Parents Fund Initiatives 2025-26
College of Arts & Sciences Research & Scholarship
Undergraduate Summer Research
Each year, the Parents Fund sponsors three Charles Center summer research grants in the humanities and social sciences. Student experiences consist of seven full-time weeks of focused research with a faculty mentor, often resulting in academic papers, articles, and conference presentations. The Parents Fund was especially important for summer 2025 as other research opportunities were in flux. Out of an exceptionally strong pool of applicants, faculty review committees selected 106 students to receive Charles Center summer research grants.
Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fair
The Charles Center supports transformative undergraduate research experiences beyond the classroom and across disciplines. Every fall, the Parents Fund helps sponsor the Undergraduate Research Symposium for humanities and social sciences. Last year, the symposium showcased research from 221 students and welcomed more than 1,000 guests.
Co-Curricular Activities
The Parents Fund supports three Community of Scholars projects each year. Awarded through the Charles Center, Community of Scholars Faculty Grants provide funding for faculty to introduce creative, engaging co-curricular experiences to students.
Parents Fund Scholarship
In 1998, the Parents Association – now called the Parent & Family Council – established this scholarship to be awarded annually to a student who displays leadership that contributes to an enhanced sense of community at William & Mary. Selected by the Division of Student Affairs, this year’s recipient is William Henderson ’26. William demonstrates a deep commitment to service and community as a President’s Aide, Student for University Advancement, member of Student Assembly, leader in the Black Student Organization, and as an Orientation Area Director.
Monica Potkay Award for Outstanding Faculty Advising
Presented annually to a faculty member during Family Weekend to recognize excellence in service as a faculty advisor, the Parents Fund sponsors a research grant to the faculty member selected. This year’s recipient of the 2025 Monica Potkay Award for Outstanding Faculty Advising is Dr. Jonathan Allen, Associate Professor of Biology. Students who selected Professor Allen recognize his commitment, kindness, and thoughtful approach to advising.
Career Development & Professional Engagement
Professional Development Travel
Each year, the Office of Career Development and Professional Engagement facilitates career trips and treks – the Wall Street Trip, Creative Careers Trek to D.C., and San Francisco Tech Trek – and other off-campus programs to help students explore career interests and competencies. The Parents Fund subsidizes travel expenses for students who otherwise would be unable to participate due to financial cost.
Externship Travel
Each year, more students express interest in career shadowing and apply for W&M’s award-winning externship program, TribeShadow. The Parents Fund subsidizes student costs to travel for externship experiences over fall and winter breaks.
Campus Living
RA Training and Team Integration
Following the success of the initial Resident Assistant (RA) Belonging and Community Development Day at Busch Gardens last year, continued support from the Parents Fund expands leadership education through off-campus experiences that foster connection, collaboration, resilience, and a shared experience for more than 140 RAs before the academic year begins. This kind of immersive team building makes W&M a pioneer in the field of residence life student leader training.
STEP Student Leader Development
Funding provides leadership education programs for 30+ paid student leaders and 250+ student volunteers working in Student Transition Engagement Programs (STEP) – including new student orientation staff, initiative directors, welcome desk staff, and transition coaches. This training ensures that all STEP student leaders foster community and interpersonal relationships, build transferable skillsets, and represent W&M values in their work.
Community Connections
Funding provides university-wide partnerships that support the overall student body and distinctive affinity groups, including transfer students (Transfer Welcome Day and Transfer Celebration Week), military-connected students (Purple Up!, Month of the Military Child, and meet-ups during student breaks), and global nomad students.
St Andrews Joint Degree Programme Student Support
The Parents Fund supports the unique orientation, transition, and persistence needs of St Andrews Joint Degree Programme students by providing programming that encourages community connection at both William & Mary and St Andrews. Support nourishes the identity of this distinct student cohort and gives their families a special sense of belonging when significant time is spent on two different continents.
Transition Coaches
The Parents Fund is supporting the newest complement to STEP’s student leadership team – Transition Coaches. These student leaders offer supplemental Find Your Experience initiatives that reinforce university values and help students navigate support systems through the natural transitions of college life (such as first year to sophomore year, and senior year to graduation). Each coach is assigned a caseload of 250–500 students and holds office hours, connection events, and facilitated conversations about milestones and campus traditions.
Community Values & Connection
Family Engagement: Regional & Campus Events
Funding supports W&M family events across the country and on campus, such as new student and family welcome events, Family Orientation, Family Weekend, and more.
Family Engagement: Book Club
This year, nearly 370 households from the Class of 2029 participated in On the Same Page: A W&M Family Book Club – an increase of 100 people from 2024. The Parents Fund sponsors all program materials and shipping, ensuring the program is free and accessible to all families. 96% of book club survey respondents indicated they were able to apply concepts from the book to their students’ transition, 92% applied topics in the book to conversations with their students, and 80% felt more connected to fellow parents of the incoming class.
