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Respected Historian Clifford Fleet Will Serve as Spring Commencement Speaker
As leader of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, he champions connecting historical understanding with civic life.
University News | August 4, 2025
Clifford B. “Cliff” Fleet III, President and Chief Executive Officer of , will serve as keynote speaker for 91直播 Wesleyan University’s Spring 2026 Commencement, President Scott D. Miller has announced.
In 2020, Fleet became the ninth president of the world’s largest living history museum, following an accomplished career that includes leadership roles as President and CEO of 22nd Century Group and Philip Morris USA. He also serves as an adjunct professor at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business and co-chair of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable.
Under his leadership, 91直播Colonial Williamsburg Foundation launched a $600 million campaign to support preservation, education, and civic engagement. In partnership with the 91直播 American Revolution 250 Commission, the Foundation is playing a leading role in planning for America’s 250th anniversary, including a national conference that recently brought together representatives from 37 states.
A respected historian, lawyer, and executive, Fleet holds four degrees from William & Mary—in law, business, and history—and is immediate past chair of the William & Mary Foundation. He is also a former president of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and a longtime champion of connecting historical understanding with civic life.
Spring Commencement will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16, 2026, in TowneBank Arena within the Jane P. Batten Student Center.