By Stephan Wittman

MADISON, Wis. (1/25/00) —  A Wisconsin Sea Grant-supported graduate student has been selected for the inaugural Great Lakes Commission-Sea Grant Fellowship.

The new fellow, Lisa Koch, will spend calendar year 2000 working at the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) offices in Ann Arbor, Mich., on a variety of commission projects and assisting with its intergovernmental relations efforts.

Koch is a graduate student in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Wildlife Ecology and is also pursuing certification in Geographic Information Systems. Her Master’s degree study is examining the chronic effects of toxic contaminants on frog populations in Green Bay, Lake Michigan, as a research assistant on a UW Sea Grant-supported project led by Prof. William Karasov.

UW Sea Grant Institute Director Anders W. Andren, who nominated and recommended Koch, said, "There is no doubt in my mind that everyone involved will benefit" from her selection for the $38,000 fellowship.

The year-long fellowship was established last year by the GLC in partnership with the National Sea Grant College Program and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. Open to highly qualified graduate students from the eight Great Lakes states, the fellowship was created to help advance the environmental quality and sustainable development goals of the GLC and its member states and provinces.

"This new fellowship program adds an important dimension to the work of the Great Lakes Commission," said Dr. Frank L. Kudrna, Jr., chair of the GLC’s Illinois delegation and a member of the National Sea Grant Advisory Panel. "The student gains practical experience in the policy arena, while we benefit from their scientific expertise."

An added benefit, according to GLC Executive Director Michael J. Donahue, is the opportunity to nurture careers in Great Lakes science among some of the best and brightest students in the region.

Great Lakes Commission-Sea Grant Fellows will work with members of the Great Lakes science, policy, and information/education communities on leading environmental quality and sustainable development issues. Donahue said an emphasis will be placed on strengthening the science/policy linkage in the interest of advancing sound public policy.

Students interested in the Great Lakes Commission-Sea Grant Fellowship program are encouraged to contact the commission, phone (734) 665-9135 or email glc@great-lakes.net.

A nonpartisan, binational compact agency of the eight Great Lakes states created under U.S. federal law in 1955, the Great Lakes Commission is dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. Associate membership was granted to the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec earlier this year.

For More Information:      Anders W. Andren, UW Sea Grant Director, (608) 262-0905
                                        Michael J. Donahue, GLC Executive Director, (734) 665-9135
                                        Stephen Wittman, UW Sea Grant Asst. Director for Communications, (608) 263-5371

Conceived in 1966, Sea Grant is a national network of 30 university-based programs of research, outreach and education dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of the United States' coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources. The National Sea Grant Network is a partnership of participating coastal states, private industry and the National Sea Grant College Program , National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration , U.S. Department of Commerce. The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant College Program is administered by the Sea Grant Institute on the UW-Madison campus in Madison, Wisconsin.

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last updated 16 June 2000

posted 26 January 2000  by Karl

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/news_releases/2000/GLC-SG_Fellowship.html