Last week, Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee received almost $3.4 million in federal funds to continue studies on oceans and coastal communities.
The $3.36 million in federal monies represents the fourth part of a five-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program to support FAMU’s Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (CCME).
FAMU President Larry Robinson is the CCME’s director and principal investigator and he noted the Center has provided more than 75 scholarships since 2016.
“We are especially appreciative of these funds that will allow us to continue to work in the Center and address critical issues in Florida and coastal communities throughout the Gulf of Mexico,” said Robinson. “It’s particularly noteworthy that this award will allow us to continue to support students who will be the next generation of innovators and problem solvers in these critical areas.”
FAMU and the CCME work with Bethune-Cookman University, California State University -Monterey Bay, Jackson State University, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla., applauded the funds.
“People from across the world come to Florida because of the state’s natural beauty. Throughout my eight years as governor, we worked to increase Florida’s annual investments to preserve the environment by $1 billion. This $3.36 million grant will help FAMU students and researchers build on our efforts to make sure future generations can enjoy all that Florida has to offer,” Scott said.
“This grant is particularly important given the many unique challenges we are seeing in our environment and climate. FAMU has been doing phenomenal work to train the next generation of minority scientists to address the issues confronting our state and nation, particularly our marine and coastal communities,” said Lawson. “FAMU’s efforts have helped lead us to an increased knowledge and awareness toward tackling some of the many issues facing our environment.”
According to FAMU, the CCME focuses on “placed-based conservation, coastal resilience and environmental intelligence, which uses data to make informed decisions in coastal communities.”
