Senate Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #2176 FAU/FMR/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Inst. Marine Science
Requester:	Dr. Anthony Catanese		Organization:		Florida Atlantic University
Project Title:	FAU/FMR/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Inst. Marine Science		Date Submitted:		01/31/2000 12:25:36 PM
District Member:	William Myers		Service Area:		Statewide
Counties Affected:	{Statewide}
Recipient:	Florida Atlantic University		Contact:		Dr. John Weisenfeld
	777 Glades Road		Contact Phone:		(561) 297-3035
	Boca Raton 33431
Project Description:
FAU/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the Florida Marine Research Inst. have agreed to form an exciting new partnership that will bring Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral students to the Treasure Coast to study Marine Sciences. A 50,000 plus square foot joint-use facility will be build on the Harbor Branch Campus and house specialized laboratory space as well as faculty offices and classrooms. It will be shared by FAU and FMRI.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
This partnership in education provides an extraordinary combination of location, personnel, and facilities to provide training in marine science to Florida students. We plan to pursue approval from the Board of Regents to offer the program as an interdisciplinary degree, the B.S. in Marine Science. Once approved, this will be the first undergraduate program in marine science in the SUS. We are currently cooperating with Indian River Community College to develop an articulation between IRCC and FAU of lower division course requirements. This proposed articulation would serve as a model for other community colleges in our service area (e.g. PBCC and BCC). The last two years of training will be offered on the HBOI site and will emphasize a variety of advanced elective courses in marine sciences by FAU and Harbor Branch facility, with added support from staff of FMRI and the nearby Smithsonian Marine Field Station. The capstone experience for the student will be a Senior Project in a specific research area. The location of the program on the Indian River Lagoon will provide students with a unique opportunity to engage in research in estuarine, coastal, and ocean environments. The Indian River Lagoon with its geographic overlap of both tropical and warm temperature species, is the highest diversity estuarine system in the continental U.S. The critical role the lagoon plays as a fish nursery and an ecosystem of extraordinary diversity will train students in industries of major importance to the state of Florida; aquaculture, commercial and game fishing, and marine biotechnology. Students will also gain insight and expertise in the policy development and decision making in one of the most significant environmental recovery projects in the world, the Everglades Restoration Project.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Cooperative teaching and research programs between FAU, HBOI, the F<RI, and the Smithsonian Marine Field Station should provide a diverse expertise that will foster a large variety of courses and research experiences for the students at relatively low cost to the SUS. This partnership will result in a world class training program for a new generation of young marine scientists
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$10,998,843
Total cost of the project:		$10,998,843

Request has been made to fund:			Construction
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?					Yes
				In-Kind Amount:	$500,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?					No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?					No
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?					No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?					No
Is there a documented need for this project?					No
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?					Yes
	Hearing Body:	St. Lucie Legislative Delegation
	Meeting Date:	12/01/1999