MEMORANDUM

Date: 4/20/00

To: Dr. Kenneth P. Mortimer, President/Chancellor, University of Hawaii

From: Library Senate Executive Board, Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii at Manoa

CC: Dr. Dean Smith, Senior Vice President/ Exec. Vice Chancellor, University of Hawaii

Re: Cancellation of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Marine Options Program

As librarians we are the traditional holders of knowledge. As faculty we have the responsibility to support the education of all of our students, undergraduates as well as graduates. As citizens of Hawaii we have the responsibility to take the long view when it comes to the needs of the State and our Pacific neighbors. These facts compel us to speak out about the proposed cut of the Marine Options Program (MOP). We believe that the University administration needs to make an objective and strategic review of its position on this matter. We offer the following comments for consideration.

1. Almost every aspect of life in Hawaii is associated with or affected by its relationship with the surrounding ocean. The ability of the state to successfully manage and thrive in this oceanic environment directly depends on a broad and general understanding of the ocean and our daily interactions with it. This understanding needs to be at all levels, not just at the level of scientific research. This needs to be a general part of the knowledge base of the community, from politicians, to tourist industry workers, to homemakers.

Many "non-science" majors have benefited from the MOP program and gone on to take significant positions in State government, education, tourism, etc. These people have carried with them a basic and sometimes very deep understanding of the relationship between our daily lives and the sea. The ability to bring this understanding to their daily tasks makes them a valuable resource for the State of Hawaii.

2. One of the long-standing problems in Hawaii has been clarifying the relevance of the University and it's science programs to the needs of the public community.

The better grounded the community is in its understanding of science, and how it affects their daily lives, the greater their support will be for the efforts of the University. MOP is one of the few programs that relates directly to the public through educational programs like the Bluewater Marine Lab, now operated by the Waikiki Aquarium, and events that the public can attend. It is during general education events, field trips, workshops, seminars and symposia that the public has an opportunity to learn, on a first-hand basis, how marine sciences directly relates to their daily lives and the lives of the future generation.

3. Marine Sciences have long been an "area of excellence" for the University.

U.H. Manoa is one of premiere science educational facilities of the Pacific islands. It has a responsibility, not only to Hawaii, but also to it's Pacific island neighbors to expand knowledge of the ocean and provide mechanisms to transmit that knowledge broadly through the Islands at whatever level is appropriate. Those earning the MOP certificate and, maybe more importantly, those that don't but still gain valuable marine experience can continue to spread that knowledge and experience to the other islands after leaving the University.

4. The University is a Federally designated Sea Grant College. Reducing the scope of the University's marine program to support only graduate and post-graduate research is "elitist" view, damaging to the status of the University standing within the Sea Grant Colleges, further exacerbates the division between the University and the community and may jeopardize the University's designation as a Sea Grant College.

5. On many occasions the University administration has stated that one of its top priorities is the support of undergraduate programs. To cut a program that has so effectively educated so many undergraduates about the significance of our surrounding oceans has to raise serious questions about the sincerity, motives and vision of the administration. These questions will be raised not only by faculty but also by the undergraduates, the public and our Pacific neighbors. Surely the role and responsibility of the premiere marine educational facility in the Pacific islands has to extend beyond research grant dollars and head counts. The 1999-2001 Biennial budget plans call for some $187 million dollars. This document contains 38 pages of statements about the role and responsibility of the University to the community as the highest educational facility of the state. Even in these time of fiscal difficulties, education of our undergraduates and the people of Hawaii about our most significant resource, the ocean must remain a high priority. We urge you to reconsider the proposed dismantling of the MOP.

Respectfully submitted,

Library Senate Executive Board

Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii at Manoa