URI lands $1M for climate change education from NSF

THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND'S Graduate School of Oceanography has landed a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to act as the center of a national network for the Climate Change Education Partnership. / COURTESY THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND'S Graduate School of Oceanography has landed a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to act as the center of a national network for the Climate Change Education Partnership. / COURTESY THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

NARRAGANSETT — The National Science Foundation has awarded a $1 million grant to the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, enabling the school to serve as the center of a national network for the Climate Change Education Partnership Alliance.

The grant will fund URI’s efforts to develop a network of scientists, communication professionals, educators and government and private sector stakeholders to increase the public’s scientific literacy, particularly citizens’ understanding of the science behind climate change.
Gail Scowcroft, a former climate scientist who has led climate change education programs at the Graduate School of Oceanography since the 1990s, described the school’s role as that of a “catalyzing agent for activities that would not take place if there wasn’t an established hub.”
As the hub of the alliance, the graduate school intends to “help the regional partnerships share resources and best practices in climate change education between themselves and with other groups across the country,” Scowcroft said in prepared remarks.

The National Science Foundation has six regional climate change partnerships in the country, with membership from universities, science centers, regional agencies and communications programs. The Graduate School of Oceanography will help facilitate collaboration and communication between these regional efforts and leverage additional funding.
The alliance held its first national meeting at the graduate school in June, with the objective of creating a strategic plan to build the alliance and prioritize upcoming activities, such as developing infrastructure to support the network and establishing a regional program in the Gulf states.

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