SEA GRANT COLLEGES 61 



(5) As for which federal agency should have the authority to adminis- 

 ter the sea- grant program, I would have to go along with the National Science 

 Foundation as the closest approach to neutral ground. However, in place of our 

 customary review boards drawn from the scientific community, I would suggest 

 a review council with a seat allocated to each federal agency toward whose mis- 

 sion the sea-grant concept is oriented. 



Perhaps in this way we would be uncovering the teams of intellectual and 

 practical giants who would bring about the next series of advances toward our 

 mastery of the ocean. This is, of course, easier said than done. For instance, 

 two years ago Captain Charles Stephan USN (Ret.) was asked by the Florida 

 Atlantic University to design a two-year curriculum leading to a degree in 

 ocean engineering. Immediately, (and naturally). Captain Stephan attempted to 

 be all things to all men. He soon, however, became frustrated by the require- 

 ment, for turning out a student skilled in chemistry, biology, physics, geology and 

 above all -- engineering, in terms of the relationships of these disciplines with 

 the ocean, within two years. From conversations with Captain Stephan it was 

 learned that he felt ten years would be needed to turn out a student with the 

 proper basic and applied knowledge. Consequently, a compromise had to be 

 found, and today the creation of an ocean engineer involves a curriculum of five 

 trimesters over a two year period, totalling 76 semester hours. The curricula 

 emphasizes engineering subjects, assuming that the student already has two 

 years of basic sciences. 



There is one final point I would like to make, and to me this is the most 

 important one. I personally believe that the outstanding feature of this concept 

 and all that it portends is that the discussion is being carried out without the 

 benefit of clergy -- that is, in absence of an already stated national policy. I be- 

 lieve this is all to the good, because now we are provided a most unusual oppor- 

 tunity -- now is the time for the scientists of this country to put their best col- 

 lective foot forward and formulate on their own initiative a national policy which 

 the government can endorse and develop along conventional legislative and exec- 

 utive lines. I hope that in these two days we can work out the basic elements of 

 the policy and that at least we will have a good start toward the design of a well 

 constructed sea-grant educational curriculum. 



Naturally, the members of the ICO are in favor of responsible stimulation 

 of the marine sciences. We feel that there are many applications yet unrealized 

 for the American public. The oceans have limitless advantages to offer the 

 United States, and we are distressed with the slow speed at which we are break- 

 ing down nature's forces in the sea. 



The sea-grant arrangenaents suggest part of the formula for speeding up 

 this effort to attain mastery in the oceans. For instance, last year alone the 

 United States Government received in royalties and lease holds from private en- 

 terprise on the continental shelves over $150 million --more than the aggregate 

 oceanographic programs of all of our 22 agencies. We feel that it would be ex- 

 tremely helpful if some of this money could be invested in ways to improve our 

 technology and advance our ability to work in the ocean, thus increasing even 

 further the royalties and rentals received, and, thereby, accelerating the entire 

 profit- development cycle. 



One cloud which lurks on this particular horizon involves a traditional re- 

 luctance on the part of the government to earmark funds in advance for any spe- 

 cific program, although exceptions are not rare. The ICO members see no 

 strong reason why another exception should not be made in this case. 



Undoubtedly, one of the ocean's most dramatic aspects is the way it cuts 

 across so many fields and disciplines. Many persons who have studied the his- 

 tory of land- grant colleges believe that the principal advantage of the sea- grant 

 concept lies in the multitude of educational effects to which I have already 



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