Leadership
 Panel's swearing in ceremony. Left to right: Ron Baird, Manuel L. Hernandez-Avila, Jerry R. Schubel, and G. Ross Heath |
Sea Grant is a partnership between the nation's universities and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There are three leadership components within Sea Grant: NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office, the National Sea Grant Review Panel and the State Sea Grant Program Directors.
NOAA’s
National
Sea Grant Office
(NSGO)
administers funding
to
the Sea Grant colleges
throughout the
nation
and oversees several
national funding
competitions. The
NSGO also facilitates
both the Department
of Commerce designation
of Sea Grant College
Programs and quarterly
Sea Grant Program
Assessments.
Mandated
by
law,
the National Sea
Grant
Review Panel is
comprised
of
15 individuals
with
diverse backgrounds
in marine
affairs. The panel
advises NOAA’s
secretary, the
undersecretary
for
oceans and atmosphere,
and the director
of the National
Sea Grant
College
Program on scientific
and administrative
policy.
The state Sea Grant
Directors coordinate
program activities,
setting local, regional
and national priorities.
They are a unified
voice
for these institutions
on
issues of importance
to the oceans and
coasts.