Department!of!MarineBiology...

Department of Marine Biology Texas A&M University at Galveston

Academic Program Review Self-‐Study Document March 31, 2017

External Review Team:

Dr. Michael Castellini (Chair) Professor University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Billie Swalla Professor

University of Washington

Table of Contents Peer Review Team Charge 1 Overview of the Program 2 Executive Summary 2 Introduction to Department 5

Brief History 5 Vision, Mission and Goals 6

Vision 6 Mission 6 Goals 6

Administrative Structure 8 Department and Program Resources 10

Facilities 10 Finances 12

Date of Last External Academic Program Review 13 Overall Analysis 13

Alignment of Department Strategic Goals with Institutional Goals 13 Short List of Improvements Made Since Last Academic Program Review 13

Undergraduate Programs and Curricula 15 Programs Offered 15 Program Curricula 15 Number of Degrees Awarded and Student Retention 16 Average Time to Degree 17 Academic Enhancements / High Impact Opportunities for Students 19

Field-‐Based Courses 19 Study Abroad 19 Undergraduate Research 20 Professional Development Skills 20

Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes 21 Graduating Senior Survey 21 Analysis: Improvements Made as a Result of Assessments of Student Learning Outcomes 21

Faculty Profile 22 Core Faculty 22

Number of Core Faculty 22 Salary Analysis 22 Student to Faculty Ratio and Teaching Load 23 Core Faculty Publications in the Past Five Years 24 Core Faculty External Grants in the Past Five Years 26

Faculty Other Than Core 27 Number of Non-‐Core Faculty 27 Student to Faculty Ratio and Teaching Load 28

Faculty Diversity 28 Faculty Qualifications 28 Faculty Analysis 30

Research 31 Teaching 31 Service 32

Student Profile 33

Undergraduate Students 33 Enrollment 33

Student Diversity/ Demographics 33 Retention Rates 35 Graduation Rates 35 Number of Degrees Per Year 35 Average Time to Degree 36 Average Institutional Financial Support Provided 36 Undergraduate Student Publications 36

Graduate Placement/Employment 37 Concluding Observations 39 Appendices 41

Appendix A: Results of the 2016 Instructional Enhancement Review 42 Appendix B: Department of Marine Biology Strategic Plan 48 Appendix C: Undergraduate Degree Plans 59 Appendix D: Undergraduate Course Descriptions 66 Appendix E: Core Faculty Biographies 74 Appendix F: Institutional Profile 107

Academic Program Review 2017

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Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston 1

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PEER REVIEW TEAM CHARGE Please examine the department and its programs and make recommendations that will help in planning improvements. Your resources include a self-‐study report prepared by the department, copies of materials from the program’s last review, information you gain through personal interactions while visiting Texas A&M University, copies of strategic plans and goal-‐setting documents at the department, college, and/or university level, and any additional information requested by you or by the department. In addition to the broad charge of recommending how the department can continue to improve we would appreciate it if the following some specific questions could be addressed:

• Based on the data / information provided in the self-‐study report or gathered by the review

team, what are the department’s overall strengths and weaknesses? • How well do the department’s strategic goals align with those of its college and with those of

Texas A&M University? • How would you compare this department with its peers? • What improvements (including student learning and faculty development) has the department

made since the previous program review? • With only current resources, or a modest infusion of new ones, what specific recommendations

could improve the department’s performance, marginally or significantly? We look forward to meeting with you during your time on campus. If you have any questions or require additional information prior to your visit, please contact Ms. Bettyann Zito, APR Program Coordinator, at [email protected]. Thank you.

Programs in Marine Biology

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OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM The Department of Marine Biology (MARB), an academic component of Texas A&M University-‐Galveston Campus (TAMUG), is committed to enriching the educational, research, and service programs for our students and industrial constituencies, as well as for the citizens of Texas. TAMUG is the marine oriented campus of Texas A&M University in College Station (TAMU). All degrees are conferred by Texas A&M University in College Station. Marine Biology currently has 17 tenured and tenure-‐track faculty members, whose large teaching role is complemented by 5 non-‐tenure track lecturers, senior lecturers and instructional assistant professors. We offer undergraduate B.S. degrees in marine biology (MARB) and marine fisheries (MARF) to 600 students on average. We also offer graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) in a Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Degree Program (MARB IDP) to approximately 57 graduate students. [The MARB IDP was reviewed separately in 2016.] We also support a large number of students thru the joint appointments of most of our faculty to several departments and programs in College Station, including Ecology and Evolutionarly Biology (EEB), Ecosystem Science and Management (ESSM), Oceanography, and Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Program webpage: http://www.tamug.edu/marb/Undergraduate/ MARB faculty: http://www.tamug.edu/marb/Faculty/index.html

Executive Summary

Department of Marine Biology (MARB) undergraduate students at TAMUG are offered a balanced curricula in the biological sciences, with an emphasis on marine systems and organisms. Courses are designed to provide significant hands-‐on training in both the laboratory and field. Marine biology students are well prepared to fill positions in the fields of marine and terrestrial biology, medical technology, environmental sciences, or to continue with postgraduate or professional degrees (e.g., M.D., D.V.M., D.D.S.). Recent surveys report that 80-‐85% of MARB graduates were employed at the time of the survey. Further, 65% of these graduates are employed directly in the field of marine biology or enviormental sciences, with approximately 20% more working in closely related fields. The Department of Marine Biology at TAMUG offers three distinct undergraduate curricula to an average over the last five yeas of 605 undergraduate students. We are the largest department on campus, accounting for approximately 29% of TAMUG’s undergraduate student population. To put our teaching program in perspective, our Department generates over one-‐fourth of the student credit hours (SCHs) at TAMUG. We have a core of 17 tenured and tenure-‐track faculty who are responsible for teaching most of our upper-‐division courses and our graduate courses, and who provide meaningful research experiences for our majors in their laboratories. MARB’s student:faculty ratio is 34:1 (excluding our involvement in the graduate program). However, this distribution is not evenly distributed among faculty members, with this ratio for some being twice or even three times this average, which presents additional challenges for those faculty. To continue to excel in our teaching mission will require additional teaching funds and faculty positions. Specifically, there are several courses, including some required by the MARF Program, that are currently being taught by three adjunct faculty and lecturers who may be retiring soon. Curricula The core curriculum for the degree of B.S. in Marine Biology (MARB) includes courses in molecular, cellular, physiological and organismal biology with areas of emphasis developed around the strengths of the MARB faculty. Elective courses comprise 40 of the required 120 credit hours in the curriculum. Students can also


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register in the U.S. Maritime Service License Option Program (MARBLO) through the Texas State Maritime Program and obtain a third mate’s license upon graduation. In addition, the department offers a separate B.S. in Marine Fisheries (MARF) degree, which emphasizes both fisheries biology and management. The majority (90%) of our 586 undergraduates currently enrolled seek a B.S. in Marine Biology. Of the remainder, most pursue a MARF degree, with an additional 7% of our MARB students double majoring (B.S. in MARB and a B.S. in MARF). 94% of our undergraduates are enrolled fulltime, which is the highest for our campus. In 2016 the Department awarded B.S. degrees to 133 students of which 21% were Hispanic. Both figures represent an historical record for the Department and for TAMUG. MARB awarded more degrees at TAMUG than any other department or program. The number of degrees awarded by MARB represents nearly 30% of all degrees (graduate and undergraduate) conferred at TAMUG. Undergraduate students also have the opportunity to enroll in courses offered on the College Station campus of Texas A&M University through distance learning. The MARB Department currently offers courses utilizing faculty from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – Galveston Laboratory. MARB students also gain invaluable experience through internship programs at other institutions, such as NMFS, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sea Grant Fellowships, Moody Aquarium, various Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Fellowships at TAMUG, as well as at other institutions, or with individual research scientists, both here and elsewhere. MARB offers various high impact learning opportunities to its students. Undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to participate in research activities associated with MARB faculty laboratories. Approximately 10-‐15% of the Department’s undergraduates are participating during any given semester in the research studies conducted by the faculty. Many of these programs focus on the impact of human activities on marine and estuarine animals and plants, and their environment. Current research programs involving undergraduate students include:

• Biodiversity and ecological dynamics of estuarine, coastal and offshore ecosystems; • Life history, habitat use, movement, and feeding ecology of marine fishes; • Shark biology and conservation; • Genetic studies of estuarine, coastal and pelagic fish populations; • Invasive species; • Phylogeny and population genetics of marine invertebrates; • Human health and the quality and safety of seafood products; • Harmful algal blooms; • Wetlands ecology and restoration; • Sea turtle biology and ecology; • Oyster diseases, management and conservation; • Marine mammals, including behavior, functional morphology, physiology, and conservation; • Vertebrate ecological morphology and comparative physiology; • Evolution and ecology of jellyfish; • Statistical and ecosystem modeling; • Marine cave biology; • Deep-‐sea biology, with emphasis on food webs and ecological processes;


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• Evolutionary genetics of marine fishes, particularly those found on coral reefs; • Marine toxicology • Microbial ecology and virus-‐host interactions

Productivity MARB faculty maintain a high level of productivity, averaging over 3.7 peer-‐reviewed publications per year and $213K in extramural grant funds per faculty per year over the last five years. In 2016 the total amount of research expenditures by MARB reached $4.7 M corresponding to about $281K per faculty. A comparison of our overall research activity against our benchmarking and aspirational peers (See Figure 10) ranks us in the seventh place tied with the University of Georgia and with Stony Brook University. This success has been achieved in spite of the small size of our department (17 core faculty). New core faculty hires would not only help us meet our obligations to the students, they would also allow us to improve our research productivity. Finances Our department’s students and faculty survived major budget cuts during 2010-‐12 without significant loss to our teaching and research functions. New budget cuts recently announced at the state level may result in salary freezes (no merit raises) and no future hires for the next two years. The Department of Marine Biology recently adopted a strategic plan to help us grow and improve. Many of the specific goals of that plan are directed toward improving our research enterprise, but we also have major goals for enhancing education at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Many of the strategies we are pursuing to achieve these goals were intentionally designed to require minimal additional resources from the university. Future budget cuts may delay the achievement of several of the goals set forth in our strategic plan.

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Introduction to Department BRIEF HISTORY The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas first opened its doors on October 4, 1876. During the 1960s, TAMU transitioned from an all-‐male military college to a diverse liberal arts institution, admitting women and making participation in the Corps of Cadets voluntary. The main TAMU campus is much larger than the coastal campus at Galveston with over 48,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate and professional students enrolled in 73 academic majors. TAMU is ranked 16th nationally by the National Science Foundation in research and development expenditures, with over $866 million in 2015.

Table 1. List of all the MARB Department Heads since TAMUG was founded.HeadTable 1. List of Department Heads of the MARB Departments Since 1979 Years of Service David Aldrich 1978-‐1979 Andre Landry 1979-‐1983 John Schwarz 1983-‐1987 Donald Harper 1988-‐1989 Randall Davis 1990-‐1997 Andre Landry 1997-‐2001 Bill Wardle, Jim Webb and Don Harper 2001-‐2002 Gilbert Rowe 2003-‐2008 John Schwarz 2008-‐2009 Interim; 2009-‐Present

In 1962, Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) was founded as the Texas Maritime Academy, establishing an undergraduate program in marine biology in 1975; programs in marine science and ocean engineering soon followed. A list of all our DHs is given in Table 1. The campus was officially renamed Texas A&M University at Galveston in 1979. In 1990, TAMUG re-‐integrated into TAMU, first as a joint college with the College of Geosciences; TAMUG later evolved into a ‘branch campus’ with the status equivalent to that of a college with a local Vice President as CEO. Prior to the advent of the MARB IDP, faculty at TAMUG who wished to advise graduate students did so through graduate and/or joint appointments with graduate degree-‐granting departments in College Station (e.g., Oceanography [OCNG], Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences [WFSC]). As of Fall 2015, TAMUG enrolled 2,162 undergraduate students in ten academic majors and 162 graduate students in three programs. Research expenditures in the 2016 fiscal year exceeded $8.5 million. This is the first APR for the Department of Marine Biology. However, MARB has participated in the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a component of TAMUG Strategic Plan whose purpose is to enhance the educational experience of its students through measures coordinated by The Office of Academic Enhancement (ACEN). ACEN believes in the empowerment of life-‐long learners, adopting as mission statement: Aggies Commit to Learning for a Lifetime. All ACEN programs and resources are built intentionally in collaboration with students and the greater campus to foster shared accountability for student self-‐efficacy. Through data-‐informed practices, ACEN aims to engage all TAMUG undergraduate students with the tools necessary to be successful academically and personally, correlating with increased student persistence to graduation. ACEN offers a variety of high-‐impact educational opportunities enhancing the scholarly climate of the Galveston campus, and the MARB Department participates by conducting assessments of the MARB and MARF degree programs. A summary of recommendations of the most recent Self-‐Study, the department’s response to those recommendations, and the current status of our implementation of those responses are presented in Appendix A.

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VISION, MISSION AND GOALS VISION: The Department of Marine Biology at TAMUG seeks to be an international leader in marine biological research and education, and a flagship for the life sciences at Texas A&M University and the State of Texas. MARB is committed to enriching the educational, research, and service programs for students, faculty and staff, industrial constituencies, and the citizens of Texas. As a branch campus of TAMU, TAMUG and MARB are committed to center of excellence devoted to ocean and coastal studies on the Gulf Coast and beyond. MISSION: The Department of Marine Biology was established in Galveston at Ft. Crockett in 1978 with the mission to provide high quality undergraduate and graduate education in the biological sciences. MARB students are offered a Bachelor of Science degree in the biological sciences, with an emphasis on marine systems and organisms. In this curriculum MARB students are well prepared for careers in the fields of marine and terrestrial biology, medical technology, and environmental technology, or they can continue working toward postgraduate or professional degrees (e.g., M.D., D.V.M., D.D.S.). The core curriculum for the degree of B.S. in Marine Biology includes courses in molecular, cellular, physiological and organismal biology, in addition to basic courses in chemistry, physics, mathematics and the earth sciences. Students can also register in the U.S. Maritime Service License Option Program through the Texas State Maritime Program and obtain a third mate’s license upon graduation. (Due to the reduced biology course content of the License Option Program, graduates are not prepared to enter graduate school without further course work.) In addition, the department offers a separate B.S. in Marine Fisheries (termed a MARF degree), which emphasizes fisheries biology and management. The academic undergraduate programs emphasize Student Learning Outcomes that are important to the MARB mission, as follows:

1. Formulate reasonable questions related to marine life 2. Identify information related to marine biology issues 3. Analyze, interpret & present results related to life in the ocean 4. Formulate conclusions appropriate to field based on evidence 5. Evaluate conclusions in a marine ecosystem context

GOALS: MARB has formulated four main goals aimed to: GOAL 1 -‐ Enhance the quality of undergraduate and graduate education in marine biology. Strategy 1 -‐ Improve recruitment of high quality students. Strategy 2 -‐ Increase research and student intern opportunities for undergraduates; in addition to the following opportunities: Undergraduate Research TAMUG Honors Program Travel Support TIO – Undergraduate Research Fellows Undergraduate Research Scholars George Bush Presidential Library Foundation Undergraduate -‐Travel Grants 2016 Aggies Commit to Excellence Scholar (ACES) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Strategy 3 -‐ Develop a curriculum that is current with the technological advances in the fields of marine biology and fisheries.

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Strategy 6 – Support and Develop Study Abroad courses MARB will continue to develop and recruit students into officially sanctioned Study Abroad courses. Such courses provide students with both Marine Biology and International and Cultural Diversity credits. Currently, Study Abroad courses regularly offered at TAMUG are spring to summer courses in Tropical Marine Ecology (MARB 340/617) in Mexico, Natural Resources of the Mediterranean in Italy/Greece (MARB 689), Research and Conservation in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece (MARB 407/607); a December course on Behavioral Ecology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds of New Zealand (MARB 404/604); Field Course Experience (Marine Sciences (MARS) 412) [most recently in Belize] GOAL 2 -‐ Achieve teaching excellence and student engagement to improve retention. Strategy 1 -‐ Improve faculty teaching skills. Strategy 2 -‐ Achieve faculty salary and workload parity with comparable TAMU departments (Oceanography, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Ecosystem Science and Management) by 2020. Strategy 3 -‐ Enhance student retention rates through improving student engagement at the freshman and sophomore level. GOAL 3 -‐ Foster research enhancement. Strategy 1 -‐ Expansion of both education and research programs via the acquisition of new faculty. Strategy 2 -‐ Increase level of research support through grants, contracts, and internal support. Strategy 3 -‐ Enhance cooperative international education and research programs (CONACyT, Qatar National Research Program, the Solis Center, etc.). Strategy 4 -‐ Enhance research infrastructure GOAL 4 -‐ Undertake a program of Resource Development. Strategy 1 -‐ Coordinate with the Capital Campaign in conjunction with the Office of Campus Development and External Relations. Performance Measures correlating to the above Goals

1. MARB will strive to continue to be a pre-‐eminent academic department. a. Increase the number of graduate majors and increase the total number of graduates. b. Maintain and increase retention of MARB majors. c. Demonstrate consistent improvements in financial indicators of research success by increasing

research support through grants, contracts to faculty and students. d. Demonstrate consistent improvements in non-‐financial indicators of research success,

including peer-‐reviewed publications, leadership roles in scholarly organizations, involvement in national academy studies and other similar indicators.

e. Increase numbers of underrepresented students, faculty and staff. f. Increase participation in mentorships, professional development programs, and faculty/staff

recognition. 2. MARB will maintain a high quality & dynamic learning community.

a. Increase number of teaching and research faculty, ensuring that office and lab space is available for them prior to their recruitment.

b. Improve recruiting of well-‐prepared undergraduate students. c. Increase the number of undergraduate students who participate in research. d. Foster a diversity of student experiences by increasing the number of student sponsored

activities. e. Increase faculty use of instructional support technology and the number of distance courses.

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ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE As detailed in our organizational chart (Fig. 1, Table 2) the departmental administration consists of the department head (DH) Dr. John Schwarz, who oversees all administrative, organizational, research, teaching and service functions of the department. The DH is supported by a dedicated and professional staff of five individuals, as outlined in the organization chart. We lost one position during the budget cuts beginning with the 2010 academic year, and this position has not been replaced. The duties and responsibilities of that position have been assumed by remaining staff members, all of who already had full-‐time jobs. MARB staff members include Mrs. Christina Irons, Administrative Associate IV in charge of travel accounting for the entire department. Mrs. Rachel Ball is our Academic Advisor and she coordinates all undergraduate academic advising and the registration of all MARB and MARF students. Ms Stacie Arms, whose primary function is as research business administrator responsible for ordering from research grants accounts and the accounting of most MARB-‐sponsored projects. She also handles paperwork for hiring of research personnel. Ms Sarah Wall is our academic business administrator. She is responsible for details of the departmental budget and salaries, although she has taken on additional responsibilities due to loss of staff during the budget cuts. She is responsible for all business acquisitions and ordering supplies and materials for all MARB and MARF teaching labs, as well as overseeing of all departmental academic accounts. She acts as our departmental liaison to Human Resources, and she is involved in all academic hires. Mr. Christopher Hall is a lecturer that also coordinates the Introductory Biology labs. A number of elected committees exist within the Department of Marine Biology to provide faculty input to the administration. These committees include the undergraduate curriculum committees for the MARB and MARF degrees, and annual and post-‐tenure review committee. Departmental faculty and staff are also represented on numerous appointed committees. These include committees for departmental seminars, laboratory animal care (IACUC), dive operations, vessel operations, office and lab space, etc. Other appointed committees, such as faculty search committees, are assembled periodically. Significant issues decided by committee, both academic and administrative, are discussed and voted on at monthly faculty meetings.

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Figure 1. Department of Marine Biology Organizational Chart

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DEPARTMENT AND PROGRAM RESOURCES

FACILITIES: The infrastructural base of the MARB and MARF programs is our flagship research facility, the Ocean and Coastal Studies Building (OCSB), which opened in July 2010. This $53 million, 110,000 square-‐foot state-‐of-‐the-‐art building is the largest and best-‐equipped marine research facility on the Gulf Coast. It stands among the finest facilities of its kind in the nation, achieving a LEED Gold designation for environmental impact and energy efficiency. The offices and laboratories of all 17 core faculty members of MARB, and the offices and cubicles of our post-‐doctoral fellows,graduate students, and most of our staff, are housed in this building. OCSB also services around 600 undergraduate students in MARB, and also houses the faculty, staff and graduate students of the Department of Marine Science (MARS) and TAMUG’s Administration. Facilities used by MARB are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Facilities used by the Department of Marine Biology to fulfill its teaching and research mission. Buildings used by MARB/MARF Built Renovated Classrooms and Laboratories Bldg. (CLB)1 1979 Partial renovations to offices and some computer labs Sea Aggie Center2 1960s 2010 Wetlands Pavillion3 2004 2016 (partial; structural repairs) Kirkham Hall (teaching only)4 1970’s 2015 (lecture hall only) OCSB (MARB offices and research labs.)5 labseaching)4

2010 N/A Sea Life Facility @ OCSB6 2010 N/A PMEC 200? N/A Texas A&M Maritime Hall 2016 N/A 1 CLB is shared with several other departments. 2Classroom space shared with most departments at TAMUG. The Dive Locker is also housed here. 3 Shared with Sea Camp, this facility is used to teach sections of Mariculture (MARB423) lab. 4Classroom space. 5Shared with Marine Science, includes two classrooms, two conference rooms. 6 Mostly dedicated for research (see below) this facility is used to teach additional sections of MARB423 lab. N/A. Not applicable.

The research that MARB scientists and students pursue is connected by a general theme that focuses on understanding, sustaining, and effectively managing ocean resources. Within OCSB are programs that also support marine policy, law, and management studies, including coastal resilience, human response to coastal disasters, international environmental standards, fisheries management, and sustainable coastal development. The OCSB has multiple spaces for MARB students working alone or in groups including cubicles, break-‐out rooms, and common spaces. TAMUG houses multiple specialized research facilities that support MARB research and education, including: • Sea Life Facility (SLF): MARB faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates to conduct in vivo studies of

marine life use this experimental research aquarium and laboratory. The 6,000 ft2 facility holds a 40,000-‐gallon natural seawater recirculating system, two experimental control rooms, and a physiology and hydrodynamics visualization room. In addition to research support, the SLF Outreach Center engages the TAMUG community and general public via educational displays and guided tours that spotlight current research projects and conservation issues surrounding marine life in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

• Wetlands Pavilion and The Wetlands Center: The Wetlands Pavilion provides a dual purpose. It is used as a teaching laboratory for Mariculture (MARB 423) as well as the quarantine facility supporting the Sea Life

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Facility. In turn, the Wetlands Center includes a diverse set of habitats including coastal marine marshes, freshwater ponds, and coastal prairie.

• Marine Education Support and Safety Operations (MESSO): The MESSO provides support for experiential learning in marine education both on and under the water, and provides a risk managed environment for education in the classroom and in the field. MESSO manages a fleet of small boats for nearshore research and teaching use, and operates the R/V Trident, a 70-‐foot research vessel for offshore work in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Laboratory for Oceanographic and Environmental Research (LOER): The primary mission of LOER is to provide state of the art common access analytical facilities and support for coordinated interdisciplinary research efforts at TAMUG in ecological, environmental and biogeochemical studies.

• Texas Institute of Oceanography (TIO): The TIO was established under the auspices of The Texas A&M University System in 1989 by the Texas State Legislature. TIO is located at TAMUG and is designated as an internationally recognized research institute. Its mission includes providing a focus on research along the Gulf Coast, and providing the research and technology base for the development of marine-‐related businesses in the State of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.

• TAMUG Dive Program: The Dive Program supports the multi-‐faceted undersea programs involved in scientific research, academic training, and dive safety. Aquanautics Operations hosts numerous undersea research projects, labs, training opportunities, and continuing education programs. Aquanautics Operations leads a comprehensive scientific diving training program and maintains a fully equipped dive locker.

• Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities (ISCC): This joint initiative between TAMUG and TAMU is focused on understanding how to develop sustainable and resilient coastal communities over the long term. The ISCC facilitates collaborative research among experts who are committed to establishing sustainable and resilient coastal communities.

• New Waterfront Pavilion: The Waterfront Pavilion is currently under construction on the south side of the Oceans and Coastal Studies Building, between the building’s courtyard and the waterfront. The building will restore valuable waterfront event space that was lost during the reconstruction of the campus marina and will include a multipurpose room that will accommodate 150 people in banquet seating and nearly 275 people in theater seating. Unique to this new building will be its indoor/outdoor capability. Much of the glass exterior windows will be designed to fold which will extend the indoor space outdoors to an open air deck that will accommodate an additional 50-‐100 seats, depending on event setup. In addition, the project will also include an outdoor amphitheater that can further extend the space of the pavilion, or also be used as a separate venue for outdoor events.

Currently the Department has outgrown available space in the OCSB (Ocean Coastal Studies Building) and existing teaching laboratory space in CLB (Classroom Laboratory Building). The total amount of space available is just adequate for the current needs of our Department, but additional space re-‐allocation within OCSB is required to allow our research and teaching capabilities to continue to expand through acquisition of state of the art scientific equipment and infrastructure. Much can be attained through increased efficiency of existing space. The construction of the new Academic Complex will free up some office and research space, as well as teaching laboratory space, depending upon how space is allocated between MARB and MARS. As our faculty and research programs have grown we are in need of additional office space for faculty members, post-‐doctoral scientists, graduate students and staff. Additional space is needed for collection-‐based research and teaching collections, core instrumentation space, and minor renovation of existing research and teaching laboratory space as our needs

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change. Much of the Department's research and teaching is field-‐oriented. Our current fieldwork storage space consists of non-‐climate controlled "cage" space in an adjacent warehouse. The department has outgrown that space, which hampers our ability to conduct field-‐based research and teaching. FINANCES: For fiscal year 2017 (beginning 9-‐1-‐16), the Department is scheduled to receive $2,334,842 for undergraduate programs (Table 4). This is nearly 66% more than our FY 2008 budget and it represents close to a 7% per year increase. Our expenses are summarized in Table 4. The largest portion of our budget (81%) is spent in salaries of faculty, and staff. The undergraduate student lab fees represent 1% of our budget, and are not sufficient to cover all the supplies, equipment, and periodic replacement of computers and microscopes, thus additional funds from the budget are allocated to cover the difference. The operating budget, which we use to run the rest of the department (seminar series, faculty job interviews, office supplies, telephone bills, copy machine rental, minor renovations, departmental vans and trucks leases, etc.) account for 17% of the budget and is 2.3% larger than in 2008. Swings of the economy have affected our operational budget. As a result of the 2010-‐12 budget cuts we did lose one position that oversaw vehicle (i.e., MARB trucks and vans) operations and also served as liason with the Dive Program. The responsibility over departmental vehicles oversight has been assumed by remaining staff members, who already have their own full-‐time jobs, whearas a dive safety officer funded by TAMUG administration now carries the oversight of the dive program. Currently, the State of Texas Legislature has announced a substantial reduction of the budget for the next two years. Locally, this will translate into no new tenure/tenure track faculty positions, and there is the possibility of no merit raises (Texas does not provide salary raises to correct for inflation) for faculty and staff in FY 17 and FY 18. There are no funds in the departmental budget to provide these raises, and if any of these funds were to be used in such a way, it would represent a de facto cut of our operating budget of $57K in FY 17, and $58.8K in FY 18. Although the federal and state economies recovered from the recession that occurred shortly after 2008, as of the date of this APR we are facing new financial challenges. The State of Texas has announced a 14% budget cut and a freeze on all State employee hires for an indeterminate amount of time. Without taking those future cuts into consideration, our department remains underfunded relative to the missions entrusted to us. The MARB Department has the largest number of undergraduate majors on campus, and we teach the fourth highest number of student credit hours but the highest number of weighed student credit hours at TAMUG.

1Note: This is a partial budget for the Department. Graduate Studies enhancement not included in this table. * This amount only represents fees paid by students, which is only a fraction of actual expenditures for supplies needed to teach the labs.

Faculty members in the Department of Marine Biology generated over $3.62 M in new external funding in FY16 of which 1.00 M were Federal funds. Thus the amount of external funding secured by MARB faculty is up by 54% from the $2.35 M generated in 2012. The number of Federal grants and amount of funding obtained from that source (the only source used by Academic Analytics) places us near the median for marine sciences departments. More detail is provided in the Faculty Profile section (p. 23). Beginning Sept 1, 2015, 15% of indirect costs were returned to the department (up from 10% in 2014) to reinvest in our research programs, including new faculty start-‐up costs, common-‐use research equipment, bridge funding, and MARB mini-‐grants which are awarded to graduate students and occasionally to support UG students travelling to meetings to gain experience presenting their research.

Table 3. 2016 – 2017 Department of Marine Biology Budget1

EXPENSE AMOUNT ($) PERCENT OF TOTAL Salary (faculty, staff, graduate teaching assistants) 1,894,123 81 Teaching Labs (teaching lab fees only)* 52,000 1 Operating Expenses 388,719 18 TOTAL 2,334,842 100

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DATE OF LAST EXTERNAL ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW This is the first APR for the undergraduate programs of Department of Marine Biology. However, MARB has conducted annual self-‐assessment of instructional effectiveness since the year 2000. The findings of our last self-‐assessment for instructional effectiveness for MARB are attached in Appendix A. While typically data in an APR is given for the last five years, in many instances, and when appropriate, we provide data since 2008. OVERALL ANALYSIS

ALIGNMENT OF DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC GOALS WITH INSTITUTIONAL GOALS: The goals of our Department’s strategic plan were developed to align with the first three objectives of Vision 2020 (A copy of this document will be provided to the review team by the Provost Office). The first objective is to elevate our faculty’s scholarship. While we are near, or above the median, of most measures when compared against our benchmarking peers for marine biology departments, our short-‐term goal is to reach the median of aspirational peers. Our second objective is to enhance recruitment of our undergraduate program by attracting the best possible students. We will do this through outreach to high schools in order to attract a higher proportion of the top 10% of high school graduates from Texas’ public schools, and by promoting the University Honors program to attract and retain these students. Concurrently, we will increase high impact experiences and increase visibility of current high-‐impact pedagogical practices. SHORT LIST OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE SINCE 2008:

1. Improvements affecting the faculty • Hired six tenure-‐track assistant professors that enhance our strengths in genomics, marine

virology, fisheries and ichthyology, population dynamics, environmental toxicology and bioinformatics (See Table 4). Three of these hires were replacements of faculty that retired (See Table 11).

• Developed state of the art common access facilities and instrumentation (e.g. LA-‐ICM-‐MS facility, Laboratory for Environmental and Oceanographic Research) to support interdisciplinary research efforts by MARB faculty in biological, ecological, and environmental studies.

• Expanded our formal mentoring program for assistant professors and instituted formal three-‐year reviews to provide important feedback for preparation of dossiers for tenure and promotion to associate professor; since 2008 all faculty in MARB seeking tenure and/or promotion to associate or full professor have been successful (n = 5; Table 4).

• Assistant professors have generous start-‐up packages to support equipment purchases, students, and travel. In addition, faculty members at all levels (assistant professor to full professor) have access to other resources, including travel support for attending meetings to strengthen their national and international reputation.

Table 4. Tenured and Tenure –track MARB Faculty Members Hired Since 2008

Name Year Initial position Previous Institution Research Area Hui Liu 2012 Assistant Professor Woods Hole MA,NMFS Zooplankton Population dynamics Robert J Wells 2012 Assistant Professor La Jolla CA, NMFS Biology and ecology of fishes Ron Eytan 2014 Assistant Professor Yale University Phylogenetics and systematics of reef fishes Maria Pia Miglietta 2014 Assistant Professor U. of Notre Dame Evolutionary genomics of hydrozoa David Hala 2015 Assistant Professor Wildlife International Envrionmental toxicology and endocrinology Jessica Labonte 2016 Assistant Professor Bigelow Laboratory Microbial ecology, evolution and bioinformatics

2. Improvements affecting the undergraduate program

• Students enrolled in writing intensive courses will have to use TAMUG’s Writing Center for assistance with their writing assignments. Also, a representative from the Writing Center will

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present a session discussing ways in which students can improve the quality of their scientific writing.

• Advisors and support staff will actively promote undergraduate internship courses before and during registration, and throughout the year, to improve student’s enrollment in MARB 484 (undergraduate off campus internships). We plan to take a more proactive role in the process by contacting and recruiting organizations such as Moody Gardens Aquarium, NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, National Marine Fisheries Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, etc. to work with them in designing internship programs for our students. These will then be actively advertised and promoted to our students in order to improve enrollment in MARB 484 (undergraduate off campus internships).

• We plan to encourage our new faculty, particularly those with international research experience, to create new study abroad courses. We currently offer two undergraduate study abroad courses; one in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and one in Greece. A multi-‐deparmental committee has been formed to promote development of new study abroad classes and to request funding from the administration for exploratory trips for faculty. In addition, scholarship funds have been requested for multicultural students to study abroad.

• Both MARB and MARF curricula undergo frequent reviews by the MARB/MARF Curriculum Committee aimed to maintain the degree plans of both programs current and relevant to the times and needs of our students, while at the same time incorporating changes in response to guidelines established by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). For instance, in 2005 the 79th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature enacted a statute that placed a limit of 120 SCH that a public university ("general academic teaching institution") may require for any bachelor's degree it offers. This reduction in SCH hours was to be adopted without altering the number of hours established by the Legislature for the core curriculum in science. Thus, the number of required courses and upper electives in MARB/MARF curricula were to be reduced to ensure that the 120 hr cap was met. While the curriculum committee adopted certain measures, such as accepting dual credit for some of the requirements established by the State to minimize the impact to students from this reduction (e.g., the requirement of 6 CR in Humanities could be used to meet the 6 CR requirement in International Cultural Diversity, if the appropriate course is selected), certain required courses and the number of upper-‐tier electives had to be reduced.

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Undergraduate Programs and Curricula

PROGRAMS OFFERED Undergraduate students in MARB can choose between two degrees; a B.S. in Marine Biology, and B.S. in Marine Fisheries. Students seeking a degree in MARB can also register in the Marine Biology License Option (MARBLO) program that allows the marine biology student to prepare for a career as an officer aboard a sea going vessel by participating in the Texas A&M Maritime Academy Corps of Midshipmen. Enrollment in the MARB degree plan has been relatively stable since 2008 (Table 5) with roughly 95% of our students following the MARB curriculum. However, about 5% of our students enroll in the MARF degree, with about 4% of the students graduating with both MARB and MARF degrees. Double degrees partially account for a 50% increase in MARF degrees awarded over the last four years. Enrolment in MARBLO Program fell substantially after 2011 and currently accounts for less than 1% of the UG population in the MARB Department. We are currently working on trying to identify the causes of this decline.

