1980

Through the Years | Conferences | Presidents | Awards | Stegner Lecture | The Pike

5th NMEA Conference

August 6-9 , Salem, Massachusetts (Salem State College)
Theme: Our Coast: Heritage, Conflict and Challenge

Executive Committee

President : Bob Abrams (NY) (1979-80)
President-Elect: Jim Schweitzer (LA)
Treasurer: Susan Gammisch (VA)
Secretary: Richard M. Schlenker (ME)
Editor of Current: Les Picker (DE)

Board of Directors:

(1978-80) Barbara Klemm (HI), Arie Korporaal (CA), James A. Lanier (VA), Les Picker (NC), Nancy Richardson (NY),

(1979-81): R. Wesley Batten (VA), Rosanne Fortner (OH), Kenneth Stibolt (MD), Leslie Lin (MI), Howard "Mickey" Weiss (CT),

(1980-82): Barbara Klemm (HI), John McMahon (OR), Vi Lien (TX), Les Picker (DE), Nancy Richardson (NY)

Committees:

• Awards: Robert Abrams (NY)

• Chapters: Art Bedard (MA)

• Conference (1980): Jim Schweitzer (LA)

• Conference (1981): Vi Lien (TX) & John Hunt (TX)

• Curriculum: Frank Sullivan (MA)

• Handicapped: Ed Keller (WV)

• Honorary Memberships: John McMahon (OR)

• Minorities & Women: James Hannaham (DC) & Millie Graham (GA)

• Museums & Aquaria: Ron Bilodeau (CT)

• Nominations: Art Bedard (MA)

• Professional Development: Barbara Klemm (HI)

• Public Relations: David Marsh (OH)

• Publications: Arie Korporaal (CA)

• Stegner Lecture Series: Nancy Richardson (NY)

• Vocational/Technical Education: David Kan (MA)

Awards:

Outstanding Professional Contributions: Les Picker (DE) was recognized for his editorship of Current.
Honorary Membership: Will Hon (NC) was recognized for his pioneering development of marine education materials and programs.

Conference Highlights:

Over 350 members met for the 5th annual NMEA conference on the Salem State College campus. Each day, conference sessions began at 8:30 AM and ended at 3:15 PM, with committee meetings wedged in during and between sessions. Douglas Brooks, former Executive Director of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, led a session on "National Priorities and Marine Education." Other sessions were about marine programs around the country and the procedure for publication of articles and marine curricula. For example, Dorothy Bjur, Arie Korporaal, and Jackie Rojas led a workshop on "Compiling a Marine Education Teacher Training Manual." In addition, sessions such as Victor Mayer's "The Influence of the Great Lakes on the History of the U.S." presented historical, biological, and cultural marine information.

Captain Irving Johnson was the Stegner Memorial Lecturer and Deb Hall and Jeff Sandler presented a dramatic approach to elementary level marine education as "Mr. and Mrs. Fish."

Left: Captain Irving Johnson delivered the Stegner Memorial Lecture. He narrated the film he took aboard the square-rigged ship Peking, rounding Cape Horn in 1929! Right: Les Picker (on left) was presented with the NMEA award for Outstanding Professional Contributions by President Bob Abrams. Source: Current, Volume 2, Number 1, Fall, 1980, p. 20 and 21.

At the Board Meeting, several important issues were discussed:

• representation of chapters on the Board

• the Executive Director's position

• exchange memberships with related organizations.

The Board of Directors voted at the annual meeting to accept the petitions of the Northwest Association of Marine Educators (NAME) and the Connecticut Marine Education Association to become Chapters of the NMEA. This brought to six the number of Chapters in the Association. Those not mentioned above are the Massachusetts Marine Educators (MME), Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association(MAMEA), the Gulf of Maine Marine Education Association (GOMMEA) and the New York State Marine Education Association (NYSMEA). The Board also approved a motion to exchange no-cost Affiliate memberships with the Marine Technology Society.

Jim Centorino (MA) happily reported a profit from the conference of $8,029.93.

