College of William and Mary

07/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/30/2024 08:43

Flood of press coverage follows transformational gift announcement

Flood of press coverage follows transformational gift announcement

William & Mary's reputation as the premier global institution for coastal and marine sciences is reaching new shores.

(From left) W&M President Katherine A. Rowe, Jane Batten HON '17, L.H.D. '19 and Dean of the Batten School and Director of VIMS Derek Aday take a photo together after the announcement of the gift. The news has made headlines around the world. (Photo by Logan Caldwell)

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 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.

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Staff, University News & Media

Tags: administration, marine science, STEM, water