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Alma Mater of the Nation

The Alma Mater of a Nation was used to refer to William & Mary, starting in the late 1960s.

The booklet Alma mater of a nation : a bicentennial sampler for the College of William & Mary was probably published in 1975. William & Mary President Davis Y. Paschall used the phrase in a speech to a joint meeting of the appropriations committees of the General Assembly of Virginia in 1968. The phrase was also used by Mills Godwin, Governor of Virginia, in a Report on the Commission on Constitutional Revision at William & Mary on January 11, 1969.

While Alma Mater of a Nation might still be used by some, Alma Mater of the Nation is preferred (2016, News & Media Team).

References

  • Alma mater of a nation : a bicentennial sampler for the College of William & Mary, [Williamsburg, Va.? : s.n.] (probably 1975). In Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center, call number LD6051 .W51d 1965 (Archives).
  • Report on Commission on Constitutional Revision, 1969 January 11, Series 5, Subseries 6, Box 18, Item 129, Mills Godwin, Jr. Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.

 

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A note about the contents of this site

This website contains the best available information from known sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information in this website is not complete, and it changes as we continue to research and uncover new sources.