Table 5. Enrollment in MARB Undergraduate Degree Programs

Year MARB MARF MARBLO Total Fall 2008 468 21 4 493 Fall 2009 505 25 14 544 Fall 2010 535 18 15 568 Fall 2011 557 17 14 588 Fall 2012 557 20 8 585 Fall 2013 583 29 4 616 Fall 2014 610 31 2 643 Fall 2015 562 30 4 596 Fall 2016 554 29 3 586

PROGRAM CURRICULA MARB and MARF degree plans have the same state-‐mandated cap of 120 credit hours. Undergraduate curricula and course descriptions are attached as Appendices C and D, respectively. The first two years of undergraduate study are nearly identical for the MARB and MARF curricula, which allows students flexibility in changing their degree plans. All of our students take two years of biology, two years of chemistry, one year of math, and other courses to satisfy the university’s core curriculum. Beginning in 2014, precalculus (MATH150) was allowed as one of the math requirements. The semester of calculus can be covered with engineering (MATH151) or with business math II (MATH142). The nature of the topics and examples covered in Business Math are not consistent with what will be useful to prepare students pursuing Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries degrees. Instead, courses focusing on calculus for life sciences would be desirable, and there is a precedent in TAMU to accommodate such need. For instance, the Department of Mathematics at College Station developed a two-‐semester calculus series that emphasizes biological applications specifically for the Department of Biology majors, with the added bonus that those offerings serve as prerequisites for more advanced math courses, while at the same time fulfill the math requirement in many programs in life sciences nationwide. One important feature of our curriculum is that we require one course in vertebrate zoology (MARB 315), and another in biostatistics (MARB 303) during the sophomore year allowing us to follow the students’ progress in their second year and as a way to increase their readiness for upper-‐level courses.

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NUMBER OF DEGREES AWARDED AND RETENTION RATES

In the last five years (2012-‐2016) the Department awarded an average of 110 degrees per year in both MARB and MARF programs. In 2016 this number reached a record of 133 B.S. degrees awarded (Table 6). Prior to 2012, the department awarded an average of 83 B.S. degrees per year. When comparing the MARB and MARF programs separately, some interesting patterns emerge. Between 2008-‐2014, the number of degrees in the MARB program averaged 83, then surpassed 100 in 2015 and reached a record of 115 B.S. in marine biology in 2016. Similarly, the number of MARF degrees awarded per year increased from less than five per year between 2008-‐2011, then doubled to approximately 10 degrees per year, and doubled again to the current record of 18 degrees in MARF in 2016. As a result of the growth of both programs, the total of UG students graduating from the Department increased by more than 44% during the last decade.

Table 6 UG Degrees awarded per year since 2008

Year MARB MARF Total 2008 90 3 93 2009 77

71

3 80 2010 71 3 74 2011 80 5 85 2012 98 9 107 2013 83 10 93 2014 84 9 103 2015 105 10 115 2016 115 18 133

While our first-‐year retention for MARB majors has remained stable at about 50% during the last 5 years (see Student Retention section below) the Department of Marine Biology’s overall teaching load, as reflected in the number of student credits, has continuously increased (Table 7). Thus, between 2008-‐2016 the number of SCHs generated by the MARB department increased by 27%. Further, over the same period the number of weighted student credit hours (WSCHs) increased by 69%, from 21,059 in 2008 to 35,622 in 2016, with about one-‐third of these hours linked to our highly successful MARB IDP. The weighed correction linked to STEM courses elevates the Department as the number 1 program in generating student credit hours among of all TAMUG programs (Fig. 2).

Table 7 Teaching by MARB

Year Student Credit Hours

Weighted Student Credit Hours 2008 7,859 21,059 2009 7,286 19,716 2010 8,221 24,136 2011 9,042 28,148 2012 9,081 29,488 2013 8,639 29,947 2014 9,567 33,807 2015 9,853 36,407 2016 9,958 35,622

Note: Includes both undergraduate and graduate teaching credit hours. Since FY2010, the MARB Department has generated more WSCHS (UG and Graduate combined) than any other department at TAMUG, surpassing Marine Science (MARS), General Academics (GACD), and Maritime Administration (MARA), which rank second, third and fourth on campus, respectively (Fig. 2). To put things in

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perspective, MARB accounts for 25% of 135,755 WSCHs generated by the entire campus at TAMUG.

Figure 2. Total amount of weighted student credit hours (WSCHs) by TAMUG departments for the fiscal years 2004-‐2014. Abbreviations: GACD, General Academics; MARA, Maritime Administration; MARB, Marine Biology; MASE, Marine System Engineering; MARS, Marine Sciences; MART, Maritime Transportation.

AVERAGE TIME TO DEGREE Based on data from MARB students that completed their degrees within the last two years (2015 and 2016), MARB students (that remained within a MARB program continuously to finished his/her degree), averaged 4.3 years from initial enrollment to graduation. Years to degree is calculated by total enrolled semesters (Spring and Fall only) divided by two. The amount of time necessary to finish a MARB degree has decreased slightly from the average of 4.4 years between 2012-‐2013. The on-‐time graduation (4-‐year) rate for all undergraduate programs at TAMU (College Station) is 54% and is a major concern of the THECB. Viable solutions that may help improve this rate require the identification of the root causes that prevent on-‐time graduation. To that end, the MARB Curriculum Committee met in response to an initiative of TAMUG’s AVP of Academic Affairs to determine whether bottlenecks in the MARB undergraduate curriculum were responsonsible by delaying student’s timely graduation (the MARB program consisting of 120 CR). The rate of on-‐time graduation for the UG MARB degree is currently 43% (Fig. 3), which is higher than for the rest of TAMUG (38%). Nevertheless, there is substantial room for improvement, and several academic reasons, including the structure of the current MARB curriculum and the frequency of upper level offerings (i.e., once versus twice a year) that may potentially delay on-‐time graduation have been suggested. An analysis of the undergraduate student progression of the MARB department (Fig. 4), however, suggests other causes. Specifically, the behavior of the cohorts 2010 to 2014 indicate that after the first year at TAMUG only half of MARB students completed the 30 SCH required for on-‐time graduation. By the second year, the proportion of students completing 60 SCH dropped below 50%, with the same proportion by the third year, when less than 50% of the students had completed the expected 90 Hrs. Accordingly, the analysis of the committee reveals that from the beginning MARB UG students fall behind the benchmark of credit hours required to graduate on time. Further analysis revealed that MARB students register an average number of 13.2 SCH (instead of the 15 CR required by the program). The Curriculum Committee concluded that delays to on-‐time graduation, in most instances, are associated with non-‐MARB courses in the UG Core curriculum. Research is needed to identify which courses (e.g., chemistry and or math series), as well as other factors (e.g., socioeconomic), prevent on-‐time graduation. Most of these factors are beyond the reach of the MARB Curriculum Committee. Nevertheless, it is apparent at this stage that the low rate of on time graduation has little or nothing to do with the structure of the MARB curriculum, or whether upper level courses are offered once or twice per year.

-‐5,000

5,000

15,000

25,000

35,000

FY04 FY06 FY08 FY10 FY12 FY14

WSCHs

GACD MARA MARB MARE MASE MARS MART

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Fig. 3. Retention and graduation for first-‐time incoming students to MARB (2008-‐2012 cohorts).

Fig. 4. Undergraduate student progression, and percentage of students on-‐time to graduate within 4 years of initial enrolment (30 Hrs./Yr. 1; 60 Hrs./Yr. 2; 90 Hrs./Yr. 3).

Notes: First-‐Time, Full-‐Time Undergraduate Student Retention and Graduation Rates. The First-‐Time, Full-‐Time Undergraduate Student Retention and Graduation Rates for the most recent five terms of undergraduate student populations (cohorts) at the university level, the college level, and the departmental level. First-‐Time in College Full-‐Time (FTFT) is defined as that first-‐time in college students who enrolled for 12 or more hours during their first semester at TAMU. For each cohort the report shows one-‐year retention, four-‐ to six-‐year graduation (as available), split by various demographic categories. Retention and graduation are calculated for each student based solely on Universal Identification Number (UIN). Only fall semesters are considered for retention calculations, however graduation data is taken from all three commencements during that academic year (December, May, August). (Source: http://accountability.tamu.edu/All-‐Metrics/Mixed-‐Metrics/Student-‐Demographics).

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ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENTS / HIGH IMPACT OPPORTUNITIES The Department of Marine Biology offers multiple high-‐impact opportunities to enhance the undergraduate experience of our majors, as well as non-‐majors who meet the prerequisites. These include inquiry-‐based courses, study abroad courses, and undergraduate research. These topics, as well as efforts to enhance the professional development of our students, are summarized below.

FIELD-‐BASED COURSES: The Department of Marine Biology is known for providing our student body with field-‐based opportunities whether these are teaching or research experiences. Many field-‐based courses occur in our own "backyard" but many opportunities exist as part of our Study Abroad Program (see below). Our faculty members use their laboratory portion of core classes to take students into the field. Such courses include Freshman Biology (BIOL 111 & 112), Ichthyology (MARB 311) and Field Ichthyology (MARB 312), Marine Conservation Biology (MARB 360), Biology of Marine Mammals (MARB 400), Marine Invertebrate Biology (MARB 435), Coastal Plant Ecology (MARB 430), Biospeleology (MARB 325), Coastal Ornithology (MARB 438), and Marine Ecology (MARB 425). Field-‐based courses take advantage of our fleet of vessels in the boat-‐basin and numerous field-‐sites throughout Galveston Island and Galveston Bay.

LABORATORY-‐BASED COURSES: In addition to our Field-‐Based Courses, the department also utilizes intensively our teaching and research infrastructure. Mariculture (MARB 423) is principally conducted within the Sea Life Facility, where students learn husbandry of microalgae, invertebrates (rotifers and Artemia), and fishes (sheepshead minnows) and learn how to build tanks and life support systems in a working experimental aquariums. Natural History of Vertebrates (MARB 315) laboratories are a hybrid of Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy lessons that use a state of the art teaching laboratory designed for the safe dissection of vertebrate representative and vertebrate diversity utilizing our vertebrate teaching collection. Microbiology (BIOL 315) laboratories are conducted in the State of Texas' active Seafood Safety Lab. STUDY ABROAD: The Department of Marine Biology offers a diversity of Study Abroad opportunities across the globe. Students can travel to Mexico for Tropical Marine Ecology (MARB 340), New Zealand for Behavioral Ecology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds (MARB 404), and Greece for Research and Conservation in the Gulf of Corinth (MARB 407). Although technically not a study abroad program, Coastal Marine Biology and Geology of Alaska (MARB 415) provide opportunities to learn and conduct research at our field station in Prince William Sound, Alaska. UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH: TAMUG and the Department of Marine Biology are dedicated to involving undergraduate students in active research programs run by our faculty. An important component of research is to communicate findings to our peers. Students conducting research with MARB faculty present their findings in different settings, including in the annual Student Research Symposium (http://www.tamug.edu/research/Symposium/). In addition, the efforts of many students in research go beyond the normal expectation, and their participation in such projects is recognized by co-‐authoring peer reviewed papers with our faculty (See Faculty Bibliography for contributions of our UG students). Direct financial support for undergraduate research is available from several sources including: Texas Institute of Oceanography Undergraduate Research Fellowships (http://www.tamug.edu/research/UG%20Research/TIO.html), our NSF-‐supported Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP; http://www.tamug.edu/Research/UG%20Research/LSAMP.html), our local Aggies Commit to Excellence Scholarships (ACES; http://www.tamug.edu/research/UG%20Research/ ACES.html) as well as numerous opportunities through faculty grants and contracts in their research labs. Students can concurrently earn college credit for these experiences by enrolling in Research in Marine Biology (MARB 491). A large proportion of MARB UG students are currently involved in research and the level of participation has been increasing rapidly, from 8.5% in 2014-‐15, to 16% in 2015-‐16, reaching the record of 23% (132) in the current academic year 2016-‐17. Alternatively, students can volunteer in labs as undergraduate interns (MARB 484). Undergraduate students also have the option to conduct research in a faculty's research lab as part of an undergraduate thesis. These research opportunities, as well as our senior Seminar course (MARB 482) and Problems in Marine Biology course (MARB

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485) represent the department's dedication to developing a critical thinking skillset for our undergraduate students through inquiry-‐based opportunities such an undergraduate research. Associated programs and cooperative agreements in which MARB undergraduates participate include the following governmental, educational and other research entities: § Texas Institute of Oceanography (TIO) § National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) § Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TMMSN) § Sea Grant College Program § Center for Texas Beaches and Shores (CTBS) § Laboratory for Oceanographic and Environmental Research (LOER) § Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) § TAMUG Sea Life Center § Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council § Ocean Exploration Command Center (NOAA and Nautical Archeology) § Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) § American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) § Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) § National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) § Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) § RESTORE programs § Houston Museum of Natural History (HMNH) § Houston Zoo § University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) § Moody Gardens Aquarium PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SKILLS: Faculty members assist undergraduate students in attaining professional development skills through any of the undergraduate research opportunities listed above, many of which require students to present their scientific research. Often this occurs locally at our TAMUG Science Symposium (http://www.tamug.edu/research/Symposium/), but also at state, national or international scientific meetings and undergraduate students may present along-‐side their graduate student mentors and faculty members. Many of our undergraduate students will publish in the peer-‐reviewed scientific literature with their faculty mentors (these publications are identified with an asterisk in the Core Faculty Biographies appended to this report (Appendix E). Professional development skills are also attained through our Undergraduate Internship course (MARB 485), which allows students to obtain college credit for participating in a wide range of hands-‐on opportunities anywhere, locally, in their hometown or internationally. Furthermore, undergraduate students at TAMUG are able to participate in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduate program on the TAMUG campus. In addition, students enrolled in the Mariculture (MARB 423) course have the opportunity to test for the Aquatic Animal Life Support Operator (AALSO) Level 1 Certification, as part of the course final. AALSO Education Outreach Program for TAMUG Students (1) One of the top AALSO operators in the field visits with MARB 423 students during class to discuss the organization, what its like to work as an operator in the aquarium/aquaculture industry, and reviews the certification exam materials, etc. (2) Enables students to receive the level 1 AALSO certification prior to graduating. In 2015 all 46 students passed and received the certificate. (3) Sponsorship for the two top students to attend the annual symposium and workshop. In 2015 the two highest scoring students were given a full scholarship to attend the AALSO Symposium in Denver, Co., in April 2016. (4) Free 1-‐year AALSO Membership for students (5) Access to the AALSO Membership Database and the vendors that manufacture the equipment used.

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The entire program is sponsored by AALSO vendors and is provided at no cost to either TAMUG or the students. To date 74 MARB 423 undergraduate students have earned Level 1 Life Support Operator certifications. ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES The Department of Marine Biology uses multiple assessment instruments to evaluate student-‐learning outcomes at the undergraduate level. Results of these assessments are summarized below. GRADUATING SENIOR SURVEY: All graduating seniors are asked to complete a survey of their educational experience and how it has prepared them for the future. The analysis of our most recent report available (65 students) indicates the majority of graduating seniors agreed or strongly agreed with the following: 94% of our students agreed that the courses they took at TAMUG clearly outlined their course learning objectives, requirements, grading criteria and student responsibilities. 78% agreed that the instructors they had at TAMUG were interested in their learning and understanding of course materials. 82% agreed the MARB curriculum provided them with numerous field experiences, although a lower percentage (78%) agreed that the curriculum provided them with numerous opportunities hands-‐on fieldwork. Only 26% of our students agreed or strongly agreed that the curriculum provided them with numerous internship opportunities, although about half the respondants (45%) responded neutraly (neither agree or disagree). 46% of the students answered that the curriculum provided them with numerous research opportunities, and 84% responded favorably that their education at TAMUG will help them achieve their professional goals. 88% of the seniors agreed or strongly agreed that what they learned at TAMUG will be relevant to them through their lifetime. 86% were satisfied or strongly satisfied with the Marine Biology undergraduate program. Only 54% of the respondents rated their prospects after graduation in terms of career and future as good or excellent, although and additional 32% rated their prospects as fair. 74% felt that the academic background they acquired at MARB will be useful or very useful in their careers, with 76% at least agreeing that their degree will open up career opportunities. In response to their plans to the next few years, the majority of MARB seniors responded that they plan to begin working in the field of marine biology or biology in general. ANALYSIS: IMPROVEMENTS MADE AS A RESULT OF ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: The graduating senior survey also revealed that nearly half of our students took advantage of opportunities to participate in undergraduate research. This is a large percentage considering our student:faculty ratio. Based on recent enrollment increases in undergraduate research (MARB 491) we anticipate that the percentage of seniors reporting that they had the opportunity to participate in research activities while at TAMUG will increase. However, the low percentage rate of participation in internships has to increase, and this will need to be achieved by strengthening our relationships with other institutions and facilities that may grant such opportunities.

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Faculty Profile

CORE FACULTY NUMBER OF CORE FACULTY: For purposes of this section, the university defines core faculty as professors with tenured or tenure-‐track positions and at least a 50% appointment in the Department of Marine Biology. We currently have 17 tenured or tenure-‐track faculty members: 6 Assistant Professors, 3 Associate Professors, and 7 Full Professors, plus one Professor Emeritus. This number is up by 21% from the 14 tenured and tenure-‐track faculty members in 2008. Our current tenured and tenure-‐track faculty roster is summarized in Table 8. Brief vitae are provided in Appendix E. Our three core faculty losses since 2008 are summarized in Table 9. Our six tenure-‐track faculty hires since 2008 were listed in Table 4.

Table 8. MARB Department core faculty. 8 Full Professors 3 Associate Professors 6 Assistant Professors Randall W. Davis Jaime R. Alvarado-‐Bremer

Jaime R. Alvarado-‐Bremer Jessica Labonté

Thomas L. Iliffe Anna Armitage Maria Pia Miglietta Steve Lockless Christopher Marshall Anja Schulze Ron Eytan

Antonietta S. Quigg David Hala Jay R. Rooker Hui Liu Gil Rowe R.J. David Wells John Schwarz Paul Hardin

Bernd Wursig (Emeritus)

Four of our 17 core faculty members are 65 years old or older. Thus 20% of our faculty, corresponding to 50% of our full professors, will be eligible to retire in 2-‐years. Two of these senior faculty members have recently announced their retirement, with one effective at the end of August of this year, and the other by the end of the Fall 2017 semester. Accordingly, by the Spring 2018 the MARB Department will have a deficit of three members of its faculty, and it is not clear at this point how many more of the other eligible faculty will retire by 2020. These potential losses, coupled with other forms of attrition, plus the additional demands resulting from our graduate program, indicate that over the next five years we will need to hire at least four new faculty members simply to maintain our current membership, and we will need to hire an additional three faculty members to increase our core faculty to 20, if the current faculty to student ratio (34:1) is to be reduced to 30:1 to help improve the quality of instruction (Appendix A). Table 9 MARB faculty losses since 2008. Faculty name Reason for leaving MARB Year Andre Landry Retired 2011 James Kanz Retired 2013 Bernd Wursig Retired (Emeritus) 2016 SALARY ANALYSIS. Average annual faculty salary by rank (by academic year converted to nine-‐month salaries) for full-‐time tenured/tenure track individuals is provided in Table 10. The relative market analysis of MARB salaries for each of the three categories indicates that salaries are considerably lower (82-‐87%) than those for the same

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categories in TAMU’s College of Science. The disparity in weighted average salary (all ranks combined) against TAMU is even larger (71%), although this index is biased by the larger proportion of full professors appointed at TAMU compared to MARB. The comparison of MARB salaries versus a subsample of three of our peers (typically five peers are selected) by Data Research Services (DARS) of TAMU suggests parity in salaries. The identify of the three peers was not disclosed because of confidentiality agreements, thus at this point, it is not possible to determine whether such comparison of salaries represent a truly equitable comparison of MARB salaries relative to its peers. Table 10. Average annual salary by rank for MARB and corresponding peers core faculty.

Mean 9-‐month salaries ($)1 Rank MARB

(TAMUG) FTE College of Sci.

TAMU FTE Rel.

Mkt2 Peer Group3

FTE Rel. Mkt2

Professor $116,207 5 $143,976 152 0.816 $121,928 62.74 0.953 Assoc. Professor $78,593 3 $89,992 56 0.873 $80,614 15.51 0.975 Assist. Professor $69,453 6 $84,203 28 0.824 $67,030 19 1.036 Weighted average salary (all ranks)

$88,109 14 $124,075 236 0.710 $89,547 97.25 0.984

1 Salary data for the College of Science and Peer Groups obtained from: AAUDE 2015-‐2016 Salary Data: Vision 2020 Peers. 2 Relative Market for MARB average salaries were divided by corresponding average salaries respectively for both salaries in the College of Science. 3 AAUDE Peer Groups was derived from only three institutions (identity kept confidential). Average salary information for MARB and Peers provided by DARS. STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO AND TEACHING LOAD: With nearly 600 undergraduate students, our student to core faculty ratio is ~34:1 (586: 17). If our local graduate student population was included, our student to faculty ratio is 38:1. Based solely on UG teaching, this ratio is 1.7 times larger than the 1:20 ratio of TAMU (College Station). The typical teaching assignment for the majority of core faculty members with active research programs is two and a half courses per year, although there is a substantial variation among faculty members in meeting this obligation. This ‘typical’ teaching load of most MARB faculty is higher than that of many departments at TAMU College Station. For instance, the teaching load for tenured/tenure track faculty in the Department of Biology typically consists of one and one half courses per year, which is satisfied by teaching an undergraduate course in one semester and then by sharing a graduate class with one other instructor in the other semester. By contrast, MARB faculty typically satisfies this load by teaching one undergraduate course per semester (Spring and Fall), and by team-‐teaching one graduate course in either semester. The only way we have been able to maintain this load in the face of increasing graduate enrollment and static resources has been to hire several non-‐tenure-‐track faculty and hire adjunct faculty to offer courses (see the section on non-‐core faculty). MARB has no formal mechanism for new core-‐faculty hires at any level to be excused from formal teaching upon arrival. Occasionally, if their arrival coincides with the need to offer a required course, there is no mechanism in place to relieve them from teaching, and are expected to teach that course. By contrast the Department of Biology at College Station has implemented the policy that new core-‐faculty hires at any level are excused from formal teaching assignments for the entire first year to help them establish or re-‐establish their research program and laboratories.

The quality of teaching can be improved by reducing lecture size. Currently, there is substantial disparity in lecture size among MARB courses (Fig. 5), with some of these differences associated with course level, whether a course is required or elective, and other factors. Student loss after the first year (see Retention section) partially explains the observed disparity in lecture size in certain courses (e.g., BIOL 111 vs BIOL 112), but not in others. Specifically, the lecture size of the required upper level courses MARB 420 and MARB 425 is much higher than expected, whereas enrollment in MARB 303 and MARB 310 in 2016 was lower than expected for a third-‐year course. Such deviations in the enrolment of required courses could be associated with students’ failure to graduate on-‐time. The students may postpone taking some of these requirements until the end of their stay at TAMUG. The variance in enrolment in Upper Tier Electives is by far more pronounced. Lower enrolment in travel abroad courses (i.e., MARB 340 and MARB 407) is expected due to high costs, logistic issues, but also to limits to

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ensure a safe and effective teaching environment while travelling abroad. The higher enrolment in some upper elective courses (e.g., MARB 311, MARB 360 and MARB 400) compared to others (e.g., MARB 335 and MARB 401) is likely due to the higher popularity of general topics (e.g., ecology and conservation biology) compared to specialized courses (e.g., physiology of fishes or marine mammals). The MARB Department, and the Curriculum Committee in particular, need to explore ways to inform the students during advising about the importance of including specialized offering among their elective choices, to obtain a more rounded education in Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries.

Figure 5. Average lecture sizes for MARB required and Upper Electives for the Spring and Fall 2016. For courses offered both semesters, enrolment is the average. Numbers are accuarate as of January 30, 2017.

CORE FACULTY PUBLICATIONS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS: MARB core faculty published a total of 314 publications over the last five years (2012-‐2016). This represents an average of 18.5 publications per faculty over that period, or about 3.7 publications per year per faculty. Such productivity is 1.8 times larger than the yearly rate of 2.1 articles per year by the faculty of the Department of Biology in College Station, in spite of that faculty reduced teaching load (1.5 courses/year) compared to MARB (2.5 courses/year). According to the Academic Analytics database used by the university, during the four-‐year period (1/1/12 to 12/31/15) MARB’s core faculty published 195 papers, resulting in average of 2.9 papers per faculty per year. We are currently working with Academic Analytics in identifying the source of this discrepancy and correcting the record. Regardless, in the ensuing discussion we will employ the numbers in the Academic Analytics database to be able to make meaningful comparisons of MARB’s faculty productivity against other institutions. To compare MARB’s productivity in this report, the following benchmarking and aspirational peers (Table 11) identified by TAMUG’s administration were used and the analysis was carried in the Academic Analytics portal (portal2.AcademicAnalytics.com). Table 11. Benchmarking and Aspiration Peers of the MARB Department Benchmarking Peers Aspirational Peers Oregon State University Stony Brook University, SUNY Rutgers -‐ New Brunswick University of California, San Diego University of Delaware University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Georgia University of Washington University of Rhode Island

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Req

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d C

ours

es

Bio

l 111

(Int

ro. B

io)

Bio

l 112

(Int

ro. B

io)

Mar

b 30

1 (G

enet

ics)

Mar

b 30

3 (B

iost

atis

tics)

Mar

b 31

0 (C

ell B

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gy)

Mar

b 31

5 (N

at. H

is. V

ert.)

Mar

b 40

8 (M

arin

e B

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Mar

b 43

0 (C

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lant

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.)

Mar

b 42

0 (C

ompa

r. P

hys.

)

Mar

b 42

5 (M

arin

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gy)

Mar

b 43

5 (In

vert.

)

Mar

b 48

2 (S

emin

ar)

Upp

er T

ier E

lect

ives

Bio

l 351

(Mic

robi

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y)

Mar

b 31

1 (Ic

hthy

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y)

Mar

b 33

5 (F

ish

Phy

siol

ogy)

Mar

b 34

0 (T

rop.

Mar

ine

Eco

logy

)

Mar

b 36

0 (M

arin

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rv B

io)

Mar

b 40

0 (M

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als)

Mar

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1 (P

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Mar

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Mar

b 40

3 (C

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Mar

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7 (G

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0 (A

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Mar

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6 (E

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1



2

The Academic Analytics report against benchmarking peers shows that our entire MARB faculty is active in publishing peer-‐reviewed papers, and that our Department ranks first in articles per faculty (Fig. 6), and is tied with the University of Delaware in the number of articles per author. When compared with aspirational peers, our productivity in terms of articles per faculty drops to the top of the second quartile, yet we are well above the median. We also rank at the top of percentage of faculty with an article, which for our aspirational peers is very close to 100% for the four institutions. Due to the very large size of those institutions, we fall at the bottom of the third quartile in the total number of articles.

Compared to our benchmarking peers, the impact of our published research (i.e., peer-‐reviewed articles) is above the median in regard to citations per faculty, and ranks at the top in the percentage of faculty with a citation (Fig. 7). With 8.3 citations per per publication, we fall slightly below the median (9.2 citations per publication), and also in the total citations of these papers for the five-‐year period (2,088 total citations) compared to the median (3,041). Our lower total value is expected due to the smaller size of our department. Compared to our aspirational peers, we rank below the median of about 14 citations per publication for the five top ranked institutions in marine biology/marine sciences. Because of the enormous size of some of these aspirational departments (e.g., >125 faculty in Department of Oceanography, University of Washington) the total number of citations our department is expected to be only a fraction of what such large department will produce.

Figure 6. Articles published relative to benchmarking (top) and aspirational (bottom) peers in marine biology and marine sciences. The red dot represents our department; the vertical bar is the median for all the departments compared. Dark regions on either side of the bar represent second and third quartiles. Light shaded regions represent the first and fourth quartiles.

Figure 7. Citations of published articles relative to benchmarking (top) and aspirational peers. Figure captions as described in Figure 6.

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CORE FACULTY EXTERNAL GRANTS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS: Grant activity over the last five years is summarized in Fig. 8. During this period, total expenditures for MARB increased from $3.0 million per year between 2012-‐2014, to $4.7 million in FY2016, of which $1.1 million corresponded to Federal grants, with that category remaining stable over the 5-‐year period. The Department generates 61% of the total external research grant expenditures at TAMUG. MARB external grant activity has increased by 56% from an average of $2.3 million between FY 2012-‐2014 to $3.6 million in FY2016. According to Academic Analytics, our Federal grant activity (Fig. 9) falls below the median in all categories compared to our benchmark peers. Each faculty member in those programs hold on average 1.6 grants, which is twice as many as those held by members of the MARB faculty (0.8). A little more than 44% of MARB faculty hold a Federal Grant or slightly below the median (53%) compared to our benchmark peers. As expected from our small size, we lag behind in the total number of federal grants. Because non-‐federal grants are not included in this comparison, it is difficult to establish our ranking in external funding productivity compared to our peers. Regardless of whatever our real standing is, we plan to increase our grant funding from Federal sources, as detailed in Goal two of our strategic plan (Appendix B). Although the above comparisons against benchmark and aspirational peers derived from the Academic Analytics portal have some value, there are inherent biases that cannot be corrected at this point. For instance, the University of Delaware as a benchmark peer is biased since it includes the entire faculty of Institute of Marine Sciences and Policy, consisting of 72 members working in a vast array of fields that include oceanography (physical, chemical and biological), marine policy, and marine biosciences. Funding in oceanography results in extremely large Federal grants required for vessel time and sensitive field equipment. Similarly, the comparision of measures of productivity linked to the number of faculty (e.g., total number of articles and total citations) is not equitable, as large departments will always outperform small departments, such as ours. In order to be equitable, the productivity of MARB’s 17 core faculty should be compared against marine biology programs sensu stricto, which for the University of Delaware consists of 15 faculty members belonging to Marine Biosciences. Similar adjustments would have to be carried for the rest of benchmarking and aspirational peers, but at this point the portal of Academic Analytics is not capable of generating such a report. Despite these inherent biases, we compared our Department’s scholarly activity against our aspirational and benchmarking peers using the Academic Analytics portal (Fig. 10). MARB ties with the University of Georgia (School of Marine Programs and The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMas) at Stony Brook University. These three programs rank behind the University of Delaware and Rutgers (Marine and Coastal Sciences), the University of Rhode Island (Graduate School of Oceanography) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Marine Sciences), which are tied at third place behind the University of Washington (School of Oceanography) and Scripps Institute of Oceanograpy, which are ranked second and first, respectively. To place the Department on a more even footing with comparable institutions in the future, TAMUG’s administration has expressed their committment to invest in world-‐class faculty and infrastructure to strengthen the quality of scholarship and graduate instruction and to support research and teaching activities with suitable and modern physical resources to match the impact and influence of institutional peers with recognized Colleges of Marine/Ocean studies (Texas A&M University at Galveston; Strategic Plan 2014-‐2020).

Figure 8. Research expenditures (thousands $) for FY 2012-‐16. Total expenditure by TAMUG (blue line) and MARB (red line). MARB external grants (green line) includes State appropriations, grants and contracts, but excludes Institutional funds. MARB Federal Grants (purple line)

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FACULTY OTHER THAN CORE

NUMBER OF NON-‐CORE FACULTY: The Department has a dedicated group of academic professionals who individually and collectively help fulfill all of the missions with which we are entrusted. Our classroom instructors include four lecturers, and one instructional assistant professor, that teach a variety of courses throughout all four years of the undergraduate curricula in MARB and MARF. Dr. Lene Petersen is an Instructional Assistant Professor that teaches five courses, including Physiology courses (MARB 335, MARB 420), and Animal Behaviour (MARB 410), Marine Parasitology (MARB 405) and Pathology of Animals (MARB 437). Our four lecturers (Table 12) are responsible for teaching the following courses: Dr. Tasha Metz teaches introductory biology courses (BIOL 111 and BIOL 112) both in the spring and fall semesters. Dr. Liz Borda teaches Evolutionary Biology and oversees the graduate seminar series. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. Borda coordinates MARB’s UG Research Programs, which also include the NSF Lewis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and ACES. Similarly, Mona Hochman teaches Microbiology (BIOL 351) and she serves a liaison for RO water system and air quality for the Ocean and Coastal Studies Building. Chris Hall teaches Scientific Methods (MARB 300) each semester and oversees the laboratory supplies acquisition for biology (BIOL) and marine biology (MARB) courses. In addition to our non-‐core faculty, graduate teaching assistants (GATs) teach labs and supervise UG students research in the lab and the field. In addition, three NOAA scientists have joint faculty status in our Department and actively participate in teaching. Drs. Jim Ditty, Tom Minello and Ron Hill are members of the NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center – Galveston Laboratory, and for several years have been responsible for team-‐teaching the required course for the MARF degree, Marine Fisheries Management (MARB 445). Table. 12. List of non-‐core faculty

Instructional Asst. Professors Sr. Lecturers Lecturers Lab Instructors Joint Faculty Lene Petersen Liz Borda Chris Hall Jim Ditty Chris Hall Tom Minello Mona Hochman Ron Hill Tasha Metz

NON-‐CORE FACULTY PRODUCTIVITY: In the last five years the majority of our faculty members have been active in scholarly activities other than teaching. Dr. Liz Borda has published 8 peer-‐reviewed papers and helped generate $489K in grants. One of these grants was a NSF Grant to fund the Research Experience for Undegraduates (REU) during the summer of 2015 for a total of $390K. Dr. Tasha Metz published three papers over that period, and generated $108K in grants. Dr. Petersen has published 8 papers over the last five years, and Ms. Hochman has co-‐authored three articles.

Figure 10. Scholarly research index (SRI) for the MARB Department against benchmarking and aspirational peers. SRI values are ranked from high to low.

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STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO AND TEACHING LOAD: Of our 5 non-‐core faculty, there are two whose major duty is teaching. The non-‐core faculty teaching ratio is: 110:1. This high ratio heavily weighted by the large number (~200) of first-‐year students required to take the introductory biology series (BIOL 111 and BIOL 112) Except for the highly popular animal behavior course, with an enrolment of about 80 students, the rest of the four offering offered by Dr. Petersen averages ~30 students. In addition, Dr. Liz Borda teaches Evolutionary Biology (MARB 466) to ~ 25 students per semester, and Mona Hochman teaches Microbiology laboratory (BIOL 351) to ~ 70 students (Spring and Fall). Chris Hall teaches Scientific Methods (MARB 300) each semester. We typically employ up to 25 Graduate Assistants, Teaching or GATs per semester. The normal GAT load is three lab sections per semester, and only two if the course is writing intensive.

FACULTY DIVERSITY Of MARB’s 17 core faculty members, 47% correspond to minorities represented by five women (29%), two Asian males (12%), and one Hispanic male (6%) (Fig. 11). The MARB Department has experienced a substantial change in ethnic and gender diversity since 2003. Prior to that year, MARB faculty historically consisted mostly of males (although there was a female faculty member back in the 80’s). In the last 14 years, 50% of our tenure-‐track hires have been females with an additional 20% of our hires representing an ethnic minority (Asian). The Department is commmited to increase the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives of our core faculty. Further, of our five (5) fulltime non-‐core faculty, 80% are women and include one Hispanic (20%) faculty member.

