Water
University Initiative
William & Mary will lead in finding innovative solutions to ensure the resilience of the world’s oceans, coasts and waterways.
Over the next 50 years, one of the world’s most threatened and valuable resources will be water. Solving grand global issues related to water will require innovative approaches to conservation and strategies to increase resilience. Virginia’s coastal systems — from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and watersheds to the outer coast — are vital to the commonwealth’s ecological and economic future, yet they will face greater stress from rising temperature, increasing sea level, drought and storm-induced flooding over the next half-century. As home to one of the world’s preeminent marine science institutes — and outstanding conservation, law, policy and education programs — William & Mary is poised to be a leader in the development of solutions to these complex challenges. Our students will lead the next generation of scientists and industry professionals who steward the world’s water resources.
Committee chair: [[v|vimsdean,Derek Aday]], Dean, School of Marine Science and Director, Virginia Institute of Marine Science