UVA Press, the academic press of the University of Virginia, is publishing a new book about the three generations of Reveley college presidents, by leading political scientist Michael Nelson of Rhodes College. The official release date is April 8th. How College Presidents Succeed traces the careers and presidencies of W. Taylor Reveley II at Hampden-Sydney College, who served as president from 1963 to 1977, W. Taylor Reveley III at William & Mary, who served from 2008 to 2018, and Longwood’s W. Taylor Reveley IV, whose tenure began in 2013.
In advance praise for the book, former University of Chicago president Hanna Holborn Gray said, "It is remarkable that members of three generations, from grandfather to son to grandson, should each have become a university president in the state of Virginia, a kind of academic trifecta that is surely unique. This account of their lives and relationships and accomplishments is testimony to the contributions made to the institutions each has served with consequence and high distinction.” Former Harvard University president Lawrence Bacow commented, “More than just a family saga, this book offers insights into the essence of leadership itself—showing how the past shapes the present and how one generation’s legacy can empower the next.” John Charles Thomas, retired justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, called the book “a window into a rare example of generational leadership in higher education. All three Reveleys grappled with race relations, fund raising, curriculum changes, building leadership teams, telling the story of their institutions, and inspiring the many constituent groups comprising a university community.”
Nelson’s primary focus as a scholar is the U.S. presidency, and he is a winner of the American Political Science Association’s Richard E. Neustadt Award and is the longtime editor of the American Presidential Elections series, while also collaborating in numerous presidential oral history projects with U.Va’s Miller Center. An alumnus of William & Mary, he has written notable works about higher education as well, including Celebrating the Humanities: A Half-Century of the Search Course at Rhodes College (Vanderbilt University Press, 1996), a book which gives attention to Hampden-Sydney’s Reveley, who began his academic career at Rhodes in the 1940s and helped in shaping its acclaimed curriculum.
In his research and writing, Nelson drew on the papers of Hampden-Sydney’s Reveley, who passed away in 1993, and oral histories he conducted with the William & Mary and Longwood presidents, primarily in the summer of 2021 and subsequent follow-up sessions, as well as using their presidential papers.
Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense under Presidents Barrack Obama and George W. Bush, who also previously served as President of Texas A&M, wrote the forward for Nelson’s new book, and in it says, “The lessons in leadership offered by the Reveleys are, I believe, universal. . . . Just as three generations of Reveley university presidents learned from one another, now every leader, thanks to Michael Nelson, can learn from them.” James A. Baker III, U.S. Secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush and Treasury Secretary under President Ronald Reagan, wrote the book’s afterward, which notes, “Few jobs are as hard as university president, and the successful ones have a unique blend of skills. To be atop their game, they must be futurists who accurately foresee the path of higher education. They must be educators who understand that teaching is more than ensuring that students learn; it must inspire them to strive for achievement. . . . The Reveleys succeeded because of their laser-like determination to get the job done.”
“It’s a deep delight to see this scholarly attention to my dad and grandad,” said President W. Taylor Reveley IV. “I’m humbled to be a part of this story through the generations, as we’ve all strived to advance students’ lives, our institutions, and higher education for the Commonwealth and beyond. Mike Nelson is a gifted scholar, and I wish the book every success for him.”