UH marine program A popular University of Hawaii marine program that nearly died two years ago is observing its 30th anniversary with a strong future as part of a proposed Bachelor of Science degree program in marine biology.
celebrates 30 years
The Marine Option Program
looks ahead after surviving cutsBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com
Interim UH Chancellor Deane Neubauer lauded the Marine Option Program during a celebration March 9 at the Waikiki Aquarium, calling it a model for cross-disciplinary, intercampus learning activities and a leader in giving students hands-on experience.
The program has struggled for survival since C. Barry Raleigh, dean of the School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology, withdrew support for it in 2000 because of budget reductions and higher school priorities.
The College of Natural Sciences and the oceanography department stepped forward to help maintain the program. A proposal is pending before the Board of Regents to place it permanently in that college, which program director Sherwood Maynard says "is not only a home, but a very supportive one.
"The dean (Charles Hayes) and department heads have been very welcoming and supportive and encouraging, so it's a much more nurturing environment than the one we're leaving."
"We feel we will both benefit from each other," said Hayes, noting more than half of the marine program's students have been from the College of Natural Sciences.
He said the program is "a great tradition" that will provide a unique opportunity to students majoring in marine biology. The Faculty Senate has unanimously recommended approval of an undergraduate degree program to the regents.
Hayes said Maynard "is just a real asset to the state," and the Marine Option Program "not only is one the UH should have, but one in which we should excel. We should be known worldwide in this effort."
He said people are surprised that UH-Manoa has not offered an undergraduate marine science degree, and he feels "it is just absurd that we didn't have such a program."
The Marine Option Program began in 1971 under John Craven, then dean of marine programs, and Jack Davidson, director of the Sea Grant College Program, to create ocean awareness and understanding among students.
More than 8,000 students have taken the credit courses, and about 700 have earned certificates through marine-related courses and an internship or research project.
Maynard is running the program with a part-time office manager and "a gaggle of student help." He lost two positions in the SOEST budget cuts, but Raleigh pays half of his salary, he said.
The College of Natural Sciences pays for day-to-day operations, and grant money goes mostly to students for stipends and wages, he said.
They participate in a range of research projects and intern programs, such as an inventory of submerged ship and aircraft wrecks in Hawaiian waters, marine bioproducts engineering experiences, a sea turtle stranding network and Native Pacific Islander Fishery Observer training.
This summer, Marine Option Program students will help the Pacific Whale Foundation with a comprehensive two-week survey at Molokini, following up a 1987 survey.
The oceanography department took MOP's two graduate programs in maritime archaeology and history and ocean policy in 2000. However, the UH administration shut down the maritime archaeology program.
A request is being made to rescind that decision and relocate the program to the Department of History with cooperation from the Marine Option Program and the archaeology and American studies departments, he said.
He said the Marine Option Program will collaborate on the marine science degree program with the biology, zoology, botany and microbiology programs in the College of Natural Sciences, and it will help other UH campuses establish a marine biology curriculum.
Anne Bailey, Marine Option Program Alumni Association president and chief executive officer of Common Heritage Corp. at the Natural Energy Laboratory on the Big Island, said the program "has developed an ocean advocacy that is unsurpassed nationwide."
She said alumni "are placed in positions all over this state and, increasingly, on national and international levels." The association has 400 to 500 members, she said.
Speaking at the anniversary celebration, Bailey pointed out that Marine Option students and alumni "for 30 years have taken actions against all manners of environmental problems: air pollution, water pollution, wildlife loss, hazardous waste and many others.
"Until recently though, it seemed that no one was paying the kind of attention" to the oceans and to the Marine Option Program that alumni thought they deserved, she said.
UH Marine Option Program
