
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 6, 1994                   TAG: 9402060117
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: D-16   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

THATCHER NAMED W&M CHANCELLOR

The United States and Great Britain, which share a belief in the rights of individuals, democracy and representative government, must continue to spread those principles to the rest of the world, Margaret Thatcher said Saturday.

"It is in our willingness to defend those principles, and when necessary fight for them, that Britain and America serve as a beacon to the whole world," the former British prime minister said during a speech at the College of William and Mary.

The college, chartered in 1693, formally installed Thatcher as its chancellor before an audience of about 5,000 at its Charter Day ceremony Saturday. She is the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial post, and will serve a seven-year term.

The outgoing chancellor is Warren Burger, former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The previous 19 chancellors include George Washington.

The continued threat of tyranny and despotism, especially to the emerging democracies of central and Eastern Europe, requires the United States and Great Britain to continue to defend the principles of freedom and democracy around the world and to maintain a strong defense, Thatcher said.

She took note of her surroundings, the restored colonial capital of Virginia, in her speech.

"It was from this place that the late unpleasantness of your separation from my native land began," she said. "Those revolutionary sentiments that issued from the Raleigh Tavern and ignited the minds and hearts of your forebears echo still on the well-worn cobblestones of these ancient streets.

"But let me hasten to add that all is forgiven; you've done such a wonderful job. No hard feelings."

Timothy Sullivan, the college president, touched briefly on ceremonial themes before addressing higher-education cuts proposed in the 1994-96 state budget now before the General Assembly.

"Our students are your children - and they are national treasure," he said. "To dilute the quality of their education, to abandon the pursuit of excellence or to retreat from a determination to provide education for leadership would constitute a betrayal of both our history and of the best interests of the young people who have placed their lives in our hands."

Gov. George Allen welcomed Thatcher during the ceremony and accepted an honorary doctorate in law.

by CNB