Student Housing for Instructional Programs and Field Research

Skidaway Institute Of Oceanography, Savannah GA

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, under the direction of Dr. James Sanders. Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, a unit of the University System of Georgia, serves as a gateway to marine environments and helps to integrate marine programs throughout the University System. This mandate and the Institute's remote, pristine location have provided the Institute with a wealth of visiting scientists and students, seeking access to SkIO's faculty, facilities, near-by research environments, and unique, hands-on educational opportunities. The Institute's remote location makes on-site housing a necessity. Many visitors and students do not have access to automobile transportation. In the past 10 years, SkIO has built and renovated a number of apartments and housing units for students and visiting scientists. This combination of housing facilities remains filled at or near capacity throughout the year with students, visiting scientists and interns, with approximately 300 visitors using housing over the past two years. With this level of use, availability of housing has limited our educational and research programs. Difficult decisions have been made concerning the relative priorities of specific research or instructional programs, and SkIO cannot successfully meet or expand its mission to educate students through field oriented research without the construction of additional housing facilities. This proposal requests partial funding to construct an eight bedroom housing unit which is designed in a manner that is flexible enough to serve short-term, intensive classes of up to sixteen students while still accommodating smaller, longer-term research groups or individuals when field programs are not in residence.