FACULTY QUALIFICATIONS The breadth of marine biology as a discipline and the wide arrange of courses offered by our department means that we must recruit and hire faculty members from a very broad portion of the life sciences. Our only formal requirement is that all tenure-‐track faculty members have an earned Ph.D. and experience in a relevant field of marine biology. Perhaps the best way to describe our requirements and qualifications is to present our current ad for a tenure-‐track Assistant/Associate Professor position in the area of marine vertebrate biology, which appeared in Science this past November, 2016 and was posted at various on-‐line sites related to the faculty’s scientific societies:

The Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) invites applications for a tenure-‐track Assistant/Associate Professor position in the area of marine vertebrate biology, with an emphasis on modern users of passive and/or active acoustics, and a potential focus on marine mammals, marine birds, sea turtles, and/or fishes. We seek an individual with a Ph.D. whose research complements and enhances that of faculty in the Department of Marine Biology (www.tamug.edu/marb) and in other departments of the University. We are particularly interested in recruiting someone who has developed innovative research approaches to the field and who will be comfortable developing multidisciplinary partnerships with other research groups across the university. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from individuals with a strong record of instrumentation development (electronics, remote telemetry, etc.). Teaching responsibilities will include contributing to the need of the Department and advanced courses in the candidate’s area of specialization. The successful applicant will be expected to establish and sustain a vigorous externally funded research program and potential collaborations with other Departments (e.g. Engineering) as well as mentor undergraduate and graduate students. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. TAMUG is the ocean-‐oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University (TAMU) and is presently undergoing continuous growth and expansion of its physical

Figure 11. MARB core faculty diversity

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facilities. In addition to undergraduate programs, TAMUG is the host campus of a graduate level Interdisciplinary Degree Program (lDP) in Marine Biology, which is comprised of faculty from six departments within the Texas A&M University System. Apart from the lDP, members of the Department of Marine Biology can also obtain joint or graduate appointments in departments on the College Station and Galveston campuses. A large scale initiative in Ocean and Multidisciplinary Engineering on the Galveston campus offers multiple opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations. The Department occupies space in the Ocean and Coastal Studies Building, a LEED-‐certified facility home to over 20 research laboratories, two teaching laboratories, and a Sea Life Center with running sea water systems. More information on the Department and the campus can be found at http://www.tamug.edu Applications should be received by January 31, 2017 for full consideration. Anticipated start date for the position is Fall 2017. The department is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. To apply, send a curriculum vitae, statement of current research and teaching interests and list of three references with contact information to: Chair, Marine Biology Search Committee PAR # 3981, c/o Human Resources Department, Texas A&M University at Galveston, P.O. Box 1675, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77553-‐1675 or by email referencing PAR # 3981 ([email protected]). For more information regarding the position, contact the Department Head of Marine Biology (Dr. John R. Schwarz) by e-‐mail ([email protected]). Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check and verification of eligibility to work in the U.S.

Our wording for this particular position announcement is typical for all of our tenure-‐track positon advertisements and each specific announcement is crafted for the particular need at that moment. The search committee, typically comprised of 5-‐6 tenure track faculty members, is required to attend training through the Dean of Faculties on the College Station campus to ensure that the hiring process is conducted fairly and with attention paid to increasing diversity at Texas A&M University and recognizing unintended biases. The search committee reviews all applicant files and scores each according to a matrix of topics agreed upon a priori. The committee typical decides upon the top eight candidates, which are then interviewed through electronic mechanisms, such as Skype. From those electronic interviews, a pool of 3-‐4 candidates is invited to visit the campus for more formal interviews. The head of the department approves the search committee’s recommendation at each step of the process. During campus interviews, which lasts approximately 2 days, each candidate visits with most faculty members, graduate students and our Chief Academic Officer. Candidates present their research as a formal seminar. After the faculty has interviewed all candidates, the tenured track faculty discusses the merits of each candidate and ranks all visiting candidates electronically and anonymously. Once the ranking is agreed upon, the head of the department presents the list to the Chief Academic Officer.

Laboratory space assigned to new professors is typically located near other labs with similar research interests to promote synergistic interactions; however, this is not always possible because the inventory of free lab space is often influenced by departures (i.e., retirement) of faculty. Nevertheless, laboratories for all current faculty members in MARB are located within the Ocean and Coastal Science Building (OCSB), allowing for increased interaction within the Department as well as with our colleagues in MARS. Senior faculty serve as informal faculty mentors, often meeting with the new hires regularly through the entire three-‐year formal review period. There is also abundant opportunity for continual interaction and mentoring during faculty meetings, informal gatherings in MARB, and other events (e.g., MARB IDP Retreat). In addition, senior faculty members, including the Department Head, meet regularly with junior faculty to discuss progress towards promotion and tenure (P&T) outside of the formal review process.

Assistant Professors submit an application for P&T no later than the end of their 5th year. The tenure

Galveston, TX 30


package is relatively straightforward and consists of a curriculum vita, three one-‐page statements (research, teaching, and service), reprints and preprints of publications, and syllabi and teaching evaluations for courses taught by the candidate. In addition, the candidate submits names of approximately 5-‐6 outside reviewers, which is complemented by another 5-‐6 names provided the MARB P&T Committee. All potential reviewers submitted by either the candidate or Committee must hold tenure at a peer institution or better, and the dossier is typically sent to approximately 10 outside reviewers. Due to the diverse nature of our faculty, the MARB P&T evaluation gives extra weight to research accomplishments, including publications, funding, scholarly impact, and evaluations of the outside reviewers. Nevertheless, teaching, service, and graduate mentoring are also highly valued and key components of evaluations for promotion and tenure. Upon the receipt of outside evaluations, the candidate’s dossier is reviewed and discussed by the MARB P&T Committee, which typically is comprised of approximately five (5) tenured faculty (heavily weighted by Full Professors). A vote is taken by the MARB P&T Committee, that together with a written summary of the discussion, recommendation, and is then provided to the Department Head. An independent evaluation by the Department Head follows and his/her recommendation is submitted to the Dean. Promotion from Associate to Full Professor follows a nearly identical process, except that there is no mandatory deadline for consideration and only Full Professors evaluate their peer’s dossier. Progress and productivity of all faculty members in MARB are reviewed annually by the Department Head, with senior faculty assisting with informal evaluations of pre-‐tenure faculty on a regular basis. The MARB P&T Committee also informally reviews dossiers of faculty prior to submission, providing candid feedback and guidance to ensure a successful bid for tenure and/or promotion. Members of this Committee also participate in Post-‐Tenure Review (PTR) mandated for Associate Professors and Full Professors. FACULTY ANALYSIS

Figure 12. Overall Productivity Analyses . Radar plot summarizing MARB’s core faculty productivity relative to our benchmarking peers of Ph.D. granting departments of Marine Biology and Marine Sciences; 10 percentile increments are marked by concentric rings; the median is indicated by the 50th percentile mark.

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RESEARCH: The radar plot (Fig. 12) summarizes data from Academic Analytics that reflects the contributions of the current 17 core faculty members of the Department of Marine Biology. The Department’s performance scores above the median in more than half of the categories summarized by the radar plot generated by Academics Analytics. Compared to our peers we have a strong performance in the numbers of articles per faculty, and the impact of these publications (i.e., cites per publication, % faculty with cites, cites per faculty, %authors with cites). Some values, such at total citations and number of faculty with citations are lower, as expected, since they are a function of the number of faculty, which for our department is very low. In terms of awards, MARB faculty ranks above the median in the proportion of faculty recognized with a national award, and in the number of faculty with such recognition. However, we rank slightly below the median in the number of awards per faculty, and in total awards, as can be expected for the small size of our department. Our performance in terms of federal grants is also below the median compared to our peers, in terms of Federal grant dollars per faculty, number of Federal grants per faculty, and in total number of Federal grants. However, compared to our benchmark peers, the proportion of faculty with Federal grants, and the amount of dollar per Federal grants, is above the median. Thus, to improve our research performance we need to attract more Federal grants, and increase the number of awards. It is important to underline that there are many instances where Academic Analytics data and metrics differ from other sources (e.g., Google Scholar, Web of Science, Research Gate). For instance, Academic Analytics measure faculty performance in terms of a database of publications and citations spanning for years from 2012-‐2015, and for each faculty member it calculates research index based solely on the citations of articles published in that period, ignoring the relevance and impact of articles published prior to that period. This creates a huge discrepancy in what is considered the impact of a faculty member to his or her field.

TEACHING: The Department accounts for ~9,000 UG student credit hours (SCHs), ranking fourth at TAMUG, while at the same time MARB generates around 35,000 WSCHs, which is the highest number on campus (Fig. 2). This high number of WSCHs is the result the high proportion of STEM upper-‐level courses combined with our highly successful graduate MARB-‐IDP Program (Fig. 13). To put these numbers in perspective relative to other departments at TAMUG, the MARB generates over 25% of the WSCHs produced by the entire campus. Compared to other departments, MARB generates 1.3 times more WSCHs than MARS with 26 faculty, and Liberal Studies with 31 faculty. Each faculty member of MARB generates on average of 529 SCHs and 1,750 WSCHs.

We offer three options for the B.S. degree (MARB, MARF and MARBLO), and in addition, we allow MARB and MARF students to take 20 Credits of Upper Tier Electives, so that students can tailor their studies to their interests and aspirations. The quantity and breadth of our teaching mission is daunting, and these combine to pose challenges to efforts to improve the quality of our teaching. Nevertheless, we are

Figure 13. Time series (FY 2004-‐2016) of total student credit hours (SCHs; left) and weighed student credit hours (WSCHs; right) generated by the MARB Department.

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moving forward on several fronts to recruit and retain the best undergraduates, such as encouraging participation in the University Honors Program that often includes an “Honors Contract” to add a “honors dimension” to our course offerings, as well as through the participation of our UG students in other high impact educational activities described above. SERVICE AND ENGAGEMENT: Nearly all core faculty members and many non-‐core faculty members are very active in service to our department, the university, to professional societies, to professional review activities for funding agencies and journals. Our department is remarkable for the amount of administrative leadership it provides to the college and the university. Dr. Quigg serves as Associate Vicepresident (AVP) of Research & Graduate Studies for the entire campus (TAMUG) and Dr. Armitage serves as Chair of the Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program (IDP). The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Marine Biology spans three campuses of the Texas A&M University System and six departments. The host department of the program is the Department of Marine Biology on the Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) campus. The Department of Marine Sciences is also located on the TAMUG campus. The Departments of Oceanography, Wildlife & Fisheries Science, and Biology participate in the program on the College Station campus (TAMU). The Department of Life Sciences is located on the Texas A&M -‐ Corpus Christi campus. In addition, faculty members in the MARB department serve on editorial boards, national and international panels, and also participate in advisory capacities for states and governments. Faculty in MARB currently serve as subject matter editors or on the editorial boards of several journals including Ecology (Dr. Rooker), Fisheries and Aquaculture (Dr. Alvarado), Frontiers in Marine Science (Drs. Davis, Schulze), Frontiers in Aquatic Physiology (Dr. Marshall), PLoS ONE (Drs. Marshall, Quigg), Ecological Monographs (Dr. Rooker), and Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (Dr. Schulze). Dr. Würsig is also Senior Editor of the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Ed. III. Other examples of service or advisory roles by members of the department include 1) Senior science expert for New Zealand Department of Conservation (Dr. Würsig), 2) Panelist in the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA and in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program (Dr. Alvarado), 3) President-‐elect of the Gulf Estuarine Research Federation (Dr. Armitage), 4) Principal organizer for the Third International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems held in Merida, Mexico (Dr. Illife), 5) Chair of the southeast US IUCN Sirenia Specialist Group (Dr. Marshall), 6) Director of FDA and EPA approved Seafood Safety Laboratory to provide a certified facility for needs of the Federal and State of Texas agencies (Dr. Schwarz), 7) Visiting Research Fellow (2015-‐2018) of Brazilian government awarded by National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (Dr. Rooker), 8) Organizer of special session on recovery of deep-‐living fauna from the BP oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) meeting (Dr. Rowe), 9) Advisor on Oiled Wildlife Response to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and Alaska Clean Seas (Dr. Davis). 10) Invited to represent the US in the PICES Working Group WG37 (Dr. Liu).

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Student Profile

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ENROLLMENT: In 2016 a total of 585 undergraduates enrolled in the MARB Department. About 90% of these students pursue a degree in marine biology, with the remainder enrolled primarily in the marine fisheries degree. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of students seeking a double major in these two programs, and currently this number account for about 7% of our student population. The majority (94%) of the students in the Department of Marine Biology are registered full-‐time. This percentage is higher than in the rest of TAMUG programs (86%).

STUDENT DIVERSITY/ DEMOGRAPHICS: Our department has no role in undergraduate admissions, nor do we have any restrictions for admission other than the university minimums for grades, SAT/ACT scores, etc. Despite this, MARB’s UG population differs in both diversity and demographics from the rest of TAMUG in some important ways (Figs. 14 & 15, Table 14). MARB is the most diverse department at TAMUG, and has a strong representation of minorities. For instance, females represent 70.8% of our UG population compared to 26.3% for the rest of the TAMUG campus. In MARB Hispanics account for about 23% of our students compared to 16% in the rest of the campus (Table 14; Fig. 14). The proportion Black (3%) and Asian (3%) students, although not necessarily a reflection of the population of Texas or the US, rank higher in MARB than in the rest of TAMUG (Table 14). As a result, the percentage of minorities (33%) in MARB is 10% higher than in the rest of TAMUG (23%). Enrolment data of UG students in the spring semester of 2017 identifies MARB as the only department at TAMUG with representation in all categories of race/ethnicity kept for statistical purposes, including Black, Hispanic, Native American, Mixed, Hawaiian, Asian, International, and White. Due to its relatively large size, MARB contributes substantially to the overall representation of gender and ethnic diversity at TAMUG. For example, the large number of female students at MARB improves the proportion of that gender in the

Figure 13. Summary of the undergraduate student diversity at TAMUG (fall semesters 2011-‐2016. Panels illustrate the demographic distribution of TAMUG withoug MARB (top panel) and only MARB (bottom panel). Both figures include total student headcount, head count by gender (FY2016), and ethnicity (FY2016), and the percent difference from term to term by ethnicity.

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entire campus to 39.2% (Table 14). Similary, thanks to the high number of Hispanics at MARB the proportion of that ethnicity at TAMUG increases to 17.5%.

The MARB Department has more first generation college students (38.4% vs. 27.7%) than the rest of TAMUG. This trend is particularly pronounced for Hispanic students. Over the last five years the Hispanic population of first generation students has increased by 39%, and if that trend is maintained, in less than a decade the representation of that minority will reflect the makeup of Texas population (Fig. 15). Unfortunately, we have not been able to attract more Black students to our progams, and that minority remains underrepresented at TAMUG. Consequently, the number Black students has not changed over the last decade. MARB also differs in the academic profile of incoming students. For instance, compared to the rest of TAMUG we have more students who were automatically admitted by virtue of graduating I the top 10% of their class (7.0% vs. 3.5%). Further, the SAT score for our entering freshmen to the MARB (1095) and MARF (1104) programs are higher than the average (1088) for the rest of TAMUG.

Table 14. tudent Diversity and Demographics at MARB and TAMUG (Undergraduate) MARB Headcount Fall

2016 MARB % Fall 2016

TAMUG % Fall 2016 (without MARB)

TAMUG % Fall 2016 (entire campus)

Total 586 29 71 100 Ethnic Origin Asian 16 2.7 2.0 2.3 Black 17 2.9 2.0 2.2 Hispanic/Latino 136 23.2 16.0 17.5 International 0 0.0 <0.1 <0.1 American Indian 4 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 2 or more races 16 2.7 2.0 2.3 Native Hawaiian 4 <1.0 0.0 <0.1 Unknown or Not Reported 0 0.0 0.2 <0.1 White 393 67.1 77.1

74.0

Gender Female 404 68.9 26.4 39.2 Male 153 26.1 75.6 60.8 First Generation Student First Generation 225 38.4 27.7 30.2 Unknown 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Not First Generation 332 56.7 72.3 69.8 Top 10 Percent in High school

Not Top 10 545 93.0 96.5 95.7 Top 10 41 7.0 3.5 4.3 Average SAT by Program

MARB (Composite) 1095 -‐ 1088 MARF (Composite) 1104 -‐ -‐

Figure 15. Headcount of first-‐generation students enrolling into MARB and the percent difference by ethnicity from term to term between 2012-‐2016. White (green line); Hispanics (red line); Black (green line)

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RETENTION RATES: Our first year retention rate with the department has remained stable over the last five years (2012-‐2016), averaging about 55%, and this rate has not varied substantially since 2008 (Table 15). About 25% of the students we loose remain within TAMU, divided equally between students transferring to programs in the main campus at College Station and the remainder in programs at TAMUG. GRADUATION RATES: On-‐time graduation rates for the MARB degree (within 4 years) show a gradual improvement over time (Table 15) reaching a record of 27% in 2012 (2009-‐year class), a 35% increase compared to 2008 (2005 year class), with a similar rate for the 2013 cohort. The lowest on-‐time graduation rate, corresponding to 2009, may have been influenced by hurricane Ike, a major storm that caused major disruption to the life of faculty and students at TAMUG. By the 5th year, about one-‐third of our incoming students graduated with a MARB BS, with a marginal improvement by the 6th year. It is important to note that an additional 10% of the incoming students that do not complete their degree at MARB, transfered and completed their degrees at another department within TAMUG, and still an additional 10% graduated within Texas A&M University. Thus, after 6 years, about 60% of the incoming MARB students graduated with a college degree from Texas A&M University. It is important to recognize that 4-‐ and 6-‐year graduation rates at Texas A&M University (College Station) are among the best in the state for public universities at 51% and 80%, respectively, and while the majority of our MARB students eventually graduate either with a MARB degree (30%), or with another degree (30%), we still lag behind the percentage of success observed in the main campus.

Table 15. Retention and graduation rates for first time incoming students between 2008-‐2016. Percentages of retention and graduation (within 4, 5 and 6-‐yr) within the department are included. Transfer students are not included. NUMBER OF DEGREES PER YEAR: In 2016 the MARB Department awarded a total of 133 undergraduate degrees, corresponding to 115 MARB and 18 MARB (Table 16). Over the last five years our department has on average awarded 109 undergraduate degrees every academic year. In addition, in 2016 the MARB IDP awarded 17 graduate degrees, with more than half corresponding to doctoral degrees. The majorit of our core faculty hold graduate or joint appointments in several departments and programs on the main campus, including Ecology and Evolutionarly Biology (EEB), Ecosystem Science and Management (ESSM), Oceanography, and Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, where they serve as main advisers to Ph.D. and MS students. However, for statistical purposes, these students are not counted in favor of MARB by the system. Over the last five years, our faculty has advised an additional 47 graduate students in these programs, with 20 pursuing a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree.

Cohort Year

Initial cohort count

1 Yr. percent retained within department

4 Yr. percent graduated within department



2008 159 61.01%

19.50% 32.08% 34.59% 2009 143 54.55% 18.88% 29.37% 30.77% 2010 179 57.54% 22.35% 31.84% 32.96% 2011 171 45.61% 18.71% 28.07% 32.40% 2012 156 57.69% 26.92% 27.40% 2013 172 54.65% 26.40% 2014 157 51.59% 2015 141 55.35% 2016 145 55.90%

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Table 16. Degrees awarded by MARB over the last five academic years (2012-‐2016). Degree Offered AY 2012 AY 2013 AY 2014 AY2015 AY 2016

B.S, MARB 98 83 84 105 115 B.S., MARF 9 10 9 10 18 M.S., MARB IDP 1 6 3 4 8 Ph.D., MARB, IDP 0 0 3 4 9 Totals 108 99 99 119 150

AVERAGE TIME TO DEGREE: The average time to degree for MARB students has improved over the last five years (Table 17). In 2016, a student that remains within MARB programs finished his/her degree within 4.27 years, virtually tied with the Department of Maritime Administration with these two programs having the shortest average time to degree at TAMUG. Table 17. Average time to degree (last five years)

AVERAGE INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDED: Data for 2016-‐17 academic year indicates that overall, 79% of the full-‐time UG students enrolled in MARB programs, received some form of financial aid averaging $15,787. Sorted by major, 79% of students enrolled in the MARB degree received on average $15,930 in aid, compared to 81% of MARF majors that received on average $13,907. This aid includes many sources, such as Federal, State, institutional, and privately funded loans, grants, scholarships, waivers, as well as federal and state funded work-‐study. On average 50% of students enrolled in MARB programs received some form of institutional aid in the form of grants, scholarships, and waivers funded exclusively by the University, with an average of $5,729. About 50% of the MARB majors received on average $5,739 in institutional aid, compared to 53% of MARF majors that received on average $5,880. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS: MARB undergraduate students are encouraged to participate in research, and in several instances their efforts are recognized with their inclusion in peer-‐reviewed publications authored by MARB faculty. These publications are identified in the faculty biosketches with arterisks.

Year MARB 2012 4.43 2013 4.38 2014 4.41 2015 4.25 2016 4.27

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GRADUATE PLACEMENT / EMPLOYMENT

Data from the most recent survey (September 2015), conducted by Hanover Research (www.hanoverresearch.com), provided information regarding TAMUG alumni in general, and about MARB graduates in particular. A total of 1311 students were contacted and 332 took the survey.

According to this survey, about 81% of marine biology graduates responded being ‘currently employed’.

This percentage was reported as significantly lower than the rate of employment for alumni from other programs (Fig. 15). However, the same survey found that marine biology graduates are more likely to work in a directly related field than other TAMUG alumni. This result is confirmed by a separate recent survey of past graduates that indicate that 65% of marine biology graduates are employed in the field of marine biology/marine fisheries and a further 20% are working in a closely related field. The MARB Department, however, has to do a better job in tracking the fate of students pursuing graduate education. We have no information of the percentage of them continuing their education at either a professional school or graduate school. The Hanover survey also provides information regarding the views of alumni in regard to whether TAMUG prepared them for the intended field the students selected. A sample of that survey responses is illustrated in Table 17, and includes responses from marine biology graduates, as well as from other disciplines at TAMUG. Most of the sample responses from the marine biology students conclude that MARB course work gave them a good foundation, although some improvements in regard to in-‐program opportunities in research and conservation were identified as desirable. In other instances, our graduates indicate that the material learned in the marine biology program help them directly in the intended field of employment.

Fig. 15. Response to employment question “Are you currently employed”

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Table 17. Sample of responses from Hanover Research survey to the question: Do you feel TAMUG prepared you for the intended field?

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Concluding Observations Based on our current resources, the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University Galveston Campus (TAMUG) is performing extremely well, both in terms of quantity and quality of research, considering the number of undergraduate students we serve and the relatively small number of faculty. Senior student surveys, administered by MARB, and alumni surveys conducted by an independent contractor, indicate that quality of the education offered by our Department is highly rated. Our department has to improve retention and on-‐time graduation rates. MARB has the highest diversity of students and faculty at TAMUG. However, several minorities are underrepresented and MARB is committed to ultimately reflect the makeup of the population of Texas. We are commited to further enhance undergraduate education for our majors. This requires a reduction in the large variance in lecture sizes among upper-‐level courses, resulting from the very high demand of certain courses compared to others. The main objective of such reduction would be to improve student critical thinking and writing skills, and allow for in-‐class discussion with immediate feedback. Creation of smaller, more interactive classes would require modifications that would translate into a larger enrollment in certain upper level MARB or MARF electives (e.g., MARB 466, MARB 460) currently taught by non-‐tenure track faculty, and or by creating additional sections to current popular electives (e.g., MARB 311, MARB 360, MARB 400). Either measure would require additional tenure-‐track faculty hires, although increasing enrollment in non-‐popular upper electives by promoting their relevance to the students’ education is the most viable solution. The current faculty demographics of our department indicate that in the next five years we will have to hire up to four replacements just to maintain our core faculty at its current level of 17. It will take an additional three hires, to reach a core faculty size of 20 by 2020 to be able to keep up with the increase in SCH, and even then, and assuming that our number of MARB majors remains constant, our student: teacher ratio may remain at 34:1. This ratio is still far from the 20:1 ratio recommended as ideal from the pedagogical perspective, and that is the current value at College Station. To reach that ratio, while maintaining our current UG population, would require 29 faculty members, that is 12 more faculty than our current number. It is important to underline, that even if we want to partially attain our goals, that we must be able to reallocate faculty salaries of full professors upon retirement (and other forms of attrition) to new faculty hires, and to use indirect cost returns to partially fund start-‐up packages. Additional funding from the university will likely be required to fully realize this goal. To increase and improve upon our current research programs, the MARB Department must hire additional tenure track faculty, and be able to fund exploratory research, provide bridge funding to productive faculty and provide the equipment and financial support needed to generate preliminary data necessary for obtaining large federal and private research grants. Our strategic plan prioritizes improving our research program. A large portion of this plan can be accomplished through changes made within our department, but it also relies on support from the administration to achieve this mission. Beginning September 1, 2015, 15% of indirect costs were returned to the department (up from 10% in 2014) to reinvest in our research program. However, a commitment from the administration is necessary to ensure that retiring faculty members are replaced with tenure track positions in MARB and that plans to expand our faculty base are implemented. The MARB faculty has to strive to increase the number of Federal grants they secure. Training both undergraduate and graduate students is critical to the future of research needed to solve grand challenges confronting science and society. Our undergraduate program in Marine Biology (MARB) awards more undergraduate and graduate degrees than any other department at TAMUG. Similarly our graduate MARB-‐IDP is performing extremely well, with many of our students transitioning to excellent postdocs or permanent positions after graduation, demonstrating that they are well trained, poised for success and that our contributions to improve preparation is being rewarded. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of the Marine Fisheries (MARF) degree. In spite of these

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indicators of success, our undergraduate programs need improvement in several areas. In particular improvement in retention and graduation rates is necessary, as well as increasing the rates of on-‐time graduation. Of particular concern is the MARB-‐LO option that needs to be re-‐examined. We also need to improve the approach used to track our undergraduate students after graduation, but also in the manner we assess their progress while at TAMUG to be able to more precisely identify opportunities for further improvement to all of our programs.

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A: Self-‐Study Instructional Enhancement. Recommendations and Responses

Appendix B: Department of Marine Biology 5-‐Year Strategic Plan

Appendix C: Undergraduate Degree Plans and Course Requirements Appendix D: Undergraduate Course Descriptions Appendix E: Core Faculty Biographies Appendix F: Institutional Profile

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APPENDIX A Results of the 2016 Instructional

Enhancement Review

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Mission/Purpose The Marine Biology program provides an excellent education in the biological sciences through studies undertaken in a unique coastal environment. The curriculum offers broad training in general biology, while emphasizing the local flora and fauna in estuaries and the marine environment. Students receive hands-‐on field sampling experience as well as internship opportunities. Our goal is to produce graduates who are able to contribute to state and federal environmental agencies and to organizations responsible for the care of the marine environment as well as the flora and fauna within, or to continue to post-‐graduate education. Goals Gain discipline-‐specific depth of knowledge The Department of Marine Biology will provide curricula and experiences that allow undergraduate students to gain discipline-‐specific depth of knowledge that encompasses the flora and fauna in estuaries and the marine environment and that will qualify them for a wide spectrum of career opportunities Outcomes/Objectives 1. Mastery of disciplinary knowledge and skills Students are masters of disciplinary knowledge and skills who: 1) demonstrate knowledge of Math, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Natural History, Genetics, and Earth Science (follows curriculum). 2) Demonstrate knowledge of, and proficiency in, laboratory and field techniques and methods used in applied and basic fields of ecology, evolution, and organismal biology. 2. Identify current issues and formulate relevant questions related to topics in marine biology Formulate good questions and/or identify problems in marine biology including marine ecosystems and organismal biology. 3 : Analyze, interpret & present results and relevant conclusions in local, regional, global, and multidisciplinary contexts Analyze, interpret, present results related to current topics in marine biology. Evaluate the worth and importance of those conclusions by placing them in wider social, environmental, and historical contexts. 4: Self-‐directed Learners Students are Self-‐Directed Learners who: 1) Accept and seek new challenges in learning, 2) Identify purpose, define courses of action, and follow through with a plan to achieve an objective, 3) identify and apply prior knowledge and logical processes to construct new knowledge, and 4) Access and utilize information from a variety of sources. Measures & Findings 1. Comprehension of Scientific Principles Associated objectives Natural History of the Vertebrates (MARB 315) and Invertebrate Zoology (MARB 435) are ‘required’ components of the MARB degree, providing students with an introduction to the diversity, comparative anatomy, function, evolution, and survey of the major taxa. Students will gain a basic understanding of (in)vertebrate diversity, ecology, physiology and evolution. They will research and analyze current literature in invertebrate zoology and synthesize the information; they will collect, analyze and interpret (in)vertebrate-‐related data and summarize their findings in written reports. At the end of the course, students should be able to integrate basic principles of (in)vertebrate diversity and evolution, identify the diversity of major (in)vertebrate groups, identify and integrate form and function from each major

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(in)vertebrate groups from both lecture material and hands-‐on activities in the lab, and integrate and articulate concepts of the evolution of major vertebrate organ systems. Data gathered: Paper critique for Invertebrate Zoology (MARB 435); Laboratory assignments for Vertebrate Zoology (MARB 315) Targets and Findings: 1: Mastery of disciplinary knowledge and skills. Target: 80% of the MARB students will make a combined score of at least 80% on the following assignment: prepare a comprehensive laboratory notebook that demonstrates the student’s ability to integrate and articulate concepts, form and function of the evolution of major vertebrate organ systems based on hands-‐on dissections of vertebrates represent each major vertebrate group. These evaluations will be based on specific rubrics as attached. Findings: 2015-‐2016 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Met 2015/16: 81% of the MARB Students scored 80% or more in the assignment (Natural History of the Vertebrates: prepare a comprehensive laboratory notebook that demonstrates the student’s ability to integrate and articulate concepts, form and function of the evolution of major vertebrate organ systems based on hands-‐on dissections of vertebrates represent each major vertebrate group). 2014/15 76% of the MARB Students scored 80% or more in assignment 1 (Invertebrate Zoology). 74% of the MARB Students scored 80% or more in assignment 2 (Natural History of the Vertebrates) 2: Identify current issues and formulate relevant questions related to topics in marine biology Target: 80% of the MARB students will make a combined score of at least 80% on the following assignment: read, understand, and critically evaluate scientific articles in the field of Invertebrate Zoology. These evaluations will be based on specific rubrics as attached. Findings: 2015-‐2016 Target: Partially Met 71% of the MARB Students scored 80% or more in the assignment (read, understand, and critically evaluate scientific articles in the field of Invertebrate Zoology) 2: Measure Review Title Completion of capstone class Relationship between various marine environments and their inhabitants; intra-‐ and interspecific relationships between organisms; structure and function among marine communities. Laboratory emphasis is placed on study of living material and natural habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Data gathered: Laboratory write up for MARB 425. Targets and Findings: 1: Mastery of disciplinary knowledge and skills 80% of the students will make a combined score of at least 80% on the following assignment: prepare a formal report based upon laboratory experiments in Marine Ecology. 2015-‐2016 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Partially Met 65% of the MARB Students achieved a score of 80% or more in the formal report based upon laboratory experiments in Marine Ecology. 2014-‐2015 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Partially Met 78% of the MARB Students achieved a score of 80% or more in the formal report based upon laboratory experiments in Marine Ecology.

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7: Measure Review Title Research in Marine Biology (MARB 491) – on campus MARB 491 requires students to actively undertake a research project under the direction of a MARB faculty member. Data gathered: Student enrollment in MARB 491 and Marb 491 final grade. MARB 491 is based on independent research in the laboratory. Student enrollment is a measure of the extent to which MARB students accept and seek new challenges in learning, and the final grade is a measure of student's ability to identify purpose, define courses of action, and follow through with a plan to achieve an objective, identify and apply prior knowledge and logical processes to construct new knowledge, and access and utilize information from a variety of sources. Targets and Findings: 4: Self-‐directed Learners 10 % of MARB students will complete MARB 491. 90% of the enrolled students will have a final grade of A or B. 2015-‐2016 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Met 16% of MARB students completed MARB 491(Research in Marine Biology). 96% of MARB students enrolled in MARB 491 obtained a final grade of A or B. 2014-‐2015 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Partially Met 8.5% of MARB students completed MARB 491(Research in Marine Biology) 8: Measure Review Title Undergraduate Internship (MARB 484) – off campus MARB 484 requires students to engage in supervised study in a research or teaching laboratory remote from TAMUG. Student involvement is to consist of real-‐life learning or marine biological research, teaching, management, or a combination of these. Data gathered: Student enrollment in MARB 484 and final grades. Student enrollment is a measure of the extent to which MARB students accept and seek new challenges in learning and the final grade is a measure of student's ability to identify purpose, define courses of action, and follow through with a plan to achieve an objective, identify and apply prior knowledge and logical processes to construct new knowledge, and access and utilize information from a variety of sources.

Target (Final) [Preview Formatting] 10% of MARB students will complete MARB 484 (Undergraduate Internship). 90% of the enrolled students will have a final grade of A or B. 2015-‐2016 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Not Met 3.75% of MARB students completed MARB 484 (Undergraduate Internship). 100% of the MARB students enrolled in MARB 484 obtained a final grade of A or B. 2014-‐2015 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Not Met 2% of MARB students completed MARB 484 (Undergraduate Internship)

9: Measure Review Title Undergraduate field courses Associated objectives (O:3) Status (Final) Description Undergraduate field courses require students to demonstrate most of the following: Stimulation of the student's curiosity to explore a topic in depth, yielding a rich awareness of sometimes little-‐known information indicating intense interest in the subject. Requires student initiative to complete the required work, which generates opportunities to expand knowledge, skills and abilities. Field courses must involve

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at least 10 days of off-‐campus, overnight trips, either domestic or international in scope. Data gathered: Student enrollment in MARB 325, 340, 350, 415

Target (Final) [Preview Formatting] 10% of MARB students will complete a MARB course with a substantial field component (i.e., courses with at least 10 days of field work). MARB courses that fulfill this requisite are: ·∙ MARB 325 Biospeleology . MARB 340 Tropical Marine Ecology ·∙ MARB 350 Methods in Research Diving ·∙ MARB 415 Coastal Marine Biology and Geology of Alaska Findings: 2015-‐2016 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Met 15 % of MARB students completed an undergraduate MARB field course. [Preview Formatting] Last Updated by Maria Miglietta on 9/5/2016 Established by Maria Miglietta on 8/24/2016 • 2014-‐2015 Assessment Summary / Findings Target: Partially Met 9% of MARB students completed an undergraduate MARB field course [Preview Formatting] Established by Juan Sanchez on 8/3/2015 Action Plan: MARB 484 (Undergraduate Internship) is currently the MARB course that is farthest from meeting target levels. We plan to take a more proactive role in the process by contacting and recruiting organizations such as Moody Gardens Aquarium, NOAA Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary, National Marine Fisheries Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, etc. to work with them in designing internship programs for our students. These will then be actively advertised and promoted to our all undergraduate MARB majors in order to meet the target. MARB 435 (Invertebrate Zoology) is a W course. A representative from the TAMUG Writing Center will be invited to present a session discussing ways in which students can improve the quality of their scientific writingThis action plan should assist in meeting the target for this measure. MARB 425 (Marine Ecology) is a senior level required course that completes the progression of undergraduate courses in the Marine Biology curriculum. To improve laboratory scores in MARB 425, the course instructor will work to build upon previous MARB courses, particularly in the lab section to MARB 425. Students in this course will be required to use the campus writing center for assistance with their writing assignments in this course. This action plan should be allow the target for this measure to be met. Achievement Summary The gathered data show that targets for most MARB measures and findings were partially met, with only one, #8 -‐ MARB 484 (Undergraduate Internship) being not met. We plan to take the following steps in order to reach our target for each measure. 1. Students in this course will be required to use the campus writing center for assistance with their writing assignments in this course. 2. A representative from the TAMUG Writing Center will present a session discussing ways in which students can improve the quality of their scientific writing. 3. Advisors and support staff will actively promote undergraduate internship courses before and during registration, and throughout the year, to meet the target. 4. We plan to take a more proactive role in the process by contacting and recruiting organizations such as Moody Gardens Aquarium, NOAA Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary, National Marine Fisheries Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, etc. to work with them in designing internship programs for our students. These will then be actively advertised and promoted to our all undergraduate MARB majors in order to meet the

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target. 5. We plan to recruit some of our new faculty, particularly those with international research experience, to create new Study Abroad course. A multi-‐deparmental committee has been formed to promote development of new study abroad classes and to request funding from the administration for exploratory trips for faculty. In addition, scholarship funds have been requested for multicultural students to study abroad. Of the five-‐step plan proposed during the 2014-‐15 cycle (see below), we have implemented or partially implemented steps 1, 2,3, and 5. As previously described, 4 out of 6 measures showed marked improvement (Measures 1.1, 7, 8, 9). Measures 1.2 and 2 showed a slight decline over the previous year. Upon the recommendation of WEAVE reviewers, we have revised the measures and findings for the MARB undergraduate program in such a way that the action plans from previous years are not applicable. Thus our current data is only comparable with the 2014-‐2015 cycle. Measures for more than a year will be needed to assess long term improvement after plan implementation. Five-‐step plan proposed during the 2014-‐15 cycle. 1. Students in this course will be encouraged to use the campus writing center for assistance with their writing assignments in this course. 2. A representative from the TAMUG Writing Center will be invited to present a session discussing ways in which students can improve the quality of their scientific writing. 3. Advisors and support staff will actively promote measured courses in order to recruit students during registration, and throughout the year, to meet the target. 4. We plan to take a more proactive role in the process by contacting and recruiting organizations such as Moody Gardens Aquarium, NOAA Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary, National Marine Fisheries Service, etc. to work with them in designing internship programs for our students. These will then be actively advertised and promoted to our all undergraduate MARB majors in order to meet the target. 5. We plan to recruit some of our new faculty, particularly those with international research experience, to create new Study Abroad course.

