(in order of agenda)

 The Future of Land Grant and Sea Grant: New Paradigms for University Engagement , TBA

 Chellie Pingree, Director, Common Cause, Former Legislator

Economics of Our Coastal Waters: Integrating Research into the Agenda, Charles Colgan, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine

Economists often engage in studies of coastal and ocean resources when there is a need to estimate the costs of poor resource management. As such, economics has mostly been seen as part of the lobbying that ocean and coastal scientists and managers need to do to secure funding. But both the Pew and U.S. Ocean Commissions have pointed to changes in the socio-economic environment as major factors affecting the health of ocean and coastal resources. The study of the socio-economic environment has largely been limited to demographic factors, but this is too narrow a perspective. Understanding the relationship between natural resources and socio-economics will require addressing economic and demographic patterns, the role of ocean resources in the national economy, and the forces shaping economic values of coastal and ocean resources. Together, these issues frame a research agenda in socio-economic change, which goes well beyond studies that simply seek to provide funding justification.

Turbulent Seas in the Wake of Overfishing:  Accelerating Booms and Busts in the World's Coastal Ecosystems , Bob Steneck, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine

While the overfishing crisis is well known, the ecosystem consequences of predator loss are less widely known. As we fish down food webs, we successively relax control from apex predators, down to mesopredators, herbivores, and ultimately algae. When ecological function is lost at certain trophic levels, the ecosystem changes. Altered coastal ecosystems often show symptoms of abundant species becoming rare, or relatively rare species becoming hyper-abundant. Integrating ecological with archaeological evidence, we see that these cycles of booms and busts are accelerating, making marine ecosystems increasingly unstable, more difficult to manage, and at greater risk of collapse from epizootic disease. An ecosystem's resilience (i.e., resistance to these changes or recovery from them) is directly related to its biodiversity. Examples illustrating these points are found in coral reefs and kelp-forest ecosystems of the world. Adaptive management of coastal ecosystems should include monitoring of ecological processes critical to resilience in addition to monitoring patterns in distribution and abundance.

Global Change in a Changing World: Effects on Habitat, Rosina Marie Bierbaum, Dean, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan

Ocean's End: A Global Perspective on the Crisis in the Marine Environment , Colin Woodard

Colin Woodard spent two years crisscrossing the world's oceans to write Ocean's End: Travels Through Endangered Seas (Basic Books, 2000). From the atomic testing sites of the Central Pacific to Antarctica's collapsing ice shelves, from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to the Belize barrier reef, Woodard relates the experiences of scientists and fishermen, sailors and politicians, whose lives and professions have already been affected by the disruption of ocean life. In telling the story of how he came to write Ocean’s End, Woodard illustrates the multi-faceted nature of these problems and some of the more promising strategies to address them.

Communication Tools and Tech,” Jim Campbell, Partner, Modular Media

To do a job – any job – effectively and efficiently, it is important to: understand exactly what the job is; be familiar with the tools that are available; choose the tool that is most appropriate for the job; and know when the job is done – and how well it was done. In this respect, communication is similar to any other job.

In the spirit of enhancing our communication toolbox, this session will explore a specific framework that is useful for understanding what the communication job at hand entails; survey current communication technologies and tools; discuss ways to match the tool to the job; and examine how to know when the job is done – and whether it was done well.

The Future of Science Outreach: Involving and Engaging Learners in Science as Exploring the Unknown, Tom Zinnen, Biotechnology Center, University of Wisconsin

Zinnen works on ways to develop the science savvy of learners, transforming how people view and do science (from science being about “what we know” to “ what we don't know yet"), the powers and limits of science, and the roles of science in aiding people as they make personal choices and deal with uncertainty. Some of the ideas Zinnen is working on include: How can a public land-grant university welcome people to campus every day in an organized way to experience science as exploring the unknown? How can university researchers involve and engage the public in research in communities across the state? What modes of communication not only share information but provide a venue for exchange of ideas and an opportunity to transform learners? Zinnen is particularly looking at Croquet as the next generation of computer-aided communication.

Reaching Out: The New Breed of Extension, Victor Lechtenberg, Vice Provost for Engagement, Purdue University

Cooperative Extension was created to link the food and agricultural research missions of Land Grant Universities with farmers and businesses to improve quality of life in rural communities. Much has changed in the decades since extension programs were established. While agricultural productivity has improved dramatically, its associated economic activity is no longer enough to sustain most rural communities. Instead, successful rural communities are inextricably linked with non-rural and urban populations where non-agricultural manufacturing, businesses, and industries have been undergoing rapid technological change and dramatic increases in labor productivity. Land Grant Universities have an unprecedented opportunity to provide advanced technologies, workforce education, and economic development leadership. Cooperative Extension can—and should—be the local link to the entire spectrum of university expertise, helping to engage every college on the university campus with business and industry to expand economic opportunity and quality of life for all who live in the states served by these universities.