This year’s symposium—The Future of an Ocean Literate Society: Building Communities for Action—will look beyond the traditional educational approaches and imagine a future where media and other nontraditional means of communication will be utilized to elevate coastal and ocean literacy of the general public.
Panelists include:
- Dr. Jerry Schubel, president and CEO of Aquarium of the Pacific and former director of the Marine Sciences Research Center at the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook
- Mr. Steve Mayer, co-founder of Atari and advisor to Intel, Nintendo, and other companies, who has lectured extensively in the design of user interface and the appropriate use of technology
- Dr Emlyn Koster, president and CEO of Liberty Science Center who has published extensively on the role of museums and their relevancy to social and environmental opportunities and challenges.
At the Awards Luncheon, which immediately follows the symposium in Wilson Hall, Dr. Schubel will be presented with a Champion of the Ocean Award to honor him for his years of exceptional leadership in keeping our coasts and oceans clean, safe, and preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. A Champion of the Ocean Award will also be presented to Mr. Ted Ames, recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellowship in 2005 and lifelong fisherman who has fused the roles of fisherman and applied scientist in response to increasing threats to the fishery ecosystem resulting from decades of over-harvesting.
Tickets for the luncheon are $125 per person and proceeds will benefit the work of the UCI. For more information on tickets or other sponsorship opportunities, please contact Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute at 732-263-5662 or visit the UCI Web site at www.monmouth.edu/urban_coast_institute/.
Previous winners of the UCI Champion of the Ocean Award include: Dr. Bob Gagosian, president emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and the Honorable Leon Panetta and Admiral James Watkins, who served respectively as chairs of the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.
Dr. Robert B. Abel will be presented with the Coastal and Ocean Leadership Award posthumously. It was a great loss to the coastal and ocean community when Dr. Abel passed away earlier this month. Dr. Abel’s expertise, commitment, and dedication to promoting the wisest possible use of our ocean and coastal resources have benefited New Jersey during the past three decades. He worked as a chemical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, served as chief of oceanographic surveys for the USN Hydrographic Office, and as staff oceanographer to the Vice President (1960-67).
Dr. Abel was the founding director of the National Sea Grant Program in 1967, and subsequently served as associate vice president of Texas A&M University, director of the New Jersey Sea Grant College Program, and president of the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Most recently, he was a senior scientist at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
A Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to the Honorable S. Thomas Gagliano, a life-long resident of the Jersey Shore. Mr. Gagliano is a former state senator who, while in office, very clearly saw the need for beach replenishment programs and the importance of New Jersey’s coastal habitats to the state’s economy and quality of life.
Mr. Gagliano founded The Jersey Shore Partnership and brought together corporate leaders and environmentalists to help protect the state’s 127 miles of beaches, and played a critical role in securing a stable source of funding for beach re-nourishment projects. He continues to work on environmental issues in the state, has been a mentor to many, and continues to be a leader in his community.
The UCI was established in September 2005 as one of Monmouth University’s Centers of Distinction to serve the public interest as a forum for research, education, and collaboration that fosters the application of the best available science and policy to support healthy and productive coastal ecosystems and a sustainable and economically vibrant future for coastal communities.
