The NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center held its Board of Visitors meeting on November 4, 2021. In attendance at the annual meeting were NOAA LMRCSC administrators, presidents and representatives of the Center’s partner institutions, in addition to faculty mentors and other staff.
The meeting, which was led by Dr. Robert Mock, Chief of Staff to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, UMES President, Dr. Heidi Anderson and UMES Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Nancy Niemi discussed the business and accomplishments of the Center. Center Program Directors were glad to report that NOAA awarded the LMRCSC $30 million to support research, education and training of a diverse pool of students in fisheries and marine science for another five years.
One of the many accomplishments highlighted at the meeting were the number of scholars who have benefited from the program. Since 2016, the Center has trained 105 students, with 45 having already graduated. In addition, seven graduates have pursued a career with NOAA, and several other students have earned internships and fellowships in the fisheries and marine science field.
Continuing to provide educational opportunities to students, while adding to the diversity of the marine and fisheries science fields is a goal both the Center and NOAA Educational Partnership Program have set and will continue to meet. With the many achievements of the students, the group came to the consensus that the Center is a necessary asset to the field. With strategic planning and the continued support from NOAA, the accomplishments of the cooperative science center and its scholars have only just begun!
