"Take care of your family, take care of the earth, and be grateful for the beauty of the world around you and for every day on this earth."
- Bill Huppert ‘51 (1926-2018)
Bill Huppert ‘51 was a beloved teacher and administrator for 32 years with the Baltimore County Public Schools. Bill was also an environmentalist who was committed to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. At the age of 76, Bill began building concrete reef balls that could be placed in the Chesapeake Bay as reef material and a place for oyster spat to grow. He built them in his backyard, the church parking lot, and several Baltimore County high schools with the help of science class students. He partnered with the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative to have the reef balls placed in the bay. He also started the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association (MSSA) Scholarship Foundation to support students pursuing higher education in ecology, conservation, and marine biology.
This endowed student award, in memory of Bill Huppert, is made possible by the combined efforts of many people through the MSSA Scholarship Foundation. The fund supports merit-based awards for graduate students in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) Graduate Program in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.
With your support, the Bill Huppert Award will provide MEES graduate students with rich opportunities to conduct research regionally focused on the health of the Chesapeake Bay.