Building on momentum from its strategic plan and two historic gifts, William & Mary launched the Year of the Environment Feb. 7.

“Our goal will be to highlight, emphasize and expand the influence that we have on environmental issues, very broadly speaking,” said Derek Aday, chair of the Year of the Environment committee.

“We’ll do so through the innovative and creative, scientific and artistic endeavors we engage in, and that enable us to better understand the world around us and tackle the challenges we face. So on behalf of the committee, I want to invite your engagement and your full participation.”

Aday, dean of the Batten School and director of VIMS, issued the invitation during the Charter Day ceremony at Kaplan Arena. The annual event celebrates William & Mary’s founding in 1693 through British royal charter. At this year’s ceremony, multiple members of the university community were recognized, and former Rector Todd A. Stottlemyer ’85, P ’16, P ’21 received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.

Other festivities throughout the weekend included the Green & Gold Bash, the dedication and reopening of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at The Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts, the Alumni Medallion & Service Awards ceremony and a “topping off” ceremony for the Mackesy Sports Performance Center.

The Charter Day ceremony came just one day after a $50 million gift from Dr. R. Todd Stravitz ’82 and the Brunckhorst Foundations was announced. The gift was William & Mary’s largest ever for scholarships and will provide full tuition support for students pursuing the new bachelor’s degree in coastal & marine sciences at W&M’s Batten School & VIMS. In July, Jane Batten HON ’17, L.H.D. ’19 provided a $100 million gift to establish the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences.

Both gifts further work started under the university’s Water initiative, one of the core pillars of the Vision 2026 strategic plan. That work, plus what’s been made possible at the Batten School through the gifts, make William & Mary the premier destination for students who want to use “science for solutions” to address global change.

“The world needs our most talented human beings to work together across multiple disciplines to find the solutions that will ensure resilience,” said President Katherine A. Rowe. “These are our William & Mary students. You can’t find more creative, more scientifically sophisticated policy makers, more policy-minded scientists than you can at William & Mary. This is the place to be.”

Science for solutions

Education is key to addressing the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, Aday said.

“It is one of the few endeavors that has, can and will change the world,” he said. “Delivering outstanding formal education, as we’ve done here successfully for hundreds of years, requires incredible talent and commitment. The world is now perhaps more than ever calling for that commitment because while you can argue that, by many measures, it’s the best time in history to be a human being, the work that you do — the work that we do — is still desperately needed.”

Aday shared a few statistics to prove the point: 

• The insurance industry is predicting 1.2 billion climate refugees by 2050.
• About 350 million people currently face food insecurity.
• 20-30 million people per year are displaced due to flooding and drought.
• Tens of thousands of people die each day from infectious diseases.

“There’s not one of these issues, gnarly and complex though they may be, that education can’t — at the very least — improve,” he said. “That gives me hope, and it makes me proud to be part of this incredible institution and the tradition we’re celebrating today and its role in shaping and building a future for our children’s children.”

Rowe noted that many vital areas – from national security to food supply – all hinge on the ability “to create science for solutions, to find the path to resilience.” 

That is why William & Mary focused part of its strategic plan on conserving the world’s oceans, coasts and waterways, she said, and the university’s students play a key role.

“We want you to know that all of us – your faculty, your staff, your alumni, friends worldwide – we aim to make William & Mary the destination for leaders to seek resilient solutions to immediate problems and the challenges facing our coastal communities,” she said. “We are the wind in your sails.”

Honoring excellence 

Rector Charles E. Poston J.D. ’74, P ’02, P ’06 and Barbara L. Johnson J.D. ’84 presented the honorary degree to Stottlemyer, a technology innovator and health care CEO. Stottlemyer, who currently leads Acentra Health, has been a longtime supporter of the university and helped launch the record-setting For the Bold campaign and design the W&M Promise during his tenure as rector.

After accepting the honorary degree, he said he’s excited for the future of William & Mary because of advances like the new School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics and efforts to encourage civil discourse. 

“At a time when our country is so deeply divided between red and blue, it is our university – William & Mary – carrying the red, white and blue banner,” he said. “It is working to prepare the next generation of leaders to carry forward our founding principles and democratic ideals so that future generations can continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty.”

In addition to Stottlemyer, recipients of this year’s Jefferson Awards and Monroe Prize were recognized, along with the 2025 Alumni Medallion recipients. They include:

• Thomas Jefferson Award: Bella Ginzbursky-Blum, Teaching Professor of Russian Studies
• Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award: Phil Wagner, Clinical Associate Professor in Organizational Behavior
• Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy: Yigit K. Simsek ’25
• James Monroe Prize in Civic Leadership: Alison Mayer ’25
• Alumni Medallion: Betsy E. Calvo Anderson ’70, HON J.D. ’15, P ’00
• Alumni Medallion: Warren W. Buck III M.S. ’70, Ph.D. ’76, D.Sc. ’13
• Alumni Medallion: Lawrence ‘Larry’ B. Pulley ’74, P ’13, P ’15

Other honored guests included several tribal leaders. Chickahominy Indian Tribe 2nd Assistant Chief Reggie Stewart ’86, reflected on how the environment shaped his ancestors – and how they, in turn, shaped it.

“Your environments are an influence on your life, and in turn, you are an influence on your environments,” he said. “My ancestors were aware of that delicate balance. They were stewards of the land and only took from their physical environment what was necessary for their survival. They practiced conservation before it was accepted as a practice. In addition, they also recognized the importance of culture and community.”

Despite facing adversity, they held onto their culture and identity, which helped maintain their community environment, he said.

“Please don’t underestimate how the layers of our environment shape us and the impact that we have as individuals on the many layers of our environment,” he said.