Current Appointments and Contact:

Associate Professor of Biology, College of William & Mary

College Conservator of Botanical Collections

Director of the William & Mary Herbarium

macase@wm.edu

Interests and Mission:

My program encompasses my life-long interest in organismal plant diversity and my joy of introducing plants to people. Instilling an appreciation of plants, building upon our knowledge of plant diversity, and training our next generation of botanists are central components of my mission. My excitement for botany is infused in my formal courses, mentorship, advising, and in my role as College Conservator of Botanical Collections. 

In my capacity as Conservator, I participate in campus-wide projects that promote, preserve, and develop plant collections for teaching, research, and outreach.  As part of this, I direct the William & Mary Herbarium, a research facility that supports projects at William & Mary and beyond through its 83,000 curated archival specimens, personnel expertise, and on-line specimen data. Major current collaborative projects of the Conservator include the development of the William and Mary Arboretum, development of ecological monitoring tools for the Indigenous People and Communities in Milpa Alta, Mexico, and ongoing work to understand and remediate the substantial losses of plant biodiversity at William & Mary. I also chair several committees that offer student research grants in plant conservation and field botany, and my courses are central for students to acquire marketable skills and botanical knowledge for pursuing conservation. Please visit my program links above to learn more.