Conflict Resolution & Education Student Specialists
Conflict Resolution & Education (CRE) provides services, support, and resources that empower the William & Mary community to navigate difficult conversations well and resolve issues productively. CRE Student Specialists work as conflict coaches, dialogue facilitators, and mediators. After completing foundational training in all three processes, these student leaders work on peer conflict cases and projects across campus, assist in creating and presenting educational workshops, implement research and marketing projects, and represent CRE at presentations, fairs, and other campus events. The Parents Fund sponsors their training, materials, and yearly stipends.
Conflict Resolution & Education Programming
In its second year of existence, CRE is prioritizing ways to increase access to the office’s services and provide non-conflict opportunities for practicing dialogue skills. In partnership with Residence Life, bi-monthly office hours called “Coffee and Conflict” give students an opportunity to connect with CRE for early intervention and support. A student-led dinner and dialogue event promotes community and conversation skills. The Parents Fund sponsors these events.
Conflict Resolution & Education Graduate Assistant
With one director overseeing CRE, the addition of a graduate assistant is essential to provide operational support for social media, outreach, and assessment while also independently working high-level case management.
The Haven Graduate Assistant
Funding provides a stipend for The Haven’s Graduate Assistant who is responsible for one-on-one support for survivors of gender-based violence, supervision and training of Peer Advocates, outreach and marketing, assistance with support groups, and many other day-to-day functions of the office.
Adaptable Resolution Facilitator
William & Mary recognizes the importance of creating resolution options for alleged violations of sexual misconduct that address the needs of the complainant who may wish to avoid the formal investigation and resolution process. Adaptable Resolution is a voluntary, remedies-based, structured process between or among students grounded in restorative justice principles that balance support and accountability without formal disciplinary action. The Parents Fund sponsors a stipend for the Adaptable Resolution Facilitator who assists students in navigating this resolution process.
Student Accountability & Restorative Practices Graduate Assistant
Funding provides a stipend for the graduate assistant in the Office of Student Accountability & Restorative Practices. Using an educational approach and working within the processes of the Student Conduct Council, Student Honor Council, and other programs, the GA helps students develop a deeper understanding of their obligations within the community and the impact of their actions on themselves and others.
Stipends for Honor Council and CHAP Students
William & Mary’s Honor Council is one of the few student-led councils in the country. Funding supports stipends for Honor Council students who help provide timely and appropriate resolutions to reported Honor Code violations, sustaining their commitment to this serious and high-stakes work. Conduct and Honor Advisor Program (CHAP) students are selected each year and receive extensive training to provide peer advising in the honor and conduct systems.
Student-Led Restorative Justice Practices
Funding supports student-led alternative resolution options facilitated by the Student Conduct Council, providing deeper learning outcomes. After this initiative began last year, nearly 90% of students resolved their cases via a restorative justice practice. By training and supervising the members of the Student Conduct Council as practitioners, the Office of Student Accountability & Restorative Practices can expand the offering of alternative resolution to far more students and enhance student leaders’ skills.
Inclusion & Belonging
AAA Honors Induction Ceremony
Funding supports the Alpha Alpha Alpha (AAA) First-Generation Honors Society Induction Ceremony at William & Mary. This event, held the Friday of Family Weekend, celebrates the academic achievements of first-generation students with a GPA of 3.2 or higher, and honors the families, alumni, and faculty and staff who support them.
Vanguard Cording Ceremony
Funding supports William & Mary’s Vanguard Cording Ceremony, a Commencement celebration honoring the achievements of first-generation and limited-income (FGLI) graduating students. Graduating students receive a FGLI gold and silver cord to wear during Commencement, celebrating their resilience and the unique experiences they bring to the William & Mary community.
Griffin Mentorship Mixer
The Griffin Mentorship Program connects first-generation students with dedicated faculty, staff, and alumni mentors to help them navigate their academic and professional journeys. This program is designed to provide continuous support and guidance throughout the students’ time at William & Mary, and the mixer is the yearly kickoff where mentor/student pairings are announced and celebrated.
Social Justice & Cultural Education
Sponsored by the Parents Fund, the Student Center for Inclusive Excellence provides opportunities for students to explore cultural immersion, social justice conferences, and multi-cultural festivals.
PLUS Summer Housing
Organized by the Student Center for Inclusive Excellence and funded privately, Preparing for Life as a University Student (PLUS) is a program that provides a supportive introduction to academic and student life at William & Mary. Through the leadership of trained peer mentors, incoming first-year students participate in a free, week-long, residential pre-orientation program designed to foster meaningful connections with peers and campus resources. The Parents Fund sponsors the campus housing for 45 student participants.
