Tuesday, June 19, 2007
LEAP(Linking Environmental and Academic Programs) MOU signing ceremony at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Left to right: David Blazer, executive director, Maryland Coastal Bays Program; Lou LaRicci, Maryland Department of the Environment; Frank Dawson III, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Dr. Thelma B. Thompson, president, UMES; Dr. Donald S. Welsh, mid-Atlantic regional administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ed Ambrogio of the Environmental Protection Agency and Vincent Leggett, along with the Upward Bound Marine & Estuarine Program students (at the back looking on).
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with governmental agencies at the federal and state levels as well as with the private, non-profit Maryland Coastal Bays Program to enhance research, teaching, outreach, career development and stewardship in the environmental sciences. The signing ceremony takes place Tuesday, June 19, at 10 a.m. in the Richard A. Henson Center Ballroom on the campus in Princess Anne.
The MOU is titled “Linking Environmental and Academic Programs” (LEAP) and will be signed by UMES President Thelma B. Thompson, Ph.D. and representatives of participating agencies: Donald S. Welsh, mid-Atlantic regional administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; John R. Griffin, secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Shari T. Wilson, secretary, Maryland Department of the Environment; and David Blazer, executive director, Maryland Coastal Bays Program.
“This university has long been committed to educating the environmental scientists of the future through the Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Science graduate program in the innovative and popular Department of Natural Sciences,” said UMES President Thompson. “The recent addition to our facilities of the Coastal Ecology Teaching and Research Center near Assateague Island further enhanced our ability to offer students and faculty excellent opportunities for instruction, research and extension. This LEAP MOU greatly expands our commitment to the growth of knowledge in the environmental sciences, using a holistic approach in collaboration with the key players in this region.”
The purpose and goals of the MOU are to formalize and strengthen the ties between the various signatories to promote a seamless pipeline to bring environmentally literate and technologically capable candidates to the workforce, an increased number of minorities with careers in environmental science and related fields, an environmental stewardship ethic in students at all educational levels, sound ecological research relevant to the Maryland Coastal Bays and the watershed restoration goals of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program.
The objectives of the MOU are to support and promote student recruitment, internships, career development and employment in environmental science and related fields; enhance faculty professional development opportunities in environmental science and related fields; support the development of an environmental center at UMES for research and education activities; enhance public, private and non-profit partnerships for environmental initiatives and student career development; and supx
