Timothy J. Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Timothy Jackson Sullivan (born April 15, 1944) was the twenty-fifth president of The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
, United States
.
key, and an election to a second academic honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa
. His wife, Anne Doubet Klare, was a fellow member of the class of 1966. As many William & Mary alumni, they were married in the chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building
.
in 1969, Sullivan went on to serve in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Vietnam
, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster
and Bronze Star
. Sullivan came back to William & Mary in 1972 as an assistant professor at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law
. He specialized in teaching contract law and became an associate law professor in 1974, and full professor and associate dean in 1977.
, a highly–respected former U.S. Senator from Virginia. In 1972, Spong was defeated by a well–funded Republican
candidate after word leaked out that Spong supported the Democrat
ic nominee and peace candidate, George McGovern
, for president rather than the Republican candidate Richard Nixon
. Nixon had carried Virginia in every election in which he was on the ballot. Spong then became dean of William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law and presided over its major expansion.
. He returned to Marshall-Wythe in 1984 as the John Stewart Bryan Professor of Jurisprudence, after serving for nearly three years as executive assistant for policy for then-Governor Charles S. Robb. Observers noted that Robb, whose subsequent record in the U.S. Senate few viewed as strong, never looked better or achieved more support for his decisions than he did when Sullivan was his principal advisor. Sullivan became dean of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law in July 1985. He was elected president of the College on April 9, 1992 by the Board of Visitors and was sworn in as president on June 1, just eight months before the school's 300th anniversary celebration.
and politicians of both parties, Sullivan was one of the most outspoken critics of the tax-cutting Gilmore's approach to education. In that period of budget shortfalls, Sullivan was noted on his campus for quietly transferring money from other college needs to assure that class size and a high quality of undergraduate education continued without interruption at William & Mary.
and has been similarly honored by Old Dominion University
(2005), Centre College
(2007) and Christopher Newport University
(2008). He received the Outstanding Virginian Award from the Virginia 4-H
Foundation in 1999. Active in public servic, possessed of a family background in public affairs in Ohio, Sullivan has been executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Virginia’s Future, counsel for the Commission on the Future of the Virginia Judicial System, a member of the Virginia Board of Education and the Governor’s Task Force on Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault on Campus. In addition, he was appointed by Governor L. Douglas Wilder as chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Athletics.
Sullivan is a member of the Virginia State Bar
and the Ohio State Bar and a Fellow of the Virginia Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation
. He served as Chair of the Governing Board of the Virginia Council of University Presidents. He currently serves on thhe Boards of The mariners Museum and of Corinthian Colleges Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of The National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington, D.C.
, and a former member of Sullivan's faculty at William & Mary's law school. On November 1, 2006, Sullivan accepted the position of president and CEO of the historic Mariners' Museum
, in Newport News
, Virginia. He resigned from the position in 2009.
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
College years
Sullivan’s life has long been intimately linked with William & Mary. He first came to the college as a freshman from Ohio in 1962. He left four years later with a bachelor’s degree in government, a Phi Beta KappaPhi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
key, and an election to a second academic honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...
. His wife, Anne Doubet Klare, was a fellow member of the class of 1966. As many William & Mary alumni, they were married in the chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building
Wren Building
The Wren Building is the signature building of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. Along with the Brafferton and President's House, these buildings form the College's Historic Campus....
.
Harvard Law School and Vietnam
After receiving a degree from Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1969, Sullivan went on to serve in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
and Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
. Sullivan came back to William & Mary in 1972 as an assistant professor at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law
Marshall-Wythe School of Law
William & Mary Law School, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, is the oldest law school in the United States. William & Mary Law School is a part of the College of William & Mary, the second oldest college in the United States. The Law School maintains an enrollment of about six hundred students...
. He specialized in teaching contract law and became an associate law professor in 1974, and full professor and associate dean in 1977.
U.S. Senator advisor
Sullivan became closely associated with the Dean of the Law School, William SpongWilliam B. Spong, Jr.
