Virginia Laycock McLaughlin, whom many knew as a high-achieving educator and just about everyone knew as “Ginnie,” died 15 October 2026. Ginnie’s scholarship centered on collaboration and inclusive programming, but she devoted most of her career to leading programs at William & Mary, where she served as a leading administrator in the president’s office and dean of the School of Education. During her time as a faculty member and administrator at W&M, she also found time to contribute her expertise and energy to related services in the university’s immediate neighborhood and the larger education community.
Among those extracurricular contributions, Ginny was a member of the Virginia Board of Education, a leader in the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions, a member and chair of the board for Child Development Resources, and a member of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation. This brief list includes only a few of the many community organizations she served.
After completing her doctoral studies at the University of Memphis, Ginnie taught in the public schools of South Carolina and then at Clemson and Old Dominion Universities. She returned to William and Mary—her undergraduate alma mater—in 1983 as an assistant professor of special education and began the run of leadership that earned her high praise from colleagues at the university. She retired as a Chancellor Professor, and William and Mary bestowed on her its Thomas Jefferson Award as well as the William and Mary Alumni Medallion and a host of other markers of esteem. Ginnie’s lifetime of service to William & Mary is honored through a professorship named after her, the “Virginia McLaughlin School of Education Professorship.”
Virginia Laycock McLaughlin was the daughter of Virginia Moore and Irvin Kembowski. She was born 15 December 1949 in Baltimore (MD; US). Survivors include John McLaughlin and two daughters as well as two stepdaughters and a stepson. She also leaves two sisters and their families.
Read remembrances of Ginnie McLaughlin:
Virginia Laycock McLaughlin: December 15, 1949 - October 15, 2026 from Dignity Memorial;
Virginia L. McLaughlin ’71 from the William and Mary School of Education;
In Memoriam: Virginia Laycock McLaughlin, 1949–2026 from Women in Academia.
