Former President of William and Mary to be Founders Day speaker

RELEASED: Nov. 23, 2006

DANVILLE, KY—Timothy Sullivan, former president of the College of William and Mary and current president and CEO of the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va., will deliver the keynote address at Centre College's 2007 Founders Day ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The College will award Sullivan an honorary doctorate of law during the ceremony. The free event is open to all and will be held at 11 a.m. in Newlin Hall of the Norton Center for the Arts on campus.

Founders Day is an annual celebration commemorating Centre's receiving its charter from the Kentucky Legislature on Jan. 21, 1819.

"It gives me the greatest pleasure to welcome Tim Sullivan as our keynote speaker," says Centre president John Roush. "Founders Day is a time for the College community to reflect on its achievements, both past and present. We are honored that Mr. Sullivan, who should be admired for his accomplishments in the world of academics, has chosen to be a part of Centre's celebration."

Sullivan, who took over as president of the Mariners' Museum on November 1 of this year, said in a statement released by the museum: "With the richest maritime resource library and archive in North America coupled with one of the most prized collections in the world, this institution is bursting with opportunity." Sullivan assumes leadership of the organization as it prepares to launch its $30 million USS Monitor Center in March 2007, a 63,500-square-foot building featuring artifacts of the legendary Civil War ship.

During his 13-year tenure (1992-2005) as the 25th president of the College of William and Mary, Sullivan successfully fostered closer faculty and student relations, a strong sense of campus community and rigorous educational standards and curricula, bringing the College to the top ranking among small public universities. Sullivan was known, among other things, for his battles with Richmond legislators as he sought to secure adequate funding for public institutions of higher education in Virginia. Among his fundraising achievements were the completion of a $153 million fundraising Campaign for the Fourth Century and the launch of the $500 million Campaign for William and Mary.

An Ohio native, Sullivan graduated with a bachelor's degree in government from the College of William and Mary in 1966. Sullivan earned a law degree from Harvard University and served in the U. S. Army Signal Corps in Vietnam, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster Bronze Star and the Vietnam Campaign Medal with three battle stars. He returned to his alma mater in 1972 as assistant professor at the William and Mary School of Law and later served the institution as dean of the school of law before serving as president.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.

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