demand content and the Bravo channel live via the Bravo Go app. Apps for some of its other networks were also released over the following months.

Layoffs, new partnerships (2014–17)

In December 2014, Bell Media launched CraveTV, a subscription video on-demand service. Initially, the service was available only through television providers; Bell Media president Kevin Crull argued that Bell did not want the service to cannibalize its linear television business, because its content "[would not] exist if you didn't have the traditional TV system. So you really can't sustainably have one without the other."

On April 9, 2015, Crull stepped down as president of Bell Media, and was replaced by Mary Ann Turcke, the subsidiary's former head of media sales. The move came following allegations reported by The Globe and Mail that, after the CRTC's March 2015 decision to mandate that pay television providers offer a la carte packages, Crull ordered all Bell-owned news properties, including CTV News, not to air any remarks by CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais during reports regarding the decision. Although the CTV News Channel program Power Play and a report aired on the local evening newscasts complied with Crull's order, the CTV National News that night defied Crull's demand by airing a story on the changes that included remarks by Blais. CTV News president Wendy Freeman, Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife, and the program's anchor Lisa LaFlamme felt that the inclusion of remarks by Blais was necessary due to the nature of the story. In response to the dismissal, BCE CEO George A. Cope explained that the journalistic independence of its news operations was "paramount importance to our company and to all Canadians".

Shortly after taking the position, Turcke was criticized for remarks that considered the use of virtual private network services to evade geo-blocking and access the U.S. version of subscription video on demand service Netflix to be "stealing".

In late August 2015, Bell Media began a series of layoffs, which included directors and vice presidents. On November 6, 2015, additional layoffs of 380 jobs from production, editorial, sales, and administrative roles in Toronto and Montreal were revealed. On November 17, 2015, further cuts were made, which included high-profile on-air talent from radio and television properties in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

On November 20, 2015, Corus announced that it would wind down the operation of Movie Central, a premium television service that had been granted exclusivity in Western Canada, and cede its regional monopoly to Bell Media's The Movie Network, which was similarly restricted to Eastern Canada, allowing it to become available nationwide in 2016. Bell Media subsequently announced that it had acquired exclusive Canadian rights to all current HBO programming in Canada (rights previously shared with Corus due to its joint venture HBO Canada).

On January 6, 2016, iHeartMedia announced that it had partnered with Bell Media to launch a localized version of its online radio service iHeartRadio Canada. On January 14, 2016, CraveTV became available as a standalone service without requiring an existing television subscription.

On May 4, 2016, Bell acquired rights to the programming and branding of Canadian specialty channel Gusto TV. The channel was shut down, and re-launched on September 1, 2016, replacing M3 under its existing Category A license.

On January 31, 2017, Bell Media announced that it planned to perform another round of layoffs in 24 locations, citing various developments across Canada's broadcasting industry, as well as the impact of recent regulatory decisions (such as one that prevents the federal simsub rules from being used on the Super Bowl, whose Canadian broadcast rights are currently owned by Bell Media).

Randy Lennox presidency (2017–20)

On February 27, 2017, Turcke left Bell to join the National Football League as president of NFL Media. She was succeeded as president by Randy Lennox. That month, Bell also announced that it had partnered with record executive Scott Borchetta to develop a new, international television format that would "uncover, develop, and promote pop culture's next musical superstars", and "leverage Bell Media's massive reach and extensive platforms to showcase musicians on the national and international stage." CTV officially announced the new series, The Launch, in April 2017.

On June 7, 2017, Wow Unlimited Media announced that it would acquire a specialty channel from the company (later revealed to be Comedy Gold; however, the sale would later be aborted, leading to the channel's shutdown in 2019) to form a new network targeting children and young adults, and provide children's television content for Bell's over-the-top ventures. As part of the purchase, BCE will take 3.4 million common voting shares in the company.

On August 9, 2017, Bell announced that it would acquire Larche Communications' four Ontario radio stations, pending CRTC approval.

