Joy Archer, of Williamsburg, was a long-time friend and supporter of the Observatory. She passed away in 2002, but she remembered the Observatory in her will. As a result of her generosity, the Observatory established a special fund in her honor, to help with a wide variety of field research and public education programs. The Joy Archer Graduate Student Grant was also created to support wildlife studies and grant recipients so far have studied Peregrine Falcons, American Black Ducks, Ospreys, Eastern Bluebirds, and Rusty Blackbirds.