In his article titled "The National Marine Educators' Association...Historical Notes..." (Current: The Journal of Marine Education, Volume 8, No.2, 1988, p.9), James A. Lanier had the following to say about the 1980 conference: "Renny Little's reception at the Clipper Captains' Club paid happy homage to heritage, but other board meetings were filled with sometimes acrimonious conflict. Dr. Barbara Spector's 'Proposal to Insure Permanent Leadership for Marine Education in the U.S. by Activating, Operating, and Providing Continuance for the National Marine Education Network and the Council of Chief State School Officers' Marine Education Coordinators' Network' provoked debate even longer than its title.

The President of NMEA, Bob Abrams (NY), had endorsed this draft Sea Grant proposal before the conference without even seeing the text. Yet the first lines of that text described the purpose of the proposal as being to '...transfer leadership for marine education from Sea Grant to the Marine Technology Society.'

The Board of NMEA had many problems with this concept, including the fact that such a transfer implied a loss of Sea Grant funds (which to some extent was coming anyway.) There was also concern that NMEA leadership was being ignored and lingering doubts remained about MTS intentions.

The Spector proposal was eventually withdrawn for lack of support, but left a legacy of mistrust. (At a later date, Spector did get signatures of all 50 state superintendents.) One lesson we may have learned is that no member of the board, even the president, should ever endorse proposals, regardless of how 'motherhood and apple pie' they appear, without reading and discussing them with the rest of the Board."

Additional Highlights of 1980:

President Carter designated 1980 to be the Year of the Coast. The Coast Alliance, a non-profit organization formed early in 1979 by a group of concerned individuals who felt a need for a major national initiative to halt the deterioration of coastal resources, served as the national coordinator.

The following is a press release for the 1980 conference. It states:

National Conference of Marine Educators to Celebrate the "Year of the Coast"

In keeping with President Carter's designation of 1980 as the "Year of the Coast," the National Marine Education Association (NMEA) has planned its annual meeting to coincide with the National Year of the Coast's "Coast Week." From August 6 through 9, 1980, the annual affair will meet at Salem State College, Salem, MA and will bring together educators from all over the country. The Salem environment will provide an extraordinary setting for the theme which is "Our Coast: Heritage, Conflict and Challenge."

During the Conference, marine educators will discuss innovative ways to use fascinating marine and aquatic topics in the teaching of conventional school subjects.They will take advantage of the history and tradition of the area as a fitting background.

NMEA is made up of teachers, aquarium and museum educators, university educators, as well as representatives from marine research and government. It's mission is to provide a focus for marine education efforts in the United States, to stimulate communication among all persons interested in the marine environment and to assist marine educators to meet the needs of their students while continuing their own professional development.

Those interested in further details about the Conference should contact:
Mr. James Centorino
Marine Science Institute
Salem State College
Salem, MA 01970
(617) 745-0016

In 1980, the Curriculum Committee was designing a prototype conference for superintendents, curriculum specialists, and decision-makers in the Northeast for the fall of 1981. This conference was going to "showcase" exemplary curricula currently available in the United States. In addition, the committee was preparing a proposal to request funding from the National Science Foundation to promote outstanding marine curricula and programs in order to encourage schools to place more emphasis on marine issues.

The Professional Development Committee set its 1980-81 goal to accomplish the following:

1. to develop guidelines for Marine Educator of the Year awards (local and regional).

2. to compile information for the "Opportunities 81" column in Current which lists summer programs.

3. to organize a Sea Swap at the next NMEA Conference so that educators can trade shells, sand and other classroom realia.

4. to work together to write and edit articles for a special issue of Current focusing on "Marine Education in the Eighties."

In a letter (February 13, 1980), Robert D. Abrams (NY) (NMEA President) authorized David Marsh (OH) (Chair of Public Relations) to spend not more than $230 for the production of a tabletop display module for the Association to use in advertising NMEA.

In 1980, four issues of Current: The Journal of Marine Education were published. The first issue was titled "Marine Literature ," the second: "Inner City Marine Education Opportunities," the third: "Year of the Coast" and the last issue: "Fisheries Education."

Dr. Fleda Jackson (DE) was a paid editor who, working with Dr. Les Picker (DE), first made Current into a professional publication. A need for more funds and more article submissions from members would be the biggest problems faced by Jackson throughout her editorship from 1980-1984.The Delaware Sea Grant College Program, under the direction of Dr. Carolyn Thoroughgood, subsidized the 1980 journals to the tune of $3,850 in the form of an outright grant-in-aid.