On October 17, 2017, Bell Media announced its intent to acquire Historia and Séries+—two French-language networks whose Astral-owned stakes were divested during its acquisition by Bell—from Corus Entertainment for $200 million. On May 28, 2018, both transactions were blocked by the Competition Bureau, citing a condition on the Bell/Astral deal which forbade Bell from re-acquiring properties divested in the sale for 10 years after its completion.

On January 23, 2018, Bell Media announced that it had reached licensing agreements with Starz Inc. and Lionsgate, and that TMN Encore would be rebranded under the Starz brand in 2019, featuring its programming. The following month, Bell launched SnackableTV, a streaming video app with short-form content from Bell Media properties and other sources.

In April 2018, Bell Media acquired a controlling stake in the Pinewood Toronto Studios complex. In May 2018, Bell Media announced that it, along with several other parties, would contribute French-language content to Radio-Canada's subscription streaming service Ici Tou.tv Extra.

In May 2018, Bell Media laid off 17 employees, resulting in the cancellation of Discovery's Daily Planet and Space's Innerspace.

On June 7, 2018, during the CTV upfronts, it was announced that four Bell Media specialty channels would re-brand in September 2019, with Bravo, Comedy Network, Gusto, and Space respectively becoming CTV Drama Channel, CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Life Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Two new ad-supported video-on-demand platforms were also announced: CTV Movies and CTV Vault (renamed CTV Throwback on launch). These rebrandings and launches will be incorporated into a larger, unified digital platform containing content from all six services. Later that day, it was also announced that Bell Media was one of two Canadian companies that had acquired a stake in the Montreal-based comedy festival Just for Laughs.

On August 16, 2018, Vice Media announced a long-term output deal with Bell Media, which would see its networks and properties hold rights to Viceland programming in Canada.

On July 24, 2019, Bell announced its intent to acquire the French-language broadcast television network V from V Media Group pending CRTC approval, as well as its streaming outlet Noovo. CTVglobemedia previously owned a 40% stake in the network prior to its sale to Remstar. On April 3, 2020, the sale was approved; as a condition of the purchase, the CRTC stated that all five V stations must air five hours of local programming per-week through the 2020-2021 broadcast year, and expanding to eight-and-a-half hours per-week in Montreal and Quebec City by 2021–2022. At least half of all local programming must be locally-reflective. The sale was closed on May 15, 2020. V would later be renamed to Noovo on August 31, 2020.

Wade Oosterman era (2021–2023)

On October 19, 2020, BCE announced that Lennox would be leaving the organization on January 4, 2021, and that Bell group president Wade Oosterman, to whom Lennox had reported, would take over operational leadership of Bell Media directly, while maintaining oversight of Bell's wireless, residential, and small-business telecom operations. BCE subsequently clarified that Oosterman had taken the title of president of Bell Media while remaining vice-chair of BCE and Bell Canada.

Immediately following Lennox's departure, Oosterman announced a new, simplified executive structure. As a result, several senior executives of Bell Media, some having served with the company's predecessors since the late 1990s, left the company; two of the three senior vice presidents reporting to Oosterman under the new structure also have roles overseeing parts of Bell's telecom business. Several other lower-level managers were laid off about two weeks later. This in turn was followed in early February by the elimination of hundreds of rank-and-file positions, including at least 210 in the company's Toronto offices alone, the removal of dedicated newsrooms for news-talk radio stations CJAD Montreal and CFRB Toronto, and the reformatting of three TSN Radio outlets as automated business news or comedy stations with little locally produced content.

In a memo announcing the end of the restructuring, Oosterman described the moves as necessary to "reflect the reality of sweeping change facing [Bell Media]" including impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, changing media consumption patterns and "aggressive" competition from global players. They were also widely seen as indicating a corporate shift in focus away from traditional media outlets and towards Bell's streaming services like Crave and iHeartRadio. However, observers including Unifor, the main labour union representing Bell employees, questioned the need for the layoffs, given that parent company BCE had accepted $122 million in assistance through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in 2020, while being able to increase its dividend payments to shareholders.

