William & Mary’s reputation as the premier global institution for coastal and marine sciences is reaching new shores.
News of a transformational $100 million gift to establish W&M’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) has been making waves across the nation and around the world.
It is the largest gift in W&M’s history and the biggest gift ever given to a university for a school dedicated to coastal and marine sciences.
Stories have appeared in such national outlets as Forbes, Inside Higher Ed and The Washington Post, with the Post story being shared by the Chronicle of Higher Education and on MSN.com.
“There have not been many other large gifts for the environment, to institutions [of higher education] in this country,” philanthropist Jane Batten HON ’17, L.H.D. ’19 told the Washington Post. “I’m hoping that this will wake people up. Instead of giving … where other big gifts normally go, they will give gifts to institutions for this purpose.”
The Associated Press also wrote a story, which ran on its national wire service and was picked up by dozens of publications including ABC News, U.S. News & World Report and Yahoo! News. In addition, TV stations and newspapers in cities from Seattle to Orlando, Florida, ran the AP story.
“These challenges are local, they’re national and they’re international,” W&M President Katherine A. Rowe told the Associated Press. “And what we specialize in is high impact science for solutions. That speaks to what policymakers need, what city managers need, what homeowners need.”
The news didn’t just stay in North America. The press release was also picked up by myriad international outlets as well, in locations including India, Japan, Italy, Singapore, Germany, Australia and China.
Reporters in Virginia were also quick to cover the story, and coverage has appeared in on the front page of regional outlets as the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Virginia Gazette, Daily Press and Virginian-Pilot. Virginia Business, WHRO, WYDaily, WAVY TV and 13News Now also featured the news.
More media coverage is expected as news about the gift continues to spread and the university begins using it to find solutions for rapid global change that affects the world’s coastlines and oceans. Batten’s visionary gift will position W&M and VIMS as the premier destination for developing solutions to these threats, Dean of the Batten School and Director of VIMS Derek Aday told the Washington Post.
“When you combine the resources of Mrs. Batten, with the research expertise, and the history of the great work and the partnership between VIMS, and William & Mary, you get the supercharged opportunity to do work on truly existential issues that face the lives of a big portion of the world’s population,” Aday said in the Post article.
Selected news links:
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- Associated Press: William & Mary expands new climate-focused major, deepens coastal research with $100 million gift
- The Washington Post: William & Mary lands $100 million gift to expand marine sciences school
- Forbes: William & Mary receives $100 million gift, the largest in its history
- Inside Higher Ed: William & Mary lands $100 million gift for marine science research
- Chronicle of Philanthropy: Jane Batten pledged $100 million to establish and endow the Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences
- Richmond Times-Dispatch: William & Mary gets $100 million to upgrade school of marine science
- The Daily Press/Virginian-Pilot: William & Mary receives $100M gift to expand marine science program
- The Daily Press/Virginian-Pilot Editorial Board: Marine sciences gets a huge boost with $100 million donation
- WAVY TV: W&M receives its largest ever donation towards the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
- 13News Now: William & Mary receives $100M — largest donation in school’s 331-year history
Erin Jay, Senior Associate Director of University News