Virginia Oyster Growers Give Back to VIMS

Oyster Association gives $27,000 for VIMS fellowship

The Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association has awarded the Virginia Institute of Marine Science an initial gift of $27,000 to establish a fellowship endowment. When fully endowed, the fellowship will support research by graduate students in the College of William & Mary’s School of Marine Science at VIMS. Association president David Turney said his group established the endowment in honor of “two exceptional contributors,” VIMS fisheries specialist Mike Oesterling and Jackie Partin.

Oesterling recently retired after a 30-year career with VIMS and Virginia Sea Grant, during which he served as the institute’s liaison with the association and led the popular Master Oyster Gardener course. Partin is an association founder and past president.

Turney said he expects the endowment to support a broad spectrum of research, including oysters, other shellfish, and general ecological restoration of Chesapeake Bay.  "We trust it will make a lasting impact on the health of oysters and the Bay for future generations,” he said in a statement.

The association intends to fully fund the endowment through fundraising, and to continue to increase the endowment base beyond the required $50,000 minimum.

Don Beard, a leading member of the Northern Neck Oyster Gardeners Association, has also made significant contributions to the original endowment.

A committee of VIMS faculty will select the Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association fellows...

I have to say, this is almost touching.  I can't imagine that the Virginia Oyster growers are rolling in money, and scraping together enough to donate $27,000 was pretty nice.  At the same time, $27k doesn't go very far as an endowment.  The rule of thumb is to allow half the interest income to be spent annually and let the rest grow.  The annual interest on $27k is trivial these days, and half of that is therefore trivial/2.  But it might be enough to give some graduate students some small stipends or pay for some supplies.

I'm sure that the oyster growers industry is deeply indebted to the oyster researchers at VIMS and elsewhere for the knowledge that allows them to grow oysters and make a profit.  It's good to see them recognize this and make the donation.  I hope they can keep it up, and get the endowment up to where it might be a significant source of research funds.