William Belser Spong, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician and a United States Senator who represented the state of Virginia from 1966 to 1973....
, a highly–respected former U.S. Senator from Virginia. In 1972, Spong was defeated by a well–funded Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate after word leaked out that Spong supported the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ic nominee and peace candidate, George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, for president rather than the Republican candidate Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. Nixon had carried Virginia in every election in which he was on the ballot. Spong then became dean of William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law and presided over its major expansion.
Return to William & Mary Law School
In 1981 and 1982, Sullivan was a visiting law professor at the University of Virginia School of LawUniversity of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
. He returned to Marshall-Wythe in 1984 as the John Stewart Bryan Professor of Jurisprudence, after serving for nearly three years as executive assistant for policy for then-Governor Charles S. Robb. Observers noted that Robb, whose subsequent record in the U.S. Senate few viewed as strong, never looked better or achieved more support for his decisions than he did when Sullivan was his principal advisor. Sullivan became dean of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law in July 1985. He was elected president of the College on April 9, 1992 by the Board of Visitors and was sworn in as president on June 1, just eight months before the school's 300th anniversary celebration.
President of William & Mary
Sullivan's long administration at William & Mary was characterized by a renewed emphasis on undergraduate education, by strong support among students, faculty, and alumni, and by well-thought-out but often bold moves. At the request of other presidents of colleges and universities financially supported by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Sullivan became the spokesman for increases in educational funding and for educational excellence. During the four years of confrontations between Governor Jim GilmoreJim Gilmore
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent...
and politicians of both parties, Sullivan was one of the most outspoken critics of the tax-cutting Gilmore's approach to education. In that period of budget shortfalls, Sullivan was noted on his campus for quietly transferring money from other college needs to assure that class size and a high quality of undergraduate education continued without interruption at William & Mary.
Accolades and other appointments
Sullivan was given the Freedom of the Drapers’ Company in London in November 1992 and was installed as a member of the Livery in July, 2003;at the same time ,he was made a Freeman of the City of London . In April 1993 he received an honorary LLD from the University of AberdeenUniversity of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
and has been similarly honored by Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
(2005), Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
(2007) and Christopher Newport University
Christopher Newport University
Christopher Newport University, or CNU, is a public liberal arts university located in Newport News, Virginia, United States. CNU is the youngest comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia...
(2008). He received the Outstanding Virginian Award from the Virginia 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
Foundation in 1999. Active in public servic, possessed of a family background in public affairs in Ohio, Sullivan has been executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Virginia’s Future, counsel for the Commission on the Future of the Virginia Judicial System, a member of the Virginia Board of Education and the Governor’s Task Force on Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault on Campus. In addition, he was appointed by Governor L. Douglas Wilder as chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Athletics.
Sullivan is a member of the Virginia State Bar
Virginia State Bar
Created in 1938, The Virginia State Bar is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia whose purpose is to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. The Bar was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly and is delegated the power to issue...
and the Ohio State Bar and a Fellow of the Virginia Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation
American Bar Foundation
Established in 1952, the ' is an independent, nonprofit national research institute located in Chicago, Illinois committed to objective empirical research on law and legal institutions...
. He served as Chair of the Governing Board of the Virginia Council of University Presidents. He currently serves on thhe Boards of The mariners Museum and of Corinthian Colleges Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of The National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington, D.C.
Retirement
In 2004 he announced his retirement. On July 1, 2005, he was succeeded by Gene Nichol, former dean of the law school at the University of North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, and a former member of Sullivan's faculty at William & Mary's law school. On November 1, 2006, Sullivan accepted the position of president and CEO of the historic Mariners' Museum
Mariners' Museum
The Mariners' Museum is located in Newport News, Virginia. It is one of the largest maritime museums in the world as well as being the largest in North America.- History :The museum was founded in 1932 by Archer Milton Huntington, son of Collis P...
, in Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, Virginia. He resigned from the position in 2009.