Commencement Speaker

Supreme Court of Virginia Justice William C. Mims will provide the commencement address at Bridgewater College on May 18.

Justice Mims, who became a member of the court on April 9, 2010, previously served as the chief deputy attorney general under Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, and as attorney general when McDonnell resigned to pursue his gubernatorial campaign. He also served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1992-1998) and Senate (1998-2006).

Justice Mims grew up in Harrisonburg, Va., and was educated in the Harrisonburg public schools. He received a degree in history from the College of William and Mary where he also completed graduate work in public administration. He earned law degrees from George Washington University and Georgetown University.

During his years in the Virginia General Assembly, Justice Mims worked as an attorney in Leesburg. Before practicing law, he served on the staffs of U.S. Representative Frank Wolf and former U.S. Senator Paul Trible. He has served on the board of governors of the Virginia Bar Association and was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law at George Mason University.

Justice Mims presently serves on three non-profit boards – Lead Virginia, the Virginia Health Care Foundation and Voices for Virginia’s Children. Additionally, he has served on the Chief Justice's Commission on Mental Health Reform, the Virginia Supreme Court Committee on Establishment of Family Court, the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Virginia Network for Victims and Witnesses of Crime and many other boards and commissions.

In his spare time he enjoys reading and distance running.