Transcript: Katherine Rowe on "Face the Nation," May 23, 2021

The following is a transcript of an interview with Katherine Rowe, president of the College of William & Mary, that aired Sunday, May 23, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

JOHN DICKERSON: Some people worry about a lost generation.

PRESIDENT OF WILLIAM & MARY UNIVERSITY KATHERINE ROWE: We have an obligation to ensure that this cohort of students doesn't lose speed, doesn't lose momentum in their college educations.

JOHN DICKERSON: What would happen if the students lost that speed?

ROWE: It's really hard to imagine accepting that as a possible path forward. We can't. So however we have a year next year, we will have a year. 

JOHN DICKERSON: William & Mary held six graduation ceremonies this weekend, just under 2,000 students received their degrees.  We asked President Rowe to reflect on the year.  

ROWE:  Last spring when we talked, we knew this year would be different. And it has been. It's been seven years of adaptation in one. An amazing experience, an experience of a community really pulling together and making the adaptations at speed that it needed to. We've moved through those decisions in a phased way. That has turned out to be one of the keys: work with the data that you have, work with the science that you have. Trust in the expertise on your campus, and ask for commitment of your community. And the culture that we have at William & Mary has made that really, really successful. 

JOHN DICKERSON: You are in touch with the students here. How did those conversations change with students from the pre-pandemic period?

 ROWE: When we got here in August, the- the country as a whole didn't know how to create shared norms around mask wearing. We were just discovering that wearing masks was the key factor in protecting the community's health. And- and that was our core commitment. We had a very simple set of goals. Keep teaching, keep learning, keep our communities safe so that we can study and be in the jobs that our faculty and staff are passionate about. And we created that culture, we created habits where a mask was the norm.

JOHN DICKERSON: How did students at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale fare through this last year?

ROWE: One of the things that we came away from our spring with was a real attentiveness to those who are most vulnerable. So low-income students, first gen students, students of color, students with families where there might be health issues and keeping the vulnerabilities a much wider range of vulnerabilities in mind when you design learning experiences and living experiences. That was imperative. We knew that there could be - already the country was talking about the risk of a lost year, I think what we've had is a hard one year at William & Mary. And a lot of our success has been about focusing on those who are most vulnerable.

JOHN DICKERSON: If I'm in the audience and you're delivering my commencement address, what- what is the message from this time of trial and testing?

ROWE: The grit that you showed this year, the adaptability that you leaned into and grew, and the commitment to others that we forged, those are going to be your superpowers for the rest of your life.

JOHN DICKERSON: That's great. Thank you so much.

PRESIDENT ROWE: Thank you, JOHN. A real pleasure.