In June 2023, BCE announced that it was cutting 1,300 positions across its telecom and media operations (around three per cent of its workforce, and of which approximately 30% were unfilled vacancies), including six per cent of positions at Bell Media (which had 5,645 employees at the end of 2022). The company also announced it would be closing or selling nine AM radio stations, some of which had changed to automated formats during previous rounds of cuts: CFRW, CKMX, CFRN, CKST, CFTE, and CJBK all closed immediately, while CKWW, CKOC, and CHAM were slated for sale to one or more third-party buyers to be named later.

BCE blamed a number of industry changes and increasing losses in its news divisions for the cuts, while questioning the regulatory priorities of the federal government and the CRTC; one BCE executive mentioned having waited for reforms on some items for years, while also citing "relentless regulatory intervention" by the CRTC to cut wireless and Internet service pricing. This rationale was questioned by union officials and other experts who felt Bell should have better prepared for industry changes, or could have waited for the full implementation of the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11) and the Online News Act (Bill C-18).

In June 2023, The Globe and Mail reported that after the controversial dismissal of long-time CTV National News anchor Lisa LaFlamme in 2022, Oosterman was recorded urging news managers from its CTV, BNN, CP24 properties to get their journalists to "help" by providing favourable coverage when reporting on Bell as long as it did not "distort reality". Oosterman also criticized CTV for not forcing conflict between opposing viewpoints to get more viewers. Oosterman's remarks seemingly violated the company's 2015 journalistic independence policy.

On August 16, 2023, Vrak and Z were removed from Vidéotron. As a consequence, Vrak closed down on October 1, 2023.

Sean Cohan presidency (2023–present)

On October 3, 2023, BCE announced that Oosterman would be retiring from the conglomerate by early January 2024, and would be replaced as president of Bell Media by Sean Cohan, a former executive for the American media companies A&E Networks and Nielsen. On October 23, 2023, Bell Media acquired Outfront Media's Canadian business for $410 million.

On February 8, 2024, BCE announced that it would cut 4,800 positions (10% of which coming from Bell Media), citing declining revenues, and new CRTC requirements mandating that the company offer wholesale access to its fibreoptic telecom networks to competitors. Due to the restructuring, Bell Media announced that it would cut most noon and weekend newscasts across all CTV stations, cut programming at CTV News Channel and BNN Bloomberg, and sell 45 of its 103 radio stations to Arsenal Media, Durham Radio, Maritime Broadcasting System, My Broadcasting Corporation, Vista Radio, Golden Horseshoe Broadcasting Limited (a subsidiary of Whiteoaks Communications Group), and ZoomerMedia. Bell executive Robert Malcolmson told the Canadian Press that radio was "not a viable business anymore".

MTV2 was closed on March 29, 2024. This left the main MTV network to be the last remaining licensed Paramount Global channel under Bell Media.

On June 10, 2024, Rogers Sports & Media announced that it had acquired the rights to all of Warner Bros. Discovery's factual and lifestyle brands starting in January 2025. This would mark the end of Bell Media and CTV's long-running relationship with Discovery and its sibling networks. Bell filed a court injunction seeking to halt the agreement, arguing that their contract with WBD provides for a two-year non-compete clause ("window to adjust") if the company does not renew its licensing agreements. Rogers claims the suit is without merit.

On October 8, 2024, Bell settled with WBD and Rogers, and concurrently reached an agreement to renew its licensing agreement with the company for HBO and Warner Bros. entertainment content on Crave. Bell and WBD also entered into an agreement to co-produce new programming, and license Bell Media original productions for international distribution outside of Canada. On October 17, Bell announced planned rebrands and relaunches for its Discovery-branded networks taking effect January 1, 2025. Animal Planet, Discovery Science, and Discovery Velocity would be brought under Bell's CTV-branded specialty networks as CTV Wild Channel, CTV Nature Channel, and CTV Speed Channel respectively. Meanwhile, Bell announced a new licensing agreement with NBCUniversal, which would see Discovery Channel and Investigation Discovery relaunched as Canadian versions of USA Network and Oxygen True Crime respectively.