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APPENDIX B Department of Marine Biology Strategic Plan 2015-‐

2020

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DEPARTMENT OF MARINE BIOLOGY

A FIVE-‐YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR USE DURING THE 21ST CENTURY

(Draft 13 November, 2014)

2015 -‐ 2020

September 2014

A PART OF THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY’S GALVESTON COASTAL CAMPUS

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Marine Biology Department Mission TAMUG is a special-‐purpose institution of higher education for undergraduate and graduate instruction in marine and maritime studies in science, engineering and business, and for research and public service related to the general field of marine resources. The Department of Marine Biology (henceforth MARB) was established in 1978, with the mission to provide high quality undergraduate and graduate education in the biological sciences with an emphasis on the biology and ecology of marine organisms and coastal marine habitats. Students receive hands-‐on field and laboratory experience, and research internship opportunities. As part of excellence in teaching, MARB is committed to excellence in research and service, and fostering an inclusive and diverse student and faculty environment. MARB goals adhere closely to those of the Texas A&M University's Vision 2020, as summarized in the Galveston Campus Strategic Plan of 2015-‐2020. Current Academic Programs At TAMUG, undergraduate students are offered a sound and well-‐rounded Bachelor of Science degree in the biological sciences, with an emphasis on marine systems and organisms. As a result, MARB students are well prepared to seek jobs in the fields of marine and terrestrial biology, medical technology, and environmental technology, or to continue with postgraduate or professional degrees. Recent surveys of past graduates reveal that 65% of graduates are employed in the field of marine biology and a further 20% are working in a closely related field. The core curriculum for the degree of B.S. in Marine Biology includes courses in molecular, cellular, physiological and organismal biology. Seven areas of emphasis have been developed around the strengths of the MARB faculty. Students enrolled in any of these areas of study can also register in the U.S. Maritime Service License Option Program through the Texas State Maritime Program and obtain a third mate’s license upon graduation. (Due to the reduced biology course content of the License Option Program, graduates are not prepared to enter graduate school without further course work.) In addition, the department offers a separate B.S. in Marine Fisheries (termed a MARF degree), which emphasizes both Fisheries Biology and Management. There are presently 646 undergraduates enrolled in the MARB (with 31 in the MARF program), with more than 90% of these seeking a B.S. in Marine Biology and a graduation rate of approximately 80 to 85 students per year. Undergraduate students also have the opportunity to enroll in courses offered on the College Station campus of Texas A&M University. MARB currently has opportunities to teach courses with faculty from the University of Texas Medical Branch and from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – Galveston Laboratory. MARB students also gain invaluable experience through internship programs at other institutions (such as NMFS, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sea Grant Fellowships, Moody Aquarium, various Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Fellowships at TAMUG as well as other institutions) or with individual research scientists, both here and elsewhere. The graduate faculty within MARB supervise and advise graduate students in the departments of Oceanography (OCNG), Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (WFSC), Biology (BIOL), and Ecosystem Science and Management (ESSM), based in departments in College Station, and in Marine Resource Management degree program in the Marine Sciences. In addition, MARB is the home department and TAMUG is the home college of the graduate Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Degree Program (MARB IDP) that includes the departments of Marine Biology and Marine Sciences at TAMUG; WFSC, OCNG, and BIOL in College Station; and Life Sciences at TAMU-‐CC. The MARB IDP is in its 5th year and as of Fall 2014, the Galveston enrollment had grown to 42 students; this more or less doubles if College Station and Corpus Christi campuses are included. MARB faculty supervise a total of 60 graduate students, including 42 in the MARB IDP. Student Learning Outcomes

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6. Form good questions related to marine life Formulate good questions and or identifying problems in marine biology including marine ecosystems and organismal biology. 7. Identify information related to marine biology issues Examine, identify, and gather information regarding questions or problems specific to the marine biology discipline. 8. Analyze, interpret & present results Analyze, interpret, and present results related to identified marine biology issues 9. Formulate conclusions appropriate to field Formulate conclusions and/or select the best solution with appropriate justification 10. Evaluate conclusions in marine biology context Evaluate the worth and importance of those conclusions (to place them in the wider social, environmental, and historical context).

Current Research Programs Faculty within the MARB are actively involved in research programs dealing with coastal marine ecology, organismal biology, evolutionary biology, conservation biology, fisheries biology, wetlands ecology, benthic animal ecology, deep-‐sea biology and mariculture. Many of these programs focus on the impact of human activities on marine and estuarine animals and plants, and their environment. The current programs include: • Biodiversity and ecological dynamics of estuarine, coastal and offshore ecosystems; • Life history, habitat use, movement, and feeding ecology of marine fishes; • Shark biology and conservation; • Genetic studies of estuarine, coastal and pelagic fish populations; • Invasive species; • Phylogeny and population genetics of marine invertebrates; • Human health and the quality and safety of seafood products; • Harmful algal blooms; • Wetlands ecology and restoration; • Sea turtle biology and ecology • Oyster diseases, management and conservation; • Marine mammal biology, including behavior, functional morphology, physiology, and conservation; • Vertebrate ecological morphology and comparative physiology; • Evolution and ecology of jellyfish; • Statistical and ecosystem modeling; • Marine cave biology; • Deep-‐sea biology, with emphasis on food webs and ecological processes; • Evolutionary genetics of marine fishes, particularly those found on coral reefs; • Aspects of marine toxicology (in process of hiring faculty member, Autumn 2014) There are also a number of associated programs and cooperative agreements that link MARB with governmental and other research entities including: § Texas Institute of Oceanography (TIO) § National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) § Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TMMSN) § Sea Grant College Program § Center for Texas Beaches and Shores (CTBS) § Laboratory for Environmental Research (LOER)

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§ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department § TAMUG Sea Life Center § Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council § Ocean Exploration Command Center (NOAA and Nautical Archeology) § Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary § American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) § Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) § National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marine Biology Department Vision MARB is committed to enriching the educational, research, and service programs for our students, our educational research, and industrial constituencies, and for the citizens of Texas. As part of TAMUG, MARB is committed to being part of the premier university for ocean and coastal studies on the Gulf Coast by providing enriching educational, research and service programs. The following MARB Goals, Strategies and performance measures support the 12 imperatives of the TAMU System Strategic Plan (Vision 2020) and the TAMU Academic Master Plan: 1 – Elevate Our Faculty and Their Teaching, Research, and Scholarship 2 – Strengthen Our Graduate Programs 3 – Enhance the Undergraduate Academic Experience 4 – Build the Letters, Arts, and Sciences Core 5 – Build on the Tradition of Professional Education 6 – Diversify and Globalize the TAMUG Community 7 – Increase Access to Knowledge Resources 8 – Enrich Our Campus 9 – Build Community and Metropolitan Connections 10 – Demand Enlightened and Inclusive Governance and Leadership that Uses a Team Approach Between Faculty and Administration for Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving 11 – Attain Resource Parity with the Best Public Universities 12 – Meet Our Commitment to Texas These 12 imperatives can best be achieved by MARB in future years through the specific Goals and Strategies outlined below: GOAL 1 -‐ Enhance the quality of undergraduate and graduate education in marine biology. Strategy 1 -‐ Improved recruitment of high quality students.

Project 1 -‐ Continue to update and maintain an effective, informative home page on the Internet. Project 2 -‐ Advise administration on expanding summer programs that are directed at graduating high school seniors who score well on their SAT exams and express an interest in biology. Project 3 -‐ Advise recruitment personnel on visiting target high schools and junior colleges throughout Texas and surrounding states. Project 4 – Stronger entrance criteria for students entering the MARB major in order to improve retention and graduation rates. This will be phased in as a stepped plan. Project 5 -‐ Development of competitive and well-‐advertised summer courses which complement the “Window to the Sea” role at TAMUG and that attract high-‐quality students from outside TAMUG. Summer courses at TAMUG are often an after-‐thought, are not competitive with those of other marine institutions, and suffer from inadequate faculty salary structure. As such, bringing salary and prerequisite resources up to par is highly

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recommended. Project 6 -‐ Cooperation with TAMUG's Honors Program to attract Honor's-‐eligible students from high schools and junior colleges throughout Texas and nationally who have an interest in ocean/coastal-‐related science and the life sciences in general.

Strategy 2 -‐ Development of research and student intern opportunities. Project 7 -‐ Develop and improve connections with the Moody Gardens Aquarium, National Marine Fisheries Service (through the Cooperative Agreement), Sea World of Texas, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea Grant, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, other environmental organizations and industry. Project 8 -‐ Develop Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with federal, state, and international agencies and institutions that allow faculty and students to participate in research experiences such as research cruises, field trips and laboratory experiences. Project 9 -‐ Participate in any future NSF REU program on campus by mentoring students and providing funds to support additional internal student fellowships. Project 10 -‐ Obtain resources such as charitable donations (e.g., McDaniel Charitable Foundation, Moody) to provide funds to senior thesis students to attend conferences. Project 11 -‐ Develop mechanisms to recruit and foster students in the TAMUG Honors program to MARB research activities. Project 12 -‐ Provide faculty and students with resources to improve experiences and opportunities for Undergraduate Research Scholars. Project 13 -‐ Develop and improve research experiences through Texas Institute of Oceanography undergraduate research fellowships. Project 14 – Add hands-‐on summer and Study Abroad courses, package and market them as an “applied” or “practical” experience; this includes development of static field school locations nationally and internationally.

Strategy 3 -‐ Development of a curriculum that is current with the technological advances in the fields of marine biology and fisheries.

Project 15 -‐ Develop new courses that reflect changing fields, for example, course on stock assessment methods, applied ecology, and ecosystem modeling. Project 16 -‐ Regular improvement of teaching laboratory equipment and laboratory capabilities to maintain state-‐of-‐the-‐art teaching facilities. Project 17 -‐ Obtain PUF funds to obtain major instrumentation and/or replace aging equipment, particularly that in the Cell Biology and Comparative Physiology Laboratory. Project 18 -‐ Hire new faculty in the fields of marine biology and fisheries using new technological advances and innovative approaches. Project 19 -‐ Develop summer field course offerings that rival those at Duke, Woods Hole, and other marine biology/oceanographic institutions (this will require a significant resource commitment from the TAMUG administration). Project 20 -‐ Increase hands-‐on field course offerings during both regular semesters and summer sessions.

Strategy 4 -‐ Enhanced relationships with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Geosciences and the College of Science, and the modification of teaching relationships with the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Education.

Project 21– Propose MARB/BIMS certification program with other colleges in College Station. Project 22 – Increase visibility of new IDP Graduate Program in Marine Biology (IDP) in College Station departments. Project 23 – Increase visibility of MARB courses in College Station departments, particularly summer and inter-‐sessional courses.

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Project 24 – Make as many as possible graduate student classes available to students in College Station and TAMU system schools via distance education. Project 25 – Continue efforts to increase number of courses available to students in Galveston via distance education. Project 26 -‐ Improve opportunities for students to simultaneously enroll in classes on several campuses without additional expenses to the students. Project 27 – Enhance relationships with TAMU-‐CC through participation in student activities such as research conferences.

Strategy 5 – Graduate education strategy Project 28 – Hire new faculty who will conduct research and teach in the major focal areas of the new marine biology interdisciplinary program. Project 29 – Develop program resources that will facilitate efforts in distance education in conjunction with the computer informational services. Project 30 – Develop graduate student support systems in terms of scholarships and fellowships through intramural and extramural funding, with a goal of 4-‐year support for Ph.D. students and 2 year support for MS students. Project 31 -‐ Develop program resources that facilitate and expand hands-‐on field experience through coursework as well as research. Project 32 – Initiate improved recruiting of students in under-‐represented groups (African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, etc.), including but not limited to ‘targeting and tracking’ competent TAMUG marine biology and marine science undergraduates in these groups.

Strategy 6 – Study Abroad courses

Project 33 – Develop and recruit students into officially sanctioned Study Abroad courses. Such courses provide students with both Marine Biology and International and Cultural Diversity credits. Currently, Study Abroad courses regularly offered at TAMUG are spring to summer courses in Tropical Marine Ecology (MARB 340/617) in Mexico, Natural Resources of the Mediterranean in Italy/Greece (MARB 689), Research and Conservation in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece (MARB 407/607); and a December course on Behavioral Ecology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds of New Zealand (MARB 404/604)

GOAL 2 -‐ Achieve teaching and service excellence. Strategy 1 -‐ Improved faculty teaching skills.

Project 34 – Increase support for faculty teaching undergraduate "W" writing designation courses. The four currently offered MARB courses with the “W” writing designation are MARB 408, MARB 430, MARB 435, and MARB 482; enrollment in these courses frequently exceeds the 20:1 student: instructor ratio recommended by the University Writing Center. Additional grading and tutoring support will accommodate the continued increases in enrollment. Project 35 – Continue to increase the number of faculty participating in Center for Teaching Excellence course offerings by offering Galveston-‐based workshops and incentives. Project 36 –Improved Graduate Teaching Assistant skills through involvement in TA training clinics in Galveston and College Station. Work with the Galveston Writing Center to develop TA training for writing effective rubrics and consistently grading writing assignments.

Strategy 2 -‐ The achievement of faculty salary and workload parity with comparable TAMU departments (Oceanography, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Ecosystem Science and Management) by 2020.

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Project 37 -‐ Need to increase faculty salary allocation in budget. Project 38 -‐ Need to provide adequate summer salary support for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses.

Strategy 3 -‐ Enhanced student retention rates through improved faculty/staff interactions with students.

Project 39 -‐ Maintain departmental student advising of incoming freshmen and transfer students through the first 60 credit hours. Increase incentives for faculty involvement, and include more trained staff in the advising program. Project 40 -‐ Increase the technical expertise of MARB office staff by the development of training seminars, and by the provision of opportunities to attend off-‐site professional development courses.

GOAL 3 -‐ Foster Research Enhancement.

Strategy 1 -‐ Expansion of both education and research programs via the acquisition of new faculty.

Project 41 – Identify the knowledge gaps in MARB department current undergraduate and graduate programs, specifically the Marine Biology IDP program. This will necessitate new faculty hires and diversification of the core curriculum. Project 42 – Determine needs to develop and strengthen research foci areas described in previous strategic plan.

Strategy 2 -‐ Increased level of research support through grants, contracts, and internal support.

Project 43 – Develop departmental list of requirements for new instrumentation to support research programs – target PUF funds. Project 44 – Develop departmental list of requirements to outfit the new vessel and field efforts to support research programs – target PUF funds. Project 45 -‐ Increase support for faculty enhancement through attendance at national and international scientific meetings. Project 46 -‐ Increase number of graduate students supported by research grants and through NSF and other fellowships.

Strategy 3 -‐ Enhanced cooperative international education and research programs.

Project 47 –Increase participation in CONACYT and other international funding opportunities, including the Qatar National Research Fund. Investigate and pursue other possibilities, such as in China and Brazil. The above includes development of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with international partners to promote exchanges of students.

Strategy 4 -‐ Enhance research infrastructure.

Project 48 -‐ Outfit and equip the Sea Life Center with mesocosms, aquaria, raceways, and associated life support systems. Increase resources and space for experimental use. Enhance the Visitor’s Center and public knowledge of the Sea Life Center.

Project 49 -‐ Purchase a state-‐of-‐the-‐art next-‐generation sequencing platform and maintenance contract for it using PUF and other discretionary funds to match equipment grants. Project 50 -‐ Invest in new technology and instrumentation. Project 51 – Enhance the continued need for adequate research vessels for both estuarine/bay and offshore research. Project 52 – Work towards ever-‐better coordination with waterfront operations, as well as improvement of

Galveston, TX 56


vessel maintenance.

GOAL 4 -‐ Undertake a program of Resource Development. Strategy 1 -‐ Coordinate with the Capital Campaign in conjunction with the Office of Campus Development and External Relations.

Project 53 -‐ Raise funds for developing resources for faculty research. Project 54 -‐ Raise funds for developing resources for teaching. Project 55 -‐ Raise funds for developing resources for scholarships for MARB graduate and undergraduate students, with special emphasis on enhancing/expanding diversity of the student body. Project 56 – Raise funds for new faculty hires, with commensurate office, lab, and graduate student space designated for each potential hire; and to endow chairs.

Performance Measures correlating to the above Goals 3. MARB will strive to continue to be a pre-‐eminent academic department.

a. Increase the number of graduate majors and increase the total number of graduates. b. Maintain and increase retention of AMRN majors. c. Demonstrate consistent improvements in financial indicators of research success by increasing

research support through grants, contracts to faculty and students. d. Demonstrate consistent improvements in non-‐financial indicators of research success, including

peer-‐reviewed publications, leadership roles in scholarly organizations, involvement in national academy studies, and other similar indicators.

e. Increase numbers of underrepresented students, faculty and staff groups. f. Increase participation in mentorships, professional development programs, and faculty/staff

recognition. 4. MARB will maintain a high quality & dynamic learning community.

a. Increase number of teaching and research faculty, ensuring that office and lab space is available for them prior to their recruitment. b. Increase graduate student enrollment. c. Increase the number of undergraduate students who participate in research. d. Foster a diversity of student experiences by increasing the number of student sponsored activities. e. Increase Faculty use of instructional support technology and the number of distance education courses available.

Appendix

Progress since last Strategic Plan (2010-‐2015)

In the previous Strategic Plan, MARB defined essentially the same goals and strategies as listed here, and has made good progress on several of these, with strong enhancements desired in the next 5 years. Goal 1 -‐-‐ Enhance the quality of undergraduate and graduate education in marine biology. The opening of the new Ocean and Coastal Studies Building, OCSB, in year 2010-‐2011 put all of us on one campus, with MARB faculty housed in the same building as where many of our large auditorium room lectures are held, with easy access by

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especially undergraduate students to faculty labs and offices. This was not as feasible when faculty and graduate students (the teaching assistants) were on separate islands, and has been the single most important improvement to quality education in the past five years. At the same time, the MARB IDP developed and has rapidly grown these past 5 years, so that we now have a vibrant graduate student body on campus, especially so in MARB, and this has enhanced both graduate and undergraduate student education in strong manner. Programs of research have increased as new replacement faculty as well as new faculty lines have opened up, with the addition of 1) shark biology and fisheries science; 2) statistical and ecosystem modeling; 3) evolutionary genetics of marine fishes, especially on coral reefs; 4) evolution, taxonomy, and systematics of hydrozoans, with special attention to invasive species of jellyfish; and 5) the 2014-‐2015 process of hiring a toxicologist, who will further enhance the broadness of marine biology education. The addition of the TAMUG Sea Life Center is providing not only research but amazing new teaching capabilities to students at all levels, especially interns volunteering their time in maintenance of the facility and in helping with research projects. At the same time, associations with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, Ocean Exploration Command Center, and the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary have either been initiated or strengthened. In Fall 2014, a close collaborative relationship with certain MARB faculty and the TAMU Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences was established, and this will reap benefits for improved inter-‐campus education. Study Abroad courses have increased from ones held only in Mexico before 2010 to presently being held in Mexico, New Zealand, Italy, and Greece. There has also been continuing emphasis on U.S.-‐based field courses, such as dive-‐related courses during intersessions, and the Coastal Marine Biology and Geology of Alaska courses held in Summer. Goal 2 -‐-‐ Achieve teaching and service excellence. There has been an increase in writing intensive "W" designation courses, with presently MARB 408, 430, 435, and 482 so operating. As stated in the present Strategic Plan, size enrollment and additional grading and tutoring support will further enhance these classes.

Since 2010, graduate teaching assistant skills have been improved by a yearly mandatory workshop for all graduate students, and this has benefited uniformity and fairness in undergraduate teaching. In part because of the new proximity of faculty and students on one campus, advising of especially incoming new and transfer, freshman, and sophomore students has improved. It is hoped that further close liaison between faculty, support personnel, and students will help to increase retention. Goal 3 -‐-‐ Foster Research Enhancement. As stated for Goal 1 above (and realizing that excellence in teaching and education in general are intricately linked with excellence in research), the modernization of lab facilities and space in the OCSB, the addition of several new researchers and research topics, and the proximity of faculty to student interns to help in their labs, have all added new dimensions of research capabilities. The core curriculum has been diversified as a result, and while not perfect, this is an important 5-‐year accomplishment. There has been recent increased participation of research through Mexican CONACYT, as well as through the Qatar National Research Fund. The development and initial outfitting of the OCSB-‐based Sea Life Center has increased and improved aspects of cultured-‐related research, as well as the re-‐habilitation of endangered sea turtles. The Small Boat Basin and MARB are coordinating in ever-‐better fashion, with cost-‐effective utilization of small vessels for teaching and research.

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Goal 4 -‐-‐ Undertake a program of Resource Development. The administration has recently increased funding opportunities especially for graduate education, with an emphasis on searching for and recruiting under-‐represented minorities. This has served to enhance the diversity of graduate education, and there has at the same time been an increase in under-‐represented undergraduate minorities, especially of Hispanics at the undergraduate level. While not yet perfect, our goal is to become a totally inclusive and diverse campus, and this is so for MARB in this instance. New faculty hires have taken place, and have increased our teaching, research, and service capabilities. This has resulted in a situation of "bursting at the seams", and space issues need to be resolved in the next 5 years. It is recommended that as the student body size increases, new faculty lines be added to MARB, to increase the broadness of marine biology research and education. However, it is recommended that for the future, these be added commensurate to having additional identified faculty office, graduate student cubicle, and laboratory space become available. At least one new endowed chair was added to our faculty during the past Strategic Plan, and it is recommended that more such endowed chairs be sought, as these increase our capabilities in teaching, research, and service.

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APPENDIX C Undergraduate Degree Plans

Galveston, TX 60


NAME UIN

Catalog #Course CR Substitution Course CR Substitution

BIOL 111 � 4 F S BIOL 112 � 4 F S SUCHEM 101 3 CHEM 102 3 CHEM 111 1 CHEM 112 1 HISTORY 1 3 HISTORY 1 3 MATH 141/150/152/PHIL 240 3 MATH 142/151 3

ENGL 104 314 17

CHEM 227 3 CHEM 228 3 CHEM 237 1 CHEM 238 1 MARB 315 4 F S MUST HAVE BIOL 111 & 112 MARB 303 3 F S

PHYS 201 4 PHYS 202 4 POLS 206 3 POLS 207 3

15 14

ENGL 210 2 3 MARB 310 4 F S MARB 301 4 F S MARB 435 �" 4 F SElective in MARB 4 Elective in MARB 4Elective in MARB 4 Elective in Social Science 3

15 15

MARB 408 / 430 �" 4 F S 408 (S) 430 (F) MARB 420 4 SPRINGMARB 425 4 FALL MARB 482 �" 1 F SElective in Earth Science 3 3 Elective in MARB 4 Elective in MARB 4 Elective in Lang/Phil/Culture 3

Elective in Creative Arts 315 15

ICD 4 -- ICD 4 --Foreign Language --

Total: 120COMMENTS:

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT GALVESTONMARINE BIOLOGY

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

SOPHOMORE YEAR

FRESHMAN YEAR

Fall Semester Spring Semester

Fall Semester

JUNIOR YEAR

Spring Semester

"�Writing Intensive- Minimum 2 courses

2 Required to have a 3 hour Communication course. May substitute COMM 203 or ENGL 203.

1 Required to have a 3 hour American History course. May choose from the following: HIST 105, 106, 226 or 232.

3 Required to have a 3 hour Earth Science course. May choose to take OCNG 251, GEOL 101-499, or METR 302.

F (FALL) S (SPRING) SU (SUMMER)

Spring Semester

4 Required to have 6 hours with ICD attribute in order to graduate. It is possible to use Language/Philosophy/Culture, Creative Arts, Social Science and MARB electives to satisfy the requirement if the course also has the ICD attribute.

Fall Semester

��Courses requiring a grade of "C" or better

SENIOR YEAR

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NAME UIN

Catalog # 139Course CR Substitution Course CR Substitution

BIOL 111 ! 4 F S BIOL 112 ! 4 F SCHEM 101 3 CHEM 102 3 CHEM 111 1 CHEM 112 1

HISTORY 1 3 HISTORY 1 3 MATH 141/150/152/PHIL 240 3 MATH 142/151 3

ENGL 104 2 314 17

CHEM 227 3 CHEM 228 3 CHEM 237 1 CHEM 238 1 MARB 315 4 F S MUST HAVE BIOL 111 & 112 MARB 311 4 SPRING

PHYS 201 4 PHYS 202 4 POLS 206 3 POLS 207 3

15 15

MARB 301 4 F S MARB 360 4 SPRING MARB 303 3 F S Elective in Lang/Phil/Culture 3MARB 312 4 FALL OCNG 251 3MARB 435 " 4 F S MARS 252 - OCNG Lab 1

ECON 202 315 14

MARB 423 4 FALL MARB 460 4 SPRINGMARB 425 4 FALL MARB 482 " 1 F S MARB 445 4 FALL Directed Elective 4 **** Elective in Creative Arts 3 Directed Elective 3 ****

ENGL 210 2 315 15

ICD 3 -- ICD 3 --Foreign Language --

Total: 120COMMENTS:

! Courses requiring a grade of "C" or better

Fall Semester

Spring Semester


" Writing Intensive - Minimum 2 courses

Fall Semester

SENIOR YEAR

JUNIOR YEAR

Spring Semester

**** Must be an upper level MARB course. Upper level MARS course can be chosen with approval from MARB Department.

1 Required to have a 3 hour American History coure. May choose from the following: HIST 105, 106, 226 or HIST 232. 2 Required to have a 3 hour Communication course. May substitute COMM 203 or ENGL 203. 3 Required to have 6 hours with ICD attribute in order to graduate. It is possible to use Language/Philosophy/Culture, Creative Arts, and MARB electives to satisfy the requirement if the course also has the ICD attribute.

TEXAS A&M UNIVERISTY AT GALVESTONMARINE FISHERIES

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

SOPHOMORE YEAR

FRESHMAN YEAR


Galveston, TX 62


NAME UIN

Catalog # 139Course CR Substitution Course CR Substitution

BIOL 111 � 4 F S BIOL 112 � 4 F S SUCHEM 101 3 F S CHEM 102 3 F S CHEM 111 1 F S CHEM 112 1 F S MART 201 � 3 MART 203 � 3 MART 103 � 3 MART 204 � 3 MATH 141 3 MATH 142 3

17 17

CHEM 227 3 F S SU CHEM 228 3 F S SU CHEM 237 1 F S SU CHEM 238 1 F S MARB 300 2 ENGL 104 3

HIST 105 1 3 MART 301 ��" 3 NVSC 200 � 3 MART 303 � 3 PHYS 201 4 F S PHYS 202 4 F S

16 17

MARB 315 4 MART 304 � 2 MARB 303 3 MART 202 � 3 or MART 305MART 306 � 4 MART 307 � 3MART 312 � 3 MART 406 � 3MART 321 � 2 POLS 206 3

16 14

MARB 310 4 MARB 311 4 SPRINGMARB 425 4 FALL MARB 435 " 4 MART 410 � 2 OCNG 251 3POLS 207 3 MART 498 � 2Elective in Creative Arts 3 HIST 106 1 3

16 16

ICD 2 -- ICD 2 --Foreign Language 3 --

Total: 150

FRESHMAN YEAR

SOPHOMORE YEAR

JUNIOR YEAR

SENIOR YEARSpring Semester

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT GALVESTONMARINE BIOLOGY-LICENSE OPTION

Fall Semester

Spring Semester


Fall Semester

MART 200 or NAUT 200 (4 or 6 hours)�

MART 300 or MART 350 or NAUT 300 (4 or 6 hours)�

"�Writing Intensive- Minimum 2 courses

1 Required to have a 3 hour American History course. May substitute HIST 226 or HIST 232.

Summer Training Cruise


Summer Shoreside

Spring Semester


2 Required to have 6 hours with ICD attribute in order to graduate. It is possible to use Language/Philosophy/Culture, Social Science, Summer Cruises and MARB electives to satisfy the requirement if the course also has the ICD attribute. 3 Required to have 2 years of the same foreign language in high school or 1 year of the same foreign language in college.

COMMENTS:

Fall Semester

��Courses requiring a grade of "C" or better


ECON 203, ENGL 210, Elective in Language/Philosophy/Culture (9 hours total)

MART 400 or NAUT 400 (4 or 6 hours)�

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Marine Biology -‐ Required and Elective Courses (updated Jan 2017) 12 hours MUST come from the upper tier. The other 8 hours can be chosen from the second tier to fulfill the 20 hours required for MARB electives.

Required 40 Hours

Upper Tier Electives 12 Hours

Second Tier Electives 8 Hours

Biol 111 4 Biol 351 (Microbiology) 4 Marb 300 (Scientific Methods) 2 Biol 112 4 Marb 311 (Ichthyology) 4 Marb 302 (SeaWorld) 3 Marb 301 (Genetics) 4 Marb 335 (Fish Physiology) 3 Marb 312 (Field Ich.) 4 Marb 303 (Biostatistics) 3 Marb 340 (Trop. Marine Eco)***4 Marb 320 (Fisheries Tech) 4 Marb 310 (Cell Biology) 4 Marb 360 (Conservation Bio) 4 Marb 325 (Biospeleology) 4 Marb 315 (Nat. His. Vert.) 4 Marb 400 (Marine Mammals) 4 Marb 334 (Bio of Sea Turtles) 4 Marb 408 or 430 (Plants) 4 Marb 401 (Phys. Mar. Mammals) 3 Marb 345 (Intro. Scientific Div)** 4 Marb 420 (Compar. Phys.) 4 Marb 403 (Cetacean Behavior) 4 Marb 350 (Methods Res. Div)** 4 Marb 425 (Marine Ecology) 4 Marb 407 (Greece)* 4 Marb 405 (Marine Parasitology) 3 Marb 435 (Invert.) 4 Marb 408 (Marine Botany) 4 Marb 406 (Life in Extreme Env.) 3 Marb 482 (Seminar) 1 Marb 410 (Animal Behavior) 3 Marb 414 (Toxicology) 3 Marb 430 (Coastal Plant Eco.) 4 Marb 415 (Alaska) 3 Marb 466 (Evolutionary Bio) 3 Marb 423 (Mariculture) 4 Marb 426 (Aqua. Animal Nutri.) 3 Mars 360 (Biochemistry) 4 Marb 433 (Bioinformatics) 3 Marb 437 (Pathology of Animals) 3 Marb 445 (Marine Fish. Manage.) 4 Marb 460 (Fish. Population Dyn.) 4 Marb 484 (Internship) 1-‐4 Marb 491 (Research) 1-‐4

Numbers in red are the credit hours RESTRICTIONS

MARB 408 and 430 cannot be used for both required and upper tier Limit: Only 2 mammal courses (MARB 400, 401, 403, 407) Only 1 scientific diving course (MARB 345 or 350) Maximum of 4 credits of MARB 484 and/or 491 can be used for Second Tier

REQUIRED FALL & SPRING BIOL 111 & 112, MARB 301, 303, 310, 315, 435, 482 REQUIRED FALL MARB 425, 430 REQUIRED SPRING MARB 420, 408 ELECTIVES FALL & SPRING BIOL 351, MARB 300, 484, 491 ELECTIVES FALL MARB 312, 325, 335, 400, 414, 423, 437, 445, 466, MARS 360 ELECTIVES SPRING MARB 311, 345, 360, 401, 405, 406, 410, 426, 433, 460 ELECTIVES JANUARY MARB 302, 403 ELECTIVES SUMMER MARB 320, 334, 340, 350, 407, 415, 484, 491

*Study Abroad-‐ICD credit ** Diving Course

Galveston, TX 64


For detailed course descriptions, visit: http://www.tamug.edu/marb/MARB_Courses.html

Marine Fisheries -‐ Required and Elective Courses

Required Courses 52 Credits

Elective Courses 7 Credits

Biol 111 4 Biol 351 (Microbiology) 4 Marb 405 (Marine Parasitology) 3 Biol 112 4 Marb 300 (Scientific Methods) 2 Marb 406 (Life in Extreme Env.) 3 Marb 301 (Genetics) 4 Marb 302 (SeaWorld) 3 Marb 407 (Greece)* 4 Marb 303 (Biostatistics) 3 Marb 310 (Cell Biology) 4 Marb 408 (Botany) 4 Marb 311 (Ichthyology) 4 Marb 320 (Fisheries Tech) 4 Marb 410 (Animal Behavior) 3 Marb 312 (Field Ich.) 4 Marb 325 (Biospeleology) 4 Marb 414 (Toxicology) 3 Marb 315 (Nat. His. Vert.) 4 Marb 334 (Bio of Sea Turtles) 4 Marb 415 (Alaska) 3 Marb 360 (Conservation) 4 Marb 335 (Fish Phys.) 3 Marb 420 (Comparative) 4 Marb 423 (Mariculture) 4 Marb 340 (Trop. Marine Eco)*** 4 Marb 426 (Aqua. Animal Nutri.) 3 Marb 425 (Marine Ecology) 4 Marb 345 (Intro. Scientific Div)** 4 Marb 430 (Coastal Plant Eco.) 4 Marb 435 (Invert.) 4 Marb 350 (Methods Res. Div.)** 4 Marb 433 (Bioinformatics) 3 Marb 445 (Marine Fish. Manage.) 4 Marb 400 (Marine Mammals) 4 Marb 437 (Pathology of Animals) 3 Marb 460 (Fish. Population Dy.) 4 Marb 401 (Phys. of Mammals) 4 Marb 466 (Evolution Biology) 3 Marb 482 (Seminar) 1 Marb 403 (Cetacean Behavior) 4 Marb 484 (Internship) 1-‐4 Marb 491 (Research) 1-‐4

Numbers in red are the credit hours REQUIRED FALL & SPRING BIOL 111 & 112, MARB 301, 303, 315, 435, 482 REQUIRED FALL MARB 312, 423, 425, 445 REQUIRED SPRING MARB 311, 360, 460 ELECTIVES FALL & SPRING BIOL 351 MARB 300, 310, 484, 491 ELECTIVES FALL MARB 325, 335, 400, 414, 430, 437, 466 ELECTIVES SPRING MARB 345, 401, 405, 406, 408, 410, 420, 426, 433 ELECTIVES JANUARY MARB 302, 403 ELECTIVES SUMMER MARB 320, 334, 340, 350, 407, 415, 484, 491 *Study Abroad-‐ICD credit ** Diving Course

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Core Curriculum Electives

Language, Philosophy and Culture

3 hrs.

