Maine Sea Grant Director Elected to National
Contact: Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777, houtman@maine.edu;
Paul Anderson, Maine Sea Grant, 207-581-1435, panderson@maine.edu
ORONO– Paul Anderson, director of the Maine Sea Grant College Program at the University of Maine, has been elected to the post of the president elect of the National Sea Grant Association (NSGA), a non-profit organization in Washington D.C. Anderson will become president for a two-year term beginning in 2007 and serve on the organization’s board of directors for two-year periods prior to and following his term.
“This gives us an opportunity to show leadership at the national level,” says Anderson who has served on the NSGA board as the secretary for the past two years. NSGA supports the growth and implementation of the $62 million national Sea Grant College Program by working with Congress and federal agencies.
Members of the organization include the directors of all 30 Sea Grant programs throughout the country as well as officials affiliated with Sea Grant. The group provided testimony to Congress and the U.S. Oceans Commission which released a report last spring outlining potential changes in U.S. policies affecting the marine economy and environment.
Members of the NSGA also work with the Sea Grant parent organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to integrate Sea Grant research with other ocean science programs. Anderson will help steer Sea Grant through the federal reauthorization process which is due to occur in 2007.
“As president-elect and president, it’s expected that I’ll be on call to provide testimony to Congress as needed,” says Anderson.
UMaine receives about $1 million in Sea Grant funding annually and was dedicated as a Sea Grant College in 2004, following more than 20 years as a joint program with the University of New Hampshire. In 2005, Maine will host National Sea Grant Week, an annual event for all Sea Grant programs, at the Samoset in Rockport.