Two years later, the cynics have fallen silent, while the scientists of PSDS have been anything but. Since its arrival in Cullowhee, the program, directed by geologist Rob Young (pictured above at left), has become the worldwide headquarters for an international beach preservation organization. It has established a new beachhead in the South Carolina Lowcountry through a partnership with the University of South Carolina Beaufort. It is making national headlines through its ongoing efforts to use science to influence public policy affecting management of the nation’s shorelines. And, its associate director, Andy Coburn, conducted aerial reconnaissance of damage caused on the Texas Gulf Coast by Hurricane Ike.

During a 2006 ceremony marking the program’s move to new offices in Cullowhee, Steve Warren ’80, then-chairman of WCU’s board of trustees, predicted that PSDS would play an increasingly significant role in helping the nation’s leaders find economically viable and environmentally sound solutions to coastal problems. “This program is part of a rising tide at Western,” Warren said. “It is a rising tide of environmental consciousness, of environmental ethics and of environmental responsibility. The program provides an incredibly strong anchor for that consciousness, those ethics, and the responsibility that comes from living on this Earth.”