Social and Behavioral Science

3 hrs.

Creative Arts 3 hrs.

ICD* 6 hrs.

ANTH 202 ANTH 210 ANTH 210 ANTH 316

ARTS 150 ARTS 150 ECON 202 ECON 203

ENGL 204 ENGL 204 ENGL 212

ENGL 222 ENGL 222 ENGL 251 ENGL 251

ENGL 253 ENGL 253 ENGL 330 ENGL 334 ENGL 335 ENGL 338 ENGL 338 ENGL 374 ENGL 374

GEOG 201 GEOG 201 GEOG 202 GEOG 202 GEOG 301 GEOG 301

HISP 204 HIST 242

KINE 210 MARB 340 MARB 407 MARS 210 MARS 210 MUSC 226 MUSC 226 PSYC 107

SPAN 201 SPAN 201 SPAN 202 SPAN 202

* International & Cultural Diversity ** If the course is listed in 2 columns, it counts towards both requirements ***Only those courses which are offered at TAMUG are listed. There are other courses not on this list that can

fulfill the core curriculum requirements.

For more course listings and Texas Common Course Numbers

visit http://core.tamu.edu/

Galveston, TX 66


APPENDIX D Undergraduate Course Descriptions

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UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS MARB 101 Succeeding in Science Credit 1. 1 Lecture Hour. An orientation of the biological sciences including the nature of science, functions of scientists, and a better understanding of the fundamentals of science. Students receive hands-‐on experiences that provide opportunities to work with faculty, graduate and other undergraduate students. MARB 200 Introduction to Marine Biology: The Sea World Experience Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Introduction to Marine Biology: The Sea World Experience. Exploration of marine organisms, survey topics in vertebrate marine biology, and introduction to the role that aquatic oriented parks play in education, research and conservation. Students will have hands-‐on experiences by participating in aspects of maintaining aquatic organisms in captivity including animal care and nutrition, physiology, behavior, animal training and water quality. Exposure to marine organismal taxonomy, natural history, anatomy and ecology. Prerequisites: BIOL 111 with a >C average; GPA >2.0; freshman or sophomore status or instructor permission. MARB 285 Directed Studies Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Other Hours. Special topics and problems in field and/or laboratory work suited to analysis by individuals or small groups concerning aspects of marine biology. Usually requires a report describing techniques and results. Only 3 credit hours may be used in the degree plan curriculum. Prerequisites: 2.25 GPR, Approval of instructor. MARB 289 Special Topics in Marine Biology Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Lecture Hours. Study of selected topics in an identified area of marine biology. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor. MARB 300 Scientific Methods in Marine Biology Credits 2. 1 Lecture Hour. 3 Lab Hours. An introduction to field, laboratory and analytical methods, equipment and instruments. The field portion will include making proper observations, sampling techniques, and data recording. The laboratory portion will include sample analysis methods, use of instruments, introduction to data analysis including elementary statistics, introduction to scientific literature and report writing style. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 301 Genetics Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Fundamental principles of genetics; physical basis of Mendelian inheritance; expression and interaction of genes, linkage, sex linkage, biochemical nature of genetic material, and mutation. Prerequisites: CHEM 227, 228, 237 and 238. Curriculum junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 303 Biostatistics Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 2 Lab Hours. Introduction to sampling, experimental design, analysis of data, and testing of hypotheses, with emphasis on methods applied to biological investigations. Parametric and non-‐parametric techniques. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlation and regression. Prerequisites: MATH 151. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 310 Introduction to Cell Biology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Cellular structure/function; procaryotic vs. eucaryotic cells. Examination of cellular membranes and membrane transport.

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Analysis of DNA replication, transcription, and protein translation (an extension of their treatment in MARB 301). Introduction to the components and genetics of immunology. Cell Biology should precede or be concurrent with enrollment in MARB 450. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, CHEM 228, MARB 301. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARS 360 is recommended but not required. MARB 311 Ichthyology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Freshwater and marine fishes. Subject will be mainly systematic, but evolution, ecology, life history, and economics of more important species will be treated. Prerequisites: BIOL 112 and MARB 315. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 312 Field Ichthyology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Field and laboratory studies on identification and ecology of freshwater and marine fishes of Texas. Field trips required. Prerequisites: MARB 311. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 315 Natural History of Vertebrates Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Natural history of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, with emphasis on coastal Texas vertebrates. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 320 Fisheries Techniques Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. An introduction to theory and techniques in fisheries biology and ecology. Experience with fisheries equipment and techniques will be provided in both field and laboratory. Practical sampling design, collection, and interpretation of data from estuarine, coastal and offshore environments will be addressed. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, MARB 311. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 325 Biospeleology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. A field-‐oriented introduction to the biology of aquatic and terrestrial cave organisms with discussions on the origin of caves, cave environment, cave fauna, and evolution. Field trips required. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, CHEM 101. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 330 Physiological Ecology Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of how ecological pressures dictate individual and interorganismal physiological processes that lead to individual and community adaptation. Discussion of the physiological interrelationships between members of an ecological community. Attention will be directed toward physiological systems of plants and animals. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 334 Biology of Sea Turtles Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Living sea turtles of the world, with emphasis on species in the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean basins. Emphasis includes phylogeny, population biology, ecology, life history, behavior, social and economic aspects and their impact on sea turtle conservation and recovery. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, MARB 315 or instructor approval. MARB 335 Fish Physiology Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study of the basic physiology of fishes. Examination of fish cardiovascular, renal, digestive, locomotor, reproductive, and central/peripheral nervous systems. Discussion of physiological adaptations enhancing survival in a water medium. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 340 Tropical Marine Ecology

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Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. This course provides for field-‐oriented experience in coral reef, mangrove, sea grass and other tropical marine ecosystems. Special emphasis will be placed on biodiversity, ecology and conservation issues specific to Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. All students who dive must either be a current AAUS scientific diver or present a current medical examination (which will be provided by the Diving Safety Officer or instructor) completed within the past 12 months and signed by a doctor, to the instructor before class participation in the pool will be allowed. Prior to using scuba equipment, all students must provide proof of open water certification or equivalent diving experience (advanced certification recommended). Permission of the instructor and the Diving Safety Officer is required before any pool activity takes place. Divers Alert Network insurance, or equivalent, is required. MARB 345 Introduction to Scientific Diving Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Prepare and qualify divers for entry into the TAMUG Scientific Diving Program. Students must pass medical, swimming, skin diving and scuba diving tests. Lectures include diving equipment, physics, physiology, medicine, regulations, environment, emergency and decompression procedures. Prerequisites: BIOL 111, PHYS 201, advanced scuba certification. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. All students must present a current medical examination (which will be provided by the Diving Safety Officer or instructor) completed within the past 12 months, to the instructor before class participation in the pool will be allowed. Prior to using scuba equipment, all students must provide proof of basic certification. Permission of the instructor and the Diving Safety Officer is required before any pool activity takes place. Divers Alert Network insurance, or equivalent, is required. MARB 350 Methods in Research Diving Credits 4. 2 Lecture Hours. 6 Lab Hours. Survey of research methods and techniques using diving. Lecture and lab designed to train students in safe, efficient use of diving to collect and record data underwater for studies primarily in biology, geology, and archaeology. Prerequisites: MARB 345. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. All students must present a completed medical examination (Appendices 1-‐4 in the TAMUG diving manual) signed by a doctor, to the instructor before class participation in the pool will be allowed. Prior to using scuba equipment, all students must provide proof of advanced open water certification or equivalent diving experience. Permission of the instructor and the Diving Safety Officer is required before any pool activity takes place. Divers Alert Network insurance, or equivalent, is required. MARB 360 Marine Conservation Biology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Lectures and laboratories cover the major principles of conservation biology; a new synthetic field that applies concepts of ecology, systematics and evolution, biogeology, genetics, behavioral sciences, and social sciences to the conservation of marine fisheries resources. Lab exercises include morphometric and genetic variation, GIS, molecular systematics and phylogenetic inference. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 400 Biology of Marine Mammals Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. A broad-‐spectrum course on the taxonomy, evolution, morphology behavior, and ecology of marine mammals, including sirenians, carnivores, baleen and toothed whales and dolphins. Prerequisite: BIOL 112, MARB 315. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 401 Physiological Ecology of Marine Mammals Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Anatomy, taxonomy, phylogeny and physiological adaptations of marine mammals. Prerequisites: MARB 315. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 402 General Mammology Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Mammalian biology; evolution, classification, biogeography, reproduction, physiology, ecology, and behavior; focuses on basic concepts necessary for a foundation in both wildlife science and biology. Prerequisites. MARB 315. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.

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MARB 403 Cetacean Behavior and Behavioral Ecology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. This course consists of lecture of up to date descriptions of Cetacean behavior and ecology; and of labs that evaluate the literature of topics of present relevance. Prerequisite: MARB 315. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 404 Behavioral Ecology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds of New Zealand Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Behavioralecology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds of New Zealand. Ecology and behavior of marine birds and mammals of South Island, New Zealand; literature comparisons of marine vertebrates; emphasis is on animals in nature; laboratory experience of the animals from boats and shore; readings, videos, interpretation and peer-‐review of scientific papers and books. Prerequisites: MARB 315 or other vertebrate or chordate course. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 405 Marine Parasitology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Fundamentals of parasitology, with emphasis on marine applications. Survey of major parasites of marine animals and the diseases they cause, especially in ecologically and commercially-‐important host species. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 406 Life in Extreme Environments Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Key metabolic and physiological innovations of extremophile organisms; topics include the molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology of organisms living in extreme environments. Prerequisites: MARB 315; CHEM 228; junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 407 Research and Conservation in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece: Dolphins, Fisheries and Cultural Heritage Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Lectures, readings and labs on the ecology and behavior of the vertebrate fauna of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece; Laboratory hands-‐on experience of the marine environment from boats, readings, videos, interpretation, and select major peer-‐review scientific papers and books. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification; MARB 315 or approval of instructor. MARB 408 Marine Botany Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Morphology, systematics, ecology, and biochemistry of representative algae, fungi, and submarine grasses. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 410 Animal Behavior Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of ethological concepts. Discussion of the development, genetics, physiology, and evolution of animal behavior patterns involved in reproduction, territoriality, aggression, communication, population dispersion, sociality, and sociobiology of invertebrates and vertebrates. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 412 Sociobiology of Reproduction Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Application of sociobiological concepts to examine the evolution and adaptive significance of reproductive strategies utilized by marine and terrestrial animals. Strategy-‐influencing factors to be discussed include: mate selection and competition, sex roles, bonding, parental investment in offspring, and socialization. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, MARB 301 or equivalent, or concurrent registration. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 414 Toxicology Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. This course presents the history and scope of toxicology as it applies to mammals. Where possible, marine species will be

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used for examples and assigned papers. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, CHEM 227, CHEM 228. MARB 415 Coastal Marine Biology and Geology of Alaska Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Field course conducted in south-‐central Alaska for two weeks; work at the remote Alice Cove Research Station located in Prince William Sound; conduct research on marine mammals behavior and ecology; exploration of the geology and glaciology. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. MARB 420 Comparative Animal Physiology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Principles of animal physiology are examined using invertebrate and vertebrate model systems. Topics include osmoregulation in marine vs. freshwater vs. terrestrial organisms, excretion, fluid circulation, nervous system structure and function, muscle activity, sensory neurobiology, and endocrine mediation. Prerequisites: BIOL 112, CHEM 228, MARB 310. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. , MARS 360 is recommended but not required. MARB 423 Mariculture Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Study of factors determining the success of efforts to cultivate estuarine and marine species of economic importance. Mariculture practices used worldwide in the production of algae, mollusks, crustaceans, and fishes will be discussed. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 425 Marine Ecology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Relationship between various marine environments and their inhabitants; intra-‐ and interspecific relationships between organisms; structure and function among marine communities. Laboratory emphasis is placed on study of living material and natural habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Prerequisites: MARB 315, 408, 435; curriculum senior or approval of instructor. MARB 426 Aquatic Animal Nutrition Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Chemistry, digestion, absorption and intermediary metabolism of nutrient classes with special emphasis on their relationship to warmwater fish nutrition. Determination of nutrient requirements, feed evaluation, feed processing, ration formulation and feeding practices. Prerequisites: CHEM 227. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 430 Coastal Plant Ecology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Study of the identification, distribution, production, and ecological importance of estuarine, coastal marsh, and dune vascular plants; the interaction of plants with their abiotic and biotic environments; and techniques of vegetation management and evaluation. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 431 Wetlands Ecology, Monitoring and Delineation Credits 4. 2 Lecture Hours. 6 Lab Hours. Wetlands Ecology, Monitoring, and Delineation. Study of the characteristics and importance of wetlands and methods for delineating, monitoring, and evaluating wetlands. Students will become knowledgeable in wetland soils, plants, ecological interactions of wetlands and other habitats and animals, and the laws pertaining to obtaining permits and managing wetlands of the U.S. Prerequisites: BIOL 111 and 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 432 GIS Use in Coastal Resources Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. GIS Use in Costal Recources. Basic concepts of design, planning, and integration of Geographical Information Systems in

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management of biological systems in coastal environments. Students are taught to input data into GIS, organize the data, and analyze, query, and manage data sets. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 435 Marine Invertebrate Zoology Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Marine Intertebrate Zoology. General biology of marine invertebrate animals; morphology, evolution, and systematics. Laboratory will stress studies of local fauna. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 436 Non-‐Vertebrate Fisheries Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Non-‐Vertibrate Fisheries. A survey of the history and importance of harvesting commercially important algae and invertebrates, with an assessment of the current status, problems and prospects for each fishery. Indentification, distribution and biology of commercially important species will also be addressed. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 437 Pathology of Marine Animals Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of changes or loss of physiological function as related to common diseases (viral, bacterial, parasitic) or injury; mechanisms of disease in cells, tissues and organ systems of marine vertebrates; emphasis on marine mammals; fishes and marine reptiles/birds; clinical manifestations, diagnostics and treatments. Prerequisites: MARB 315; junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 438 Coastal Orinthology Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Coastal Ornithology. Field and laboratory studies on the identification, classification, distribution and ecology of birds with special emphasis on birds of the Texas Gulf Coast. Classroom lectures to include anatomy, physiology, behavior and migration. Field trips required. Prerequisites: MARB 315. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 445 Marine Fisheries Management Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Basic knowledge from marine ichthyology, biology of fishes and biological oceanography related to applied aspects of marine fisheries sciences. Emphasis placed on management techniques applicable to tidal-‐influenced inland water, estuaries, and oceans. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 454 Ornamental Fish Health Management Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Maintenance and health care of ornamental fish in closed recirculating systems; aquariology, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, immunology, infectious and noninfectious diseases, checklists, quarantine procedures and health maintenance of ornamental fish. Prerequisites: MICR 351 and MARS 360. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 460 Fisheries Population Dynamics Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. An introduction to the behavior of populations. Classical and recent population theories will be discussed in lecture. In lab, extant and programs written by students will be used to explore population behavior and interactions. Prerequisites: MATH 151. Senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 466 Evolutionary Biology Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. A conceptual examination of evolutionary theory, not a survey of specific organismal evolutions. Evidence for the abiotic origin of life is presented, followed by a discussion of micro-‐evolutionary (including drift and natural selection) and macro-‐evolutionary (including evolutionary trends) mechanisms. The course concludes with application of these concepts to human

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evolution. Prerequisites: BIOL 112. Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 301 is recommended but not required. MARB 482 Seminar in Marine Biology Credit 1. 1 Lecture Hour. Compilation of literature pertaining to topics in marine biology. Emphasis placed on preparation of a written report and presentation of a synopsis of that report. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 484 Undergraduate Internship Credits 0 to 9. 0 to 9 Other Hours. Supervised study in a research or teaching laboratory remote from TAMUG. Student involvement is to consist of real-‐life learning or marine biological research, teaching, management, or a combination of these. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 485 Directed Studies Credits 1 to 6. 1 to 3 Other Hours. Per Semester. Special topics and problems in field and/or laboratory work suited to analysis by individuals or small groups concerning aspects of marine biology. Usually requires a report describing techniques and results. Only 3 credit hours may be used in the degree plan curriculum. Prerequisites: 2.25 GPR. Curriculum sophomore, junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 489 Special Topics in Marine Biology Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Lecture Hours. Study of selected topics in an identified area of marine biology. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. MARB 491 Research in Marine Biology Credits 0 to 4. 0 to 4 Other Hours. Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in Marine Biology. May be repeated 2 times for credit. Please see academic advisor in department. Registration in multiple sections of this course is possible within a given semester provided that the per semester credit hour limit is not exceeded. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification and approval of instructor.

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APPENDIX E Core Faculty Biographies


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Jaime R Alvarado Bremer Associate Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Jaime Alvarado Bremer received his Ph. D. in Ichthyology from the University of Toronto in 1994. Dr. Alvarado joined the Department of Marine Biology as an Assistant Professor in 1999. He was awared full Graduate Appointment at the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences in 2001, and became Associate Professor in 2007. Dr. Alvarado Bremer teaches graduate courses in evolutionary biology and population biology and undergraduate courses in marine conservation biology and mariculture. He fully developed two new graduate courses, and a third as team member. He also developed one undergraduate course and contributed in altering substantially the curricula in Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries. Dr. Alvarado’s research focuses on conservation genetics and molecular systematics of highly migratory fishes. He has helped generate $2,200,398 ($640,892 to his lab), most from Federal funds (NOAA). He is member of editorial committee of two journals, has written 40 peer-‐review journal articles, 17 technical papers, and was keynote speaker at the internationla meeting on swordfish population structure in Greece. Dr. Alvarado has chaired four doctoral and 12.5 master committees, has served on 27 committees (16 Ph.D; 11 M.S.), and has chaired 13 non-‐thesis masters, and mentored 56 undergraduate students working in his lab.

RESEARCH Dr. Jaime Alvarado Bremer trained as a molecular geneticist at the Graduate Department of Zoology of the University of Toronto, has conducted research and published extensively on the population structure, molecular systematics and biogeography of highly migratory fishes, including tunas, swordfish and billfishes. He has collaborated extensively with scientist of other countries working on a wide variety of subjects, including forensic identification of invasive species, the integration of morphological descriptions with molecular systematics, and the development of sensitive assays for genotyping populations.

PUBLICATIONS Representative publications:

Cruscanti, Marco, Gianna Innocenti, Jaime Alvarado Bremer, Bella Galil. 2015. First report of the brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus Ives 1891 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeidae) in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records 8, e81 doi:10.1017/S1755267215000664

Lu, C.P., B.L. Smith, M. G. Hinton, and J.R. Alvarado Bremer. 2016. Bayesian analyses of Pacific swordfish (Xiphias gladius L.) genetic differentiation using multilocus single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

Smith, B.L., J.R. Alvarado Bremer, C-‐P. Lu, B. García Cortés, S.-‐Y. Yeh. 2015. Multilocus Bayesian Estimates of Intra-‐Oceanic Differentiation, Connectivity, and Admixture in Atlantic Swordfish (Xiphias gladius L.). PLOSONE DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0127979

Lu, Ching-‐Ping, J. R. Alvarado Bremer, J. L. McKenzie, W.-‐C. Chiang. 2015. Analysis of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) population structure in the North Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Research 166: 33-‐38.

Alvarado Bremer, J.R., B. L. Smith, D. L. Moulton, C.-‐P. Lu, and M. Cornic. 2014. Shake and Stew: A Non-‐Destructive PCR-‐Ready DNA Isolation Method From a Single Preserved Fish Larva. Journal of Fish Biology 84: 267-‐272.

Smith, B.L., Ching-‐Ping Lu, J.R. Alvarado Bremer. 2013. Methodological streamlining of SNP discovery and genotyping via high-‐resolution melting analysis (HRMA) in non-‐model species. Marine

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Genomics 9: 39-‐49.

Sánchez, P., J. Viñas, J. R. Alvarado Bremer, P. P. Ambrosio, R. Flos. 2012. Loss of genetic variability in a hatchery strain of Senegales sole (Solea senegalensis) revealed by sequence data of the mitochondrial DNA control region and microsatellite markers. Scientia Marina 76(2): 225-‐235.

Ditty, J.G., Alvarado Bremer, J.R. 2011. Species discrimination of postlarvae and early juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus) and pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) (Decapoda:Penaedidae): Coupling molecular genetics and morphology to identify early life stages. Journal of Crustacean Biology 31(1): 126-‐137.

Viñas, J., J.R. Alvarado Bremer and Carles Pla. 2010. Phylogeography of the epineritic cosmopolitan bonitos of the genus Sarda (Cuvier): mtDNA species phylogeny and inferred patterns of intra-‐ and inter-‐oceanic connectivity. Journal of Biogeography 37: 557-‐570.

Smith, B.L., Ching-‐Ping Lu, J.R. Alvarado Bremer. 2010. High-‐resolution melting analysis (HRMA): a highly sensitive inexpensive genotyping alternative for population studies. Molecular Ecology Resources 10: 193-‐196.

Alvarado Bremer, J. R., J. Mejuto, J. Gómez-‐Márquez, F. Boán, P. Carpintero, J.M. Rodríguez, T. W. Greig and B. Ely. 2005. Hierarchical analyses of genetic variation of samples from breeding and feeding grounds confirm the genetic partitioning of northwest Atlantic and South Atlantic populations of swordfish. J. Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 326, 167-‐182.

Ely, B, J. Viñas, J.R. Alvarado Bremer, D. Black, L. Lucas, K. Covello, A. Labrie, E. Thelen. 2005. Consequences of the historical demography on the global population structure of two highly migratory cosmopolitan marine fishes: the yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). BMC Evolutionary Biology. 5: 19

Alvarado Bremer, J. R., J. Viñas, B. Ely and C. Pla. 2005. Comparative phylogeography of Atlantic bluefin tuna and swordfish: The combined effects of vicariance, secondary contact, introgression, and population expansion on the regional phylogenies of two highly migratory pelagic fishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36(1): 169-‐187.

Ely, B, J. Viñas, J.R. Alvarado Bremer, D. Black, L. Lucas, K. Covello, A. Labrie, E. Thelen. 2005. Consequences of the historical demography on the global population structure of two highly migratory cosmopolitan marine fishes: the yellowfin tuna (Thunnualbacares) and the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). BMC Evolutionary Biology. 5: 19

Ely, B., D. S. Stoner, J. R. Alvarado Bremer, J. M. Dean, P. Addis, A. Cau, E. J. Thelen, W. J. Jones, D. E. Black, L. Smith, K. Scott, I. Naseri and J. M. Quattro. 2002. Analyses of nuclear ldhA gene and mtDNA control region sequences of Atlantic northern bluefin tuna populations. Marine Biotechnology 4: 583-‐588.

SUPPORT VPR Seed Grant NOAA Saltonstall-‐Kennedy Program (2015-‐17)


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Randall William Davis Regents Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Randall Davis is Regents Professor of Marine Biology and Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Texas A&M University. He obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of California at Riverside (1974) and his Doctoral Degree from the University of California at San Diego (1980) where is conducted research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He was a research physiologist at the Hubbs Marine Research Institute (1984-‐1989) before joining the Dept. of Marine Biology in 1990. He was a Visiting Professor at the Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo in 2007 and a Fulbright Fellow, University of Mar del Plata, Argentina in 2012. His professional memberships include the American Physiological Society, Society for Marine Mammalogy, Phi Beta Kappa, the Explorers Club and Society for Experimental Biology. He teaches undergraduate courses in Comparative Physiology, Physiological Ecology of Marine Mammals, and Coastal Marine Biology of Alaska. He is an advisor to State and Federal Trustees and the oil industry regarding oiled marine wildlife contingency planning and response and directed the Oiled Sea Otter Rehabilitation Program following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

RESEARCH Dr. Randall Davis trained as a comparative physiologist at Scripps Institute of Oceanography and has conducted research and published extensively on the behavior, physiology and energetics of marine mammals and sea birds since 1976, including 91 field studies on six continents in polar, temperate and tropical marine ecosystems. He pioneered the development and use of animal-‐borne instruments that combine video with multiple channels of data (three-‐dimensional movement, locomotory performance and oceanographic) to improve our understanding of the behavior and ecology of marine mammals (pinnipeds and cetaceans), birds (penguins) and large fishes (whale shark) and their habitat at sea. He currently has active research programs in Antarctica, China, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia and Alaska.

PUBLICATIONS Ten representative publications:

Davis RW, David JHM, Meÿer MA Sekiguchi K, Best PB, Rodríguez D, Dassis M (2014) Home Range and Diving Behaviour of Heaviside's Dolphins monitored by satellite on the West Coast of South Africa. African Journal of Marine Science

Davis RW (2014) A review of the multi-‐level adaptations for maximizing aerobic dive duration in marine mammals: From biochemistry to behavior. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 184:23-‐53

Davis RW, Fuiman LA, Madden K, Williams TM (2013) Classification and behavior of free-‐ranging Weddell seal dives based on three-‐dimensional movements and video-‐recorded observations. Deep Sea Research Part II 88:65-‐77.

Davis RW, Williams TM. (2012) The dive response is exercise modulated to maximize aerobic dive duration. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 198:583-‐591.

Davis RW, Weihs D. (2007) Locomotion in deep diving elephant seals: Physical and physiological constraints. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 362:2141-‐2150.

Davis RW, Jaquet N, Gendron D, Bazzino G, Markaida U, Gilly W. (2007) Diving behavior of sperm whales in relation to the behavior of their main prey, jumbo squid in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 333:291-‐302.

Davis RW, Polasek L, Watson RR, Fuson A, Williams TM, Kanatous SB. (2004) The diving paradox: New insights into the role of the dive response in air-‐breathing vertebrates. Journal Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 138:263-‐268.

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Davis RW, Fuiman LA, Williams TM, Horning M, Hagey W. (2003) Classification of Weddell seal dives based on three-‐dimensional movements and video recorded observations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 264:109-‐122.

Davis RW, Ortega-‐Ortiz J, Ribic CA, Evans WE, Biggs DC, Ressler PH, Cady RB, Harris EJ, Leben RR, Mullin KD, Würsig B. (2002) Cetacean habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Deep-‐sea Research, Part I 49:121-‐142.

Davis RW, Fuiman L, Williams TM, Collier S, Hagey W, Kanatous, SB, Kohin S, Horning M. (1999) Hunting behavior of a marine mammal beneath the Antarctic fast-‐ice. Science 283:993-‐996.

SUPPORT VPR Seed Grant National Science Foundation IDBR Type B (2015-‐17)

National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs (2014-‐18)


79

David Hala Assistant Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. David Hala joined the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) in 2015. He obtained his Ph.D. in Aquatic Toxicology at Brunel University, London (U.K.). He did his postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Duane B. Huggett at the University of North Texas. His work focused on building a computational network model of fish steroid hormone production (or steroidogenesis). This model was the first of its kind and was successfully used to gain novel insights into the reproductive effects of hypoxia and synthetic endocrine disrupting chemicals. While at TAMUG, he has developed two courses: "Toxicology" and “Life in Extreme Environments” in 2015 and 2016, which he teaches at the undergraduate level.

RESEARCH Dr. Hala's laboratory is centered on understanding the mechanistic basis of endocrine and reproductive dysfunction in fish exposed to various environmental and anthropogenic stressors. While an initial ‘small-‐scale’ model of piscine steroidogenesis was successful in predicting altered effects across a 200 reaction topology of steroid hormone production, more recent efforts are extending modeling efforts to encapsulate the entire endocrine network (inclusive of multiple tissues). This task requires incorporation and integration of multi-‐levelled biological complexity, from gene-‐regulatory to metabolic levels. As a result, current efforts are focused on incorporating and augmenting various network analyses approaches to represent such multi-‐levelled biological complexity. A recent published study by the Hala Lab made a significant stride towards this end by converting a multi-‐tissue (brain, liver and gonad) graphical model of the piscine endocrine system to a mathematical (network) model inclusive of transcription factor signaling. This approach allowed incorporation of high-‐throughput microarray datasets from developing zebrafish (15 min post fertilization to 90 days post hatch) as constraints in the network model. Model predictions showed establishment of an early developmental ‘program’ between brain and gonad in developing fish. Specifically, predictions showed correspondence between the two tissues within 12 hrs post fertilization, much earlier than the appearance of morphologically distinctive gonad development (20-‐30 days post hatch). Once established, this correspondence was synced throughout all subsequent stages of development up until adulthood (90 days post hatch). Moving forwards, the Hala Lab has established active collaborations with researchers involved with studying gene-‐regulatory networks (using Boolean approaches) and constructing large-‐scale genome-‐scale metabolic models of various organisms. Together with collaborators, the Hala Lab aims to comprehensively characterize and study the core biological processes that drive phenotypic function in zebrafish. Ultimately, such an approach will help to mechanistically understand (and ultimately predict) the evolutionary foundations of metabolic robustness or susceptibility under changing environmental constraints. Finally, a parallel and complementary line of experimental development in the Hala Lab is the optimization of mass spectrometric methods to use stable isotope tracers to study metabolic fluxes or pathways. This powerful approach allows experimental assessment of how an organism routes/re-‐routes metabolic fluxes under stress, and more importantly, provides a means with which to test computational predictions of altered metabolic fluxes.

PUBLICATIONS Hala, D. (2017). "In silico predicted reproductive endocrine transcriptional regulatory networks during zebrafish (Danio rerio) development." J Theor Biol 417: 51-‐60.

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Hala, D., L. H. Petersen, D. Martinović and D. B. Huggett (2015). "Constraints-‐based flux balance analysis of perturbed steroidogenesis and gonad growth in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to 17α-‐ethynylestradiol." Syst Biol Reprod Med 61(3): 122-‐138.

Petersen, L. H., D. Hala, D. Carty, M. Cantu, D. Martinović and D. B. Huggett (2015). "Effects of progesterone and norethindrone on female fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) steroidogenesis" Environ Toxicol Chem 34(2): 379-‐390.

Hala, D. and D. B. Huggett (2014). "In Silico Predicted Structural and Functional Robustness of Piscine Steroidogenesis." J Theor Biol 345: 99-‐138.

Overturf, M., C. Overturf, D. Carty, D. Hala, D. B. Huggett (2014). "Levonorgestrel exposure to fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) alters survival, growth, steroidogenic gene expression and hormone production." Aquat Toxicol 148: 152-‐161.

Thiele, I., N. Swainston, R. Fleming, A. Hoppe, ... D. Hala, … P. Mendes and B. Palsson (2013). "A community-‐generated reconstruction of the human metabolic network and its use for the analysis of omics data." Nat Biotech 31: 419-‐425.

Scrimshaw, M., D. Hala, A. Okiemute, E. Cartmell and J. Lester (2013). "Removal processes for tributyltin during municipal wastewater treatment." Water Air Soil Poll doi 10.1007/s11270-‐012-‐1400-‐5. Hala, D., L. H. Petersen, D. Martinović and D. B. Huggett (2012). "Constraints-‐based stoichiometric analysis of hypoxic stress on steroidogenesis in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)." J Exp Biology 215: 1753-‐1765.

Hala, D., D. B. Huggett and W. W. Burggren (2012). "Environmental Stressors and the epigenome." Drug Disc Today http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ddtec.2012.05.004.

Hala, D., M. D. Overturf, L. H. Petersen and D. B. Huggett (2011). "Quantification of 2-‐hydrazinopyridine derivatized steroid hormones in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) blood plasma using LC-‐ESI+/MS/MS." J Chromotogr 879: 591-‐598.

Hala, D., A. Mikler and D. B. Huggett (2010). "A constraint-‐based stoichiometric model of the steroidogenic network of zebrafish (Danio rerio)." J Biol Syst 18: 669-‐685.

SUPPORT PESCA Seed Grant Metabolic Flux Profiling of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency using a Zebrafish Genome-‐Scale Metabolic Model 01 May 2017 – 30 April 2018


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Thomas M. Iliffe Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Thomas Iliffe joined the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University Galveston Campus in 1989, was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 1997, and to Professor in 2004. He obtained his M.S. in Oceanography at Florida State University in 1973 and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1977. His worked as a Research Associate at the Bermuda Biological Station from 1977 to 1988 where independently developed investigations into the biodiversity, origins, evolution and biogeography of animals inhabiting marine caves. This habitat, accessible only through use of specialized cave diving technology, rivals that of the deep-‐sea hydrothermal vents for numbers of new taxa and scientific importance. He has led numerous research diving expeditions to islands in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian and South Pacific Oceans. These studies resulted in the discovery of 3 new orders, 8 new families, 55 new genera and 168 new species of marine and freshwater cave-‐dwelling invertebrates. Dr. Iliffe has published 233 journal articles, book chapters or monographs, most of which concern marine cave studies. These include first author papers in Science and Nature, as well as 26 invited book chapters. National Geographic, BBC, PBS, Nova, and the Discovery Channel have featured his research on internationally broadcast TV documentaries, while National Geographic Magazine highlighted his Bahamian cave diving investigations in a cover story in August 2010. He also developed new graduate and undergraduate courses in Scientific Diving and Biospeleology (cave biology), plus a Study Abroad course, Tropical Marine Ecology, taught in Mexico. He was presented with the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University Distinguished Achievement Teaching Award in 2013.

RESEARCH Dr. Iliffe's laboratory focuses on investigations into the biology and ecology of crustaceans and other invertebrates inhabiting anchialine caves. These coastal caves, occurring worldwide in limestone or volcanic rock, contain stratified water masses with fresh to brackish surface layers separated by visually distinct haloclines from underlying seawater. The marine water at depth is an extreme environment, remaining in total darkness, with limited food reserves and very low levels of dissolved oxygen. A characteristic fauna consisting primarily of eyeless, depigmented crustaceans representing many novel new higher taxa inhabits these caves, but use of highly specialized cave diving technology including redundant equipment, closed circuit rebreathers, high intensity dive lights, etc. is essential to reach deep and remote anchialine environments. Surprisingly, many exclusively anchialine taxa have close relationships to congeners inhabiting similar cave environments on opposite sides of oceans or opposite sides of the Earth, thus suggesting an origin hundreds of millions of years ago when continents were combined into a single land mass. The Iliffe lab is the world’s leader in this field of research, collaborating and publishing with numerous scientists from Europe, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Australia, as well as from around the US. Recent investigations have dealt with the comparative studies of the nervous, reproductive and digestive systems; metabolic enzymes and oxygen utilization; phylogeny and systematics; community and population ecology; biogeography; and conservation; as well as description of new species and higher taxa.

