John Page Williams at Chesapeake Bay Mag, $100 Million Gift to William & Mary Will Start Marine Science School
Virginia’s College of William & Mary is the third oldest institution of higher learning in the United States (founded in 1693)—but it’s still making history in 2024.
This past week it received a $100 million gift, its largest ever, its largest gift ever, to create a brand new School of Coastal & Marine Sciences. It breaks the record as the highest gift ever given to a university for a school dedicated to coastal and marine sciences.
William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences comes courtesy of Virginia Beach philanthropist Jane Batten, the widow of the late Frank Batten, who founded Landmark Communications, the original parent of The Weather Channel. He served on William & Mary’s Board of Visitors in the 1990s.
Mrs. Batten holds two honorary degrees from the College. Previously, the Batten Family has generously supported W&M’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business. This new gift emphasizes the family’s commitment to fostering coastal resilience in the face of global change.
The Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences will live at the College’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) on the York River in Gloucester Point. Established by law in 1940 as the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory and fully integrated with William & Mary in 1979, VIMS serves as a state agency researching and advising Virginia regulators on marine science, along with its academic programs.
It's her money, but I don't remember any lack of marine science schools, or marine science graduates in the Bay reagion.
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