UH to expand marine biology
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
A new program leading to a bachelor of science degree in marine biology, expected to be approved tomorrow by the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents, will give Hawai'i Pacific University a run for its money.
Photo courtesy UH Marine Option Program
Until now HPU has been Hawai'i's only university that conferred a bachelor's degree in marine biology. But by this time tomorrow it's likely HPU will have to change its advertising campaign highlighting its solo role.
UH's program will incorporate marine biology courses, such as field trips for tagging sharks. Till now, Hawai'i Pacific University has been the only school here offering a bachelor's in marine biology.
"This degree should have been offered 20 years ago," said Chuck Hayes, UH dean of arts and sciences. The new program is in the College of Natural Sciences.
Without it, students have been discouraged from attending UH-Manoa, according to Sherwood Maywood, director of the Marine Option Program.
It's all part of a growing interest, enthusiasm and support for science in higher education in Hawai'i, especially in areas where our ocean environment offers clear opportunities to excel. HPU has just established a College of Natural Sciences, said Christopher Winn, director of marine and environmental science for the small private university; and UH has a new noteworthy undergraduate program in global environmental science.
"It's great for the state of Hawai'i," Winn said. "It benefits all of us by enhancing research and education opportunities for our state."
The new College of Natural Sciences at HPU includes biology, chemistry, environmental science, environmental studies, geology, marine biology, pre-med studies, oceanography and physics.
Winn said that rather than being competitors, the schools' marine biology programs are complementary.
"We're on the same team in terms of advancing the interests of the state," he said. "We'd like to see more of our kids in Hawai'i get training in the sciences, whether it's at HPU or UH."
Hayes thinks having both programs will generate even more interest.
"When there's competition, there's more excitement in the field," he said. "It wouldn't surprise me that since we're offering a degree, it increases the number of people at HPU, too.
"There's an increasing demand for a marine biology degree and, since there are jobs available in the field, it seemed like the wise thing to do was to accommodate these students."
Hayes said there's been a general feeling that students should be generalists in biology for their undergraduate years, and then specialize for their master's degree. "But as time went on there's been more and more interest in the environment and ecology," he said. "As a result, there are more and more job opportunities so that people didn't need a graduate degree for employment."
At HPU there are about 150 students in the marine sciences programs, said Winn. At UH, meanwhile, Hayes expects the new program to grow to more than 100 students the first year, even though early projections call for one-quarter of that.
The new degree at UH will incorporate several courses developed over the past year, including one that offers field experience and others involving marine microbiology and the biology of marine organisms. Undergraduates in the new program will also do some collaborative work with graduate students in marine biology in the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, he said.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