PUBLICATIONS Bruce, N.L., S. Brix, N. Balfour, T.C. Kihara, M. Wigand, S. Mehterian and T.M. Iliffe (2017). A new genus for Cirolana troglexuma Botosaneanu & Iliffe, 1997, an anchialine cave dwelling cirolanid

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isopod (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from the Bahamas. Subterranean Biology, 21: 57–92. DOI: 10.3897/subtbiol.21.11181

Gonzalez, B.C., A. Martínez, E. Borda, T.M. Iliffe, D. Fontaneto and K. Worsaae (2017). Genetic spatial structure of an anchialine cave annelid indicates connectivity within -‐ but not between -‐ islands of the Great Bahama Bank. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 109: 259-‐270. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.01.003

Gerovasileiou, V., A. Martínez, F. Álvarez, G. Boxshall, W.F. Humphreys, D. Jaume, L.E. Becking, G. Muricy, P.J. van Hengstum, S. Dekeyzer, W. Decock, B. Vanhoorne, L. Vandepitte, N. Bailly and T.M. Iliffe (2016). World Register of marine Cave Species (WoRCS): a new Thematic Species Database for marine and anchialine cave biodiversity. Research Ideas and Outcomes, 2: e10451. DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e10451

Martínez, A., K. Kvindebjerg, T.M. Iliffe, and K. Worsaae (2016). Evolution of cave suspension feeding in Protodrilidae (Annelida). Zoologica Scripta, 46(2): 214-‐226. DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12198

Pérez-‐Moreno, J.L., T.M. Iliffe and H.D. Bracken-‐Grissom (2016). Life in the Underworld: Anchialine cave biology in the era of speleogenomics. International Journal of Speleology, 45(2):149-‐170. DOI: 10.5038/1827-‐806X.45.2.1954

Stemme, T., T.M. Iliffe and G. Bicker (2015). Olfactory pathway in Xibalbanus tulumensis: remipedian hemiellipsoid body as homologue of hexapod mushroom body. Cell and Tissue Research, 363(3): 635–648. DOI 10.1007/s00441-‐015-‐2275-‐8

Bishop, R.E., W.F. Humphreys, N. Cukrov, V, Žic, G.A. Boxshall, M. Cukrov, T.M. Iliffe, F. Kršinić, W.S. Moore, J.W. Pohlman and B. Sket (2015). ‘Anchialine’ redefined as a subterranean estuary in a crevicular or cavernous geological setting. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 35(4): 511 – 514. DOI: 10.1163/1937240X-‐00002335

Olesen, J., T. Boesgaard and T.M. Iliffe (2015). The unique dorsal brood pouch of Thermosbaenacea (Crustacea, Malacostraca) and description of an advanced developmental stage of Tulumella unidens from the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), with a discussion of mouth part homologies to other Malacostraca. PLoS ONE¸10(4):e0122463. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122463

Stegner, M.E., T. Stemme, T.M. Iliffe, S. Richter and C.S. Wirkner (2015). The brain in three crustaceans from cavernous darkness. BMC Neuroscience, 16(1):19. DOI: 10.1186/s12868-‐015-‐0138-‐6

Alvarez, F., T.M. Iliffe, S. Benitez, D. Brankovits and J.L. Villalobos (2015). New records of anchialine fauna from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Check List, 11(1):1505. DOI: 10.15560/11.1.1505

von Reumont, B.M., R.A. Jenner, M.A. Wills, E. Dell’Ampio, G. Pass, I. Ebersberger, B. Meyer, S. Koenemann, T.M. Iliffe, A. Stamatakis, O. Niehuis, K. Meusemann, and B. Misof (2012). Pancrustacean phylogeny in the light of new phylogenomic data: support for Remipedia as the possible sister group of Hexapoda. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 29(3):1031-‐1045.

Iliffe, T.M., H. Wilkens, J. Parzefall and D. Williams (1984). Marine lava cave fauna: Composition, biogeography and origins. Science, 225: 309-‐311.

Iliffe, T.M., C.W. Hart, Jr. and R.B. Manning (1983). Biogeography and the caves of Bermuda. Nature, 302: 141-‐142.

SUPPORT Texas A&M University – CONACYT What promotes species diversification in anchialine habitats? 2015 -‐ 2016


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National Geographic Society Diving exploration and faunal survey of anchialine caves in Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 2013 -‐ 2014 NOAA Ocean Exploration Search for Bermuda's Deep Water Caves 2009 -‐ 2012

Texas A&M University – CONACYT Stygobitic Crustacea from the Texas-‐Mexico border region: a binational fauna? 2009 -‐ 2012 NOAA International Coral Reef Conservation Program Groundwater pollution and its impact on Bermuda’s reefs and inshore waters 2006 -‐ 2008

National Science Foundation Survey of Anchialine Cave Fauna of the Bahama Islands 2003 -‐2008

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Hui Liu Assistant Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Hui Liu joined the Department of Marine Biology of Texas A&M University at Galveston in 2012. He obtained his Ph.D. in Oceanography and MS in Statistics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He conducted his postdoctoral research at Hatfield Marine Science Center of Oregon State University (2007-‐2009) and at Northeast Fisheries Science Center of NOAA (2009-‐2012). Dr. Liu is a member of the Faculty of Marine Biology, Graduate Faculty of Oceanography of Texas A&M University. He has been teaching a course "Biostatistics" since 2012, and another course “Seminar in Marine Biology” both at undergraduate levels. He has co-‐taught graduate courses "Advanced Concepts in Marine Biology" and “Ecosystem Functions in Marine Environments” since 2012.

RESEARCH Dr. Liu's research interest is centered on quantitative fisheries oceanography and primarily on population dynamics of marine fishes and zooplankton processes in the context of climate change and anthropogenic-‐driven environmental variability. Research in Dr. Liu's laboratory has been studying mechanisms and processes underlying the dynamics of marine species using lab, field, and modeling approaches. Studies have been done by Dr. Liu include biological and physical processes in relation to population dynamics of zooplankton; population dynamics of marine fish in terms of internal and external processes at a variety of temporal and spatial scales; dynamic interactions between marine zooplankton and fish in relation to environmental variability; mechanisms regulating the dynamics of marine ecosystems; and ecological forecasting dynamics of fish in terms of stock assessments and management.

PUBLICATIONS Liu H, Zhang X, Yang Q, Zuo T, Quigg A (in press) Mesozooplankton dynamics in relation to environmental factors and juvenile fish in a subtropical estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Coastal Research doi: 10.2112/JCOASTRES-‐D-‐16-‐00155.1 Bi R, Liu H (2017) Effects of variability among individuals on zooplankton population dynamics under environmental conditions. Marine Ecology Progress Series 564, 9–28. Harford WJ, Karnauskas M, Walter JF, Liu H (in press) Non-‐parametric modeling reveals environmental effects on bluefin tuna recruitment in Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans. Fisheries Oceanography doi:10.1111/fog.12205 Liu H, Karnauskas M, Zhang X, Linton B, Porch C (2017) Forecasting dynamics of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Fisheries Research 187, 31–40. Hu H, Wang J, Liu H, Goes J (2016) Simulation of phytoplankton distributions and variations in the Bering-‐Chukchi Sea with a 3-‐D physical biological model, Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans 121,4041–4055.

Pulver JR, Liu H, Scott-‐Denton E (2016) Modeling community structure and species co-‐occurrences using fishery observer data. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73: 1750–1763.


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Zhang H, Song C-‐m, Yan Q-‐l, Liu H, Fan J-‐f, Guo H, Yang Q (2016) Comparative study on the spatial niche of zooplankton in the Liaohe Estuary in spring and summer. Marine Environmental Science 35, 920–925. Doerr JC, Liu H, Minello TJ (2016) Salinity selection by juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus. aztecus) and white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) in a gradient tank. Estuaries and Coasts 39, 829–838. Liu H, Bi H, Peterson WT (2015) Large-‐scale forcing of environmental conditions on subarctic copepods in the northern California Current system. Progress in Oceanography 134, 404–412.

*students underlined

SUPPORT National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration Natural Science Foundation of China

Galveston, TX 86


Christopher D. Marshall Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Christopher Marshall joined the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University in 2001 and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2008 and then promoted to Professor in 2016. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physiological Sciences at the University of Florida. His postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Sue Herring at the University of Washington focused on feeding biomechanics and sensory neurobiology. His studies have resulted in the first discovery of electroreception in a eutherian mammal. Dr. Marshall is a member of the Faculty of Marine Biology on the Galveston Campus and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences on the College Station Campus. He is a member of the graduate faculty for the Marine Biology IDP, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. He developed an undergraduate course called "Natural History of Vertebrates upon his arrival at Texas A&M University and has since developed specialty undergraduate courses in “Sirenian Biology” and a graduate course in “Functional Analyses of Vertebrates." He has also team-‐taught the Marine Biology IDP graduate course in “Evolution.” Dr. Marshall is the Chair of the southeast US subgroup of the IUCN Sirenian Specialist Group and former Chair and founder of the Marine Biology Graduate IDP program.

RESEARCH Dr. Marshall’s laboratory focuses on the functional, ecological, & evolutionary aspects of how vertebrates detect, acquire, ingest and digest food. His program is integrative and comparative in nature. This work falls within the conceptual framework of ecological morphology & physiology and is conducted at the functional organismal level (morphology and physiology), behavioral, and ecological levels. The central concept of this field is that morphology and physiology influences an organism’s ecology through constraints of behavioral performance, which is the capacity of an animal to exploit its natural resources, and explore its environment. Although investigations of morphology, physiology, and behavior stand on their own, ultimately the integration of these studies can explain how organisms interact with their environment, the evolution of functional complexes, and the pressure selections involved in driving adaptations.

PUBLICATIONS *=graduate student, **=undergraduate student

Mattson*, E.E., MARSHALL, C.D. 2016. Follicle Microstructure and Innervation Vary Between Pinniped Micro-‐ and Macrovibrissae. Brain Behavior and Evolution 88:43-‐58, doi:10.1159/000447551

MARSHALL, C.D. 2016. Morphology of the Bearded Seal (Erignathus barbatus) Muscular-‐Vibrissal Complex: A Functional Model for Phocid Subambient Pressure Generation. Anatomical Record 299:1043-‐1053, doi: 10.1002/ar.23377

Orbach*, D., MARSHALL, C.D., Würsig, B., Mesnick, S. 2016. Variation in female reproductive tract morphology of the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Anatomical Record 299:520-‐537.

MARSHALL, C.D., Rosen, D., Trites, A.W. 2015. Feeding Kinematics and Performance of Basal Otariid Pinnipeds, Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), and Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus): Implications for the Evolution of Feeding Modes. Journal of Experimental Biology 218:3229-‐3204, doi: 10.1242/jeb.126573.

Timm-‐Davis*, L.L., DeWitt, T., MARSHALL, C.D. 2015. Divergent Skull Morphology Supports Two Trophic Specializations in Otters (Lutrinae). PLoS ONE. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143236

Ginter-‐Summarell*, C.C., Ingole, S., Fish, F.E., MARSHALL, C.D. 2015. Comparative analysis of the flexural stiffness of pinniped vibrissae. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0127941. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127941.34.


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MARSHALL, C.D., Rozas**, K., Kot^ B., Gill, V. 2014. Innervation Patterns of Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) Mystacial Follicle-‐Sinus Complexes: Support For A Specialized Somatosensory System. Frontiers of Neuroanatomy doi: 10.3389/fnana.2014.00121.

McGovern*, K.A., Davis, R.W., MARSHALL, C.D. 2014. Are vibrissae of northern elephant seals viable sensory structure for prey capture? Anatomical Record 298(4): 750-‐760 doi: 10.1002/ar.2306100.

Ahrens*, J.B., Kudenov, J.D., MARSHALL, C.D., Schulze, A. 2014. Regeneration of posterior segments and terminal structures in the bearded-‐fireworm, Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae). Journal of Morphology

Robinson*, E.M., Lunt, J., MARSHALL, C.D., Smee, D.L. 2014. Easter oysters (Crassostrea virginica) deter crab predators by altering their morphology in response to crab cues. Aquatic Biology 20:111–118

MARSHALL, C.D., Marsh* A., Wieskotten, S., Kot^, B., Hanke, W., Hanke, F., Dehndardt, G. 2014. Feeding kinematics, suction, and hydraulic jetting capabilities in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). PLoS ONE, Published January 24, 2014, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086710

MARSHALL, C.D., Wang, J., Rocha, A., Godinez-‐Reyes, C., Fisler, S., Narazaki, T., Katsufumi, S., Sterba-‐Boatwright, B.D. 2014. Scaling of bite performance with head and carapace morphometrics in green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 451:91-‐97 doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2013.11.004

Hanke, W., Wieskotten, S., Kruger, Y., Glaser, N., MARSHALL, C.D., Dehnhardt, G. 2013. Hydrodynamic Reception in Pinnipeds. Special Issue on Sensory Systems in Aquatic Mammals. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: 199:421–440.

MARSHALL, C.D., Guzman*, A. Narazaki, T., Sato, K., Kane*, E.A., Sterba-‐Boatwright, B. 2012. The ontogeny of bite performance in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta): implications for foraging ecology in neritic benthic habitats. Journal of Experimental Biology 215:4166-‐4174

Ginter*, C.C, DeWitt, T.J., Fish, F.E., MARSHALL, C.D. 2012. Fused traditional and geometric morphometrics demonstrate pinniped whisker diversity. PLoS ONE. 7:e34481. doi: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0034481

Czech-‐Damal, N.U., Liebschner, A., Miersch, L., Klauer, G., Hanke, F.D., MARSHALL, C.D., Dehnhardt, G., Hanke, W. 2011. Electroreception in the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis). Proceeding of the Royal Society B, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1127

SUPPORT 2017 PI: ExxonMobil Research, Qatar. Arabian Dugong Research Initiative, $43,000, January 1, 2017-‐December 31, 2017 ($43,000 to TAMUG).

2016 PI: Smithsonian Fellow. Functional Morphology, Biomechanics and Sensory Ecology of Fossil Pinnipeds. $12,000, August-‐November, 2016.

2016 PI: TPWD NRDA Trustees. Monitoring the Upper Texas Coast for Sea Turtle Nesting and Stranding Activity: Recovery of Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Population, $218,661, February 15, 2016-‐February 14, 2018 ($218,661 to TAMUG).

2016 PI: ExxonMobil Research, Qatar. Arabian Dugong Research Initiative: Abundance and Live-‐Sampling of NW Qatari Dugongs, $98,820, January 1, 2016-‐December 31, 2016 ($98,820 to TAMUG).

2015 PI: ExxonMobil Research, Qatar. Arabian Dugong Research Initiative Phase II: Abundance and Live-‐Sampling of NW Qatari Dugongs, $80,345, June 1, 2015-‐December 31, 2015 ($80,345 to TAMUG).

2014 CoPI: Texas Sea Grant. Texas A&M University at Galveston’s Nesting Survey of Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtle program, $10,000. September 2014-‐August 2015 ($10,000 to TAMUG).

2014 PI: ExxonMobil Research, Qatar. Arabian Dugong Research Initiative Phase I: Qatari Dugong Population Assessment Through Beach Surveys, Age-‐Specific Reproduction Analysis and Fishermen Interviews, $155,000 ($138,000 to TAMUG).

2012 PI: Qatar National Research Foundation (NPRP Cycle 5). A Mark-‐Recapture Program to Investigate Environmental and Ecological Pressures Impacting Qatari Sea Turtle Populations, $1,049,483* ($188,224 to TAMUG), 2013-‐2016. *65% of funds are mandated to stay in Qatar via QNRF policy but Dr. Marshall, as the LPI, has spending authority over those funds.

2011 PI: Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. Ontogenetic and historical record of north-‐central Gulf

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of Mexico bottlenose dolphin foraging ecology, $21,900 ($21,900 to TAMUG), 2011-‐2012.


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Maria Pia Miglietta Assistant Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Maria Pia Miglietta joined the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston in 2014. She obtained his Ph.D. in Biology at Duke University (NC) in the laboratory of Dr. C. Cunningham. Her postdoctoral work in the laboratories of Dr. R. Collin and Dr. H. Lessios at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute focused on evolution and ecology of Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) across the Isthmus of Panama. In her second post doc at The Pennsylvania State University in the laboratory of Dr. C. Fisher, Dr. Miglietta worked on phylogenetics of deep sea Vestimentifera in the Gulf of Mexico. From 2010 to 2013, Dr. Miglietta was a research assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame (IN) where she conducted research, taught Marine Biology, and directed the minor in sustainability. Dr. Miglietta is a member of the Faculty of the Marine Biology Department at Texas A&M at Galveston and of the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Texas A&M. She teaches Genetics to undergraduate students and she is Montague CTE scholar.

RESEARCH Dr. Miglietta laboratory is centered on studying genetics, evolution, and ecology of Cnidaria. Specifically the three lines of research include:

1. Genomics of the immortal medusa Turritopsis dohrnii Most animals reproduce, age, and die. Turritopsis dohrnii (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) has escaped this fate. When faced with unfavorable circumstances, the jellyfish of T. dohrnii avoid death by reverting to a younger life cycle stage, the polyp. During the life cycle reversal, cell transdifferentiation occurs. Using a genomic approach, we are identifying genes involved in T. dohrnii’s transdifferentiation. The goal this research is to determine the molecular mechanisms controlling cell transdifferentiation, the induction of pluripotency, and life cycle reversal in an early invertebrate, a matter of general interest in developmental biology, evolution, stem cell research. The long-‐term goal is to establish T. dohrnii as a novel system to study aspects of in vivo cell differentiation, immortalization, and aging.

2. Taxonomy and systematics of Hydrozoa. Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) are a profoundly understudied marine group with very few living experts in the United States and worldwide. Dr. Miglietta laboratory uses molecular tools to study the taxonomy and systematics of Hydrozoa, describe new species, clarify phylogenetic relationships, and identify invasive species. The laboratory is currently focusing of Hydrozoa of the Gulf of Mexico and Panama. 3. Jellyfish blooms in the Gulf of Mexico Jellyfish blooms are unpredictable, have significant effects on the marine ecosystems and the economies associated with fishery and tourism, and are likely to be impacted by global warming. Dr. Miglietta laboratory is working to identify triggers that induce strobilation (i.e. medusa production by the benthic polyps) and their effect on gene expression profiles in two of the most common Scyphomedusae of the Gulf of Mexico.. The laboratory is also interested in how global warming in the GoM will affect strobilation rates (at the ecosystem and at the genetic level). Finally, the Dr. Miglietta laboratory has also started a long term monitoring of Hydromedusae in the Galveston Bay to identify abiotic factors that influence species distribution and seasonal abundance.

PUBLICATIONS

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1. Lisenkova A.A. , Grigorenko A.P., Tyajelova T.V. , Andreeva T.V. , Gusev F.E., Manakhov A. D., Goltsov A. Yu., Piraino S., Miglietta M.P and Rogaev E.I. Complete mitochondrial genome sequence and evolutionary analysis of Turritopsis dohrnii, the “immortal” jellyfish with reversible life-‐cycle. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 107 (2017): 232-‐238.

2. Collin R., Fredericq S., Freshwater D. W., Maslakova S., Miglietta M.P., Rocha R., Rodríguez E., Thacker R.W. Taxagloss-‐ A Glossary and Translation Tool for Biodiversity Studies. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e10732 (21 Dec 2016). https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e10732.

3. Miglietta, M. P. (2016). Re-‐description of Turritopsis fascicularis from the deep Gulf of Mexico, with a discussion on its phylogenetic placement within the genus. Zootaxa, 4097 (3): 426–433.

4. Miglietta, M. P., Odegard, D., Faure, B., & Faucci, A. (2015). Barcoding Techniques Help Tracking the Evolutionary History of the Introduced Species Pennaria disticha (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria). PloS One, 10(12), e0144762.

5. Haddad M.A., Lima Bettim A., Miglietta M.P. (2014) Description of Podocoryna loyola n. sp. (Hydrozoa, Hydractiniidae) of artificial substrata from South of Brazil. Zootaxa 3796 (3), 494-‐506

6. Miglietta M.P., and Cunningham C.W. (2012) Evolution of life cycle, colony morphology and host-‐specificity in the Hydractiniidae (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria). Evolution 66(12) 3876–3901

7. Santini F., Miglietta M.P., Faucci A., (2012) Speciation: where are we now? An introduction to a special issue of Evolutionary Biology on speciation. Evolutionary Biology 3(2) 141-‐147

8. Miglietta M.P., Faucci A., Santini F. (2011) Speciation in the Sea: Overview of the Symposium and Discussion of Future Directions. Integrative and Comparative Biology 51(3): 449-‐455

9. Miglietta M.P., Hourdez S., Cordes E., Cowad D. A., and Fisher C. (2010) Species boundaries of Gulf of Mexico vestimentiferans inferred from mitochondrial genes. Deep Sea Research II 57: 1916–1925.

10. Miglietta M.P, McNally L. and Cunningham C.W. (2010) – Evolution of Calcium Carbonate skeletons in the Hydractiniidae. Integrative and Comparative Biology 50 (3): 428-‐435.

11. Miglietta M.P., P. Schuchert and Cunningham C.W. (2009) Reconciling genealogical and morphological species in the Hydractiniidae (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa). Zoologica Scripta 38: 403–430.

12. Miglietta M.P., Lessios H. (2009) A Silent Invasion. Biological Invasions 11 (4): 825-‐834. This paper was featured on ScienceNews.org, The National Geographic News, NYT magazine, The Times, CNN International, Science & Vie (Magazine, France), MacLeans (Canada), and many others.

13. Collin R. and Miglietta M.P. (2008) Reversing opinions on Dollo's Law. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 23 (11): 602-‐609.

14. Miglietta M.P., Rossi M., Collin R. (2008) -‐ Hydromedusa Blooms with Upwelling Events in the Bay of Panama, Tropical East Pacific. Journal of Plankton Research 30(7):783-‐793– Journal Cover.

15. Cartwright P., Evans N, Dunn C.W., Marques A.C., Miglietta M.P., Schuchert P. and. Collins A.G. (2008) -‐ Phylogenetics of Hydroidolina (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria). Journal of Marine Biological Association UK 88 (08): 1663-‐1672.

16. Boero F., Bouillon J., Gravili C., Miglietta M.P., Pearson T., Piraino S. (2008). Gelatinous Plankton: Irregularities rule the world (sometimes). Marine Ecology Progress Series 356: 299-‐310.

17. Denitto F., Miglietta M.P., Boero F. (2007) -‐ Life cycle of Bougainvillia nana Hartlaub, 1911 (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Bougainvillidae) from Italy, with a discussion on the presence of the cosmopolitan Bougainvillia muscus in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Marine Biological Association UK 87: 853-‐857.

18. Miglietta M.P., Piraino S., Kubota S., Schuchert P. (2007)-‐ Species in the genus Turritopsis (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa), a molecular evaluation. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 45: (1), 11-‐19.


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19. Miglietta M.P. (2006) -‐ Hydractinia antonii sp. nov.: A New, Partially Calcified Hydractiniid (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Hydractiniidae) from Alaska. Journal of Marine Biological Association UK 86: 993-‐996.

20. Miglietta M.P., Kubota S. (2006) -‐ Unique behaviors of the hydroids of Eugymnanthea (Hydrozoa, Leptomedusae, Eirenidae) living in the mantle cavity of bivalves. Thalassia Salentina 29: 107-‐112.

21. Pederson J., Bullock R., Carlton J., Dyrynda P., Fisher R., Harris L., Hobbs N., Lambert G., Lazo-‐Wasem E., Mathieson A., Miglietta M.P., Smith J., Dijkstra J., Dobroski N., Tyrrell M., Smith J. (2005) Marine Invaders in the Northeast.. Massachussetts Institute of Technology, Massachussetts. 46 Pg.

22. Fraschetti S., Giangrande A., Terlizzi A., Miglietta M.P., Della Tommasa L., Boero F. (2002) -‐ Spatio-‐temporal variation of hydroids and polychaetes associated to Cystoseira amentacea (Fucales, Phaeophyceae): a regional scale approach. Marine Biology 140: 949-‐957.

23. Miglietta M.P., Della Tommasa L., Denitto F., Gravili C., Pagliara P., Boero F. (2000) -‐ Approaches to the ethology of hydroids and meudae. In Trends in Hydrozoan Biology – IV -‐ Scientia Marina 64 (1): 63-‐71.

24. Belmonte G., Costantini A., Denitto F., Della Tommasa L., Miglietta M.P., Onorato R., Poto M., Vetere M. (1999) – Indagine ecologica sulla Grotta sottomarina delle Corvine (Nardò, Lecce): dati preliminari. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 6 (1): 343-‐346.

25. Boero F., Gravili C., Denitto F., Miglietta M.P., Bouillon J. (1997) -‐ The rediscovery of Codonorchis octaedrus, Hydroidomedusae, Anthomedusae, Pandeidae with an update of the Mediterranean hydromedusan biodiversity. Italian Journal of Zoology 64: 359-‐365.

SUPPORT

• PESCA Grant Award, TAMU. Comparative transcriptomics underlying transdifferentiation in "the immortal jellyfish" Turritopsis dohrnii. 2017-‐2018

• Texas Sea Grant (Seed Grant). “Drivers of jellyfish blooms in the Gulf of Mexico: From ecosystems to genes”. 2017-‐2018

• NSF ARTS: Integrative Research and Training in Tropical Taxonomy. 2015-‐2017

Galveston, TX 92


Antonietta Quigg Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Antonietta Quigg joined the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University Galveston campus in 2003 and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2009, and to Full Professor in 2013. She obtained his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the Monash University (Australia). Her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Falkowksi and Dr. Oscar Schofield at Rutgers University focused on studying the forces (physical, chemical and biological) which were imprinted on phytoplankton physiology over evolutionary time scales (Protozeroic to Anthropocene). These studies resulted in the discovery of the plastid imprint hypothesis which argues that environmental pressures over time are recorded in the plastid; the plastid in turn is portable, which through multiple endosymbiotic events leads to phytoplankton lineages carry specific traits. Dr. Quigg has a joint appointment in the Department of Oceanography in College Station. She is a graduate faculty member of the Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program, in the Department of Marine Science in Galveston, the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Interdisciplinary Research Program in College Station and the Department of Life Science at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. She developed a course called "Marine Botany" in 2003, which she taught at the undergraduate level until 2014. She has also developed several undergraduate and graduate level classes. She has been serving as the Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies for the Galveston campus since 2013.

RESEARCH Dr. Quigg's laboratory is focused on using phytoplankton as model organisms to address questions related to water, climate and energy (see http://www.tamug.edu/phytoplankton/). We use quantitative experimental approaches to elucidate the importance of biotic and abiotic factors influencing phytoplankton dynamics (community composition, physiology, ecology) in both field and laboratory-‐settings. It is collaborative, multidisciplinary and international. It however, does not follow the 20th century paradigm of striving to be the best in a narrowly defined field. Rather, her research paradigm is to continuously generate new ideas and new collaborations and alliances, which is needed to do well in the 21st century. In this way, the research she performs in the lab is capacity building for a new generation, with whom I have a strong commitment. Currently, Dr. Quigg is investigating consequences of oil and dispersant on microbial communities as well as projects developing bioindicators of freshwater water inflows into Galveston Bay.

PUBLICATIONS Williams, A.K., Bacosa, H. P., Quigg, Q. 2017 The impact of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous on responses of microbial plankton to the Texas City “Y” Oil Spill in Galveston Bay, Texas (USA). Marine Pollution Bulletin. Accepted.

Liu, H., Zhang, X., Yang, Q., Quigg, A. 2017 Interactions of mesozooplankton with environmental factors and juvenile fish in a subtropical estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Coastal Research, in press.

Pinckney, J.L., Quigg, A., and Roelke, D.L. 2017 Interannual and Seasonal Patterns of Estuarine Phytoplankton Diversity in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA. Estuaries and Coasts. 40:0310-‐316.

Quigg, A., Passow, U., Chin, W.-‐C., Bretherton, L., Kamalanathan, M., Xu, C., Schwehr, K.A., Zhang, S., Sun, L., Wade, T.L., Finkel, Z.V., Doyle, S., Sylvan, J.B., Williams, A.K., Obeid, W., Hatcher, P.G., Knap, A.H., Santschi, P.H. 2016. The role of microbial exoploymers in determining the fate of oil and


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chemical dispersants in the ocean. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 1: 3-‐26.

Nunez, M. and Quigg, A. 2016 Changes in growth and composition of the marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Nannochloropsis salina in response to changing sodium bicarbonate concentrations. Journal Applied Phycology. 28: 2123-‐2138.

Wei,C-‐L., Rowe, G., Al-‐Anasi, M., Al-‐Maslamani, I., Soliman, Y., Al Din, N., Al-‐Ansari, I.S., Al-‐Shaikh, I., Quigg, A., Nunnally, C.C., and Abdel Moati, M.A. 2016 Macrobenthos in the Central Arabian Gulf: a Reflection of Climate Extremes and Variability. Hydrobiologia. 770: 53-‐72.

Quigg, A. 2016 Ch. 10 Micronutrients. In: Borowitzka MA, Beardall J, Raven JA (eds) The Physiology of Microalgae. Dordrecht, Springer. Vol 6., Springer, Developments in Applied Phycology series. pp 211-‐231.

Steichen, J. L. and Quigg, A. 2015 Assessing the viability of microorganisms in the ballast water of vessels transiting the North Atlantic Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 101: 258-‐266.

Zhao, Y., Wang, Y. and Quigg, A. 2015 Comparison of population growth and photosynthetic apparatus changes in response to different nutrient status in a diatom and a coccolithophore. Journal of Phycology. 51: 872-‐884.

Chuang, C-‐Y., Santschi, P.H., Xu, C., Jiang, Y., Wen, L-‐S., Ho, Y-‐F., Quigg, A., Laodong, G., Hatcher, P. G., Ayranov, M. and Schumann, D. 2015 Molecular level characterization of diatom associated biopolymers that bind 234Th, 233Pa, 210Pb, and 7Be in seawater: a case study with Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 120: 1858-‐1869.

McInnes, A. S., Nunnally, C. C, Rowe, G. T., Davis, R. W. and Quigg, A. 2015 Undetected blooms in Prince William Sound: Using multiple techniques to elucidate the base of the summer food web. Estuaries and Coasts. 38: 2227-‐2239.

Zhao, Y. , Wang, Y. and Quigg, A. 2015 The 24 hour recovery kinetics from N starvation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Emiliana huxleyi. Journal of Phycology. 51: 726-‐738.

Williams, A. K., McInnes, A. S., Rooker, J. R., and Quigg, A. 2015 Changes in Microbial Plankton Assemblages Induced by Mesoscale Oceanographic Features in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. PLOS One. 10(9):e0138230.

Jiang, Y., Laverty, K.S., Brown, J., Brown, L., Chagoya, J., Burow, M. and Quigg, A. 2015 Effect of silicate limitation on growth, cell composition and lipid production of three native diatoms to Southwest Texas desert. Journal of Applied Phycology. 27: 1433-‐1442.

Dorado, S., Booe, T., Steichen, J., McInnes, A. S., Windham, R., Shepard, A. K., Lucchese, A., Preischel, H., Pinckney, J. L., Davis, S. E., Roelke, D. L. and Quigg, A. 2015 Towards an understanding of the interactions between freshwater inflows and phytoplankton communities in subtropical estuaries. PLOS One. 10(7): e0130931.

Jiang, Y., Nunez, M., Laverty, K.S., and Quigg, A. 2015 Coupled effect of silicate and nickel on the growth and lipid production. Journal of Applied Phycology. 27: 1137-‐1148.

Steichen, J.L., Denby, A., Windham, R., Brinkmeyer, R. and Quigg, A. 2015 A Tale of Two Ports: Dinoflagellate and Diatom communities found in the high ship traffic region of Galveston Bay, Texas (USA). Journal of Coastal Research. 31: 407 – 416.

Zhao, Y. and Quigg, A. 2015 Study of photosynthetic productivity in The Northern Gulf of Mexico: importance of diel cycles and light penetration. Continental Shelf Research. 102: 33-‐46.

Galveston, TX 94


Chuang, C-‐Y., Santschi, P.H., Wen, L-‐S., Laodong, G., Xu, C., Zhang, S., Jiang, Y., Ho, Y-‐F., Quigg, A., Hung, C-‐C., Ayranov, M. and Schumann, D. 2015 Binding of Th, Pa, Pb, Po and Be radionuclides to marine colloidal macromolecular organic matter. Marine Chemistry. 173: 320-‐ 329.

SUPPORT 09/17 -‐ 05/19 Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. Freshwater inflows in Galveston Bay: relationship to (harmful) algal blooms (HABs). Quigg PI. $80,000

09/16 -‐ 08/18 Texas Water Development Board. Defining Bioindicators for Freshwater Inflow Needs Studies (BioFINS): Phase 2 The health of the bay. Quigg PI. $90,000

08/16-‐08/18 Texas OneGulf Centre of Excellence. The marine microbiome as a sentinel for ecological health and resiliency. Quigg with Clancy, Kane and others. Lead: The University of Texas Medical Branch. $186,224

08/16-‐08/18 Texas OneGulf Centre of Excellence. Restoring and enhancing structurally complex nursery habitat to enhance reef fish populations. Quigg PI with Rooker, Wells and others. $223,752

Texas OneGulf Centre of Excellence. Species Identification Training for Effective Monitoring and Management of Harmful Algal Blooms. Quigg PI. Collaborating with Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System. $60,000.

09/15-‐08/17 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. State Wildlife Grant. Imaging FlowCytobot: An automated underwater system for detection of harmful (and/or toxic) algae blooms (HABs) in Galveston Bay. Phase 2: Instrument deployment and data gathering. Quigg PI. $128,003

09/15-‐08/17 Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. Relationships between inflows, nutrient loading, phytoplankton and dissolved oxygen in two bay systems of the Western Gulf of Mexico: A numerical modeling study. Roelke PI. Quigg co-‐PI. $322,825

09/15-‐08/17Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. Galveston Bay: Changing Land Use Patterns and Nutrient Loading. Causal or Casual Relationship. Quigg PI. $135,000

01/15-‐12/17 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. ADDOMEx: Aggregation and Degradation of Dispersants and Oil by Microbial Exopolymers. Quigg PI with 6 others $7,245,432


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Gil Rowe Associate Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Dr. Gilbert T. Rowe has degrees from Texas A&M (BS, ’64; MS, ’66) and Duke (PhD, ’68), and he spent 10 years at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. (1968-‐79) and 8 years at the Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island (1979-‐87) before coming to Texas as Head of the Oceanography Dept. at TAMU (1987-‐93). In 2003 he transferred to the TAMU branch campus (TAMUG) as Head of Marine Biology (2003-‐08) and also served as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (2008-‐10). He is a Regents Professor, a Fellow of the AAAS and was a Fulbright Scholar in Chile. He has taught courses entitled Introduction of Oceanography, Biological Oceanography, Continental Shelf Ecology, Marine Population Dynamics, Living Marine Resources, and Recent Advances in Population Biology.

RESEARCH Dr. Dr. Rowe's research has addressed deep-‐sea animal zonation patterns, community biomass in relation to depth and surface productivity, sediment community respiration, benthic-‐pelagic coupling and carbon cycling. He constructs food web simulations that are contributing to an evaluation of deep-‐ocean ecosystem services and a better understanding of deep-‐ocean sustainability.

PUBLICATIONS Stuart C. T., Brault S.,Rowe, G., Wei, C-‐L, Wagstaff, M., McClain C. R., Rex, M. A. 2016. Nestedness and species replacement along bathymetric gradients in the deep sea reflect productivity: a test with polychaete assemblages in the oligotrophic north-‐west Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Biogeography. doi:10.1111/jbi.12810

156. Qu, Fangyuan*, Wang, Yuning*, Rowe, G. In press. Temporal and spatial variations in the polychaete (Annelida) populations on the upper continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Deep-‐Sea Research I.

