W&M Holds First Pride Event; Part of Week-Long Celebration of Diversity

Students on campus at William and Mary held the first-ever on campus celebration of LGTBIQ Pride (along with lots and lots of food coloring, see photo), part of a larger week-long celebration of all kinds of racial and sexual diversity. Read more here.

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GALA Foundation Formally Established, Recognized by IRS

After years of filling out paperwork and working with the DC law firm of Arent Fox as our guide, GALA recently received notification from the Internal Revenue Service that The William and Mary GALA Foundation, Inc. — a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity separate from William and Mary GALA, Inc. — has been incorporated in the District of Columbia and recognized by the IRS.

The Foundation, under a small Board of Directors made up of several former GALA presidents, will now begin the work of setting up accounts and fund raising efforts to complement the educational and charitable goals that have long been a major part of GALA’s mission. “Having the Foundation active will enable us to solicit major gifts and bequests on a tax-exempt basis,” said Foundation President Wayne Curtis, “where in the past we had to rely on finding a friendly partner within the University to be able to offer that kind of tax treatment to the donor.”

GALA President Scott Binnings commented that he did not expect the Foundation would diminish members’ willingness to support the parent organization. “William and Mary GALA will continue to offer the capability to provide social and political support to our members and the College community; purposes that are just as vital to the quest for equality, but that are not eligible for Federal tax exemption.”

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

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

2011 “Silver Anniversary” Homecoming Schedule

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

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’

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

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

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

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.