Washington, D.C., April 22, 2014 - “Sea Grant’s success has been built on a team approach by many dedicated and talented professionals… Extension professionals play a vital role, taking the best science-based solutions produced by Sea Grant researchers and making them understandable and useful to coastal residents, businesses and communities.”

So begins National Sea Grant Director Leon Cammen’s Foreword to the revised Fundamentals of a Sea Grant Extension Program. Intended for new Sea Grant Extension (SGE) professionals, this 2013 revision of “Fundamentals,” first published in 2000, offers a philosophical and historic context for the National Sea Grant College Program’s structure, planning, evaluation, networks, partnerships, and relationship to Sea Grant research.  Reflecting what has changed in the past dozen years, this 96-page revised handbook emphasizes new technologies for communicating with stakeholders and the necessity for SGE professionals to maintain the highest standards of objectivity in their professional delivery of services. The diverse author team and many photographs of Sea Grant Extension in action exemplify the breadth, depth and impact of the National Sea Grant Extension Program. The handbook emphasizes the trusted relationships SGE professionals build nationally and locally with the research community and stakeholders, and the long-term partnerships, collaborations and networks that emerge from those relationships.

Fundamentals was a collaborative effort led by Kathy Bunting-Howarth, New York Sea Grant Associate Director and Extension Program Leader, with an editorial team composed of extension program leaders from several Sea Grant programs as well as leadership from Leon Cammen and Michael Liffman from the National Sea Grant Office. Communications technology specialists from several programs, including Paul C. Focazio, New York Sea Grant Web Content Manager, contributed to the updated chapter on technology. For her leadership efforts, Bunting-Howarth was honored by the Sea Grant Assembly, a national organization of Sea Grant Extension leaders. NYSG Communications Manager Barbara A. Branca was recognized for her contributions to the book’s photo research and editorial production.

—Barbara Branca, NYSG's Communications Manager


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, which, in 2014, merges with the program's e-newsletter, Currents. NY Coastlines is published several times a year.