Health & Wellness
Campus Recreation Student Staff Development
Campus Recreation depends on over 200 students to assist in the operation of the Bee McLeod Recreation Center and the programming produced by intramural sports, fitness and wellness classes, aquatics, sport clubs, and the Tribe Adventure Program. Funding pays for student staff to earn certifications in group fitness, personal training, and other campus recreation programs.
After-Hours Mental Health Support
The Parents Fund and endowed support supplement the year-round 24/7 after-hours counseling available to students through ProtoCall. This service works in tandem with the Counseling Center to ensure students’ mental health needs are addressed.
Counseling Center Outreach
The Parents Fund sponsors promotional materials and events – such as Halloween and Valentine’s Day themed tabling – that educate W&M students about the mental well-being resources available to them.
Counseling Center Co-Payments
The Parents Fund provides financial assistance to bridge mental health services for students. Co-payment assistance is used for urgent therapy sessions or inpatient treatment, providing students immediate treatment while they pursue more sustainable options. For example: a student is anxious during final exams but has just learned that insurance is denying counseling treatments – the Parents Fund sponsors their immediate therapy until they can negotiate with their insurance provider.
Suicide Intervention Program
Funds support a research-based suicide intervention program for students who are currently struggling with recurrent suicidality. The program is provided as a teletherapy service by Vita Health and has been successful for our most vulnerable students.
It’s On Us: Athletics Playbook Workshops
The Parents Fund sponsors the national non-profit It’s On Us to conduct their Athletics Playbook workshops with Division I athletes on campus. These workshops are research-based, peer-engaging programs designed to empower male athletes to become leaders in sexual violence prevention and healthy relationships.
Sexual Violence Prevention
The Parents Fund sponsors several Health Promotion initiatives that create a safer, more informed campus culture and foster open conversation, provide prevention education, and connect students with support resources. These initiatives include Do’s and Donuts of Healthy Dating, Bagels and Boundaries, Take Back the Night, and programming during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Stalking Awareness Month, and Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Patient Self-Care Kits
The Parents Fund is sponsoring the Student Health Center’s student swag bags with useful self-care equipment like thermometers and basic first-aid supplies.
Health Center Labs
Funding subsidizes the cost for Health Center labs, such as Rapid Streps, Monospot, CBC, Urinalysis, and Influenza tests. Funding defrays the cost of each student’s visit and alleviates the stress of deciding whether or not to receive medical care.
Flu Shots
The Parents Fund sponsors flu shots for students whose insurance providers do not reimburse. Campus flu clinics are held weekly throughout the month of October.
Student Engagement & Leadership
Student Life Neighborhood Block Party
Scheduled the first weekend students are on campus, this annual event showcases programs and resources in the Sadler Center, McLeod Tyler Wellness Center, Campus Living Center, and Cohen Career Center. It includes entertainment, giveaways, food, music, interactive activities, and more as a way to kick off the fall semester.
Alma Mater Productions (AMP) Major Speaker Sponsorship & Late-Night Funding
Alma Mater Productions (AMP) is the primary campus-wide programming body at William & Mary, providing diverse, high-quality entertainment to the college community and serving as a resource for the social, leadership, and educational needs of the student body. Funding supports the Charter Day Bash, a student-centered celebration that is always a huge success.
Student Professional Training
This half-day training for Resident Assistants, Orientation Aides, Student Unions & Engagement staff, and other significant student leader positions includes a motivational speaker, learning content, and serves as a way for Student Affairs to express gratitude for our student leaders’ hard work.
Hazing Prevention Consortium
Participation in the StopHazing.Org Hazing Prevention Consortium is intended to help participating universities develop, implement, and evaluate campus hazing prevention strategies. The goal of involvement is to develop an evidence-based response and framework that will support hazing prevention efforts at W&M. Membership also includes participation in the National Hazing Study and a site visit by a StopHazing.Org team.
TribeLink
TribeLink is the online engagement platform that serves as the public directory of more than 500 recognized student organizations and portal for student events, while providing organizational management tools for student groups.
Fraternity & Sorority Councils
Funding supports programming and educational training for members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and Multicultural Greek Council (MGC).
Civic Leadership Summer Grants
Funding supports 15 Civic Leadership Program students for their summer community-engaged experience, which includes internships and other projects.
Community Capacity Internships
The Parents Fund sponsors 12 community-based applied learning opportunities during the academic year with direct benefit to the student interns and the community partners who supervise the projects. These internships remain in high demand, with 120 students applying for just 10 positions last academic year.
