Year of the Environment

In 2015, Maya Lin unfolded the Chesapeake Bay watershed across the walls and floor of the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery. She used more than 50,000 translucent marbles to trace the bay and its waterways. Describing her inspiration, Lin said, “This piece allows me to give people an idea of the totality. You see it as a single organism, as a living system.”

“Folding the Chesapeake” illustrates the spirit of inventiveness and systems thinking that William & Mary brings to our Year of the Environment. We will launch this annual theme with major celebrations at Charter Day, when William & Mary marks 332 years of preparing leaders to meet the greatest needs of their time. Consistent with our legacy as the Alma Mater of the Nation, we will unite to address the most urgent challenges of the 21st century: safeguarding our world’s most valuable resources.

The effects of global change are far-reaching. Worldwide, 3.2 billion people live on vulnerable coastlines, including 5 million Virginians. For these communities, healthy environments protect crucial food systems. Stable coastlines provide for flourishing local economies and protect our national security.

No institution is better prepared than William & Mary to lead. I often quip that we are an “estuarine campus” — more polite than saying we live in a swamp. William & Mary has longstanding strengths in marine and coastal sciences; policy, law, environmental science, geology and military education run deep here. Our labs provide legislators with real-time data at the intersection of these different fields. Faculty and students collaborate in research partnerships as far away as Nepal, Wales and Antarctica — and as near as the Virginia riverways through the Nansemond Indian Nation.

Two watershed moments in 2024 position William & Mary as the global leader in coastal resiliency and marine science:

• In July, William & Mary announced a $100 million gift from philanthropist and longtime friend Jane Batten HON ’17, L.H.D. ’19, consistent with our Vision 2026 strategic goals. This gift marks a turning point in marine and coastal sciences: It is the largest ever given to William & Mary and the largest to any institution dedicated to understanding coastlines and waterways.
• This summer, the Board of Visitors voted to establish a B.S. in coastal & marine sciences at William & Mary. The degree will be the first at a Virginia public university, ensuring we meet the growing demand for professionals in the “blue workforce” economy and an upwelling of interest among our students. For any future professional aiming to lead in these industries, William & Mary is the place to be.

On our main campus, we are taking a long view of stewardship to ensure a sustainable and cohesive future for our beautiful landscape. Our new Landscape Plan (part of William & Mary’s Campus Comprehensive Plan) charts its future out 100 years. We have reached the final stages of planning. Look out for more updates this year.

Renovations and construction projects span our main campus. This will be the most significant transformation to William & Mary’s built campus in a century. It is funded via generous state capital investments (for the arts and science buildings), inspired philanthropy (for the Muscarelle and Gates Hall) and an innovative public-private partnership (for housing and dining facilities). These three strategies minimize the cost burden for current and future students while improving building efficiency as we create the learning and living communities our students will need in the 21st century. In fall 2025, 1,300 new and renovated beds will become available, a growth of 730 over prior years. Our student body’s interest in living on campus has increased post-pandemic, and this will allow us to meet that demand.

To give one exciting example of how we are building toward energy efficiency: 531 geothermal wells will heat and cool our West Woods Housing & Dining Development and Monroe Hall (which celebrated its centennial at Homecoming & Reunion Weekend). William & Mary now claims the second-highest number of geothermal wells among national universities. We are already seeing energy savings as high as 60%.

As we launch the Year of the Environment, William & Mary celebrates our engaged researchers, students, staff and faculty pioneering innovative solutions such as these. Their interdisciplinary work bridges schools, departments and generations. It’s worth remembering how deep these commitments go at our university; in their 50th reunion year, the Class of ’73 proudly recalled hosting the first university Earth Day in the country.

Please visit us in Williamsburg and Gloucester Point to see this work underway. Or join us for Charter Day, in person or via livestream. Even as the science for solutions evolves, William & Mary’s curious-minded people continue to connect around our shared sense of responsibility to our world.