William & Mary on Pentagon's list of 'toxic indoctrination' colleges, losing its support

John Buzbee, The Virginian-Pilot on Mar 3, 2026

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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — William & Mary has joined a growing list of universities that have been rebuked by military leadership in a recent Pentagon effort to divert federal resources from institutions deemed “woke” and “anti-American.”

After saying in mid-February it was cutting ties with Harvard University, the Pentagon announced Friday it would also eliminate tuition-assistance fellowships at an additional 21 colleges. A Pentagon memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth named William & Mary among other universities — such as Yale, Columbia and Princeton.

“We’re done paying for the privilege of our enemy’s wicked ideologies to be taught to our future leaders,” Hegseth said in video announcement posted to social media.

Effective for the 2026-27 school year, the Pentagon no longer will fund the Senior Service College fellowship program at the schools. In his video address, Hegseth called for the immediate cancellation of attendance by all Department of Defense personnel from the institutions.

In a statement, the university said it had not received notification from the Pentagon pertaining to any change in status affecting its programs or students.

“William & Mary is puzzled and saddened to be listed as part of the Department of War’s announcement,” the statement said. “We hope to learn more because this action does not align with what we know to be the experience of military and veteran students on our campus.”

One military student was enrolled at William & Mary on the Senior Service College fellowship, according to the memo and confirmation from a university spokesperson. A total of 93 fellowships were canceled across all listed schools.

The statement from William & Mary recalled the university’s deep ties to military tradition and education, noting that Chancellor Robert M. Gates served as secretary of defense from 2006 to ’11. The university has a history of partnership with military-related nonprofits that university officials said aim to equip servicemembers with higher education skills.

Hegseth, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard, symbolically returned his degree from Harvard in 2022, saying the university pushed a “woke” agenda. Hegseth’s address came hours before the administration announced the beginning of hostilities against Iran.

“No longer will we sit back and treat these woke breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination as valid centers of so-called intellectual curiosity,” Hegseth said.

“We will not continue to send our most capable officers, senior officers, into graduate programs that undermine the very values they have sworn to uphold.”

In the Pentagon memo, a section was dedicated to universities that had been identified as institutions it would consider for fellowship partnership in the future. One is in Hampton Roads: Regent University.

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