William M. Anderson Jr., born January 15, 1942, is an American academic and education administrator. He is best known as the President of the

University of Mary Washington The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the Fredericksburg Teachers College, the institution was named Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washingt ...

, serving from 1983 to 2006.

Education

Anderson received a Bachelor of Science degree from

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

. He earned his master's degree in public administration at West Virginia University College of Graduate Studies. He went on to receive his doctorate in higher education from

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

Career

Anderson began working in higher education in 1967, serving as the Virginia State Council of Higher Education's coordinator of academic programs and enrollment research and later working as the

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Board of Regents' director of research and planning. Anderson began his time at Mary Washington College in 1976 after being appointed Executive Vice President. He would become the youngest president of Virginian four-year schools of higher education after his appointment in 1983. He would later be recognized as the longest-serving president of any Virginian public institution. He oversaw over $120 million in university capital improvements during his time as president, including a new campus center, library, science center, the Jepson Alumni Executive Center, the Ridderhof Martin Gallery, an improved campus walk, an apartment complex, and four new residence halls. His fundraising for these projects resulted in the obtainment of the largest

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance *Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to b ...

the university had ever received. His spearheading of a graduate program ultimately led to Mary Washington gaining

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

status in 2004. In February 2005, Anderson announced his plan to retire following the end of the 2005-2006 academic year.

Recognition

In 2011, the University of Mary Washington's convocation center was named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, William M. Jr. 1942 births Living people University of Mary Washington people Virginia Commonwealth University alumni Virginia Tech alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States