Maine Sea Grant Receives Top Rating in National Review
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — The Maine Sea Grant College Program at the University of Maine has been rated in the top tier of Sea Grant programs nationwide, according to a recent review by a national assessment team.
“Maine Sea Grant has made significant contributions to science, technology, and society within the state and region,” concluded the National Sea Grant Office, based on the review findings that Maine Sea Grant meets the highest performance standards of the Sea Grant network.
The National Sea Grant Office is charged with evaluating all Sea Grant programs on a five-year rotating basis. The program assessment team, which consisted of six representatives from across the country with expertise in coastal and marine resources, visited UMaine last year to evaluate Maine Sea Grant’s performance in several areas. The team came away impressed with the program’s effectiveness, and the National Sea Grant Office awarded the program a final rating in Category 1, making Maine among the highest performing of the 32 Sea Grant programs in the nation.
“The value of Maine Sea Grant is its ability to reach constituents and have an impact on their lives. This ability benefits from the numerous partnerships that Maine Sea Grant has developed to enhance its reach in serving Maine’s citizens,” the National Sea Grant Office stated in its final evaluation. “Through its extension programming, Maine Sea Grant has served as a catalyst for discussion among stakeholders, helping to resolve conflicts.” The final evaluation also noted the impact of Maine Sea Grant’s research investments in addressing challenging problems.
The high rating not only confirms the value of Maine Sea Grant to the state and region, but also puts the program, and its constituents, in a position to benefit from future funding increases. “It’s apparent that the needs for marine and coastal research and educational outreach programs exceed the resources of Maine Sea Grant, but this rating may provide opportunities for the program to attract more funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to help meet these needs,” said Paul Anderson, director of Maine Sea Grant.
Established in 1980, the Maine Sea Grant Program has a mission to play a leadership role in marine science and education and to promote their use in the sustainable development, management, and stewardship of marine and coastal resources. For more information, visit www.seagrant.maine.edu.