{"id":21883,"date":"2016-07-04T07:08:54","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T11:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/?p=8015"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:54:13","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:54:13","slug":"happy-birthday-usa-and-north-carolina-sea-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/happy-birthday-usa-and-north-carolina-sea-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday USA \u2014 and North Carolina Sea Grant"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Katie Mosher
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Posted July 4, 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

Happy Independence Day to you and yours!<\/p>\n

And Happy 40th<\/sup> to us!<\/p>\n

In 1976, North Carolina\u2019s fledgling marine science and outreach efforts earned full Sea Grant College Program status. We even received a bronze plaque!<\/p>\n

Rather than celebrating with a party this month, we instead offer you a trip \u2014 down memory lane. In 2001, we outlined a history of the program via a story<\/a> in Coastwatch<\/em> magazine. We draw from that story here and will share other memories in the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n

\"North
North Carolina Sea Grant received this sign to recognize that the program had achieved full Sea Grant College status. Photo by E-Ching Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTo be accepted, Sea Grant would have to be relevant. We would have to deliver good information and do it when we said we would,\u201d recalls B.J. Copeland, former director.<\/p>\n

As the Sea Grant program grew, extension staff and researchers would stay on the lookout for new topics and issues, especially as sleepy fishing villages became tourist meccas, and as inland development surged in river basins that drain to the estuaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cSea Grant provides a direct \u2014 and personal \u2014 link between the universities and the coastal communities,\u201d adds Ronald G. Hodson, who succeeded Copeland as director.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have earned a reputation for being available to listen to coastal concerns and being alert to scientific and technological breakthroughs that could be potential solutions,\u201d Hodson notes in the 2001 story \u2014 a sentiment that we think holds today.<\/p>\n

Sea Grant’s Youth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 1965, U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island and U.S. Rep. Paul Rogers of Florida proposed federal legislation to create a national Sea Grant program<\/a>, drawing upon the success of Cooperative Extension programs also known as Land Grant.<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former North Carolina Sea Grant director B.J. Copeland made frequent coastal trips to keep in touch with citizens’ concerns. Courtesy Dixie Berg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the support of U.S. Rep. Alton Lennon from Wilmington, who chaired the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, the bill moved quickly. In less than a year, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1966.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn truth, if Sea Grant wasn\u2019t invented in 1966, someone would invent it today. People depend on Sea Grant for good information and to help them survive,\u201d Copeland says. \u201cYou can\u2019t argue with priorities when they are to improve the quality of life and enhance economic opportunities. That\u2019s what Sea Grant is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The national program \u2014 which focused on the coastal states, as well as the Great Lakes \u2014 awarded its first research grants in 1968. They included groundbreaking studies in ecology by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher Howard T. Odum.<\/p>\n

At the same time, North Carolina officials had begun to focus on marine sciences as well. One of the last actions of Gov. Dan Moore was to create the N.C. Marine Science Council and a university-level marine science program coordinated by John Lyman at UNC-Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

When the National Sea Grant office requested proposals for comprehensive programs, four North Carolina campuses responded \u2014 UNC-CH, NC State, East Carolina and Duke universities. \u201cClearly, four programs were not going to be funded here,\u201d Copeland says.<\/p>\n

\"Aquaculture
North Carolina Sea Grant aquaculture researchers included, from left, Ronald Hodson, Ed Noga, Mel Huish, Margie Gallagher, Howard Kerby and Randy Roush. Courtesy Allen Weiss<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To solve the problem, the new governor, Bob Scott, took on dual roles \u2014 mediator and breakfast chef \u2014 in the winter of 1969. He invited representatives of the four universities, as well as state officials, to an early morning meeting at the Governor\u2019s Mansion. The special guest was Bob Abel, the first National Sea Grant director.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of our strategy was: Let\u2019s do something for the state of North Carolina. Let\u2019s forget about one institution,\u201d Walton Jones recalls in the 2001 story. His marine science work included time as a top advisor to Gov. Moore, vice chancellor at NC State, and as vice president of research and public service for the UNC system. \u201cWe put the needs of the state ahead of any institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others attending the meeting included Lyman, Leigh Hammond who worked in the governor\u2019s office and later served in NC State administration and led Sea Grant advisory services in North Carolina, C.Q. Brown from East Carolina, and Bruce Muga from Duke.<\/p>\n

Strong support also came from Wayne Corpening, a former N.C. secretary of administration and mayor of Winston-Salem; and Addison Hewlitt, a former N.C. House speaker who served as the\u00a0first chairman of the Marine Science Council.<\/p>\n

Sea Grant\u2019s on the Map<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"North
North Carolina Sea Grant extension staff posed for this 1980s photo. Courtesy Allen Weiss<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their efforts were successful. In 1970, North Carolina was granted a Sea Grant institutional program that worked with the various universities and was administered by Lyman\u2019s office in Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

The turf battles between campuses were minimal. \u201cThe proposals were always open and always competitive,\u201d explains Bill Rickards, former North Carolina Sea Grant associate director.<\/p>\n

Copeland \u2014 whose first North Carolina Sea Grant research was a project with NC State colleague John Hobbie that looked at nutrients in the Pamlico estuary \u2014 was named program director in 1973. That meant the state\u2019s Sea Grant headquarters moved to Raleigh.<\/p>\n

His goal? Full Sea Grant College Program designation \u2014 based on a record of excellence in research, extension and communication \u2014 in the minimum time, just three years.<\/p>\n

Copeland recalls July 1, 1973, when his staff included only Rickards, who later became director of the Virginia Sea Grant program, and Louise Bame as secretary. \u201cI was told to write a proposal and submit it by Aug. 1. We had no extension advisors and no communicators. So we set about getting the word out that we were in business,\u201d Copeland says.<\/p>\n

Look for future posts on our early research and outreach efforts.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you have memories of the early days for North Carolina Sea Grant? If so, send a note to <\/em>kmosher@ncsu.edu<\/em><\/a>, or call 919-515-9069.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katie Mosher looks back to this day 40 years ago \u2014\u00a0July 4, 1976 \u2014 and recalls how North Carolina Sea Grant received its College Program status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[761],"tags":[],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-21883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-currents"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHappy Birthday USA \u2014 and North Carolina Sea Grant - Coastwatch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/happy-birthday-usa-and-north-carolina-sea-grant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Happy Birthday USA \u2014 and North Carolina Sea Grant - 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