Virginia Coastal Policy Center Receives Grant from Virginia Environmental Endowment
The Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC) at William & Mary Law School has received a $40,000 grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE) for a project titled “Empowering Localities to Increase Their Resilience,” the Law School announced today.
The grant project is designed to continue VCPC’s current and previous work focusing on necessary tools and authorities for local governments to adequately plan for and respond to the challenges associated with sea level rise and recurrent flooding. Specifically, VEE’s generous funding will support VCPC's seventh annual conference on November 15, 2019, as well as four complementary initiatives that include research regarding implementation of the Virginia Governor’s Executive Order No. 24, and the need for coordination between environmental protection and flooding resilience efforts.
In partnership with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Virginia Sea Grant, VCPC provides law students at William & Mary with the opportunity to conduct science-based legal and policy analysis to help inform decision-making about coastal resources and water quality issues at a local, state, regional, and national level. VCPC has provided policy advice to a host of decision-makers, from government officials and legal scholars to non-profit and business leaders.
“We are grateful to VEE for its generous and consistent support,” said William & Mary Law School Dean Davison M. Douglas. “The grant will help us educate future leaders and assist in the vital effort to help coastal communities prepare for and respond to environmental challenges.”
VEE is a crucial VCPC partner and has provided financial support for VCPC since its founding at the Law School, according to Elizabeth Andrews, VCPC Director and Professor of the Practice of Law. “The Virginia Environmental Endowment is a primary funder of water quality protection and climate change resilience efforts in Virginia, and we are honored that it has chosen to fund the Virginia Coastal Policy Center again this year,” said Andrews. "Our annual conference would not be the successful forum it is today without VEE’s initial and continuing support. And the VEE has consistently led the way in funding important legal and policy research here at the Center.”
About the Virginia Environmental Endowment
The mission of the Virginia Environmental Endowment is to improve the quality of the environment by using its capital, expertise and resources to encourage all sectors to work together to prevent pollution, conserve natural resources, and promote environmental literacy.
About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating Citizen Lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.