A $100 million gift, the largest in William & Mary’s 331-year history, will be used to establish the new Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences.
The gift from Jane Batten, whose Hampton Roads family is known for philanthropy, will expand the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s research capabilities with additional scientists to study rapid global change in coastal areas. Rapid global change goes beyond climate change.
The aim is to help study threats coastal communities face, such as rising sea levels, more intense storms and flooding, loss of farmland, and degraded water quality.
“William & Mary has long been at the vanguard of research tackling urgent local, national, and international challenges. No institution is better positioned to address global change,” said William & Mary President Katherine Rowe. “By investing in bold ideas and new partnerships, the Batten School will power ‘science for solutions’ for Virginia and the world.”
Until the new school is built, the existing School of Marine Science has been renamed for Batten, who did not attend the university but who previously served on the William & Mary board. Roughly half of the gift will go toward campus infrastructure, including new research spaces at Gloucester Point.
William & Mary has a goal of raising at least another $100 million from state, federal, and private sources to establish what it envisions as a premier global campus.
In addition to more hiring more scientists, the donation will help expand a new undergraduate degree in marine science. The university announced the degree just months ago.
“With this unprecedented gift, we will not only advance critical research and inform policy but also train the next generation of scientists, thought leaders, and engaged citizens, preparing them to navigate the complexities of global change in this century,” said Derek Aday, dean of the Batten School and director of VIMS.
Batten and her husband, Frank, served on the university’s Board of Visitors in the 1990s and established university endowment funds. They also created the Center for Online Learning at the university’s business school.
Frank Batten, who died in 2009, cofounded The Weather Channel and owned The Virginian-Pilot.
Feature image by Wolfgang Vogelbein, professor emeritus, William & Mary
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