William and Mary Gay and Lesbian Alumni, Inc.

WM GALA Celebrates 25 Years In Wren Great Hall; W&M President and Rector Attend

wmgala2 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:51:35 +0000

William and Mary GALA’s Silver Anniversary celebrations filled Homecoming weekend, October 21-23 2011, in ways the Founders could have never foretold in 1986. From the opening Birthday Party and Reception on Friday night in the Botetourt Gallery at Swem Library, through the Saturday night banquet in the Wren Building’s Great Hall, to Sunday Brunch, all events went as exactly as planned with great attendance. The Banquet was sold out, with the Great Hall’s limited seating capacity proving to be the barrier to several members who had hoped to get a last minute seat.

College officials were very much in evidence throughout the weekend, including past Dean of the Library Connie McCarthy, the newly-installed Dean Carrie Cooper, Rector of the College (and GALA member) Jeff Trammell, and President of the College, Taylor Reveley.

The Directors’ Cup was presented, for only the third time since it was created in 1993, to Gary Cowling for extraordinary accomplishment in his career as well as for being the longtime organizer of the William and Mary Alumni team for AIDSWalk New York.

Thanks to Margaret Cook, Assistant Director at the College’s Center for Student Diversity, we have a full photo gallery covering the weekend’s events. We also have a new video gallery with video taken at the events.

Welcome

wmgala2 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:00:36 +0000

2011 “Silver Anniversary” Homecoming Schedule

wmgala2 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 15:55:45 +0000

Join us for the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of W&M GALA
one of the first gay and lesbian alumni associations in the country, founded 1986

Friday October 21st, 7-9pm, Swem Library’s Botetourt Gallery

Birthday Party and Reception (with cake, of course)
the premiere of a new documentary on GALA, and a special literary guest
Botetourt Gallery, Swem Library
Admission Required

Saturday October 22nd, 6-9pm, The Sir Christopher Wren Building

25th Anniversary Cocktail Hour and Formal Dinner
Great Hall of the Wren Building
Admission Required

The Celebration Continues
Private Residence, off-campus
9pm-1am

Mailings have gone out to members for whom we have a correct mailing address. If you haven’t received yours, or if you are not currently a member but would like to join us, you may download the package of information and registration form here. Hotel reservations may be made now, asking for the GALA group rate, by calling the Williamsburg Clarion Hotel Historic District, at 757-229-4100.

Discovery of Wren Building Dependency Structure Opens New Story of African-American Role

wmgala2 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 15:52:35 +0000

For the second summer in a row, archaeologists at William and Mary have opened new chapters in the history of African-American slaves in Colonial Virginia. Last year, it was the determination that the ROTC office building is the oldest known structure built for the education of African-American children.

This year, while surveying the open area to the south of the Wren Building for sidewalk repairs, they have discovered the foundations of a substantial dependency structure that may have been a kitchen, laundry and/or living quarters for the slaves that made academic life possible for the William and Mary students and professors of the early eighteenth century.

Sidewalk construction has been postponed while the College raises money for a full scale archaeological dig that they hope will be conducted next summer to determine the exact size of the building and purposes it served.

WM GALA Now Choice on ‘my1693′

wmgala2 — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:05:26 +0000

As of July 11, 2011, users of the William and Mary Alumni Association’s social networking platform, my1693, will be able to choose W&M GALA as an affiliation choice in their menu of College related interests. News of this change will be mailed to all members in the upcoming general mailing for dues renewal and Homecoming scheduling, but users who currently are part of the my1693 community are encouraged to log in and make that change now. If you’re not currently part of the my1693 community, GALA encourages you to join.

GALA has striven for decades to establish ties and cooperative relationships with the Alumni Association, and this is a major step forward in these efforts. Special thanks go to Karen Cottrell, Executive Vice President of the Alumni Association, and Jeff Trammell, GALA member and rising Rector of the Board of Visitors for making this happen.

Trammell Elected Rector of BOV

wmgala2 — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:23:37 +0000

Jeff Trammell, longtime GALA member and recipient of the Founders Cup in 2006, has been elected Rector of the Board of Visitors of the College. To read more about Jeff and his incredible accomplishment, click here.

W&M Rated a Top Value

wmgala2 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:16:48 +0000

William and Mary has again placed highly on the Kiplinger’s list of best value in public universities. The 2011 list is out, and W&M is number 4, cited for delivering “stellar education at an affordable price” and gained special kudos for consistently being in their top five every year since they first started publishing their rankings in 1998.

W&M’s “It Gets Better” Campaign Launched

wmgala2 — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:46:15 +0000

As a response to the number of gay-lesbian suicides in the media in the last 8 weeks, and in cooperation with the Center for Student Diversity, Lambda Alliance and others, this affirming video has been launched on YouTube for the greater community.

Campus Pride Releases GLBT Friendliness College Ratings

wmgala2 — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:16:29 +0000

Campus Pride, Inc., an non-profit organization dedicated to creating safer, more LGBT-Friendly learning environments at colleges and universities, has released their 2010 Campus Pride Climate Index, a ranking of colleges and universities based on their LGBT “Friendliness” factors. Nineteen schools nationwide received the organizations “Five Star” ranking; none were located in Virginia.

The LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index is a vital tool for assisting campuses in learning ways to improve their LGBT campus life and ultimately shape the educational experience to be more inclusive, welcoming and respectful of LGBT and Ally people. All campuses participating in the index are acknowledged for their active interest in LGBT issues as well as their LGBT-Friendly efforts to encourage further progress.

Surprising Find at William & Mary

wmgala2 — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:40:01 +0000

Scholars at the College believe they have proven that the current office of Military/ROTC on campus is actually the oldest building in the United States used for the education of African-American children. According to the story in the Washington Post, William and Mary was instrumental in opening the school in 1760, at the urging of Benjamin Franklin. Read more.