157. Al-‐Ansari, Ebrahim S, Mohamed A Abdel-‐Moati, Oguz Yigiterhan, Ibrahim A Al-‐Maslamani, Yousra S Elfaham, Rowe, G., Terry Wade, Ismail M Al-‐Shaikh, Ahmed Helmi, Ligita Kuklyte*, Mark E Chatting, Mehsin A Al-‐Yafei. 2017. Mercury Accumulation in Lethrinus nebulosus from the Marine Waters of the Arabian Gulf. Marine Pollution Bulletin. In press.

*Indicates student co-‐authors

SUPPORT Investigations of deep-‐living biota have been derived from NSF, ONR, NOAA and MMS (now BOEM), as well as some industrial partners, over a 40 year period. Most recently his work with his students has been as a participant in GC HARMS, an NIEH project at UTMB to study the effects of the BP spill on human health.

Galveston, TX 96


Jay R. Rooker Regents Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Rooker joined the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University (Galveston Campus) in 1998 and also holds an appointment in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2004, and Full Professor in 2009. Dr. Rooker was appointed the McDaniel Chair of Marine Fisheries in 2007, and received the Regents Professor designation in 2014. Dr. Rooker obtained his Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of Texas at Austin and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland (Chesapeake Biological Laboratory) prior to arriving at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Rooker is a recognized leader in the field of marine fisheries ecology, and his pioneering research using natural chemical tags in otoliths (ear stones) has provided novel insights on the trans-‐ocean migration and homing rates of large pelagic fishes. His work has been featured in the leading scientific journals (e.g., Science) and reported in mainstream media outlets (e.g., Nature, New York Times, USA Today, World News, MSNBC, International Herald Tribune). He has been the lead scientist on a broad spectrum of projects on estuarine, coastal, and pelagic fishes over the past two decades in the Gulf of Mexico, Hawaiian Islands, Equatorial Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea. Current research on the life history of billfishes and tunas in the Gulf of Mexico is being used to determine the consequences of anthropogenic disturbances on the well being of fish stocks in this region.

Dr. Rooker has developed and taught a wide range of undergraduate courses (Marine Ecology, Fisheries Techniques, Sea World Experience, Marine Biology Seminar), as well as graduate courses on campus (Current Concepts in Marine Biology, Advance Concepts in Marine Population Biology, and Ecosystem Functions in the Marine Environment) and abroad (Natural Resources of the Mediterranean Sea at Santa Chiara, Italy). Apart from his formal courses, Dr. Rooker spends a good portion of his time supervising graduate students. Since arriving at TAMUG in 1998, he has Chaired 19 Graduate Committees and advised 3 Post-‐doctoral Research Scientists. Also, he has been a member of 28 Graduate Committees for students that have received degrees from TAMU/TAMUG, and he currently sits on the Graduate Committees of 16 additional students.

Dr. Rooker has served on over 25 formal committees on both main campus (e.g., Faculty Development Leave Committee, Department Head Search Committee) and the Galveston campus (e.g., Research Advisory Committee, VP/CEO Search Committee). He has chaired several of these committees, including the recently appointed as Chair of the University (TAMUG) Tenure and Promotion Committee. In addition, he played an active role in the development of the Interdisciplinary Degree Program in Marine Biology and served on the Executive Committee for the first 5 years. Outside activities often center on service to the scientific community, and a large

fraction of his time is spent reviewing papers for over 37 different journals and several granting agencies (e.g., National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and


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Sea Grant (national and several state programs). He has also served on the Editorial Boards of several journals, including recent appointments to two prestigious journals (Ecology, Ecological Monographs). Dr. Rooker currently holds a Visiting Research Fellowship from the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil.

RESEARCH

Dr. Rooker’s research centers on the community and population ecology of aquatic organisms, with a special emphasis on marine fishes. His work is both laboratory and field-‐based, and he uses both quantitative and experimental approaches to elucidate the importance of biotic and abiotic factors that influence condition, growth, and survival of marine organisms. In addition, he uses a variety of novel approaches to better understand ecological complexity, trophic pathways, and population connectivity of estuarine, coastal, and pelagic fishes. At any given time, the list of active lab projects is varied reflecting the diverse nature of the work conducted by Dr. Rooker and his graduate students and post-‐docs. His research projects are worldwide and include the Equatorial Pacific, Japan, Hawaii, Italy, Spain, Greece, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Belize, France, and Canada.

To date, he has authored or co-‐authored 107 publications, with over 80 peer-‐reviewed journal articles. Dr. Rooker is the senior author on 9 of 11 highly cited papers (> 100 citations). Success of any research program is linked to the principal investigator’s ability to obtain funding, and Dr. Rooker has have received over 13 million dollars in funding from over 40 extramural awards. He is the lead investigator on the majority of these awards.

PUBLICATIONS (RECENT/SELECTED)

Rooker JR, Wells RJD, Itano DG, Thorrold SR, Lee JM (2016) Natal origin and population connectivity of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Oceanography 25: 277-‐291 Dance MA, Rooker JR (2016) Stage-‐specific variability in habitat assocations of juvenile red drum across a latitudinal gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series 557: 221-‐235 Aschenbrenner A, Padovani Ferreira B, Rooker J (2016) Spatial and temporal variability in the otolith chemistry of the Brazilian snapper (Lutjanus alexandrei) from estuarine and coastal environments. Journal of Fish Biology 10.1111/jfb.13003 Fraile I, Arrizabalaga H, Santiago J, Goñi N, Arregi I, Madinabeitia S, Wells RJD, Rooker JR (2016) Otolith chemistry as an indicator of movements of albacore (Thunnus alalunga) in the North Atlantic Ocean. Marine and Freshwater Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF15097 Dance MA, Moulton DL, Fury NB, Rooker JR (2016) Does transmitter placement or species affect detection efficiency of tagged animals in biotelemetry research. Fisheries Research 183: 80-‐85 Williams AK, McInnes AS, Rooker JR, Quigg A (2015) Changes in microbial plankton assemblages induced by mesoscale oceanographic features in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138230

Galveston, TX 98


Dance MA, Rooker JR (2015) Habitat-‐ and bay-‐scale connectivity of sympatric fishes in an estuarine nursery. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 167: 447-‐457. Luo J, Ault JS, Shay LK, Hoolihan JP, Prince ED, Brown CA, Rooker JR (2015) Ocean heat contents reveals secrets of fish migrations. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0141101. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141101 Randall LL, Smith BL, Cowan JH, Rooker JR (2015) Habitat characteristics of bluntnose flyingfish Prognichthys occidentalis (Actinopeterygii, Exocoetidae), across mesoscale features in the Gulf of Mexico. Hydrobiologia 749: 97–111 Kitchens LL, Rooker JR (2014) Habitat associations of dolphinfish in the Gulf of Mexico. Fisheries Oceanography, 23: 460-‐471 Rooker JR, Arrizabalaga H, Fraile I, Secor DH, Dettman DL, Abid N, Addis P, Deguara S, FS Karakulak FS, Kimoto A, Sakai O, Macías D, Santos MN (2014) Crossing the line: migratory and homing behaviors of Atlantic bluefin tuna, Marine Ecology Progress Series 504: 265-‐276 Secor DH, Rooker JR, Gahagan B, Siskey M, Wingate R (2015) Depressed resilience of bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean associated with age truncation. Conservation Biology, 29: 400-‐408 Rooker JR, Kitchens LL, Dance MA, Wells RJD, Falterman B, Cornic M (2013) Spatial, temporal, and habitat-‐related variation in abundance of pelagic fishes in the Gulf of Mexico: potential implications of Deepwater Horizon oil spill. PLoS ONE 8(10): E76080. Furey NB, Rooker JR (2013) Spatial and temporal shifts in suitable habitat of juvenile southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma). Journal of Sea Research 76: 161-‐169 Furey NB, Dance MA, Rooker JR (2013) Fine-‐scale movements and habitat use of young-‐of-‐the-‐year southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) in an estuarine seascape. Journal of Fish Biology 82 (5): 1469-‐1483 Rooker JR, Simms JR, Wells RJD, Holt SA, Holt GJ, Graves JE, Furey NB (2012) Distribution and habitat associations of billfish and swordfish larvae across mesoscale features in the Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE 7(4): e34180. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034180

SUPPORT (CURRENT)

NOAA (NMFS) MARFIN Grant Life history and population structure of snowy and Warsaw grouper 2016-‐2019 (NA16NMF4330161)

NOAA (NMFS) Saltonstall Kennedy Grant Origin of yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean 2016-‐2018 (NA16NMF4270221)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Grant


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Community structure of fishes on artificial reefs 2016-‐2018

NOAA Bluefin Tuna Research Program Grant Development of mixed-‐stock models for determining the origin of bluefin tuna 2015-‐2017

Texas OneGulf Grant Restoring and enhancing nursery habitats to increase fisheries production 2016-‐2017

State Wildlife Grant Program Grant Temporal variability in the egress and ingress of estuarine-‐dependent fishes 2016-‐2018

Galveston, TX 100


John Schwarz Assistant Professor

BIOGRAPHY John R. Schwarz, Professor and Head of the Department of Marine Biology and Director of the Seafood Safety Laboratory in Galveston received his BS in Biology and PhD in Molecular Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Following three years studying deep-‐sea bacteria as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Dr. Rita R. Colwell at the University of Maryland, he joined Texas A&M University in January 1976 as an Assistant Professor at the Galveston campus. He taught both Microbiology and Genetics courses each semester for 30 of his first 36 years with TAMU and currently teaches Microbiology each long term. Dr. Schwarz has previously been recognized for his teaching activities through The Association of Former Students College level and Paul Ricker faculty awards as well as being selected by his students for TAMUS SLATE teaching awards for three years. He has mentored 3 PhD and 22 MS students and served on 55 graduate student committees during his career He has served as a proposal and manuscript reviewer for a number of agencies and journals. Additionally, Dr. Schwarz is a working member of three national committees on shellfish sanitation. Now serving as Marine Biology Department head for the second time, he has held several other academic administration positions during his career with TAMU.

RESEARCH Dr. Schwarz’ research interests include the ecology of estuarine bacteria in Texas waters and the association of pathogenic microbes with seafood. The TAMUG Seafood Safety Laboratory (SSL) is a US FDA-‐certified laboratory entrusted with the analysis of bacteria in seafood and seawater. One of the primary functions of the SSL is to determine pathogenic Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus levels in oyster shellstock and those levels found in oysters that have been post-‐harvest treated to reduce them. Studies are also conducted on bacterial levels in shrimp and fishes residing in tributaries and other areas of the Galveston Bay complex.

PUBLICATIONS Robin Brinkmeyer, Rainer M.W. Amon, John R. Schwarz, Tara Saxton, Dustin Roberts, Sarah Harrison, Nicholas Ellis, Jessica Fox, Renée DiGuardi, Mona Hochman, Shuiwang Duan, Ron Stein, and Catherine Elliot. 2015. Distribution and Persistence of Escherichia coli and Enterococci in Stream Bed and Bank Sediments from two Urban Streams in Houston, TX. Science of the Total Environment. 502: 650-‐658.

Baumeister, L ,Hochman, M.E.,Schwarz, J.R., and R.Brinkmeyer. 2014. Occurrence of Vibrio vulnificus and Toxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus on Sea Catfishes from Galveston Bay, TX, USA. J. Food Protection. 77(10) 1784-‐1786. Walton, W.C., Nelson, C., Hochman, M. and J.R. Schwarz. 2013. Preliminary Study of Transplanting as a Process for Reducing Levels of Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Shellstock Oysters. J. Food Protection. 76(1) 119-‐123.

Lin, M. and J.R. Schwarz. 2004. Partial 16s rDNA Sequencing of Vibrio vulnificus Isolates from Galveston Bay Oysters and Water. FEMS Microbial Ecology, 45: 23-‐27.


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Lin, M., D. Payne and J.R. Schwarz. 2003. Genetic Diversity of Vibrio vulnificus in Galveston Bay Oysters and Water as Determined by RAPD PCR. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 69(6):3170-‐3175.

SUPPORT

Galveston, TX 102


Anja Schulze Associate Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Anja Schulze joined the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus in 2006 and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2001 in Biology from the University of Victoria and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Harvard University and the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, FL. Her research focuses on biodiversity and evolution of marine invertebrates, especially marine annelid worms. She teaches “Marine Invertebrate Zoology”, a Writing-‐Intensive course which is primarily a junior/senior level course but has recently become a stacked course with graduate student enrollment. She also co-‐teaches various courses in the Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Degree Program. She has graduated three M.S. students and one Ph.D. student and currently advises three graduate students. Additionally, she has mentored approximately 60 undergraduate students as student workers, interns or directed studies students. She serves on numerous campus committees. External activities include serving as Associate Editor for two peer-‐reviewed journals, member of the Steering Committee for the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance and a member of the Executive Committee for the American Microscopical Society.

RESEARCH Dr. Schulze’s research takes an integrative approach to investigating the evolution of invertebrate diversity, with a focus on marine annelids. To examine the factors that drive and maintain the enormous diversity of morphologies, genetics, lifestyles and development in this phylum, as well as to unravel the phylogenetic relationships among lineages, she utilizes a variety of approaches, spanning morphological, genetic, genomic, and developmental studies.

As part of a multi-‐institutional consortium, WormNet II, she has lead a “Community Sequencing Project” which invited collaborations with annelid researchers worldwide to address phylogenetic relationships among closely related species and the characterization of cryptic (i.e. morphologically indistinguishable, but genetically distinct) species. This initiative has led to sustained collaborations with colleagues around the world.

Recently her lab directed a large-‐scale, multinational study on the genetic diversity of the bearded fireworm, Hermodice carunculata, throughout its distribution range in the Atlantic and adjacent basins. Against initial expectations, data showed that H. carunculata is genetically homogeneous, despite morphological variation. As a voracious omnivore, H. carunculata not only is an important player in the food web, but is also a potential vector for coral diseases. Her group is currently conducting a lab based study of differential gene expression in response to low oxygen in H. carunculata.

Another ongoing project focuses on the Capitella species complex. Capitella spp. have long been used as indicators for sediment pollution and are model systems for spiralian development. Dr. Schulze’s lab is delineating multiple cryptic species in bays and estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, in collaboration with Dr. David Hala’s, her graduate student is establishing protocols for characterizing whole genome and gene-‐specific DNA methylation in Capitella spp. throughout their life cycle with the aim of establishing an invertebrate model for targeted toxicology assays.

For the past ~15 years, Dr. Schulze has been studying the genetic and morphological diversity of palolo worms (Palola, Eunicidae, Annelida), a group of polychaetes known for their periodic


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swarming behavior which has great cultural significance throughout much of the tropical Indo-‐Pacific. She recently teamed up with researchers from Indonesia, Australia and Brazil to explore the genetic diversity and cultural importance of these worms in Maluku, Indonesia.

In collaboration with colleagues from Italy, Dr. Schulze also studies acclimation and adaptation of non-‐calcifying marine invertebrates to ocean acidification, using natural, shallow-‐water carbon dioxide vents in the Mediterranean Sea as a model system. This research has provided her opportunities to integrate her own strengths in phylogenetic analysis with her colleagues’ expertise in physiological and developmental studies.

PUBLICATIONS Schulze, A., Grimes, C. J., Rudek, T. E. (in press). “Tough, armed and omnivorous: Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae) is prepared for ecological challenges.” Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK.

Hilliard, J., Hajduk, M., Schulze, A. (2016). “Species delineation in the Capitella species complex: geographic and genetic variation.” Invertebrate Biology 135: 415-‐422.

Johnson, N. D., Sanders, C., Maiorova, A. and Schulze, A. (2016). “Cryptic speciation in a Pacific sipunculan (Sipuncula: Phascolosomatidae): East-‐west divergence between non-‐sister taxa.” Zoologica Scripta 45: 455-‐463.

Lucey, N. M., Lombardi, C., De Marchi, L., Schulze, A., Gambi, M. C., Calosi, P. (2015). “To brood or not to brood: are marine organisms that protect their offspring more resilient to ocean acidification?” Scientific Reports 5: 12009.

Ahrens, J. B., Kudenov, J., Marshall, C. D., Schulze, A. (2014). “A histological analysis of the bearded fireworm, Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae): Regeneration of posterior segments and terminal structures.” Journal of Morphology 275: 1103-‐1112.

Borda, E., Kudenov, J., Blake, J. A., Chevaldonné, P., Desbruyères, D., Hourdez, S., Fabri, M-‐C, Pleijel, F., Schulze, A., Shank, T., Wilson, N. G. and Rouse, G. W. (2013). “Cryptic species of Archinome (Annelida: Amphinomida) from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 280, 20131876.

Calosi, P., Rastrick, S. P. S., Lombardi, C., de Guzman, H. J., Davidson, L., Jahnke, M., Giangrande, A., Hardege, J.D., Schulze, A., Spicer, J. I., Gambi, M.C. (2013). “Acclimatization to ocean acidification in marine ectotherms: an in situ transplant experiment at a shallow CO2 vent system.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 368, 20120444.

Carvalho, R. G., Wei, C.-‐L., Rowe, G. and Schulze, A. (2013). “Complex depth-‐related patterns in the taxonomic and functional diversity of polychaetes in the Gulf of Mexico.” Deep Sea Research I 80: 66-‐77.

Ahrens, J. B., Borda, E., Barroso, R., Paiva, P. C., Campbell, A. M., Wolf, A., Nugues, M. M., Rouse, G. W. and Schulze, A. (2013). “The curious case of Hermodice carunculata: evidence for genetic homogeneity throughout the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent basins.” Molecular Ecology 22: 2280-‐2291.

Schulze, A., Maiorova, A., *Timm, L. E. and Rice, M. E. (2012). Sipunculan larvae and “cosmopolitan” species. Integrative and Comparative Biology 52: 497-‐510.

Schulze, A. & Rice, M. E. (2009). “Nephasoma pellucidum – a model species for sipunculan development?” Smithsonian Contributions to Marine Science 38:209-‐217.

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Schulze, A. & Rice, M. E. (2009). „Musculature in sipunculan worms: ontogeny and ancestral states.” Evolution & Development, 11: 97-‐108.

Schulze, A., Cutler, E. B. & Giribet, G. (2007). „Phylogeny of sipunculan worms: a combined analysis of four gene regions and morphology.” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 42: 171-‐192.

Schulze, A. (2006). “Phylogeny and genetic diversity of palolo worms (Palola, Eunicidae) from the tropical north Pacific and the Caribbean.” Biological Bulletin, 210: 25-‐37.

SUPPORT TAMU-‐CAPES Collaborative Grant Gene expression profiles in response to low dissolved oxygen in the bearded fireworm, Hermodice carunculata 01 May 2016 – 31 Dec. 2017 National Geographic Society, Committee for Exploration and Research Sex and violence in marine worms: Eunicidae (Annelida) in Indonesia 01 June 2017 – Nov. 30, 2018


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R. J. David Wells Assistant Professor

BIOGRAPHY Dr. R. J. David Wells received his Ph.D. in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences from Louisiana State University in 2007. Dr. Wells joined the Marine Biology Department at Texas A&M University at Galveston as an Assistant Professor in 2012. Dr. Wells teaches graduate & undergraduate courses in Ichthyology, Field Ichthyology, Advanced Concepts in Marine Population Biology & Ecology, and Research and Conservation in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece: Dolphins, Fisheries, and Cultural Heritage. Dr. Wells received two teaching awards; the TAMU Montague-‐Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar Award and the TAMUG CEO Meritorious Service Award. Dr. Wells research focuses on shark biology and fisheries science with a focus on life history, movement, and feeding studies. He has received over $11.4 million in external research funding from federal (NOAA, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service), state (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Texas General Land Office), and private (Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative) sources. Dr. Wells has reviewed manuscipts for over 20 journals and served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation and Sea Grant programs. He has written 36 peer-‐reviewed journal articles, two book chapters, and was an invited speaker for seven events/seminars. Dr. Wells currently chairs two doctoral committees, four master’s committees, and serves on 14 others.

RESEARCH Dr. Wells research is focused on shark biology and fisheries science where his lab focuses on filling scientific gaps geared toward applied fishery management with a conservation focus. The labs research is focused around three central themes including 1) shark biology, 2) feeding ecology, and 3) habitat use/movement of marine fishes. Within each of the central themes, current research projects range from life history studies, connectivity, movement, population structure, and anthropogenic impacts to targeted fisheries and the surrounding ecosystem throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. In addition to starting one of the only shark research programs in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, Dr. Wells lab is working on projects internationally (Japan, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico) and locally throughout the Gulf of Mexico using a suite of approaches including advanced technology (active acoustics, satellite and archival electronic tags) and the use of natural tracers such as stable isotopes and trace elements in fishes (sharks) to retrospectively examine movement and feeding patterns. His group uses emerging approaches in hopes that the research is moving in a positive direction in order to provide students the skills needed for future employment and to keep the program competitive for future funding opportunities.

PUBLICATIONS Wells RJD, Spear N, Kohin S (In Press) Age validation of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Marine and Freshwater Research doi:10.1071/MF16054

Plumlee JD, Wells RJD (2016) Feeding ecology of three coastal shark species in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 550: 163-‐174

Wells RJD, Kinney MJ, Kohin S, Dewar H, Rooker JR, Snodgrass OE (2015) Natural tracers reveal population structure of albacore (Thunnus alalunga) in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. ICES Journal of Marine Science 72: 2118-‐2127

Hoolihan JP, Wells RJD, Luo J, Falterman B, Prince ED, Rooker JR (2014) Vertical and horizontal movements of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 6: 211-‐222

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Wells RJD, Kohin S, Teo SLH, Snodgrass OE, Uosaki K (2013). Age and growth of North Pacific albacore (Thunnus alalunga): implications for stock assessment. Fisheries Research 147: 55-‐62

Wells RJD, Smith SE, Kohin S, Freund E, Spear N, Ramon DA (2013) Age validation of juvenile shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) tagged and marked with oxytetracycline off southern California. Fishery Bulletin 111: 147-‐160

Wells RJD, Rooker JR, Itano D (2012) Nursery origin of yellowfin tuna in the Hawaiian Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series 461: 187-‐196

SUPPORT Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Project Title: Identification of shark nurseries along the Texas coast Duration: 2016-‐2018 Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Project Title: Temporal variability in the egress and ingress of estuarine-‐dependent fishes Duration: 2016-‐2018 Source: CONACYT Project Title: Connectivity of large apex predators in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) using natural geochemical tracers Duration: 2016-‐2017 Source: NOAA Cooperative Research Program Project Title: Ocean basin connectivity of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) Duration: 2016-‐2017 Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Project Title: Community structure, habitat use, and connectivity of reef fishes on TPWD artificial reefs Duration: 2015-‐2017 Source: Texas OneGulf Center of Excellence Project Title: Restoring and enhancing structurally complex nursery habitat to enhance reef fish populations Duration: 2016-‐2017 Source: NOAA Saltonstall Kennedy Project Title: Stock structure and life history of the bonnethead, Sphyrna tiburo, in US waters Duration: 2016-‐2018 Source: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Project Title: Deep-‐Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico Duration: 2015-‐2017 Source: NOAA Saltonstall Kennedy Project Title: Capture mortality and post-‐release survival of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) in the Gulf of Mexico recreational fishery Duration: 2015-‐2018


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APPENDIX F INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE

OFFICE OF THE PROVOST

Jack K. Williams Administration Building, Suite 100 1248 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-1248 USA Tel. +1 979.845.4016 Fax. +1 979.845.6994 http://provost.tamu.edu/

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January 2, 2017 TO: External Program Reviewers and Program Accreditors FROM: Michael T. Stephenson

Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison RE: Information required for USDOE Accrediting Bodies Texas A&M University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. Consistent with comprehensive standard 3.13.1, the following provides the institution’s official position on its purpose, governance, programs, degrees, diplomas, certificates, personnel, finances, and constituencies and is published in official university documents as noted. Purpose

Classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research Doctoral University (Highest Research Activity), Texas A&M embraces its mission of the advancement of knowledge and human achievement in all its dimensions. The research mission is a key to advancing economic development in both public and private sectors. Integration of research with teaching prepares students to compete in a knowledge-based society and to continue developing their own creativity, learning, and skills beyond graduation.

The institution’s official mission statement, published both on the institution’s web page as well as in its annual university catalog, is:

Texas A&M University (Texas A&M) is dedicated to the discovery, development, communication and application of knowledge in a wide range of academic and professional fields. Its mission of providing the highest quality undergraduate and graduate programs is inseparable from its mission of developing new understandings through research and creativity. It prepares students to assume roles in leadership, responsibility and service to society. Texas A&M assumes as its historic trust the maintenance of freedom of inquiry and an intellectual environment nurturing the human mind and spirit. It welcomes and seeks to serve persons of all racial, ethnic and geographic groups, women and men alike, as it addresses the needs of an increasingly diverse population and a global economy. In the twenty-first century, Texas A&M University seeks to assume a place of preeminence among public universities while respecting its history and traditions.

Governance The governance of the institution was described in the 2012 certification of compliance submitted to SACSCOC.

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Texas A&M University at College Station, the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System, has branch campuses located in Galveston, Texas and Doha, Qatar. A ten-member Board of Regents, appointed by the Governor, directs the Texas A&M System. The appointment of each Regent follows Texas Education Code (TEC, Chapter 85, Section 21).

TEC outlines the duties and responsibilities of the Board of Regents. These responsibilities are also defined in System Policy 02.01 Board of Regents and TEC 51.352. The Board elects two officers: Chair and Vice Chair. There are four standing committees: Audit, Academic & Student Affairs, Finance, and Buildings & Physical Plant. Special committees may be appointed by the Chair with Board approval.

At Texas A&M University the President is the chief executive officer; the President is not the presiding officer of the Board of Regents. The President reports to the state-appointed Board of Regents through the Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. System Policy 2.05 Presidents of System Member Universities defines the duties of the President. The appointment of the President follows conditions set forth in System Policy 01.03 Appointing Power and Terms and Conditions of Employment, section 2.2. Personnel The institution is led by the President and members of his cabinet: Michael K. Young, President Karan L. Watson, Provost and Executive Vice President

Jerry R. Strawser, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and CFO Michael Benedik, Vice Provost M. Dee Childs, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO Michael G. O’Quinn, Vice President for Government Relations Dr. Douglas Palmer, Interim Vice President and COO, TAMU-Galveston Barbara A. Abercrombie, Vice President for HR & Organizational Effectiveness Jessica Rubie, Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Christine Stanley, Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity Amy B. Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Marking & Communications Officer Glen A. Laine, Vice President for Research Carrie L. Byington, Senior Vice President TAMU Health Science Center, Dean of the

College of Medicine, and Vice Chancellor for Health Services Daniel J. Pugh, Sr., Vice President for Student Affairs Gen Joe E. Ramirez, Jr. Commandant, Corps of Cadets Amy B. Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Scott Woodward, Director of Athletics

Programs, Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates

See the Institutional Summary submitted to SACSCOC

Finances See the Financial Profile 2016 submitted to SACSCOC

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Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Commission on Colleges

INSTITUTIONAL SUMMARY FORM

PREPARED FOR COMMISSION REVIEWS

GENERAL INFORMATION Name of Institution Texas A&M University Name, Title, Phone number, and email address of Accreditation Liaison Michael T. Stephenson Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison 979.845.4016 [email protected] Name, Title, Phone number, and email address of Technical Support person for the Compliance Certification Alicia M. Dorsey Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness 979.862.2918 [email protected] IMPORTANT: Accreditation Activity (check one):

Submitted at the time of Reaffirmation Orientation Submitted with Compliance Certification for Reaffirmation Submitted with Materials for an On-Site Reaffirmation Review Submitted with Compliance Certification for Fifth-Year Interim Report Submitted with Compliance Certification for Initial Candidacy/Accreditation Review Submitted with Merger/Consolidations/Acquisitions Submitted with Application for Level Change

Submission date of this completed document: September 29, 2015

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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 1. Level of offerings (Check all that apply)

Diploma or certificate program(s) requiring less than one year beyond Grade 12 Diploma or certificate program(s) of at least two but fewer than four years of work beyond

Grade 12 Associate degree program(s) requiring a minimum of 60 semester hours or the equivalent

designed for transfer to a baccalaureate institution Associate degree program(s) requiring a minimum of 60 semester hours or the equivalent

not designed for transfer Four or five-year baccalaureate degree program(s) requiring a minimum of 120 semester

hours or the equivalent Professional degree program(s) Master's degree program(s) Work beyond the master's level but not at the doctoral level (such as Specialist in

Education) Doctoral degree program(s) Other (Specify)

2. Types of Undergraduate Programs (Check all that apply)

Occupational certificate or diploma program(s) Occupational degree program(s) Two-year programs designed for transfer to a baccalaureate institution Liberal Arts and General Teacher Preparatory Professional

Other (Specify)

GOVERNANCE CONTROL Check the appropriate governance control for the institution:

Private (check one) Independent, not-for-profit Name of corporation OR Name of religious affiliation and control:

Independent, for-profit * If publicly traded, name of parent company:

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Public state * (check one) Not part of a state system, institution has own independent board Part of a state system, system board serves as governing board

Part of a state system, system board is super governing board, local governing board has delegated authority

Part of a state system, institution has own independent board * If an institution is part of a state system or a corporate structure, a description of the system operation must be submitted as part of the Compliance Certification for the decennial review. See Commission policy “Reaffirmation of Accreditation and Subsequent Reports” for additional direction.” INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION FOR REVIEWERS Directions: Please address the following and attach the information to this form. 1. History and Characteristics Provide a brief history of the institution, a description of its current mission, an indication of its geographic service area, and a description of the composition of the student population. Include a description of any unusual or distinctive features of the institution and a description of the admissions policies (open, selective, etc.). If appropriate, indicate those institutions that are considered peers. Please limit this section to one-half page. 2. List of Degrees List all degrees currently offered (A. S., B.A., B.S., M.A., Ph.D., for examples) and the majors or concentrations within those degrees, as well as all certificates and diplomas. For each credential offered, indicate the number of graduates in the academic year previous to submitting this report. Indicate term dates. 3. Off-Campus Instructional Locations and Branch Campuses List all locations where 50% or more credit hours toward a degree, diploma, or certificate can be obtained primarily through traditional classroom instruction. Report those locations in accord with the Commission’s definitions and the directions as specified below. Off-campus instructional sites—a site located geographically apart from the main campus at which the institution offers 50 % or more of its credit hours for a diploma, certificate, or degree. This includes high schools where courses are offered as part of dual enrollment. For each site, provide the information below. The list should include only those sites reported and approved by SACSCOC. Listing unapproved sites below does not constitute reporting them to SACSCOC. In such cases when an institution has initiated an off-campus instructional site as described above without prior approval by SACSCOC, a prospectus for approval should be submitted immediately to SACSCOC.

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Name of Site Physical Address

(street, city, state, country) Do not include PO Boxes.

Date Approved by SACSCOC

Date Implemented by the institution

Educational programs offered (specific degrees, certificates, diplomas) with 50% or more credits hours offered at each site

Is the site currently active? (At any time during the past 5 years, have students been enrolled and courses offered? If not, indicate the date of most recent activity.)

Institutions with off-campus instructional sites at which the institution offers 25-49% credit hours for a diploma, certificate, or degree—including high schools where courses are offered as dual enrollment—are required to notify SACSCOC in advance of initiating the site. For each site, provide the information below. Name of Site (Indicate if site is currently active or inactive. If inactive, date of last course offerings and date of projected reopening

Physical Address (street, city, state, country) Do not include PO Boxes.

Date Notified SACSCOC by SACSCOC


Educational programs offered (specific degrees, certificates, diplomas) with 25-49% credit hours offered at each site


Branch campus—an instructional site located geographically apart and independent of the main campus of the institution. A location is independent of the main campus if the location is (1) permanent in nature, (2) offers courses in educational programs leading to a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential, (3) has its own faculty and administrative or supervisory organization, and (4) has its own budgetary and hiring authority. The list should include only those branch campuses reported and approved by SACSCOC. Listing unapproved branch campuses below does not constitute reporting them to SACSCOC. A prospectus for an unapproved branch campuses should be submitted immediately to SACSCOC. Name of Branch Campus




Educational programs (specific degrees, certificates, diplomas) with 50% or more credits hours offered at the branch campus

Is the campus currently active? (At any time during the past 5 years, have students been enrolled and courses offered? If not, indicate the date of most recent activity.)

4. Distance and Correspondence Education

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Provide an initial date of approval for your institution to offer distance education. Provide a list of credit-bearing educational programs (degrees, certificates, and diplomas) where 50% or more of the credit hours are delivered through distance education modes. For each educational program, indicate whether the program is delivered using synchronous or asynchronous technology, or both. For each educational program that uses distance education technology to deliver the program at a specific site (e.g., a synchronous program using interactive videoconferencing), indicate the program offered at each location where students receive the transmitted program. Please limit this description to one page, if possible. 5. Accreditation (1) List all agencies that currently accredit the institution and any of its programs and indicate the date of the last review by each. (2) If SACS Commission on Colleges is not your primary accreditor for access to USDOE Title IV funding, identify which accrediting agency serves that purpose. (3) List any USDOE recognized agency (national and programmatic) that has terminated the institution’s

accreditation (include the date, reason, and copy of the letter of termination) or list any agency from which the institution has voluntarily withdrawn (include copy of letter to agency from institution).

(4) Describe any sanctions applied or negative actions taken by any USDOE-recognized accrediting

agency (national, programmatic, SACSCOC) during the two years previous to the submission of this report. Include a copy of the letter from the USDOE to the institution.

6. Relationship to the U.S. Department of Education Indicate any limitations, suspensions, or termination by the U.S. Department of Education in regard to student financial aid or other financial aid programs during the previous three years. Report if on reimbursement or any other exceptional status in regard to federal or state financial aid.

Document History Adopted: September 2004

Revised: March 2011 Revised: January 2014

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1. History and Characteristics Provide a brief history of the institution, a description of its current mission, an indication of its geographic service area, and a description of the composition of the student population. Include a description of any unusual or distinctive features of the institution and a description of the admissions policies (open, selective, etc.). If appropriate, indicate those institutions that are considered peers. Please limit this section to one-half page.

