To provide management of Ohio Sea Grant College Program activities by exercising sound administrative and fiscal control.
To provide program-wide communication, business and logistic services.
To serve as the contact point with the National Sea Grant College Program, federal and state agencies, other state programs, and other institutions of higher learning.
To act as a focal point for collaboration with other organizations.
To provide leadership in the development and coordination of program proposals.

Lake Erie is among Ohio's most valuable natural resources. An active and vital Sea Grant Program will enhance the development and utilization of this resource. A sound administrative structure and innovative leadership will enhance the Ohio Sea Grant Program.

The program administration acts as the coordinating body between the four program components of research, education, advisory service and communications. Future program directions, opportunities and goals are evaluated through this office with the assistance of the various advisory committees and feedback from the advisory service and education components concerning needs and priorities of the public. This ensures a well-coordinated and responsive Sea Grant Program.

Benefits:
1986: The program administration will act as the coordinating body between the three program components: research, education, and advisory service. This will ensure that objectives are met, goals are attained, and the program operates smoothly and efficiently.

Accomplishments:
The Ohio Sea Grant College Program has been designated the nation's twenty-fourth Sea Grant College. Members of the Executive Committee have been placed in leadership roles on committees for the following programs: International Joint Commission, Great Lakes Commission, American Fisheries Society, and the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research. Needs were assessed, priorities determined and proposals were solicited from proven researchers which resulted in this proposal which will yield a more developed and more responsive Ohio Sea Grant College Program.

2008 

Program Administrative Structure

This year with tremendous assistance from the Office of Research and the College of FAES, we have combined the FOD, Student Life, and academic operations under one roof and with a single budget.  The goal was to improve the operation and reduce the costs to eliminate a $350,000 annual operating deficit that was being reported by FOD and Student Life.  In our main office we lost a receptionist and gained an excellent business manager, Rich Shaffer.  At Put-in-Bay, we absorbed the loss of three people due to retirement and family moves and illnesses.   We have also worked to get additional external funding to support the Laboratory (donations and grants) and to make better use of volunteers.  Former Student Life and FOD employees at the Laboratory were hired into newly developed A&P positions within the program.  To date, all of the changes have been very successful.

 

Student Scholarships, Fellowships, and REUs

Each year we work with the Friends of Stone Laboratory to develop plans to solicit applicants and award scholarships, fellowships and REUs at Stone Laboratory.  We develop and lead the committees that evaluate the applicants and put together a team of volunteers to review projects at State Science Day.  We award 10 scholarships per year at State Science Day.  To assist students as much as possible during these difficult economic times, we are awarding over $34,000 in REU support in 2008 and almost $28,000 in scholarship support.  We have awarded over 1000 scholarships, fellowships and REUs to Stone Laboratory students since we formed the Friends of Stone Lab in 1982.

 Sea Grant Strategic Plan and Proposal Development for 2010-12

We are working to develop a new, draft, 5-year strategic plan and implementation plan, and are working to complete over 50 projects valued at over $7 million dollars that will be coming to an end in early 2010.  We are developing an RFP to solicit preproposals from every college and university in the state and must complete development of a new 2-year proposal valued at over $4 million by November 2009.

 

Stone Laboratory Construction

We are currently overseeing planning on $750,000 of renovations at Stone Lab, installation of WiFi, new docks, refrigerator and freezer replacement, etc.

 

Recognition and Leadership Appointments

• Completed work with Channel 3, WKYC, in Cleveland on 4-part documentary on Lake Erie.
• Dr. Reutter continues to serve on the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP), a national FACA panel.  He continues to serve on the Research to Application Task Force (RATF) and the Education Subpanel within ORRAP, and was elected Chair of the Education Subpanel beginning 1 June 2007.
• Dr. Reutter completed service on the Education, Outreach, and Extension Work Group for the NOAA Science Advisory Board.
• Dr. Reutter was appointed to the Interagency Work Group on Ocean Education (28 agencies and programs) as an ex-officio member.
• Dr. Reutter was appointed US Co-Chair of the Council of Great Lakes Research Managers for the International Joint Commission, US State Department.
• We hosted the NOAA Science Advisory Board in July 2008 Sandusky and at Stone Lab.
• We hosted State Legislature/Congressional Day on Lake Erie in July 2008.
• We hosted Institutes for Environmental and Natural Resources Journalism at Stone Lab in 2008.

 

Project Leadership, Coordination, and Proposal Development

The Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network (GLRRIN) was developed by Jeff Reutter on 1 June 2006 and continues to grow and flourish.  It is considered to be one of the best regional networks in the country by the National Sea Grant College Program.  We worked with the Binational Executive Committee (BEC) of the US and Canada to develop a strategy whereby the BEC has asked GLRRIN to assist with the coordination of research, monitoring, and information on the Great Lakes.  Environment Canada has agreed to join the 4-person leadership team of GLRRIN.  In December we hosted a 7-site video conference around Lake Erie with 75 scientists.  They agreed to collaborate under our leadership in developing seven research proposals.  (All seven were funded ($750,000) by USEPA and the Lake Erie Protection Fund in 2009.) A total of 14 agencies and universities are participating.

 

Development of New Partnerships

1) We have worked to development a collaborative partnership with the Ohio Division of Wildlife on a long term lease of the State Fish Hatchery at Put-in-Bay.  2) We have developed a partnership with the Lake Erie Protection Fund and we co-funded a Lake Erie research Project.  3) We developed a partnership with the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve whereby we will be co-funding a research project at their facility in our next omnibus package.  4) We developed a new partnership with National Park Service (NPS).  As part of the NPS partnership we will use a NPS bus and driver and have developed a new tour for visitors four days a week that includes stops at Perry’s Monument (part of NPS) and then our fish hatchery and lighthouse.  We will call this tour CSI:  Lake Erie for Culture and Science Investigations.  NPS will hire two of our students on internships, but as regular NPS employees to work halftime leading a new Lake Erie ecology program at the Monument for visitors.  We will help them develop the program and train their staff.  5) We developed a new partnership with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to advise a REU student at Stone Lab.  6) We developed a new partnership with US Geological Survey to advise a REU student at Stone Lab.  7) We are developing a new joint strategic plan with the Ohio Coastal Management Program, Old Woman Creek, and the Lake Erie Protection Fund and are developing a new set of “Literacy Principles” for Lake Erie that we will try to have accepted as Great Lakes Literacy Principles.  The goal is to have them incorporated into the Ocean Literacy Principles and then into textbooks.