George Mason University (Mason) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) have joined the Virginia Sea Grant community as partner institutions this fall. In addition to holding an advisory roll with Virginia Sea Grant, partner institutions benefit from joining a network of experts in coastal and marine science, extension, and communications in Virginia.
“Our partners receive great benefits from being core elements of Virginia Sea Grant,” says Virginia Sea Grant Director Troy Hartley. “We provide partners with opportunities to achieve more jointly than they could individually.”
Opportunity comes from uniting the strengths of partner institutions. For example, VCU has the largest coastal research and education facility along the James River. The Platinum LEED-certified Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences advances scientific knowledge in large river ecosystems and restoration. Mason leads in research and education surrounding environmental science and policy.
VCU Vice Provost for Life Sciences Thomas Huff is excited about joining the partnership because of the increased power that inter-institutional collaboratives bring to the research enterprise and to student scholarship.
Mason’s Vice Preseident for Research and Economic Development Roger Stough also sees benefits for collaboration by joining the commonwealth-wide organization. “As members of Virginia Sea Grant, Mason joins an extended and broad network of like-minded scholars in applied environmental science and policy,” says Stough. “By linking with the other partners in the Virginia Sea Grant program, there is great potential to build large scale research and education programs. We are delighted to become members of this accomplished set of partners.”
Through collaborating with six partner institutions (Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, VCU, and Mason), Virginia Sea Grant mobilizes world-class applied coastal and marine resource science, extension, education, and communication capacity.
“I am thrilled that Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason Universities have joined Virginia Sea Grant and what this means for our ability to respond to Virginia’s most pressing coastal and marine issues,” says Hartley.
Virginia Sea Grant is a Commonwealth-wide organization dedicated to using research, extension, and communication to connect coastal and marine science to the watermen, coastal municipalities, scientists, teachers, and others who could use it.