GivePulse
This campus platform for community engagement connected more than 1,200 students, faculty, and staff with more than 16,000 hours of service last year. Not only do students use this platform to register for service opportunities with community organizations, but university partners also use it to schedule volunteers for Convocation, Commencement, Athletics, and more.
AmeriCorps Programming and Student Living Allowances
Civic and Community Engagement’s partnership with AmeriCorps brings 22 trained and supervised volunteers to provide mentoring and tutoring, supporting social-emotional learning, school readiness, and passion-project-based learning to preschoolers and middle schoolers. Funding supports living stipends for volunteers, program supplies, background checks, event refreshments, and an end-of-year celebration.
Griffin School Partnership
A collaboration between the Office of Civic and Community Engagement and Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, William & Mary student volunteers offer tutoring, mentoring, and after-school programming in local schools. Engaging curriculum is developed in conjunction with Sharpe Community Scholars. The Parents Fund sponsors required background checks, program supplies, and refreshments for volunteer training and recognition events.
Civic & Community Engagement Graduate Assistant
Funding provides the stipend for a Graduate Assistant in Civic & Community Engagement. The GA increases workflow for the entire office and supports the management of community-based programs like Griffin School Partnerships.
250th Anniversary of U.S. Military
This year, the Parents Fund is supporting the Office of Student Veteran Engagement’s activities and events to honor the 250th anniversary year of the military.
SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society
The Office of Student Veteran Engagement is establishing a chapter of this national honor society for military veteran students at W&M, and the Parents Fund is supporting the induction ceremony and other social gatherings.
One Tribe One Day Carnival Treats
The Parents Fund sponsors a food truck at the One Tribe One Day Carnival on the Sunken Garden, with free treats for all students to celebrate this special day.
Student Success
Summer Connections Program
Student Accessibility Services hosts the Summer Connections Program as an opportunity for incoming students with disabilities to experience campus living and learn how to navigate campus before school begins. Students are mentored by staff and peers who provide tools and help identify resources that will assist as they transition from high school to W&M. In its second year, the 2025 Summer Connections Program had 27 students, a remarkable 238% increase from the previous year. 100% of participants reported feeling more prepared for college and gaining valuable benefits from their time on campus.
Care Support Services Graduate Assistant
Funding provides the stipend for Care Support Services’ Graduate Assistant who amplifies the impact staff can have in working one-on-one with students in crisis. Care Support Services helps students through significant personal concerns, death or significant illness of a friend or family member, injury or hospitalization, resource insecurity (housing, food, etc.), and medical withdrawals.
Grief Care Packages and Support
Care Support Services provides care packages for students who have lost a parent or significant other and for students in high-risk hospitalizations. The Parents Fund sponsored 350 grief care packages and self-care kits for students last year. Additionally, the Parents Fund is sponsoring accessible campus events for students experiencing grief or loss, providing targeted support for students returning from leave, and piloting a new care coaching model to offer personalized guidance and encouragement.
FREED AI Scribe for Student Success
The Student Success offices of Academic Wellbeing, Care Support Services, and Student Accessibility Services revolve around individualized care for students. The Parents Fund is now sponsoring FREED, an AI-powered medical scribe, to help these teams streamline case management so that staff can produce more thorough and accurate notes, serve more students by saving time on documentation, and improve follow-up and student outcomes.
Academic Wellbeing Answers-On-the-Go
The goal of the Answers-On-the-Go program is to make Academic Wellbeing more accessible to students by meeting them where they are in high-traffic areas at high-traffic times of the day. Answers-On-the-Go allows Academic Wellbeing staff members to be available in different areas of the university frequented by students – such as Miller Hall, the Sadler Center, and residence halls – to provide on-the-go answers to their questions regarding services and available resources. Assessment indicates that students in key populations such as those on academic warning, student veterans, and students of diverse backgrounds are more likely to engage with Academic Wellbeing through such informal settings compared to traditional, scheduled meetings.
Success Coaching
This mentorship program provides students with the support they need to develop techniques and tools for success, navigate course and extracurricular demands, advocate for themselves, foster meaningful connections with campus representatives, and face the academic year with confidence. During the 2024–2025 academic year, graduate students in Arts & Sciences, the Mason School of Business, the School of Education, and the Law School provided 866 hours of Success Coaching for 136 undergraduate students. Despite a growing number of Success Coaches, there is still a waitlist for these in-demand mentoring opportunities. The Parents Fund ensures that Academic Wellbeing is able to offer necessary access to this critical program without leaving students waiting or unable to make use of the offering.
Free Tutoring
For three years, the Parents Fund has sponsored free tutoring for all students at William & Mary. During the 2024–2025 academic year, the TutorZone provided 8,290 free tutoring hours, serving nearly 1,200 students, an increase of about 278% since 2020.