On Thursday, December 18, the Department of Commerce awarded William & Mary and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) the highest status that any Sea Grant program can achieve: College Status.
The ceremony, which took place in the historic Wren building at William & Mary, included a wide variety of speakers who attested to Virginia Sea Grant’s excellence in leadership, relevance, education, and productivity. Speakers included Dr. Troy Hartley, Director of Virginia Sea Grant; Congressman Rob Wittman; John Wells, Dean and Director of VIMS; William Stubblefield, National Sea Grant advisory board member and retired Rear Admiral of NOAA Corps,; Leon Cammen, Director of the National Sea Grant College Program; Michael Devany, NOAA Vice Admiral and Deputy Under Secretary for Operations at NOAA; and Taylor Reveley, President of William & Mary.
