Majority Leader Cantor to Speak at WM's Charter Day

By Amber Lester Kennedy Monday, January 10, 2011

 

Congressman Eric Cantor, the majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, will return to his alma mater to speak at The College of William and Mary’s Charter Day ceremony on Feb. 4.

 

Cantor, who earned his law degree from the university in 1988, was elected as majority leader in November. He is the first William and Mary alumnus to hold the position, which is the second highest-ranking in the House. He will receive an honorary degree of doctor of laws. J. Edward Grimsley, a retired editorial page editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Thaddeus W. Tate, Jr., an emeritus professor of history at the college, will also be honored at the event. Grimsley will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters, while Tate will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters.

Charter Day marks the 318th anniversary of the awarding of the Royal Charter from King William III and Queen Mary II of England that established the college. Tickets are not required for the ceremony, which will be held at 4 p.m. at William and Mary Hall.

“On William and Mary’s birthday, we’re delighted to welcome back to campus one of Congress’s most important members – who also happens to be one of our own – to help celebrate,” said President Taylor Reveley in a press release. “We look forward to honoring the Majority Leader along with two leading members of the William and Mary family. Ed Grimsley, a devoted alumnus, former rector of the Board of Visitors and respected newspaper editor, and Thad Tate, one of our most distinguished scholars of history.”

Cantor, who represents Virginia’s 7th district, was first elected to Congress in 2000. In 2008, he was elected Republican Whip. In 2010, he co-authored a New York Times best-seller called, “Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders.”

He is the first Virginian and first Jewish House Majority Leader. As leader, he schedules legislation for consideration on the floor and works to plan the daily, weekly and annual legislative agendas. Prior to joining Congress, he served nine years in the Virginia House of Delegates as a representative of part of Henrico County and Richmond. He’s a native of Richmond, and possesses a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, a law degree from William and Mary and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

 

Grimsley, who earned a degree in government from the college in 1951, worked first as a reporter for United Press International. He served briefly as director of press relations at William and Mary before joining the staff of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he worked from 1953 until his retirement as editorial page director in 1995. He’s seen his columns published as books twice, in 1967 and 1998, and served as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Nominating Jury.

 

Grimsley has been generous in his support of William and Mary; this school year, the J. Edward Grimsley Fellowship in Journalism was created. A student taking an unpaid internship will receive the fellowship this spring. He served from 1990 to 2001 on the Board of Visitors. In 2002, he received the Alumni Medallion, one of the Alumni Association’s highest honors.

 

Tate joined the William and Mary faculty in 1961 as a history professor and book review editor for the William and Mary Quarterly. From 1966 to 1972, he served as editor of the Quarterly. From 1972 to 1989, he served as director of the Institute of Early American History and Culture (now known as the Omohundro Institute). He retired from the college in 1992.

 

Tate is an authority on the history of the college. In 1993, the year of the College’s tercentenary, he was co-author of “The College of William and Mary: A History.” In 1986, he received the Thomas Jefferson Award, one of the college’s highest honors.

In December, the college announced The Roots will perform an inaugural Charter Day concert on Feb. 5 in William and Mary Hall. The Roots is a hip hop band that backs vocals with live instruments; the band currently serves as house band for “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on NBC. Tickets have not gone on sale yet, but information will be posted on the box office web site.