FREDERICKSBURG -- Virginia "made the transition from laggard to leader" 100 years ago when it created what has become the University of Mary Washington and James Madison University, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday.

Kaine donned academic gowns and spoke at both schools at ceremonies honoring their March 18, 1908, creation by the General Assembly.

Legislation creating the State Normal and Industrial Schools for Women at both Fredericksburg and Harrisonburg represented a spark that has lighted the state's way forward, Kaine said.

On that day, Virginia "realized we couldn't deny women educational opportunities and truly be a commonwealth," he said to applause in the University of Mary Washington's packed Founders Day convocation.

In the ensuing 100 years, Virginia "has gone from a state where higher education was a rarity" to a state that is a national educational and economic leader, Kaine said.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough followed Kaine to the podium in Fredericksburg and urged the audience to honor teachers and cherish learning.

The author of the critically acclaimed biography "John Adams," and most recently, "1776," said, "I think our teachers are the most important members of our society, by far."

The country "is raising a generation of Americans that are historically illiterate," he said. "The real problem with American education today is us -- all of us. We have to show our children and grandchildren that the story of our country matters to us."

In Harrisonburg, Kaine told about 3,500 people at the James Madison Convocation Center that the school was on an "unstoppable path to greater progress. The path of this university is skyrocketing. What a great day and happy birthday."

Kaine, who received an honorary doctorate after his speech, said JMU's growth and educational excellence paralleled that of the state's.

"JMU started at a time when Virginia could not brag about its advancement in education," he said.

The Harrisonburg celebration included the dedication of a statue of James Madison, the father of the Constitution, for whom the school is named. JMU's celebration will continue until May commencement ceremonies, where JMU will confer its 100,000th degree. Graduates plan to wear robes of purple -- the school's color -- instead of traditional black.

JMU began with 15 faculty members, 208 women and a 60-acre campus. Today, the school has almost 18,000 men and women students taught by hundreds of faculty on a campus that has grown to more than 500 acres.

At what is now UMW in 1911, 110 students began classes after ceremonies attended by Gov. William Hodges Mann, who wore his Confederate officer's uniform for the occasion. It now has 5,000 male and female students.

This week, its board of visitors announced the hiring of Judy G. Hample, chancellor of Pennsylvania's higher education system, as its first woman president.

She will begin work July 1.

Contact Lawrence Latané III at (804) 333-3461 or llatane@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Carlos Santos at (434) 295-9542 or csantos@timesdispatch.com.