Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (left) and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will speak at William & Mary's 2026 Charter Day ceremony. (Burns photo by Stephanie Berger)

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, William & Mary will be celebrating its 333rd with notable civic leaders and "America's Storyteller" joining in the festivities.

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will speak at the Charter Day ceremony, starting at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 6 in Kaplan Arena. Charter Day marks William & Mary's founding in 1693 through a British royal charter.

Burns and Spanberger will receive honorary degrees at the event, and Robert M. Gates '65, L.H.D. '98 will be reinvested as the university's chancellor for an unprecedented third term. A former secretary of defense who served under presidents of both political parties, Gates is the longest-serving chancellor in the university's history. His reappointment was unanimously approved by the Board of Visitors in November.

"The Alma Mater of the Nation has shaped civic leaders since 1693. At the quarter millennium, we honor our community's role establishing U.S. democracy and ongoing work to strengthen it," said President Katherine A. Rowe.

"It is fitting we recognize a trio of leaders who have dedicated themselves to this work at Charter Day. In Chancellor Gates, we have a patriot who puts duty over partisanship. We are proud that he will honor his alma mater with a third term. Likewise, Spanberger has dedicated her career to public service. Celebrated documentarian Ken Burns illuminates our country's history in order to meet the challenges of this moment."

Burns has won countless awards for his documentaries that explore significant moments in history - and the people who shaped them. His latest documentary, now available on PBS, explores the American Revolution.

Spanberger, who attended William & Mary early in her undergraduate career, will be inaugurated as the Commonwealth's first woman governor on Jan. 17. It has long been a William & Mary tradition to invite Virginia's newly elected governor to receive an honorary degree and speak at Charter Day.

This year's ceremony will also kick off William & Mary's Year of Civic Leadership, which will affirm the university's commitment to preparing civic leaders and celebrate its foundational role in establishing democracy in the United States. The year's theme coincides with the semiquincentennial anniversary of America's founding, which is being celebrated nationwide.

The ceremony is free and open to the public. People attending in person must adhere to the university's clear bag policy. The event will also be streamed online.

The Year of Civic Leadership

For centuries, William & Mary has shaped the nation's leaders, including educating four U.S. presidents - earning it the moniker Alma Mater of the Nation.

Today, the university continues that work as part of its mission to "cultivate creative thinkers, principled leaders and compassionate global citizens equipped for lives of meaning and distinction."

Service is one of William & Mary's core values, and Democracy is a pillar of the Vision 2026 strategic plan. As part of that initiative, the university committed to ensuring the nation's origin stories are expansive and to teaching the rights and obligations of 21st-century citizenship.

The Year of Civic Leadership will build on those efforts through a coordinated year of learning, dialogue, community-building and signature events that celebrate W&M's historic role in establishing American democracy, while affirming the university's ongoing commitment to preparing generations of civic leaders.

"From its founding, the university and its people have played a formative role in the life of the republic, understanding leadership as a moral charge," said Roxane Adler Hickey, assistant provost for leadership & academic engagement and chair of the Year of Civic Leadership steering committee.

"At its core, the Year of Civic Leadership affirms that knowledge carries responsibility - and that wisdom, formed over time, must be placed in service to the common good. At William & Mary, civic leaders listen across difference, reason with care and act with integrity. The Year of Civic Leadership will call on each of us to steward our communities - and the nation - with humility, courage and reverence for what is perpetual and universal."

About Ken Burns

Burns has been making documentaries for more than 50 years. His first, "Brooklyn Bridge," received an Academy Award nomination, and the ones that followed received similar acclaim. They include such works as "The Civil War," "Baseball" and "Jazz."

Born in New York, he received his undergraduate degree from Hampshire College and went on to co-found Florentine Films. Labeled "America's Storyteller" by movie star Tom Hanks in a 2017 tribute, Burns has received endless praise for his work, including 17 Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and in 2022, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Burns debuted a portion of his latest documentary, "The American Revolution," on the lawn of the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area in spring 2025 along with co-directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. The six-part, 12-hour series debuted on PBS in November 2025. Burns' future projects include "Emancipation to Exodus" and "LBJ & the Great Society."

About Abigail Spanberger

Charter Day will serve as a homecoming of sorts for Spanberger: She took classes at William & Mary before transferring to the University of Virginia. She earned her undergraduate degree there before pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree in a joint program with the GISMA Business School in Germany and Purdue University's Krannert School of Management.

Inspired by her parents - her father a career law enforcement officer and her mother a nurse - Spanberger's career has focused largely on public service. As a former federal law enforcement officer at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Spanberger worked money laundering and narcotics cases. She went on to join the CIA as a case officer. Spanberger worked undercover her entire time at the agency - collecting intelligence, managing assets and overseeing high-profile programs to combat terrorism and keep Americans safe.

In 2018, Spanberger became the first woman ever to be elected to serve the Seventh District in Congress. She was reelected in 2020 and 2022. In November 2025, she won Virginia's gubernatorial election.

Erin Jay, Senior Associate Director of University News

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