In February 2006, it was announced that retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor would become the honorary chair of "America's 400th Anniversary". (In October 2005, she had accepted the ceremonial role of becoming the 23rd chancellor of the College of William and Mary, which was founded in nearby Williamsburg in 1693.) The Commonwealth of Virginia has made a major commitment to Jamestown 2007 and has enlisted the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as well as large corporate sponsors such as Verizon Communications and the Norfolk Southern Corp. (which itself has a rich Virginia history, being involved in early railroads; the Norfolk Southern Railway's predecessor railroads, including the Norfolk and Western Railway and the Virginian Railway, provided major transportation services for attendees at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition).