Led by Assistant Provost for coastal resilience and director of the VCRC, Thomas K. Ruppert, the collaborative increases the visibility and impact of existing programs at W&M and VIMS. Central oversight and dedicated university resources expand capacity, leveraging external funding opportunities. This approach enables W&M and VIMS to develop and implement timely, real-world solutions — and legal scholarship and policy advice — for challenges posed by the impacts of rising seas and changing climate, such as imperiled water quality, increased flooding, and increased heat, thereby increasing the value to the Commonwealth and its communities. Ruppert's leadership will be supported by an assistant director and a legal fellow. This will allow the VCRC to provide legal scholarship, policy advice and science translation for legislators and leaders on state- and national-level issues, and clerical support with a communications function.
The VCRC is a partner organization of the Virginia Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resilience (CCRFR), along with VIMS and Old Dominion University. The CCRFR advises and offers a variety of services to stakeholders and partners throughout the Commonwealth related to recurrent flooding resilience.
Meet the Team
Thomas Ruppert Assistant Provost for Coastal Resilience & Director, Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative Email: [[tkruppert]]
Phone: 757-221-5415
Campus Office: Rowe House, Room 202
Office: Office of the Provost
Cameron Bruce Assistant Director, Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative Email: [[csbruce]]
Phone: 757-221-6051
Campus Office: Rowe House, Room 205
Office: Office of the Provost
Greg Fowler Legal Research Assistant, Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative Email: [[gdfowler]]
Campus Office: Rowe House, Room 206
Office: Office of the Provost
Mission
The mission of the VCRC is to support a vision of dynamic, safe, healthy, and resilient Virginia communities by collaborating with community, academic, and government partners across the Commonwealth and beyond to promote and enable scientifically informed, participatory decision-making for resilience.
Vision
Safe, ecologically healthy, economically resilient, Virginia communities provide opportunities for all, including profitable maritime industries and active national defense infrastructure, grounded in community-driven, representative governance structures establishing policies promoting equitable adaptation to sea levels and increasingly unpredictable climate.
Skip to main content