On October 31, 2024, The Globe and Mail reported that MTV Canada would wind down on December 31, 2024 due to “changing audiences”. The channel was created in 2000 as Talktv. Many MTV Canada's programs have been relocated to Paramount+ (launched in Canada in 2018) while some have been moved to other Bell Media-owned channels such as CTV or Much, as well as the Crave streaming service.

Operations

Main article: List of assets owned by Bell Media

Bell Media's largest division is CTV Inc., which owns the following broadcast television assets:

• CTV, Canada's oldest, largest, and most-watched private broadcast television network, including 22 owned-and-operated stations, two affiliates, and one news-only affiliate.
• CTV 2, a secondary television system that presently consists of four terrestrial television stations in Ontario and three in British Columbia, as well as two cable/satellite-only channels: one in Alberta; and the other in Atlantic Canada.
• Noovo, a private broadcast television network in Quebec, including five owned-and-operated stations.

Bell Media owns 27 English and 12 French specialty television channels, frequently in partnership with U.S. companies which operate similar channels.

Genre	Channels	International partner
CTV Entertainment	CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Drama Channel, CTV Life Channel, CTV Nature Channel, CTV Sci-Fi Channel, CTV Speed Channel, CTV Wild Channel, Much
Licensed Entertainment	E!, Oxygen, USA Network	Licensed by NBCUniversal
Sports	TSN1, TSN2, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5	ESPN (part-owner/licensor)
Premium	Crave 1, Crave 2, Crave 3, Crave 4, HBO 1, HBO 2, Starz 1, Starz 2	Max, HBO, Starz
News	BNN Bloomberg, CP24, CTV News Channel	BNN Bloomberg licensed by Bloomberg
French Entertainment	Canal D, Canal Vie, Investigation, Z
French Sports	RDS, RDS2, RDS Info	ESPN (part-owner/licensor)
French Premium	Cinépop, Super Écran 1, Super Écran 2, Super Écran 3, Super Écran 4
Pay-per-view	Vu! and Venus	n/a
Radio	iHeartRadio Canada	iHeartMedia (licensor), Premiere Networks (supplier of American programming for Orbyt Media)

Through its Bell Media Radio division, the company is also Canada's largest private-sector radio broadcaster and operates a localized version of iHeartMedia's iHeartRadio platform in Canada, even owning the radio syndication company Orbyt Media, which supplies its American programming from iHeartMedia's Premiere Networks division.

In addition, Bell Media also owns television & radio production studios and websites associated with all of the above properties, as well as the TheLoop.ca (formerly Sympatico.ca) Internet portal previously operated through Bell Canada.

Bell Media has six locations:

• 9 Channel Nine Court, Toronto
• 299 Queen Street West, Toronto
• Bell Media Tower, 1800 McGill College Avenue, Montreal
• Bell Media Building, 1755 René Lévesque Boulevard, Montreal
• 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver

Logo history

• 
  CTV inc. (1998–2001)
• 
  Bell Globemedia
  (2001–December 31, 2006)
• 
  CHUM Limited
  (used until June 22, 2007)
• 
  CTVglobemedia
  (January 1, 2007–March 31, 2011)
• 
  Bell Media
  (April 1, 2011–present, English)
• 
  Bell Media
  (April 1, 2011–present, French)

See also

• Bell Canada
• Media ownership in Canada
• Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium
• Rogers Sports & Media
• WildBrain
• Corus Entertainment
• Stingray Group
  • Stingray Radio
• CBC
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
• Torstar Corporation
• List of Canadian television channels

External links

• Official website
• History of Bell Media—Canadian Communications Foundation