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| Warren Potash/Shoals Marine Laboratory |
Recent charitable gifts from Cornell alumni Henry and Nancy Bartels to Shoals Marine Laboratory are expected enhance the university's academic mission -- to create a living and learning environment for all undergraduates -- without forgetting those who choose to learn on the self-sufficient island community in the Gulf of Maine.
And for Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) leaders, accustomed to doing the nearly impossible with next to nothing on the 95-acre Appledore Island, the Bartels' funding will lead to long-awaited improvements at the teaching and research field station.
"This generous gift from the Bartels will enable us build a new multipurpose building and a second research vessel, as well as provide an endowment for building maintenance. What we're most excited about, though, is the opportunity to offer six scholarships per year to deserving undergraduates," said James G. Morin, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the John M. Kingsbury Director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory.
Operated jointly by Cornell and the University of New Hampshire from year-around headquarters in Ithaca, SML also has attracted the attention of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Morin reports that for the next two summers, NSF has designated SML as an official Research Experience for Undergraduates site. This designation will provide funding for nine undergraduates to conduct directed independent research projects under the tutelage of faculty from Cornell, New Hampshire, Brown University, the University of Washington and Merrimack College.
Construction of the multipurpose building, to be known as the Kingsbury House in honor of Shoals Marine Laboratory's founding director, will provide living quarters for the SML director's family during the summer, as well as off-season housing for staff and researchers during the winter. Morin said "the house is going to be an eco-friendly, self-sufficient model for others to follow."
The founding director's other namesake and the pride of the laboratory fleet, the 47-foot R/V John M. Kingsbury, will be joined by a somewhat smaller vessel, built in part by funds from the Bartels' gift. According to Island Manager Ross Hansen, the new vessel will have several jobs:
Looking ahead to island infrastructure improvements from the Bartels' gift, Hansen noted: "When you're six miles out in the Atlantic, island facilities take a beating from the weather, especially in the winter." He said improvements will include expanded saltwater sea tables for marine specimens, a state-of-the-art composting and recycling system, safe drinking water, well-lit paths, sturdy porches and leak-proof dormitories.
For Hank and Nancy Bartels, who graduated from Cornell in 1948, the gift to Shoals Marine Laboratory is only their latest. The couple also are responsible for Bartels Hall, the SML staff living quarters that was renovated from a former Coast Guard lifesaving station on the island, and over the years they have provided more than $600,000.
Nancy Bartels said their fondness for Shoals Marine Laboratory stems from participation in adult-education programs that the couple enjoyed over the years. (Listings for adult classes for summer 2000 can be found, along with undergraduate-level credit courses ranging from Field Marine Science to Biological Illustration, at the Shoals Marine Laboratory web site www.sml.cornell.edu , and information on registration is available by phone at 255-3717).
"I urge everyone to try an adult-education class at this amazing 'learning island,'" Nancy Bartels said. "But watch out! You're going to fall in love with the place and you'll want to help make improvements, too."
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