History. Texas A&M University was established in 1871 as the state’s first public institution of higher education and opened for classes in 1876. We are now one of a select few institutions in the nation to hold land grant, sea grant (1971) and space grant (1989) designations. We are also one of few universities to host a presidential library; the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1997. A mandatory military component was a part of the land grant designation until 1965 and today we are one of only three institutions with a full-time corps of cadets, leading to commissions in all branches of service. We have two branch campuses, one in Galveston, Texas, (established in 1962, officially merged with Texas A&M in 1991) and one in Doha, Qatar (established in 2003). In 2001 we were admitted to the Association of American Universities (AAU) and in 2004 to Phi Beta Kappa. We are classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research University (very high research activity). Mission. Texas A&M University is dedicated to the discovery, development, communication, and application of knowledge in a wide range of academic and professional fields. Its mission of providing the highest quality undergraduate and graduate programs is inseparable from its mission of developing new understandings through research and creativity. It prepares students to assume roles in leadership, responsibility and service to society. Texas A&M assumes as its historic trust the maintenance of freedom of inquiry and an intellectual environment nurturing the human mind and spirit. It welcomes and seeks to serve persons of all racial, ethnic and geographic groups as it addresses the needs of an increasingly diverse population and a global economy. In the 21st century, Texas A&M University seeks to assume a place of preeminence among public universities while respecting its history and traditions. Enrollment Profile. 77.42% Undergraduate, 18.41% Graduate, 4.02% Professional, and 0.14% Post-Doc Certificate

Undergraduate Students: 93.58% Texas Residents, 3.96% non-Texas Residents, 2.46% non-Texas, non-US Residents; 62.41% White, 3.11% Black, 22.33% Hispanic, 6.21% Asian Graduate Students: 45.09% Texas Residents, 16.57% non-Texas Residents, 38.34% non-Texas, non-US Residents Admissions Process. Selective. Automatic admission for Texas resident applicants in the top 10% of their high school graduating class; automatic admission for applicants who rank in the top 25% of their high school graduating class and achieve a combined (old) SAT math and SAT critical reading score of at least 1300 with a test score of at least 600 in each component, or combined (newly redesigned) SAT math and SAT evidence based reading and writing (EBRW) score of at least 1360 with a test score of at least 620 in Math and 660 in EBRW, or 30 composite on the ACT with a 27 in the math and English components; review of all other applicants based on academic potential, distinguishing characteristics, exceptional circumstances and personal achievements. Peer Institutions. Georgia Institution of Technology, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, University of California- Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego, University of Florida, University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, University of Texas – Austin, and University of Wisconsin – Madison.

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2. List of Degrees List all degrees currently offered (A. S., B.A., B.S., M.A., Ph.D., for examples) and the majors or concentrations within those degrees, as well as all certificates and diplomas. For each credential offered, indicate the number of graduates in the academic year previous to submitting this report. Indicate term dates.

College Degree Program Number of Graduates Degree Fall

2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES

AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM

BS 35 45 18 98


AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

MAGR 5 5 0 10


AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

BS 45 90 15 150



MS 8 10 7 25



PHD 2 1 3 6


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

EDD 1 1 2


AGRICULTURAL LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT

BS 66 102 20 188


AGRICULTURAL LEADERSHIP EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION

MED 5 6 4 15



MS 6 9 1 16



PHD 4 3 3 10


AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE BS 16 33 1 50


AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

BS 9 23 5 37


AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

MS 2 2


AGRONOMY MS 1 2 3


AGRONOMY PHD 1 1

AGRICULTURE AND LIFE

ANIMAL BREEDING MS 2 1 1 4

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2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

SCIENCES AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES

ANIMAL SCIENCE BS 34 77 12 123


ANIMAL SCIENCE MAGR 6 4 10


ANIMAL SCIENCE MS 6 1 5 12


ANIMAL SCIENCE PHD 2 1 3 6


ANIMAL SCIENCE-PRODUCTION/ INDUSTRY

BS 45 64 22 131


BIOCHEMISTRY BS 9 29 4 42


BIOCHEMISTRY MS 1 3 1 5


BIOCHEMISTRY PHD 2 3 3 8


BIOENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

BS 31 44 14 89


BIOLOGICAL AND AGRI ENGINEERING

BS 10 34 44



MENGR

3 3



MS 2 7 9



PHD 2 2 4


COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

BS 5 2 7


ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

BS 3 5 8


Ecosystem Science & Mgmt MS 2 5 7


Ecosystem Science & Mgmt PHD 3 3 1 7


ENTOMOLOGY BS 1 9 1 11

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2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total


ENTOMOLOGY MS 5 4 1 10


ENTOMOLOGY PHD 2 1 1 4


FOOD SCI & TCHN-FOOD SCI

BS 5 8 13


FOOD SCI & TCHN-INDUSTRY

BS 5 20 3 28


FORENSIC & INVESTIGATIVE SCIENCES

BS 1 16 1 18


FORESTRY BS 4 6 1 11


GENETICS BS 11 14 25


HORTICULTURE BA 7 9 2 18


HORTICULTURE BS 12 12 3 27


HORTICULTURE MAGR 1 1 2


HORTICULTURE MS 1 3 4


HORTICULTURE PHD 2 1 3


NATURAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

MNRD 1 2 3


NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE BS 55 68 18 141


PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION

MS 1 2 3


PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION

PHD 1 1


PLANT & ENVRNMNTL SOIL SCIENCE

BS 13 15 3 31


PLANT BREEDING MS 2 5 1 8

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2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total


PLANT BREEDING PHD 3 1 1 5


PLANT PATHOLOGY MS 3 2 5


PLANT PATHOLOGY PHD 1 2 1 4


POULTRY SCIENCE BS 3 4 7


POULTRY SCIENCE MAGR 3 1 2 6


POULTRY SCIENCE PHD 3 3


POULTRY SCIENCE-INDUSTRY

BS 8 15 4 27


RANGLND ECL & MGT-RANCH MANAGEMENT

BS 3 9 2 14


RANGLND ECL & MGT-RANGELAND RESOURCES

BS 1 2 3


REC, PARK & TOURISM SCI-COM REC & PRKS ADMIN

BS 4 1 5


REC, PARK & TOURISM SCIENCES

BS 2 8 10 20


REC, PARK & TOURISM SCI-PARKS & CONSERVATION

BS 4 3 7


REC, PARK & TOURISM SCI-TOURISM MANAGEMENT

BS 20 28 11 59


REC, PARK & TOURISM SCI-YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

BS 16 20 5 41


RECREATION, PARK & TOURISM SCI

MS 6 2 8


RECREATION, PARK & TOURISM SCI

PHD 2 3 5


RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES

BS 11 17 28


SOIL SCIENCE MS 3 1 4

120


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total


SOIL SCIENCE PHD 1 1 2


SPATIAL SCIENCES BS 2 3 5


TURFGRASS SCIENCE BS 7 3 10


WILDLIFE & FISHERIES SCIENCES

BS 5 3 8



MS 5 2 2 9



PHD 3 2 3 8


WILDLIFE SCIENCE MWSC 3 2 5


WL & FS SCI-VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

BS 5 5 4 14


WL & FS SCI-WILDLIFE ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION

BS 32 51 13 96

ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE MARCH

5 38 1 44

ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE MS 1 1 ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE PHD 2 2 1 5 ARCHITECTURE BUILDING

CONSTRUCTION BS 54 116 37 207

ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

MS 8 37 5 50

ARCHITECTURE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN ARCHITECHURAL STUDIES

BED 22 62 1 85

ARCHITECTURE LAND & PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

MLPD 12 7 1 20

ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

BLA 19 19

ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

MLA 20 20

ARCHITECTURE URBAN & REGIONAL PLANNING

BS 4 12 2 18

ARCHITECTURE URBAN & REGIONAL PLANNING

MUP 5 18 6 29

ARCHITECTURE URBAN & REGIONAL SCIENCE

PHD 3 1 6 10

ARCHITECTURE VISUALIZATION MFA 3 1 4

121


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

ARCHITECTURE VISUALIZATION MS 4 3 2 9 ARCHITECTURE VISUALIZATION BS 13 38 6 57 BUSH SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SERVICE

HOMELAND SECURITY CERTIFICATE

CER 1 10 11

BUSH SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SERVICE

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS MIA 8 81 6 95


INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS CERTIFICATE

CER 10 22 12 44


NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE

CER 13 20 10 43


PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

MPSA 1 64 4 69

BUSINESS ACCOUNTING BBA 37 271 12 320 BUSINESS ACCOUNTING MS 15 115 8 138 BUSINESS BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION MBA 51 3 4 58

BUSINESS BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

PHD 1 5 13 19

BUSINESS BUSINESS HONORS BBA 6 52 1 59 BUSINESS EXECUTIVE MBA MBA 1 49 50 BUSINESS FINANCE BBA 49 180 13 242 BUSINESS FINANCE MS 16 95 1 112 BUSINESS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MFM 1 1 BUSINESS LAND ECONOMICS & REAL

ESTATE MRE 14 9 2 25

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BBA 36 131 12 179 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT MS 33 49 2 84 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION SYSTEMS BBA 13 35 3 51

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MS 5 149 2 156

BUSINESS MARKETING BBA 47 144 15 206 BUSINESS MARKETING MS 30 8 38 BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL MBA MBA 46 46

122


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

BUSINESS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

BBA 36 130 7 173

DENTISTRY ADVANCED EDUCATON IN GENERAL DENTISTRY

CER 9 9

DENTISTRY DENTAL HYGIENE BS 25 25 DENTISTRY DENTISTRY DDS 1 103 1 105 DENTISTRY ENDODONTICS CER 3 3 DENTISTRY MAXILLOFACIAL

SURGERY CER 3 3

DENTISTRY ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL PATHOLOGY

CER 1 1

DENTISTRY ORAL BIOLOGY MS 1 12 13 DENTISTRY ORTHODONTICS CER 6 6 DENTISTRY PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY CER 11 11 DENTISTRY PERIODONTICS CER 3 3 DENTISTRY PROSTHODONTICS CER 2 2 EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

ATHLETIC TRAINING MS 14 14

EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

BILINGUAL EDUCATION MED 1 3 4


COMMUNITY HEALTH BS 19 60 39 118


COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

PHD 1 5 6


CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

EDD 4 4 8



MED 15 60 50 125



MS 2 2



PHD 4 9 5 18


EDUC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

MS 14 18 7 39


EDUC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

PHD 3 4 7


EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

EDD 3 4 7

EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL MED 7 13 20

123


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

ADMINISTRATION



MS 2 20 2 24



PHD 7 1 5 13


EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

MED 12 30 3 45



MS 1 2 3



PHD 6 4 5 15


EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

MED 4 10 4 18


HEALTH BS 115 187 38 340


HEALTH EDUCATION MS 8 10 5 23


HEALTH EDUCATION PHD 4 1 1 6


HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

BS 23 52 36 111


INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

BS 157 243 2 402


KINESIOLOGY BS 73 106 42 221


KINESIOLOGY MS 4 13 3 20


KINESIOLOGY PHD 6 5 7 18


SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY PHD 6 6


SPECIAL EDUCATION MED 24 5 29


SPORTS MANAGEMENT BS 42 60 34 136

EDUCATION & SPORTS MANAGEMENT MS 15 16 15 46

124


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

TECHNOLOGY MANAGMENT

BS 21 33 7 61

ENGINEERING AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

BS 30 52 1 83


MENGR

3 2 1 6


MS 1 3 7 11


PHD 2 2 2 6

ENGINEERING BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

BS 7 63 1 71


MENGR

3 1 4


MS 2 2 3 7


PHD 5 4 3 12

ENGINEERING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING BS 47 74 10 131 ENGINEERING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MENG

R 2 2 1 5

ENGINEERING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MS 2 10 14 26 ENGINEERING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PHD 6 10 4 20 ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING BS 91 93 5 189 ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING MENG

R 54 52 16 122

ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING MS 11 9 7 27 ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING PHD 14 8 11 33 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING MENG

R 27 40 4 71

ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING MS 7 5 6 18 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING PHD 3 2 4 9 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING BS 24 36 3 63 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING MS 4 2 2 8 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING PHD 4 1 5 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING BS 11 21 32 ENGINEERING COMPUTER ENGINEERING MENG

R 3 5 8

ENGINEERING COMPUTER SCIENCE BS 48 63 9 120 ENGINEERING COMPUTER SCIENCE MCS 17 24 2 43 ENGINEERING COMPUTER SCIENCE MS 6 9 6 21 ENGINEERING COMPUTER SCIENCE PHD 7 8 8 23 ENGINEERING ELECTRICAL

ENGINEERING BS 90 115 10 215

ENGINEERING ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

MENGR

21 54 7 82

125


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total


MS 11 14 11 36


PHD 11 18 13 42

ENGINEERING ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

BS 19 26 4 49

ENGINEERING ENGINEERING DENGR

1 1

ENGINEERING ENGINEERING SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

MS 3 18 1 22

ENGINEERING ENGR TCHN-MANUFACTURING & MCHNCL ENGR

BS 41 49 2 92

ENGINEERING HEALTH PHYSICS MS 2 2 ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL

DISTRIBUTION MID 1 66 67

ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION

BS 76 84 9 169

ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

BS 83 87 6 176


MENGR

10 29 12 51


MS 2 19 3 24


PHD 5 1 5 11

ENGINEERING INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING

PHD 1 1

ENGINEERING MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

MENGR

1 1 1 3


MS 3 2 4 9


PHD 3 4 3 10

ENGINEERING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

BS 92 151 33 276


MENGR

8 12 4 24


MS 21 13 20 54


PHD 9 9 15 33

ENGINEERING NUCLEAR ENGINEERING BS 6 19 1 26 ENGINEERING NUCLEAR ENGINEERING MENG

R 1 1 2

ENGINEERING NUCLEAR ENGINEERING MS 6 9 6 21 ENGINEERING NUCLEAR ENGINEERING PHD 5 7 9 21 ENGINEERING OCEAN ENGINEERING BS 9 25 1 35 ENGINEERING OCEAN ENGINEERING MENG

R 3 1 1 5

ENGINEERING OCEAN ENGINEERING MS 3 3 1 7

126


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

ENGINEERING OCEAN ENGINEERING PHD 1 2 3 ENGINEERING PETROLEUM

ENGINEERING BS 45 114 5 164

ENGINEERING PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

MENGR

10 16 9 35


MS 22 15 28 65


PHD 3 6 5 14

ENGINEERING RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH ENGINEERING

BS 4 15 19

ENGINEERING SAFETY ENGINEERING MS 7 2 1 10 GEOSCIENCES ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE MS 3 2 6 11 GEOSCIENCES ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE PHD 1 1 1 3 GEOSCIENCES ENVIRONMENTAL

GEOSCIENCE BS 18 21 1 40

GEOSCIENCES GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONAL STUDIES

BS 4 7 2 13

GEOSCIENCES GEOGRAPHY BS 3 12 2 17 GEOSCIENCES GEOGRAPHY MS 1 2 4 7 GEOSCIENCES GEOGRAPHY PHD 1 1 3 5 GEOSCIENCES GEOLOGY BA 3 4 7 GEOSCIENCES GEOLOGY BS 19 31 25 75 GEOSCIENCES GEOLOGY MS 6 5 4 15 GEOSCIENCES GEOLOGY PHD 2 3 1 6 GEOSCIENCES GEOPHYSICS BS 11 21 2 34 GEOSCIENCES GEOPHYSICS MS 1 2 4 7 GEOSCIENCES GEOPHYSICS PHD 1 1 1 3 GEOSCIENCES GEOSCIENCES MGSC 1 1 GEOSCIENCES METEOROLOGY BS 4 14 1 19 GEOSCIENCES OCEANOGRAPHY MS 1 4 5 10 GEOSCIENCES OCEANOGRAPHY PHD 3 3 GEOSCIENCES SPATIAL SCIENCES BS 1 1 LIBERAL ARTS ANTHROPOLOGY BA 15 31 4 50 LIBERAL ARTS ANTHROPOLOGY MA 3 1 2 6 LIBERAL ARTS ANTHROPOLOGY PHD 2 4 3 9 LIBERAL ARTS CLASSICS BA 3 1 2 6 LIBERAL ARTS CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY PHD 2 2 LIBERAL ARTS COMMUNICATION BA 88 147 36 271 LIBERAL ARTS COMMUNICATION MA 1 1 1 3 LIBERAL ARTS COMMUNICATION PHD 5 2 3 10 LIBERAL ARTS ECONOMICS BA 5 13 5 23 LIBERAL ARTS ECONOMICS BS 68 95 36 199 LIBERAL ARTS ECONOMICS MS 30 55 85

127


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

LIBERAL ARTS ECONOMICS PHD 8 4 12 LIBERAL ARTS ENGLISH BA 55 92 17 164 LIBERAL ARTS ENGLISH MA 3 3 2 8 LIBERAL ARTS ENGLISH PHD 1 2 5 8 LIBERAL ARTS HISPANIC STUDIES PHD 1 1 2 LIBERAL ARTS HISTORY BA 48 99 18 165 LIBERAL ARTS HISTORY MA 2 2 4 LIBERAL ARTS HISTORY PHD 2 4 1 7 LIBERAL ARTS INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATI

ONAL PSYCHOLOGY PHD 5 5

LIBERAL ARTS INTERNATIONAL STUDIES BA 53 81 13 147 LIBERAL ARTS MODERN LANGUAGES BA 1 3 4 LIBERAL ARTS MUSIC BA 2 8 10 LIBERAL ARTS PERFORMANCE STUDIES MA 7 1 8 LIBERAL ARTS PHILOSOPHY BA 9 12 5 26 LIBERAL ARTS PHILOSOPHY MA 2 1 3 LIBERAL ARTS PHILOSOPHY PHD 2 2 LIBERAL ARTS POLITICAL SCIENCE BA 38 90 31 159 LIBERAL ARTS POLITICAL SCIENCE BS 21 48 7 76 LIBERAL ARTS POLITICAL SCIENCE MA 2 1 3 LIBERAL ARTS POLITICAL SCIENCE PHD 3 2 2 7 LIBERAL ARTS PSYCHOLOGY BA 29 55 9 93 LIBERAL ARTS PSYCHOLOGY BS 83 166 27 276 LIBERAL ARTS PSYCHOLOGY MS 3 3 LIBERAL ARTS PSYCHOLOGY PHD 2 1 1 4 LIBERAL ARTS SOCIOLOGY BA 16 30 11 57 LIBERAL ARTS SOCIOLOGY BS 25 66 22 113 LIBERAL ARTS SOCIOLOGY MS 3 1 4 LIBERAL ARTS SOCIOLOGY PHD 3 6 9 LIBERAL ARTS SPANISH BA 11 18 7 36 LIBERAL ARTS TELECOMMUNICATION

MEDIA STUDIES BA 21 24 5 50

LIBERAL ARTS TELECOMMUNICATION MEDIA STUDIES

BS 6 5 2 13

LIBERAL ARTS THEATER ARTS BA 3 9 2 14 LIBERAL ARTS WOMEN'S AND GENDER

STUDIES BA 1 2 3

MEDICINE EDUCATION FOR HEALTHE CARE PROFESSIONALS

MS 2 2 2 6

MEDICINE MEDICAL SCIENCES MS 3 3 6 MEDICINE MEDICAL SCIENCES PHD 1 2 3 6 MEDICINE MEDICINE MD 9 185 194

128


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

NURSING FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER

MSN 11 11

NURSING NURSING BSN 10 122 132 NURSING NURSING EDUCATION MSN 8 8 PHARMACY PHARMACY PHAR

MD 1 77 78

PUBLIC HEALTH BOISTATISTICS MPH 3 3 PUBLIC HEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH MPH 2 17 1 20 PUBLIC HEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH MSPH 1 1 2 PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGY MPH 9 19 24 52 PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGY AND

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DRPH 1 1 2

PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH ADMINISTRATION MHA 1 20 21 PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH POLICY AND

MANAGMENT MPH 6 21 1 28

PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH PROMOTION AND COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES

DRPH 1 2 3

PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH PROMOTION AND COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES

MPH 3 15 9 27

PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

PHD 2 4 1 7

PUBLIC HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

MPH 1 6 7

SCIENCE ANALYTICS MS 21 1 22 SCIENCE APPLIED MATHEMATICAL

SCIENCES BS 18 42 6 66

SCIENCE APPLIED PHYSICS PHD 2 1 3 SCIENCE BIOLOGY BA 10 22 1 33 SCIENCE BIOLOGY BS 54 133 10 197 SCIENCE BIOLOGY MS 3 1 4 SCIENCE BIOLOGY PHD 2 4 4 10 SCIENCE CHEMISTRY BA 8 18 2 28 SCIENCE CHEMISTRY BS 14 24 1 39 SCIENCE CHEMISTRY MS 1 2 2 5 SCIENCE CHEMISTRY PHD 15 8 22 45 SCIENCE MATHEMATICS BA 5 16 2 23 SCIENCE MATHEMATICS BS 2 5 7 SCIENCE MATHEMATICS MS 6 21 5 32 SCIENCE MATHEMATICS PHD 5 4 16 25 SCIENCE MICROBIOLOGY BS 3 14 1 18 SCIENCE MICROBIOLOGY MS 1 1 SCIENCE MICROBIOLOGY PHD 1 1 SCIENCE MOLECULAR & CELL

BIOLOGY BS 8 12 1 21

129


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total

SCIENCE PHYSICS BA 6 1 7 SCIENCE PHYSICS BS 1 17 1 19 SCIENCE PHYSICS MS 3 2 2 7 SCIENCE PHYSICS PHD 7 10 10 27 SCIENCE STATISTICS MS 14 27 17 58 SCIENCE STATISTICS PHD 2 2 SCIENCE ZOOLOGY BS 2 8 3 13 TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARINE BIOLOGY BS 39 70 6 115

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARINE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

BS 4 13 5 22

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARINE FISHERIES BS 7 11 18

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARINE RESOURCES MANAGMENT

MMRM 4 7 2 13

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARINE SCIENCES BS 3 2 5

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARINE TRANSPORTATION

BS 41 18 21 80

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION

BS 42 61 14 117

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

MMAL 7 5 2 14

TAMU AT GALVESTON

MARITIME STUDIES BA 6 6 3 15

TAMU AT GALVESTON

OCEAN AND COASTAL RESOURCES

BS 6 9 2 17

TAMU AT GALVESTON

OFFSHORE & COASTAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

BS 20 20

TEXAS A&M SCHOOL OF LAW

LAW JD 41 159 5 205

UNIVERSITY INTERDISCIPLINARY

AGRIBUSINESS BS 29 61 2 92


AGRIBUSINESS MAB 20 6 26


BIOTECHNOLOGY MBIOT 7 10 1 18


ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

BS 24 22 7 53


FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MS 2 2 4


FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PHD 1 2 3 6

130


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total


GENETICS MS 1 1 1 3


GENETICS PHD 4 4 1 9


MARINE BIOLOGY MS 3 9 1 13


MARINE BIOLOGY PHD 4 4


MOLECULAR & ENVIRONMENTAL PLANT SCIENCE

MS 1 1 2 4


MOLECULAR & ENVIRONMENTAL PLANT SCIENCE

PHD 1 2 3


NEUROSCIENCE MS 2 2


NEUROSCIENCE PHD 1 1


NUTRITION MS 3 3


NUTRITION PHD 2 1 3


TOXICOLOGY MS 2 2


TOXICOLOGY PHD 1 1 1 3


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - AGRICULTURE

BS 31 42 21 94


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - ARCHITECTURE

BS 15 24 22 61


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - BUSINESS ADMIN

BS 34 43 14 91


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - EDUCATION

BS 25 38 23 86


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - GALVESTON

BS 3 1 4


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - GEOSCIENCES

BS 1 1 1 3

131


2015 Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Total


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - LIBERAL ARTS

BA 1 3 4


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - LIBERAL ARTS

BS 5 3 1 9


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - SCIENCE

BS 2 2 1 5


UNIVERSITY STUDIES - VETERINARY MED

BS 5 9 5 19


WATER MANAGEMENT AND HYDRO SCI

MS 3 4 7



MWM 2 4 2 8



PHD 3 1 1 5

VETERINARY MEDICINE & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BS 91 173 37 301


BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES MS 23 32 16 71


BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES PHD 2 1 3 6


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNALISM

MS 1 4 5


VETERINARY MEDICINE DVM 129 129


VETERINARY PATHOBIOLOGY

PHD 3 1 4


VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH - EPIDEMIOLOGY

MS 2 2

132

3. Off-Campus Instructional Locations and Branch Campuses List all locations where 50% or more credit hours toward a degree, diploma, or certificate can be obtained primarily through traditional classroom instruction. Report those locations in accord with the Commission’s definitions and the directions as specified below. Off-campus instructional sites—a site located geographically apart from the main campus at which the institution offers 50 % or more of its credit hours for a diploma, certificate, or degree. This includes high schools where courses are offered as part of dual enrollment. For each site, provide the information below. The list should include only those sites reported and approved by SACSCOC. Listing unapproved sites below does not constitute reporting them to SACSCOC. In such cases when an institution has initiated an off-campus instructional site as described above without prior approval by SACSCOC, a prospectus for approval should be submitted immediately to SACSCOC. Off-Campus Instructional Locations – 50% or more. Name of Site Physical Address

(street, city, state, country) Do not include PO Boxes.





Texas A&M Health Science Center

8441 State Highway 47 Clinical Building 1, Suite 3100 Bryan, TX 77807

2000 2000 EDUCATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

MS Yes

MEDICAL SCIENCES MD MEDICAL SCIENCES MS MEDICAL SCIENCES PHD MEDICINE MD NURSING BSN NURSING EDUCATION

MSN

PHARMACY PHMD FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER

MSN

Arabian Society for Human Resource Management

Saudi Aramco – Box 8926 Training & Career Development South Administration Building, Room 242 Dhahran 31311 Saudi Arabia

2012 2007 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

MS Yes

City Centre 842 West Sam Houston Parkway North, Suite 200 Houston, Texas 77024-3920

2012 2012 ANALYTICS MS Yes

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

MBA

College of Dentistry

3302 Gaston Ave. Dallas, TX 75246

2001 2000

ADVANCED EDUCATON IN GENERAL DENTISTRY

CTGFA Yes

DENTAL HYGIENE BS DENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH

Certificate

DENTISTRY DDS ENDODONTICS CTGFA MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

CTGFA

ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL PATHOLOGY

CTGFA

ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL

CTGFA

133

Name of Site Physical Address (street, city, state, country) Do not include PO Boxes.





RADIOLOGY ORAL BIOLOGY MS ORAL BIOLOGY PHD ORTHODONTICS CTGFA PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

CTGFA

PERIODONTICS CTGFA PROSTHODONTICS CTGFA

Institute of Biosciences and Technology

2121 W. Holcombe Blvd. Houston, TX 77030

2000 2000

HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

MHA Yes

MEDICINE MD

Rangel College of Pharmacy

1010 W. Avenue B. Kingsville, TX 78363

2011 2006

PHARMACY PHMD Yes

College of Medicine - Temple

2401 S. 31st Street Temple, TX 76508

2000 2000

MEDICINE MD Yes

MEDICAL SCIENCES PHD

Clinical Learning Resource Center

Health Professions Building 3950 North A. W. Grimes Blvd. Round Rock, TX 78665

2011 2010

MEDICINE MD Yes

NURSING BSN

Rural Public Health - McAllen Teaching Site

2101 South McColl Road McAllen, TX 78503

2011 2010

HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGMENT

MPH Yes

HEALTH PROMOTION AND COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES

MPH

NURSING BSN Texas A&M University School of Law

1515 Commerce St Fort Worth, TX 76102

2013 2013 HEALTH CARE LAW JM Yes INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

ML

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

MJ

JURISPRUDENCE MJ LAW JD LAWS ML

Houston Methodist Hospital

6670 Bertner Avenue, R2-216 Houston, TX 77030

2015 2015 MEDICINE MD Yes

Baylor University Medical Center

3500 Gaston Avenue Dallas, TX 75246

2012 2011 MEDICINE MD Yes

134

Off-Campus Instructional Locations – 25%-49%. Name of Site (Indicate if site is currently active or inactive. If inactive, date of last course offerings and date of projected reopening


Date Notified SACSCOC


Educational programs offered (specific degrees, certificates, diplomas) with 25-49% credit hours offered at each site


Department of State Health Services

1100 West 49th Austin, TX. 78756

2011

2004

HEALTH POLICY & MANAGEMENT - MPH

Branch Campuses

Name of Branch Campus




Educational programs (specific degrees, certificates, diplomas) with 50% or more credits hours offered at the branch campus

Is the campus currently active? (At any time during the past 5 years, have students been enrolled and courses offered? If not, indicate the date of most recent activity.)

Texas A&M University at Galveston

200 Seawolf Pkwy. Galveston, TX 77553

1992

1991

MARINE BIOLOGY BS Yes

OFFSHORE & COASTAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER BS

MARINE BIOLOGY MS

MARINE BIOLOGY PHD

MARINE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

BS

MARINE FISHERIES

BS

MARINE RESOURCES MANAGMENT

MMR

MARINE SCIENCES

BS

MARINE TRANSPORTATION

BS

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION

BS

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

MML

MARITIME STUDIES

BA

OCEAN AND COASTAL RESOURCES

BS

OCEAN ENGINEERING

BS

UNIVERSITY STUDIES –

BS

135

GALVESTON

Texas A&M University at Qatar

253 Texas A&M Qatar Engineering Building Education City Al Luqta St Doha, Qatar

2005 2003

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

BS Yes


MS


MEN

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

BS

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

BS

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

BS

4. Distance and Correspondence Education Provide an initial date of approval for your institution to offer distance education. Provide a list of credit-bearing educational programs (degrees, certificates, and diplomas) where 50% or more of the credit hours are delivered through distance education modes. For each educational program, indicate whether the program is delivered using synchronous or asynchronous technology, or both. For each educational program that uses distance education technology to deliver the program at a specific site (e.g., a synchronous program using interactive videoconferencing), indicate the program offered at each location where students receive the transmitted program. Please limit this description to one page, if possible. Initial Approval in February 2000

Credit Bearing Degree Programs Site Synchronous/Asynchronous/Both

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT MAGR Asynchronous

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION EDD

Synchronous course offered worldwide via PC or LMS

Both

AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT MS Asynchronous

ANALYTICS MS Asynchronous BILINGUAL EDUCATION MED Asynchronous BILINGUAL EDUCATION MS Asynchronous BIOLOGICAL AND AGRI ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous

COMPUTER ENGINEERING MENGR


Both

CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION EDD Asynchronous CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION MED Asynchronous

136

EDUC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT MS Asynchronous

EDUCATION FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS MS Asynchronous

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION MED Asynchronous

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY MED


Both

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY MS Asynchronous EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY MED Asynchronous ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous ENERGY MS Asynchronous ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous ENGINEERING SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT MS Asynchronous

EPIDEMIOLOGY MPH Asynchronous FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER MSN Bryan, TX Both HEALTH EDUCATION MS Asynchronous

INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION MID College Station, TX Both

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous LAWS LLM Asynchronous JURISPRUDENCE MJ Asynchronous MARITIME ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS MMAL Asynchronous

MATHEMATICS MS Asynchronous MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous NATURAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT MNRD Asynchronous

NURSING BSN Asynchronous NURSING EDUCATION MSN Bryan, TX Both PETROLEUM ENGINEERING MENGR Asynchronous PLANT BREEDING MS Asynchronous PLANT BREEDING PHD Asynchronous POULTRY SCIENCE MAGR Asynchronous PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION MPSA College Station,

TX Both

RECREATION & RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT MRRD College Station, TX Both

SAFETY ENGINEERING MS Asynchronous

137

SPECIAL EDUCATION MED


Synchronous

SPECIAL EDUCATION MS


Synchronous

SPORTS MANAGEMENT MS Asynchronous STATISTICS MS Asynchronous WILDLIFE SCIENCE MWSC Asynchronous MILITARY LAND SUSTAINABILITY CERT Asynchronous ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS CERT College Station,

TX; Houston, TX Both

AGRICULTURE E-‐LEARNING DEVELOPMENT CERT Asynchronous

APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS CERT Asynchronous EDUCATION FOR HEALTHE CARE PROFESSIONALS CERT Asynchronous

ENERGY CERT Asynchronous ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY ENGINEERING CERT Asynchronous

FORENSIC HEALTH CARE CERT Asynchronous HOMELAND SECURITY CERT Asynchronous INDUSTRIAL DATA ANALYTICS CERT Asynchronous

NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS CERT College Station, TX; Livermore, CA; Sandia, NM

Both

NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT CERT College Station, TX; Houston, TX Both

PUBLIC HEALTH CERT McAllen, TX Both REGULATORY SCIENCE IN FOOD SYSTEMS CERT Asynchronous

SAFETY ENGINEERING CERT Asynchronous APPLIED STATISTICS CERT Asynchronous 5. Accreditation Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education

The pharmacy professional degree program

Last Review: April 2014

American Council for Construction Education

The B.S. and M.S. curriculum in construction science

Last Review: 2011 (B.S.) and 2012 (M.S.)

American Psychological The clinical psychology program Last Review: April/May 2015

138

Association in the Department of Psychology and the counseling psychology and school psychology program in the Department of Educational Psychology

American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education

The veterinary medicine degree program

Last Review: 2013

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

The business baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in Mays Business School

Last Review: Fall 2012

Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education

The dietetic track in the nutritional sciences curriculum and the dietetic internship program

Last review: January 2015

Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (caATe)

Athletic Training (College of Education)

Last Review: 2013

Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education

The Master of Health Administration

Last Review: Fall 2010

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and the Texas Board of Nursing

The nursing degree programs Last Review: July 2013

Commission on Dental Accreditation. (CODA)

The degree programs in dentistry and dental hygiene and the certificate programs in the ten advanced dental graduate education programs

Last Review: August 2013

Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA)

The English Language Institute Last review: 2013

Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET

The computer science program Last review: 2010

Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association

Texas A&M University School of Law

Last review: 2010

Council on Education for Public Health

The School of Public Health degree programs

Last Review: April 2011

Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET

Undergraduate programs in aerospace, biological and agricultural, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, mechanical, nuclear, ocean, petroleum and radiological health engineering

Last Review: 2010-‐2011 (College Station) and 2015 (Qatar)

Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET

Maritime systems engineering (Offshore and Coastal Systems Engineering) – TAMU Galveston

Last review: 2010-‐11

139

Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET

The electronic systems engineering technology program, the manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology program,

Last Review: 2013-‐2014 (College Station) and 2015 (Qatar)

Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET

marine engineering technology – TAMU Galveston

Last Review: 2013-‐14

Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC)

The forensics and investigative sciences program

Last Site Visit: October 2011 Accreditation dates: 1/2012-‐1/2017)

Institute of Food Technologists The food science and technology curriculum

Last Review: December 2011

Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board

The curriculum in landscape architecture

Last Review: July 2015

Liaison Committee on Medical Education

The medical education degree program

Last Review: August 2012

National Architectural Accrediting Board

The curriculum in architecture Last Review: March 2013

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration

The Master of Public Service and Administration degree in the Bush School of Government and Public Service

Last review: April 2014

National Recreation and Park Association

The curriculum in recreation, park and tourism sciences

Last Review: June 2010

Planning Accreditation Board The Master of Urban Planning curriculum

Last Review: 2013

Society for Range Management

The curriculum in rangeland ecology and management

Last Review: 2006

Society of American Foresters The curriculum in forestry Last Review: 2013

State Board of Educator Certification Texas Education Agency

Programs in professional education and degrees conferred by Texas A&M University

Last review 2011

(2) If SACS Commission on Colleges is not your primary accreditor for access to USDOE Title IV funding, identify which accrediting agency serves that purpose. Not applicable. (3) List any USDOE recognized agency (national and programmatic) that has terminated the institution’s

accreditation (include the date, reason, and copy of the letter of termination) or list any agency from which the institution has voluntarily withdrawn (include copy of letter to agency from institution).

None.

140

(4) Describe any sanctions applied or negative actions taken by any USDOE-recognized accrediting

agency (national, programmatic, SACSCOC) during the two years previous to the submission of this report. Include a copy of the letter from the USDOE to the institution. None.

6. Relationship to the U.S. Department of Education. Texas A&M University does not have any limitations or suspensions, nor have we been terminated by the U.S. Department of Education in regard to student financial aid or other financial aid programs during the previous three years. We are not on reimbursement nor do we have any other exceptional status in regard to federal or state financial aid.

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