The Virginia Institute of Marine Science is beginning the new year by looking into its past.
In recognition of its 75th anniversary, the institute is launching a multimedia website and a monthly lecture series looking back on its history.
The new website includes videos, an interactive timeline, collections of historical photos and documents, and other multimedia elements. Visitors to the site are also invited to post their own videos recognizing VIMS’s 75th anniversary for display on the institute’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Other anniversary-themed events will be incorporated into existing outreach programs, including the monthly “After Hours” lecture series and summer public tours.
Planned events include the creation of a time capsule, a fundraising gala event and a fall homecoming for current and former faculty, staff and students.
The first event will be a lecture delivered by VIMS professor Carl Hershner on factors that have caused the decline in the health of Chesapeake Bay and restoration efforts. The lecture is scheduled for today at Watermen’s Hall on the VIMS campus in Gloucester Point.
Other lectures will focus on blue crabs, the impact of climate change on Antarctica and American Indian use of Chesapeake Bay.
“VIMS has a rich history, a compelling vision, and a bright future,” VIMS Dean and Director John Wells said in a press release. “I invite everyone to partake in the exciting slate of special events and web-based products that we’ve created to mark our 75th anniversary.”
VIMS was founded in 1940 as the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory in Yorktown, and was spearheaded by Donald W. Davis, a biology professor at the College of William & Mary. It moved its current location in Gloucester Point in 1950 to make room for the Coleman Bridge, and received its current name in 1962.
The institute will also prepare a commemorative booklet, using historical photographs and interviews with current and former faculty, staff and students, reflecting on its history.
A full list of events recognizing the anniversary is available online at VIMS’s website.
