ichard Bland College of William & Mary is a selective, residential, two-year College that provides a rich learning experience at a reasonable cost for students preparing for transfer to highly ranked colleges and universities. Richard Bland students rate our professors among the best in the region, yet tuition and fees are among the lowest. The academically rigorous programs are grounded in the liberal arts tradition of one of America’s oldest and most prestigious public universities, The College of William & Mary. The College boasts NJCAA intercollegiate athletics, signature programs, and a small and diverse student population of approximately 1,500 on a picturesque 750-acre campus located just outside historic Petersburg, Virginia, two hours south of Washington, D.C.

The College was named for the Virginia statesman and champion of public rights, Richard Bland. Son and grandson of successful planters, Richard Bland was educated at The College of William and Mary. From 1742 until his death in 1776, he represented the area in which the College is now located, first in the House of Burgesses, and later, with the adoption of a state constitution, in the House of Delegates. He also served as a delegate from Virginia in both the First and Second Continental Congresses.

It seems fitting, therefore, that an institution of higher learning located in an area served for so many years by this distinguished Virginia patriot and scholar, should derive its name from one whom Jefferson described “as the most learned and logical man of those who took prominent lead in public affairs.”